Modern War Movies Directors: 7 Filmmakers Who Stand Out

War movie fans might cite "Full Metal Jacket," "Das Boot," or "The Bridge on the River Kwai" as some of the top war movies of all time, but modern war movie directors have provided no shortage of critically acclaimed films in the genre.

Here are seven modern war movie directors who stand out.

1. Francis Ford Coppola: Perhaps best known for directing "The Godfather" trilogy, Coppola is also responsible for "Apocalypse Now," a Vietnam war film about an assassination plot against a renegade colonel. There's even a five-hour documentary about its production.

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2. Quentin Tarantino: "Inglorious Basterds" may be a more irreverent and historically inaccurate war movie, but a war movie nonetheless. It takes place in Nazi-occupied France during WWII, where Jewish U.S. soldiers and a theater owner are separately plotting to kill Nazi leaders.

3. Steven Spielberg: One of Hollywood's best known and wealthiest directors, Spielberg has directed 54 movies to date including "Saving Private Ryan" and "Schindler's List." Both take place during WWII, but in very different places and from very different perspectives.

4. Clint Eastwood: Directing everything from westerns to dramas, Eastwood's "Letters from Iwo Jima" paints a different picture of WWII, this time from the perspective of the Japanese. It followed "Flags of our Fathers," which he also directed, the same story, but from the point of view of the U.S Marines.

5. Terrence Malick: This director's 1998 adaptation of James Jones' 1962 novel, "The Thin Red Line," garnered seven Academy Award Nominations, including Best Picture. It takes place during the World War II, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal.

6. Kathryn Bigelow: Bigelow directed several movies with themes of violence and tension, including "The Hurt Locker" and "Zero Dark Thirty." "The Hurt Locker," based on the war in Iraq, won her the Best Director Award from the Directors Guild of America, and an Academy Award for Best Director – making her the first woman in history to win the awards.

7. Ridley Scott: In addition to directing many science fiction flicks that could be categorized as war movies, Scott directed 2001's "Black Hawk Down." The movie, about U.S. soldiers battling heavily armed Somalis in civil war-torn Mogadishu, is based on a true story. He also directed "G.I. Jane" and "Gladiator."

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