War on Netflix: the best movies
24 war films available on Netflix today, ranked by audience rating, most recommended first. Updated 25 September 2026
Grave of the Fireflies leads with 8.5 out of 10, ahead of 1917 (8). Ratings range from 7.1 to 8.5. The oldest, The Bridge on the River Kwai, goes back to 1957. The selection leans towards films from the 2010s, 11 of 24. 9 films came out since 2021.
Find my film in 2 questionsSwipe through films
Grave of the Fireflies
In the final months of World War II, 14-year-old Seita and his sister Setsuko are orphaned when their mother is killed during an air raid in Kobe, Japan. After a falling out with their aunt, they move into an abandoned bomb shelter. With no surviving relatives and their emergency rations depleted, Seita and Setsuko struggle to survive.
1917
At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers.
Virunga
Virunga in the Democratic Republic of the Congo is Africa’s oldest national park, a UNESCO world heritage site, and a contested ground among insurgencies seeking to topple the government that see untold profits in the land. Among this ongoing power struggle, Virunga also happens to be the last natural habitat for the critically endangered mountain gorilla. The only thing standing in the way of the forces closing in around the gorillas: a handful of passionate park rangers and journalists fighting to secure the park’s borders and expose the corruption of its enemies. Filled with shocking footage, and anchored by the surprisingly deep and gentle characters of the gorillas themselves, Virunga is a galvanizing call to action around an ongoing political and environmental crisis in the Congo.
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.
The Shadow in My Eye
On March 21st, 1945, the British Royal Air Force set out on a mission to bomb Gestapo's headquarters in Copenhagen. The raid had fatal consequences as some of the bombers accidentally targeted a school and more than 120 people were killed, 86 of whom were children.
All Quiet on the Western Front
Paul Baumer and his friends Albert and Muller, egged on by romantic dreams of heroism, voluntarily enlist in the German army. Full of excitement and patriotic fervour, the boys enthusiastically march into a war they believe in. But once on the Western Front, they discover the soul-destroying horror of World War I.
Irena's Vow
19 year old Irena Gut is promoted to housekeeper in the home of a highly respected Nazi officer in Poland when she finds out that the Jewish ghetto is about to be liquidated. Determined to help twelve Jewish workers, she decides to shelter them in the safest place she can think of – the basement of the German Major's house. Over the next eight months, Irena uses her wit, humour and immense courage to hide her friends as long as possible.
The Last Samurai
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.
Beasts of No Nation
Based on the experiences of Agu, a child fighting in the civil war of a West African country. Follows Agu's journey as he's forced to join a group of soldiers. While he fears his commander and many of the men around him, his fledgling childhood has been brutally shattered by the war raging through his country, and he is at first torn between conflicting revulsion and fascination.
The Six Triple Eight
During World War II, the US Army's only all-Black, all-women battalion takes on an impossible mission: sorting through a three-year backlog of 17 million pieces of mail that hadn't been delivered to American soldiers and finish within six months.
Kingdom III: The Flame of Destiny
To defend their kingdom against a sudden invasion, a mighty general returns to the battlefield alongside a war orphan, now grown up, who dreams of glory.
Rurouni Kenshin Part I: Origins
In 1868, after the Bakumatsu war ends, the ex-assassin Kenshin Himura traverses Japan with an inverted sword, to defend the needy without killing.
American Sniper
U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle takes his sole mission—protect his comrades—to heart and becomes one of the most lethal snipers in American history. His pinpoint accuracy not only saves countless lives but also makes him a prime target of insurgents. Despite grave danger and his struggle to be a good husband and father to his family back in the States, Kyle serves four tours of duty in Iraq. However, when he finally returns home, he finds that he cannot leave the war behind.
Amaran
A heroic true story of Major Mukund Varadarajan, an Indian Army officer who displayed extraordinary bravery during a counterterrorism mission in Kashmir’s Shopian district. The film captures his courage in protecting his nation and the devotion of his wife Indhu Rebecaa Varghese.
The White Helmets
As daily airstrikes pound civilian targets in Syria, a group of indomitable first responders risk their lives to rescue victims from the rubble.
First They Killed My Father
A 5-year-old girl embarks on a harrowing quest for survival amid the sudden rise and terrifying reign of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia.
The Guns of Navarone
A team of allied saboteurs are assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.
Kingdom 2: Far and Away
It follows a young man who dreams of becoming a general and Ying Zheng, whose goal is unification.
Kingdom
Set in Qin Dynasty during the warring states period in ancient China. Shin was a war orphan. He has a dream of becoming a great general Shin has a fateful encounter with young King Eisei. King Eisei aims to unify all of China.
The Last Kingdom: Seven Kings Must Die
In the wake of King Edward's death, Uhtred of Bebbanburg and his comrades adventure across a fractured kingdom in the hopes of uniting England at last.
The King
England, 15th century. Hal, a capricious prince who lives among the populace far from court, is forced by circumstances to reluctantly accept the throne and become Henry V.
Number 24
On the brink of the Second World War, a young Norwegian man's drive to resist the Nazis sets a new course for his future – and the future of his country.
Kesari
In 1897, an army of 21 Sikhs battles 10,000 Afghans to prevent the Saragarhi Fort from being taken down.
The Siege of Jadotville
Irish Commandant Pat Quinlan leads a stand off with troops against French and Belgian Mercenaries in the Congo during the early 1960s.
What to know before choosing
A war film is almost always a film of point of view, and it is that point of view, more than the conflict, that decides what you will see. Ratings run high, because only those who chose it watch it. The catalogue is narrow and votes are rare: the floor is lowered here, or the page would hold four titles. Allow time — long running times are the rule in this genre, not the exception.
The Netflix catalogue is the most restless of all: it changes most from month to month and most from country to country. A "best films on Netflix" list written six months ago is half wrong today, and one written for the United States is wrong here. This one is rebuilt every day from actual availability in the UK, which is the only honest way to keep that promise.
Frequently asked questions
How were these 24 films chosen?
They come from the TMDB catalogue, filtered on audience rating and on a minimum number of votes — without that second filter, a film rated 9 out of 10 by eleven people would outrank a classic. No place is for sale: no platform, distributor or studio can enter this list other than by being well rated.
Which film in this list is rated highest?
Grave of the Fireflies (1988), with 8.5 out of 10 from 6,826 audience votes.
Are these films really available on Netflix in the UK?
Yes, as of the day the page was built. Availability comes from TMDB and JustWatch for the catalogue in the UK, and the list is rebuilt daily. Streaming catalogues move constantly: a title can leave between two passes, which is why the page carries its date.
Are there any recent releases in this selection?
9 of the 24 films came out since 2021. The rest are older, which is expected: a film needs a few years to gather enough votes to be judged at all.
Do I need an account?
No. Taro eira is free, asks for no account and no subscription, and the two-or-three-question flow works without installing anything.
See also
- Netflix
- War
- War on Prime Video
- War on Disney+
- War on Apple TV+
- War on HBO Max
- Action
- Adventure
- Animation
- Comedy
- Crime
- Documentary
- Drama
- Family
- Fantasy
- Biopic
- Horror
- Musical
- Romance
- Sci-fi
- Thriller
- Western
How this list is built
Films come from the TMDB catalogue, filtered on audience rating and vote count, then cross-checked against real availability in the country. No paid placement, no partnerships. How we choose the films.
Film data and posters: TMDB. This app uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.