MovieChat Forums > Der Untergang (2005) Discussion > LOVE movies about WW2, any suggestions f...

LOVE movies about WW2, any suggestions for others not on my list?

posted 11 years ago by pro_aris_et_focis
111 replies | jump to latest

If anyone can recommend movies that deal with WW2 I would be eternally greatful as I enjoy these kind of movies the most. These are the only ones I have in my collection but I am ALWAYS looking for more to add to my collection!

Der Untergang (by far the BEST)
Das Boot Uncut miniseries version (on par with Der Untergang)
As Far as my Feet Will Carry Me
Joy Division
Hitlers SS Portrait in Evil
Die Brucke (2008 remake)
Napola
Der Unhold
Talvisota
The Unknown Soldier
Brest Fortress
Beast of War
Days of Glory
Katyn
The Ambush
Europa Europa
The Pianist
Defiance
Uprising
Saints and Soldiers
Saints and Soldiers Airborne Creed
Where Eagles Dare
9th Company
The Keep
La Rafle
Miracle at St. Anna
Defiance
A Woman in Berlin
Fateless
A Midnight Clear
Sophie Scholl
Valkyrie
Stauffenberg
Amen.
When Trumpets Fade
The Grey Zone
Inside the Third Reich
Speer und Er
The Counterfeiters
Winds of War miniseries
War and Remebrance miniseries
Company of Heroes
Cross of Iron
The Bunker
Conspiracy

[–] Tom_Nashville 11 years ago

Your list is getting pretty spread out but I don't think I saw the following:

To Hell and Back, 1955 - True story of Audie Murphy portrayed by himself.
Silent Night, 2002 (TV movie) - "based" on a true story.
Winter in Wartime (Oorlogswinter), 2008
Dark Blue World (Tmavomodry svet), 2001
Ivan's Childhood, 1962
The Big Red One, 1980
Empire of the Sun, 1987
Resistance, 2003
The Train, 1964
The Island on Bird Street, 1997

[–] pro_aris_et_focis 11 years ago

I have about 5 of your recommendations TAB-indy but the rest I have not seen so I have wrote them all down and will give them a viewing. Thank you! And thanks to ALL for your lists, KEEP THEM COMING!!!

[–] the-infamia 11 years ago

It's not what you asked for but check out author called Sven Hassel. All his novels are very light, full of brutal and violent action and have easily most memorable characters i've ever seen.

His books are quite old so they dont even cost anything anymore ;) During rare peaceful chapters, these guys dont discuss meaning of life, they pillage brothels instead so dont be worried about getting bored!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sven_Hassel

Short random teaser from March Battalion:

‘Enemy anti-tank to our right,’ suddenly Alte announced.

There was a battery of them concealed behind the walls of a farm. In company with the other Tigers we advanced upon them, subjecting them to a concerted bombardment. They held out for a while, inflicting serious damage on us, but soon we were on top of them, crushing the guns beneath our heavy tracks. The crews had fled, and we picked them off with machine gun fire. Lt. Ohlsen’s tank received four direct hits simultaneously and the explosion echoed through our own Tiger. We saw one of the crew flung up into the air in a mass of flames. Whether anyone survived, we were not then certain. Four other tanks were left as burning wrecks. Of the entire First Company, only six tanks now remained. The whole of the Fourth Company had been wiped out some time back.

Once again, we had become the hunted. We moved away from the area of immediate danger and reformed, in positions of attack, several kilometres further on, The divisional commander, General Keller, turned up in an open car and quickly restored order from a state of chaos. Reinforcements arrived from other armoured sections and we were sent off once more. The atmosphere inside the tank was suffocating. The ventilating system had ceased to function and we were all choking and red-eyed from the constant discharge each time the guns were fired. Heide was overcome by the fumes after a while and collapsed on the floor at our feet. We kicked him out of the way and left him there. We had neither the time nor the opportunity to do more for him.

Coming up on the left, along a strip of road bordered by poplars, I sighted a long column of familiar black shapes, and in spite of the heat I felt the goose pimples break out like a rash on my arms.

‘T.34s!’

BUT, if you insist on just movies... It's been awhile since I saw these so I cant say if they we're about japan invading China or post-ww2 korean war movies. Atleast in terms of epicness, they actually rival Private Ryan so they are obviously worth mentioning!

Brotherhood of War
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386064

In to the Fire
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1587729

Assembly
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0881200

Welcome to Dongmakgol
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0475783

Alot of movies about Nanjing incident,
City of Life and Death
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1124052

This one has Batman in it!
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1410063

The Children of Huang Shi
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0889588

Somewhat meh movie about post ww2 japan with pretty good cast.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2103264

Best way to end WW2 list is obviously Judgment at Nuremberg, which is excellent movie :) There is version with Alec Baldwin but I cant find the damn movie anywhere.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0055031/reference

[–] pro_aris_et_focis 11 years ago

Thanks for all the suggestions, books included, I'll definitely check them all out when I can. I have Brotherhood of War and Assembly but as for the rest I have never seen them so I wrote them down to my ever growing list. I actually downloaded the Nuremburg TV movie with Alec Baldwin off of a torrent site, so you may try that if all else fails. Thanks again, I need some movies I have never seen before!

[–] andy-912-631414 11 years ago

Sam Peckinpah's Cross of Iron (1977) is very reminiscent of the style of Sven Hassel's writing.

And one of my favourite WW2 movies is Ice Cold in Alex.

[–] Torsten_Clu 11 years ago

Yes, and yes, mine also!

[–] gerwag 11 years ago

The One That Got Away (1957)
08/15 (1954)
Stalingrad (1993)
Conversation with the Beast (1996)
Die Wannseekonferenz (1984)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

[–] monkeyboy77080 11 years ago

Not really a movie but a Documentary called Hitler's Children,a film about the descendants of some of the most powerful figures in the Nazi regime, such as Heinrich Himmler, Hans Frank, Amon Goeth, Hermann Göring, and Rudolf Höss, who have inherited a legacy that permanently associates them with one of the greatest crimes in history.

John Rabe (2009) a German businessman who used his Nazi Party membership to create a protective International Safety Zone in Nanking, China, helping to save over 200,000 Chinese from the Nanking Massacre in late 1937 and early 1938.Based on a true story

A Bridge Too Far (1977) the film tells the story of the failure of Operation Market Garden during World War II, the Allied attempt to break through German lines and seize several bridges in the occupied Netherlands, including one at Arnhem, with the main objective of outflanking German defenses.Based on a true story

The Flowers of War (2011) the story is set in Nanking, China, during the 1937 Rape of Nanking in the Second Sino-Japanese War. A group of escapees, finding sanctuary in a church compound, try to survive the plight and persecution brought on by the violent invasion of the city.

Back to 1942 (2012) is about a major famine in Henan, China, during the Second Sino-Japanese War.

My Way (2011) is inspired by the true story of a Korean named Yang Kyoungjong who was captured by the Americans on D-Day. Yang Kyoungjong was conscripted in the Japanese Imperial Army, the Red Army and the Wehrmacht.

[–] Torsten_Clu 11 years ago

No-one's suggested this?

The Battle of Britain (1969). Those plucky Brits. Some of it scored to Walton no less.

Good lists by the way.

[–] summeriris 11 years ago

No one has mentioned them but I found
'The Final Days of Sophie Scholl' and 'The Diary of Anne Frank' very good films indeed. And if you interested in the Japanese war, 'The Bridge on the River Kwai' is very good.

_____________
I am the Queen of Snark, TStopped said so.

[–] pro_aris_et_focis 11 years ago

I have since added Sophie Scholl to my collection, very good movie based on true events. The actress who plays Sophie Scholl is also in a brief seen in Der Untergang at the beginning at the Wolfs Lair. I have also downloaded "Rosenstrasse" and a couple versions of Anne Frank besides the 1960's version which were all pretty good. Thanks for the suggestions and keep them coming the list is getting big and full of great movies!

[–] summeriris 11 years ago

That's OK, I have quite the collection of WW2 movies myself. I got hooked on them when I watched them with my Dad. I like the British war movies like 'Dunkirk' and '~Ice Cold In Alex', both starring John Mills. Then there's 'A Town Like Alice' and I'm looking forward to watching 'The Railroad Man' next week. 'battle Of Britain' is excellent and I really like 'Tora, Tora, Tora.' I like war movies without the mushy romances, although 'Ice Cold in Alex' does have a romance. At least it's not mushy. We British keep out stiff upper lips quite stiff.

_____________
I am the Queen of Snark, TStopped said so.

[–] slackhead 11 years ago

A film that appears to have been missed out so far is "Voskhozhdeniye" ("The Ascent") - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0075404 - a Russian film from 1977, that in my mind equals "Der Untergang" and "Come and See" as the best of the WW2 films I've seen. It's not really an action film, but is very realistic and harrowing and the ending will stay with you for a very long time.

Other Russian WW2 films worth watching are the classics "The Dawns Here Are Quiet", "The Cranes are Flying" and "Ballad of a Soldier", and the recent "In the Fog".

Other good WW2 films not mentioned yet include:
"The Devils on the Doorstep".
"Divided We Fall"
"Army of Shadows".
The recent German film "Lore".
"Escape from Sobibor".
"The Third Part of the Night".
Fritz Langs "Man Hunt".
And finally, "The Tin Drum" which is another favourite of mine although more on the surreal side than realistic.

BTW that's a great list you've made. A few there I need to see :)

[–] pro_aris_et_focis 11 years ago

Going to get Voskhozhdeniye on your recommendation alone! It sounds like something I'd enjoy every much after reading the synopsis. Thanks for all the others as well, the only one I've seen from that list is Escape from Sobibor. I'll have a good time trying to locate and watching all the movies you listed so thanks again!

[–] slackhead 11 years ago

Judging by what I've seen from your other comments, I'm sure it's a film you'll appreciate. It was a difficult film to find until Criterion released it a few years ago. I was lucky to see it at a festival about twenty years ago, and then had to wait very patiently for the DVD to come out. Not that its a film you need to watch very often, as it's very difficult to forget.

[–] noblejones 11 years ago

Five Graves to Cairo (1943) www.imdb.com/title/tt0035884/

[–] 11 years ago

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