Best Prisoner of War Films of All Time

It's finally time. To stand, to escape, to prosper; whatever it may be that drives them, the prisoners of war epitomized among the following war movies take charge like never before. When it comes to crafting a true story on the silver screen, or simply engineering your own fiction on the imprisonment of soldiers, humanity itself is by far the most poignant theme that must be expressed throughout.

These aren't anti-war films, but depictions of our true selves bogged to the infinite deep of torture, pain, and lonesomeness. These are stories dedicated to the portrayal of war soldiers in their darkest times. These are the very best prisoner of war films, and they incite a multitude of emotions shared among these men. Will they escape? Or will that infinite deep rise up to swallow them whole? Find out by watching any of one the following POW titles.

Sgt. Sefton and his crew of soldiers are held within the limits of a German concentration camp called Stalag 17. When an escape plan goes awry, seeing two among their party shot and killed, the realization follows that one of them must be a spy for the Germans.

Due to his various exchanges with the guards, Sefton is immediately considered the culprit. He then must find the true spy before all of their wits are lost for good. Stalag 17 is one of the best prisoner of war films for its intense portrayal of humanity, thrilling sequences and awe-inspiring plot line.

A young Christian Bale plays a fighter pilot named Dieter Dengler amidst the Vietnam War. Blown out of the sky, crash landing near Laos, Dengler is no sooner captured by the Vietnamese forces and interned in a POW camp.

Rescue Dawn is one of the best prisoner of war films depicting violent torture and horrifying mental destructiveness that only comes with tales from the Vietnam War.

According to Grady Hendrix, Masaki Kobayashi's The Human Condition will crush you. A trilogy based on the life of a pacifist working for a mining company, this heartbreaking tale examines the value of humanity in spite of a war torn reality.

After conscientious objector Kaji finds that his ideas are of no concern to his managers, he ignores his labors and leads an escape party of Chinese POWs. As it would go, The Human Condition is one of the best prisoner of war films, and I'm sure of the fact that it will crush you.

Despite his differences with the POW camp commander, one British colonel decides to help build a railway bridge for the Japanese and their captors. Unfortunately, he does not know that the Allies plan to destroy it.

Winner of seven Academy Awards, including best picture, best director and best cinematography, The Bridge on the River Kwai is one of the best prisoner of war films for its portrayal of the back-breaking courage so necessary among POWs.

James Graham's true story of living under Japanese occupation in Shanghai is expertly adapted into one of the best prisoner of war films, Empire of the Sun.

Separated from his parents and soon stolen away to a Soo Chow confinement camp, J. G. Ballard undergoes a test of wills in which he must rise up against his captors, or face his own impenetrable destruction.

Louis "Louie" Zamperini is a name you may not know, but veterans and war mongers alike sure as hell know who he his. Qualifying for the 1936 Olympics for running, Louis instead decides to join the army after the breakout of World War II.

Crashing in the Pacific Ocean and after surviving long days on a raft, Zamperini is taken captive by Japanese forces and sent to a POW camp. There, the story of Unbroken, in addition to one of the best prisoner of war films, is soon built by Louie's determination to outlast this nightmare.

Starring the great Steve McQueen as Captain Hilts, The Great Escape is his most accredited title, because it's one of the best prisoner of war films.

Held captive within a German pow concentration camp, McQueen's Captain Virgil Hilts devises one of the most cunning escape plans ever portrayed on the silver screen. Will his genius plan work, or will the Nazi party wrangle them back into imprisonment?

Fitted for the silver screen through the personal writings of French Resistance fighter Andre Devigny, A Man Escaped displays the thrilling story of Fontaine as he attempts to flee Nazi run Fort Montluc.

After learning of his scheduled execution, Fontaine with the help of his new roommate drive toward freedom in one of the best prisoner of war films. While the title may give away the ending, it's still a superbly thrilling ride that will leave you speechless by its closing credits.

Based on a true story, To End all Wars retells the real life events that occurred in Burma during an Allied invasion. Played by Kiefer Sutherland, Lt. Jim Reardon and two other officers are taken captive by the Japanese.

Their experiences are destructive, showcasing the depletion of human spirit as never before seen in one of the best prisoner of war films. You could also call it one of the best war documentaries, despite it being a feature film.

One of the most interesting takes on the escape plan led by British soldiers in an 'escape-proof' German castle is none other than The Colditz Story.

Being that it's one of the best prisoner of war films, this 1955 war drama shows how various warriors from all over the world can come together for one fool-proof plan to take back their freedoms from the evil Germans. Can they succeed, or will they fail?

Winner of five Oscars, including best picture, best director and best actor in a supporting role, TheDeer Hunter is one of the best prisoner of war films. This 1978 classic casts a young Robert De Niro as Michael, a young Pennsylvanian factory worker who follows his buddies in joining the Army to fight in Vietnam.

Tossed into the heart of battle, witnessing horrors better left unspoken, then descending into the hands of the Vietcong, Michael must engineer their escape before he, along with his two friends, lose their minds.

I saved what I think is by far the best of the best prisoner of war films for last, La Grande Illusion. Judging by its name, I'm sure you can guess that it's a French movie based on the capture and escape attempts led by two French POWs.

In this striking depiction of World War I, two French soldiers devise multiple unsuccessful escapes from their German captors. By the end, they are both left brittled and subjugated to mental torture. Left in an even more sophisticated and impenetrable fortress by the end of the film, one has to wonder if it truly is all just an illusion.