World War II (1919 – 1957)
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- DirectorDavid LeanStarsRobert NewtonCelia JohnsonJohn MillsJust after World War I, the Gibbons family moves to a nice house in the suburbs. They live an ordinary life throughout the years, but everything changes when World War II breaks out.1919 – 1939: The interwar period as seen through the life of a London family.
- DirectorWalter RuttmannStarsPaul von HindenburgThis movie shows us one day in Berlin, the rhythm of that time, starting at the earliest morning and ends in the deepest night.1927: Berlin at its pre-war height.
- CreatorHenk HandloegtenTom TykwerAchim von BorriesStarsVolker BruchLiv Lisa FriesLars EidingerColognian commissioner Gereon Rath moves to Berlin, the epicenter of political and social changes in the Golden Twenties.1929 – 1931: The latter years of the Weimar Republic
- DirectorBob FosseStarsLiza MinnelliMichael YorkHelmut GriemA female girlie club entertainer in Weimar Republic era Berlin romances two men while the Nazi Party rises to power around them.1931 – 1932: Weimar decadence and the rise of fascism
- DirectorLuchino ViscontiStarsDirk BogardeIngrid ThulinHelmut GriemThe dramatic collapse of a wealthy, industrialist/Junker family during the reign of the Third Reich.1933 – 1934: A fictionalized tale of a dramatic collapse of a wealthy, industrialist/Junker family during the reign of the Third Reich.
- DirectorRichard LoncraineStarsAlbert FinneyVanessa RedgraveJim BroadbentWinston Churchill's wilderness years prior to World War II, when only he could see the threat that Adolf Hitler and a rearmed Germany posed to Europe.1934 – 1936: Churchill’s Britain before the War
- DirectorLeni RiefenstahlStarsAdolf HitlerHermann GöringMax AmannThe infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany.1935: The infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany.
- DirectorSam WoodStarsGary CooperIngrid BergmanAkim TamiroffDuring the Spanish Civil War, an American allied with the Republicans finds romance during a desperate mission to blow up a strategically important bridge.1936 – 1939: Spanish Civil War
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsJulie AndrewsChristopher PlummerEleanor ParkerA young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.Early 1938: Set on the eve of the Anschluss (“joining") or Annexation of Austria into Nazi Germany on 12 March 1938.
- DirectorEttore ScolaStarsSophia LorenMarcello MastroianniJohn VernonTwo neighbors, a persecuted journalist and a resigned housewife, meet during Hitler's visit to Italy in May 1938.May 1938: Two neighbors, a persecuted journalist and a resigned housewife, meet during Hitler's visit to Italy in May 1938.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsGreer GarsonWalter PidgeonTeresa WrightA British family struggles to survive the first months of World War II.Late 1939: Middle class Brits’ lives change as World War II looms.
- DirectorTom HooperStarsColin FirthGeoffrey RushHelena Bonham CarterThe story of King George VI, his unexpected ascension to the throne of the British Empire in 1936, and the speech therapist who helped the unsure monarch overcome his stammer.September 3, 1939: King George VI’s first wartime radio broadcast upon Britain's declaration of war on Germany in 1939.
- DirectorThaddeus O'SullivanStarsBrendan GleesonClive MantleAdrian ScarboroughContinuing the storyline of The Gathering Storm (2002), Churchill at War is a look at the former British prime minister's life and career at the end of WWII.September 3, 1939 – May 1945: From Churchill’s ascension to Prime Minister in September of 1939, to Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain and Pearl Harbor, to the end of the war in May 1945.
- DirectorJoe WrightStarsGary OldmanLily JamesKristin Scott ThomasIn May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler, or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire.May 1940
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsFionn WhiteheadBarry KeoghanMark RylanceAllied 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.May 1940
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsMichael CaineTrevor HowardHarry AndrewsIn 1940, the British Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle to prevent the Luftwaffe from gaining air superiority over the English Channel as a prelude to a possible Axis invasion of the U.K.July – August 1940: British Royal Air Force fights to prevent a Nazi invasion of Britain.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsAugust DiehlValerie PachnerMaria SimonThe Austrian Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector, refuses to fight for the Nazis in World War II.Early 1940 – August 9, 1943. The life of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian farmer and devout Catholic who refused to fight for the Nazis in World War II. Chronicles the beginning of the war, France’s surrender, through the middle of the war.
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsHumphrey BogartLauren BacallWalter BrennanDuring World War II, American expatriate Harry Morgan helps transport a French Resistance leader and his beautiful wife to Martinique while romancing a sensuous lounge singer.Summer 1940
- DirectorMikhail KalatozovStarsTatyana SamoylovaAleksey BatalovVasiliy MerkurevVeronica plans a rendezvous with her lover, Boris, at the bank of river, only for him to be drafted into World War II shortly thereafter.June 22, 1941 – 1945: Veronica plans a rendezvous with her lover, Boris, at the bank of river, only for him to be drafted into World War II shortly thereafter. Palm d’Or winner.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyEduard AbalovStarsNikolay BurlyaevValentin ZubkovEvgeniy ZharikovDuring WWII, Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev strikes up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers while working as a scout behind the German lines.June 22, 1941 – 1945: During WWII, Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev strikes up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers while working as a scout behind the German lines.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsJürgen ProchnowHerbert GrönemeyerKlaus WennemannA 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.October 1941: Follows the crew of a German submarine U-96.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.December 1941: Days before the attack on Pearl Harbor
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsBurt LancasterMontgomery CliftDeborah KerrAt a U.S. Army base in 1941 Hawaii, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team, while his commanding officer's wife and top aide begin a tentative affair.December 1941: Americans in the days before Pearl Harbor, with the attack at the end.
- DirectorRichard FleischerKinji FukasakuToshio MasudaStarsMartin BalsamSô YamamuraJason RobardsThe story of the 1941 Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor, and the series of preceding American blunders that aggravated its effectiveness.December 7, 1941
- DirectorMichael BayStarsBen AffleckKate BeckinsaleJosh HartnettA tale of war and romance mixed in with history. The story follows two lifelong friends and a beautiful nurse who are caught up in the horror of an infamous Sunday morning in 1941.December 7, 1941
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsChristian BaleJohn MalkovichMiranda RichardsonA young English boy struggles to survive under Japanese occupation of China during World War II.December 8, 1941 – 1945: Japanese occupation of China during WWII.
- DirectorBaz LuhrmannStarsNicole KidmanHugh JackmanShea AdamsIn 1939, an Englishwoman inherits a sprawling ranch in northern Australia and reluctantly makes a pact with a stockman to drive 2000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape.1941 – 1942: Set in Australia before and during the bombing of Darwin on February 19, 1942.
- DirectorAaron SchneiderStarsTom HanksElisabeth ShueStephen GrahamSeveral 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.February 1942: Early months into America’s entry into the war in the Battle of the Atlantic, as the Americans are stalked by German submarines
- DirectorRoland EmmerichStarsEd SkreinPatrick WilsonWoody HarrelsonThe story of the Battle of Midway, told by the leaders and the sailors who fought it.May – June 1942: Meanwhile, on the other side of the US in the Pacific, a Naval stalemate between American and Japanese fleets leads to the historic June battle won by the Americans
- DirectorRobert ZemeckisStarsBrad PittMarion CotillardJared HarrisIn 1942, a Canadian intelligence officer in North Africa encounters a female French Resistance fighter on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. When they reunite in London, their relationship is tested by the pressures of war.Summer 1942: A love story set amid the backdrop of the war in Casablanca between a Canadian Air Force pilot and a French resistance fighter.
- DirectorJean-Jacques AnnaudStarsJude LawEd HarrisJoseph FiennesA Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad.August 1942 – February 1943: The Battle of Stalingrad from the Soviet perspective.
- DirectorJoseph VilsmaierStarsDominique HorwitzThomas KretschmannJochen NickelThe 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.August 1942 – February 1943: The Battle of Stalingrad from the German perspective.
- DirectorDavid LeanStarsWilliam HoldenAlec GuinnessJack HawkinsBritish POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.1942 – 1943: The film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 1942–43 for its historical setting. The film deals with the situation of British prisoners of war during World War II who are ordered to build a bridge to accommodate the Burma-Siam railway. Their instinct is to sabotage the bridge but, under the leadership of Colonel Nicholson, they are persuaded that the bridge should be constructed as a symbol of British morale, spirit and dignity in adverse circumstances.
- DirectorTerrence MalickStarsJim CaviezelSean PennNick NolteAdaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.December 1942 – January 1943; The film tells a fictional story of United States forces during the Battle of Mount Austen in World War II. The battle took place from 15 December 1942 to 23 January 1943 and was primarily an engagement between United States and Imperial Japanese forces in the hills near the Matanikau River area on Guadalcanal during the Guadalcanal Campaign.
- DirectorMark HermanStarsAsa ButterfieldDavid ThewlisRupert FriendThrough 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.Mid-1943: The son of a German officer befriends a young jewish boy. They communicate from opposite sides of the fence of a jewish extermination camp. By the summer of 1942, Operation Reinhard began the systematic extermination of the Jews.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsAdrien BrodyThomas KretschmannFrank FinlayDuring 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.1939 – 1945: Polish POV. Follows a Jewish family in Warsaw, Poland from late 1939 during the German occupation, through the entire war. The Pianist witnesses some of the Warsaw ghetto uprising. England and France declare war on Nazi Germany within the first 5 minutes.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsLiam NeesonRalph FiennesBen KingsleyIn German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.1939 – 1945. Begins in November 1939 just after the invasion of Poland defeat. The story of Oskar Schindler and his quest to save almost 1200 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his enamelware and ammunition factories. Ends with liberation in 1945.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsMillie PerkinsShelley WintersJoseph SchildkrautDuring World War II, a teenage Jewish girl named Anne Frank and her family are forced into hiding in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands.July 1942 – 1945: The life of Anne Frank during the war.
- DirectorClaude LanzmannStarsSimon SrebnikMichael PodchlebnikMotke ZaïdlClaude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors.Chronicles the Holocaust during World War II.
- DirectorJonathan GlazerStarsChristian FriedelSandra HüllerJohann KarthausAuschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden beside the camp.1942 – 1943: A Nazi family builds a life next to the Auchwitz concentration camp.
- DirectorNagisa ÔshimaStarsDavid BowieTom ContiRyuichi SakamotoDuring WWII, a British colonel tries to bridge the cultural divides between a British POW and the Japanese camp commander in order to avoid bloodshed.1942: During WWII, a British colonel tries to bridge the cultural divides between a British POW and the Japanese camp commander in order to avoid bloodshed.
- DirectorElem KlimovStarsAleksey KravchenkoOlga MironovaLiubomiras LauceviciusAfter finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.1943: German occupation of Belarus. A Belorussian boy is digging in a sand field looking for abandoned rifles, in order to join the Soviet partisan forces. He Fights with a hopelessly unequipped Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces. Witnessing scenes of abject terror and surviving horrifying situations, he loses his innocence and then his mind.
- DirectorFranklin J. SchaffnerStarsGeorge C. ScottKarl MaldenStephen YoungThe World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.February 19, 1943 – May 18, 1945: From the Battle of Kasserine Pass to Germany’s capitulation.
- DirectorRainer Werner FassbinderStarsHanna SchygullaKlaus LöwitschIvan DesnyMaria marries Hermann Braun in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. Alone, Maria puts to use her beauty and ambition in order to find prosperity during Germany's "economic miracle" of the 1950s.1943 – 1954: Maria marries Hermann Braun in the last days of World War II, only for him to go missing in the war. Alone, Maria puts to use her beauty and ambition in order to find prosperity during Germany's "economic miracle" of the 1950s.
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsAnna MagnaniAldo FabriziMarcello PaglieroDuring the Nazi occupation of Rome in 1944, the Resistance leader, Giorgio Manfredi, is chased by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a way to escape.1944: During the Nazi occupation of Rome in 1944, the Resistance leader, Giorgio Manfredi, is chased by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a way to escape.
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsSteve McQueenJames GarnerRichard AttenboroughAllied prisoners of war plan for several hundred of their number to escape from a German camp during World War II.March 1943: Allied POWs conceived a plan for a major escape from the camp, which occurred in March 1944.
- DirectorRoberto BenigniStarsRoberto BenigniNicoletta BraschiGiorgio CantariniWhen an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.1944 – 1945: When an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.June 6, 1944: Landings at Normandy
- DirectorKen AnnakinAndrew MartonGerd OswaldStarsJohn WayneRobert RyanRichard BurtonThe events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.June 6, 1944: D-Day, told on a grand scale from both Allied and German points of view.
- DirectorGeorge ClooneyStarsGeorge ClooneyMatt DamonBill MurrayAn unlikely World War II platoon is tasked to rescue art masterpieces from German thieves and return them to their owners.July 1944 – May 1945: Allied group from the Monuments, Fine Arts, and Archives program that is given the task of finding and saving pieces of art and other culturally important items before Nazis.
- DirectorBryan SingerStarsTom CruiseBill NighyCarice van HoutenA dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II.July 20, 1944: The plot by German army officers to assassinate Hitler and to use the Operation Valkyrie national emergency plan to take control of the country.
- DirectorRichard AttenboroughStarsSean ConneryRyan O'NealMichael CaineOperation Market Garden, September 1944: The Allies attempt to capture several strategically important bridges in the Netherlands in the hope of breaking the German lines.September 17 – 24, 1944: Operation Market Garden.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsRyan PhillippeBarry PepperJoseph CrossThe life stories of the six men who raised the flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima, a turning point in World War II.February 19 – March 26, 1945: The Battle of Iwo Jima, or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. Told from the American POV.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsKen WatanabeKazunari NinomiyaTsuyoshi IharaThe 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.February 19 – March 26, 1945: The Battle of Iwo Jima, or Operation Detachment, was a major battle in which the United States fought for and captured the island of Iwo Jima from the Empire of Japan. Told from the Japanese POV.
- DirectorMel GibsonStarsAndrew GarfieldSam WorthingtonLuke BraceyWorld 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.April 1 – June 22, 1945: Battle of Okinawa
- DirectorDavid AyerStarsBrad PittShia LaBeoufLogan LermanA grizzled tank commander makes tough decisions as he and his crew fight their way across Germany in April, 1945.April 1945: Allies final push into Germany.
- DirectorOliver HirschbiegelStarsBruno GanzAlexandra Maria LaraUlrich MatthesTraudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.April 16 – May 2, 1945: Germany stands at the brink of defeat. Adolf Hitler commits suicide in the final days of the Reich, where senior German leaders (such as Himmler and Goring) began defecting.
- DirectorKantemir BalagovStarsViktoria MiroshnichenkoVasilisa PerelyginaAndrey Bykov1945, Leningrad. WWII has devastated the city, demolishing its buildings and leaving its citizens in tatters, physically and mentally. Two young women search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins.May 1945: Leningrad after World War II.
- DirectorMartin ZandvlietStarsRoland MøllerLouis HofmannJoel BasmanIn post-World War II Denmark, a group of young German POWs are forced to clear a beach of thousands of land mines under the watch of a Danish Sergeant who slowly learns to appreciate their plight.May 1945: A Danish post-war perspective.
- DirectorSteven SoderberghStarsGeorge ClooneyCate BlanchettTobey MaguireWhile in post-war Berlin to cover the Potsdam Conference, an American military journalist is drawn into a murder investigation that involves his former mistress and his driver.July 1945: Post-war Berlin at the Potsdam conference.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsCillian MurphyEmily BluntMatt DamonThe story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.July 16, 1945: Trinity nuclear test of the Atomic bomb.
- DirectorAleksandr SokurovStarsIssei OgataRobert DawsonKaori MomoiThird part in Aleksandr Sokurov's quadrilogy of Power, following Moloch (1999) and Taurus (2001), focuses on Japanese Emperor Hirohito and Japan's defeat in World War II when he is finally confronted by General Douglas MacArthur who offers him to accept a diplomatic defeat for survival.August 1945: Depicting Japanese Emperor Hirohito during the final days of World War II.
- DirectorFrank PiersonStarsGary SiniseDiana ScarwidRichard DysartThough considered unqualified, Harry S. Truman becomes the 33rd president following the April 1945 death of Franklin D. Roosevelt.July 1945 – August 1945: Truman’s presidency and the Atomic Bomb.
- DirectorPeter WebberStarsMatthew FoxColin MoyTommy Lee JonesAs the Japanese surrender at the end of World War II, General Fellers is tasked with deciding if Emperor Hirohito will be hanged as a war criminal. Influencing his ruling is his quest to find Aya, an exchange student he met years earlier in the U.S.September 1945: General Douglas MacArthur during the final days of World War II
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsMyrna LoyDana AndrewsFredric MarchThree World War II veterans, two of them traumatized or disabled, return home to the American midwest to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.1945-1946 - Back on the home front, families struggle to adjust to life after the catastrophic war
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsEdmund MoeschkeErnst PittschauIngetraud HinzeA young German boy faces the problems of the tough life in the immediate post-WWII Berlin.1947: Germany confronts life after the war.
- DirectorAlan J. PakulaStarsMeryl StreepKevin KlinePeter MacNicolSophie is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live with Nathan, a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust.1947: Sophie is the survivor of Nazi concentration camps, who has found a reason to live with Nathan, a sparkling if unsteady American Jew obsessed with the Holocaust.
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsSpencer TracyBurt LancasterRichard WidmarkIn 1948, an American court in occupied Germany tries four Nazis judged for war crimes.1947 – 1948: Nazis are tried for their crimes
- DirectorLiliana CavaniStarsDirk BogardeCharlotte RamplingPhilippe LeroyA concentration camp survivor rekindles her sadomasochistic relationship with her lover, a former SS officer - now working as a night porter at a Vienna hotel - but his former Nazi associates begin stalking them.1957: A concentration camp survivor rekindles her sadomasochistic relationship with her lover, a former SS officer - now working as a night porter at a Vienna hotel - but his former Nazi associates begin stalking them.
- DirectorJonathan GlazerStarsChristian FriedelSandra HüllerJohann KarthausAuschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden beside the camp.