The 15 best World War II movies
List of World War II films
NO 15
Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan's latest war film offering Dunkirk depicts the evacuation of allied troops from Dunkirk beach from free perspectives and air and sea these free narratives segments tie together to create a story t hat's as much about suffering and survival as it is about the battle shot in large format film and with minimalist dialogue Dunkirk has a sober feel to it and Nolan's achievement is giving his film scale and intimacy at the same time home
No 14
Downfall
identified as nazis
NO 13
the wounds of european conflict and nazi occupation were still tender in rome in late 1944 which chimed with the documentary instincts of italian filmmaker roberto rossellini rome open city drew on real issues and situations during the years of conflict needless to say the brutality of the occupying regime is presented with a shocking frankness and rossellini's style lent the film its gritty newsreel aesthetic but provided a real sense of urgency and anguish
NO 12
based on the memoirs of andre devinye a french resistance fighter who was captured and incarcerated in leon during the second world war a man escaped as a film whose drama is told in a massive small details with the expressions passing across the faces of non-professional actors the objects that take on an important significance in the cell and the use of off-screen sound that tells us so much about the space beyond these four walls
NO 11
made in the wake of Stalin's death this russian film tells a tale of two devoted lovers in Moscow who are separated by the second world war without even saying goodbye like mikhail kalatosov's later much celebrated soy cuba the cranes are flying is more akin to cinematic poetry and allows the audience to absorb a tremendous feeling of sympathy from this film a feeling that has no awareness of geographical or political bounds.
NO 10
kwine belligerents may employ as workmen prisoners of war who are physically fit other than officers and by all means you read English i take it a story of the blurred line between enslavement and
collaboration David lean's film drips with jungle sweat as alec guinness tries to protect his men from Japanese cruelty as they work to build a strategically important railway bridge in Burma
the cinematography the sets and the supporting performances are all terrific but it's all in orbit around Guinness's towering performance as the man torn between duty and honor what have i done
NO 9
[Laughter]
roman Polanski kicked off the 21st century with a sophisticated Oscar-winning world war ii survival drama which not only offered an authentic depiction of the Warsaw ghetto but proved that controversy aside the director could still deliver when it mattered adrian brody deservedly picked up the best actor Oscar for his muted portrayal of Jewish concept pianist Vladivostok spiel man whose mission to stay alive against titanic odds is an inspiring testament of a human instinct for self-preservation.
NO 8
based on the mass escape of British prisoners from the German war campstalaglef3 in march 1944 the great escape follows two dozen of these men as they sneak through nazi occupied territory back to safety while the real life event wasn't quite as glamorous as this Hollywood versionthe movie maintains the elements of suspense and patriotism that are true to the original incident how many 50. it looks after all as if you will see Berlin before i do.
NO 7
army shadows that's the fire game fire french film army of shadows gives v viewers a look at the seldom portrayed part of the human spirit where hope and fatalism coincide the movie follows a group of french resistance fighters as they move invisibly under the noses of the Nazis that have come to occupy their town killing informers and working to pass along information that might free their country from this iron grip prison escapes are brief and non-glamorous espionage is grueling and perilous and emotions speeches and friendships remain suppressed at all times it's a cold meticulous drama about the pressures of propping an entire country on your shoulders.
NO 6
The Thin Red Line
1998
my dear wife you get something twisted out of your insides by all this blood filth and noise after a 20-year absence from Hollywood Terence malek returned in 1998 to direct the thin red line based on the novel of the same name while on its surface the film tells a fictionalized version of the Guadalcanal campaign battle its much deeper focus is on our inherent need to kill and how that destruction seems to be at odds with our very nature with a huge ensemble cast including Sean Penn john cuzak nick nolte George cyclone john Travolta woody Harrison and many more no war can put it out conquer it.
NO 5
originally made as a five-hour mini-series for German TV cut to feature length for worldwide consumption and finally expanded again to a 210 minute director's cut Wolfgang Peterson's breathless terrifying u-boat drama remains the most claustrophobic of all world war ii movies the film is a master class and economical tight space storytelling piling the pressure on both characters and audience until the sprockets squeak.
NO 4
Casablanca
1942
there is no exit visa for him whatever gave you the impression that i might be interested in helping laszlo escape because my dear Ricky i suspect that under that cynical shell you're at heart a sentimentalist the romantic drama spends most of its running time in rick's nightclub apart from the glorious climax at the airport but with its war-torn setting and the constant presence of soldiers from both Germany and Vichy France Casablanca is undoubtedly a classic war film too the stars of script director and music all align perfectly to create one of Hollywood's greatest most loved and most legendary films he's looking at you kid.
NO 3
Schindler's List 1993
a grueling tale this Spielberg masterpiece follows a German Nazi Oscar Schindler as he saves 1 200 Jewish people from being transported to concentration camps and certain death over three hours long and shot almost entirely in black and white Schindler's list is incredibly hard to stomach and incredibly important for that exact reason the film changed the way the holocaust was portrayed in Hollywood and inspired a series of narrative features that
followed suit.
NO 2.
Saving Private Ryan 1998
in our last video saving private round top the list and whatever snags people might find with the film
ultimately it is an incredible movie admittedly the film does have somewhat pro-war tendencies in certain areas so might not be to everyone's taste but the incredible opening sequence on Omaha beach alone shows the realistic brutality and horrors of war with Spielberg hanks and all of its Oscars it's easy to be a tad skeptical about the film but a repeat viewing blows away the cobwebs with a furious men in combat film that balances camaraderie with gale force action before we reveal our .
NO 1
making the infamous opening of saving private Ryan looked like a Sunday stroll in the park this Belarusian film from lm klimov is a hallucinatory masterpiece that feels like the nearest cinema has ever come to recreate in the ruthlessly discombobulating sensory experience of war this is a film that a lot of people still haven't seen so we only fought it right to save it for topping our list just to urge viewers to go out and give the film a watch not just for its strikingly candid take on the human toll of warfare but as a work of sublime visual and oral intensity that uses every tool in the filmmaker's arsenal to unforgettable and often nauseating effect to show the true horrors of war in Belarus
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