Memorial Day, first observed in 1868, honors those who died in service to the United States Armed Forces. The holiday has become associated with summer kickoffs, barbecues, beach trips, and shopping deals, but its purpose is remembrance. Filmmakers have long portrayed the cost of war through stories that celebrate valor or question the political systems that demand sacrifice. The list recommends war movies that feel appropriate for the day, including Bridge on the River Kwai, which follows POWs forced to build a bridge and examines honor, duty, and wartime hypocrisy, and From Here to Eternity, which presents intersecting love stories set amid World War II.
"It's too easy to forget what Memorial Day weekend is really about. Although it's become the de facto kick-off to summer with backyard barbecues, weekend beach trips, and killer shopping deals, the weekend is meant to remember something much greater. First observed in 1868, Memorial Day is dedicated to those who've died in service to the United States Armed Forces. It's a tradition that's truly American, even if we've lost sight of what counts."
"For decades, filmmakers have paid tribute to America's troops, with movies that celebrate their valor or challenge the political institutions that force them to sacrifice at all. Some of the greatest directors ever like Oliver Stone, Stanley Kubrick, Edward Zwick, and Steven Spielberg have centered their best films on the tremendous cost of war. Keep the more explosive movies for Independence Day."
"Simply one of the greatest films of the 20th century, David Lean's 1957 war epic follows a group of British POWs who are forced to construct a strategic bridge for Japan's war effort. All the while, an American Naval officer (played by William Holden) leads a unit to blow up the bridge. Laced with themes of honor, duty, and even hypocrisy, Bridge on the River Kwai succeeds as a masculine epic that dares to explore the unexpected paradoxes in wartime."
"A star-studded affair with some of the greatest silver screen actors to ever live, From Here to Eternity tells a sweeping, intersecting love story set against the tragic backdrop of World War II. Burt Lancaster, Frank Sinatra, and Montgomery Cliff play three U.S. Army soldiers stationed in Hawaii. In the months leadin"
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