8. Saving Private Ryan – D-Day

Saving Private Ryanis remembered as one of the best war movie ever primarily because of this scene: a re-creation of the disastrous storming of Omaha Beach during World War II. Unlike the more sanitized war movies of yesteryear, the beach battle sequence showed the true horror of modern combat in all its bloody glory: limbs being sliced off, soldiers being blown to pieces by gunfire, and entire boatloads of troops dying uselessly without even seeing their enemies.

The 15-minute scene was a far more powerful depiction of war than many previous movies managed in their entire running times, even if the movie did become distressingly sentimental towards the end. Reportedly, it was so realistic it caused many WWII veterans to break down in tears in the movie theater.