18 Essential War Movies That Define the Conflict of 2002

Live from Baghdad

2002 • 108 min

Drama, War, TV Movie

During the Gulf War, a team of CNN reporters confronts journalistic ethics and the dangers of on-the-ground reporting. This Directors Guild Award-winning film, directed by Mick Jackson and starring Michael Keaton and Helena Bonham Carter, follows CNN as it pursues…

6.7

7.2

17+

The Star

2002 • 97 min • Budget $1M • Box office $809K

War, Drama

Summer 1944. As Nazi Germany prepares its massive "Viking" tank division for an offensive into Soviet territory, the Red Army dispatches a special group of seven snipers, "Zvezda," on a reconnaissance mission behind enemy lines, riding with the tank division.…

5.9

6.9

Stream on

House of Fools

2002 • 104 min • Budget $2M • Box office $157K

Drama, Romance, War

Set against the backdrop of the Chechen war, this film focuses on a mental institution and its patients. The story follows the individuals within the institution as they navigate daily life following two invasions on the Russian-Chechen border. They must…

5.8

7.0

17+

Kannathil Muthamittal

2002 • 137 min

Drama, War

A young girl learns from her parents that she was adopted. She is determined to find her biological mother, and her family decides to take her to Sri Lanka. There, they encounter the Tamil Tigers, a militant group.

7.6

8.3

Stream on

Taking Sides

2002 • 108 min • Budget $20M

Drama, War, Music

Wilhelm Furtwangler was a celebrated conductor in the 1930s, considered one of the best, alongside Toscanini. Following World War II, he was investigated by the Allied forces as part of their efforts to remove Nazi influence. In post-war Berlin, as…

6.2

7.0

Stream on

Buffalo Soldiers

2002 • 98 min • Budget $15M • Box office $2M

Drama, Comedy, War

Just before the Berlin Wall comes down, a hidden criminal world thrives among American soldiers stationed in West Germany.

6.3

6.7

17+

Stream on

Deathwatch

2002 • 94 min • Box office $2M

Drama, Horror, Thriller

During the intense trench warfare of World War I, a British Infantry Company becomes separated from their unit after a major battle. While trying to rejoin their lines, they stumble upon a seemingly destroyed German trench, with only a handful…

5.7

5.9

17+

Stream on

Yossi & Jagger

2002 • 65 min • Budget $267K

War, Drama, Romance

This film explores the relationship between two men serving in the Israeli army. Their colleagues in the unit react with suspicion, though not always with comprehension. One of the men is nearing the end of his service, as they face…

6.6

7.1

17+

Stream on

The Quiet American

2002 • 101 min • Budget $30M • Box office $27M

Romance, Thriller, Drama

British journalist Fowler falls for a young Vietnamese woman, but his feelings are complicated when an idealistic U.S. Official also pursues her. Feeling threatened, Fowler secretly warns the communists that the American is supplying weapons to their enemies.

6.5

7.0

17+

Stream on

Troy

2004 • 163 min • Budget $175M • Box office $497M

War, Action, History

In 1250 B.C., during the late Bronze Age, tensions rise between two developing nations. Paris, a Trojan prince, persuades Helen, the Queen of Sparta, to leave her husband Menelaus and travel with him to Troy. When Menelaus discovers his wife's…

7.2

7.3

17+

Stream on

Max

2002 • 106 min • Budget $11M

War, Drama

In 1918, a young and disheartened Adolf Hitler forms an unexpected friendship with a Jewish art dealer as he contemplates choosing between a life dedicated to art and pursuing a career in politics.

6.1

6.4

17+

Stream on

Ararat

2002 • 115 min

Drama, War, History

During a customs interview, a young man details how participating in a film about the Armenian genocide profoundly altered his life.

6.1

6.3

17+

Stream on

Hart's War

2002 • 125 min • Budget $70M • Box office $32M

Drama, War

Colonel William McNamara, imprisoned in a German POW camp, refuses to surrender his fight. He works with a young lieutenant to devise a daring plan against their captors. McNamara risks everything on a mission to liberate his fellow soldiers and…

6.4

17+

Stream on

The Four Feathers

2002 • 132 min • Budget $35M • Box office $29M

Action, Adventure, Drama

A young British officer quits his job after discovering his regiment is deploying to Sudan for war with the Mahdi. His friends and girlfriend see his decision as a sign of weakness and send him four white feathers to emphasize…

6.6

6.5

13+

Stream on

K-19: The Widowmaker

2002 • 138 min • Budget $100M • Box office $65M

Drama, History, Thriller

During its first voyage, Russia's pioneering nuclear submarine experiences a critical malfunction. The crew is forced into a desperate race against time to repair the vessel and avert a potential nuclear catastrophe.

6.5

6.7

13+

Stream on

+21

Windtalkers

2002 • 134 min • Budget $115M • Box office $77M

War, Action

Marine Joe Enders is tasked with protecting a Navajo "windtalker," a member of a group who relayed crucial messages during World War II. Their language was unbreakable by the Japanese, making them invaluable to the war effort.

6.3

6.1

17+

Stream on

+11

We Were Soldiers

2002 • 138 min • Budget $75M • Box office $114M

Action, History, War

This is the story of the first major battle in the American involvement in the Vietnam War, focusing on the soldiers who fought on both sides.

7.1

7.2

17+

Stream on

+13

The Pianist

2002 • 150 min • Budget $35M • Box office $120M

Drama, War

This is the true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's life in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. As the city's Jewish population is confined to a ghetto, Szpilman finds work performing in a café. When his family is deported in 1942,…

8.4

8.5

17+

Stream on

+12