'Must See' World War II Documentaries
by johndrake99 | created - 10 Aug 2013 | updated - 22 May 2019 | Public"The Second World War is the greatest cataclysm in human history." - Ken Burns The War
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1. The World at War (1973–1974)
TV-PG | 50 min | Documentary, History, War
A groundbreaking 26-part documentary series narrated by the actor Laurence Olivier about the deadliest conflict in history, World War II.
Stars: Laurence Olivier, Averell Harriman, Anthony Eden, Albert Speer
Votes: 29,484
Blu-ray on Amazon.com: http://a.co/2yTMi4b
2. The Color of War (2001– )
TV-PG | 780 min | History, War
A series featuring actual color footage of World War II.
Stars: Carlos E. Campos, Peter Coyote, Lance J. Holt, Mirage Zamprioli
Votes: 158
DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/eoKMen7
3. The Nazis: A Warning from History (1997)
292 min | Documentary, History, War
An examination of how a cultured people could have allowed Adolf Hitler's rise to power.
Stars: Samuel West, Adolf Buchner, Jutta Rüdiger, Günther Ruschin
Votes: 1,722
DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/5cZk0X7
DVD on Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.eu/9tQnYl9
5. WWII in HD (2009)
TV-PG | 60 min | Documentary, History, War
Follow the lives of soldiers who lived World War II, through previously unseen color footage.
Stars: Gary Sinise, Charles Scheffel, Ron Livingston, Rob Lowe
Votes: 2,412
Blu-ray on Amazon.com: http://a.co/eJLLvEU
6. Victory in the Pacific (1995 TV Movie)
Documentary, War
This documentary talks about the United states and Japan conflict while Ww2 in details . Like the behaviour of both sides with perisoners such as torturing them to give out information.
Stars: Eddie Albert, George Bush, Greer Garson, Bob Hope
Votes: 44
DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/8r3iF6I
7. Japan's War in Colour (2005 TV Movie)
95 min | Documentary, History, War
The history of Imperial Japan's involvement in World War II with full color footage.
Director: David Batty | Star: Brian Cox
Votes: 165
DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/967uTFz
8. Horror in the East (2000 TV Movie)
PG | Documentary, War
An examination of atrocities and depredations committed by Imperial Japanese military forces, from 1931 to 1945.
Stars: Edward Herrmann, Samuel West
Votes: 231
DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/jbItOhz
9. The War (2007)
TV-14 | 124 min | Documentary, History, War
A seven-part series focusing on the many ways in which the Second World War impacted the lives of American families.
Stars: Keith David, Katharine Phillips, Tom Hanks, Paul Fussell
Votes: 5,668
Blu-ray on Amazon.com: http://a.co/0qbIJfR
10. Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State (2005)
48 min | Documentary, History, War
The history of the Final Solution phase of the Nazi Holocaust, particularly with the most infamous of the death camps.
Stars: Samuel West, Linda Hunt, Gert Heidenreich, Horst Günter Marx
Votes: 4,653
AKA "Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State" DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/eszlfk9
11. Apocalypse: The Second World War (2009)
TV-MA | 60 min | Documentary, History, War
This six-part series traces the Second World War, from the rise of the Nazis to the surrender of the Japanese, with detailed portraits of key figures.
Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Martin Sheen, Rudolf Hess
Votes: 14,291
Blu-ray on Amazon.com: http://a.co/1vzErwT
12. Third Reich: The Rise & Fall (2010)
180 min | Documentary, History, War
THIRD REICH: THE RISE & FALL tells the story of Hitler's Germany through rarely seen films of the people who were there. Immersive and evocative, it takes viewers inside the Germany of the ... See full summary »
Stars: Tony Call, Dan Bittner, Geoffrey Cantor, Eliza Foss
Votes: 1,194
DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/9KvEzPw
DVD on Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.eu/79AtFHq
14. War of the Century (1999– )
200 min | Documentary, History, War
Documentary examining Operation Barbarossa, Hitler's invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941.
Stars: Samuel West, Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin, Rolf Becker
Votes: 493
AKA "War of the Century - When Hitler Fought Stalin" DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/3VSHt1n
15. Das Dritte Reich - In Farbe (1998 TV Movie)
105 min | Documentary, War
Most of what we know about World War II comes from monochromatic images and pictures. But this documentary brings something different: it's a fascinating collage of colored images from that... See full summary »
Director: Michael Kloft | Stars: Ion Antonescu, Martin Bormann, Eva Braun, Winston Churchill
Votes: 286
DVD on Amazon.co.uk: http://amzn.eu/2YpnTja
16.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
The Battle of the Bulge: World War II's Deadliest Battle
(1994)
TV-PG | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Documentary chronicling the history of World War II's "Battle of the Bulge", when the German army launched a major surprise counteroffensive against the American forces that caught them ... See full summary »
Director: Thomas Lennon | Stars: David McCullough, Guy Franz Arend, Omar N. Bradley, Clyde Burkholder
Votes: 103
DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/2FbvTr9
17.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
D-Day Remembered
(1994)
TV-PG | 54 min | Documentary, Biography, History
An award-winning documentary of the invasion of Normandy in World War II, using rare archival films and pictures from British, American, and German archives. The narrator provides the ... See full summary »
Director: Charles Guggenheim | Stars: David McCullough, Edward A. Askew, John C. Ausland, Joe Bacile
Votes: 81
DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/bzodGw2
18.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
FDR: Part I
(1994)
TV-PG | 55 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Polio at age 39, president at age 50. Explore the public and private life of a determined man who steered this country through two monumental crises: the Depression and World War II. FDR ... See full summary »
Director: David Grubin | Stars: Winston Churchill, David McCullough, Eleanor Roosevelt, Franklin D. Roosevelt
Votes: 150
DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/7dwkt7u
19.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
FDR: Part II
(1994)
TV-PG | 69 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Polio at age 39, president at age 50. Explore the public and private life of a determined man who steered this country through two monumental crises: the Depression and World War II. FDR ... See full summary »
Director: David Grubin | Stars: David McCullough, Winston Churchill, Adolf Hitler, King George V
Votes: 79
DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/7dwkt7u
20.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Truman: Part I
(1997)
TV-PG | 139 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Biography of U.S. President Harry S Truman.
Director: David Grubin | Stars: David McCullough, Charles Babcock, Winston Churchill, Robert Farren
Votes: 120
DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/bvgbqyr
21.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
Truman: Part II
(1997)
TV-PG | 112 min | Documentary, Biography, History
He was a farmer, a businessman, an unknown politician who suddenly found himself president. Of all the men who had held the highest office, Harry Truman was the least prepared, but would ... See full summary »
Director: David Grubin | Star: Jason Robards
Votes: 70
DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/bvgbqyr
22. Churchill (1992– )
50 min | Documentary, Biography
Martin Gilbert, who has spent 25 years researching and writing about the life of Churchill, presents the first complete television biography of Britain's wartime leader.
Stars: Martin Gilbert, Pamela Harriman, Lady Mary Soames, Grace Hamblin
Votes: 30
AKA "Winston Churchill" DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/9FZt9hN
23. Moments of Truth with Stephen Ambrose (2001 TV Movie)
92 min | Documentary, History, War
World War II veterans, and others who were alive then, reminisce about their wartime "moments of truth".
Director: Chris Harty | Stars: Harry Smith, Stephen Ambrose, Paul Tibbets
Votes: 7
DVD on Amazon.com: http://a.co/9FOAdAJ
24. We Stand Alone Together (2001 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 78 min | Documentary
Compiled over two years, an 'on-camera oral history' of Easy Company, told by the veterans themselves. Accompanies the mini-series Band of Brothers.
Director: Mark Cowen | Stars: James Alley Jr., Roderick Bain, Lynn 'Buck' Compton, Antonio García de Pedro
Votes: 2,497
Blu-ray on Amazon.com: https://amzn.to/2Hu4Z9c
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