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30 World War II Movies You Should Watch Right Now

For decades now, movie producers and directors have retold the theme of World War 2 and in all kinds of structures. Stories of loss, atrocities, destruction, bravery, heroism, and survival, just to mention a few have graced our screens time and again. While some are so brutal it’s hard to watch, others remind us of the power of hope and courage in the face of calamity. Some, like Jojo Rabbit, are satirical and controversial, while others like Stalingrad are heart-wrecking. Indeed, nothing about war can be glorified, and however debatable the claim is, there are no real winners in a war. We’ve compiled a list of 30 movies about World War 2, including the truly historically accurate ones, and those whose producers employed a little bit of creative liberty. Either way, each one of these will most likely strike a nerve. Have a look!

Hero

1. Schindler’s List

Oskar Schindler.

This 1993 war movie is directed and produced by the genius, Steven Spielberg. In a run of 3 hours and 15 minutes, it follows the hero of the true story, Oskar Schindler, a German, who faced a moral dilemma during the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Poland. At the onset, he is keen on gaining the most by exploiting the Polish- Jews for cheap labor, but as he witnesses the atrocities being committed by the Nazis, he decides to rescue as many Jews as he can by employing them in his factories.

Portrayed exceptionally by Liam Neeson, Schindler is a symbol of redemption and hope in the face of evil. Spielberg’s adaptation of the 1982 novel by Thomas Keneally, ‘Schindler’s Ark’ is nothing short of a masterpiece. Indeed, it has been considered one of the greatest films ever made, grossing $322 million on a $ 22 million budget. Nominated for 12 Academy Awards, it has won 7, including Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Director, and Best Picture.

Read more on: Tracing the Origins of World War II: How did the World War 2 Start?

2. Unbroken

Unbroken World Premiere. From Left, Miyavi, Angelina Jolie, Jack O’Connell and Matthew Baer. Photo by Eva Rinaldi. Wikimedia Commons.

This is a 2014 biographical film based on the book, ‘Unbroken; A World War 2 Story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption’ by Laura Hillenbrand. It is a true account of American World War II soldier and Olympian, Louis Zamperini at a Japanese Prisoner-of-War camp. The movie follows the undying, unbroken spirit of Zamperini, played masterfully by Jack O’Connell, as he bears the torturous treatment of Japanese Corporal Mutsuhiro Watanabe at the camp. This is after his plane is destroyed in combat, and he survives for 47 days in a raft before he is captured.

One of the most powerful scenes is when he is ordered to lift a heavy beam of wood with a threat that should he put it down, he will get shot. Unbroken perfectly fits the title of this movie, and watching it you’ll agree with me. It was received with mixed reactions, and some parts of it are criticized as being inaccurate. It however gained considerable success, grossing around $ 163 million worldwide against a budget of $ 65 million.

3. Patton

Patton is one of the greatest biographical war films, depicting the role played by U.S. General George S. Patton during World War II. Patton was a controversial war hero, portrayed as overly confident, and aggressive. The movie follows his wartime achievements, starting with the North African campaigns, and ending with his ousting from command for criticizing the United States’ military strategy after the war. George C. Scott plays the role of Patton quite brilliantly, and his electrifying performance earned him the Academy Award for Best Actor, which he however declined. The movie was directed by Franklin J. Schaffner and written by Francis Ford Coppola and Edmund H. North. It won 7 Academy Awards, and in 2003, was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry as being ‘culturally, historical and aesthetically significant.’

4. Defiance

Defiance is a story of outrageous courage and determination to survive. It follows three Jewish Bielski brothers, who after fleeing to the Nabiloki forest meet other Jewish escapees and resolve to protect them, and recruit others for armed rescue. The setting is during the Nazi occupation of Belarus, and this is a true account of events. Daniel Craig stars as Tuvia Bielski, Jamie Bell as Asael Bielski, Liev Schreiber as Zus Bielski, and George Mackay as Aron Bielski (the youngest).

Directed by Edward Zwick, the movie is based on the 1993 book ‘Defiance: The Bielski Partisans’ by Nechama Tec. Though receiving mixed reviews from critics including the failure to include the Bielski partisans’ crimes against the local population, and an implication of Jewish spirit as passive during the war, Defiance had considerable success,  receiving an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Score and Golden Globe Award for the same category. It made $52 million worldwide by the end of its box office run.

5. Hacksaw Ridge

Desmond Doss (1919-2006).

Desmond Doss is described as the Medal of Honor Winner who never fired a shot, and this film tells his tale of courage and sheer faith in one of the bloodiest battles during World War II; the Battle of Okinawa. This 2016 biographical war film is directed by Mel Gibson, with a screenplay by Robert Schenkkan and Andrew Knight. Andrew Garfield does an incredible job playing Desmond Doss, a combat medic and Seventh-Day Adventist, who refuses to carry any weapon to war.

As shocking as it is, Desmond is adamant about his terms, and still determined that there is much he can do on the battlefield. The movie is both epic and deeply touching, especially with Garfield’s stellar performance and Mel Gibson’s award-winning directing. It has received numerous awards. These include 6 Oscar nominations, including Best Director, Best Picture, Best Actor, and Golden Globe nominations for similar categories.

6. The Auschwitz Report

The most recent one in this list, released in 2021, this Slovak drama film recreates the true story of two Slovak Jews, Rudolf Vrba and Alfred Wetzler, who escaped the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland, with critical information about the atrocities that were being committed there by the Nazis. They then recounted it all in writing and handed it to the resistance, and this is believed to have averted the deportation of thousands of Hungarian Jews to Auschwitz during World War II. It is directed by Peter Bebjak and was selected as the Slovak entry for the Best International Feature Film at the 93^rd Academy Awards, although it missed the nomination.

In addition to the mass killings in Nazi concentration camps, here are 10 Brutal Facts about World War II

7. De Gaulle

A WWII photo portrait of General Charles de Gaulle . Photo by Office of War Information, Overseas Picture Division.

This is a 2020 French biographical film, depicting the rise of Charles de Gaulle as a hero during the Battle of France. De Gaulle was a French army officer and statesman who would bravely lead France against Nazi Germany in World War II. He became the President of France in 1959 and held office until 1969.  The film is directed by Gabriel Le Bomin, and it stars Lambert Wilson as De Gaulle and Isabelle Carre as his wife Ivonne.

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Battle

8. Longest Day

John Wayne (center), from the movie The Longest Day; on the right there is Tom Tryon. Photo by 20th Century Fox.

Perhaps one of the most accurate depictions of June 6, 1944, Normandy Landings during World War II, Longest Day has rightfully earned its spot among the greatest war films ever made. It features an incredibly vast international cast, and some of the actors took part in the war. This 1962 war film is produced by Darryl F. Zanuck and co-directed by Ken Annakin, Andrew Marton, and Bernhard Wicki. For the research, the filmmakers consulted several Allied and Axis D-Day participants, hence the near-accuracy of the events portrayed. It is based on the 1959 non-fiction book of the same name, by Cornelius Ryan. The film won two Academy Awards and received 3 nominations.

9. Saving Private Ryan

This is a 1998 war film, directed by Steven Spielberg. It follows a group of US soldiers on a mission to rescue and retrieve one of their own, Private James Ryan. The plot is set during the Normandy Landings, in which the Allies invaded Normandy, breaking ground for the liberation of France during World War II. To make the film as realistic and authentic as possible, numerous interviews were held with veterans who had participated in the war, and the movie is indeed another masterpiece by Spielberg.

The all-star cast includes Tom Hanks as Captain Miller and Matt Damon as Private Ryan. Vin Diesel, Edward Burns, and Barry Pepper are part of the great cast too. Although inspired by true events, the mission to save one man is fictional. The movie still achieves the effect of portraying the gruesome horrors witnessed in the war, and the personal experiences of soldiers in combat. It is considered one of the greatest war films ever made.

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10. Stalingrad

A battle-hardened German soldier in Stalingrad. Photo by Friedrich Gehrmann.

The 1993 German anti-war film is one of the most brutal and heartbreaking anti-war films ever made, especially for its blunt portrayal of the horrors of war. Directed by Joseph Vilsmaier, the movie follows a group of Nazi German soldiers as they fight to survive on the Eastern Front during the Battle of Stalingrad. The Soviet Union won control of the city of Stalingrad in one of the biggest and bloodiest battles of World War II, with an estimated 2 million deaths. The movie is keen not to glorify anything about the war, and the depiction of immense suffering and loss at every turn reminds us that in reality, there’s no winner in war. Quite the emotional rollercoaster, and thought-provoking as well, unveiling the personal human faces of soldiers fighting for opposite sides, and the eventual loss for all. The film won the Bavarian Film Awards for Best Production, Best Editing, and Best Cinematography.

11. Letters from Iwo Jima

Marine Scouts at the Battle of Iwo Jima. Photo by Archives Branch, USMC History Division .

Yet another important film with an anti-war message, Letters from Iwo Jima is a 20016 Japanese-language American movie which, as you would have guessed, portrays the Battle of Iwo Jima during World War II. The Battle of Iwo Jima was a bloody battle for the island of Iwo Jima, between the United States Navy and Marine Corps, and the Imperial Japanese Army. The former eventually captured the island from the Japanese, who had eyed it for its strategic importance.

The movie tells about the war from a Japanese perspective, and it has a personal touch to it, exposing the sentiments of the Japanese soldiers about their experience. It is directed by Clint Eastwood, with a screenplay by Iris Yamashita. Starring Ken Watanabe and Kazunari Ninomiya, the movie is a sentimental piece, showcasing both the evil and good of opponents in war. It won the 79th Academy Award for Best Sound Editing and received 4 nominations, including Best Picture. Its companion film, Flags of Our Fathers, tells the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima from an American perspective and is produced by Clint as well.

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12. Dunkirk

The British Army in the UK- Evacuation From Dunkirk, May-june 1940 Destroyers filled with evacuated British troops berthing at Dover, 31 May 1940. Photo by Puttnam (Mr) and Malindine (Mr).

Christopher Nolan brings his A-game to the production, writing, and directing of this epic war film. Released in 2017, it portrays the famed Dunkirk evacuation, where more than 338,000 Allied soldiers were evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk, north of France during World War II. This was during the Battle of France, in which German had invaded France. In what is also termed the Miracle of Dunkirk, a large troop of Allied soldiers who had been trapped and surrounded by the German soldiers, was evacuated by a fleet of over 800 vessels.

Christopher Nolan employs minimal dialogue while making use of cinematography and music to create chilling suspense. The cast includes Fionn Whitehead, Jack Lowden, Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and James D’Arcy. It has been described by some critics as Nolan’s best work, receiving numerous awards including 8 nominations at the 90^th Academy Awards and 3 wins for Best Sound Editing, Best Film Editing, and Best Sound Mixing.

13. Tora! Tora! Tora!

WWII Attack on Pearl Harbor. Photo by Library of Congress Prints & Photographs Division.

This is a 1970 epic war film that depicts the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941 during World War II. Tora is a Japanese codeword meaning that the attack has succeeded. The film builds up from the events leading to the attack, and for the most part, it has been considered to be historically accurate.  It was produced by Elmo Williams and co-directed by Toshio Masuda, Kinji Fukasaku, and Richard Fleischer. It stars an impressive ensemble cast, including So Yamamura, Martin Balsam, and Joseph Cotton, just to mention a few. The spellbinding visual effects, action sequences, and accuracy make it one of the best war movies in depicting the Pearl Harbor attack. It was nominated at the 43^rd Academy Awards, for categories including Best Film Editing, and Best Cinematography and won Best Visual Effects.

Here are 10 Things to Know about the Pearl Harbor Attack.

14. Das Boot

Originally released in 1981, this German war film is based on a 1973 international bestseller novel by Lothar Gunther Buchheim documenting his experiences as a war correspondent in German submarine U-96 in the Battle of the Atlantic. The movie is directed by Wolfgang Petersen, and it stars Jurgen Prochnow, Klaus Wennemann, and Herbert Gronemeyer. It follows the experiences of a German crew in the U-96 and does an incredible job depicting the gruesome realities faced by soldiers as humans caught up in conflict as well. The film was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay.

15. The Dam Busters

Flight Lieutenant Joe McCarthy (fourth from left) and his crew of No. 617 Squadron (The Dambusters) at RAF Scampton, 22 July 1943. Photo by Royal Air Force official photographer.

This is a 1955 British war film, depicting the historically true events of Operation Chastise, in which the Royal Air Force attacked German dams on the night of 17 May 1943. Immense flooding was occasioned, factories damaged, and an estimated 1600 civilians killed. The attack was carried out by the 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command, which later became known as the Dam Busters. The movie is directed by Michael Anderson, and it stars Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave. It is based on the books Enemy Coast Ahead (1946) by Guy Gibson and The Dam Busters (1951) by Paul Brickhill. It was voted by the British Film Institute as the 68^th greatest British Film of the 20^th century in 1999.

16. Battle of Britain

Directed by Guy Hamilton, this war film portrays the events at the Battle of Britain during World War II. It depicts British Royal Air Force’s strategic military campaign and eventual defeat against Nazi Germany’s air force, successfully averting Hilter’s plan to invade Britain. The movie’s screenplay is based on the book The Narrow Margin by Derek Wood. It brings together an amazing cast, including Laurence Olivier, Trevor Howard, Patrick Wymark, Michael Caine, and Robert Shaw. The movie draws quite a considerably accurate account of the events, and its masterful flying sequences are one of the most remarkable features of the film.

17. Enemy at the Gates

This 2001 war film is based on the 1973 non-fiction book Enemy at the Gates: Battle for Stalingrad. Although set during the Battle for Stalingrad, it zeroes in on a recreated version of Vasily Zaitsev, sniper, and hero of the Soviet Union during World War II. Vasily, portrayed by Jude Law in the movie, was a Soviet sniper, who is recorded to have killed 225 enemy soldiers during the Battle of Stalingrad. The cast includes Rachel Weisz, Ed Harris, Joseph Fiennes, Ron Perlman, and Eva Mattes. It is more fictional, however, than it is accurate, and for this, it received mixed reactions from critics. It was directed by the award-winning French director, Jean-Jacques Annaud.

18. The Thin Red Line

Directed by Terrence Malick, the 1998 American war film recreates the Battle of Mount Austen, between the United States and the Japanese on Guadalcanal during World War II. The fictionalized version stars Sean Penn, Jim Caviezel, Elias Koteas, Ben Chaplin, and Nick Nolte as part of the U.S. soldiers. Co-stars include Woody Harrelson, Adrien Brody, John Cusack, Jared Leto, and John Travolta. It was generally well received, receiving seven Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Cinematography, Best Film Editing, Best Original Dramatic Score, and Best Sound. You also know it’s good when Martin Scorsese has ranked it as his second-favorite film of the 1990s!

19. Days of Glory

This is a 2006 French film, depicting the contribution and experiences of North African soldiers as they fought for the Free French Forces during World War II. Largely fictional, it is controversial for its theme of discrimination against the African troops during the war by the French soldiers. It is however still plausible, and in fact, its release contributed to some recognition of the pension rights of soldiers by the French government. Directed by Rachid Bouchareb, it stars Sami Bouajila, Samy Naceri, Melanie Laurent, and Jamel Debbouze, among others. It won the Francois Chalais Prize and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Holocaust

20. The Boy in Striped Pajamas

This is a 2008 film, based on the book by John Boyne of a similar name. Mark Herman does an impressive job directing such an emotionally and psychologically gripping story. The movie follows two innocent and unsuspecting young boys, one a Jew in a Nazi concentration camp, and the other, the son of a German Commandant at the camp. The two are separated by a barbed wire fence, and as strong friendship blossoms between them, the harrowing reality of what divides them is about to unravel in the worst of ways.

I won’t spoil it for you, but this is one of the most heart-wrecking depictions of innocence amid evil. The cast, led by Asa Butterfield and, Jack Scanlon do an incredible job of bringing this story to life. Although fictional, the portrayal of the disturbing realities of World War II cannot be missed. The movie was nominated at the 2008 British Independent Film Awards for Best Director, Most Promising Newcomer (Asa Butterfield), and Best Actress (Vera Farmiga). It was also nominated for Best European Film at Premio Goya and Best International Film at the 2009 Irish Film and Television Awards.

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21. The Pianist

Wladyslaw Szpilman.

Released in 2002, this is a biographical war film, which follows the heartbreaking tale of a Polish-Jewish pianist, Wladyslaw Szpilman during the Holocaust. It is an adaptation of his 1946 memoir. The Pianist. Directed brilliantly by Roman Polanski, with a screenplay by Ronald Harwood, it stars Adrien Brody as the pianist, and to say that Brody outdid himself on this one is an understatement. Interestingly too, the director, Roman was an escapee from the Krakow Ghetto as a child, around the same time. The Krakow Ghetto was one of the town sections created by the Nazis to separate and confine Jews.

The pianist loses everything when the Nazis invade Poland in 1939, and as he witnesses horrors such as an entire family being shot dead on street, he has to run, hide, starve, and somehow still hold on for life, awaiting liberation. Hungry and on the run, being captured to be a slave laborer at some point, escaping and hiding again, this is a teary tale of despair and finding hope during World War II. The film received numerous awards including the 75^th Academy Awards for Best Director, Best Actor (Brody), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Harwood).

22. Diary of Anne Frank

Screenshot of the US trailer of the film The Diary of Anne Frank (1959). Photo by 20th Century Fox.

Perhaps one of the most discussed victims of the Holocaust, Anne Frank is the inspiration for this film, released in 1959. She was a German-born Jewish girl, who started documenting life under Nazi persecution when her family went into hiding.  This is the first film version of her diary, which was published posthumously by her father, Otto Frank. It is directed by George Stevens and written by Frances Goodrich and Albert Hackett. The film was positively received, and it won three Academy Awards in 1960, and in 2006, was named the most inspiring American film in AFI’s 100 Years…100 Cheers. This list is determined by the American Film Institute.

23. Life is Beautiful

This is not the kind of title you expect for a movie whose plot surrounds the holocaust, yet the story manages to inspire a kind of hope and message that, even in the face of evil, life can still be beautiful. It is a 1997 Italian drama film, directed by Roberto Benigni. Roberto is also the lead star, playing the role of a Jewish-Italian father, who uses ‘Charlie Chaplin-like humor to cushion his young boy against the horrors taking place at the Nazi concentration camp.

With a spellbinding screenplay by Roberto and Vincenzo Cerami, the movie draws some inspiration from the book ‘In the End, I beat Hitler’ by Rubino Romeo and Roberto’s father, who had spent two years in a concentration camp during World War II. You’ll smile, then cry, smile again, laugh perhaps, and whether to call it a sad movie or not is entirely up to you. Either way, it remains to be a great depiction of a father’s resolve to salvage whatever’s left of a beautiful life amid an ugly war. The film won numerous awards including the Grand Prix at the 1998 Cannes Film Festival Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film and Best Actor (Roberto).

Escape

24. Escape from Sobibor

This is a 1987 British television film, depicting the true story of a daring mass escape of Jewish prisoners from a Nazi extermination camp at Sobibor during World War II. It is based on the 1983 book of the same name by Richard Rashke, and Inferno in Sobibor by Stanislaw Szmajzner. It was directed by Jack Gold. This was one of the most successful uprisings in the camps, with an approximate number of 300 escapes. Although in reality more than half of these were later recaptured and killed, the film does good justice to the story of courage and sheer will to survive against all odds. It received a Golden Globe Award for Best Miniseries or Television Film. Most of the events are accurately portrayed.

25. The Great Escape

The Triumph motorcycle used in the film The Great Escape by Bud Ekins to jump the fence. Photo by Portlandjim.

This 1963 movie follows the heroic tale of an impressively planned mass escape by Allied prisoners from a German Prisoner-of-War camp, Stalag Luft III during World War 2. It is based on the non-fiction book of a similar name by Paul Brickhill, who was an Australian soldier and prisoner of war at the camp. Although the film version is fictionalized to quite a degree, the depiction of determination to survive and the dare-devil kind of courage by the escapees is remarkable. It was directed by John Sturges and stars James Garner, Steve McQueen, and Richard Attenborough. It was one of the highest-grossing films in its year of release, and McQueen won Best Actor at the Moscow International Film Festival. The movie is both thrilling and suspense-filled, no less of a classic for sure.

Hitler

26. Downfall

Adolf Hitler meeting with soldiers.

Set in the final days of the war, during the Battle of Berlin, this 2004 German film follows the last moments of Adolf Hitler in the apprehension of defeat.  Directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, the screenplay heavily draws from the books Until the Final Hour by one of Hitler’s secretaries Traudl Junge, and Inside Hitler’s Bunker by historian Joachim Fest. Accounts by survivors and memoirs were also used to accurately depict the atmosphere then. Bruno Ganz’s stellar and award-winning performance as Hitler is quite remarkable, portraying his human side, however controversial. The film premiered at the Toronto Film Festival on 14 September 2004 and went on to be nominated at the 77^th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film.

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27. Jojo Rabbit

This one is satire at its best. Also depicts Hitler, but as a funny, imaginary friend to a young German boy, who joins the Nazis and believes that Jews are to be exterminated. It’s quite a dare to portray the man behind one of the worst wars ever fought as a fanciful character, but Taika Waititi, the film director pulls it off in this one. Jojo, played by Roman Griffin Davis, is a ten-year-old Hitler Youth member, who has to interrogate his beliefs about Jews when he finds out that his mother, (played by Scarlett Johansson) is hiding a Jewish girl in their home.

The movie portrays dark themes of violence, hatred, and propaganda, in a satirical and to an extent, comedic manner. It was released in 2019 and has received critical acclaim and several awards, including five nominations at the 92^nd Academy Awards and the Grolsch People’s Choice Award. It has also been met with some criticism for its comedic portrayal of Nazism. Be that as it may, it’s quite thought-provoking and worth the watch I’d say.

Winston Churchill

28. Gathering Storm

Sir Winston Churchill. Photo by BiblioArchives.

The 2002 biographical film depicts Winston Churchill’s pre-war years and his confident warnings that Adolf Hitler posed a great threat. It follows his emergence from obscurity at the brink of an almost ripe Second World War to become Britain’s Prime Minister and leader during the war. It is directed by Richard Loncraine and stars Albert Finney as Churchill and Vanessa Redgrave as his wife, Clementine. Finney gave a great performance, winning a BAFTA Award for Best Actor, and an Emmy for Outstanding Writing. In 2002, it won a Peabody Award, and Mark Lawson of The Guardian ranked it as the most memorable portrayal of Churchill in 2016.

29. Into the Storm

This is a 2009 sequel to Gathering Storm, and it follows Winston Churchill’s days in office during World War II. It begins with Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain’s intimation that his failure to recognize Hitler as a threat in time will be condemned and that he must resign. Churchill assumes office, and a journey to find sanity and direction amid confusion begins. Churchill’s resolve to defy Hitler and lead the British through one of the most trying times is apparent, and the film received 14 Primetime Emmy Awards. Brendan Gleeson, who plays Churchill, won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie.

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30. Darkest Hour

Yet another war drama film documenting Winston Churchill’s initial days in office during World War 2, it was released in 2017 and has received numerous accolades for its superb execution. It was directed by Joe Wright, with the screenplay by Anthony McCarten. Gary Oldman plays Churchill, and Clementine, Churchill’s wife is portrayed by Kristin Scott. Churchill’s adamant stand against Hitler is apparent, and Gary masterfully captures the spirit of the moment culminating in some of the bloodiest exchanges in war by Britain. He won Best Actor at the Academy Awards, the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor, and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role.  The movie was well-received, grossing $ 150 million worldwide.