War films Set in the ancient past are some of the most spectacular entries in the genre, with many historically accurate films dedicated to various exciting battles. When thinking about war films, images of great WWII films often come to mind, with other “modern” combat encounters soon to follow. But it’s important to remember that warfare is one of the oldest human traditions in existence, and some films exemplify this fact by going back in time to cover notable battles and time periods of human antiquity.
Several things are necessary to make an exciting old war film. Firstly, the combat choreography has to be top notch, with no amount of CGI offsetting the huge armies of extras moving in deliberate synchronization. While many great films aren’t necessarily historically accurate, it always helps to stay true to the time period as much as possible. With jaw-dropping action set pieces, memorable lines, and elaborate sets that reflect a bygone era, some old war movies truly stand out in their field.
10
Master and commander: the other side of the world
2003
It’s important to remember that some of the world’s most important battles were fought on the open sea. Master and Commander: The Other Side of the World emphasizes this idea, focusing on the naval combats of the Napoleonic Wars. The film follows Russell Crowe’s Captain Jack Aubrey, commander of the British ship HMS. Surprisewhich faces a long duel on the high seas with the French privateer ship, the Acheron. Aubrey has to fight to keep his men aligned while defending himself from the enemy ship’s attacks.
Master and Commander: The Other Side of the World is a highly decorated film, with several well-deserved Academy Awards. The fact that the film was shot on the open sea shines through in the epic scale of its devastating battles, without ever losing sight of the fundamental humanity of the characters that truly keep the story worth investing in. portrayed naval battles as feverishly as Master and Commander: The Other Side of the World.
9
The Northman
2022
The latest offering from the twisted mind of horror director Robert Eggers, The Northman is a dramatic tale of the Viking Age that represents a stark contrast to Eggers’ other works. Adapting the ancient legend of Amleth, which was the original inspiration behind Shakespeare’s work Village. The film centers on Amleth, a young nobleman whose father is murdered by his treacherous uncle. Growing up to become a fierce Viking warrior, Amleth eventually returns to seek revenge on the man who destroyed his life.
True to his horror directorial sensibilities, some of Robert Eggers’ scariest scenes take place in The Northman, that doesn’t shy away from the horrors of real-life Viking raids. Although it’s a familiar story, the poignant drama of Amleth’s tireless and needless quest for revenge is a twisted curse of fate carried by some thoughtful performances. The pseudo-fantasy elements added by Amleth’s hallucination sequences are also a nice flavor, the entire project being almost absurdly faithful to the real culture of the time, as expected from Eggers’ work.
8
Troy
2004
Ancient Greece is often a favorite setting for historical filmmakers, as evidenced by the great epics of the early 2000s such as Troy. Based on Homer Iliad, One of the oldest surviving works of fiction still appreciated by modern people, the film features Brad Pitt as the mythical hero Achilles, detailing his time spent at war following the seduction of Queen Helen of Troy by Orlando Bloom’s Paris. Blurring the boundaries between legend and history, Troy is a beautiful piece of historical fiction, even if it deviates from the traditional narrative of Iliad.
Troy is an epic in the truest sense of the word, captivating audiences of its time through the spectacle of its elaborate battle sequences. Orlando Bloom and Brad Pitt shine as bright as Greek gods as they collide in a nation-wide tragedy, even if their characters’ emotional depth isn’t very deep. The director’s cut, in particular, offers a less commercialized vision that really hints at why Troy deserves to be a more revered old war film.
7
The Last Samurai
2003
As far as Tom Cruise movies go, The Last Samurai is a very important entry in his filmography, for good reason. Loosely inspired by the Satsuma Rebellion of 1877 and the subsequent Western cultural colonization of Japan, the film features Cruise as Nathan Algren, an American cavalry captain tasked with training the nascent Imperial Japanese Army against a samurai uprising. Before long, Algren is captured by the rebels, only to gain sympathy for them and lead them into battle against the enemies he was supposed to help.
For a fish-out-of-water story of cultural osmosis, it’s hard to beat The Last Samurai, which features an interesting emotional crux of Algren and the stoic Lord Moritsugu Katsumoto, played brilliantly by Ken Watanabe, helping each other overcome each other’s doubts and fears. The battle scenes are spectacular, finding themselves at an interesting crossroads between tradition and modernity in terms of tactics and weaponry. Another highly decorated Oscar winner, The Last Samurai is a solid piece of historical combat storytelling.
6
Brave heart
1995
Still the jewel of Mel Gibson’s filmography, Brave heart It needs little introduction as an all-time cinematic classic. Occurring in Scotland in the late 13th century, Brave heart loosely adapts the true story of William Wallace, a highland freedom fighter who led the Scottish rebellion against the cruel tyranny of the government of King Edward I of England. The rebellion is incited by the death of Wallace’s late wife, igniting a flame of rebellion that spreads across the highlands until his untimely and horrific death.
Winner of the coveted Best Picture at the Oscars, there’s a lot to appreciate Brave heart. The film does a smart job of tying Wallace’s personal relationships to the idea of ​​rebellion, explaining to the layman how and why such desires to free himself from the occupation arise. It helps that the battle scenes are also tremendous and a fitting carnage that conveys the fierce desperation in the heart of every Scottish soldier. Even though it’s not the most historically accurate film in the world, Brave heart is so highly regarded for good reason.
5
Kingdom of Heaven
2005
Another epic historical drama with Orlando Bloom, Kingdom of Heaven does for the crusades what the movies like Ben-Hur make for ancient Rome. Bloom stars in the film as Balian of Ibelin, which tells the story of the real-life attempt by several Christian monarchs to seize the holy land of Jerusalem in the 1100s. Soon, Balian comes into conflict with the famous Ayyubid sultan and general Saladin during his long and controversial journeys in the third crusade.
Orlando Bloom is absolutely stellar as the tortured Balian of Ibelin, but he’s far from the only highlight of the film’s cast. Edward Norton is a particularly ferocious threat of setting destruction as King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem. In addition to the presentations, Kingdom of Heaven it also features some hypnotically stunning visuals that transform the bloody crusades into a whirlwind of color and movement. Once again, the director’s cut is the most sought after incarnation of the film, with the end result being some of Ridley Scott’s best action scenes.
4
Centurion
2010
As much as carefully documented historical events can be made into dedicated film adaptations, sometimes trying to explain a famous historical mystery can be just as captivating. Centurion plays with this idea, being a vague imagination of what happened to the real Ninth Legion of the Roman Empire, which disappeared under mysterious circumstances, according to ancient record keepers. Centurion proposes that the disappearance was the result of a campaign in Northern Britain gone horribly wrong, seen through the perspective of Michael Fassbender’s titular soldier.
Centurion does a good job of imposing the horrors of war on an ancient setting, writing harrowing battles and guerrilla tactics of the British that are among the most shocking sequences in any modern war film. The hack-and-slash violence does its best to convey the horrors of hand-to-hand combat, told through the weary eyes of Fassbender’s character. Although the entire film is a slog through the marshes of Britain, the strangely happy ending that Fassbender Days achieves makes the journey worth it, emphasizing how peace can be as detrimental to an army’s efforts as death.
3
300
2006
Old war films don’t necessarily need historical accuracy to be great, and no single film serves as better proof of that thesis than 300. Like many films in Zack Snyder’s catalog, 300 is based on a comic book, which in turn was originally based on the supposedly real final stand of outnumbered Spartan warriors at the Battle of Thermopylae in the Greco-Persian Wars. Gerard Butler leads the film as King Leonidas, the stern but fair leader of the Spartan warriors who is called upon to personally lead his army against the Persians.
Admittedly, historical accuracy is completely out of the question for 300, which even incorporates fantasy elements into battle. However, Zack Snyder’s undeniable talent for style and action scenes completely carries the film, making a lot of noise about the noble sacrifice of King Leonidas and his soldiers. While it may be somewhat simplistic, it’s hard to find a better outlet for gripping ancient wars than Snyder’s masterpiece.
2
War and peace
1966
Fully contrasting popcorn films such as 300 and Centurion, War and Peace is a chilling, philosophical look at old-fashioned warfare through the lens of feature-length drama. In the Herculean undertaking of adapting Leo Tolstoy’s famous novel of the same name, War and Peace is a monstrously long four-part film series that condenses into a single massive volume, produced at the request of the Soviet Union. The decade-long story details the Napoleonic Wars in Russia through the lens of several characters with different interests in the conflict.
The Soviet Army spared no expense on War and Peacebattle scenes, which remain some of the most impressively choreographed and largest-scale war sequences ever filmed, even decades later. The film’s epic scope is surpassed only by the characters who anchor it, reminding the viewer that each sweeping shot of the Russian countryside is filled with people containing their own lives, hopes, and dreams. It’s difficult to name any film more spectacular, much less when it comes to historical war films.
1
Gladiator
2000
Another Ridley Scott period epic, Gladiator is an untouchable name in the former war cinema space for good reason. As the title suggests, the film is set in ancient Rome, where Russell Crowe’s Maximus Decimus Meridius fights as a gladiator while secretly harboring revenge for Emperor Commodus after he killed the previous administration and his family along with them. In his attempt to get close enough to the emperor to attack, Maximus must rise to fame in the Colosseum in a series of brutal fights.
Obviously featuring some of the best Colosseum fight scenes ever shown, GladiatorIt succeeds as a thrilling exploration of ancient warfare needs little explanation. However, as a moving political drama and a satisfying revenge story, the film becomes even more brilliant. It’s no wonder Ridley Scott was able to order a sequel two decades later, as GladiatorCultural staying power far exceeds the ancient warfare average film.