War movies are among the most morally sticky films produced in Hollywood. While the best war movies go out of their way to reveal the violence and bloodshed that comes with any armed conflict, many can’t help but valorize the men and women who fight in these wars. As a result, many movies about war end up glorifying war even if the creative voices behind the project didn’t intend them to. In the best war movies, though, moral questions are never easily answered. Well, unless your war movie is a Star Wars movie.

War movies, on the other hand, often speak to the way that violence breaks men, even if they believe in their cause. These best war movies of all time will shake you to your core, and remind you that humanity is capable of being messy and violent just as frequently as it is brave and valorous.