Posted on 06/06/2024 10:36:10 AM PDT by nickcarraway
On September 1st, 1939, the course of human history was forever altered when Nazi Germany invaded Poland, prompting Great Britain and France to declare war mere days later. WWII proceeded to be one of the most violent and bloody conflicts ever fought, with a total of 75million people, including both civilians and soldiers, losing their lives from 1939 to 1945.
Ever since, nations across the world have vowed that such a conflict can never happen again, with the war causing irreparable damage across Europe, leading to a whole generation of people who struggled with poverty and vast psychological consequences. Thanks to just how significant the war was in the lives of so many, it became an obvious source of inspiration for iconic books, plays, songs and films.
The world of cinema, indeed, reacted almost immediately once the war came to a close, with films being used as a source of visual therapy to help people get over the horrors of the period. Italian neorealism, for example, was created as a direct response to the hardships of war, with the likes of Roberto Rossellini, Vittorio De Sica and Michelangelo Antonioni making the everyday folk of the country their focus in deeply personal works of cinema.
In the decades since, WWII has remained a significant source of inspiration for storytellers, with Hollywood making such classics as 1946’s The Best Years of Our Lives, 1998’s The Thin Red Line and 2002’s The Pianist. Elsewhere, Hungary created Son of Saul, France forged the seminal documentary Night and Fog, Russia filmed Ivan’s Childhood and Japan released the celebrated Human Condition trilogy.
Capturing the pain, violence and torment of the war, as well as its devastating human consequences, since 1945, cinema has become one of the most authentic avenues to dissect WWII.
The 10 greatest WWII movies of all time:
10. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
Considered to be an essential text that explores the devastating Holocaust that saw approximately 6million Jews systematically murdered by the abhorrent Nazi regime, Schindler’s List is one of Steven Spielberg’s most devastating pieces of cinema. In the film, Liam Neeson plays the titular real-life industrialist Oskar Schindler, who saved the lives of 1,200 Jews by employing them to work in his factories.
Unfolding in beautiful monochrome, Schindler’s List became well known as one of Spielberg’s many masterpieces, speaking to the human horrors of the holocaust as well as the compassion that still remained. “Often I was a basket case, just a wreck,” Spielberg said of his time making the film, “Emotionally, it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done as a filmmaker”.
9. Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988)
The medium of animation is too often merely attributed to that of ‘children’s movies’, disregarding its unparalleled power to transport viewers to powerfully imagined landscapes. Isao Takahata’s Studio Ghibli classic Grave of the Fireflies is one such film, taking audiences to the city of Kobe, Japan, where a young man attempts to take care of his young sister during the final stages of WWII.
Containing all the beauty, grace and majesty of any iconic Studio Ghibli animation, Grave of the Fireflies is particularly adept at crafting its characters, setting its poignant tale around two Japanese civilians desperately scrapping for survival. Touching on their vulnerability with a story that carries a genuine emotional weight that resonates through the celluloid, Grave of the Fireflies is a true classic.
8. The Bridge (Bernhard Wicki, 1959)
Perhaps the most underappreciated WWII movie of all time, Bernhard Wicki’s 1959 film The Bridge accesses the very heart of the folly of the war, especially in the closing stages of the conflict. Set in the final months of war in a small, comparatively meaningless German village, the story follows seven teenage boys who are tasked with defending a bridge from impending American forces, despite the fact that they are incomparably outnumbered.
Well reflecting the deflated mood of the German people as they steadily neared their inevitable defeat, The Bridge speaks to the true futility of the Second World War, where young men were killed for seemingly no reason at all. What was once playtime for the young boys soon becomes a nightmare as the true reality of the conflict hits home, and innocence is lost in the winds of war.
7. The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer, 2023)
Of the few true masters of contemporary cinema, British director Jonathan Glazer might be the very best, with the meticulous artist layering each and every one of his films with subtext that can be picked apart for hours. Adapted from Martin Amis’ book of the same name, The Zone of Interest tells the story of an Auschwitz commandant and his wife who build their dream home directly next door to the concentration camp.
What follows is a nihilistic study into war and the Holocaust specifically, which asks how people follow such abhorrent orders even if it might disagree with their innate human consciousness. Shot with the same frank style as a reality TV show, The Zone of Interest forces existential thinking, encouraging viewers to consider the dangers of a world where human morality, decency and autonomy are forgotten.
6. Saving Private Ryan (Steven Spielberg, 1998)
“The horrors depicted in the movie are accurate,” WWII veteran Frank DeVita once said of Steven Spielberg’s acclaimed 1998 ‘Best Picture’ nominee Saving Private Ryan, glowing praise indeed for a director trying to convey the true terror of the conflict. Following a group of US soldiers who venture behind enemy lines to find a soldier whose brothers have all been killed in battle, the film takes us from the violence of D-Day through to those who still feel the conflict’s devastating effects in the modern day.
With a formidable cast of actors that includes Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns and Giovanni Ribisi, Saving Private Ryan is one of the most accurate portrayals of WWII ever put to screen. Capturing the size and scope of war tremendously, Spielberg and screenwriter Robert Rodat also find the time to pick apart the severe human cost of the conflict.
5. Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen, 1998)
Some of the very best war movies come from overseas, with each of the following five movies coming from creative minds from across Europe. Wolfgang Petersen’s 1998 film Das Boot is the first of the bunch, with the testing and claustrophobic piece of cinema telling the story of the young crew who manage a German U-boat and barely cope with the brutal psychological cost of war in the process.
Humanising the enemy, who were too often treated as mere body bags in contemporary Hollywood cinema, Das Boot was fascinating in its criticisms of the German war machine, with many soldiers onboard the U-boat questioning the Nazis as they wheezed away for survival. Emphasising the futility of war, Petersen’s film is a marvellous work of art that contextualises the battle in an entirely unique setting.
4. Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004)
From one German WWII film to another, Oliver Hirschbiegel’s 2004 classic, Downfall, attempts to get inside the mind of the Nazi leader Adolf Hitler with this remarkable drama set in the tyrant’s Berlin bunker during the closing stage of the war. Too often forgotten in among the very best WWII movies, Downfall provides an extraordinary vision into life on the front line in the German capital.
Indeed, while Downfall brutally examines Hitler himself, stripping him of his myth to reveal the withering mortal beneath, it is also a terrific depiction of life in Berlin, showing civilians who either fought to the end with futility or who fled having long accepted their fate. With a budget of just €13.5million, Downfall boasts a cinematic scope that would rival a big-budget Hollywood production.
3. Rome, Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 1945)
Created in the wake of WWII and the departure of German troops from Italy, Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City, was a seminal film of the neorealism movement that would come to define European cinema for many years to come. Painting an authentic portrait of post-war Italy, the story follows a resistance leader who is chased through the capital city by Nazi officers, using a network of like-minded soldiers to save himself from capture.
Shot with stunning poignancy by Rossellini, Rome, Open City is a classic on several levels, working as a protest against decades of fascist rule under Benito Mussolini while also speaking to the solidarity of the Italian people who refused to bend to Nazi rule. As the closing shot illustrates, humanity and togetherness have the ability to overcome any evil.
2. Shoah (Claude Lanzmann, 1985)
Across cinema history, the Holocaust has been examined in several different ways, including in the aforementioned works of Steven Spielberg and Jonathan Glazer. Both, however, used Claude Lanzmann’s Shoah as a touchstone, and for a good reason. The nine-and-a-half-hour documentary, which uses interviews with survivors and perpetrators, is a definitive study into the barbaric event.
Certainly a tough piece of filmmaking to sit through, Shoah is also incomparably powerful, being separated into four different chapters that explore a new side of the Holocaust. Certainly one of the most virtuous uses of the cinematic form, Shoah is an artistic vision that is comprehensive in its makeup, taking us back in time to one of humanity’s most deplorable moments through meticulously edited interviews.
1. Come and See (Elem Klimov, 1985) It is the sheer authenticity, the nightmarish hellscape of Come and See, that makes it the greatest film ever made about the horror of WWII. Directed by Russian filmmaker Elem Klimov, who used live ammunition throughout the making of the film to realistically simulate warfare, the film tells the story of a young boy who enthusiastically joins the Soviet resistance after finding an old rifle, only to discover war’s true face.
Unflinching in its depiction of war, Come and See is a brutal piece of filmmaking that is as violent as it is cinematically visceral, hoisting the viewer from the comfort of their own home and onto the frontlines of the conflict itself. Glazed in a layer of grit, sweat and blood, the protagonist, Flyora, changes physically and mentally after experiencing death, with his emotional performance being delivered with full necessary weight from Aleksei Kravchenko.
Urgent and intimate, while Come and See is a realistic depiction of war in all its brutality, it is also vehemently anti-war, like any good film from the genre should be, reflecting its sheer senselessness and futility that strips the humanity from those who cross its path.
I liked “The Great Escape”. A little more upbeat, despite the number who were caught.
I’m not a film buff, but I never heard of seven of the ten. I expected to see “The Longest Day,” “Tora! Tora! Tora!,” “The Dirty Dozen,” and a couple of others. Maybe the author’s focus was different than mine.
Stalingrad (1993 film)
“The Great Escape” is one movie I half expected to see on the list.
Not on the list. Band of Brothers mini series.
I have watched it more times that I can count.
I am surprised neither of Clint Eastwood’s movies about Iwo Jima made the list. Letters from Iwo Jima and Flags of our Fathers.
To make it more obvious, Das Boot was released in 1981, not 1998 as indicated in the article, which is incorrect.
Great movie.
And if you’ve never read Iron Coffins, that’s a worthwhile read on the general subject. As is Silent Victory.
The number who were caught was dictated by the real escape the book was based upon.
Finally saw this movie a few weeks ago after hearing for years how good it was. I thought it stunk on ice.
-PJ
Enemy at the Gates (2001)
The book was incredible.
Catch 22 (1970)
another great book, not really horror of war Major Major
for later
The Pacific gets one, and it’s a cartoon about a Japanese boy caring for his sister.
That list is complete crap.
I would add thre seminal four hour docu-movie “The Sorrow and the Pity” depicting the surrender of France and later resistance/collaboration
The Cruel Sea (1953)
Enemy at the Gates
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