Best World War II Films

Absolutely - one of my guiltiest ! 'Best' WW2 movie - no way ! Hugely entertaining - most definitely.

For anyone interested, a wonderful little paperback has come out this year : 'Broadsword Calling Danny Boy - On Where Eagles Dare' by Geoff Dyer ( Penguin Books isbn 978-0-141-98782-0 ). It's very funny and also informative. The trick is - neither movie nor book should be taken (too) seriously......

 

I was surprised how good hacksaw Ridge was. Especially the end part with explosions and action, and how he saved own soldiers. And how the soldiers refused to go if their medic was not ready to go....

 

MY 60 VERY BEST WWII TITLES IN RANKING ORDER – THESE ARE A ‘MUST WATCH’

1. Come and Sea (Idi i smotri) [Иди и смотри] (1985) – Soviet Union
2. Das Boot (1981) – Germany [Note! The theatrical version]
3. A matter of Life and Death (1946) - UK
4. The Cranes are Flying (1957) (Letyat zhuravli) [Летят журавли] – Soviet Union
5. Casablanca (1942) – USA
6. Schindler’s List (1993) – USA
7. Band of Brothers (2001) – USA [10 parts mini-series]
8. Graves of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka) (1988) – Japan
9. The Pianist (2002) - France-Poland-Germany-UK
10. The Big Red One (1980) – USA
11. Went the Day Well (1942) – UK
12. The Thin Red Line (1998) – USA
13. Rome, Open City (Roma, città aperta) (1945) – Italy
14. Letters From Iwo Jima (Iōjima kara no tegami) (2006) – USA
15. Ice Cold in Alex (1958) – UK
16. Generation War (Unsere Mütter, unsere Väter) (2013) – Germany [3 parts mini-series]
17. Lore (2012) - Australia-UK-Sweden
18. Saving Private Ryan (1998) – USA
19. Caterpillar (Kyatapirâ) (2010) – Japan
20. Ballade of a Soldier (Ballada o soldate) [Баллада о Солдате] (1959) – Soviet Union
21. Closely Watching Train (Ostre sledované vlaky) (1966) – Czechoslovakia
22. Canal a.k.a. The Loved Life a.k.a. Kanal (Kanaly) (1956) – Poland
23. The Train (1964) - France-Italy-USA
24. Black Book (Zwartboek) (2006) – The Netherlands-Germany-UK-Belgium
25. From Here to Eternety (1953) – USA
26. Life is Beautiful (La vita è bella) (1997) – Italy
27. The Grey Zone (2001) – USA
28. The Burmese Harp (Biruma no tategoto) (1956) – Japan
29. The Army of Shadows (L'armée des ombres) (1969) - France-Italy
30. The Night of the Shooting Stars (La notte di San Lorenzo) (1982) – Italy
31. Cross of Iron (1977) - UK-West Germany
32. A Walk in the Sun a.k.a. Salerno Beachhead (1945) – USA
33. Ivan’s Childhood (Ivano detstvo) [Ивано детство] (1962) – Soviet Union
34. Downfall (Der Untergang) (2014) - Germany-Austria-Italy
35. The Ascent (Voskhozhdeniye) [Восхождение] (1977) – Soviet Union
36. Sophie’s Choice (1982) – USA-UK
37. Son of Saul (Saul fia) (2015) – Hungary
38. The Dirty Dozen (1967) – UK-USA
39. Bent (1997) - UK-Japan
40. Stalingrad (1993) – Germany
41. 1900 (Novecento) (1976) - Italy-France-Germany [2 parts mini-series]
42. Hangmen Also Die! (1943) – USA
43. Attack! (1956) – USA
44. Germany, Pale Mother (Deutschland bleiche Mutter) (1980) – West Germany
45. Empire of the Sun (1987) – USA
46. The Dam Busters (1954) – UK
47. Phoenix (2014) - Germany-Poland
48. Battle of Britain (1969) – UK
49. A Man Escaped (Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le) (1956) – France
50. Burnt by the Sun (Utomlyonnye solntsem) [Утомленные солнцем] (1994) – Russia-France
51. Destiny of Man a.k.a. Fate of Man (Sudba cheloveka) [Судьба человека] – Soviet Union
52. Fires on the Plain (Nobi) (1959) – Japan
53. Hacksaw Ridge (2016) – USA-Australia
54. Good by Children (Au revoir les enfants) (1987) - France-Germany-Italy
55. IP Man (Yip Man) (2008) – China-Hong Kong
56. The Human Condition I – III (Ningen no jôken) (1959-1961) – Japan [Three films]
59. Trial on the Road (Proverka na dorogakh) [Проверка на дорогакх] (1971) –Soviet Union
60. Flame & Citron (Flammen & Citronen) (2008) - Denmark-Germany-Norway-France-Sweden-Finland-Czech Republic

 

Haven't seen all of them. Think I would put Tora, Tora, Tora above The Dirty Dozen. Good list though.

 

Hi.

My favourites:

- Die Brücke (1959)
Die Brücke (film) - Wikipedia

-08/15 film series (1954/55)
08/15 (film series) - Wikipedia

-Das Boot (directors cut)

-Letters from Iwo Jima

-The thin red line

Yours

tom!

 

Recently watched the Hungarian Film 'Dear Elza' (2014) on Youtube ( with English subtitles) . About a Hungarian soldier who is captured by the Red Army in 1942, and forced to be come a 'trampler' , part of a penal battalion made to march ahead of regular units across minefield. Most impressed.
I know little about Hungary in World War 2 but got totally enthralled by it.

Here's a review from DEAR ELZA! (2014) -which contains spoilers.

film is here

 

Very helpful list. Have started to look for lesser known World War 2 movies so a great guide .

Out of better known films, I have to rate 'Downfall' very highly. The fact that this film started off -where I live in Brighton England- as an 'art house' movie,but then swiftly crossed over to mainstream cinema, was an achievement. Know a lot of people who have seen the film, and none of them has a bad word to say about it. All positive reactions.When seeing it at the cinema, the scene where Frau Goebbels kills her children had the whole audience stunned into absolute horrified silence.

 

Stgrhe has a interesting list. I fully endorse many of his selections, though I must admit I have never seen half of these, and indeed never heard of most of them.Yes most of those not seen by me were foreign language films, but some like Downfall, Stalingrad, Fireflies, Das Boot and Letters are top notch.

It all comes down to your personal criteria. For me it's accuracy, realism, performance (acting/directing), production values, enjoy-ability and novelty (telling/showing me something new). These are not in order of preference and the level of each can vary so long as the total adds up. Bottom line for me is if it's a film that I come across channel surfing and stop to watch, or something I have in my personal dvd collection, its on my list.

For me I would substitute the following,

Patton
The Longest Day
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Young Lions
The Best Years of Their Lives
Stalag 17
The Enemy Below
The Caine Mutiny
Sink the Bismark
The Bridge at Remagen
Conspiracy
The Eagle has Landed
Kelly's Hero's

If I included mini series I would include,

The Pacific
Holocaust

 

Indeed , Strghe's list seems to feature a great range of films.
I would find it difficult to make a list on the basis that some films relate to my own personal World War 2 interests, but not might be the 'best' films.
Dutch history- particularly during the German occupation- fascinates me , so Paul Verhoeven's 'Soldier of Orange' (1977) and 'Black Book (2006) are personal favourites.
But whether they have overall relevance to people studying World War 2 is open to question.

 

As many others have said, A Bridge Too Far leads my personal list. Loved the book, the film was pretty good.

One I haven't seen so far in this thread (I may have missed it) is Enigma. Unfortunately, it distorts the details of the history it covers, making some gross genrealizations, but it does highlight some significant events and issues of the war. Fun thriller, well shot. Don't take it too seriously and you'll enjoy it. Then read a book or two on the actual history of Ultra and Enigma.

 

In the book The Caine Mutiny, LCDR Queeg is a 1936 or thereabout graduate of the Naval Academy, so you're right, he would be considerably younger than Bogey was.

I had a thought about Fonda/Roberts - with the rapid expansion of the Navy for the war, I wonder if they might have brought in older men, particularly if they had relevant experience (I don't think the book or movie gives much about Roberts' background). Most officer procurement seems to have been aimed at recent college graduates like Willie Keith of the Caine.

 

Does Memphis Belle make anyone's list?

 

I saw it and it was OK. But I like the documentary better. Just sayin`.

 

The film was co-produced by William Wyler's daughter, Catherine. For those who don't know, William Wyler directed the original documentary.

Memphis Belle, is under-rated, a give a decent amalgam of the experiences of daylight bombing.

 

Didn't know that, but it did seem to me that they were taking everything that ever happened to B-17s and making it happen to Memphis Belle.