The 25 Best WWII Movies, Series & Documentaries
by User_ID_idontknow | created - 31 May 2017 | updated - 7 months ago | Public**WARNING**
***THIS LIST IS IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER***
RECENTLY SEEN AND ADDED -
WWII IN HD (2009)
APOCALYPSE - THE SECOND WORLD WAR (2009)
WWII IN COLOUR (2009)
DUNKIRK (2017)
APOCALYPSE - THE RISE OF HITLER (2011)
APOCALYPSE - STALIN (2015)
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**MORE OF MY LISTS BELOW!**
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The Best Movies ever made (For the most enthusiastic movie lovers)
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls009262429/
The Best Horror Films of all times -
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls002559374/
The Best Found Footage Movies -
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls031694934/
The Best Sci-Fi Movies ever made (For lovers of all things Science Fiction) -
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls069415169/
The Best Documentary Films (Highly engrossing docos) -
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls002769580/
The 50 best films ever made.
https://www.imdb.com/list/ls068575200/
The Best South Korean Films -
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls061577404/
The Best and Most Addictive TV Series -
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls004690783/
The Best War Movies, Docos & Series -
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls061578691/
The 25 Best Classic Films ever made -
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls068575208/
The 25 Best WWII Movies, Docos & Series -
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls068059743/
The 15 Best Iraq/Iran/Afghanistan War Movies, Docos and Series -
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls069726579/
The Best Stephen King Adaptations -
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls063428630/
The Best Simpsons Halloween Episodes
http://www.imdb.com/list/ls069024620/
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P.S I'm always looking for more suggestions, please feel free to link me to your lists!
Thanks, AB.
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1. Band of Brothers (2001)
TV-MA | 594 min | Action, Drama, History
The story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division, and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord, through V-J Day.
Stars: Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Shane Taylor
Votes: 384,106
2. Stalingrad (1993)
Not Rated | 134 min | Drama, War
The story follows a group of German soldiers, from their Italian R&R in the summer of 1942 to the frozen steppes of Soviet Russia and ending with the battle for Stalingrad.
Director: Joseph Vilsmaier | Stars: Dominique Horwitz, Thomas Kretschmann, Jochen Nickel, Sebastian Rudolph
Votes: 31,341 | Gross: $0.08M
3. Schindler's List (1993)
R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
Votes: 1,232,952 | Gross: $96.90M
4. Come and See (1985)
Not Rated | 142 min | Drama, Thriller, War
After finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.
Director: Elem Klimov | Stars: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas
Votes: 62,166
5. 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: 1,258,494 | Gross: $216.54M
6. The Pacific (2010)
TV-MA | 530 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: 101,571
7. The Pianist (2002)
R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, Music
A Polish Jewish musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Emilia Fox
Votes: 745,934 | Gross: $32.57M
8. Downfall (2004)
R | 156 min | Biography, Drama, History
Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel | Stars: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler
Votes: 335,453 | Gross: $5.51M
9. 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: 155,207 | Gross: $13.76M
10. Empire of the Sun (1987)
PG | 153 min | Action, Drama, History
A young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson, Nigel Havers
Votes: 117,461 | Gross: $22.24M
11. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
R | 153 min | Adventure, Drama, War
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, Mélanie Laurent
Votes: 1,293,254 | Gross: $120.54M
12. The Thin Red Line (1998)
R | 170 min | Drama, 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: 175,206 | Gross: $36.40M
13. The Great Escape (1963)
Approved | 172 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Allied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.
Director: John Sturges | Stars: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough, Charles Bronson
Votes: 227,907 | Gross: $12.10M
14. A Bridge Too Far (1977)
PG | 175 min | Drama, History, War
Operation Market Garden, September 1944: The Allies attempt to capture several strategically important bridges in the Netherlands in the hope of breaking the German lines.
Director: Richard Attenborough | Stars: Sean Connery, Ryan O'Neal, Michael Caine, Laurence Olivier
Votes: 52,969 | Gross: $50.80M
15. Cross of Iron (1977)
R | 119 min | Drama, War
German commander Hauptmann Stransky (Maximilian Schell) places a squad in extreme danger after Sergeant Rolf Steiner (James Coburn) refuses to lie for him.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason, David Warner
Votes: 25,329
16. 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: 1,505
17. Generation War (2013)
TV-MA | 270 min | Action, Drama, History
Five friends go out to war and promise each other to be back for Christmas.
Stars: Volker Bruch, Tom Schilling, Katharina Schüttler, Miriam Stein
Votes: 26,729 | Gross: $0.09M
18. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
R | 139 min | Biography, Drama, History
World War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served 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: 448,241 | Gross: $67.21M
19. The World at War (1973–1974)
TV-PG | 52 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, Anthony Eden, Averell Harriman, Albert Speer
Votes: 22,642
20. 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: 7,728
21. 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, Justin Bartha, Ron Livingston
Votes: 2,026
22. World War II in Colour (2009)
TV-MA | 663 min | Documentary, History, War
Recounts the events of world War II in color.
Stars: Robert Powell, Swaylee Loughnane, Mamoru Shigemitsu, Erich von Manstein
Votes: 5,990
23. 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: 570,278 | Gross: $188.37M
24. Apocalypse: The Rise of Hitler (2011)
108 min | Documentary, History, War
Chronicles Hitler's life as a failed painter and far-right activist up to his election as Chancellor of Germany, leading to his relentless rise to power, culminating in the beginning of World War II.
Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Doug Rand
Votes: 1,740
25. APOCALYPSE Stalin (2015)
157 min | Documentary, History, War
The rise of Stalin, from his early beginning as a bankrobber to the cold-blooded leader of the Soviet Union.
Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Doug Rand
Votes: 847
26. Das Boot (1985–1987)
TV-MA | 293 min | Drama, Thriller, War
A World War II German U-Boat crew have a terrifying patrol mission in the early days of the war.
Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch
Votes: 26,951
27. Five Came Back (2017)
TV-14 | 60 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The wartime contributions of five prominent Hollywood film directors during World War II are profiled.
Stars: Francis Ford Coppola, Guillermo del Toro, Paul Greengrass, Lawrence Kasdan
Votes: 4,093
28. Apocalypse: The Second World War (2009)
TV-MA | 312 min | Documentary, History, War
Apocalypse: The Second World War(2009) is a six-part French documentary about the Second World War. The documentary is composed exclusively of actual footage of the war as filmed by war ... See full summary »
Stars: Mathieu Kassovitz, Martin Sheen, Rudolf Hess
Votes: 10,418
29. Hitler's Last Year (2015)
88 min | Documentary, History, War
11 brutal months had passed between the invasion of Normandy to Hitler's fall, until the allies successfully defeated the Reich. This was the deadliest year of WW2.
Star: Jack Fortune
Votes: 217
30.
History Specials (2010– )
Episode:
WWII from Space
(2012)
TV-14 | 89 min | Documentary, History, War
This spectacular two-hour special delivers the tipping points of World War II as you ve never seen them before. The key editorial feature of the program is an all-seeing CGI eye; bringing a... See full summary »
Votes: 80
31. The Pacific War in Color (2018)
TV-14 | History, War
The Pacific War in Color immerses viewers in a graphic and dramatic look through an unfiltered lens.
Stars: Tim Barker, Jeff Wilburn, Jamie Muffett
Votes: 97
32. Catch-22 (2019)
TV-MA | 45 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Limited series adaptation of the classic Joseph Heller novel. Follows Captain John Yossarian and airmen in World War II.
Stars: Christopher Abbott, Kyle Chandler, Daniel David Stewart, Rafi Gavron
Votes: 15,464
33.
History's Verdict (2013– )
Episode:
Stalin
(2013)
60 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Joseph Stalin was the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. Under Stalin's rule, the concept of "socialism in one's country" became a central tenet of Soviet society.
Director: José Delgado | Star: Jonathan D. Mellor
Votes: 7
34. World War II: The Last Heroes (2011– )
Documentary
Accounts of World War II events, as told by those that were actually there.
Star: Jeremy Llewellyn-Jones
Votes: 131
35. Adolf Hitler: The Greatest Story Never Told (2013)
350 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Adolf Hitler, born in Braunau, one man who will change the history of the world forever. It follows his childhood to the death of his mother and his broken ambition to become an artist, ... See full summary »
Director: Dennis Wise | Stars: Eva Braun, Winston Churchill, Charles de Gaulle, Adolf Galland
Votes: 5,333
36. Europa: The Last Battle (2017)
746 min | Documentary, History, War
The TRUE HISTORY of the World. Who didn't learn from the mistakes of the past, is condamned to repeat them. And HERE we described those mistakes. We learned from them. This is how it was: ... See full synopsis »
Director: Tobias B. | Stars: Muhammad Ali, Winston Churchill, Henry Ford, Joseph Goebbels
Votes: 517
37. David Cole Interviews Dr. Franciszek Piper (1992)
Not Rated | 62 min | Documentary, History
Video documentary by Holocaust-denier David Cole made in support of the discredited claim that the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland was actually built after the war for propaganda purposes.
Director: David Abravanel Stein | Stars: David Abravanel Stein, Franciszek Piper
Votes: 79
38. Hellstorm (2015)
90 min | Documentary, History, War
A documentary that tells the tale that the victors still do not want you to know. Learn the terrible truth about the rape, torture, slavery, and mass murder inflicted upon the German people by the Allied victors of World Word II.
Director: Kyle Hunt | Stars: Gerhard Ausmeier, John DeNugent, Thomas Goodrich, Paul Hickman
Votes: 2,582
39. The Soviet Story (2008)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, History, War
The Soviet Story offers an alternative history of an Allied power, which helped the Nazis to fight Jews and which slaughtered its own people on an industrial scale.
Director: Edvins Snore | Stars: Jon Strickland, Vladimir Bukovsky, V.I. Lenin, Norman Davies
Votes: 3,104
40. 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, Israel Abelesz, Viktor Anfilov, Vladlen Antsishkin
Votes: 430
41. 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: 4,851
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