Okay, so war isn’t supposed to look very pretty. Unless you’re director Yi-Mou Zhang and your topic is ancient Chinese conquest and your format is epic poetry. Hero is technically a martial arts film, but it is contained within a retelling of the Warring States Period. For that, we’re more than happy calling it a war movie. And because it is what it is—beautiful, epic—it deserves a spot on the best list.

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