World War 2 Movies in historically correct order by neronleimaaja
by neronleimaaja | created - 27 Apr 2016 | updated - 23 May 2016 | PublicThe purpose I built this list was to create for myself a simple chronological marathon out of my war movie collection. The longer I built it the larger it gradually got as there were battles and perspectives that my initial collection didn't cover.
As it is now this list covers the timeframe of 1901-1980. Its central theme is the second world war but it also covers the progress that ultimately led to the conflict, and the scars that the it left on the world. I tried to bring as much diversity into the list by having movies from the perspective of both sides as equally as possible.
Historical accuracy was my top priority with the list and I did tons of research to make sure every movie would be as correctly placed as possible. I also tried to avoid including films that cover the same events (unless they were exceptionally important and large like the battle of Stalingrad or the Normandy invasion), thus eliminating such notable ones as Pearl Harbor and Battle of the Bulge. Also film with elements of fantasy were left out, like the Indiana Jones movies and such.
Recently I've noticed that there have been others with lists similar in idea to this one. Though risking sounding arrogant, I think my list is the largest, widest in scope and the most diverse and chronologically correct from any that I've come across.
With that said, please enjoy my list and I hope you will find it both entertaining and surprising!
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1. Il giovane Mussolini (1993– )
R | 114 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of a young Benito Mussolini. It is the drama of a man whose lust for power unleashed a reign of terror - the chilling account of how an ambitious young schoolteacher became the ruthless dictator of Italy.
Stars: Antonio Banderas, Toni Bertorelli, Valentina Lainati, Franco Mescolini
Votes: 243
This three part series of tv-movies covers the political life of Benito Mussolini prior to the first world war. Originally a ferocious socialist, Mussolini gradually grows in his hunger for power, turning step by step into the architect of fascism we know him as today. The Last episode examines the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and the start of WW1, thus thematically kickstarting the rest of the list.
2. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Passed | 152 min | Drama, War
A German youth eagerly enters World War I, but his enthusiasm wanes as he gets a firsthand view of the horror.
Director: Lewis Milestone | Stars: Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray, Arnold Lucy
Votes: 67,417 | Gross: $3.27M
A forerunner in the field of pacifist war movies, the film follows a group of German soldiers as they live and die through the hell of the western front of world war one. Giving a compact review of the horrors of the Great War, "All Quiet" shows the roots to the bitterness which came to haunt Germany in the post-war years, and ultimately led to the formation of the Nazi regime.
3. Reds (1981)
PG | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
A radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia, and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States.
Director: Warren Beatty | Stars: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Edward Herrmann, Jerzy Kosinski
Votes: 24,623 | Gross: $40.38M
Showing the October revolution through the eyes of an american journalist, the first half of "Reds" descends deep into the socialist ideology which came to play a major part in the political unrest of inter-war Europe.
4. Täällä Pohjantähden alla (1968)
186 min | Drama, History, War
Täällä Pohjantähden alla is based on the book with the same title. It is a story of the little village. The movie starts in the 1890's and it ends to the Finnish civil war in 1918. Story ... See full summary »
Director: Edvin Laine | Stars: Aarno Sulkanen, Titta Karakorpi, Risto Taulo, Anja Pohjola
Votes: 1,042
Following thematically "Reds", "Under the North Star" explores the violent chaos in Russia which followed the revolution. Finland, a land located in the Northwestern corner of the empire, declares itself independent but falls into a short but bloody civil war between the Russian supported socialist and German backed nationalist forces.
5. Max (I) (2002)
R | 106 min | Drama, War
A film studying the depiction of a friendship between an art dealer named Rothman and his student, Adolf Hitler.
Director: Menno Meyjes | Stars: John Cusack, Noah Taylor, Leelee Sobieski, Molly Parker
Votes: 8,773 | Gross: $0.53M
Taking place in 1919 around the time of Paris Peace Conference, "Max" semi-historically follows a certain poor bastard called Adolf and his first steps in the political movement that was to become the National Socialist Party.
6. Reds (1981)
PG | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
A radical American journalist becomes involved with the Communist revolution in Russia, and hopes to bring its spirit and idealism to the United States.
Director: Warren Beatty | Stars: Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Edward Herrmann, Jerzy Kosinski
Votes: 24,623 | Gross: $40.38M
The second half of the film follows the formation of the Bolzhevik government and the Russian civil war. The failure of creating a just communist regime is explored here, as is the aftermath of the Finnish civil war.
7. Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922)
Not Rated | 242 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Arch-criminal Dr. Mabuse sets out to make a fortune and run Berlin. Detective Wenk sets out to stop him.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Rudolf Klein-Rogge, Aud Egede-Nissen, Gertrude Welcker, Alfred Abel
Votes: 9,119
A two part masterpiece by Fritz Lang, "Dr. Mabuse" personificates the uncertainty, despair and social unrest of post-war Germany into the character of Mabuse. The foresaid doctor is a crime lord and master deceiver who tries to take people into his control by managing illegal activities, hypnotizing his victims, cheating and murdering. After a quick witted authority begins investigating his activieties a furious game of cat-and-mouse ensues which ends up in a last stand on the streets of Berlin.
8.
The Adventures of Tintin (1991–1992)
Episode:
Cigars of the Pharaoh: Part 1
(1991)
TV-G | 24 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
While on vacation in Egypt, Tintin is accused of drug smuggling and later becomes the target of a secret society.
Director: Stéphane Bernasconi | Stars: Colin O'Meara, Thierry Wermuth, Christian Pelissier, Henri Labussière
Votes: 437
First part in the "Tintin in the Orient" storyline. While having a vacation in Egypt in 1931, Tintin is dragged into a struggle against an international drug ring that's infiltrated the colonial dominions of the British Empire.
9.
The Adventures of Tintin (1991–1992)
Episode:
The Blue Lotus: Part 1
(1991)
TV-G | 24 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
After the arrest of most of the members of the drug syndicate, the leader behind the organization was never found and is still at large. Tintin, who is enjoying his stay at the palace of ... See full summary »
Director: Stéphane Bernasconi | Stars: Colin O'Meara, Thierry Wermuth, Christian Pelissier, Henri Labussière
Votes: 409
Second part in the "Tintin in the Orient" storyline, following directly where "Cigars of the Pharaoh: Part 2" left off. The battle against international drug trafficking brings Tintin to China where he witnesses both the Mukden incident and the Japanese invasion of Manchuria.
10. M (1931)
Passed | 99 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Otto Wernicke
Votes: 167,689 | Gross: $0.03M
Inter-war Germany's social restlessness is showcased here with a case of a child murderer turning normal people into violent brutes driven by rage and fear.
11. Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
Passed | 124 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Mady Correll, Allison Roddan, Robert Lewis
Votes: 19,040 | Gross: $0.33M
Charlie Chaplin's most controversial masterpiece takes us into France just prior and after Hitler takes over in Germany. A former bank worker named Verdoux makes a profession out of murdering rich women and taking their money to support his wife and child.
12. Triumph of the Will (1935)
Not Rated | 110 min | Documentary, History
The infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany.
Director: Leni Riefenstahl | Stars: Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring, Max Amann, Martin Bormann
Votes: 18,254
A masterpiece of visual expressionism, "Triumph of the Will" takes us into the visualized heart of the nazi ideology, showcasing from the first seat the beauty, delusion and unfulfilled promise which let Hitler take over the masses and orchestrate some of the most disturbing crimes in human history.
13. Modern Times (1936)
G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Tiny Sandford
Votes: 258,216 | Gross: $0.16M
A look into the pre-WW2 United States, "Modern Times" centers around the era of Great Depression and the New Deal, examining the country in a state of peril during a time when major powers around it were preparing for war.
14. Burnt by the Sun (1994)
R | 135 min | Drama, War
In the USSR in 1936, shadows of Stalin's repressions fall on a famous, revolutionary hero. The accusations of him being a foreign spy are nonsense, and everyone knows that. However, a slow process of his downfall has already started.
Director: Nikita Mikhalkov | Stars: Nikita Mikhalkov, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Oleg Menshikov, Nadezhda Mikhalkova
Votes: 16,276 | Gross: $2.62M
Soviet Union during the early reign of Stalin. General Kotov, a hero of the Russian revolution, is betrayed and eliminated by the regime he had bitterly fought for.
15. Sabotage (1936)
Not Rated | 76 min | Crime, Thriller
A Scotland Yard undercover detective is on the trail of a saboteur who is part of a plot to set off a bomb in London. But when the detective's cover is blown, the plot begins to unravel.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Sylvia Sidney, Oscar Homolka, Desmond Tester, John Loder
Votes: 18,610
A ring of pro-German terrorists try to cause public panic in 1936 London by exploding a bomb in a public place.
16. Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations (1938)
Not Rated | 111 min | Documentary, Sport
The document of the 1936 Olympics at Berlin.
Director: Leni Riefenstahl | Stars: David Albritton, Arvo Askola, Jack Beresford, Erwin Blask
Votes: 5,214
A landmark of sports filmography follows the nazi propaganda filled 1937 Berlin Olympics, the last time for years when nations of the world would gather up and compete each other in friendship instead of arms.
17. There Be Dragons (2011)
PG-13 | 122 min | Biography, Drama, War
Arising out of the horror of the Spanish Civil War, a candidate for canonization is investigated by a journalist who discovers his own estranged father had a deep, dark and devastating connection to the saint's life.
Director: Roland Joffé | Stars: Charlie Cox, Wes Bentley, Dougray Scott, Rodrigo Santoro
Votes: 5,083 | Gross: $1.07M
The Spanish Civil War and its causes are on a display here. The story follows a soldier with Franco sympathies and a neutral priest who both try to survive and comprehend the destruction and uselessness of war.
18. City of Life and Death (2009)
R | 133 min | Drama, History, War
In 1937, Japan occupied Nanjing, the Chinese capital. There was a battle and subsequent atrocities against the inhabitants, especially those who took refuge in the International Security Zone.
Director: Chuan Lu | Stars: Ye Liu, Wei Fan, Hideo Nakaizumi, Yuanyuan Gao
Votes: 11,657 | Gross: $0.12M
The Japanese invasion of China continues and the metropolis of Nanjing turns both into a brutal battlefield and a ground of unspeakable atrocities towards the Chinese population.
19. The Sound of Music (1965)
G | 172 min | Biography, Drama, Family
A young novice is sent by her convent in 1930s Austria to become a governess to the seven children of a widowed naval officer.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker, Richard Haydn
Votes: 259,321 | Gross: $163.21M
The last days of independent Austria. As the German Anschluss approaches, a former naval captain calls a young nun to take care of his children, ending up changing both of their lives.
20. The Conformist (1970)
R | 113 min | Drama
A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.
Director: Bernardo Bertolucci | Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Stefania Sandrelli, Gastone Moschin, Enzo Tarascio
Votes: 33,500 | Gross: $0.54M
A man scarred by a homosexual childhood trauma joins Mussolini's secret police and is tasked with assassinating his former teacher as the second world war nears closer.
21. The Wind Rises (2013)
PG-13 | 126 min | Animation, Biography, Drama
Jiro Horikoshi studies assiduously to fulfill his aim of becoming an aeronautical engineer. As WWII begins, fighter aircraft designed by him end up getting used by the Japanese Empire against its foes.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hideaki Anno, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Miori Takimoto, Masahiko Nishimura
Votes: 97,799 | Gross: $5.21M
A look into the Japanese society and the creation of the Zero-fighter plane as experienced by Jiro Horikoshi, a promising young plane designer whose creation would play a grand part in the Pacific war.
22. The Rules of the Game (1939)
Not Rated | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
A bourgeois life in France at the onset of World War II, as the rich and their poor servants meet up at a French chateau.
Director: Jean Renoir | Stars: Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Paulette Dubost, Mila Parély
Votes: 31,168
Released under two month before world war 2 started, "Rules of the Game" explores the slow disintegration of Europe by showcasing the corruption of French upper-class society during a time of great unrest.
23. The King's Speech (2010)
R | 118 min | Biography, Drama, History
The 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.
Director: Tom Hooper | Stars: Colin Firth, Geoffrey Rush, Helena Bonham Carter, Derek Jacobi
Votes: 706,158 | Gross: $138.80M
The would be king George VI tries to get rid of stuttering with the help of an Australian amateur speech therapist. After Hitler invades Poland the Great Britain is dragged into war, the king is forced to overcome his problem to be able to broadcast an inspirational radio speech for his nation.
24. 1939 Battle of Westerplatte (2013)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, History, War
September 1st, 1939. German battleship Schleswig-Holstein marks the start of World War II by firing on the garrison stationed at the Westerplatte peninsula in Poland.
Director: Pawel Chochlew | Stars: Michal Zebrowski, Robert Zoledziewski, Jan Englert, Piotr Adamczyk
Votes: 974
The German invasion of Poland and the heroic stand of Polish troops in the first battle of world war two.
25. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Passed | 129 min | Comedy, Drama
A naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and subterfuge from his hero in Washington, but he tries to forge ahead despite attacks on his character.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold
Votes: 121,008 | Gross: $9.60M
As the war rages in Europe, a candide idealist mr. Smith is made a senator, where he's exposed to the utter corruption of the U.S congress. Offering a case of making the American perspective a bit grayish, the same men who tried to call Smith down would lead the country two years later into war in the name of democracy and freedom, both of which they showed to despise.
26. 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: 8,703
The Soviet invasion of Finland in the winter of 1939-40. Undermanned and barely equipped, the Finns make a heroic stand in the freezing hell and are able to stop the Russian invasion and preserve the independence of their nation.
27. Into the White (I) (2012)
R | 104 min | Action, Biography, Drama
World War II: After an aerial battle over Norway, British and German airmen find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Finding shelter in the same cabin, they realize the only way to survive the winter is to set aside the rules of war.
Director: Petter Næss | Stars: Florian Lukas, David Kross, Lachlan Nieboer, Stig Henrik Hoff
Votes: 22,307
Set during the German invasion of Norway in April 1940, a British and a German plane shoot each other down and the crews must work together despite their hostilies in order to survive in the harsh Norwegian wilderness.
28. Forbidden Games (1952)
Not Rated | 86 min | Comedy, Drama, War
A young French girl orphaned in a German air attack is befriended by the son of a poor farmer, and together they try to come to terms with the realities of death.
Director: René Clément | Stars: Georges Poujouly, Brigitte Fossey, Amédée, Laurence Badie
Votes: 13,052 | Gross: $0.01M
The German invasion of France begins and a small girl loses his parents in an air strike. She comes across a farm boy slightly older than her and together they start to do burial rituals for dead animals.
29. A Yank in the R.A.F. (1941)
Passed | 98 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
An American pilot impulsively joins His Majesty's Royal Air Force in Britain in an attempt to impress his ex-girlfriend.
Director: Henry King | Stars: Tyrone Power, Betty Grable, John Sutton, Reginald Gardiner
Votes: 1,563
The Battle of France continues with Germans approaching both Paris and the French coastline. The movie ends in the Dunkirk evacuation which sets the stage for the struggle over the British isles.
30. The Battle of Britain (1969)
G | 132 min | Action, Drama, History
In 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.
Director: Guy Hamilton | Stars: Michael Caine, Trevor Howard, Harry Andrews, Curd Jürgens
Votes: 24,380 | Gross: $4.36M
With France falling under the might of the German war machine, Britain is left to fight alone against an enemy of massive proportions. With determination, luck and great resilience the British keep their ground in the battle over the British airspace and are able to prevent the invasion of the Isles from happening.
31. Aventure malgache (1944)
Not Rated | 32 min | Short, War
While preparing backstage, an actor tells his castmates about an adventure he had during World War II in the Axis-controlled French colony of Madagascar working for the Resistance and clashing with the collaborationist local police chief.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Paul Bonifas, Paul Clarus, Jean Dattas, Andre Frere
Votes: 1,721
A short half-hour film by Alfred Hitchcock. After the fall of France an anti-axis resistance movement starts in Madagascar.
32. The Desert Rats (1953)
Approved | 88 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Richard Burton plays a Scottish Army officer put in charge of a disparate band of ANZAC troops on the perimeter of Tobruk with the German Army doing their best to dislodge them.
Director: Robert Wise | Stars: Richard Burton, James Mason, Robert Newton, Robert Douglas
Votes: 5,283
The early stages of the North African campaign. British expeditionary forces are surrounded by Rommel in Tobruk but are able to keep their defenses and thus prevent the axis from getting a hegemony in the area.
33. 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: 1,573,833 | Gross: $120.54M
The first act of the film depicts the brutality of Gestapo's Jew hunts in the occupied France. The rest of the film isn't included on the list for its themes of alternate history.
34. Sink the Bismarck! (1960)
Approved | 97 min | Action, Drama, History
The World War II story of the Royal Navy's effort to defeat Nazi Germany's most powerful warship.
Director: Lewis Gilbert | Stars: Kenneth More, Dana Wynter, Carl Möhner, Laurence Naismith
Votes: 8,279 | Gross: $6.54M
The Battle of the Atlantic rages between Britain and Germany with the British gaining a major victory by sinking the battleship Bismarck.
35. Soldier of Orange (1977)
R | 165 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller
During World War II, Dutch students join the resistance movement against the German occupation of the Netherlands.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Rutger Hauer, Jeroen Krabbé, Susan Penhaligon, Edward Fox
Votes: 13,829
Netherlands during the second world war.
36. Hopeaa rajan takaa (1963)
76 min | Adventure, War
Summer 1941, soon after the Finnish Winter War. Wist and Anttala are young war veterans whose homes ended up on the wrong side of the new border after the Soviet Union claimed ownership of ... See full summary »
Director: Mikko Niskanen | Stars: Jaakko Pakkasvirta, Spede Pasanen, Veikko Kerttula, Anja Ahlström
Votes: 302
Summer of 1941. Three Finnish soldiers venture deep into the Soviet occupied Karelia after a priceless treasure of silver just as the Operation Barbarossa is about to begin.
37. Fortress of War (2010)
Not Rated | 138 min | Action, Drama, History
A war drama set during the Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union in June 1941, in which Soviet troops held on to a border stronghold for nine days.
Director: Aleksandr Kott | Stars: Aleksey Kopashov, Andrey Merzlikin, Pavel Derevyanko, Aleksandr Korshunov
Votes: 10,475
The axis invasion of Soviet Union starts with a small fortress in Brest, Belarussia getting surrounded by Wehrmacht. The undermanned Russian defenders are able hold their ground for several days and are forced to fight to the last man.
38. Rukajärven tie (1999)
Not Rated | 123 min | War, Drama
Set during the World War 2. In the summer of 1941 the Finnish army crosses the border of Russia. A platoon led by Lt. Eero Perkola goes through the wilderness around the Lieksa lake to ... See full summary »
Director: Olli Saarela | Stars: Peter Franzén, Irina Björklund, Kari Heiskanen, Taisto Reimaluoto
Votes: 4,461
Taking place two weeks after the start of Operation Barbarossa, the now axis co-belligerent Finland is advancing into the Soviet Karelia. After hearing that his loved one has been killed by partisans, a Finnish captain is tormented inside and takes his squad on a dangerous mission behind the enemy lines.
39.
Generation War (2013)
Episode:
Eine andere Zeit
(2013)
TV-MA | 91 min | Action, Drama, History
Five friends go out to war and promise each other to be back for Christmas.
Director: Philipp Kadelbach | Stars: Volker Bruch, Tom Schilling, Katharina Schüttler, Ludwig Trepte
Votes: 926
Episode 1 of the series. A group of German youngsters, including the brothers Winter, are forced apart after Hitler orders the Russian invasion to begin.
40. Leningrad (2009)
R | 110 min | Drama, War
Winter, 1941. World War II rages on as Nazi troops invade the Soviet Union and besiege the devastated city of Leningrad. Foreign journalists are quickly evacuated, but in the chaos that ensues, Kate Davies is left behind.
Director: Aleksandr Buravskiy | Stars: Mira Sorvino, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Olga Sutulova, Gabriel Byrne
Votes: 4,787
September 1941. The axis attack on Russia advances, isolating the city of Leningrad from the rest of the Russian army. The film shows the first few months of the siege from the points of view of several people, all of them being damaged inside by the inhuman circumstances of war.
41. Burnt by the Sun 2 (2010)
181 min | Drama, History, War
A look at the horrors of the Eastern Front of World War II from the points of view of repressed soldier of penal battalion and his young daughter, who stayed behind enemy lines.
Director: Nikita Mikhalkov | Stars: Nikita Mikhalkov, Oleg Menshikov, Nadezhda Mikhalkova, Sergey Makovetskiy
Votes: 4,481
The whole of Operation Barbarossa witnessed from the point of view of a Russian family. General Kotov has miraculously survived Stalin's purges in a prison camp and is forced to take part as a regular soldier in the battle against the invading German army.
42. 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: 32,451 | Gross: $0.09M
Episode 2 of the series. The German offensive continues but is finally stopped at the gates of Moscow, thus ending the Barbarossa offensive in a failure. At the same time a Jewish friend of the Winters is trying to seek refuge in America for no gain.
43. The Way Back (I) (2010)
PG-13 | 133 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Siberian gulag escapees travel four thousand miles by foot to freedom in India.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Dragos Bucur
Votes: 121,700 | Gross: $2.70M
A group of Polish soldiers, a Latvian priest, a criminal and a Finnish-American engineer escape a Soviet gulag in Siberia. They march all the way through the freezing Siberian wilderness, a desert, the war torn China and the Tibetan mountains to get to India where to join the British army.
44. The Boat (1981)
R | 149 min | Drama, War
A 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.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch
Votes: 263,339 | Gross: $11.49M
A German U-boat sets out to a three month patrol on the Atlantic in late autumn of 1941. As the days and weeks go by the crew is driven mentally to edge as the battle over the seas tightens up and every exploding depth charge can mean the end.
45. Casablanca (1942)
PG | 102 min | Drama, Romance, War
A 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.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains
Votes: 603,586 | Gross: $1.02M
1941 slightly before United States joins the war. Former lovers meet in the axis occupied Casablanca and are dragged into a chaotic triangle of love and politics.
46. From Here to Eternity (1953)
Passed | 118 min | Drama, Romance, War
At 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.
Director: Fred Zinnemann | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr, Donna Reed
Votes: 50,620 | Gross: $30.50M
The final days of American neutrality. "From Here to Eternity" follows multiple human fates that tangle up in Pearl Harbor just before, during and after the Japanese attack.
47. Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
G | 144 min | Action, Drama, History
The story of the 1941 Japanese air raid on Pearl Harbor, and the series of preceding American blunders that aggravated its effectiveness.
Directors: Richard Fleischer, Kinji Fukasaku, Toshio Masuda, Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Martin Balsam, Sô Yamamura, Jason Robards, Joseph Cotten
Votes: 37,041 | Gross: $29.55M
Tora! Tora! Tora! is the definitive recreation of the attack on Pearl Harbor, brilliantly depicting both the attack and its preparations from both the American and Japanese perspectives.
48. 1941 (1979)
PG | 118 min | Action, Comedy, War
Hysterical Californians prepare for a Japanese invasion in the days after Pearl Harbor.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: John Belushi, Dan Aykroyd, Treat Williams, Nancy Allen
Votes: 36,112 | Gross: $31.76M
A humorous take on the Great Los Angeles Air Raid and the public trauma of Pearl Harbor. After a Japanese submarine with an incompetent crew appears on the Californian coast the whole Los Angeles goes into panic and the streets end up in anarchy.
49. Australia (2008)
PG-13 | 165 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
In 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.
Director: Baz Luhrmann | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Shea Adams, Eddie Baroo
Votes: 129,512 | Gross: $49.55M
An epic period piece concerning Australian government's racist policies toward the aboriginal people. The film ends with the Japanese bombing Darwin in late February 1942.
50. Conspiracy (2001 TV Movie)
R | 96 min | Biography, Drama, History
At the Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942, senior Nazi officials meet to determine the manner in which the so-called "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" can be best implemented.
Director: Frank Pierson | Stars: Clare Bullus, Stanley Tucci, Simon Markey, David Glover
Votes: 24,529
51. Saboteur (1942)
Passed | 109 min | Thriller, War
A young man accused of sabotage goes on the run to prove his innocence.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Priscilla Lane, Robert Cummings, Otto Kruger, Alan Baxter
Votes: 27,862
A spiritual predecessor to Hitchcock's later masterpiece "North by Northwest". A normal factory worker Barry Kane is mistaken for a German terrorist. Chased across the country by both the nazis and authorities, Barry must both win the trust of a woman he falls in love with and try to clean his name by uncovering the pro-axis spy ring.
52. Midway (1976)
PG | 132 min | Action, Drama, History
A dramatization of the battle that was widely heralded as a turning point of the Pacific Theatre of World War II.
Director: Jack Smight | Stars: Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, James Coburn, Glenn Ford
Votes: 21,414
Six month after the attack on Pearl Harbor the United States is under serious threat by the victorioulsy advancing Japanese navy. The tide of the war is still possible to turn, however. In Midway the American and Japanese forces crash course and the battle which follows will decide the course of the Pacific theater.
53. Sahara (I) (1943)
Approved | 97 min | Action, Drama, War
After the fall of Tobruk in 1942, during the Allied retreat in the Libyan desert, an American tank picks-up a motley group of survivors but they face advancing Germans and a lack of water.
Director: Zoltan Korda | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Bruce Bennett, J. Carrol Naish, Lloyd Bridges
Votes: 9,688
Northern Africa slightly before and during the First battle of El Alamein.
54. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
PG-13 | 94 min | Drama, War
Through 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.
Director: Mark Herman | Stars: Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend, Zac Mattoon O'Brien
Votes: 244,629 | Gross: $9.03M
Bruno, a 9-year old son of a high ranking SS-officer, moves with his family to Auschwitz. There he befriends with a Jewish boy of the same age and comes to experience first hand the methods of mass murder ordered by the nazi leadership.
55. El Alamein - The Line of Fire (2002)
117 min | Drama, War
War seen through the eyes of Serra, a university student from Palermo who volunteers in 1942 to fight in Africa. He is assigned to the Pavia Division on the southern line in Egypt. Rommel ... See full summary »
Director: Enzo Monteleone | Stars: Paolo Briguglia, Pierfrancesco Favino, Luciano Scarpa, Emilio Solfrizzi
Votes: 2,008
The decivie second battle of El Alamein through the viewpoint of Italian troops.
56. Sherlock Holmes and the Voice of Terror (1942)
Passed | 65 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
When a German saboteur jeeringly predicts to the nation new depredations, via their radio "Voice of Terror", the Intelligence Inner Council summons Sherlock Holmes (Basil Rathbone) to help in the crisis.
Director: John Rawlins | Stars: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Evelyn Ankers, Reginald Denny
Votes: 5,163
In this spy thriller Sherlock Holmes and Watson seek out to discover the source of a German propaganda broadcast which causes popular unrest.
57. Beyond the Border (2011)
122 min | Action, Drama, War
December 1942. Two young soldiers leave their post at check-point 83 in Northern Värmland, Sweden, and make their way through the ice cold night toward the border of German-occupied Norway.... See full summary »
Director: Richard Holm | Stars: André Sjöberg, Martin Wallström, Antti Reini, Marie Robertson
Votes: 1,625
Taking place in neutral Sweden, the Germans capture the brother of a Swedish captain on the Norwegian-Swedish border. The captain teams up with a Finnish Winter war veteran and a Norwegian resistance fighter and crosses the Norwegian border in order to save his brother and to find out German plans.
58. Enemy at the Gates (2001)
R | 131 min | Action, Drama, War
A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Jude Law, Ed Harris, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz
Votes: 276,690 | Gross: $51.40M
The Battle of Stalingrad told from the heavily fictionalized viewpoint of Vasily Zaitsev, a Soviet sniper legend. As the axis and Soviet armies lock up in a ruthless battle over the city, Vasily becomes a national hero and gets locked up in a deadly battle of wits with a German veteran sniper.
59. Goryachiy sneg (1972)
99 min | Drama, War
In November, 1942, near the Volga, Stanlingrad is under siege of Commander Friederich Paulus and his 330,000 men. The Soviet high command unleashes an operation to protect the Mishkova ... See full summary »
Director: Gavriil Egiazarov | Stars: Georgi Zhzhyonov, Anatoliy Kuznetsov, Vadim Spiridonov, Boris Tokarev
Votes: 585
The Battle of Stalingrad rages full force. General von Manstein's Panzer division tries to storm the Russian defense lines and save the surrounded 6th army. After ruthless battles in extreme conditions the Soviets are able to hold von Manstein off and the Germans inside Stalingrad stay isolated.
60. 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: 37,576 | Gross: $0.08M
The battle of Stalingrad told from the German perspective. After reaching the city the German 6th army becomes quickly surrounded by the Russians and the fight in the city turns into a nightmarish hell where hope of survival is lost.
61. The Thin Red Line (1998)
R | 170 min | Drama, History, 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: 198,814 | Gross: $36.40M
Depiction of the Guadalcanal campaign mixed with existential themes and imagery.
62. The Battle of Neretva (1969)
G | 105 min | Drama, History, War
World War II drama about the 1943 battle around the Neretva River between Axis forces and Yugoslav partisan units.
Director: Veljko Bulajic | Stars: Yul Brynner, Hardy Krüger, Franco Nero, Sylva Koscina
Votes: 3,962
The Yugoslav partisan forces led by marshal Tito are being chased by German, Italian and Chetnik forces. The Yugoslav retreat ends up in massive confrontations across the mountains, valleys and rivers of the Balkans.
63. The Heroes of Telemark (1965)
Approved | 131 min | Action, Drama, History
Norwegian resistance tries to stop German efforts to produce an atomic bomb component during World War II.
Director: Anthony Mann | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris, Ulla Jacobsson, Michael Redgrave
Votes: 8,020
Sabotage of the Nazi attempt to build a nuclear weapon.
64. Pedon merkki (1981)
120 min | Drama, War
Follows several Finnish officers and soldiers during World War II, mainly in the Finnish headquarters.
Director: Jaakko Pakkasvirta | Stars: Esko Salminen, Irina Milan, Tom Wentzel, Hannu Lauri
Votes: 205
The Finnish part of the eastern front. The moral questions concerning the democratic Finland being alligned with nazist Germany are explored by the friendship between a Finnish and a German officer.
65. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)
Not Rated | 120 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A dramatization of the final days of Sophie Scholl, one of the most famous members of the German World War II anti-Nazi resistance movement, The White Rose.
Director: Marc Rothemund | Stars: Julia Jentsch, Fabian Hinrichs, Alexander Held, Johanna Gastdorf
Votes: 28,600 | Gross: $0.68M
A young anti-nazi activist faces the fateful consequences for resisting the totalitarian regime.
66. The Misfit Brigade (1987)
R | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
War story of the 27th Panzers, Hitler's heavy-duty combat regiment composed of prisoners. In 1943, this motley tank crew is sent on a suicide mission behind enemy lines to destroy a Soviet train that's carrying fuel for the Red Army.
Director: Gordon Hessler | Stars: Bruce Davison, David Patrick Kelly, D.W. Moffett, Jay O. Sanders
Votes: 2,164
A ragtag Panzer crew gets ordered on a suicide mission on the eastern front, ultimately causing heavy damage for the Soviets.
67. Sherlock Holmes and the Secret Weapon (1942)
Approved | 68 min | Adventure, Crime, Drama
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson must protect a Swiss inventor of an advanced bomb sight from falling into German hands.
Director: Roy William Neill | Stars: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Lionel Atwill, Karen Verne
Votes: 6,605
A Swiss weapon engineer has built a system for the allies which allows bombers to fire their targets extremely accurately. When the engineer gets captured Sherlock Holmes and Watson are called for help and they soon find out that their old enemy has joined the ranks of the nazi intelligence service.
68. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
PG | 161 min | Adventure, Drama, War
British 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.
Director: David Lean | Stars: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa
Votes: 232,499 | Gross: $44.91M
British POWs are forced to build a bridge in the Japanese-occupied Burma. The bridge building project becomes a personal piece of affection for the British lieutenant Nicholson, which leads his men to question the lieutenant's loyalties.
69. Sissit (1963)
106 min | Drama, War
Lieutenant Takala joins a group of war veterans who gather in a restaurant to reminisce their unit's operations on the Finnish-Soviet front. A flashback takes us back to summer 1944 where ... See full summary »
Director: Mikko Niskanen | Stars: Matti Oravisto, Kauko Laurikainen, Paul Budsko, Heimo Lepistö
Votes: 353
A team of Finnish commandos carries out special missions behind enemy lines while their captain has an inner struggle for his sanity and soul.
70. Memphis Belle (1990)
PG-13 | 107 min | Action, Drama, War
In 1943, the crew of a B-17 based in the UK prepares for its 25th and final bombing mission over Germany before returning home to the USA.
Director: Michael Caton-Jones | Stars: Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney
Votes: 30,405 | Gross: $27.44M
The crew of the B-17 bomber "Memphis Belle" sets out to the skies of Germany in what is meant to be their last bombing run before being relocated to civilian life. As the crew closes to their target and their squadron diminishes in numbers, it becomes clear to the men that this run will most likely end up being their last flight in every sense of the word.
71. The Dam Busters (1955)
Approved | 105 min | Drama, History, War
Drama based on the attempt by the RAF to destroy six dams in Germany during World War II.
Director: Michael Anderson | Stars: Richard Todd, Michael Redgrave, Ursula Jeans, Basil Sydney
Votes: 11,313
To boost public morale and harm German infrastructure the British decide to carry out a risky operation of bombing the damns in Ruhr. To make this possible a weapon and aircraft engineer Barnes Wallis designes a bomb that can bounce on water and the risky mission can begin.
72. Bon Voyage (1944)
TV-G | 26 min | Short, War
A young Scottish R. A. F. Gunner is debriefed by French officials about his escape from occupied territory, and in particular one person who may or may not have been a German Agent.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: John Blythe, Janique Joelle
Votes: 1,980
The second of Hitchcock's two wartime shortfilms. "Bon Voyage" follows the adventures of a downed Scottish pilot on his quest of returning to England. Without him knowing, however, he comes to play a part in a subtle plan set up by German espionage.
73. 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: 32,451 | Gross: $0.09M
Episode 3 of the series. Summer of 1943. The German eastern front starts slowly to collapse after the disaster of Stalingrad. With the beginning of the battle of Kursk the Germans go for a final major offensive and try to push back the Soviet advance. At same time the Jewish man Viktor is captured and being taken to an extermination camp but he manages to escape his captors in the last second.
74. Utomlennye solntsem 2 (2011)
157 min | Drama, History, War
A bitter story from World War II, which depicts that for the victims of Stalin's repression peaceful life was sometimes even worse than burdens of battlefields against the Germans.
Director: Nikita Mikhalkov | Stars: Nikita Mikhalkov, Nadezhda Mikhalkova, Anna Mikhalkova, Oleg Menshikov
Votes: 2,137
Third part of the "Burnt by the Sun"-trilogy. Kotov is reaqcuinted with his family and given back his rank of general, but with the time gone by nothing is the same as before and on top of that Stalin personally commands Kotov to execute a mission against a German stronghold which could mean useless deaths to hundreds of his men.
75. Beyond the Front Line (2004)
127 min | Drama, History, War
A story of the infantry regiment 61 that fought from Syväri to the Karelian Ishtmus.
Director: Åke Lindman | Stars: Tobias Zilliacus, Ilkka Heiskanen, Christoffer Weiss, Kim Gustafsson
Votes: 1,662
Follows the experiences of Harry Järv and the swedish-speaking Finnish regiment Jr61 on the eastern front from the summer of 1942 to the the defensive victory in the battle of Tienhaara.
76. Victory Through Air Power (1943)
Approved | 70 min | Documentary, Animation, History
An animated documentary promoting of the soundness of strategic aerial bombing in World War II.
Directors: James Algar, Clyde Geronimi, Jack Kinney, H.C. Potter | Stars: Alexander de Seversky, Art Baker, Billy Mitchell
Votes: 1,166 | Gross: $0.80M
A full- length documentary from 1943 by the Walt Disney Studios that examines the evolution of aeroplanes and analyses their role in modern warfare.
77. The Battle of Sutjeska (1973)
PG | 130 min | War
In 1943, 20,000 Yugoslav partisans led by Tito find themselves encircled by 120,000 well-armed Axis troops in the mountains of Bosnia and must break out of encirclement.
Director: Stipe Delic | Stars: Richard Burton, Ljuba Tadic, Velimir 'Bata' Zivojinovic, Irene Papas
Votes: 1,822
The axis offensive against Tito's Yugoslav partisans continues, leading to heavy fighting over the command of the Serbian mountains.
78. 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: 32,451 | Gross: $0.09M
Episode 4 of the series. The battle of Kursk turns into a disaster for the Germans with Russians having a decisive victory over their enemies. Wilhelm Winter deserts after facing the annihilation of his men and Viktor joins the Polish resistance.
79. Sherlock Holmes in Washington (1943)
Approved | 71 min | Mystery, Thriller, War
Sherlock Holmes and Doctor Watson travel to Washington D.C. in order to prevent a secret document from falling into enemy hands.
Director: Roy William Neill | Stars: Basil Rathbone, Nigel Bruce, Marjorie Lord, Henry Daniell
Votes: 4,716
A British agent is murdered in America while carrying a microfilm full of confidential intelligence. Sherlock Holmes and Watson are once again called to solve the case before the the axis agents can make any use of the info stored in the microfilm.
80. A Walk in the Sun (1945)
Approved | 117 min | Drama, War
During WWII, a platoon of American soldiers trudge through the Italian countryside in search of a bridge they have been ordered to blow up, encountering danger and destruction along the way.
Director: Lewis Milestone | Stars: Dana Andrews, Richard Conte, George Tyne, John Ireland
Votes: 4,067
September 1943. After gaining decisive victory in Africa and Sicily, the allies launch an invasion on the mainland Italy. A platoon of Texan infantry soldiers are tasked with capturing a farm far off from the beachhead. On their journey they find Italy to be a war weary country destined to become a battlefield rather than a participant.
81. Von Ryan's Express (1965)
Approved | 117 min | Action, Adventure, War
An American POW leads a group of mainly British prisoners to escape from the Germans in WWII.
Director: Mark Robson | Stars: Frank Sinatra, Trevor Howard, Raffaella Carrà, Brad Dexter
Votes: 15,075 | Gross: $17.11M
After the success of the allied landing the Italian forces are demoralized and leave behind their posts. This allows an entire POW camp to escape and they decide to make a dangerous journey to neutral Switzerland via railway.
82. Education for Death: The Making of the Nazi (1943)
Approved | 10 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A young German boy is indoctrinated into conforming with the Nazi social mindset.
Director: Clyde Geronimi | Stars: Eileen Carlisle, Robert A. Davis, Lisa Golm, Charles Judels
Votes: 1,511
83. 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: 95,837
A Belarusian boy decides to join the local partisans, which leads him to witness German atrocities towards the civilian population in their full terror.
84. Cross of Iron (1977)
R | 119 min | Drama, War
German commander Hauptmann Stransky places a squad in extreme danger after Sergeant Rolf Steiner refuses to lie for him.
Director: Sam Peckinpah | Stars: James Coburn, Maximilian Schell, James Mason, David Warner
Votes: 28,953
In the chaos of the German retreat from Caucasus an opportunistic captain Stransky is willing to do anything to get an Iron Cross, even if it means lying and sacrificing his own men. The only man willing to stand against him is sergeant Steiner which leads to a violent confrontation between the two all awhile the Soviets are making heavy advances.
85. Escape from Sobibor (1987 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 143 min | Drama, History, War
German death camp in Sobibor, Poland, killed two hundred fifty thousand Jews. It had the most successful prisoner escape in World War II on October 14, 1943.
Director: Jack Gold | Stars: Alan Arkin, Joanna Pacula, Rutger Hauer, Hartmut Becker
Votes: 9,777
October 1943. Over 300 Jewish prisoners make an escape out of the Sobibor extermination camp in Poland, only a handful of them being able to make it into freedom.
86. The Guns of Navarone (1961)
Not Rated | 158 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A team of Allied saboteurs is assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held Greek island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.
Director: J. Lee Thompson | Stars: David Niven, Gregory Peck, Anthony Quinn, Anthony Quayle
Votes: 55,109 | Gross: $28.90M
Germans have built massive coastal defenses in Greece thus trapping British forces there from escaping. A small strike team of allied operatives take on a mission to destroy the massive guns and free the British forces from starvation.
87. The Eagle Has Landed (1976)
PG | 123 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
A German plot to kidnap Sir Winston Churchill unfolds at the height of World War II.
Director: John Sturges | Stars: Michael Caine, Donald Sutherland, Robert Duvall, Jenny Agutter
Votes: 24,296
In order to turn the hopeless state of the war, Heinrich Himmler orders a squad of elite paratroopers disguised as Poles to capture Winston Churchill and bring him to Germany. However after their cover is blown, the fighting comes, for a brief time, to the British soil.
88. Where Eagles Dare (1968)
M | 158 min | Action, Adventure, War
Allied agents stage a daring raid on a castle where the Nazis are holding American brigadier general George Carnaby prisoner, but that's not all that's really going on.
Director: Brian G. Hutton | Stars: Richard Burton, Clint Eastwood, Mary Ure, Patrick Wymark
Votes: 62,641
A group of allied paratroopers are sent to Germany to rescue an American general. However suspicious deaths star to occur right after they make a landing and it becomes clear that nothing is as it originally seemed.
89. Ivan's Childhood (1962)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama, War
During WWII, Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev strikes up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers while working as a scout behind the German lines.
Directors: Andrei Tarkovsky, Eduard Abalov | Stars: Nikolay Burlyaev, Valentin Zubkov, Evgeniy Zharikov, Stepan Krylov
Votes: 39,714
A Russian boy ripped off his childhood searches for himself in the devastation of eastern front, only to find a dead-end.
90.
Tuulepealne maa (2008– )
Episode:
Ei ole sõda noortele meestele
(2013)
90 min | Drama, History, Romance
Director: Ain Prosa | Stars: Jörgen Liik, Jaanika Arum, Jarmo Reha, Markus Dvinjaninov
Votes: 13
The full-length finale to the tv-series "Tuulepealne maa". The film depicts Estonia under German influence at the end of 1943.
91. Lifeboat (1944)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, War
Several survivors of a torpedoed merchant ship in World War II find themselves in the same lifeboat with one of the crew members of the U-boat that sank their ship.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Tallulah Bankhead, John Hodiak, Walter Slezak, William Bendix
Votes: 31,059
After their ship is sunk by a U-boat, a group of survivors drifts aimlessly in the North sea, waiting for a rescue that's unlikely to arrive.
92. Escape to Athena (1979)
PG | 125 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
A World War II adventure involving a group of Allied P.O.W.s, Nazis, black market priceless art treasures, Greek resistance, a Greek monastery, and a secret German rocket base.
Director: George P. Cosmatos | Stars: Roger Moore, Telly Savalas, David Niven, Stefanie Powers
Votes: 5,804
A bizarre group comprised of allied POWs, a stripper, a monk and a Wehrmacht officer try to get rich by stealing ancient Greek artifacts.
93. Rome, Open City (1945)
Not Rated | 103 min | Drama, Thriller, War
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.
Director: Roberto Rossellini | Stars: Anna Magnani, Aldo Fabrizi, Marcello Pagliero, Vito Annichiarico
Votes: 28,813
The German occupation of Rome is examined through the experiences of several civilians and resistance fighters who each are affected by the violence caused by the occupiers.
94. The Great Escape (1963)
Approved | 172 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
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: 257,798 | Gross: $12.10M
Based on the escape that occurred in Stalag Luft III in March 25. 1944, "the Great Escape" tells the story of an escape plan executed by allied POWs and the subsequent adventures of those who got out.
95. Anzio (1968)
PG-13 | 117 min | Drama, History, War
Anzio: one of WWII's bloodiest battles as the Allies smash through the German lines which have enclosed the Anzio beachhead--four months and 30,000 casualties before the Allies finally march to Rome.
Directors: Edward Dmytryk, Duilio Coletti | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Peter Falk, Robert Ryan, Earl Holliman
Votes: 3,742
Fighting in Italy continues with the Germans and Mussolini loyalists preventing further allied advances to the north. After the decisive battle of Anzio, however, the allies were able to break the Italian stalemate line and take control of Rome.
96. The Dirty Dozen (1967)
Approved | 150 min | Action, Adventure, War
During World War II, a rebellious U.S. Army Major is assigned a dozen convicted murderers to train and lead them into a mass assassination mission of German officers.
Director: Robert Aldrich | Stars: Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Charles Bronson, John Cassavetes
Votes: 78,803 | Gross: $45.30M
Tasked with leading a squad of sentenced criminals in a suicide mission, major Reisman takes the challenge and builds the ragtag group into elite soldiers. With the invasion of Normandy approaching the allied forces in Britain prepare for the greatest challenge they have taken part in.
97.
Band of Brothers (2001)
Episode:
Currahee
(2001)
TV-MA | 70 min | Drama, History, War
Easy Company goes through training under the leadership of a captain who relentlessly pushes them to their limits but may be limited as a leader in the field.
Director: Phil Alden Robinson | Stars: Nicholas Aaron, Kirk Acevedo, Doug Allen, Eion Bailey
Votes: 11,449
98. The Longest Day (1962)
G | 178 min | Action, Drama, History
The events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view.
Directors: Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, Gerd Oswald, Bernhard Wicki, Darryl F. Zanuck | Stars: John Wayne, Robert Ryan, Richard Burton, Henry Fonda
Votes: 58,887 | Gross: $39.10M
The western allies execute 'Operation Overlord', a massive invasion of Normandy in order to create there a bridgehead. "The Longest Day" covers the initial operation in a nutshell from the nightly parachute droppings to the brutal massacres at the beaches, showing the invasion from both sides' perspective.
99.
Band of Brothers (2001)
Episode:
Day of Days
(2001)
TV-MA | 49 min | Drama, History, War
Easy Company paratroopers jump behind enemy lines in Normandy on D-Day and struggle to reunite in hostile territory.
Director: Richard Loncraine | Stars: Nicholas Aaron, Kirk Acevedo, Philip Barantini, David Blair
Votes: 10,590
100. 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: 1,489,000 | Gross: $216.54M
After landing on Omaha Beach a group of soldiers are sent on a mission to locate and bring home Ryan, a paratrooper whose other brothers have been killed in action. After finding Ryan the soldiers must defend a small town even though reinforcements are unlikely and operation Overlord's success is still at stake.
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