This is Memorial Day weekend – when we should remember and honor the soldiers, marines and sailors who have died serving in defense of the United States of America and other countries. So I thought it would be appropriate to put together a list of classic war movies to commemorate the holiday…
This is by no means a complete list, just some favorites of mine and the writers here at Screen Rant that came to mind and have made an impact on us – We’ve also added films that were recommended by our readers in the past as fine examples of this genre. Feel free to add your favorites and nudge my memory over any obvious ones I may have forgotten in the comments below.
Casablanca (1942) – Humphrey Bogart & Ingrid Bergman, a classic if there ever was one: Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II, an American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications – and woe unto anyone who thinks of doing a remake of this film!
Flying Tigers (1942) – John Wayne leads a band of American Mercenaries called upon by China to help fight the Japanese two years before Pearl Harbour.
Midway (1976) – All star “real men” cast: Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn and Robert Mitchum in dramatization of the battle that turned out to be the turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.
Sands of Iwo Jima (1949) – John Wayne stars in this version of the battle of Iwo Jima.
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) – William Holden and Alec Guiness (yes, Obi-Wan) in a story about a British colonel who co-operates with the Japanese to oversee his men’s construction of a railway bridge for their captors – while oblivious to a plan by the Allies to destroy it.
The Caine Mutiny (1954) – Humphrey Bogart in an unusual role as a US Naval captain who shows signs of mental instability that jeopardizes his ship, causing his first officer to relieve him of command and face court martial for mutiny.
The Dirty Dozen (1967) – This AWESOME fictional story of a US Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers in World War II stars Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, Jim Brown, George Kennedy, Telly Savalas and other fantastic actors.
Flying Leathernecks (1951) – John Wayne leads “The Wildcats” squadron into the historic WWII battle of Guadalcanal.
From Here to Eternity (1953) – Another star-studded classic with Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed and Frank Sinatra. A private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit’s team, while his captain’s wife and second in command are falling in love.
The Great Escape (1963) – Another “must see” WWII film. It stars Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasence and James Coburn as members of several hundred Allied POWs who plan a mass escape from a German POW camp.
Mister Roberts (1955) – Henry Fonda was brilliant in this film starring alongside James Cagney and a very funny Jack Lemmon won an Oscar for his role in this WWII semi-comedy.
Patton (1970) – Probably the crown jewel of George C. Scott’s acting career where he portrays the most famous U.S. General, ever. The film earned 7 Oscars including Best Actor, Best Director and Best Picture (back in the day when the Oscars actually meant something).
Stalag 17 (1953) -Directed by Billy Wilder and starring William Holden, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss and Peter Graves. When two escaping American World War II prisoners are killed, the German POW camp barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.
Where Eagles Dare (1968) – Richard Burton and Clint Eastwood as allied agents who stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding an American General prisoner… but that’s not all that’s really going on.
Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) – Directed by Robert Wise, starring Clark Gable, Burt Lancaster, Jack Warden and Don Rickles (yes, THAT Don Rickles) about a U.S. sub commander, obsessed with sinking a certain Japanese ship, butts heads with his first officer and crew.
The Guns of Navarone (1961) – Gregory Peck, David Niven and Anthony Quinn: A British team is sent to cross occupied Greek territory and destroy the massive German gun emplacement that commands a key sea channel.
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) – A dramatization of the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor and the series of American blunders that allowed it to happen.
Saving Private Ryan (1998) – A true Memorial Day film, it honors the spirit and soul of military men on the hunt for Private James Ryan, whose brothers were killed in action. The opening minutes of Steven Spielberg’s WWII film represent war in one of the most realistic settings every seen on screen.
Band of Brothers (2001) – Technically, not a movie, but brotherhood has never been so brilliant displayed on film or television. The core of what makes a group of military men a true squadron is explored by the HBO miniseries that follows a squad brought closer together by war.
Other films that have been recommended to me as fine World War II films include:
- The Enemy Below
- The Hunters
- Objective: Burma!
- The Eagle Has Landed
- Sink the Bismark
- The Longest Day
- To Hell and Back
- They Were Expendable
- Sahara
- North Star
- Catch 22
- Action in the North Atlantic
- God is my Co-Pilot
- Guadalcanal Diary 30 Seconds over Tokyo
- The Fighting Sullivans
- Mrs.Miniver Wake Island
- Air Force
- Kelly’s Heroes
- Bataan
And yes, I think Schindler’s List is a very powerful film and the man it was based on was incredibly heroic, but I focused on films about the military in memory of those who served and died.
What are your favorites? What do you think should be on this list?
UPDATE: Apparently we missed a whole bunch of movies that readers say should be on this list – no disrespect was intended. Here are another 32 World War II films judged to be excellent by our readers:
- 12 O’Clock High
- 36 Hours
- A Bridge Too Far
- A Midnight Clear
- A Walk in the Sun
- Battle of Britain
- Battle of the Bulge
- Battleground
- Command Decision
- Cross of Iron
- Darby’s Rangers
- Flags of Our Fathers
- From Here to Eternity
- Hell is for Heroes
- In Harm’s Way
- Judgment at Nuremberg
- Letters from Iwo Jima
- PT 109
- Sink the Bismark
- Story of G.I. Joe
- The Best Years of Our Lives
- The Big Red One
- The Dam Busters
- The Deep Six
- The Devil’s Brigade
- The Guns of Navarone
- The Longest Day
- The Pacific (HBO Series)
- The Thin Red Line
- U-571
- Von Ryan’s Express
- Wake Island
Thanks to IMDB.com for help in researching and synopses and The B.S. Report for the image.
| 12 O’Clock High |
| 36 Hours |
| A Bridge Too Far |
| A Midnight Clear |
| A Walk in the Sun |
| Battle of Britain |
| Battle of the Bulge |
| Battleground |
| Command Decision |
| Cross of Iron |
| Darby’s Rangers |
| Flags of Our Fathers |
| From Here to Eternity |
| Hell is for Heroes |
| In Harm’s Way |
| Judgment at Nuremberg |
| Letters from Iwo Jima |
| PT 109 |
| Sink the Bismark |
| Story of G.I. Joe |
| The Best Years of Our Lives |
| The Big Red One |
| The Dam Busters |
| The Deep Six |
| The Devil’s Brigade |
| The Guns of Navarone |
| The Longest Day |
| The Pacific |
| The Thin Red Line |
| U-571 |
| Von Ryan’s Express |
| Wake Island |
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Another OOPS! Though they were originally TV mini-series they deserve special mention:
“Winds of War” and “War and Rememberance” with Robert Mitchum One of my all time favorites as Pug Henry and an all star cast.
Another Mitchum great: “Heaven Knows Mr. Allison” with Deborah Kerr.
I wonder how many other great ones we all have forgotten?
Not many—especially great ones, this thread has really covered a lot of ground.
That it has.
Not to throw water into the fire because all the movies listed are good to excellent. However, There are WAR movies and Dramas with a war backdrop. I don’t consider the great movie “Best Years of our Lives” as a war movie. I consider “Saving Private Ryan” a war movie. “Casablanca” and “African Queen” to me are dramas. The Mel Gibson film “Patriot”. Now that is a war film. The same with “Glory” another great war film. Just my thoughts.
Though Viet Nam (my war): “We Were Soldiers” Should be on your list.
My war too, (VN) how about The boys of Company C, and 84 charlie mopic?
Hey folks,
Sorry about mistakenly listing Sergeant York as a WWII movie. I’ve never seen that particular film and I had asked my writers for additional movie suggestions – didn’t think I’d have to double check that the films covered the appropriate era.
I’ve seen some great suggestions in the comments here that I’ll have to keep an eye out for in the future!
Vic
1 off-beat movie Castle Keep with Lancaster then Raid on Rommel and Tobruk relatively modern .
The Hunters is the Korean War. A good selection, but I might recommend:
The Dam Busters
The Cruel Sea
The Battle of the River Plate (unfortunately only in Region 2)
Back To Bataan
Fighting SeeBees (see John Wayne do the jitterbug)
In Harm’s Way
Operation Pacific
Battle of Britian
We Were Soldiers (Viet Nam)
This is off the top of my head, unfortunately there are almost as many bad WWII movies as bad westerns.
CBS produced A 3 hour TV movie back in 1986 called The Last Days of Patton.
George C.Scott reprised his role.
the film tells the tale of the last months of Pattons life after an accident left him paralyzed .
It also includes flashbacks of his earlier life.
It is available on DVD and worth a look.
You left out “Battleground” UNFORGIVABLE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!?
A WW2 movie I would rank in the top five of such movies is “Command Decision” about the US Eighth Air Force in WW2. It has an all-star cast to include Clark Gable, Walter Pidgeon (in perhaps his best screen performance), Van johnson, Brian Donleavy, Edward Arnold, and more. Gable gives a magnificent performance as a BG faced with taking out vital German factories at the cost of appalling losses.
Das Boot
One I have not Seen Mentioned Go For Broke Love those Buddha Heads.
Not one William A. Wellman film on the list? Are you kidding? Tim Barnes is right. UNFORGIVABLE! All of his War films are classics, they were made by people who were soldiers in WWII & are much more realistic than other films of that period.
Battlegorund
Story of GI Joe
Also Samuel Fuller’s films like Big Red One, Steel Helmet and Fixed Bayonets are great.
Gallant Hours with Cagney as Admiral Halsey
Heroes of Telemark with Richard Harris and Kirk Douglas
Operation Crossbow with George Peppard and Sophia Loren
Hey everyone,
I just wanted to let you know that I went through ALL the comments and updated the article with over 30 additional films thanks to your input. Not every film mentioned was added, but most of them were.
Thanks for all the great (for the most part) discussion.
Best regards,
Vic
Vic
Sorry to complain but you forgot A Midnight Clear. Is that one you aren’t familiar with. It’s an amazing film set in world war ll. With and ending that couldn’t be anticipated.
Bob
Actually I did include it the updated list, but I forgot a line break and it was combined with the film above it.
Fixed.
Vic
I hope some of you check out documentaries by Alex Jones and David Icke…
How about a little seen gem: When Trumpets Fade?
Great performances and great story…
When Trumpets fade is a very good film. I have the DVD; I can’t believe I didn’t think of it.
Loved all the movies above. Not mentioned are “God Is My Co-pilot” with Dennis Morgan and Raymond Massey as Gen Chennault. “Attack” with jack Palance, Eddie Albert and Lee Marvin.
God is My Co-Pilot is a good film, but Attack was not very good.
Hey Guys, where’s Alfred Hitchcock’s Lifeboat?
It is set during World War II and there’s nothing in this world like watching Telulah Bankhead kill a Nazi with her shoe and then throw him overboard!
Another good one, I liked William Bendix in this and in Wake Island
“To End All Wars” is probably one of THE best ever. Check it out.
The film is set in a Japanese prisoner of war labour camp where the inmates are building the Burma Railway during the last three and a half years of World War II. It was filmed primarily in Waimea Canyon, on the island of Kauai, Hawai’i, with some excerpt shots of Thailand. The film was awarded the Crystal Heart Award and Grand Prize for Dramatic Feature at the Heartland Film Festival.
The screenplay is based on the autobiography of Ernest Gordon and recounts the experiences of faith and hope of the ínterned men. The autobiography was originally published under the name Through the Valley of the Kwai, then later as Miracle on the River Kwai and finally re-issued with the title To End All Wars to tie in with the film.
This is a forgotten gem. Thanks for reminding me, I haven’t seen it in a long time.
This thread has been very useful.
What no “Das Bot” ?
Attack Force Z w/mel gibson
Soldier of Orange w/ rutger hauer
Hey Vic. Just wanted to put in my two pennies….I don’t believe The Caine Mutiny (while an excellent film) was set in WWII. One of my personal faves is “None but the Brave” which came out in ’65 and starred Frank Sinatra. I think he has a production credit also. Excellent film about the absolute waste of war. Solid cast, good writing, decent acting and really bad ‘godzilla-like’ special effects. I strongly recommend it.
@Patrick
According to IMDB, it was set in WWII:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046816/plotsummary
Vic
How about “To Hell & Back” with Audie Murphy.
THE MOVIE TASK FORCE GARY COOPER,WALTER BRENAN AND JANE WYMAN.THE BRIDGES OF TOKO-REE WILLIAM HOLDEN MICKEY ROONEY.
How about “King Rat” with George Seigal
Excellent, and under rated film.
What about 633 squadron? Tobruk?
Battle Cry was one of the best
Here’s one a lot of you may not have seen. High Barbaree with Van Johnson.
My list would be Sands of Iwo Jima with John Wayne
Hell cats of the Navy with Ronald Regan
Objective Burma with Errol Flynn
MacArthur with Gregory Peck
Sahara With Humphrey Bogart
Halls Of Montezuma With Richard Widmark
Air force with Harry Carey