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Top World War II Movies
The Western Front1939 - 1945
 93  9.1 Closely follows the story of the men of Easy Company (US 101st Airbourne infantry) featuring the main events they went through during the war.
What hasn't already been said about this series, a must watch if you even have the slightest of interest in World War Two, outstanding series giving recognition to true heroes.   Phil_Sump's rating:
 
487 8.5 A modern day classic and the standard any Hollywood war film must now strive for, also an excellent companion piece for Band of Brothers.
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73 8.4 A very accurate German film about the downfall of Hitler and the Nazi's. Bruno Ganz's performance as Hitler is first class, one of the best WWII films for sure.
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28 8.9 A must see, however it is worth noting for this list that it is based on the efforts of Oscar Schindler to save Jews during the holocaust and therefore does not feature frontline battle scenes for those that like lots of action in there WWII films. (B & W)
  Phil_Sump's rating:
151 8.4 True story about a Jewish Pianist who survived the holocaust, first class.
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31 9.1 The bench mark for all Sub movies, destroys the insulting Hollywood film U-571 that attempted to copy it and re-write history.
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36 8.2 Film about the D-Day landings. A real classic, much like A Bridge Too Far it tells the story from various Allied perspectives, not just the Americans.
(B & W)    Phil_Sump's rating:
23 8.5 Unusually this film is about a failed Allied mission to take Arnhem bridge in the Netherlands (Opertation Market Garden). It's one of my favorites due to the great cast and direction. A classic and a good companion piece to The Longest Day.
  Phil_Sump's rating:
 
52 7.9 Docu-drama about the military career of George S. Patton, very informative and a well made movie.
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69 8.2 Tarantino back to his best with this fictional story set in World War Two, I'm not normally the biggest fan of fictional stories set in WW2 (due to there being so many untold factural stories) but he pulls this off very well.
 Phil_Sump's rating:
20 7.4 A great true story about the German Officers who made a stand against Hitler. A story that has been told before, but not to this scale, I really enjoyed this, I feel it's important that people realise not all German soldiers were Nazis, many were merely patriots.
 Phil_Sump's rating:
21 7.9 Dutch resistance movement
Features Carice van Houton as an undercover agent, top class Dutch WW2 film, full of action and suspence.   An older film about the Dutch resistance that makes a great companion piece is 'Soldier of Orange' (1977)  Phil_Sump's rating:
37 7.6 Jewish resistance movement
Although advertised as "a true story", it has been criticised for not following the true story of the Bielski partisans accurately. I nonetheless really enjoyed it.   Phil_Sump's rating:
9 7.2 Norwegian resistance movement
Little known movie about Max Manus and the actions of the Norwegian resistance movement in WW2, top draw.   Phil_Sump's rating:
4 7 Danish resistance movement
Similar to Man of War in many respects, one of them being that it is also very good, follows the legendary resistance fighters code named Flame and Citron. Hidden gem.   Phil_Sump's rating:
19 7.3 German resistance movement
Well told and acted, true story of a genuine hero of the German White Rose Resistance Movement - Sophie Scholl.   Phil_Sump's rating:
123 8.3 Classic story of Allied POW's escaping a German camp, the ultimate Sunday afternoon flick.
 Phil_Sump's rating:
18 7.7 Another British classic, a tribute to those in the RAF and other allied forces (e.g Canada) who battled the German Luftwaffe to prevent the German forces taking Great Britain, features some great dog fights.
  Phil_Sump's rating:
 
5 8.3 Outstanding invention (the bouncing bomb), Great movie for the time. I believe a remake is on the way as well which is good news... I hope.
(B & W)  Another great classic British WW2 film is 'The Cruel Sea' (1953). This movie follows a British Naval Officer as he deals with life at sea protecting Allied convoys and hunting German U-boats.  Phil_Sump's rating:
11 8.4 Despite the Helicopter (what were they thinking) this is really enjoyable WW2 spy movie, one of Clint's earlier works.
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14 7.9 Eastwood again and enjoyable again, like Inglorious it will give you a few laughs but the mission itself is also fiction.
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30 8.6 Solid WW2 flick that details the experiences of several US soldiers from The Big Red One lead by the Sergeant who is played by Lee Marvin, also features Mark Hamill.
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44 7.9 A US Army Major (Lee Marvin) is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers. Lee Marvin is excellent, vintage American WW2 film.
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15 8.6 About a mutiny and power struggle aboard a navy ship serving during World War II, 1950's classic.
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17 7.4 A German U-boat and a US Destroyer play cat and mouse, another excellent 1950's WWII movie.
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6 7 A German film based on a true story of German teenagers defending a bridge in their home town in the final days of Nazi Germany. A great film for its time, with some well worked cinematography, not a great deal of action. Nevertheless it is not an action film, it is a hard hitting film showing the absurdities of war.
(B & W)  There has been a 2008 TV re-make of the film, though many reviews have been unfavorable. Phil_Sump's rating:
15 8 A fast paced WWII classic featuring Allied soldiers (mainly British) attempting to escape an Italian POW camp with the Germans in hot pursuit. Gripping get away action film, well worth a watch.
 Another WWII classic with a very similar theme is 'The Train' (1964) Based on non-fiction book Le front de l'art. A German Colonel has loaded a train with stolen French artwork that he wishes to take to Germany. However the French resistance aren't too happy about this and attempt to recapture the masterpieces. (B & W)  Phil_Sump's rating:
9 6.8 True story of how Nazi Germany forged money on concentration camps to fund the war effort. Deserved Winner of Best Foreign Picture Oscar at the 2008 Academy Awards.
 Phil_Sump's rating:
26 6.9 Set during The Battle of the Bulge, Saints and Soldiers follows the story of a group of soldiers who escape the Malmedy Massacre and have desperately try to get back to Allied lines not only in order to survive but to also inform their commanders of important intelligence they have gathered. Considering the budget of this movie I was very impressed and I'm glad that many seem to have given it the credit it deserves.
The second movie in the trilogy 'Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed' has recently come out and looks worth checking out if you enjoyed the first.  If you like this, a good WWII movie also set during The Battle of the Bulge is the underrated 'A Midnight Clear' (1992).  Phil_Sump's rating:
12 7 Follows a group of four Algerian (part of colonial France at the time) men who join the French First Army along with many other North Africans, to free France from Nazi oppression. However they find they also have to fight against discrimination from the French as well.
The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and deserves your attention.   | Phil_Sump's rating:
37 8.7 Historical drama with a comical feel, Life is Beautiful is different to many on this list but is a touching film about a family trying their best to cope in desperate times and during WWII and well worthy of a mention.
  Phil_Sump's rating:
19 7.5 Following along similar lines to Life is Beautiful, this movie follows a young German boy who makes an unlikely friend in the form of Jewish boy. However the camp his friend is in is also run by his father.
 The African, Mediterranean & Middle East Theatre1940 - 1945
35 7.7 Although it appears somewhat dated now, still a classic WW2 sabotage film.
(The mission takes place in Navarone a small island off the coast off of Greece).   Has a follow up staring Harrison Ford named 'Force 10 from Navarone' (1978) Phil_Sump's rating:
The Eastern Front1941 - 1945
14 9.5 A movie that focuses on the horrors of war and what it was like to be around during the German invasion of Russia, very hard hitting.
  
22 8.1 Follws German officer Hans von Witzland and his battalion through the horrible battle fo Stalingrad. Harrowing and far more accurate than most war films.
 There is another filmed also named 'Stalingrad' due for release in 2013 being made by the Russians (from the director of 9th Company - Fedor Bondarchuk), it has a high budget and is set to be Russia's first IMAX format movie, so fingers crossed it's a gooden. Phil_Sump's rating:
6 8 This impressive Russian film focuses on a true story of a group of Soviets who hold a last stand in Brest fortress (Belarus) against the invading German forces. Great battle scenes, what some might call a 'true' war movie.
 Phil_Sump's rating:
3 7 If you are looking for lots of good action in a WWII film then this is it. Based on a true story, a group of Soviet soldiers go behind enemy lines on a reconnaissance mission to gather information on the occupying German forces during Operation Bagration. Very unknown & underrated film, easily a 7.5/10.
 Phil_Sump's rating:
200 7.4 A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad. Hollywood focusing on the Eastern front is uncommon and perhaps a little strange but an enjoyable watch nonetheless, with some great sniper scenes.
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15 8.1 Raw and gritty war film and a rarity in that it is told from the perspective of German soldiers on the Russian front during WW2.
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10 7 Both set during the 'Winter War' which occured in 1939-1940 between Finland and the Soviet Union (it was essentially a campaign of WW2). 'The Winter War (Talvisota)' (1989) is a little known Finnish film that has a great scale and accuracy to it.
  I brought The Winter War in a DVD set with another Finish World War Two film (set in the Continuation War which followed the Winter War) named 'Ambush' (1999) also well worth seeing, Ambush I feel has a stronger narrative behind it with an officer seeking revenge for the death of his partner who was killed by the Soviets. The film however does not meet the scale and full on battle scenes of Talvisota.  Other Finish WWII Movies Include: Tali-Ihantala 1944 (2007) Beyond Enemy Lines (2004) The Unknown Soldier (1985) The Unknown Soldier (1955) Ville has complied a good list of Finnish war movies you may also want to look at: Phil_Sump's rating:
7 6.8 Depicts the little known Katyn massacre that was covered up for many years after the war, an important and well made film.
Is set in Poland, essentially in the middle of the Eastern and Western fronts, due to the massacre being committed by the Soviets I've put this film under the Eastern Front.  Phil_Sump's rating:
The Pacific Theatre1941 - 1945
27 9.1 Many of the men this series focuses on had passed away, therefore it doesn't have the character depth of Band of Brothers, but it still is breath taking at times with first rate battle scenes and is a fantastic portrayal of what some of the men went through fighting in the pacfic. It once again features a first class score like BoB and I would strongly recommend it if you haven't seeen it yet.
  Phil_Sump's rating:
9 8.9 Another British WW2 film, it is technically fictional, but is roughly based around the construction of the Burma railway by Allied POWs. Winner of numerous awards and rightly so, dispite being an old film now it stands up well, great story.
 Phil_Sump's rating:
88 7.8 Over shadowed at the time of release due to it being out at the same time as Saving Private Ryan, but nevertheless an excellent WW2 film featuring many big name cameos. One of my favorites.
 Phil_Sump's rating:
18 7.5 Clint Eastwood gives directing a go and does a good job here. Letters from Iwo Jima is widely regarded as the better of the two but both films are good and it's good to see the battle from both perspectives.
Both films focus around the Battle of Iwo Jima, Flags of Our Fathers however has a clear focus on those who lifted the flag (or did'nt as the case may be) in the famous WWII photo (also seen on the cover) and the impact this had on their lives.  Letters from Iwo Jima is not just Flags of our fathers without the flag, it gives you a deep insight into the Japanese army's culture at the time. The Japanese are not simply painted as the evil ones, Eastwood does a great job of showing how good and evil were on both sides.   Phil_Sump's rating:
34 7.7 An accurate and well made portrayal of the events of Pearl Harbour seen from the perspective of both sides.
 Phil_Sump's rating:
21 7.9 Focuses on a young English boy growing up in Japanese occupation during WWII - Christian Bale's talents were clear from the start.
 
4 9 Documents the events of The rape of Nanjing (Nanking) and the efforts of an international delegation (including John Rabe) that stayed in Nanjing in order to try to protect the cities citizens from the occupying Imperial Japanese army. Has been honored with several awards for its excellent cinematography.
(B & W)   A perhaps lesser, but still decent film also on the subject is 'John Rabe: City of War' (2009) which has a larger focus on the particular efforts of German businessman and Nazi party member John Rabe to protect innocent Chinese citizens.   
13 7.6 The film chronicles the historic Battle of Midway, a turning point in World War II in the Pacific. Though the film is criticised for several inaccuracies, it is nonetheless an enjoyable watch.
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6 7.5 Depicts the horrors of war some of the Australians faced when fighting the Japanese, a solid effort from Aussie cinema.
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People who voted for this also voted for
http://www.listal.com/movie/femmes-de-lombre-les
http://www.listal.com/movie/charlotte-gray-2001
- I'm not so sure about Charlotte Gray since it is a rather weak movie. In this case, you could add any mediocre flick such as Pearl Harbor or Windtalkers.
My suggestions :
- Amen ( http://www.listal.com/dvd/amen-155766 )
- La grande vadrouille ( http://www.listal.com/dvd/la-grande-vadrouille )
- Lacombe Lucien( http://www.listal.com/dvd/lacombe-lucien )
- Au revoir les enfants ( http://www.listal.com/dvd/au-revoir-les-enfants-criterion-collection )
- Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence ( http://www.listal.com/dvd/merry-christmas-mr-lawrence-272186 )
- Catch 22 ( http://www.listal.com/dvd/catch-22 )
- Soldier of Orange ( http://www.listal.com/dvd/soldier-orange-203028 )
- Hope and glory ( http://www.listal.com/dvd/hope-and-glory )
Cheers for the vote!
I'm interested in WW2 too but I mostly read books because they're more detailed... anyway, great selections here!
Also, I see you're missing Battleground 1949
http://www.listal.com/list/top-vietnam-war-films
http://www.listal.com/list/iraq-afghanistan-war-terror
would appreciate any feedback, thanks
Also Miracle at St. Anna, Hart's War, The Great Raid, and When Trumpets Fade.
Europa Europa
http://www.listal.com/dvd/europa-europa-101392
Lancombe Lucien - Which I haven't seen the Criterion cut of this film but if it is Criterion... you know it is packed with features.
http://www.listal.com/dvd/lacombe-lucien
Hopefully this will be it... http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1966566/
Only thing I can think of is Run Silent, Run Deep.