Poll: What's The Most Powerful Ending to a War Movie?

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1. 

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   Apocalypse Now (1979)

   Willard emerges from Kurtz's fortress after finally killing him, taking the hand of his only surviving partner Lance Johnson. Lance is probably every bit as messed up in the head as Willard was at the start, and Willard's on a path to further insanity.

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2. 

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   The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

   Major Clipton wanders onto the scene after witnessing the massive carnage that has gotten all but one other major character killed and destroyed the bridge. He then delivers the final line of the movie: "Madness... madness".

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3. 

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   A Bridge Too Far (1977)

   Complete silence as the camera sweeps over the bodies of the hundreds of soldiers who died in the battle and the medics and priests treating the wounded. The silence is broken by soldiers singing "Abide By Me", but returns as the Dutch family and the doctor who helped the protagonists leave what remains of the house and are seen walking along the horizon pushing a handcart with their belongings.

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   Das Boot (1981)

   After almost being sunk, the brave crew manage to resurface and pull into port... just in time for most of them to be killed in an air raid. One of the survivors then finds the Captain mortally wounded as they watch U-96 sinking, this time for good.

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5. 

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   Full Metal Jacket (1987)

   The marines march through the battlefield with their guns at the ready singing the "Mickey Mouse Club March".

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   Glory (1989)

   The Massachusetts 54th Regiment volunteers for a suicide mission where they'll lead a charge against the heavy fortified Fort Wagner.

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   The Hurt Locker (2008)

   Sgt. James returns home, only to find civilian life dull and confusing. We then see a helicopter coming in for a landing, James stepping off with a group of other soldiers, followed by a graphic match to him in his bomb suit as he starts a new rotation.

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   Paths of Glory (1957)

   After failing to save three innocent men from being executed for alleged "cowardice", Colonel Dax witnesses a group of soldiers in a bar who cheer in excitement as a nervous young woman is dragged onto a stage. They pressure her into singing, but as she starts their enthusiasm quickly fades. The men begin to hum along to her song, some of them visibly tearing up. Colonel Dax is approached by a sergeant who informs him they have orders to move back onto the front, but says to give the men a few more minutes.

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   Saving Private Ryan (1998)

   Private Ryan has been saved, but at the cost of almost everybody who was looking. In his dying moments, Miller tells Ryan "earn this". We then see an older Ryan paying his respects at a grave, the name on which is revealed to be Captain John H. Miller.

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10. 

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    Zulu (1964)

    The Zulu army attacks once more. The British soldiers are able to form together and fight them off just as before, but this time, they cease fire and we see a massive pile of dead Zulu warriors. The Zulu army "salutes" the protagonists by way of a group chant before departing. The shaken soldiers are left to reflect on their victory and the warriors they slaughtered. In the end, a narrator lists every man who won the Victoria Cross, played over footage of the soldiers recovering and burying the bodies of Zulu warriors, concluding with a shot of Lt. Chard placing one of their shields in the ground to serve as a grave.

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