Subgenre Sampler
War: 952 Films to Buy & Rent
Kessler (TV Mini-series) (1981)
- Feat. Clifford Rose, Alan Dobie
- Six–part sequel to the terrific WW2 series SECRET ARMY sees former SS member Ludwig Kessler (Rose) living in 'present day' and on the run from…
Private Schulz (1981)
- Feat. Michael Elphick, Ian Richardson, Billie Whitelaw…
- Gleefully macabre farce focuses on the scheming titular character who convinces the Nazis to mass counterfeit millions of five pound notes in a bid…
Tenko (TV Series) (1981-1984)
- Feat. Stephanie Cole, Jean Anderson
- Memorable British drama in which a group of English women, shipwrecked while fleeing the invasion of Singapore in 1941, are captured by the Japanese…
Victory (Escape to Victory) (1981)
- Dir. John Huston
Feat. Sylvester Stallone, Michael Caine, Max von Sydow
- Implausible yet jolly entertaining WWII story has a soccer team of assorted POWs attempting to escape a Paris stadium during a match against the Nazi…
Big Red One, The (1980)
- Dir. Samuel Fuller
Feat. Lee Marvin
- The best role in years for Lee Marvin, who plays the intrepid squadron leader of director Sam Fuller's WWII memoirs. Distinctive war film is…
Dogs of War, The (1980)
- Dir. John Irvin
Feat. Christopher Walken, Colin Blakely, Tom Berenger
- Frederick Forsyth's best–seller gets reasonably good treatment here, Christopher Walken playing a hard bastard mercenary hired by Big Business…
Final Countdown, The (1980)
- Dir. Don Taylor
Feat. Martin Sheen, Kirk Douglas, Katherine Ross…
- The nuclear–era aircraft carrier USS Nimitz, skippered by Martin Sheen, steams into a time–warp and pops up in the Pacific Ocean, just…
Kagemusha (1980)
- Dir. Akira Kurosawa
Feat. Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Kenichi Hagiwara
- A majestic 16th century saga about a petty thief who ascends to tribal leadership on account of his resemblance to a dying warlord. Shared the top…
Lili Marleen (1980)
- Dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder
Feat. Hanna Schygulla, Giancarlo Giannini, Mel Ferrer
- Fassbinder's fact–based account of the recording of the Nazi anthem, sung by a jaded cabaret singer with a Jewish love interest.
Lion of the Desert (1980)
- Dir. Moustapha Akkad
Feat. Anthony Quinn, Oliver Reed, John Gielgud…
- An epic account of the 'David and Goliath' battle on the Libyan desert between Mussolini's all–powerful army and the Bedouin, circa 1930.