After all these years, “Victory at Sea” is still the best. Great footage and inspiring music and narration.
The history channel has a good collection but what ever you get him, make sure it includes a documentary on Hitler’s rise to power. After he watches it, ask him if he can draw any parallels to modern day America.
I thought the Battle 360 series regarding the exploits of the USS Enterprise was great. But I’m partial to the PTO aspect of WWII.
Start with “The World at War.”
WWII in HD from the history channel and Band of Brothers.
Saving Private Ryan, Band of Brothers, The War by Ken Burns. Then go old school, Midway, Bridge too Far, Etc.
A great documentary about the tactics of the major battles is “Battlefield”.
Get the “Band of Brothers” HBO miniseries.
I think this is out of print / production, but inexpensive sets are available at Amazon.com and / or eBay.
It is the very best WWII film I have ever seen.
Other suggestions:
“Why We Fight,” Frank Capra’s excellent documentary.
“Victory at Sea” is also highly recommended.
Also, consider “The Best Years of Our Lives.”
“Saving Private Ryan” would also be a good choice.
Don’t forget reading material: Anything about WWII by Stephen Ambrose.
And of course “Band of Brothers”. Also I would recommend “War and Remembrance” but a warning, although it was made for tv, the Holocaust scenes pulled no punches.
For old movies, we like “Battle of Britain” and “The Great Escape.”
Patton..
He (George C Scott) captures the essence of Patton and the patriotic spirit of the US in the 1940s. The contrast between the corporatists Bradley and Ike and the warrior Patton is very clear.
schu
In the nineteen sixties there was a long television special paid for by Mead Johnson pharmaceuticals covering the activity of Winston Churchill in the Second World War. It was a superior presentation with Richard Burton narrating. If you can find it, it would be well worth the time and money spent.
I think Victory at Sea was the best ever made. I am partial to the movie Patton. It is not a documentary, but it has a lot of historical events in it.
God speed to your son, he sounds like a great conservative in the making.
I echo someone else’s comments about the WWII in HD series. It’s great! Riveting, dramatic, and so amazing to see all the color.
My favorite WWII movie is The Guns of Navarone. Although I did also really enjoy The Great Escape.
If you’re looking for something on the “light side” of the war (odd to say, but the movies are there), I just watched Don’t Go Near the Water on TCM and really enjoyed it. (It’s akin to the Operation Petticoat approach to the war.) And, because I’m a big Glenn Ford fan, I’d also have to put in a plug for Teahouse of the August Moon; even though it’s in the post-war period, it’s such a refreshing and fun movie.
“The Longest Day” is a great movie about D-Day.
“The Longest Day”, “The Great Raid”, “Tora, Tora, Tora”,”The Enemy Below”, “Enemy at the Gates”, “12 O’Clock High.
"Some" other Hollywood movies, while entertaining, are not exactly accurate. Not gonna name titles 'cause you might enjoy them anyway. Just sayin'.
I saw an Aussie-made movie called "The Highest Honor" that is worth a look too if you can find it, although I would rate it "R" for one particular scene.
There was an obscure title made in 1969 that included Yul Bryner called "The Battle of Neretva" that showed on cable a few years ago that I thought was interesting too.
Anything made during the war that starred John Wayne is good, particularly "The Sands of Iwo Jima" and "The Flying Tigers".
Hey... someone could start a WWII movie ping list...