War

Major Payne (1995)

Maj. Benson Payne (Damon Wayans) lives, breathes and sleeps war. But after being honorably discharged from the Marines due to a lack of wars, Payne, the natural-born killer, has absolutely no idea how to cope in everyday civilian life. Fortunately, before he completely breaks down, Payne finds his way back into a military capacity at Madison Preparatory School, leading a group of misfit JROTC students who don’t want to be led. Whipping these kids into shape might be his toughest battle yet.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

In Vietnam in 1970, Captain Willard (Martin Sheen) takes a perilous and increasingly hallucinatory journey upriver to find and terminate Colonel Kurtz (Marlon Brando), a once-promising officer who has reportedly gone completely mad. In the company of a Navy patrol boat filled with street-smart kids, a surfing-obsessed Air Cavalry officer (Robert Duvall), and a crazed freelance photographer (Dennis Hopper), Willard travels further and further into the heart of darkness.

Stripes (1981)

Hard-luck cabbie John Winger (Bill Murray) — directionless after being fired from his job and dumped by his girlfriend — enlists in the U.S. Army with his close pal, Russell Ziskey (Harold Ramis). After his barely satisfactory performance in basic training, the irreverent Winger emerges as the figurehead for a ragtag band of Army misfits. However, his hijinks threaten to cause an international scandal when he inadvertently commandeers a military assault vehicle behind enemy lines.

First Blood (1982)

Vietnam veteran and drifter John J. Rambo (Sylvester Stallone) wanders into a small Washington town in search of an old friend, but is met with intolerance and brutality by the local sheriff, Will Teasle (Brian Dennehy). When Teasle and his deputies restrain and shave Rambo, he flashes back to his time as a prisoner of war and unleashes his fury on the officers. He narrowly escapes the manhunt, but it will take his former commander (Richard Crenna) to save the hunters from the hunted.

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Stanley Kubrick’s take on the Vietnam War follows smart-aleck Private Davis (Matthew Modine), quickly christened “Joker” by his foul-mouthed drill sergeant (R. Lee Ermey), and pudgy Private Lawrence (Vincent D’Onofrio), nicknamed “Gomer Pyle,” as they endure the rigors of basic training. Though Pyle takes a frightening detour, Joker graduates to the Marine Corps and is sent to Vietnam as a journalist, covering — and eventually participating in — the bloody Battle of Hué.

The Last of the Mohicans (1992)

The last members of a dying Native American tribe, the Mohicans — Uncas (Eric Schweig), his father Chingachgook (Russell Means), and his adopted half-white brother Hawkeye (Daniel Day-Lewis) — live in peace alongside British colonists. But when the daughters (Madeleine Stowe, Jodhi May) of a British colonel are kidnapped by a traitorous scout, Hawkeye and Uncas must rescue them in the crossfire of a gruesome military conflict of which they wanted no part: the French and Indian War.

In The Army Now (1994)

After getting fired from their jobs at an electronics store, Bones (Pauly Shore) and Jack (Andy Dick) sign up for the U.S. Army Reserve, hoping to make a little money with a minimum of responsibility. What the hapless pals don’t realize, however, is that Libya has just invaded Chad, so Bones and Jack are quickly shipped off for service. Now, these slackers turned Army recruits are getting lost in the Sahara and engaging in armed combat with the Libyan forces.

Red Dawn (1984)

In an alternate 1980s, the United States stands alone as communism grows stronger. When Soviet soldiers invade a small Colorado town, brothers Jed (Patrick Swayze) and Matt Eckert (Charlie Sheen) escape with friends to the forest. With their father, Tom (Harry Dean Stanton), a prisoner of the invading army, the children decide to fight against the Soviets. As the country comes under increasing attack, the group teams up with Lt. Col. Andrew Tanner (Powers Boothe) to take back their town.