The Top 10 Best World War 2 Movies
World War 2 Movies Show War Movies… War Movies Never Change.
As long as there are humans, there will always be war, and as long as there’s war there will be war movies. Previously, I tackled a list of the best Iraq War movies and this week I’ve decided to take on the best World War 2 movies of all time. While war might be more complicated these days, these movies prove that it never really changes. These movies are set during a simpler time when it was easier to tell who the bad guys were based on their kinky uniforms, goose-stepping, and stupid red flags (red flags are harder to spot these days). It was truly a war between good and evil, as nations gathered together to stand against fascism. What I wouldn’t give to see more men and women out there punching Nazis in the face once more. Hopefully, this list of World War 2 movies will help to inspire us all to once more take a stand for what is right as racism and xenophobia rear it’s ugly head once more. This list of movies will prove that it doesn’t always take guns to stand against evil which is a lesson we could all stand to be reminded of.
10. The Thin Red Line
Kicking off this list of World War 2 movies is a film about the futility of war. Terrence Malick is a director that is probably best known for making surreal movies searching for the meaning of life, but he managed to find his focus long enough to tell this tale of soldiers in the South Pacific. During the war, the Japanese were fighting alongside Germany and it was up to a few brave men to try to take back the islands they had turned into strongholds. The Thin Red follows a small group of soldiers as they try to capture a bunker atop a hill. It’s a grueling film that shows just how slow going so many of the battles were and just how high the price of victory often was. Like so many of the films on this list of World War 2 movies, it features some of the biggest names in Hollywood, including Sean Penn, Woody Harrelson, John Cusack, and many more.
9. The Guns of Navarone
Despite the huge scope of it, World War 2 movies often focus on the efforts of a few brave men that made the difference between victory and defeat for their comrades. The Guns of Navarone tells the story of a group sent to disable large artillery guns preventing the British Navy from rescuing marooned soldiers from a small island. Since no one can get close to the island, a group is sent on a clandestine mission to sabotage the guns and ensure that the Navy can reach the soldiers before the Germans do. With thousands of lives on the line, a group of 8 risks everything to complete their mission. It’s a thrilling film, filled with twists and turns that proves sometimes cunning is what is needed most to win battles.
8. Where Eagles Dare
With the second World War came the modernization of commando units that specialized in assaults on high-value targets. These were featured in a ton of World War 2 movies, because, well, they make for better cinema. Where Eagles Dare is a film that follows just such a unit that is sent behind enemy lines to rescue a General captured by the Nazis. Being such a key figure in the war effort, the Allies can’t allow his knowledge to be used against them and so they recruit a ragtag group of men with very specific skills to get him back. The thing is that not everyone is who they claim to be, and it soon becomes apparent that Germany has plenty of agents and double agents willing to sabotage the mission. Of course, the commandos have a few surprises of their own…
7. The Bridge on the River Kwai
One of the most prestigious World War 2 movies of all time is The Bridge on the River Kwai. Winning 7 Academy Awards, the film focuses on a group of POW’s forced into completing a bridge over the titular river by the Japanese. Since most of the prisoners are British, they subscribe to the stiff-upper-lip that they’re so well known for and incredibly decide to do a damn fine job building the bridge (since it’s a reflection of British Army craftsmanship). While their efforts help to raise morale, the British Navy realizes the importance of the bridge to the Japanese and sends men to destroy it. It’s a film that captures the insanity of war as the men who poured their hearts and souls into building the bridge realize just what they’ve done. The question is if they’ve realized too late.
6. Das Boot
The only entry on this list of World War 2 movies to show the German’s perspective during the war, Das Boot follows a notorious U-boat (German submarine). Now, before you write it off, it’s important to remember that not all German soldiers were part of the Nazi party. Hell, a lot of them flat out hated Hitler and his SS. A lot of the tension in Das Boot is built on that ideological rift between the veterans of war and the blind followers of da Fuhrer. Tensions rise as the crew is confined to tight questers for weeks at a time as their U-boat skirmishes with the British Navy. I’m not one that believes in the excuse of “just following orders.” but I couldn’t help feeling a little sympathetic for the men in this film as they’re put through hell for a cause they don’t believe in.