Depending on where one watches a war film, a particular brand or tradition lingers in the storyline or characters. American war films may focus on World War II or the Civil War from a Western angle, but a Japanese war film like Grave of the Fireflies focuses on the opposite side of World War II. Globally, war films offer contemporary perspectives on how war and cruelty are viewed, but they are a slippery slope when it comes to how the opposing side is seen.

While they can bring empathy for survivors and victims of war, the way war movies are framed can also be just as divisive and harmful. Regardless, movies like Dunkirk and 1917 have brought some memories of an era where its generation has largely died out, preserving an important part of history and heroism, albeit in a fictionalized manner. These are the best war movies you can stream right now on Netflix.

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6 Apocalypse Now Redux

     Miramax Films

Apocalypse Now was originally released in 1979 by director Francis Ford Coppola in his golden era of filmmaking. In the 70s, Coppola came out with several of his best-known movies: the first two Godfather movies and his 1974 movie The Conversation. Netflix currently has Apocalypse Now Redux, the 2001 extended version of the 1979 film. It was loosely based on the novel Heart of Darkness by the Polish-British author Joseph Conrad and follows a journey from Vietnam into Cambodian during the Vietnam War. Captain Benjamin Willard (Martin Sheen) has to eliminate a fellow officer, recreating a vivid war experience that’s hard to untangle yourself from reliving. The extended version on Netflix boasts an additional 49 minutes of footage.

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5 Munich: The Edge of War

     Netflix

Munich: The Edge of War dances between enemy lines at the beginning of World War II. The movie is a co-production between Great Britain and Germany, and these locations are precisely where the film takes place. It begins in 1932 when a group of British friends at Oxford University, who is German, says they need to visit their friend in his homeland. However, this is during the rise of Nazi Germany and Hitler, so the movie transitions to six years later when this does occur in real life. While viewers often know how war films end due to history, Munich: The Edge of War is capable of reversing the slow anticipation for what’s to come, thus creating a movie that truly immerses you in its storylines.

4 Da 5 Bloods

Spike Lee returned in 2020 with Da 5 Bloods, which featured an all-star cast consisting of Chadwick Boseman (in his final film appearance before his death in 2020), Delroy Lindo, Jonathan Majors, Clarke Peters, Norm Lewis, and many others. Da 5 Bloods sheds light on a squad of Black soldiers during the Vietnam War. When these men were in combat, they hid gold bars they found in a cargo crash. Years later, they return to recover their bounty, leading to a catastrophic series of events that they thought they once left behind. This movie was one of the most-watched titles on Netflix nominated for an Oscar.

3 First They Killed My Father

The Cambodian Genocide is often left untouched in history books outside Southeast Asia, but the film adaptation of Loung Ung’s memoirs, First They Killed My Father, was produced by Angelina Jolie and secured a larger platform to tell the story on Netflix. First They Killed My Father begins with the Cambodian Civil War and the withdrawal of American troops. One family, where five-year-old Ung lives with her seven siblings, is forced into a labor camp. With food scarce, family members dying, or going missing tragedy lurks at every corner in this chapter of Cambodian history. This movie is almost completely cast with Cambodian actors and was filmed in the local language: Khmer.

2 The King

Before Timothée Chalamet was Willy Wonka or Paul Atreides, he starred in David Michôd’s and Joel Edgerton’s The King for Netflix. The King is based on the life of King Henry V and the Shakespearean historical plays known as the Henriad. In this film, King Henry V was once a young boy who did not want to be a ruler, but when his brother and father passed away, he is thrust into a position of great power during the Hundred Years’ War. When a French Duke (Robert Pattinson) continuously mocks him, his country, and honor, Henry seeks glory and retribution through warfare. Although historically inaccurate, the grim and gritty tone of the film gives new life to history.

1 Beasts of No Nation

     Bleecker Street

Beasts of No Nation adapted Nigerian-American author Ozodinma Iweala’s novel of the same name for the big screen. In a Western African country, a young boy becomes a child soldier in a brutal civil war. He lives a normal life with a family in his village, but when the local government falls and rebels take over the nation, a period of bloodshed ensues. Ghanaian actor Abraham Attah, who previously appeared in Spider-Man: Homecoming, plays the titular role while Idris Elba portrays the commander of the child’s squad, an African warlord. While Beasts of No Nation is difficult to watch, it is a much-needed film.