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We present you a list of thirteen of the best WWII movies of all time. See if your favorite Second World war picture is included in this one!

The Second World War was a conflict that spanned the globe, left huge craters [and countless unexploded vintage bombs] in three continents and touched billions of lives directly until now including those of filmmakers, the actors they cast for their WWII movies and even the crew that worked for them. Yes, there have been a number of epic war films [both WWI and WWII along with movies showcasing other conflicts throughout world history] made throughout the film making history.

While there’s that fact, it doesn’t erase the “other side of the coin”, so to speak — the many terrible movies in the war genre made. But the good ones make up [sort of] for the bad ones. That spoken, here’s what I think are the best – the A-1 – war films made — all 13 of them [in no particular order].

1: Inglorious Basterds

Yes, I know, this one didn’t stick to the facts but then, movies do not have to be historically accurate to be the best or watch-worthy, right?

This Quentin Tarantino-directed film possessed all the elements synonymous to Tarantino’s works — blood, violence, a dark twisted humor and more violence.

Its plot centered on the Basterds, a group of Jewish soldiers creating havoc behind the the lines of the Germans [just like what the Nazi Germans were doing as stressed out by Brad Pitt’s character in this film] may be more comic-book material than history book stuff but it didn’t lessen the movie’s impressiveness a little bit.

2: The Pianist

Based on the true story of Polish-Jewish pianist and composer, Wladyslaw Szpilman, this historical drama is a standout when it comes to showcasing the horrors of WWII, especially for the Jews during the Holocaust.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=e_4NvY3v51Q

Adrien Brody’s brooding looks went well with the equally dark, brooding and heart-breaking theme the whole movies was set in. And the soundtrack — very moving.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=n9oQEa-d5rU

3: The Battle of Britain

This 1969 war film is in this best list for three reasons:

One, it’s an exceptional movie centered on one of World War Two’s most critical encounters. Two, the fact that each of the aircraft used in the movie were the real deal. That meant each one of them came and saw action during WWII. Thirdly, the dogfight sequences. They’re simply epic!

Besides, you don’t get to see the latter two reasons in films nowadays.

4: A Bridge Too Far

Based on a book of the same name and boasting of an all-star cast of A-list actors in the 70s, the likes of Sean Connery and Gene Hackman and Anthony Hopkins, this war film tackled one of the most daring attempts at ending the war at an earlier date but ended up in failure — the Operation Market Garden.

The movie may run a bit too long for some but aside from the impressive cast, the re-imagining of the deteriorating situation the Allied paratroopers were in was quite masterful so, these make up for that shortcoming.

And if you’re a gamer, you should know that Call of Duty 2 was inspired from this film. As a matter of fact, the game’s Captain Price was directly based from this flick’s Captain Price.

5: The Longest Day

If Quentin Tarantino took liberties in making his Inglorious Basterds, Ken Annakin did the opposite when making his black-and-white classic, The Longest Day. This was THE D-DAY MOVIE right before Saving Private Ryan came into the picture.

The war flick boasted of a huge stellar cast. Furthermore, some of its actors, like Henry Fonda, really fought in the second global conflict. This, along with the number of Allied and Axis consultants employed just for the movie, lent to a really authentic look at what happened during the D-Day Invasion.

6: Tora! Tora! Tora!

This movie is on the top list when it comes to accuracy with its plot centered on the attack of Pearl Harbor leading to US’ decision to wage war against Japan. After all, this 1970 war flick was the product of years of negotiation and collaboration between American and Japanese directors, thus, it was able to show both sides in just one picture.

And like The Battle of Britain, this a-1 World War Two movie used aircraft and equipment that went back to the Second World War.

7: Stalingrad [1993]

The Battle of Stalingrad is one of the most, if arguably the most, depicted conflicts during WWII with many shows and documentaries about the events surrounding it and its two key players — the Russians and the Germans.

This 1993 war flick is the second movie made about the battle showing it in a German’s perspective with all the gritty horrors the soldiers experienced in the Russian city after being drilled that they were chosen “because they are the best” before being deployed there.

Just a note, if you are into feel-good war films, then, this one’s not for you.

8: The Bridge on the River Kwai

This 1957 war flick was another work of fiction but was based on an actual WWII event — the building of the Death Railway, the Burma Railway, by Allied POWs between 1942 and 1943.

The circumstances which surrounded those who built the railway were quite hellish and an estimated 90,000 Allied POWs died during its construction due to the brutal treatments their Japanese and Korean captors put them through.

This war film made it to this best list simply because it is one of the greatest movies ever made in history.

9: The Great Escape

This 52-year-old war WWII movie may be dumb to some but then, it has some great stunt sequences that are really thrilling to see.

It’s a fun, adventure-filled movie of POWs trying to make a break from the camp they were put into and was based from the non-fiction book written by Paul Brickhill in 1944 about the mass escape of POWs from Stalag Luft III in what is now Poland. But then, the end is a reminder how war is not a game after all.

10: Saving Private Ryan

Watch the film’s opening scenes and you’ll get why this 1998 American war-drama flick made it to this best list. The realistic and very graphic elements of this movie’s first 27 minutes or so sets it above others in the war film genre.

Added to that, it was a Steven Spielberg masterpiece and featured the stellar performance of Tom Hanks among others. Need we say more?

11: Das Boot

This 1981 German WWII film [released in the US with the title The Boat] was originally a TV miniseries with a showing span of six hours. It enjoyed theatrical release and its thrilling and suspenseful elements are the main reasons why it is in this best list.

One fact — most of Das Boot was shot inside a real submarine subjecting its actors to that real claustrophobic feeling U-boat crews had to deal with during the war. It could be the reason why they’re acting were extraordinarily realistic.

https://youtube.com/watch?v=fQ15Q5XkkxU

12: Letters From Iwo Jima

This Japanese-American war film was directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood and was part of his two-part Iwo Jima saga with its companion movie, Flag of Our Fathers. While the latter was, in my honest opinion, a terrible movie, this one, told from the point-of-view of the Japanese soldiers who defended the island of Iwo Jima, is an exceptional piece.

The Japs here were portrayed just like any other human being caught up in the brutalities of war, not the usual “we are fanatical brutes” kind of way. I shed many tears after watching this one.

13: Grave of the Fireflies

You may find it weird that an animated picture made it to this best list but in all seriousness, this haunting and heart-breaking 1988 Japanese animated drama flick deserves its spot.

Its plot centers on the two siblings’ will to survive and the struggles they go through in a war-torn Japan at the end of WWII.

Like any other list, a line has to be drawn. Don’t get angry if this certain war film or that great WWII epic flick did not make it.

And anyway, as impressive as these war-genre pictures are, nothing tops Band of Brothers.

10. The Dam Busters

When the British were seeking a way to halt the German war machine, they looked to the industrialised area of the Ruhr Valley, the site of hydro-electric power stations, factories and mines. Operation Chastise was designed to breach the Möhne, Sorpe and Edersee dams, and was driven by the invention of the “bouncing bomb”, the brainchild of inventor Sir Barnes Neville Wallis. This 1955 movie follows Wallis (Michael Redgrave) as he struggles to make his idea work. The climactic mission itself is let down a little by the limitations of 1950s special effects, but the film remains an enduring tale of British ingenuity and skill, and a testament to the bravery and sacrifices of the men of 617 Squadron: of the 133 aircrew involved, only 53 made it back

9. The Big Red One

Famous for featuring Mark Hamill in between Star Wars movies, this is director Samuel Fuller’s semi-autobiographical account of life in the 1st Infantry Division (the Big Red One of the title). It follows four men in a squad led by their Sergeant (Lee Marvin), who experience action in North Africa, Sicily and Czechoslovakia, where they help liberate the Falkenau concentration camp. Fuller’s brusque, unsentimental storytelling puts the viewer right there with the troops, as they experience all the vicissitudes of war: fear, agony, joy, madness, despair. As the crew move from one battle to another, Fuller presents war as cruel and random, obscene and absurd; a string of unconnected vignettes – because that’s what war is like. Darkly comic, dispassionate, sometimes messy, The Big Red One is, nonetheless, an intimate depiction of war told by someone who experienced it first-hand

8. Days of Glory

This movie highlights the segregation between French troops and their colonial brethren – from Algeria, Tunisia and Morocco – who were recruited to fight alongside them. The action kicks off in the Italian campaign, with an attack on a German mountain outpost, where the French commanding officer sends North African troops in to attack. Later, the same troops are denied privileges, such as tomatoes in their rations and leave of absence to visit home. The film ends with a statement about how the French Government decided to freeze military pensions in former colonial countries at the level of the late 1950s (colonials received a tenth of the pension of French veterans). On its release, so touched was he that President Jacques Chirac ordered the pensions to be paid in full

7. A Bridge Too Far

One of a long line of war films directed by Richard Attenborough, A Bridge Too Far tells the heroic but ultimately disastrous story of Operation Market Garden, where British troops parachuted into the Netherlands to secure bridges over the Maas and the Rhine, facilitating Field Marshal Montgomery’s entry into northern Germany. The plan had been for the 10,000 men of 1st Airborne Division to defend the bridge at Arnhem for two days. However, after a German onslaught decimated the force, just 740 men held it for four. A very British war film, A Bridge Too Far is notable for covering what was seen as an Allied failure.

6. Das Boot

World War 2 Dvds

Focusing on the terrible privations faced by submarine crews, Das Boot is based on the real-life exploits of U-96, a Type VIIC U-boat that survived 11 patrols over nearly three years, sinking 27 ships in the process. It follows a war correspondent as he joins the crew and bears witness to the stresses and strains of life at sea: the boredom of a three-week storm, cramped and unhealthy living conditions, and the terror of being depth-charged by the British Navy. While the film is incredibly realistic in its portrayal, the submarine-interior shots were actually shot on land in Munich, using a painstakingly accurate representation of a U-boat that could be shaken and tilted. The effect works brilliantly – Das Boot has gone down as one of the most poignant German films ever made.

5. The Longest Day

Although it was made in 1962, director Ken Annakin shot this epic account of the D-Day landings in black and white docu-drama style (the “colourised” TV version is best avoided). Events are recalled in a linear fashion, starting a few days before the landings, with Allied forces debating the date of their attack while the Germans prevaricate about locations and their intended response. The film also pays respect to other activities, such as the US Paratroopers shot down around Sainte-Mère-Église, the British glider assault on the Pegasus Bridge and a sweeping, three-minute helicopter shot of the Free French Forces’ assault on Ouistreham. Eschewing the visceral carnage of Saving Private Ryan, this is war stripped of its horror – but it’s impressive nonetheless.

4. Saving Private Ryan

Spielberg’s D-Day tale follows a US Army Captain (Tom Hanks) and his squad as they attempt to find and repatriate Private James Francis Ryan. Ryan’s three brothers have all been killed in action and it is deemed that their mother must not lose the fourth. The film begins with a depiction of the Omaha Beach landings, with Spielberg capturing the brutality as troops were cut down by German gunfire. On the flip-side, historian Antony Beevor has described the end of the film as “ghastly”, suggesting that Spielberg “milks our tear ducts with both hands”. But Saving Private Ryan still stands as a great war film, presenting an unflinching view of the horrors of combat on a very personal level.

3. Letters From Iwo Jima

When Clint Eastwood wanted to recount the US assault on Iwo Jima, he decided it needed two movies: one from the viewpoint of the Americans, the other from the Japanese. The former was well received, but it was the companion film that won the real plaudits. Letters From Iwo Jima sees the battle through the eyes of the defenders, who were outnumbered, without air or sea support, and told that they would die defending the island. With a force of just 22,000 men, they weren’t expected to hold out for more than five days. But under the guidance of wily, unorthodox Lt General Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe), who suggested building a network of caves and tunnels, they held back 100,000 US troops for 35. Eastwood’s desaturated cinematography perfectly captures the despair of the defenders’ situation, and this tragic tale is at turns breathtaking and heartbreaking.

2. Come and See

Based on the real-life experiences of director Elem Klimov, this Soviet movie covers the atrocities carried out by Nazis during their occupation of Belarus, when 628 villages were systematically burned to the ground along with their inhabitants. Central to the story is a 14-year-old boy, Florya, who digs up an old rifle in order to join the Soviet partisans. What follows is an unflinching account of his experiences, which include rapes, executions and churches set on fire. Free of blockbuster effects, Come and See explores the psychological effects of the barbarities of war – as Florya descends into insanity, the film takes on a disturbing, hallucinatory feel. But it’s also an important depiction of real-world events that acts as a reminder of the depravity that man is capable of in conflict.

1. Schindler’s List

Classic World War 2 Movies

Beating his own film to the top spot is the latter of Steven Spielberg’s World War II masterpieces. It tells the incredible true story of Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson), a German industrialist, spy and member of the Nazi party who, horrified by the “punishment” meted out to the Jewish populace by his comrades, saved the lives of 1,200 men, women and children by employing them at his enamelware factory and bribing SS officials to leave them alone. Spielberg’s film – which scooped seven Academy Awards, including ones for Best Film and Best Director – is emotive and poignant, while avoiding his usual heavy-handed sentimentalism. At times, it makes for difficult viewing, yet it remains eminently watchable.

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