Best World War II Films

dunkirk...the long the short and the tall...went the day well

 

My favorite World War II movies are:

- A Bridge To Far.
- Saving Privat Ryan.
- Der Untergang.
- Schindler's List.
- The Longest Day.
- Battle of the Bulge.
- Where Eagles Dare.
- The Great Escape.
- Hitler: The Rise of Evil. Hitler: The Rise of Evil (2003) (TV) for more information.

 

The Great Escape and a Bridge to far are my favorites. The Great Escape is classic movie that I still enjoy even after watching it many times.
A Bridge to far is great as well, as it shows Operation Market garden, and focuses a lot on the troops stranded in Arnhem. It to, is an instant classic.
The Longest Day is also brilliant. It had everything on there from all sides. I also loved the fact that the Germans actually spoke German and not English with a German accent.

 

Band Of Brothers
Saving Privat Ryan.
The Longest Day

Shi### Yeah

 

Perhaps the title of the thread should be "FAVORITE WWII FILMS", not best films. How do you define Best: Cinematographically, musical score, acting, content? Also, Best implies that we've seen them all or at least a goodly portion of them...that's not going to happen unless you are a professional movie critic! Favorite, on the other hand, is a purely subjective process. My Favorite WWII films, based only on those that I've actually seen are the following:

1. DAS BOOT
2. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
3. LONGEST DAY
4. A BRIDGE TOO FAR
5. TORA, TORA, TORA
6. TWELVE O'CLOCK HIGH
7. PATTON
8. BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
9. THE GREAT ESCAPE
10. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIFE

While not movies, I would also recommend the following two TV series: DANGER, UXB a 1979 English production seen here originally via PBS. It's the story of a small bomb disposal Royal Engineer unit defusing unexploded German bombs and rockets in London during WWII. The other recommendation is the legendary documentary VICTORY AT SEA which most of us have seen at one time or another since the '50's. Twenty six episodes, running a total of 780 minutes, it's the definitive history of the US Navy in all theatres of operation during WWII.

 

One of the best ww2 movies I have ever seen was kelly's hero's.

"Always with negative ways Moriarty"

 

What about

"The Flying Tigers"
"Back to Bataan"
"The Dirty Dozen"
"The Great Raid"
"Midway" - My personal Favorite
"In Harms Way"


Wow, I noticed alot were John Wayne movies, lol.

 

The four best war films are the longest day, a bridge to far, starlingrad(not sure how its spelt)and saving private ryan

 

Sorry, I just had an embolism when I read that.

Yes, in what other movie can the hero's airplane morph into different aircraft on his way to land, finally winding up at an F9F Panther crashing on the deck!

 

Watched "Stalingrad" last night. One of the best war movies ever.

 

Good man, did it have subs? The one I watched didnt but I almost felt like I knew what they were saying.

 

My top 5 WW2 tip movies would be :

' Idi i smotri ' or 'Come and see' : Belarussia 1985
' Talvisota ' or 'Winter war ' : Finland 1989
' Das Boot ' : Germany 1982
' Soldaat van Oranje' or 'Soldier of Orange' : Holland 1977
' The Cross of Iron ' : USA 1977

Especially the first two are really awesome movies ,with a bit of googleing you can find 'em all on the net .

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enjoy

 

Most pretty good films. But, as a combat veteran of WWII, I recommend "A Midnight Clear." A story of a half an Army I & R squad in the Ardennes forest in the winter of 1944. This is one of those films that when it finishes you can't find words for a while, to express the feelings it stimulates. When I saw this film I was stunned by the power of the acting, and surprisingly enough, the writing.

If after seeing this you can't see the futility of war, you've missed something. This is in the same class as All Quiet on the Western Front.

I returned home in 1945 after Iwo Jima and in all that time I have never joined a veterans organization, I have never been to a reunion and I have never been in contact with any of the men with whom I served despite the fact that I loved them as brothers. See this movie and you will understand why.

Larry Kirby

 

Thanks for the tip Larry ..will definately try to get that one .
IMDB mentions several flics called a midnight clear but i think its this one :

A midnight clear - USA 1992

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Liked all quiet on the western front as well ..maybe the greatest anti-war movie of all.☩☩☩
Seen Joseph Vilsmaier's ' Stalingrad ' -BRD-1993 only recently too ..should have been in my list ☭ ☻

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I am an absolute fan of this movie. I have no idea how accurate it is as I remember not finding a lot of information about The White Rose. I found the dialogue riveting.

 

Sam Peckinpah's "Cross of Iron"....
The opening credits to this film would have made Goebbels proud, with a German schoolchild sweetly rendering "Hansien Klien"
Who can forget Maximillion Schell crying out for help..."How do you reload this thing?". Russian boy soldier has the same problem, all too much for Sgt. Steiner, who collapses in helpless laughter in the middle of an attack....and those closing credits, of three "partisans" strung up by the Germans....The entire film was unforgettable, even if the plot itself for the film was a little mis-matched.

I like old Nazi propaganda films for sake of simply looking at how gullible people were (and still are!) to ideas expressed in celluloid....

STUKAS (1940)
Prof. Karl Ritter's wartime movie "STUKAS" is particularly enjoyable, starring Hans Stelzer, Lutz Gotz and Carl Raddarz. Made after the war in France was almost over, a film meant to, in the words of Ritter,

"A film that is to be an heroic epic of our Air Corps and a monument to invioble comradeship. It is intended to be a vivid representation of the struggle and victory of our airmen in France based on the plain and unadulterated truth."

Any German film of this era claiming to be "the unadulterated truth" must be viewed with general hilarity. The faces of the actors in the publicity stills for this film are a joy to behold, as is the publicity spiel....

"Captain Bork, commander of the Stuka Gruppe, at the bomb sight. A typical German Air Corps officer, unnaffected, without pathos, an exemplary leader of men. Always the first to the foe. Played by Carl Raddatz."

Prof. Ritter's son, Heinz, collaborated on the open air sequences, while his father proudly proclaimed,
"This film will meet the ideas of the front-line fighter. It will be a document of soldierly spirit and genuine comradeship, such as only the common struggle can bring forth."

HITLERJUNGE QUIX

This old propaganda film, focussing as it does on the most insidious aspect of totalitarianism also makes wide-eyed viewing, particularly the end, with Quix dying, flanked by his HJ comrades, and with the HJ anthem on his lips. In this modern day and age, such blatant manipulation of young minds, (similar to the way that Russian children were brainwashed with Komsomol), is atrocious, but many were duped by this film.

 

What about "A Bridge Too Far".....Pinewood Studios excelled themselves, in this frank and honest account of Market Garden.

British propaganda film of note was called "Target For Tonight", a rollicking tale of hard work and courage, before getting back to base for "bacon and eggs" after a job well done!

 

Another excellent and very popular one is a fairly new Russian mini-series called Ликвидация, Likvidatsiya or "liquidation".

Plot,
The year is 1946. World War II is over, but it doesn't mean that there is no one to fight with. The post-war city of Odessa is ruled by serial killer prison-escapees and former Nazi collaborators. Fallen into disfavor, Marshal Zhoukov is sent to Odessa to handle the situation. Together with the head of the local criminal investigation unit, David Gotsman, Zhoukov begins a special operation under the code name "Liquidation".

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liquidation_(miniseries)

An excellent look at how criminals and Nazi collaborators were dealt with in parts of Ukraine post WW2. The assignment was handed down to the very same man who took Berlin, Zhukov.

 

Hey Slonik....

Purely out of curioisity, what was your unit in the Red Army and where did you serve?

Just curious....