The Best Military Movies and TV Shows on HBO MAX
Finding a good Military movie and TV show to watch can be hard, so we've ranked the best ones and included where to watch them. Check out our list of the best Military movies and TV shows of all time streaming on HBO MAX.
1. Band of Brothers
What it's about: Drawn from interviews with survivors of Easy Company, as well as their journals and letters, Band of Brothers chronicles the experiences of these men from paratrooper training in Georgia through the end of the war. As an elite rifle company parachuting into Normandy early on D-Day morning, participants in the Battle of the Bulge, and witness to the horrors of war, the men of Easy knew extraordinary bravery and extraordinary fear - and became the stuff of legend. Based on Stephen E. Ambrose's acclaimed book of the same name.
Where to Watch: 10 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO). 10 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).
2. Generation Kill
What it's about: The first 40 days of the war in Iraq as seen through the eyes of an elite group of U.S. Marines who spearheaded the invasion along with an embedded Rolling Stone reporter. A vivid account of the soldiers and of the forces that guided them in an often-improvised initiative.
Where to Watch: 7 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO). 7 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).
3. Outbreak
What it's about: A deadly airborne virus finds its way into the USA and starts killing off people at an epidemic rate. Col Sam Daniels' job is to stop the virus spreading from a small town, which must be quarantined, and to prevent an over reaction by the White House.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & fuboTV) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).
4. Battleship
What it's about: When mankind beams a radio signal into space, a reply comes from ‘Planet G’, in the form of several alien crafts that splash down in the waters off Hawaii. Lieutenant Alex Hopper is a weapons officer assigned to the USS John Paul Jones, part of an international naval coalition which becomes the world's last hope for survival as they engage the hostile alien force of unimaginable strength. While taking on the invaders, Hopper must also try to live up to the potential that his brother, and his fiancée's father—an Admiral—expect of him.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).
5. The General's Daughter
What it's about: When the body of Army Capt. Elizabeth Campbell is found on a Georgia military base, two investigators, Warrant Officers Paul Brenner and Sara Sunhill, are ordered to solve her murder. What they uncover is anything but clear-cut. Unseemly details emerge about Campbell's life, leading to allegations of a possible military coverup of her death and the involvement of her father, Lt. Gen. Joseph Campbell.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).
6. Stop-Loss
What it's about: A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).
7. The Invisible War
What it's about: An investigative and powerfully emotional documentary about the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military, the institutions that perpetuate and cover up its existence, and its profound personal and social consequences.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 2 services (Google Play & Microsoft).
8. Heartbreak Ridge
What it's about: A hard-nosed, hard-living Marine gunnery sergeant clashes with his superiors and his ex-wife as he takes command of a spoiled recon platoon with a bad attitude.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).
9. We Are Who We Are
What it's about: Two American kids who live on a U.S. military base in Italy explore friendship, first love, identity, and all the messy exhilaration and anguish of being a teenager.
Where to Watch: 8 episodes (100%) are available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO). 8 episodes (100%) are available to rent or buy from $2.99 on 1 service (Vudu).
10. Three Kings
What it's about: A group of American soldiers stationed in Iraq at the end of the Gulf War find a map they believe will take them to a huge cache of stolen Kuwaiti gold hidden near their base, and they embark on a secret mission that's destined to change everything.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).
11. Taking Chance
What it's about: Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort accompanies the body of Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps to his hometown in Wyoming.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).
12. Hearts and Minds
What it's about: Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the "hearts and minds" of the Vietnamese people. Filmmaker Peter Davis uses Johnson's phrase in an ironic context in this anti-war documentary, filmed and released while the Vietnam War was still under way, juxtaposing interviews with military figures like U.S. Army Chief of Staff William C. Westmoreland with shocking scenes of violence and brutality.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & The Criterion Channel) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 2 services (iTunes & Prime Video).
13. Private Benjamin
What it's about: A sheltered young high society woman joins the army on a whim and finds herself in a more difficult situation than she ever expected.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX) & rent or buy from $1.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).
14. Flags of Our Fathers
What it's about: There were five Marines and one Navy Corpsman photographed raising the U.S. flag on Mt. Suribachi by Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945. This is the story of three of the six surviving servicemen - John 'Doc' Bradley, Pvt. Rene Gagnon and Pvt. Ira Hayes - who fought in the battle to take Iwo Jima from the Japanese.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).
15. The Men Who Stare at Goats
What it's about: A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).
16. The Pentagon Wars
What it's about: From the director of “Made In America” and “The Money Pit” comes a hilarious look at one of the most expensive blunders in military history. Over 17 years and almost as many billion dollars have gone into devising the BFV (Bradley Fighting Vehicle). There's only one problem. . . it doesn't work.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).
17. Biloxi Blues
What it's about: During the Second World War, Eugene enlists in the US Army during the last year of the War and is sent to basic training in Biloxi Mississippi. There he must live with a variety of fellow soldiers while enduring the whims of a mentally unstable drill sergeant.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).
18. The Tuskegee Airmen
What it's about: During the Second World War, a special project is begun by the US Army Air Corps to integrate African American pilots into the Fighter Pilot Program. Known as the "Tuskegee Airman" for the name of the airbase at which they were trained, these men were forced to constantly endure harassement, prejudice, and much behind the scenes politics until at last they were able to prove themselves in combat.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).
19. Red Tails
What it's about: The story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots to fly in a combat squadron during World War II.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX, Disney+ & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).
20. The Dogs of War
What it's about: Mercenary James Shannon, on a reconnaissance job to the African nation of Zangaro, is tortured and deported. He returns to lead a coup.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).
21. Salvador
What it's about: A second-rate journalist from the US tries his luck in El Salvador during the military dictatorship in the 1980s.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 3 services (iTunes, Prime Video & Vudu).
22. The Cold Blue
What it's about: A meditation on youth, war and stunning bravery, featuring footage, taken from the National Archives, from the documentary filmed in 1943 by legendary Hollywood director William Wyler about the famous Memphis Belle flying fortress and the gripping narration from some of the last surviving B-17 pilots.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO).
23. When Trumpets Fade
What it's about: In WWII Western Germany, Private David Manning reluctantly leaves behind a mortally wounded fellow soldier and searches for survivors from his platoon, only to learn from commanding officer Captain Pritchett that they have all been killed in action. Despite requesting a discharge on the grounds of mental disability, Manning is promoted to sergeant and assigned to lead a new platoon of young inductees.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).
24. The Four Feathers
What it's about: The story, set in 1885, follows a British officer (Heath Ledger) who resigns his post when he learns of his regiment's plan to ship out to the Sudan for the conflict with the Mahdi. His friends and fiancée send him four white feathers which symbolize cowardice. To redeem his honor he disguises himself as an Arab and secretly saves the lives of those who branded him a coward.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).
25. Aliens
What it's about: When Ripley's lifepod is found by a salvage crew over 50 years later, she finds that terra-formers are on the very planet they found the alien species. When the company sends a family of colonists out to investigate her story—all contact is lost with the planet and colonists. They enlist Ripley and the colonial marines to return and search for answers.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 6 services (iTunes, Google Play & 4 others).
26. Cheyenne Autumn
What it's about: A reluctant cavalry Captain must track a defiant tribe of migrating Cheyennes.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).
27. Sgt. Stubby: An American Hero
What it's about: The true story of the most decorated dog in American military history -- Sgt. Stubby -- and the enduring bonds he forged with his brothers-in-arms in the trenches of World War I.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $4.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).
28. In Pursuit of Honor
What it's about: To save a group of horses slated to be destroyed by the US Cavalry, a group of officers rebel and begin a journey towards Canada to save themselves and the mounts.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO) & rent or buy from $2.99 on 5 services (iTunes, Google Play & 3 others).
29. We Are Not Done Yet
What it's about: Follows veterans and active-duty service members from varied backgrounds who come together to combat their traumas through the written word in a USO-sponsored arts workshop at Walter Reed National Military Hospital.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & HBO).
30. The Trial of Joan of Arc
What it's about: Rouen, Normandy, 1431, during the Hundred Years' War. After being captured by French soldiers from an opposing faction, Joan of Arc, the Maid of Orléans, is unjustly tried by an ecclesiastical court overseen by her English enemies.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX & The Criterion Channel).
31. Major Barbara
What it's about: A young and idealistic woman, who has adopted the Salvation Army and whose father is an armament industrialist, will save more souls directing her father's business. A comedy with social commentary.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX, The Criterion Channel & Kanopy).
32. Three Godfathers
What it's about: Four outlaws come to New Jerusalem, a town full of courteous and religious people, to rob the bank. After shooting the president of the bank, only three make it out of town followed by the posse. By the time they get to the second desert water hole, they find it dry and also find a wagon with a dying mother and baby. When the horses are dead the next morning, the three outlaws have no choice but to try to walk back to New Jerusalem and only two want to take the baby.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX).
33. Under Siege
What it's about: This action-packed thriller takes place on the soon-to-be-decommissioned USS Missouri. Disgruntled ex-CIA operative Strannix, his assistant Krill and their group of terrorists seize the battleship with nuclear blackmail in mind. They've planned for every contingency but ignore the ship's cook, former Navy SEAL Casey Ryback -- an error that could be fatal.
Where to Watch: Available to stream on a popular subscription service (HBO MAX) & rent or buy from $3.99 on 4 services (iTunes, Google Play & 2 others).