‘Not Saving Private Ryan or Dunkirk – this is the best war film ever’ | TV & Radio | Showbiz & TV

While Saving Private Ryan has been hailed as one of the best war films ever made, Reddit users now believe they’ve found the greatest of all time – and it’s not the Tom Hanks classic. Released in 1998, the war epic follows Captain John Miller in Normandy, France, in 1944 as he attempts to locate a missing private after his three brothers were all killed in action.

2017 release Dunkirk, directed by Christopher Nolan, has also been lauded as one of the top WW2 films ever released. Featuring an ensemble cast which includes Harry Styles, Cillian Murphy and Barry Keoghan, the film follows the Dunkirk evacuation from land, sea and air.

Released in 1957, the epic film is based on Pierre Boulle’s novel. It uses the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942 and 1943 as a backdrop, with British prisoners of war enduring horrific conditions at a Japanese prison camp in Thailand.

Their escape attempt becomes the central plot of the film – with devastating consequences.

Bridge on the River Kwai was the highest grossing film of 1957 and won seven Oscars at the time, before being selected for preservation in the National Film Registry in 1997.

One Reddit user praised it: “Best scene in the movie is when Alec Guinness gets outta confinement and is trying to walk confidently and distinguished in the manner of an officer while stumbling ever so slightly. One of the finest pieces of physical acting ever.”

Somebody else echoed: “Absolutely, Saving Private Ryan is far too flag waving to be a truly great war film. Great war films like Kwai have the moral complexity that reflects war.”

Another echoed: “It did win 7 Academy Awards… That’s pretty damn impressive.”