war movies about 20th century
by exploded | created - 28 Nov 2013 | updated - 20 Feb 2021 | Publicmostly world war movies that ended up in my watchlist.
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1. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
R | 169 min | Drama, War
Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns
Votes: 1,496,054 | Gross: $216.54M
2. The Pianist (2002)
R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, Music
During WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Emilia Fox
Votes: 911,877 | Gross: $32.57M
3. My Way (2011)
R | 137 min | Action, Drama, War
In World War II-era Korea, rival runners, one Korean (Jang Dong-gun) and one Japanese (Joe Odagiri), go to war together against the Soviets.
Director: Kang Je-kyu | Stars: Jang Dong-Gun, Joe Odagiri, Bingbing Fan, Kim In-kwon
Votes: 12,631 | Gross: $0.07M
4. 71: Into the Fire (2010)
Not Rated | 120 min | Action, Drama, War
The story of student-soldiers trying to protect a middle school during the early days of the Korean War.
Director: John H. Lee | Stars: Cha Seung-won, Kwon Sang-woo, Choi Seung-hyun, Kim Seung-woo
Votes: 5,810
5. The Flowers of War (2011)
R | 146 min | Drama, History, Romance
An American finds refuge during the 1937 Japanese invasion of Nanking in a church with a group of women. Posing as a priest, he attempts to lead the women to safety.
Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Christian Bale, Ni Ni, Xinyi Zhang, Tianyuan Huang
Votes: 55,713 | Gross: $0.01M
6. Red Tails (2012)
PG-13 | 125 min | Action, Drama, History
A crew of African American pilots in the Tuskegee training program, having faced segregation while kept mostly on the ground during World War II, are called into duty under the guidance of Col. A.J. Bullard.
Director: Anthony Hemingway | Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Gerald McRaney, David Oyelowo, Andre Royo
Votes: 37,241 | Gross: $49.88M
7. Black Book (2006)
R | 145 min | Drama, Thriller, War
In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn
Votes: 80,495 | Gross: $4.40M
8. The Thin Red Line (1998)
R | 170 min | Drama, History, War
Adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Kirk Acevedo
Votes: 199,564 | Gross: $36.40M
9. Windtalkers (2002)
R | 134 min | Action, Drama, War
Two U.S. Marines in World War II are assigned to protect Navajo Marines, who use their native language as an unbreakable radio cypher.
Director: John Woo | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Adam Beach, Peter Stormare, Noah Emmerich
Votes: 73,623 | Gross: $40.91M
10. Band of Brothers (2001)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, History, War
The story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.
Stars: Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Shane Taylor
Votes: 526,935
11. The Pacific (2010)
TV-MA | 53 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The Pacific Theatre of World War II, as seen through the eyes of several young Marines.
Stars: James Badge Dale, Joseph Mazzello, Jon Seda, Ashton Holmes
Votes: 129,940
12. Enemy at the Gates (2001)
R | 131 min | Action, Drama, War
A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Jude Law, Ed Harris, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz
Votes: 277,543 | Gross: $51.40M
13. War Horse (2011)
PG-13 | 146 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young farm boy enlists to serve in World War I after his beloved horse is sold to the cavalry. His hopeful journey takes him out of England and onto the front lines as the war rages on.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Jeremy Irvine, Emily Watson, David Thewlis, Benedict Cumberbatch
Votes: 165,584 | Gross: $79.88M
14. Days of Glory (2006)
R | 120 min | Action, Drama, War
During World War II, four North African men enlist in the French army to liberate that country from German oppression, and to fight French discrimination.
Director: Rachid Bouchareb | Stars: Samy Naceri, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, Jamel Debbouze
Votes: 15,139 | Gross: $0.32M
15. Das Boot (1981)
R | 149 min | Drama, War
A German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch
Votes: 264,280 | Gross: $11.49M
16. All Quiet on the Western Front (1979 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 150 min | Drama, War
A young soldier faces profound disillusionment in the soul-destroying horror of World War I.
Director: Delbert Mann | Stars: Richard Thomas, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Ian Holm
Votes: 10,532
17. The Front Line (2011)
Not Rated | 133 min | Action, Drama, History
A drama centered on the Korean War's final battle that will determine the border between north and south.
Director: Hun Jang | Stars: Shin Ha-kyun, Go Soo, Ryu Seung-su, Ko Chang-seok
Votes: 7,100 | Gross: $0.01M
18. Yamato (2005)
145 min | Drama, History, War
The movie follows 3 Japanese friends from embarking on Yamato, the world's largest battleship, until it's sunk 3 1/2 years later on April 7, 1945 on it's way to Okinawa to stop American advance at the end of WWII.
Director: Jun'ya Satô | Stars: Takashi Sorimachi, Shidô Nakamura, Kyôka Suzuki, Ken'ichi Matsuyama
Votes: 2,409
19. Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004)
R | 140 min | Action, Drama, War
When two brothers are forced to fight in the Korean War, the elder decides to take the riskiest missions if it will help shield the younger from battle.
Director: Kang Je-kyu | Stars: Jang Dong-Gun, Won Bin, Eun-ju Lee, Kong Hyeong-jin
Votes: 41,071 | Gross: $1.11M
20. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
R | 141 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryô Kase
Votes: 170,010 | Gross: $13.76M
21. The Children of Huang Shi (2008)
R | 125 min | Drama, War
About young British journalist, George Hogg, who with the assistance of a courageous Australian nurse, saves a group of orphaned children during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Radha Mitchell, Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh
Votes: 9,985 | Gross: $1.03M
22. Flyboys (2006)
PG-13 | 140 min | Action, Drama, History
The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.
Director: Tony Bill | Stars: James Franco, Jean Reno, Jennifer Decker, Scott Hazell
Votes: 44,466 | Gross: $13.08M
23. Flame & Citron (2008)
Not Rated | 130 min | Action, Drama, History
A drama centered on two fighters in the Holger Danske World War II resistance group.
Director: Ole Christian Madsen | Stars: Thure Lindhardt, Mads Mikkelsen, Stine Stengade, Peter Mygind
Votes: 19,941 | Gross: $0.15M
24. Max Manus: Man of War (2008)
Not Rated | 118 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The true story about one of the most brilliant saboteurs during World War II and his battle to overcome his inner demons.
Directors: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg | Stars: Aksel Hennie, Agnes Kittelsen, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Ken Duken
Votes: 29,771
25. Admiral (2008)
Not Rated | 124 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of admiral Aleksandr Kolchak who remained faithful to his oath to the Russian Emperor and fought against the Bolshevik rule after the 1917 October Revolution.
Director: Andrey Kravchuk | Stars: Konstantin Khabenskiy, Elizaveta Boyarskaya, Sergey Bezrukov, Vladislav Vetrov
Votes: 8,607
26. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
PG-13 | 94 min | Drama, War
Through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a German concentration camp, a forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.
Director: Mark Herman | Stars: Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend, Zac Mattoon O'Brien
Votes: 246,321 | Gross: $9.03M
27. Rigas sargi (2007)
118 min | Action, Drama, History
The First World War is over. Martins, after many years spent in war abroad, returns to his bride Elza in Latvia. He does not realize that the decisive battle for the heart of Elza and for the newly founded Latvian state is yet to come.
Director: Aigars Grauba | Stars: Janis Reinis, Elita Klavina, Girts Krumins, Romualds Ancans
Votes: 2,052
28. We Were Soldiers (2002)
R | 138 min | Action, Drama, History
The story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War, and the soldiers on both sides that fought it, while their wives wait nervously and anxiously at home for the good news or the bad news.
Director: Randall Wallace | Stars: Mel Gibson, Madeleine Stowe, Greg Kinnear, Sam Elliott
Votes: 151,227 | Gross: $78.12M
29. Tigerland (2000)
R | 101 min | Drama, War
A group of recruits go through Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana's infamous Tigerland, last stop before Vietnam for tens of thousands of young men in 1971.
Director: Joel Schumacher | Stars: Colin Farrell, Matthew Davis, Clifton Collins Jr., Tom Guiry
Votes: 43,350 | Gross: $0.14M
30. Into the White (I) (2012)
R | 104 min | Action, Biography, Drama
World War II: After an aerial battle over Norway, British and German airmen find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Finding shelter in the same cabin, they realize the only way to survive the winter is to set aside the rules of war.
Director: Petter Næss | Stars: Florian Lukas, David Kross, Lachlan Nieboer, Stig Henrik Hoff
Votes: 22,359
31. Beneath Hill 60 (2010)
R | 122 min | Drama, History, War
In 1916, the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company is tunneling beneath German fortifications and bunkers to detonate massive explosive charges.
Director: Jeremy Sims | Stars: Brendan Cowell, Harrison Gilbertson, Steve Le Marquand, Gyton Grantley
Votes: 8,808
32. The Fighter Pilot (2013)
144 min | Action, Drama, Mystery
A young woman and her brother explore the history of their grandfather, who died in WW2. They start contacting the men who flew with him, asking them about who he was.
Director: Takashi Yamazaki | Stars: Jun'ichi Okada, Haruma Miura, Mao Inoue, Gaku Hamada
Votes: 2,809
33. Fury (2014)
R | 134 min | Action, Drama, War
A grizzled tank commander makes tough decisions as he and his crew fight their way across Germany in April, 1945.
Director: David Ayer | Stars: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña
Votes: 546,960 | Gross: $85.82M
34. Unbroken (I) (2014)
PG-13 | 137 min | Action, Biography, Drama
After a near-fatal plane crash in WWII, Olympian Louis Zamperini spends a harrowing 47 days in a raft with two fellow crewmen before he's caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.
Director: Angelina Jolie | Stars: Jack O'Connell, Miyavi, Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund
Votes: 182,689 | Gross: $115.64M
35. The Imitation Game (2014)
PG-13 | 114 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
During World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life.
Director: Morten Tyldum | Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Allen Leech
Votes: 824,822 | Gross: $91.13M
36. Memphis Belle (1990)
PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Drama, War
In 1943, the crew of a B-17 based in the UK prepares for its 25th and final bombing mission over Germany before returning home to the USA.
Director: Michael Caton-Jones | Stars: Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney
Votes: 30,520 | Gross: $27.44M
37. The Siege of Jadotville (2016)
TV-MA | 108 min | Action, Drama, History
Irish Commandant Pat Quinlan leads a stand off with troops against French and Belgian Mercenaries in the Congo during the early 1960s.
Director: Richie Smyth | Stars: Jamie Dornan, Emmanuelle Seigner, Mark Strong, Mikael Persbrandt
Votes: 44,336
38. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
R | 139 min | Biography, Drama, History
World War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, serving during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer
Votes: 593,866 | Gross: $67.21M
39. Battle for Sevastopol (2015)
110 min | Action, Biography, Drama
A story of Lyudmila Pavlichenko, the most successful female sniper in history.
Director: Sergey Mokritskiy | Stars: Yuliya Peresild, Evgeniy Tsyganov, Oleg Vasilkov, Nikita Tarasov
Votes: 13,942
40. Warsaw '44 (2014)
130 min | Drama, History, Romance
A story of love, friendship and the pursuit of adventure during the bloody and brutal reality of the 1944 Warsaw Uprising.
Director: Jan Komasa | Stars: Józef Pawlowski, Zofia Wichlacz, Anna Próchniak, Antoni Królikowski
Votes: 6,713
41. Rukajärven tie (1999)
Not Rated | 123 min | War, Drama
Set during the World War 2. In the summer of 1941 the Finnish army crosses the border of Russia. A platoon led by Lt. Eero Perkola goes through the wilderness around the Lieksa lake to ... See full summary »
Director: Olli Saarela | Stars: Peter Franzén, Irina Björklund, Kari Heiskanen, Taisto Reimaluoto
Votes: 4,472
42. Dunkirk (2017)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Drama, History
Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Commonwealth and Empire, and France are surrounded by the German Army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy
Votes: 739,859 | Gross: $188.37M
43. White Tiger (2012)
Not Rated | 104 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy
Great Patriotic War, early 1940s. After barely surviving a battle with a mysterious, ghostly-white Tiger tank, Red Army Sergeant Ivan Naydenov becomes obsessed with its destruction.
Director: Karen Shakhnazarov | Stars: Aleksey Vertkov, Vitaliy Kishchenko, Valeriy Grishko, Dmitriy Bykovskiy-Romashov
Votes: 4,889
44. Fortress (2012 Video)
R | 105 min | Action, Drama, War
A replacement co-pilot joins a B-17 bomber crew in North Africa. He soon finds himself at odds with the remainder of the crew and has to regain their trust and support.
Director: Mike Phillips | Stars: Bug Hall, Donnie Jeffcoat, Sean McGowan, Chris Owen
Votes: 2,171
45. The Winter War (1989)
199 min | Drama, History, War
In 1939, two Finnish brothers are conscripted in the army to fight in the war between Finland and the Soviet Union.
Director: Pekka Parikka | Stars: Taneli Mäkelä, Vesa Vierikko, Timo Torikka, Heikki Paavilainen
Votes: 8,728
46. 1944 (2015)
100 min | Drama, History, War
In 1944 Estonia, a fratricide war ensues when Estonians of the retreating German forces fight against Estonians conscripted into the advancing Soviet Red Army.
Director: Elmo Nüganen | Stars: Kaspar Velberg, Kristjan Üksküla, Maiken Pius, Gert Raudsep
Votes: 6,315
47. Dark Blue World (2001)
R | 112 min | War, Drama, Action
The friendship of two men becomes tested when they both fall for the same woman.
Director: Jan Sverák | Stars: Ondrej Vetchý, Krystof Hádek, Tara Fitzgerald, Charles Dance
Votes: 6,095 | Gross: $0.26M
48. The 12th Man (2017)
Unrated | 135 min | Drama, History, Thriller
They were 12 saboteurs. The Nazis killed 11 of them. This is the true story of the one that got away.
Director: Harald Zwart | Stars: Thomas Gullestad, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Marie Blokhus, Mads Sjøgård Pettersen
Votes: 29,197
49. Unbroken (I) (2014)
PG-13 | 137 min | Action, Biography, Drama
After a near-fatal plane crash in WWII, Olympian Louis Zamperini spends a harrowing 47 days in a raft with two fellow crewmen before he's caught by the Japanese navy and sent to a prisoner-of-war camp.
Director: Angelina Jolie | Stars: Jack O'Connell, Miyavi, Domhnall Gleeson, Garrett Hedlund
Votes: 182,689 | Gross: $115.64M
50. 1917 (2019)
R | 119 min | Action, Drama, History
April 6th, 1917. As an infantry battalion assembles to wage war deep in enemy territory, two soldiers are assigned to race against time and deliver a message that will stop 1,600 men from walking straight into a deadly trap.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays, Colin Firth
Votes: 675,267 | Gross: $159.23M
51. Blizzard of Souls (2019)
Not Rated | 123 min | Action, Drama, History
After losing his mother and his home, Arturs finds some consolation in joining the army. However, war is nothing like he imagined.
Director: Dzintars Dreibergs | Stars: Oto Brantevics, Greta Trusina, Martins Vilsons, Rezija Kalnina
Votes: 5,016
52. Greyhound (2020)
PG-13 | 91 min | Action, Drama, History
Several months after the U.S. entry into World War II, an inexperienced U.S. Navy commander must lead an Allied convoy being stalked by a German submarine wolf pack.
Director: Aaron Schneider | Stars: Tom Hanks, Elisabeth Shue, Stephen Graham, Matt Helm
Votes: 114,781
53. Kalashnikov (2020)
110 min | Biography, Drama, War
Wounded as a tank driver in 1941 during World War II, Mikhail Timofeyevich Kalashnikov sees the latest Soviet machine gun fail. As he's also an inventor, he starts making improvements and in 1947 ends up creating the AK-47 assault rifle.
Director: Konstantin Buslov | Stars: Yura Borisov, Olga Lerman, Artur Smolyaninov, Sergey Gazarov
Votes: 4,815
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