Memorial Day is the time to honor all the men and women who gave their lives to fighting for our country. It’s also a day to celebrate the brave individuals who fought and survived, and those who continue to defend the U.S. As a federal holiday, many people use this day to visit lost family, friends, and others at cemeteries while also looking ahead to brighter days and the upcoming summer season.
If you’re spending quiet time at home with loved ones, you might want to curl up with a good movie. We have rounded up these three great Tubi movies featuring war and military themes that you should watch on Memorial Day.
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Travel back to the 1930s with this classic Pre-Code epic anti-war film based on the Erich Maria Remarque novel of the same name. Applauded for its realistic look at the experiences of World War I, All Quiet on the Western Front is widely considered to be one of the best American epic movies ever made — an impressive feat considering it was made almost a century ago.
Simple in its plot and running over two hours long, All Quiet on the Western Front will surely dredge up emotions, especially on Memorial Day. It’s not an uplifting tale, but rather a gruesome, raw look at the realities of war. Clive McManus of the London Evening Standard called the movie the “most remarkable film I have ever seen” while Ella H. McCormick of the Detroit Free Press said All Quiet on the Western Front will “grip you and leave an indelible mark upon your soul.”
Stream All Quiet on the Western Front on Tubi.
Black Hawk Down (2001)
This Ridley Scott war film, co-produced by Jerry Bruckheimer and written by Ken Nolan, is a modern classic starring Oppenheimer‘s Josh Hartnett and an incredible ensemble cast that includes Ewan McGregor, Eric Bana, Tom Sizemore, Jason Isaacs, Hugh Dancy, and Tom Hardy. Earning two Academy Awards, Black Hawk Down is set in 1993, when the United Nations Security Council sends a military operation on a peacekeeping trip to Somalia to bring humanitarian aid and food. But when an unexpected attack brings down two helicopters, it becomes a serious battle with deadly consequences.
As far as movies that help the general populace understand the struggles of combat through a panicked, intense look into the most dire circumstances, Black Hawk Down stands out. The movie also sheds light on the willingness of dedicated soldiers to give their lives for their brothers and their country.
Stream Black Hawk Down on Tubi.
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Stanley Kubrick directed, produced, and co-wrote this war drama about a platoon of U.S. Marines undergoing boot camp training. The story focuses on two privates, J.T. “Joker” Davis (Stranger Things’ Matthew Modine) and Leonard “Pyle” Lawrence (Vincent D’Onofrio) and their journey under the thumb of abusive drill instructor Gunnery Sergeant Hartman. The latter was played beautifully by the late R. Lee Ermey, who previously served as a U.S. Marine Corps staff sergeant in real life. The plot then shifts focus to their time in Vietnam during the war there.
Earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay, Full Metal Jacket is intense and gripping, yet also darkly comedic. Like many other war movies of its time and thereafter, Full Metal Jacket examines the effects war has on the people who are on the front lines, and the challenges they face in living up to their own high expectations.
Stream Full Metal Jacket on Tubi.
