10 films about brothers at war

Sibling rivalry is nothing new, as the Old Testament’s story of Cain and Abel attests. Back in 1966, director John Huston cast hellraiser Richard Harris as fratricidal bad boy Cain in The Bible: In the Beginning. Years later, Ray Winstone played Cain’s even naughtier descendent Tubal-Cain in Darren Aronofsky’s decidedly odd Noah (2014). 2009 also saw the tale of Cain and Abel recounted more jocularly in Year One (2009), with David Cross and Paul Rudd as the feuding brothers. Of course, the Biblical duo’s argument was settled in a more lethal way than Harry and William’s ‘dog bowl brawl’.

Moving to the 17th century, rivalry between identical royal twins was the theme of Alexandre Dumas’ Man in The Iron Mask section of The Vicomte of Bragelonne: Ten Years Later (1850).

But sometimes, as recent royal events show, real life can be even more dramatic than fiction. If William or Harry are looking for some pertinent viewing, here are ten movies where brotherly forbearance would have been advisable:

The Godfather I & II (1972-1974) – NOW, Amazon Rent/Buy

John Cazale’s middle Corleone brother Fredo is now a byword for stupidity, weakness, and treachery ­– so much so that former CNN host Chris Cuomo (brother of now-disgraced New York governor Andrew) blew a gasket when compared