It’s Veteran’s Day today – the day we remember and honor soldiers and sailors that serve and have served in the military in defense of the United States of America and other countries.
I thought it would be appropriate to put together a list of classic war movies to commemorate the holiday…
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This is by no means a complete list, just some of my favorites and those that came to mind – 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.
What are your favorites? What do you think should be on this list?
Thanks to IMDB.com for help in researching and synopses.
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67 Comments
@dave fernandes
Well said. I should never have brought the Digg thing up.
Vic
Thank you Vic. I know a lot of vets out there from the Iraq war I’ve had the privilege to meet and I guess that’s what affected me the most. Guys coming home without arms and guys coming home that will never lead a normal life again. It reminds me that war has a very ugly and bone crushing side we need to respect. Anyway, as Stan Lee would say — nuff said.
Hello Everyone,
As a 20 yr AF Vet (Still serving) I would like to mention a few movies:
The Patriot (Mel Gibson great flick)
Band of Brothers
Saving Private Ryan
Flyboys (Awesome Zeppelin Battle)
We Were Soldiers (Another great Mel movie)
Master and Commander
The Complete Horatio Hornblower Series (all 8 made for TV movies)
Troy
300 (come on guys this was great)
The Pianist (Awesome movie)
You guys need to be a little more orginal than just some old John Wayne movies (good movies but come on)
Could The Patriot be considered a prequel to WWII??
Rob,
I can’t believe I forgot “We were soldiers.” That film still sticks with me. It really personified an axiom for me: “Hate war, love the soldier.” I don’t think any film ever made that statement more clear to me.
I think we all forgot the classic “1941″ with John Belushi.
Just tryin’ to lighten things up a bit…
I really liked the last episode. I like when they go back and revisit old situations, especially when they have so much to do with where the plot is at this point.
I didn’t see ‘Das Boot’ on this list – one of the BEST EVER WWII/SUBMARINE MOVIES
———————
Lest We Forget
Least we not forget those were nazis in Das Boot,,,
*waves hand*
I mentioned Das Boot. Think it was originally a TV series, and I loved it.
Not sure about them being Nazis though as there were instances of them having nothing but contempt for Hitler and the party.
Das Boot,,,
The entire film takes place inside a German U-Boat, except at the end when they all ,,,,,?
There was some stuff before they set out to sea, especially a fun evening as a sendoff.
Or was that just the tv series?
I agree with Band of Brothers but one of the best I’ve ever seen is a file from 1945 called Fighter Squadron. While the acting was ok, they used actual color combat footage from WWII planes
Hi, mcerlean. I came to add “A walk in the Sun”. You reminded me of The Story of GI Joe”. Thanks. The Longest Day is a fav, along with many of those others mentioned here. Vic, putting Casablanca at the top suits me. That little exchange ending in “I was misinformed” is one of my favorite film moments.
The Enemy Below starring Robert Mitchum is one of my favorites. I also liked the Final Countdown: A modern day aircraft carrier with F-14s travels back in time to Dec. 7, 1941. Heartbreak Ridge is a bit silly in places, and I don’t think it belongs on a best of list, but you gotta love Clint as a Marine. Anyway, great list.
OBJECTIVE BURMA!
ERROL FLYNN.
ONE OF THE 5 BEST WWII EVER.
Wing and a Prayer
Mr. Roberts
The Gallant Hours
Wake Island
Letters From Iwo Jima
Forgot “The Longest Day” ?
By far the best, rated at 9.8 is ‘The Band of Brothers’, they put out at Costco at 49 bucks,all gone in one day, people know values. Single war movie, you missed ‘Battleground’ another story about the 101st Airbourne Division with a great cast.
No, I didn’t forget “Band of Brothers”. I
have it in a metal-boxed set for $75.00
from Amazon when I pre-ordered it.
1- another importnat movie that must be added to the list is ( The Eagle Has Landed ) of michael caine, donald sutherland, donald pleasance, robert duvall and treat williams. it does worth to be at the head of the list.
2- there is another film for donald sutherland, in which he played the role of a nazi spy ( Eye of The Needle ).
sure we can not forget THE NIGHT OF THE GENERALS OF peter o”tole and omar sharif, the marvellous movie ever on world war 2.
16 of the best WWII films ever!? you gotta
have poi for brains and no spoon, if you
leave out “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”,and “Bataan”
Who can forget the image of Robert Taylor
blazing away with a 30cal.watercooled,
machine gun,while sitting in his own
grave. These movies and about 100 others
were used by the movie industry, not only as entertainment, but to keep the
people living in America,involved with
the war. For not only was their involvement needed, money was needed to
support the military effort on several
fronts. So buying War Bonds, was a message that was included with the credits of the movie. These movies were
also used to maintain fervor in young men wanting to be part of the military
effort. So they were used in an ongoing
recruiting effort. Just saying they were
movies, to entertain, negates their
propaganda participation. They were in
fact part of the “Weapons of Democracy”
But then again, what do I know.
I’ve only been watching these movies since 1953, I was 9.
@Paul
Thanks for adding a bunch of great movies to the list.
Vic
Mister Christian!!100 Lashes to Screen Rant For Leaving Out”Saving Private Ryan”and”Schindler’s List”!!!
How Could You Leave Out Spielberg’s Look at WWII??
“Saving Private Ryan”Showed Us What War is Like Up Close and Personal,Plus,If You Don’t Get a Lump In Your Throat or a Tear In Your Eye At The End,Something’s Gotta Be wrong!!
And”Schindler’s List”Showed Us The Sheer Terror of Hitler’s Evil Rise To Power But Also How In The Bowels of Hell On Ea It rth,Humanity Can Still Be found!!
Now,About The Vietnam War:Yeah,”Platoon”Was Good,And Oliver Stone Was a Combat Vet and While Realistic In a Lot of Ways,In Some Other Ways,It Was Full Of Crap!!
My Picks:”We Were Soldiers”.Based On General Hal Moore’s Memiors of Vietnam,It Beats’Platoon’Eight Ways to Sunday!!
And The Most Underated Vietnam War Movie is”Flight of the Intruder”.
Based on The Best Selling Novel by Stephen Coonts,Himself a Naval Aviator During The Vietnam war.
The Story of How a Renegade Pilot Goes Off On an Unauthorized Mission Over North Vietnam.
Very Action Packed and Suspenseful!!
More Recent Wars:”Blackhawk Down”and”Behind Enemy Lines”.
Both Came Out After 9/11.
‘Blackhawk Down’is The True Story Of The Ill Fated Mission To Arreest A Somali Warlord.
‘Behind Enemy Lines’Is About How an F/A 18 Pilot Is shot Down Over Serbia and How His CO Risks His Life and Navy Career To Rescue Him!!
“The Hill” from 1965 starring Sean Connery is another good one.
I’ll keep my comments to movies dealing with WWII.
As a kid growing up in the late 60s/early 70s, our old, 1st generation local cable company broadcast “Gualdalcanal Diary”, “A Wing and a Prayer” and “Purple Heart”. I fell in love with those oldies (though they seem a bit corny and melodramatic today). They, along with the rare story my Dad would relate about his time in the USMC during the war, started me on a lifelong fascination with WWII. I think “Midway” is lame, though “Tora Tora Tora”, wooden acting and all, is a favorite. Speaking of wooden acting and laughable special effects, I have to put “The Longest Day” on that usually disappointing list. “The Caine Mutiny” still disappoints me badly, except for the courtroom scenes. I love “Stalag 17″. Haven’t seen “Run Silent, Run Deep” yet, though I hope to soon. Loved “Up Periscope” as a kid, loved the book even more. “Saving Private Ryan” is intense, moving and well acted. I prefered “Kelly’s Heroes” over “Dirty Dozen” as a nonsensical caper films. “Das Boot” is tedious at points, but wonderful at portraying the Germans as protagonists. George C. Scott makes “Patton” the classic it is. Overall, I think war novels don’t usually translate well into good movies.
In my opinion “Band of Brothers” 10 part series was the best overall film. Best movies include “Enemy at the Gates”, “Saving Private Ryan”, “The Longest Day”, “Saints and Soldiers”, “Stalingrad” (w/eng subs) and “We Were Soldiers”. I recommend the sleeper “Joyeux Noel” a French movie with subtitles about the true 1914 un-authorized cease fire at Christmas time.
Also consider “The Lost Batallion” from World War I. Still looking for a realistic depiction of the Korean War.
Don’t forget
GREEN BERETS
For Rob Hamilton… ok for 300 and the pianist…
but come on with John Wayne? nooo….
don’t be crazy…..
you’re 20yo…. wait…wait..wait…
I like all of your 16, but I believe that after seeing it when first made(I am 71 years old, USAF retired), several times since and again two days ago, that you have to include “BATTLEGROUND”. It captures the essense of the ordinary infantrymen and the extraordinary sacrifice made at the Battle of the Bulge
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