The Best World War II Movies of All Time
Perhaps no single event has had a greater impact on the future of filmmaking than World War II. It arrived at the dawn of a new era in glossy, professional mainstream filmmaking, and it affected literally every facet of daily life in North America, Europe and Asia, where most of the world's films were being produced. World War 2 has remained a constant subject of fascination for filmmakers from the 1940s to the present day.
Though "WWII Films" could be classified as a separate genre from the general heading of "War Movies," they take on a lot of different styles, forms and tones. There are authentic WWII recreations, epic takes on the history of the entire period, personal stories about the soldiers, spies, revolutionaries and resistance fighters who fought the war and, naturally, sagas about the civilians of the time whose lives were forever changed by the conflict.
Many of the films on this list - from "Patton" to "Casablanca" to "Saving Private Ryan" - have secured their place among the most iconic films of all time. Make your own list to nominate your favorites for this CrowdRanked collection of the best WWII films, and then be sure to vote on your favorites.
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- 1
1998Steven SpielbergDrama, History, Action, War - 2
1970Franklin SchaffnerDrama, Biography, Action, Action/Adventure, Biographical film, War, Epic, New Hollywood More - 3
1957David LeanDrama, Adventure, War - 4
1963John SturgesDrama, History, Action, Adventure, WarMost Listed - 5
1967Robert AldrichAction, War - 6
1961Alexander Mackendrick, J. Lee ThompsonDrama, Action, Adventure, War - 7 1993Steven SpielbergDrama, Black-and-white, History, Period piece, Biography, Biographical film, Film adaptation, Tragedy More
- 8 1962Ken Annakin, Darryl F. Zanuck, Andrew Marton, Bernhard WickiDrama, History, Action, War
- 9 1942Michael CurtizDrama, Black-and-white, Romance Film, War, Romantic drama, Drama Film, Airplanes and airports More
- 10 1981Wolfgang PetersenDrama, History, Thriller, Action/Adventure, War, World cinema
- 11 1968Yakima Canutt, Brian G. HuttonDrama, Action, Action/Adventure, War, Roadshow theatrical release
- 12 2009Quentin Tarantino, Eli RothDrama, Thriller, Action/Adventure, Black comedy, War
- 13 2006Clint EastwoodDrama, History, Action, War, World cinema
- 14 1970Brian G. HuttonComedy, Action, Adventure, Action/Adventure, Crime Fiction, War, Heist, Satire More
- 15 1955Jesse HibbsDrama, Biography, Biographical film, War
- 16 1953Billy WilderDrama, Comedy, Black-and-white, War
- 17 1980Samuel FullerDrama, Action, War
- 18 1977Richard AttenboroughDrama, Period piece, Action, Indie, War, Film adaptation, The Netherlands in World War II More
- 19 2001Jean-Jacques AnnaudDrama, Period piece, Thriller, Action, Romance Film, Historical fiction, War, Suspense More
- 20 1990Michael Caton-JonesDrama, War, Airplanes and airports
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- 21 1949Allan DwanDrama, Black-and-white, Action, Action/Adventure, War, Epic
- 22 1945John Ford, Robert MontgomeryDrama, Black-and-white, Action, Action/Adventure, War
- 23 1977Sam PeckinpahDrama, Action, Action/Adventure, War
- 24
The Human Condition
Masaki Kobayashi - 25 1978Guy HamiltonDrama, Action, Adventure, Action/Adventure, War
- 26 1958, 1956Robert WiseBlack-and-white, Drama, War
- 27 1995Robert Markowitz, Robert MarkowitzDrama, Action, War
- 28 1954Edward DmytrykDrama, WarControversial
- 29 1998Terrence MalickDrama, Indie, War, Existentialism
- 30 1949William A. WellmanDrama, Black-and-white, Action, Action/Adventure, War
- 31 1965Ken AnnakinDrama, Action, Action/Adventure, War
- 32 1951Nicholas RayDrama, Action, Action/Adventure, War
- 33 2002Roman PolanskiDrama, History, Biographical film, War
- 34
The Battle of Britain
1943Frank Capra, Anthony VeillerDocumentary - 35 1940Charlie Chaplin, Wheeler DrydenComedy, Black-and-white, War, Political cinema, Satire
- 36 1946William WylerDrama, Black-and-white, War
- 37 1944Howard HawksDrama, Black-and-white, Thriller, Adventure, Music, Romance Film, War, Romantic drama, Film noir More
- 38 1981Steven SpielbergAction, Adventure, Action/Adventure, Airplanes and airports, New Hollywood More
- 39 1943Tay Garnett, Irving StarrBlack-and-white, Action, War
- 40 2000Jonathan MostowThriller, Action, Action/Adventure, War
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- 41 1969Jean-Pierre MelvilleDrama, Thriller, War, World cinemaControversial
- 42 1954Michael AndersonThriller, Action, Action/Adventure, War
- 43 1968Andrew McLaglen, Terry Morse, Jr.Drama, Action, Action/Adventure
- 44 1965Mark RobsonDrama, Period piece, Action, Action/Adventure, War
- 45 2004Oliver HirschbiegelDrama, History, Biography, Biographical film, War, World cinema
- 46 1956Robert AldrichDrama, Black-and-white, Action, Action/Adventure, War
- 47 1960Lewis GilbertDrama, Action, Action/Adventure, War
- 48 1989Steven SpielbergAction, Adventure
- 49 1969John GuillerminAction, Action/Adventure, War
- 50 1963Andrei TarkovskyDrama, War, World cinema, Drama Film, Art film
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