When it comes to portraying the horrors of war on screen, no war has been more cinematically portrayed than World War II. Movies are still being made today about this hellish global conflict to root out fascism and genocide, with stories covering many different aspects of the war. There are love stories set against the backdrop of espionage and resistance, tales of brutal, bullet-riddled battlefields, and stark drama that shines a spotlight on the atrocities committed that we all must never forget.
We’ve collected ten of the best WWII films of all time, spanning the last eight decades, from acclaimed directors like Steven Spielberg, Christopher Nolan, Quentin Tarantino, David Lean and more. These are tales of horror, heartbreak, heroism and humility, offering at times differing tonal perspectives on this utterly unparalleled era of destruction.
10. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Where to see: DirecTV, Sling or rentable on most platforms.
In Quentin Tarantino’s violent, clever re-history, Inglourious Basterds, a Nazi assassination brigade, a Jewish cinema owner, a ruthless SS officer and a German movie star-turned-spy come together for a movie premiere in occupied Paris that proves quite crucial to the Allied war effort. Brad Pitt, Michael Fassbender, Diane Kruger, Daniel Brühl, Mélanie Laurent and Christoph Waltz (who won an Oscar for his role) star in this suspenseful, whimsical revenge saga set in the horrors of war.
Read IGN’s review of Inglourious Basterds.
9. The Boat (1981)
Where to see: Fubo, Tubi, Crackle or rentable on most platforms.
Written and directed by German filmmaker Wolfgang Petersen (who later directed Air Force One and Troy), Das Boot was hailed as one of the greatest war films of all time. Thrilling, suspenseful and intelligent, this epic naval adventure follows the crew of a German submarine as they set out to patrol the waters during the Battle of the Atlantic. The boat is moving, exciting and claustrophobic, depicting both the fear and the banality of combat.
8. Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Where to see: Fubo, DirecTV or rentable on most platforms.
The youngest film on this list, Taika Waititi’s Jojo Rabbit, is a coming-of-age dramedy about a ten-year-old boy, a member of the Hitler Youth, who discovers that his mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl in her attic. Waititi won the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and presented an unusually whimsical and disarming view of Nazism that at times bordered on satire, given that the boy, “Jojo” Betzler, had an imaginary friend in the form of Adolph Hitler (Waititi himself in the Role). The end result is an intentionally insensitive anti-hate fable that is ultimately about empathy and inclusion.
Read IGN’s review of Jojo Rabbit.
Where to see: HBO Max or rentable on most platforms.
Winner of Best Picture, Casablanca is a pivotal cinema classic and a gem from Hollywood’s ‘Golden Age’. In one of his most famous roles, Humphrey Bogart plays a sly emigrant who must choose between the love of a woman (Ingrid Bergman’s Ilsa) and the help of her resistance leader husband from her fascist-held town. Paul Henreid, Claude Rains and Peter Lorre also star in this influential, timeless masterpiece of intrigue and romance.
6. Dunkirk (2017)
Where to see: HBO Max or rentable on most platforms.
Depicting the evacuation of over 300,000 Allied soldiers in northern France from Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan’s stirring, complex, contemporary ensemble war film is a deeply moving spectacle, full of dazzling imagery and an awe-inspiring sense of scale. Fionn Whitehead, Harry Styles, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy are just a few of the names unfolding here three stories across overlapping timelines depicting land, sea and air efforts to scale a massif rescue mission. It’s one of the best Christopher Nolan movies that everyone should see.
Read IGN’s review of Dunkirk.
5. Come and See (1985)
Where to see: The Criterion Channel
War films can shed a light on heroism and triumph or delve into the darker corners of battle and reveal the true evils perpetrated against humanity. The ’80s Soviet anti-war film Come and See, directed by Elem Klimov, fought its way through nearly a decade of state censorship to be produced, and provided the shocking, sobering tale of the atrocities committed by a teenager during Nazi-occupied Belarus witnessed. It’s a harrowing, graphic presentation that uses both realism and surrealism, challenging audiences to confront the fiendish and devilish nature of war.
4. Schindler’s List (1993)
Where to see: Starz or rentable on most platforms.
Director Steven Spielberg was a household name long before the release of Schindler’s List, winning Best Picture at the Academy Awards. He had even directed dramas, most notably The Color Purple and Empire of the Sun (WWII set). But nothing quite prepared audiences for the abject horror of the Holocaust presented in Schindler’s List, in which Liam Neeson played German industrialist Oskar Schindler, whose growing conscience helped him save more than a thousand Jewish refugees by killing them employed in its factories. Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Caroline Goodall and Embeth Davidtz starred in what would immediately become one of the most culturally and socially significant films of all time.
3. The Thin Red Line (1998)
Where to see: Apple TV+ or rentable on most platforms.
Focusing on the Pacific theater of World War II – specifically the Battle of Mount Austen in Guadalcanal – The Thin Red Line is a high-flying, philosophical war poem directed by Terrence Malick, who turned in his first film in 20 years. Stars like Sean Penn, Jim Caviezel, Nick Nolte, Adrien Brody, George Clooney, John Cusack, Woody Harrelson, Jared Leto, John C. Reilly, and many more joined the cause (supported the first edit of the film, for five hours to run). The Thin Red Line is a beautiful, haunting look at war’s toll on man and nature.
2 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Where to see: HBO Max or rentable on most platforms.
David Lean’s The Bridge on the River Kwai, based on the 1952 novel by Pierre Boulle, stars William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins and Sessue Hayakawa in a clever, complex and psychologically tense story about the construction of the Burma Railway. With outstanding performance, seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and the highest-grossing film of 1957, this groundbreaking film is hailed as a cinematic excellence with career-defining work by everyone involved.
1. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Where to see: Paramount+ or rentable on most platforms.
Presenting both bravery and mayhem, heroism and heinous violence, Saving Private Ryan is a superb maelstrom of any touchstone war film, beginning with a chilling, unnerving look at the D-Day landings in Omaha Beach. Director Steven Spielberg fused warmth and malice in this down-to-earth look at soldiers scouring war-torn France for a paratrooper. Private First Class James Ryan. Tom Hanks led a cast that also included Matt Damon, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore, Giovanni Ribisi, Barry Pepper and Vin Diesel. It’s an unflinching look at the war that propelled the entire genre.
Looking for genre-defining movies? Check out our guide to the best thriller movies of all time as well as the best horror movies.
#Top #World #War #Movies #Time #IGN
Leave a Comment