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Netflix Has Added The Greatest War Film Since 'Saving Private Ryan'

Netflix Has Added The Greatest War Film Since 'Saving Private Ryan'

Mel Gibson's Oscar Award-winning film ​Hacksaw Ridge​ which offered up both a great story and just the right dose of gory action.

Chris Ogden

Chris Ogden

Film fans on the website Ranker agreed fairly recently that Saving Private Ryan is the best war film there's even been. When it comes to tear-jerking drama and grisly action, Steven Spielberg's 1999 classic is very hard to top.

But according to JOE, Netflix is now offering up the best war film since then, and no, it isn't Christopher Nolan's recent effort Dunkirk. Although the film has been highly praised, Dunkirk wasn't enough of a traditional blood-and-guts World War II offering for some - and besides, it's not been out long enough.

Instead, you can see Mel Gibson's Oscar Award-winning film Hacksaw Ridge which offered up both a great story and just the right dose of gory action to keep war film purists entertained.

Credit: PA

In case you haven't seen it, Hacksaw Ridge follows the true story of Desmond Doss - played here by Andrew Garfield - who served as a combat medic during WWII.

Doss took part in one of the bloodiest battles of WWII, the Battle of Okinawa, saving 75 men without even carrying or firing a gun due to his religious beliefs as a Seventh Day Adventist.

Doss single-handedly rescued wounded soldiers from behind enemy lines, braving enemy fire while caring for soldiers and was wounded four times himself in the line of duty.

Doss' selflessness made him the first conscientious objector ever to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor, and the only one during World War II. That's definitely worthy of a movie, right?

That isn't to say that the film doesn't show the horrors of war with bullets flying, blood spattering and maggots eating the flesh of dead soldiers. This is a film by the man who directed the gorefest that was The Passion of the Christ, after all.

Like The Passion of the Christ, though, Hacksaw Ridge is also a very tender film - it was bound to be, given Doss' beliefs and the film's theme of pacifism in the face of war.

Credit: PA

People may never warm again to Gibson, but critics found that in Hacksaw Ridge he got the balance between savagery and spirituality absolutely right, with the Rolling Stone saying the film contains "some of the greatest battle scenes ever filmed".

Those dishing out awards certainly agreed with Hacksaw Ridge winning 2 Oscars for Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing, 41 other awards and a whopping 107 nominations.

So if you already know Saving Private Ryan line by line and are looking for a new brutally beautiful war film to latch onto, give Hacksaw Ridge a go. You won't regret it.

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Entertainment, TV and Film, war movies, Netflix