Nothing can emulate the the terror and horror soldiers face in the midst of a battle.  Many can only imagine what war is like.  For most people, the only experience of war comes from the movies.  Many movies try to capture the experience of war through sounds, sights and human emotion.  The following is a short list of great war movies. 

Saving Private Ryan was released in 1998 and depicts the invasion of Normandy and the early fight in France during World War II.  After the initial battle scene, the movie tells the story of a small group of soldiers who search for a soldier who has lost three brothers in the war.  Saving Private Ryan was directed by Steven Spielberg and starred Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore and Jeremy Davies.  Saving Private Ryan was a critical and box office success.  The film grossed 480 million dollars worldwide and was nominated for eleven Academy Awards. 

The initial battle scene that depicts that invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 lasts 24 minutes and was critically acclaimed as one of the most realistic battle scenes shown on film.  The scene holds nothing back and depicts the reality of war.  Soldiers who fought on the French beaches were reported to have left the theatre because the scene was so realistic that it brought back memories of what they went through.  The rest of the movie also shows battle scenes that are realistic, but nothing was as powerful as the initial 24 minute battle scene.

Patton was released in 1970 and tells the story of United States General George S. Patton during World War II.  Patton is played by George C. Scott and the screenplay was taken by General Omar Bradley's memoirs.  Patton also stars Karl Malden, Michael Bates and Karl Vogler.  Patton won seven Academy Awards including Best Picture. 

Patton is a brilliant movie.  It depicts General Patton as both a man of war but also a man of honor and guts.  But it also shows that he was just a man who has flaws and vulnerabilities.  In terms of depicting war, Patton shows the glory that war can bring and the costs of that glory. 

Platoon was released in 1986 and was written and directed by Oliver Stone.  Platoon starred Charlie Sheen, Tom Beringer, William Dafoe and Jonny Depp.  The story was drawn from Stone's own experiences as an infantryman in Vietnam.  Platoon won the Academy Award for Best Picture and was voted as the 6th greatest war movie ever made by the AFI. 

Platoon tells the story of war through the eyes of a young soldier arriving in Vietnam played by Sheen.  It shows the horror of war and the psychological impact that war can have on the men fighting the battles.