Best War Movies of 1971

Scotland, 11th century. Driven by the twisted prophecy of three witches and the ruthless ambition of his wife, warlord Macbeth, bold and brave, but also weak and hesitant, betrays his good king and his brothers in arms and sinks into the bloody mud of a path with no return, sown with crime and suspicion.

Offbeat Civil War drama in which a wounded Yankee soldier, after finding refuge in an isolated girls' school in the South towards the end of the war, becomes the object of the young women's sexual fantasies. The soldier manipulates the situation for his own gratification, but when he refuses to completely comply with the girls' wishes, they make it very difficult for him to leave.

Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.

People in a small German village in the last valley to remain untouched by the devastating Thirty Years' War try to exist in peace with a group of soldiers occupying the valley.

Murphy is the sole survivor of his crew, that has been massacred by a German U-Boat in the closing days of World War II. He is rescued, and ends up at a forgotten mission station near the mouth of the Orinoco, and begins to plot his vengeance. He wishes to sink the U-Boat by means of any method imaginable to him, and sets about to make the courageous attempt, assisted by Louis, the administrator of the local oil company.

The outbreak of World War I places Scots officer Geoffrey Richter-Douglas in an uncomfortable position. Although his allegiance is to Britain, his mother was from an aristocratic Bavarian family, and he spent his summers in Germany as a child. When Geoffrey is approached by a German spy who offers him a chance to defect, he reports the incident to his superiors, but instead of arresting the spy they suggest that he accept her offer--and become an Allied agent. In Germany, among old friends, Geoffrey discovers that loyalty is more complicated than he expected, especially when he finds himself aboard the maiden voyage of a powerful new prototype Zeppelin, headed for Scotland on a secret mission that could decide the outcome of the war.

Based upon Paul Gallico's delicate novel, Patrick Garland's Golden Globe winning The Snow Goose is a stark and hauntingly beautiful drama set amongst the striking scenery of the Essex salt marshes during the early years of WWII. A bearded Richard Harris leads the modest cast with his sensitive portrayal of tormented soul Philip Rhayader, a lonely misshapen man shunned by society but with a great love of life; Harris isnt overly bitter of his treatment and expresses his compassion through his paintings and love of the waterfowl that surround him. Harris is ably supported by the waiflike Jenny Agutter as Frith, who radiates the requisite amount of youthful innocence and naivety, and won a best supporting actress Emmy Award for her performance.

Spend time on both sides of World War I, partly with German flying ace Baron Manfred Von Richthofen (John Phillip Law), aka "The Red Baron," and his colorful "flying circus" of Fokker fighter planes, during the time from his arrival at the war front to his death in combat. On the other side is Roy Brown of the Royal Air Force, sometimes credited with shooting Richthofen down.

Dad's Army was a 1971 feature film based on the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army. Directed by Norman Cohen, it was filmed between series three and four and was based upon material from the early episodes of the television series. The film told the story of the Home Guard platoon's formation and their subsequent endeavours at a training exercise.

Captain Foster plans on raiding German-occupied Tobruk with hand- picked commandos, but a mixup leaves him with a medical unit led by a Quaker conscientious objector.

Interviews with five former American soldiers who were present at the March 16, 1968 attack on the village of My Lai during the Vietnam War; they discuss the orders that were issued leading up to the attack, their expectations of what they would find there, and the subsequent massacre of the inhabitants and destruction of the village, as well as possible motivations for the killings and rapes which took place.

A veddy veddy proper British officer (Isarco Ravaoili, later to appear in the even worse Achtung! The Desert Tigers) tries to whip a group of recalcitrant American troops into shape in order to lead them on a dangerous commando raid deep in enemy territory. He's assisted in his efforts by Lt. Billings ('Jeff Cameron', aka Giovanni Scarciofolo), a comparatively sane US Army officer. Coming very late in the Italian war movie cycle, I Giardini del Diavolo (Heroes Without Glory) is bottom of the barrel cinema scrapings, with little effort made to maintain period detail or military accuracy. Thankfully, there's a fair amount of action provided as a distraction from the threadbare plot and early '70s hairstyles.

Oliver Stone's first and only student film is about a man returning home from Vietnam and not being able to fit in. We see him throw away the stuff he got while serving and then he heads out to walk around NYC.

An army tale about an egghead ninety-day-wonder who relies on ancient tactics he remembers from the history books to save his beleaguered squad on an important mission in Korea.

A Marine officer reported as killed in Vietnam, but who was actually a POW, returns home. Instead of being welcomed home, however, he discovers that his father has died, his wife has remarried, his daughter has been adopted, his business has been sold, and his life has completely changed.

Inspired by a series of articles by Thomas Duggan Goss. Part One - Vietnam:The People and the War - The Vietnamese in their normal daily routine. Their lives when having been affected by insurgents. Wives of prisoners of war in Vietnam talking about their incessant activities on behalf of their husband's plights. (36:28) and Part Two - Vietnam:The Debate Students, Wounded U.S. Soldiers, Demonstrators, and a number of elected officials, foreign dignitaries, and lawyers air their personal and/or political feelings about the Vietnam War in the 1960's and in the early 1970's.

During the Second World War, the Germans hunt an Italian partisan who is trying to blow up a chemical weapons laboratory.

B-grade action film denotes a wealthy dignitary abducted by elite armed mercenary forces, and the gallant heroes who must brave the "Green Hell" of Africa to rescue him.

A short documentary, charting Bangladesh's quest for freedom from Pakistan.