Americans typically celebrate Memorial Day with a long weekend that consists of barbecues and picnics, but the holiday is so much more than that.
It's a day to remember and honor the fallen heroes who sacrificed their lives for their country.
Discover more Memorial Day content on Audacy
One of the best ways to pay tribute to these brave men and women is by watching war-themed films.
War films have carved out their own genre in American cinema offering an insight into the atrocities of war while also underlining the heroism.
Check out our list of war films to stream during Memorial Day weekend — some films take on a lighter note, some are more action-packed, and others keep you on the edge of your seat.
Black Hawk Down
"Black Hawk Down" follows the mission of a group of elite U.S. soldiers to Somalia in 1993. When their Back Hawk helicopter is shot down by Somalian forces, they struggle to regain control amid blazing gunfire. The film won two Oscars and received nominations for Best Director and Cinematography.
Glory
This powerful film boasts an impressive cast with Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, and Morgan Freeman. Based on the true story of Massachusetts 54th Regiment, it tells the story of the first all-African-American unit with soldiers who courageously fought in the Civil War.
Lone Survivor
Mark Wahlberg stars in film, based on a true story, of four Navy SEALS on a mission to neutralize a high-ranking al-Queda operative in Afghanistan who are ambushed by the Taliban.
American Sniper
Bradley Cooper stars in this tense Clint Eastwood-directed film about the life and experiences of U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle.
Saving Private Ryan
This quintessential World War II epic stars Tom Hanks as the caption of a squad searching for one of their paratroopers, Private First Class James Francis Ryan.
Apocalypse Now
An epic psychological war film helmed by legendary director, Francis Ford Coppola, it boasts an impressive cast including Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Martin Sheen, Laurence Fishburne, Harrison Ford, and Dennis Hopper. Plagued by a long and troubled shoot, it has eventually become, arguably, the definitive film on the Vietnam War.
Flag of Our Fathers
Clint Eastwood's portrait of World War II peers into the lives of the six iconic soldiers who raised the flag at The Battle of Iwo Jima.
Dunkirk
Directed by Christopher Nolan, this suspenseful depiction of the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II stars Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, and Harry Styles.
Platoon
Based on his own experiences in the Vietnam War, "Platoon" is Oliver Stone's war epic about the tensions between U.S. soldiers in a platoon in Vietnam. The star-studded cast includes Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Charlie Sheen, Keith David, Kevin Dillon, John C. McGinley, Forest Whitaker, and Johnny Depp.
Pearl Harbor
Ben Affleck, Josh Hartnett and, Kate Beckinsale star in this romantic war drama about two friends and their love lives during World War II.
The Hurt Locker
Jeremy Renner and Anthony Mackie star in this film about a sergeant who finds himself at odds with the army bomb squad that he has been assigned to in the Iraq War.
The Longest Day
This classic 1962 war film stars John Wayne, Kenneth More, Richard Todd, and Sean Connery in an extrapolation of the events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.
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