:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/Saving-Private-Ryan-Casablanca-and-Dunkirk43-01252023-fbf70ad5086e4b97806a52ae97009367.jpg "The 22 best World War II movies of all time")
The six years of global conflict that constituted World War II transformed the world politically, culturally, and technologically — and paved the way for some of the most provocative, engaging, and horrifying pieces of cinema ever created. From classics like Casablanca (1942) to recent Oscar winners such as Oppenheimer (2023) and The Zone of Interest (2023), the films on this list pay homage to the battles fought on land and sea and in the air. They also document the extremist minds that helped design and execute the Holocaust, and tell the stories of the innocent people who survived or perished in concentration camps.
From those who lost their lives fighting on behalf of others, to unsung heroes, to those who made it home but were unable to free themselves from the mental shackles of their experiences, the movies and filmmakers featured on this list ensure the tragedies and traumas of WWII will never be forgotten. With the 80th anniversary of D-Day only recently behind us, here is an opportunity to take in some of the best WWII films of all time.
Released a year after the end of the war, The Best Years of Our Lives is an epic film about three soldiers who return home and soon realize their families are irrevocably changed. William Wyler‘s nearly three-hour masterpiece was both timely and timeless, with a smart script and a full range of emotional depth. The movie took home seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture and an Honorary Oscar for actor Harold Russell for “bringing hope and courage to his fellow veterans.” —Robert English
Where to watch The Best Years of Our Lives: Amazon Prime Video
Long before he was dueling Darth Vader in Star Wars, Sir Alec Guinness starred in this tour de force WWII film as Colonel Nicholson, a British POW who, with his unit, is tasked with building a railway bridge across the river Kwai in occupied Burma while Allied forces plan to destroy it. The film is grand on every level, delving into the gray areas of war with a bombastic final act that rivals action scenes today. Director David Lean is perhaps the king of 20th-century historical epics (Lawrence of Arabia, Doctor Zhivago), but The Bridge on the River Kwai was his first foray into the genre, one that would lay the groundwork for his legacy. —R.E.
Where to watch The Bridge on the River Kwai: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
Despite boasting some of the best quotes in all of cinematic history, Casablanca was just one of many films churned out by the studio system in the early years of World War II. But something about the movie’s heart-wrenching love triangle, political and social relevance, and lush setting charmed viewers, propelling the project to an unexpected Best Picture win, and a permanent spot on almost every “best of” list. Electricity rations were common at the time of the movie’s release, but entirely unnecessary — the undeniable sparks between stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman had to have been strong enough to generate power for a small city, at the very least. —Ilana Gordon
Few films have captured the horrific experiences of war as vividly and poetically as director Elim Kilmov’s 1985 picture. Come and See follows Flyora, a young Belarusian boy who joins the Soviet resistance against German forces after finding an old rifle. Atrocities await the child soldier at every turn, as he endures unimaginable suffering through a lens that’s somehow both surreal and all too real. Drawn from the personal experiences of Kilmov and co-writer Ales Adamovich, Come and See is a truly terrifying spectacle — and it’s one of the most poignant anti-war films ever made. —R.E.
Wolfgang Peterson‘s war epic (translated to The Boat) depicts the claustrophobic world of a German U-boat during the Battle of the Atlantic. The film was shot in chronological order over the course of a year to capture a pale, bearded crew hardened by months at sea that feel like a lifetime. The result brings stunning realism to the terror and conditions of naval warfare, with intense action sequences and a great eye for detail. Even at two-and-a-half hours, Das Boot is a relentless, emotional ride that grows grimmer by the minute. —R.E.
Downfall recounts the final days of Adolf Hitler and his entourage in their fatalistic bunker as the Soviets close in on Berlin. Bruno Ganz — who was originally hesitant to take on the role — brings complex depth to the Führer, so much so that the film received backlash for humanizing one of history’s worst dictators. Still, it was released to critical and financial success, earning a nomination for Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars. Director Oliver Hirschbiegel relied on eyewitness accounts and historical records to ensure accuracy while tackling the unthinkable: exploring the many dimensions of a man whose evil knows no bounds. —R.E.
Christopher Nolan puts on a structural master class in Dunkirk, one of the filmmaker’s shortest works to date. A World War II epic that chronicles the British Army’s strategic evacuation of thousands of soldiers from the Dunkirk beaches, the film combines multiple perspectives from those on the land, in the air, and at sea. Based on real events from 1940 and communicated with limited dialogue, Dunkirk is not your typical Hollywood war story: There are no Americans involved, the heroes retreat rather than prevail, and Harry Styles is there. Nolan’s large-scale production was well-recognized by the Academy, taking home three trophies in production categories and receiving eight nominations total, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography. —I.G.
Studio Ghibli, the hallowed film company behind animated classics like My Neighbor Totoro (1988), Spirited Away (2001), and Howl’s Moving Castle (2004), is known for its mystical creatures and fantastical worlds. But in 1988, writer-director Isao Takahata cast aside the feel-good formula and created this heart-wrenching tale of two siblings trying to survive in Japan as World War II draws to a close. In a world where animated movies can sometimes be regarded as vapid pieces of children’s entertainment, Grave of the Fireflies remains one of the most visually stunning and emotionally moving genre films of all time, no matter your age. Make sure to bring tissues for this one. —R.E.
Grave of the Fireflies is presently not available to watch or rent.
An epic World War II classic highlighting the resiliency of the human spirit, The Great Escape is a 1963 adventure film directed by John Sturges and starring an ensemble cast led by Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, and James Garner. Loosely based on the true story of a mass escape from a German POW camp — and crafted with many narrative concessions intended to appease American viewing audiences — the action unfolds like a heist movie as a group of British soldiers plots to free 250 men from detention at great risk to their lives. The film was mostly overlooked on the awards circuit, only winning one Oscar for Best Film Editing, but it was a hit at the box office and with critics and remains one of the most enduring WWII films to this day. —I.G.
Where to watch The Great Escape: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
The Imitation Game proves that mathematics can be just as tense and interesting as warfare. Based on the book by Andrew Hodges, the film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as the ingenious Alan Turing, a British cryptographer who attempts to crack German intelligence codes while coming to terms with his sexuality. The well-written script shines a light on a lesser-known pocket of WWII history, and its stirring acting makes this period drama all the more memorable. Cumberbatch received his first Oscar nod working alongside a cast of British acting elite including Keira Knightley, Mark Strong, Rory Kinnear, and Charles Dance. —R.E.
Where to watch The Imitation Game: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
It’s definitely a bold choice for a director to portray Adolf Hitler as a playful imaginary friend to a 10-year-old Nazi boy, but Taika Waititi managed to pull it off. Jojo Rabbit follows Jojo, played by the adorable Roman Griffin Davis as a devoted Hitler Youth who finds out his less-than-ardent mother (Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl in their walls. The Thor: Love and Thunder (2022) helmer passionately directs a story that’s both hopeful and deeply tragic, putting children at the forefront of a world undergoing dramatic change. With vibrant colors, complex characters, and an upbeat soundtrack, Jojo Rabbit is an endlessly entertaining satire that you’ll enjoy with every rewatch. —R.E.
Clint Eastwood shot Flags of Our Fathers and Letters from Iwo Jima simultaneously, giving perspectives on the battle of Iwo Jima from both the American and Japanese sides. The latter stands out as the superior of the two films, as it did critically at the time, garnering four Oscar nominations. It’s a sorrowful, intimate story reminding us that regardless of which side they were fighting on, at the war’s center, the soldiers were just human beings. —R.E.
Where to watch Letters From Iwo Jima: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
Even though Saving Private Ryan (1998) is perhaps the pinnacle of D-Day portrayed on the silver screen, 1962’s The Longest Day is still a crowning achievement. Based on the nonfiction book by Cornelius Ryan, the film tells the events of the invasion from American, French, British, and German perspectives. It also features an ensemble cast with some of the biggest names in Hollywood history, including John Wayne, Sean Connery, Henry Fonda, and Richard Burton (and almost starred former president Dwight D. Eisenhower as himself). While the film falters in the distraction of some of the well-known Hollywood players, the close-up style works well in depicting the historic events, the grand scale of the invasion, and an insightful picture of everyone involved on the fateful day. —R.E.
Where to watch The Longest Day: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
Two families are mired in poverty, each with a son who fought bravely in World War II only to return to the Mississippi Delta with nothing but PTSD to show for their troubles. But the only difference between the Jacksons and McAllans is the color of their skin. Dee Rees’ Mudbound follows the two families as they fight their wars both abroad and within the home, and discover that trauma bonds deeper than blood. Jason Mitchell is exceptional as Ronsel Jackson, bringing emotional honesty to a war hero who, because he is Black, is treated like anything but. Also featuring an all-star ensemble that includes Mary J. Blige, Carey Mulligan, Jason Clarke, and Garrett Hedlund, EW’s critic writes that “Mudbound is never preachy, reductive, or undercut by its own good intentions. Just the opposite. It’s a deeply felt American tale told with heart and humanity.” —I.G.
Winner of seven Academy Awards including Best Picture, Christopher Nolan’s latest film is also his longest, but the movie’s three-hour viewing time is put to good use. Nolan gives audiences two stories for the price of one, combining the history of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Cillian Murphy), the “father of the atomic bomb” and a hero of World War II, with Oppenheimer’s later political woes, orchestrated by rivals intent on steering the country’s post-war nuclear policy. Playing with cinematic devices like color and point of view to ground audiences even as it flits across decades and perspectives, Oppenheimer is a movie that demands focus and attention from its viewers. Filled with a sizable ensemble cast of known actors playing real historical figures, Oppenheimer doesn’t make physics fun, but it does find ways to explain the mental and moral journey that went into creating the world’s first atomic bomb. —I.G.
The Pianist is a harrowing look at the destruction of Warsaw and the horrors of the Holocaust through the eyes of a Jewish musician. Unfortunately, the film is shrouded in the continuing controversy of its director, Roman Polanski. But that doesn’t diminish the remarkable achievements of the rest of the cast and the crew, especially Adrien Brody, who, at the tender age of 29, is still the youngest actor to win the Best Actor award for playing the role with heart, power, and deep sadness. —R.E.
Steven Spielberg‘s Saving Private Ryan brings viewers to the ground level of the Normandy invasion, complete with intense bloodshed and incredible attention to detail. Starring Tom Hanks, Vin Diesel, and Matt Damon alongside a dazzling ensemble cast, the film follows one unit’s heroic mission to bring a private home after his three brothers perished in action on D-Day. It’s still a shock that the film lost the Best Picture Oscar to Shakespeare in Love (though Spielberg did win for Best Directing), but the test of time has looked more favorably on Saving Private Ryan. —R.E.
Another much-revered Spielberg-directed war film, Schindler’s List is one of the most intimate and affecting onscreen depictions of the Holocaust. Liam Neeson stars as Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who operates under the radar to save his Jewish workers from Nazi persecution. In a year when he also released Jurassic Park, Spielberg returns with a movie that remains hopeful in one of the darkest corners of human history, paying tribute to the millions who lost their lives and to those who survived. It’s a hard movie to watch, but it’s one that everyone should experience at least once. —R.E.
Where to watch Schindler’s List: Amazon Prime Video (to rent)
A haunting Hungarian historical drama directed by László Nemes that unfolds in stoic sequences that feel like a documentary, 2015’s Son of Saul is a Holocaust story that’s hard to forget. The film stars actor Géza Röhrig in his feature debut as Saul Ausländer, a Jewish concentration camp prisoner forced to work for the Nazis sorting through the belongings of fellow prisoners murdered in the gas chambers. After Saul finds his son among the dead, he becomes obsessed with the mission to secure a Jewish burial for him. Son of Saul may have earned an A from EW’s critic, but he doesn’t mince words in his review when he says, “As easy as it is to appreciate Nemes and Röhrig’s achievements, Son of Saul is an extremely difficult film to watch. But there’s a moment at the end of the film that hints at something like grace, as fleeting as it may be.” —I.G.
The early-’80s psychological drama Sophie’s Choice is notorious for being the vehicle that won Meryl Streep her first Best Actress Oscar — her second Oscar win overall — but the film’s narrative is far less established. Adapted and directed by Alan J. Pakula from William Styron‘s 1979 novel, Sophie’s Choice tells the story of Catholic, Polish Auschwitz survivor Sophie (Streep) who, after immigrating to America, engages in a tumultuous love affair with an American Jew named Nathan (Kevin Kline). Nathan and Sophie befriend Stingo (Peter MacNicol), an aspiring novelist who recently moved to their New York City boarding house, but the connection between the three friends threatens to topple years of secrets that Sophie has worked hard to obscure. The titular scene is eternally haunting, but the rest of the film is just as compelling, and at times, even stumbles into heartwarming territory, before descending into madness and misery. —I.G.
While many WWII movies depict the horrors of the Holocaust, Jonathan Glazer‘s The Zone of Interest prompts viewers to exercise their mind’s eye in what remains unseen. Loosely based on Martin Amis’ eponymous 2014 novel, the film follows Auschwitz commander Rudolf Höss (Christian Friedel) and his wife, Hedwig (Sandra Hüller, acclaimed for Anatomy of a Fall the same year), as they bask in domesticity just beyond the walls of the concentration camp. Amid garden parties and pool days for the Höss family, a haunting soundscape of diegetic echoes — from gunfire to hair-raising screams — and faraway glimpses of brutality create an unsettling sensory experience. As lauded by EW’s critic, The Zone of Interest is a “formalized and frightening Holocaust film” that serves as “a stark reminder of our complicity and the capacity for great evil in the most mundane of circumstances.” —James Mercadante
