World War II Movies
War Movies about World War II, 1939-1945
Rhineland (2010)
Thanks to indie director Chris Grega for sending me a copy of his film, "Rhineland." Once again I have to cede my penchant for big-budget hollywood productions and go, "HOW did you pull this thing off?!" Because (for the most part) this picture is pretty danged good. I "say for the most part" since,... »
Fires on the Plain (1959)
Fires on the Plain manages to compress all of the inhumanity, desolation, and desperation of war into the scope of a two hour span, and yet still manages to maintain the humanity, albeit just barely, of the main character, Tamura. (Eiji Funakoshi) Taking place in the Philippines as Allied forces sweep over Leyte in... »
Go For Broke! (1951)
"Go For Broke!" was the motto of the 442nd Combat team, famous for being comprised of Japanese-Americans, a number of which were from the internment camps (more on this below.) This film is an early tribute to these men, and in fact, a number of them actually star therein. Lieutenant Grayson (Van Johnson) is... »
Wing and a Prayer (1944)
"The story of carrier X" or so the tagline says. Presumably to try and preserve some sort of classified-ness in the Pacific fleet, since, well, things were still going on. Wing and a Prayer is a period piece surrounding the Battle of Midway. Mostly it takes place on board "Carrier X", or as we... »
The Thundering 8th (2001)
If you've read this blog for very long you know I've got an up-down relationship with low budget indie stuff. Sometimes I love it, sometimes I rail on it, sometimes I'm on the fence. This time, though, I thoroughly enjoyed "The Thundering 8th." A tribute to the guys of the 56th Fighter Group of... »
Memphis Belle (1990)
The Memphis Belle was the first B-17, along with her crew, to complete all 25 of her missions and bring everyone back alive. The 1990 movie Memphis Belle is an homage to the plane, and more importantly the crew. An admirable goal to be sure, but be warned: The first half of this movie... »
Battleground (1949)
The Battle of the Bulge, December 1944. Movies have tried and failed (the aptly named but poorly executed Battle of the Bulge) and succeeded (Band of Brothers, countless others).... But few manage to combine the two into a wildly excellent, yet kind of disappointing picture such as Battleground. What do I mean? Well, let's... »
Destination Tokyo (1943)
Yeah, sometimes you just have to kick back, and take in the classics for what they are. That is to say, undeniable products of their time. 1943's Destination Tokyo is definitely one of those films. I'd go as far as saying that Destination Tokyo is one of the prime examples of your typical US... »
The Battle of Okinawa (1971)
Toho Studio's 1971 epic The Battle of Okinawa is definitely an, um, interesting piece of film. A telling of the last major "battle" (if you want to call it that) of the Pacific War, the invasion of Okinawa in 1945, from the Japanese perspective. Now, I'm going to go out on a limb and... »
The Sun (2005)
The Sun is a distinctly, well, curious movie. It follows Emperor Hirohito through the final days of the war, as he lives them out isolated in his bunker beneath the Imperial Palace, and then during discussions with General MacArthur. I suppose the obvious comparison to any other film would be Downfall, or any other... »
