Best World War I Dramas
by muybueno16 | created - 12 Jan 2014 | updated - 07 Oct 2020 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Paths of Glory (1957)
Approved | 88 min | Drama, War
After a failed attack on a German position, a general orders three soldiers, chosen at random, court-martialed for cowardice and their commanding officer must defend them.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready
Votes: 212,042
2. Private Peaceful (2012)
Not Rated | 102 min | Drama, War
Set in the fields of Devon and the WW1 battlefields of Flanders, two brothers fall for the same girl while contending with the pressures of their feudal family life, the war, and the price of courage and cowardice.
Director: Pat O'Connor | Stars: Hero Fiennes Tiffin, Jack O'Connell, George MacKay, John Lynch
Votes: 1,717
3. 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: 165,498 | Gross: $79.88M
4. My Boy Jack (2007 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 95 min | Biography, Drama, History
Author Rudyard Kipling and his wife search for their 18-year-old son after he goes missing during World War I.
Director: Brian Kirk | Stars: David Haig, Daniel Radcliffe, Kim Cattrall, Carey Mulligan
Votes: 5,651
5. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Approved | 218 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins
Votes: 313,980 | Gross: $44.82M
6. 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: 44,420 | Gross: $13.08M
7. Behind the Lines (1997)
R | 96 min | Biography, Drama, History
Based on Pat Barker's novel of the same name, "Regeneration" tells the story of soldiers of World War One sent to an asylum for emotional troubles. Two of those soldiers are England's most important WW1 poets.
Director: Gillies MacKinnon | Stars: Jonathan Pryce, James Wilby, Jonny Lee Miller, Stuart Bunce
Votes: 2,498 | Gross: $0.02M
8. Aces High (1976)
PG | 114 min | Action, Drama, War
In World War I, the high casualty rate amongst the rookie pilots of the Royal Flying Corps puts an enormous strain on the survivors.
Director: Jack Gold | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Christopher Plummer, Simon Ward, Peter Firth
Votes: 2,981
9. A Very Long Engagement (2004)
R | 133 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Tells the story of a young woman's relentless search for her fiancé, who has disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jodie Foster, Dominique Pinon
Votes: 75,918 | Gross: $6.17M
10. The Red Baron (2008)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
German biopic loosely based on the World War I fighter ace Manfred Von Richthofen, nicknamed the Red Baron by friend and foe alike.
Director: Nikolai Müllerschön | Stars: Matthias Schweighöfer, Lena Headey, Til Schweiger, Joseph Fiennes
Votes: 13,147 | Gross: $0.04M
11. The Lost Battalion (2001 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 92 min | Action, Drama, War
Fact-based war drama about an American battalion of over 500 men which gets trapped behind enemy lines in the Argonne Forest in October 1918 France during the closing weeks of World War I.
Director: Russell Mulcahy | Stars: Ricky Schroder, Phil McKee, Jamie Harris, Jay Rodan
Votes: 8,220
12. 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: 8,804
13. Wooden Crosses (1932)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama, War
World War 1 begins and a young man enlists to fight for his country.
Director: Raymond Bernard | Stars: Pierre Blanchar, Gabriel Gabrio, Charles Vanel, Raymond Aimos
Votes: 1,685
14. The Blue Max (1966)
Approved | 156 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A young pilot in the German air force of 1918, disliked as lower-class and unchivalrous, tries ambitiously to earn the medal offered for 20 kills.
Director: John Guillermin | Stars: George Peppard, James Mason, Ursula Andress, Jeremy Kemp
Votes: 7,613
15. Shout at the Devil (1976)
PG | 150 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
During World War I, a British aristocrat, an American entrepreneur, and the latter's attractive young daughter, set out to destroy a German battlecruiser, which is awaiting repairs in an inlet just off Zanzibar.
Director: Peter R. Hunt | Stars: Lee Marvin, Roger Moore, Barbara Parkins, Ian Holm
Votes: 3,350
16. Battle Ground (2013)
R | 95 min | Action, Drama, War
Three British soldiers find themselves stranded in No Man's Land after a failed charge on the German Trenches. Set in France 1916.
Directors: Johan Earl, Adrian Powers | Stars: Johan Earl, Tim Pocock, Martin Copping, Denai Gracie
Votes: 2,126
17. The Long Way Home (2013)
112 min | Drama, History, War
The Long Way Home is set on the outskirts of Kars in Eastern Anatolia in the winter of 1915 and takes us to the immediate aftermath of the Battle of Sarikamis. The film follows a group of ... See full summary »
Director: Alphan Eseli | Stars: Ugur Polat, Nergis Öztürk, Serdar Orçin, Muharrem Bayrak
Votes: 731
18. Company K (2004)
R | 102 min | Drama, War
World War I troubled veteran Joe Delaney attempts to compile a history of his U.S. Marines company but nightmares about the German soldier he killed haunt him still.
Director: Robert Clem | Stars: Ari Fliakos, Terry Serpico, Steve Cuiffo, Joe Delafield
Votes: 357
19. Josef (2011)
90 min | Action, War
It is a movie about survive in war time (WW1 East front). In dark colors, with interesting characters, mixture of ash and sand, puzzle of stories, cynic, precise, harsh, bitter, Rubick cube of times and events.
Director: Stanislav Tomic | Stars: Neven Aljinovic-Tot, Alen Liveric, Drazen Sivak, Sandra Loncaric
Votes: 470
20. 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: 8,604
21. Johnny Got His Gun (1971)
R | 111 min | Drama, War
During World War I, a patriotic young American is rendered blind, deaf, limbless, and mute by a horrific artillery shell attack. Trapped in what's left of his body, he desperately looks for a way to end his life.
Director: Dalton Trumbo | Stars: Timothy Bottoms, Kathy Fields, Marsha Hunt, Jason Robards
Votes: 18,333 | Gross: $0.55M
22. The Lighthorsemen (1987)
PG | 131 min | Drama, History, War
In 1917 when the British forces are bogged down in front of the Turkish and German lines in Palestine they rely on the Australian light horse regiment to break the deadlock.
Director: Simon Wincer | Stars: Peter Phelps, Nick Waters, John Larking, Jack Heywood
Votes: 2,017
23. King of Hearts (1966)
Not Rated | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, War
During World War I, a British private, sent ahead to a French town to scout for enemy presence, is mistaken for a King by the colorful patients of an insane asylum.
Director: Philippe de Broca | Stars: Alan Bates, Geneviève Bujold, Pierre Brasseur, Jean-Claude Brialy
Votes: 4,338 | Gross: $0.02M
24. King & Country (1964)
Not Rated | 86 min | Drama, War
During World War I, Army Private Arthur James Hamp is accused of desertion during battle. The officer assigned to defend him at his court-martial, Captain Hargreaves, finds out there is more to the case than meets the eye.
Director: Joseph Losey | Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Tom Courtenay, Leo McKern, Barry Foster
Votes: 2,484
25. Passchendaele (2008)
R | 114 min | Drama, History, Romance
The lives of a troubled veteran, his nurse girlfriend and a naive boy intersect first in Alberta and then in Belgium during the bloody World War I battle of Passchendaele.
Director: Paul Gross | Stars: Paul Gross, Michael Greyeyes, James Kot, Jesse Frechette
Votes: 8,797
26. The Water Diviner (2014)
R | 111 min | Drama, History, War
An Australian man travels to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli to try to locate his three missing sons.
Director: Russell Crowe | Stars: Russell Crowe, Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney, Isabel Lucas
Votes: 77,877 | Gross: $4.19M
27. Gallipoli (1981)
PG | 110 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Two Australian sprinters face the brutal realities of war when they are sent to fight in the Gallipoli campaign in Turkey during World War I.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Mel Gibson, Mark Lee, Bill Kerr, Harold Hopkins
Votes: 41,929 | Gross: $5.73M
28. The Crimson Field (2014)
TV-PG | 60 min | Drama, War
During the First World War, Kitty Trevelyan tries to put the past troubles behind her as she joins two other girls to volunteer at one of the busy war hospitals in northern France.
Stars: Hermione Norris, Oona Chaplin, Richard Rankin, Marianne Oldham
Votes: 3,393
29. Parade's End (2012)
TV-MA | 57 min | Action, Drama, Romance
Revolves around a love triangle between a conservative English aristocrat, his mean socialite wife and a young suffragette.
Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Rebecca Hall, Roger Allam, Adelaide Clemens
Votes: 10,732
30. Gallipoli (2015)
44 min | Drama, History, War
Four young Australian boys join the military and are sent to Gallipoli.
Stars: Kodi Smit-McPhee, Harry Greenwood, Sam Parsonson, Tom Budge
Votes: 2,381
31. The Battle of Gallipoli (1931)
75 min | Drama, War
Two friends enlist in the British army during World War 1 and take part in the Gallipoli campaign.
Directors: Anthony Asquith, Geoffrey Barkas | Stars: Fay Compton, Tony Bruce, Carl Harbord, Dennis Hoey
Votes: 90
32. Deadline Gallipoli (2015)
197 min | Drama, War
Three journalists, Charles Bean, Ellis Ashmead Bartlett and Phillip Schuler, arrive at Gallipoli with the invading British and Allied troops in 1915. They will report the war but are ... See full summary »
Stars: Sam Worthington, Hugh Dancy, Joel Jackson, Charles Dance
Votes: 869
33. In Love and War (1996)
PG-13 | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A bitter love story between a talented writer and a gentle nurse.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Chris O'Donnell, Mackenzie Astin, Margot Steinberg
Votes: 9,122 | Gross: $14.48M
34. The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles (1992–1993)
TV-G | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Family
The adventures of the archaeological treasure hunter in his youth as related by an elderly Indiana Jones.
Stars: Sean Patrick Flanery, George Hall, Corey Carrier, Ronny Coutteure
Votes: 8,673
35. Once an Eagle (1976–1977)
540 min | Drama, War
A story of the professional and private lives of two Army officers, Court Massengale an incompetent schemer who doesn't care about his men, and Sam Damon, a heroic and caring leader from World War I to the end of World War II.
Stars: Sam Elliott, Cliff Potts, Darleen Carr, Amy Irving
Votes: 515
36. Joyeux Noel (2005)
PG-13 | 116 min | Drama, History, Music
In December 1914, an unofficial Christmas truce on the Western Front allows soldiers from opposing sides of the First World War to gain insight into each other's way of life.
Director: Christian Carion | Stars: Diane Kruger, Benno Fürmann, Guillaume Canet, Natalie Dessay
Votes: 31,977 | Gross: $1.05M
37. 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
38. Hell Below (1933)
Passed | 101 min | Romance, Drama, War
In 1918, U.S. Navy Lt. Tommy Knowlton participates in dangerous submarine missions, disobeys orders, gets court-martialed and romances a married woman who happens to be his C.O.'s daughter.
Director: Jack Conway | Stars: Robert Montgomery, Walter Huston, Madge Evans, Jimmy Durante
Votes: 560
39. Lafayette Escadrille (1958)
Approved | 93 min | Drama, Romance, War
American youth and flying ace flies for France in World War I, meets and loves a French girl and a prostitute.
Director: William A. Wellman | Stars: Tab Hunter, Clint Eastwood, Etchika Choureau, Marcel Dalio
Votes: 932
40. Our World War (2014)
Not Rated | Action, Drama, War
Three true stories of British soldiers fighting in World War 1. Each one takes place at a different time and place in the war, focuses on a different unit and shows a different aspect to the war.
Stars: Nicki Vickery, Rob Townsend, Gerard Kearns, Shaun Dooley
Votes: 1,890
41. 37 Days (2014)
60 min | History
A TV mini-series that unveils the behind-closed-doors story of the final weeks before the outbreak of World War I.
Stars: Ian McDiarmid, Nicholas Farrell, Tim Pigott-Smith, Sinéad Cusack
Votes: 1,561
42. Journey's End (I) (2017)
R | 107 min | Drama, War
Set in a dugout in Aisne in 1918, it is the story of a group of British officers, led by mentally-disintegrating young Officer Stanhope, as they await their fate.
Director: Saul Dibb | Stars: Paul Bettany, Sam Claflin, Stephen Graham, Tom Sturridge
Votes: 11,313 | Gross: $0.16M
43. The Ottoman Lieutenant (2017)
R | 106 min | Drama, War
This movie is a love story between an idealistic American nurse and a Turkish officer in World War I.
Director: Joseph Ruben | Stars: Michiel Huisman, Hera Hilmar, Josh Hartnett, Ben Kingsley
Votes: 26,665
44. Anzacs (1985)
165 min | Drama, History, War
Following the lives of a dozen Australian soldiers who served in the Australia and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) during World War I which follows them from the 1915 battle of Galipoli, to ... See full summary »
Stars: Andrew Clarke, Paul Hogan, Jon Blake, Megan Williams
Votes: 845
45. The 39 Steps (2008 TV Movie)
TV-PG | 90 min | Adventure, Crime, Mystery
Richard Hannay, a mining engineer on holiday from the African colonies, finds London socialite life terribly dull. Yet it's more than he bargained for when secret agent, Scudder, bursts ... See full summary »
Director: James Hawes | Stars: Rupert Penry-Jones, Lydia Leonard, David Haig, Patrick Malahide
Votes: 2,391
46. The Great War (2019)
R | 108 min | Drama, War
During the last days of the Great War, a group of U.S. soldiers are sent behind enemy lines to rescue a lost platoon.
Director: Steven Luke | Stars: Bates Wilder, Hiram A. Murray, Ron Perlman, Billy Zane
Votes: 1,288
47. Birdsong (2012)
Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, Romance, War
As an English soldier fights in the horrific trenches of northern France, he is haunted by the memories of his forbidden love affair with a French woman.
Stars: Eddie Redmayne, Clémence Poésy, Matthew Goode, Thomas Turgoose
Votes: 6,002
48. Walter's War (2008 TV Movie)
60 min | Biography, Drama, War
The substantially true story of Walter Tull, a black man whose grandfather was a slave but who was born in Folkestone, Kent, in England, and who, in the years prior to the First World War, ... See full summary »
Director: Alrick Riley | Stars: O-T Fagbenle, Paul Westwood, Zac Fox, Kwame Kwei-Armah
Votes: 119
49. Secret Agent (1936)
Not Rated | 86 min | Mystery, Thriller
After three British Agents are assigned to assassinate a mysterious German spy during World War I, two of them become ambivalent when their duty to the mission conflicts with their consciences.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: John Gielgud, Madeleine Carroll, Robert Young, Peter Lorre
Votes: 9,036
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