12 O'clock High.
This is a superb movie, 1949 with Gregory Peck in black and white. The protagonist commander takes control of the squadron and through harsh discipline, molds them into a more affective fighting unit. The underlying theme is how hard it is for that commander to send so many young men into death. In the end the pressure of it becomes too much for him.
I'd vote for Gary Sinise as commander. Just think with special affects now adays what an epic war movie it could be.
As for the rest....well I am usually disappointed by war movies though I watch them all. Mostly I find them trite, full of cliché's and with implausible plots.
IMO Spielberg and Bigelow have set the bar by which all other war movies are compared in modern times.