10 Best War Movie Performances, Ranked FSalinks

When operating at its best, war cinema is the most powerful and arresting film genre on account of its enormous spectacle, its inherent moral ambiguity, and the urgency it attains by exploring real events. Such is the scope and thematic heft of many war movies, a lot of the major stars can sometimes go, if not unnoticed, then overshadowed at the very least.

However, there have still been times when an actor has delivered such an awe-inspiring performance in a war film that they not only match the monumental spectacle unfolding around them, but sometimes come to define the film themselves. From intense biographical epics to grueling war dramas, and even to the odd satirical comedy, these 10 films flaunt performances that rank among the very best the genre has ever seen.

10 Ken Watanabe as General Tadamichi Kuribayashi

‘Letters from Iwo Jima’ (2006)

Released as a companion piece to Flags of Our Fathers, Clint Eastwood’s 2006 war drama Letters from Iwo Jima focuses on the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers. The film far exceeds its American counterpart, both in terms of its profit, and overall quality and impact, with Watanbe’s powerful lead performance a significant reason for its compelling depth.

The Japanese actor portrays Lieutenant General Tadamichi Kuribayashi, the officer who takes command of the garrison as they defend their territory against insurmountable odds. There are traditional notions of valor, honor, and stoic leadership that embolden Watanabe’s presence in the film, but his performance truly shines in the subtle moments of doubt and compassion for his troops. Letters from Iwo Jima remains a brilliant and slightly underrated war film that, in unison with Flags of Our Fathers, brings a humanity and poignancy to both sides of the war.

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9 Robert De Niro as Staff Sergeant Mikhail Vronsky

‘The Deer Hunter’ (1979)

In addition to being one of the most devastating war movies of all time, one that brilliantly explores the trauma suffered by soldiers after their service, The Deer Hunter also stands as one of the most incredibly acted movies ever made as well. As such, Christopher Walken and Meryl Streep both could have featured on this list, but it is Robert De Niro’s starring role that truly grounds the harrowing drama.

The 70s classic follows three working class friends who serve in the Vietnam War where they are forced to play Russian roulette in a POW camp. The effects of the trauma linger, impacting the lives of the survivors and their loved ones in different yet drastic ways. While the film has its flaws, The Deer Hunter remains an acting tour de force, with De Niro’s Oscar-nominated performance a shattering, vulnerable, and poignant outing.

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8 Aleksei Kravchenko as Florya Gaishun

‘Come and See’ (1985)

Famous for its brutal and confronting depiction of war, Come and See is a testing triumph of anti-war cinema that everyone should watch once, even if they emerge from the viewing scarred and disturbed. It follows a young Russian boy during WWII who goes against his family’s wishes and joins a resistance movement to fight the Nazis. What begins as a hope for heroism and valor gradually turns into a waking nightmare of the horrors of war.

The disturbing progression of the film is amazingly grounded by Aleksei Kravchenko’s lead performance, an incredible feat considering the actor was only 14 at the time. His initial ambition and child-like joy introduces audiences to his mission as one of naïve pride, but every step of his gradual disillusionment is palpable until he ends the story as a numb and tormented husk of the boy he was. It wouldn’t be hyperbolic to label Kravchenko’s performance the best of any child star in cinematic history.

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7 Peter Sellers as President Merkin Muffley, Captain Lionel Mandrake & Dr. Strangelove

‘Dr. Strangelove’ (1964)

As the centerpiece of Stanley Kubrick’s outstanding war comedy, Peter Sellers portrays not just one, but three key characters in Dr. Strangelove. The film explores the aftermath of a military catastrophe, with politicians and officers scrambling to undo a crazed American general’s efforts to launch a nuclear assault on the Soviet Union. Sellers portrays Lionel Mandrake, the crazed general’s squeamish and reluctant right-hand man, President Merkin Muffley, the desperate and overwhelmed U.S. president, and the titular Dr. Strangelove, a wheelchair-bound Nazi scientist with a unique approach to the developing situation.

The film allows Sellers to embrace the full breadth of his comedic might, be it as the exasperated president trying to muster the sincerest of apologies to his Russian counterparts, or as the deranged and maniacal scientist who hasn’t quite left his love for the Führer completely in the past. Dr. Strangelove is a masterpiece of political satire which remains among the greatest comedies ever made, and a lot of that can be attributed to Sellers’ genius.

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6 Christoph Waltz as Hans Landa

‘Inglourious Basterds’ (2009)

While it may not have the heroic might or moral ambiguity that defines many of the great war film performances, Christoph Waltz’s Hans Landa is imbued with a delicious, despicable villainy that makes him the magnetic centerpiece of Inglourious Basterds. The Quentin Tarantino war thriller focuses on a group of Jewish-American soldiers dropped into Nazi-occupied Europe to spread fear as a guerrilla force. All the while, Colonel Hans Landa oversees security for a grand cinematic event for the Nazi high command.

It is easy to forget that Waltz was a relatively unknown figure at the time of the film’s release, but his astounding presence was announced from the very first moment he graced the screen in the now renowned farmhouse interrogation scene. In addition to being one of Tarantino’s most brilliant characters, Landa also represents the cunning evil of the Nazis. The performance netted Waltz the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, among many other accolades that year.

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5 Kirk Douglas as Col. Dax

‘Paths of Glory’ (1957)

While Full Metal Jacket and the aforementioned Dr. Strangelove mark Stanley Kubrick’s two more renowned forays into war cinema; 1957’s Paths of Glory might just be his most effective. Set during WWI, the film focuses on the trial of three soldiers who were part of a squad that refused to go in for a fruitless and suicidal advance. Kirk Douglas stars as Col. Dax, a lawyer-turned-soldier who represents the three men whose lives are at stake, though he soon realizes the court is a farce.

Loosely based on a true story, the injustice of the premise stirs emotions and rouses anger with ease, and Douglas capitalizes on those heightened feelings to deliver a career best performance. While imbued with the viewer’s undying support given his righteousness in the face of utter corruption, Douglas also thrives at depicting Dax’s underlying dread as he begins to realize the fates of his men may already be sealed. His calculating exterior breaks only for his impassioned and enraged outbursts, marking an enthralling centerpiece to what is a masterful antiwar film and an enduring indictment on how the military operates.

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4 Ralph Fiennes as Amon Göth

‘Schindler’s List’ (1993)

There is no greater nor more harrowing depiction of the Holocaust than Steven Spielberg’s biographical epic, Schindler’s List. A lingering masterpiece of the confronting violence and utter inhumanity of the Nazi concentration camps, it weaves the story of Oscar Schindler’s (Liam Neeson) efforts to save as many lives as he could be recruiting prisoners to work in his factories. While Neeson and co-star Ben Kingsley are brilliant in their roles, few viewers will ever forget the terrifying portrayal of pure evil that Ralph Fiennes presented in his portrayal of Amon Göth.

He is unbelievably chilling from his first moments on screen, thriving as the embodiment of the cold-blooded sadism of the Third Reich. However, it is as much his momentary, fleeting glimpses of hesitancy, the twisted flickers of some semblance of humanity that makes Fiennes’ performance so strikingly vile, in addition to his brutish violence. The end result is one of the most horrifying performances cinema has ever seen.

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‘Lawrence of Arabia’ (1962)

An awe-inspiring epic that is viewed by many to be among the greatest cinematic achievements of all time, Lawrence of Arabia famously tells the story of T.E. Lawrence (Peter O’Toole), a British lieutenant who united the warring Arab tribes to band together and fight against the Turks in WWI. Every single element of the film operates on a grandiose and captivating level, from the sweeping desert landscapes to the heroic real-life tale, and especially to O’Toole’s Oscar-nominated lead performance.

O’Toole, who was relatively unknown at the time, became an instant icon with his piercing blue eyes, but his portrayal of Lawrence’s angst and drive is what truly defines the brilliance of the film and the impact of the character. He balances British sophistication and elegance with a world-weary wisdom and gentle quality on a knife’s edge, embodying the English officer’s intelligence and complexity with aplomb. The film won seven Academy Awards but O’Toole lost out on Best Lead Actor to Gregory Peck who won for To Kill a Mockingbird.

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2 Adrien Brody as Władisław Szpilman

‘The Pianist’ (2002)

Somber, harrowing, and deeply moving, The Pianist is a biographical war drama that excels as both a realistic portrayal of life in the Warsaw ghetto and a powerful yet upsetting story of the resolve of the human spirit. Adrien Brody stars as Władisław Szpilman, a Polish pianist whose family is consigned to the Warsaw ghetto as WWII begins. When he alone escapes being sent to the concentration camps, he survives amid the ruins of Warsaw until the end of the war.

Brody’s talent is on full display throughout the film, as is his complete commitment to his craft. His physicality as Szpilman starves and freezes alone is awe-inspiring. In what was considered an upset at the time, Brody won the Academy Award for Best Lead Actor for his performance, an achievement which sees him still stand as the youngest recipient of the award at just 29 years of age.

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1 George C. Scott as General George S. Patton

‘Patton’ (1970)

The nature of a great biopic is to present an intriguing and fascinating life story that offers some form of commentary on modern society while enabling audiences to develop a more intimate understanding of the figure being explored. 1970’s Patton executed that to perfection, and almost all of its magnificence must be attributed to George C. Scott’s sublime performance as the coarse and controversial American military man, George S. Patton.

From the film’s opening moments, Scott commands the screen as the very being of the late Patton courses through every fibre of his performance, from his gravelly snarl to his stiff physicality. However, he also imbues the figure with a sympathy that suggests his relentless drive was born from a desire to spare as many of his men as was possible. Scott’s performance marks not only the greatest that war cinema has ever seen, but also one of the most perfect portrayals of anyone represented in biographical pictures as well. He was awarded the Academy Award for his performance, though he refused to accept it.

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NEXT: Every War Movie That Won Best Picture at the Oscars, Ranked