WWII Movies?

Question

I just watched a couple of WWII films recently and now I want to watch and learn even more. Any suggestions on good WWII movies to watch? They can be real documentaries or even Hollywood films (I would prefer that they not be rated R). Does anybody have a favorite war movie?

Answer 1

Some Oldies:
"Battleground"- Some great G.I. humor and acting in this portrayal of the defense of Bastogne by the 101st airborne.
"The Guns Of Navarone"-Great script. I hadn't seen this movie in twenty years and was surprised how good the writing was.

Some Foreign Movies:
"Downfall"-German film about the fall of Berlin and the last days of Hitler. This is very, very good.
"Stalingrad"- Another German film.
"Days of Glory"- French film about North Africans fighting for France.
"The Tin Drum"- German film based on the novel by Gunter Grass.

Some Fairly Recent American Films:
"The Big Red One"- The 1st division during WW2. Generally viewed as a flawed classic directed by Sam Fuller.
"Cross Of Iron"- American movie about the Eastern Front. This isn't one of my favorite movies on this list, but if you can find the novel by Willi Heinrich go get it and read immediately.

Some Documentaries:
"Triumph of the Will"- by filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl. The propaganda film is scary as hell.
"The Sorrow and the Pity" and "Hotel Terminus" both by Marcel Ophüls. The great French documentaries about the Nazi occupation, the French resistance and war crimes. These are very long, but well worth the time.

Some of these movies have a R rating but mostly because of violence. After all, "Saving Private Ryan" almost got a NC-17 rating.

Answer 2

Some of these were already mentioned, but here's my top list:

Letters from Iwo Jima
Enemy at the Gates
Saving Private Ryan
Das Boot
"World at War" documentary series narrated by Sir Lawrence Olivier
Battle Ground
Go For Broke
Schindler's List
Twelve O-Clock High
Thin Red Line
The Great Escape
Tie: Windtalkers & Flag of our Fathers

A Bridge Too Far, The Longest Day, Tora Tora Tora, Pearl Harbor, Patton, Midway, Cross of Iron and Band of Brothers were OK, but lacked something for me.

The painted US M-34 tanks, or whatever, used as the Tiger tanks in Battle of the Bulge was too much for me.

Terrible were The Big Red One, the Dirty Dozen, Guns of Navarone, Kelly's Heroes, Sink the Bismarks, 30 seconds Over Tokyo, Memphis Belle, Sands of Iwo Jima, To Hell and Back, Where Eagles Dare,

Answer 3

I'll support the recommendation for "Das Boot",and also "The Longest Day", which has more depictions of actual D-day events than any film. About the only thing that lets it down is the use of "stars", whose well-known faces remind you that it's a film.
(with the exception of Richard Todd, playing Major Howard
at Pegasus Bridge: he was there himself as a parachute officer!)

Consider some of the classic black and white films of the time, and of the early post-war period.
"Dunkirk" for example, or "In Which We Serve"
( I have a soft spot for others, but Ice Cold in Alex, The Cruel Sea, The Dambusters, Rommel: the desert fox... are not everyone's taste)

Too many American films of the period seem, at least to me, simply gung-ho. But I count "A walk in the sun" as an honourable exception.

For a documentary series, It would be hard to beat "The World at War"
If you know that, then, with exception of a few more modern revelations, you'll know WW2

The Channel 4 site has a take on the top 100 war films,
(many not ww2 of course, though plenty to consider) but do note that a really entertaining film (great!) may be terrible history.
U 571, for example!? - see last URL

Answer 4

Ah finally...someone interested in WWII just like me!

Well, I really like Saving Private Ryan, Pearl Harbor, and Letters from Iwo Jima, Band of Brothers (those being dramatic movies).

For documentaries, I recently just watched The War and that was a really great documentary. But they always show WWII docs. on the History Channel, History International, and the Military Channel.

You should look for the book, An Illustrated History of WWII. That book has such beautiful photographs and has clear information about them.

[Added]
I also wanted to put Japan's War in Color. I watched it in my World History class and it's really a great movie, from the Japanese point of view, but there's no hating. :)

Answer 5

" To Hell and Back " which is the story of ill. Brother Audie Murphy the most decorated soldier during WWII. He also starred in this movie which made it more authentic.

" Anne Franks Diary " -- " The Longest Day " --
" Broken Silence " " Tora - Tora - Tora " are some other movies along with several others mentioned by others

Answer 6

Saving Private Ryan, Enola Gay, Bridge Over the River Kuai, Shindler's List. Also Enamy At The Gates and Tom Cruise is filming a movie about a Nazi officer that tried to betray Hitler.

Answer 7

Hollywood is fantasy not history. For a good war movie get "Come and See" by the Russian Director Elim Klimov

Answer 8

The Cruel Sea

The Key

These are both British movies about the awful North Atlantic battle. They don't glorify it. The Key is little known... a very intense movie with Sophia Loren in it.

Answer 9

Favourite is called Das Boot. It is german (subtitled) and gives such a good idea about life in a u-boat. Also I liked how it gave a german perspective rather than just english. It is highly acclaimed and is a genuine top class movie.

Answer 10

Brothers at War ( i think its called ) preety sad world war two movie