10 Best War Movies Where the Heroes Lose (2024)

It's said that history is written by the victor. Or at least, it is in most cases. War movies are certainly no exceptions to this. However, every so often, a war movie comes along that shows a battle or conflict on the losing side. This is usually done to emphasize the futility of war, and the tragedy of all the lives lost.

People dying in war movies is nothing new or strange, but oftentimes, when people die in war movies, it's to make some heroic sacrifice. Once again, this isn't always the case. War movies that follow the losing side don't always show heroic sacrifices or deeds of great valor, just plain old death after a mission or battle goes horrifically awry.

1 'All Quiet on the Western Front' (2022)

Conflict: World War I

2022's All Quiet on the Western Front is a masterfully crafted movie full of hidden details. It is based on a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, who based the book on his own experiences serving in the First World War. The story follows Paul Bäumer (Felix Kammerer), a young German man who joins the war effort with his friends from school. Sadly, they have no idea what they have gotten themselves into. Between the muck of the terrain and the nightmarish conditions, it is nothing like the glorious experience they were expecting.

In the end, Paul and all of his friends perish in the onslaught. But they didn't die as heroes. Their sacrifice is largely meaningless and forgotten. Their country ends up forfeiting the war, and everyone dies in a rather unremarkable way. Many consider All Quiet on the Western Front to be one of the few true anti-war movies because it shows how pointless much of the slaughter is. This hopeless futility is precisely what makes it so rewatchable.

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2 'Fury' (2014)

Conflict: World War II

The final push into Germany during World War II was a truly heroic moment in history. Sadly, that heroism is littered with death and sacrifice. Such is the case with Fury, a story about a fictional tank crew in the heart of Germany just weeks before the German surrender. While a tank is ordinarily a war machine to be reckoned with, this movie shows all the potential problems one can have with it.

Before long, the crew of the tank find themselves in a dangerous situation. A landmine had exploded and rendered their tank immobile. Worse still, their radio has been damaged, preventing them from calling for help. Their only option is to make their final stand in the heart of enemy territory. While the tank crew fights valiantly, they are inevitably overrun by the German advance. All but one were killed. The movie's claustrophobic action and tension make it a thrilling ride, but also a great movie to watch if you want to see the heroes go down in a blaze of glory.

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3 '300' (2006)

Conflict: Greco-Persian Wars

When the Persian Army under King Xerxes I (Rodrigo Santoro) invades Greece, King Leonidas I (Gerard Butler) and his army of Spartans are determined to halt their advance. 300 is based on a graphic novel by Frank Miller, which in turn is based on the Greco-Persian Wars which occurred from 499 to 449 BCE. The movie focuses on one of the first engagements: the Battle of Thermopylae, and gives a somewhat accurate account of what really happened there, thousands of years ago.

The title comes from the fact that Leonidas famously took a force of only 300 Spartans to meet the Persians at Thermopylae and delay them so that the rest of Sparta, and Greece in general, could prepare. Every one of those 300 Spartans went in fully expecting to die. This was a sacrificial mission, and they all knew it. And this is exactly what happens. The Persian Army consists of tens of thousands of soldiers, and before long, they overpower the Spartans. Leonidas and his army are killed, losing the battle. But his sacrifice ensures that Greece will cry for war and be ready for it when the Persians come knocking at their doors. 300 is a very unique movie and is shot with techniques you aren't likely to see in many other movies, which makes it extremely entertaining.

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4 'Grave of the Fireflies' (1988)

Conflict: World War II

Grave of the Fireflies is, without a doubt, the saddest Studio Ghibli movie ever made. Heck, it might even be one of the saddest movies ever made, period. But it's still pretty good. After an American bombing run destroys their family home, Japanese siblings Seita and Setsuko venture out to find somewhere else to stay. While Studio Ghibli movies are ordinarily whimsical and full of fun and laughter, this one is nothing of the sort. It's depressing in all the right ways, pulling at heartstrings and emotions until audiences' tears flow freely.

While the Japanese did lose World War II, the real losers were the helpless civilians caught in the middle of the world's deadliest conflict, many of whom lost their homes and loved ones. This is what the movie emphasizes the most. Seita and Setsuko survive unimaginable horrors, tainting their tender youths should they survive beyond the war. This movie earned a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, so you know it's got to be good.

5 'Black Hawk Down' (2001)

Confict: Somali Civil War

Black Hawk Down occurs during the peak of the Somali Civil War. Notorious warlord Mohamed Farrah Aidid begins to extend his rule and influence, hindering the United States' ability to distribute aid to the Somali populace. During the real mission that the film is based on, an elite force is dispatched to Mogadishu to try and capture Aidid's advisors. But this is a setup. Aidid has made plans to shoot down a helicopter before collapsing his militia around the crash site, surrounding the Americans. And his plan works.

What ensues is a bloody firefight which later becomes known as the Battle of Mogadishu. While the death toll of Aidid's militia far outweights that of the Americans, the mission, much like the helicopter that is shot down, spirals out of control. The result was so disastrous that it forced the surviving Americans to retreat, and was later pivotal in convincing the American military to leave Somalia. Being an American film, it's obvious that the Americans are going to be portrayed as the heroes. However, the movie does show how badly the mission went and how huge of a tactical defeat it was.

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6 'Dunkirk' (2017)

Conflict: World War II

As the Third Reich begins to sweep across Europe, the French armed forces were forced to back down, leaving British Allied troops stranded on its northern coast, just across the pond from the land they call home. What ensues is a mass evacuation. British soldiers in their thousands are escorted onto their ship, hoping against hope that they will be able to make it across the channel. But the Reich isn't far behind, and begins slaughtering the British as they try to make their escape.

Christopher Nolan directed Dunkirk, and portrays the battle with pulse-pounding anxiety. The soundtrack and the cinematography reflect this. Very few war movies have ever matched this sense of urgency. While many of the British survive, the battle is ultimately marked as a defeat at the hands of Nazi Germany, which means the heroes in this movie--all of whom are British--have lost.

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7 'Threads' (1984)

Conflict: Unnamed Fictional War

Let's be clear: during a nuclear war, everyone loses. Especially one on the scale that Threads portrays. The movie's conflict is luckily, entirely fictional, but shows what could have happened had the Cold War escalated into a full-scale global conflict. While the movie focuses less on soldiers and more on civilians, that doesn't make the loss any less apparent. Life in the city of Sheffield, England comes to a virtual standstill as it is decimated by mushroom clouds.

The few that survive are forced to live in the shadow of a nuclear winter, whilst simultaneously finding new ways to exist in conditions that no human has ever seen before. Threads is a movie that pulls no punches, and will subject you to all kinds of disturbing visuals. While it is an excellent movie, you will likely never be the same after watching it. So be warned.

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8 'Das Boot' (1981)

Conflict: World War II

It's no secret that Nazi Germany lost World War II. Good thing, too, or the world would likely be very different and a whole lot worse. Das Boot is a German movie that follows a German U-Boat crew during the Second World War. Released almost 40 years after the war's end, it is obvious that the crew of the submarine are doomed from the start. And for a while, things certainly start to unfold that way.

The crew is viciously attacked and barely manage to make it to safety before the U-Boat sinks beneath the waves. But just as they reach salvation, a plane attacks them, leaving many of them dead or wounded. The crew is never able to complete their original mission, and many of them are either horribly injured or dead at the end. While this is a grim ending, the movie was praised for its realism, specifically in its accurate representation of life on a U-Boat.

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9 'Lone Survivor' (2013)

Conflict: War in Afghanistan

Navy SEALs are typically regarded as the best of the best, but even they have operations that go terribly wrong. During Operation Red Wings, a team of four is sent to reconnoiter an outpost to determine whether or not a target of importance is actually there as intelligence suggests. Seems simple enough, right? Unfortunately, the team encounters a goat herder, who informs the enemy of their position. The SEALs then find themselves at the mercy of a huge paramilitary force, and they can only defend themselves for so long.

While the SEALs have better training and equipment, the enemy has strength in numbers, and it is only a matter of time before the SEALs are overwhelmed. While the action in the movie is thrilling, it is no secret that this mission can be deemed as a failure on account of the fact that, as the title suggests, only one SEAL makes it out alive. On top of that, the enemy manages to confiscate loads of high-end military equipment from the dead SEALs, making it a small victory for them. It's just a shame that the marketing for this movie wasn't that great, else it would have been a whole lot better.

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10 'Letters From Iwo Jima' (2007)

Conflict: World War II

It took the Japanese Empire quite some time to surrender after the fall of their German allies in May of 1945. This is because surrender was something that was deemed to be the most dishonourable act imaginable in Imperial Japan. Eventually, the Allies had to take on Japan in full force, eventually conquering the islands of Okinawa and Iwo Jima. Letters from Iwo Jima follows the engagement on the latter island, but from the perspective of a Japanese soldier.

While the Allies did suffer heavy losses during this battle, the Japanese were defeated in the end. Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya) knows there is no hope of winning, and he can feel the rope beginning to snap. The sympathy director Clint Eastwood shows towards Saigo and the other Japanese conscripts is commendable, as he chooses to portray them the same as the Allied soldiers: as just regular people fighting for what they believe in, and who miss their families dearly. While yes, the Japanese do lose the battle, Saigo's story is a real tear-jerker that warrants as much praise as it got, if not more.

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