The phenomenal box-office success of Clint Eastwood's new film "American Sniper" shows once again that American viewers have an appetite for war movies — and Hollywood has produced some great ones over the years.
"American Sniper" raked in more than $107 million in the first four days after it was widely released, and has been nominated for six Academy Awards.
Here are a dozen other films that have been widely hailed as Hollywood's greatest war movies:
1. "Saving Private Ryan" (1998) - Steven Spielberg directed and Tom Hanks starred in this World War II blockbuster about the search for the sole survivor among four military sons. Its depiction of the D-Day landing on Omaha Beach is harrowing. Spielberg won a Best Director Oscar.
2. "Apocalypse Now" (1979) - Francis Ford Coppola directed this Vietnam War classic that takes an American captain (Martin Sheen) upriver to kill a rogue colonel played by Marlon Brando. The film was based on Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness."
3. "Full Metal Jacket" (1987) - A New Marine recruit (Matthew Modine) is prepared for combat by a tough drill sergeant and sent into battle during the Vietnam War. Stanley Kubrick directed.
4. "Patton" (1970) - George C. Scott portrays the outspoken World War II general as he battles the Germans in North Africa and Europe. It won a Best Picture Oscar and Scott won for Best Actor.
5. "The Dirty Dozen" (1967) - Twelve felons led by a major (Lee Marvin) are sent on a suicide mission to wreak havoc at a Nazi retreat and kill high-ranking officers. The cast included Charles Bronson, John Cassavetes, Telly Savalas, Donald Sutherland, and Jim Brown.
6. "Sergeant York" (1941) - Conscientious objector Alvin York (Gary Cooper) demonstrates amazing marksmanship and becomes a celebrated hero during World War I. Cooper won a Best Actor Oscar and the film garnered a Best Picture nomination.
7. "All Quiet on the Western Front" (1930) - A young German soldier is disillusioned as he confronts the horrors of World War I. Won an Oscar for Best Picture.
8. "Platoon" (1986) - A college dropout (Charlie Sheen) volunteers for combat in Vietnam and experiences fighting with and within his platoon. The film won a Best Picture Oscar and Best Director honors for Oliver Stone.
9. "Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) - John Wayne won a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of an embittered Marine sergeant who trains young recruits and then leads them into battle against the Japanese on Iwo Jima during World War II.
10. "Black Hawk Down" (2001) - American soldiers drop into Somalia to capture the top lieutenants of a renegade warlord and find themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis. Ridley Scott earned a Best Director nomination.
11. "The Thin Red Line (1998) - George Clooney, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, and Woody Harrelson are among the stars playing U.S. soldiers battling the Japanese on Guadalcanal during World War II. It was nominated for a Best Picture Oscar.
12. "The Hurt Locker" (2008) - Six Academy Awards including the Best Picture Oscar went to this intense portrayal of elite soldiers in Iraq with the dangerous job of disarming bombs in the heat of combat.
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