The 20 best World War II battle movies ever made
World War War II battle movies were a Hollywood staple that became a joke, then along came Saving Private Ryan. So what films make the list of best 20 WWII battle films ever made?
Movies
Don't miss out on the headlines from Movies. Followed categories will be added to My News.
- Do yourself a favour and seek out this movie
- Private lives of Sydney’s crazy, rich Asians
- Essential lessons Prince George won’t be learning at school
- The real reason Rove’s show failed
World War II battle movies were a Hollywood staple that became a joke, with their unconvincing special effects, bad acting and scripts full of crude patriotism. In many ways, the Vietnam War and its coverage in blockbusters such as Platoon and Apocalypse Now killed off those movies, but they never went away. Then, in 1998, Saving Private Ryan gave us a compelling new look at the horror of the war that was declared 80 years ago this week, while in 2017, Dunkirk showed us that you can have all the horror of war without the buckets of blood.
Now upcoming WWII epic Midway is set to give us another view of a battle that helped shape the world — and saved it from the horrors of Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan. Directed by Roland Emmerich (The Day After Tomorrow and The Patriot) and starring Ed Skrein, Patrick Wilson, Luke Evans, Aaron Eckart, Nick Jonas and Woody Harrelson, Midway focuses on the Battle of Midway which took place six months after Pearl Harbor and helped turn the war in the Pacific.
We will need to wait until November to see whether it can earn a place in the best World War II battle films, but for now here are our top 20. This list excludes those brilliant movies such as Schindler’s List and Life Is Beautiful that focus on the Holocaust, or The Great Escape and Bridge On The River Kwai, which are stories about prisoners of war.
1 DUNKIRK (2017)
The action is split across three storylines, soldiers trying to escape the beach at Dunkirk, one of the flotilla of small boats racing to save them, and a RAF pilot trying to protect them. Somehow it manages to bring out the heroism, sacrifice, waste and stupidity of war all in one amazing film.
2 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
The film that redefined the war movie. It is confronting, shocking and brutal. The only thing holding it back is the Hollywood ending of convenience. It has enormous power and great performances and gives you a new respect for those remaining veterans.
3 DAS BOOT (1981)
The battle to keep the sea lanes open was one of the most desperate of the war. This film tells the story from the perspective of one German crew. You could cut the tension with a torpedo and this film keeps you on the edge until the end.
4 LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA (2006)
The story of one of the most brutal battles of the war, told from the Japanese perspective. It achieves the seemingly impossible task of making you sympathetic to the hero Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), a young baker with a pregnant wife who has been conscripted to die on the island.
5 FLAGS OF OUR FATHERS (2006)
The companion piece to Iwo Jima, it follows not just the battle but the legendary photograph of Marines raising the flag. It looks at the struggle many had to return to normal life afterwards.
6 THE THIN RED LINE (1998)
Based on a James Jones book, it’s the story of an infantry platoon on Guadalcanal. At a whopping three hours long it is also full of everything you can find in war. Heroism, cowardice, horror and sacrifice. Some of their leaders are good; others don’t care about men’s lives. It’s worth the time.
7 A BRIDGE TOO FAR (1977)
The story of the ill-fated Operation Market Garden, that tried to finish the war early and ended up prolonging it. A star-studded cast tries to do justice to the sacrifice and sheer stupidity that left thousands of British “Red Devils” paratroopers to die.
8 THE EAGLE HAS LANDED (1976)
It is fiction, based on Jack Higgins’ book — but that does not lessen it at all. A group of German paratroopers led by Michael Caine’s Colonel Kurt Steiner — on death row for trying to save Jews from the SS — are dropped in England with orders to capture or kill Winston Churchill. It’s dramatic and thrilling, with solid effects for the time.
9 THE LONGEST DAY (1962)
It tries to retell the amazing story of the D-Day landings, from the air, the ground and from the botched paratroop landings. With a huge cast including John Wayne, Richard Burton and Sean Connery, it doesn’t have the visceral combat of later movies but it gives you an idea of the scale of this event.
10 MEMPHIS BELLE (1990)
The 10-man crew of a B-17 bomber need to complete 25 missions to go home and are set to become the first US crew to do so. Of course the final mission will have more drama than the previous 24.
11 FURY (2014)
The Sherman tank was outgunned and no match for the German tanks, resulting in a slaughter of its crews. This Brad Pitt film sees an untrained rookie dumped into the final push for victory. Some of it is predictable, some of it is a bit silly but the tank combat is raw and powerful
12 ENEMY AT THE GATES (2001)
Based on the true story of Russian sniper Vasily Zaytsev and his duel with a German expert in the Stalingrad ruins. The combat is unrelenting and vicious but, while the film has power, it doesn’t capture the drama the book provides.
13 HACKSAW RIDGE (2016)
Half of the film is the inspiring story of pacifist Desmond Doss and his struggle to serve his country without killing. The other half is pure battle porn. Doss saves an astonishing 75 wounded soldiers in a battle so blood-soaked, it’s almost insane.
14 THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967)
Lee Marvin takes a bunch of convicted criminals on a suicide mission to take out German generals on a weekend retreat. It skips the book’s critical look at racism in the US army and adds lashings of battle action instead.
15 WHERE EAGLES DARE (1968)
Based on an Alistair MacLean book, this sees Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood lead a raid on a German castle to rescue a captured US general with secret knowledge of D-day. Of course, not all is as it seems.
16 THE DAM BUSTERS (1955)
The true story of eccentric British inventor Barnes Wallis and how he came up with a “bouncing bomb” to take out the German dams that kept the power running in the Ruhr. The raid itself is stirring, edge-of-the-seat stuff.
17 SANDS OF IWO JIMA (1949)
A classic early Hollywood film sees John Wayne as the gruff Sergeant Stryker, whipping his men into shape for the horrific battle of Iwo Jima. Heavy on the patriotism, light on the reality, it’s still a very good battle movie.
18 THE BATTLE OF THE BULGE (1965)
The final German offensive of World War II, the Battle of The Bulge was a desperate effort by Americans and British to hold back the German tanks. This plays fast and loose with the truth but, if you ignore historical accuracy, it’s still very entertaining.
19 BATTLE OF BRITAIN (1969)
Another star-studded cast tries to portray the scope of this battle, which saved Britain from German invasion in 1940. Some subplots are a little dull but the air combat is amazing. George Lucas reportedly used it as inspiration for Star Wars’ space battles.
20 THE BIG RED ONE (1980)
Lee Marvin leads four loyal soldiers — including Mark Hamill and Robert Carradine — across Europe in a series of battles that sees endless nameless replacements killed. It suffers a little from a low budget but includes many crazy anecdotes from director Sam Fuller’s real experiences in the war (he also wrote the book on which this is based).