World War II, one of the most important historical moments, had a profound impact on millions of people and altered the path of history for all time. There are plenty of controversial, gruesome, and enjoyable WWII movies available due to the abundance of storylines, which range from the war-torn streets of Poland and the deadly beaches of Normandy to the uninteresting streets back home in the US.
Casablanca (1942)
The film Casablanca stands apart from other love stories. The frequently-quoted movie centers on the trench coat-clad Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), an American exile and nightclub owner in Morocco, whose cynicism and political neutrality can be attributed to a failed love with Ilsa Lund (Ingrid Bergman). Rick must choose between his love for Ilsa and his ambition to help the world overthrow a fascist tyranny when Ilsa and her husband Victor Laszlo arrive in Casablanca seeking assistance in fleeing the Germans.
Come and See (1985)
The 1985 feature by filmmaker Elim Kilmov is one of the few that truly and artistically depicts the horrifying horrors of war. Flora, a little boy from Belarus who joins the Soviet resistance against German forces after discovering an old firearm, is the subject of the movie Come and See. The kid soldier experiences unspeakable misery through a lens that is somehow both unreal and all too real, and atrocities are always around the corner. Come and See, one of the most moving anti-war pictures ever created is based on the experiences of co-writer Ales Adamovich and Kilmov. It is a genuinely horrific spectacle.
Das Boot (1981)
The Boat, a military epic by Wolfgang Peterson, portrays the cramped environment of a German U-boat during the Battle of the Atlantic. To portray the crew’s pale, bearded hardening from months at sea that felt like a lifetime, the movie was shot in chronological sequence over a year. The result has tremendous action sequences and excellent attention to detail, bringing breathtaking realism to the dread and circumstances of a naval battle. Das Boot is a relentless, emotional rollercoaster that darkens minute by minute, even at two and a half hours.
Dunkirk (2017)
Christopher Nolan substituted fighter planes for spaceships in this action-packed story of the British Army’s effort to flee the threatened beaches of Dunkirk. This gripping movie holds viewers’ attention from the opening gunfire to the motivational conclusion as it depicts the historic conflict from the air, sea, and land. the film’s no surprise that Dunkirk was a commercial and critical triumph when you consider that film features a heart-pounding score by Hans Zimmer and a debut performance by not-so-underground artist Harry Styles.
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
To present viewpoints on the battle of Iwo Jima from both the American and Japanese sides, Clint Eastwood concurrently filmed Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima. The latter is the better of the two films, as it was deemed to be by critics at the time and received four Oscar nominations. It’s a somber, personal tale that serves as a reminder that, at the heart of the conflict, the troops were simply ordinary people, no matter whose side they were fighting for.
Mudbound (2017)
Mudbound, like The Best Years of Our Lives, follows two Black and White soldiers as they both acclimatize to life after the war. Like Ronsel Jackson, Jason Mitchell excels. He brings emotional realism to a combat hero who is treated unfairly due to the color of his skin. Along with an all-star ensemble, the movie also stars Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, Garrett Hedlund, and Mary J. Blige.
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Schindler’s List (1993)
One of the most personal and moving representations of the Holocaust to be found in a Spielberg war movie is Schindler’s List. As Oskar Schindler, played by Liam Neeson, a German manufacturer works clandestinely to protect his Jewish employees from Nazi persecution.
Spielberg returns with a film that maintains optimism at one of the darkest periods of human history, paying homage to the millions who perished and to those who survived, in the same year that he also released Jurassic Park. Although it’s hard to watch, everyone should do so at least once.
