Great WW2 Films & TV
by coastalgrind | created - 09 Feb 2017 | updated - 3 months ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
R | 169 min | Drama, War
Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns
Votes: 1,496,858 | Gross: $216.54M
2. Inglourious Basterds (2009)
R | 153 min | Adventure, Drama, War
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, Mélanie Laurent
Votes: 1,584,714 | Gross: $120.54M
3. Downfall (2004)
R | 156 min | Biography, Drama, History
Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel | Stars: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler
Votes: 375,286 | Gross: $5.51M
4. Schindler's List (1993)
R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
Votes: 1,451,180 | Gross: $96.90M
5. The Pianist (2002)
R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, Music
During WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Emilia Fox
Votes: 912,568 | Gross: $32.57M
6. Riphagen (2016)
131 min | Biography, Drama, War
The story about Riphagen, a cunning Dutch traitor during WW2 who helped Nazi round up Jews, stealing their treasures for himself. He destroyed Resistance groups, making many who pursued justice after the war look like fools.
Director: Pieter Kuijpers | Stars: Steef de Bot, Huub Smit, Sigrid ten Napel, Anna Raadsveld
Votes: 8,715
7. Das Boot (1981)
R | 149 min | Drama, War
A German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch
Votes: 264,391 | Gross: $11.49M
8. Enemy at the Gates (2001)
R | 131 min | Action, Drama, War
A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad.
Director: Jean-Jacques Annaud | Stars: Jude Law, Ed Harris, Joseph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz
Votes: 277,669 | Gross: $51.40M
9. Stalingrad (1993)
Not Rated | 134 min | Drama, War
The story follows a group of German soldiers, from their Italian R&R in the summer of 1942 to the frozen steppes of Soviet Russia and ending with the battle for Stalingrad.
Director: Joseph Vilsmaier | Stars: Dominique Horwitz, Thomas Kretschmann, Jochen Nickel, Sebastian Rudolph
Votes: 37,730 | Gross: $0.08M
10. Fury (2014)
R | 134 min | Action, Drama, War
A grizzled tank commander makes tough decisions as he and his crew fight their way across Germany in April, 1945.
Director: David Ayer | Stars: Brad Pitt, Shia LaBeouf, Logan Lerman, Michael Peña
Votes: 547,395 | Gross: $85.82M
11. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
R | 141 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryô Kase
Votes: 170,069 | Gross: $13.76M
12. The Counterfeiters (2007)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, History
The story of the Operation Bernhard, the largest counterfeiting operation in history, carried out by Germany during World War II.
Director: Stefan Ruzowitzky | Stars: Karl Markovics, August Diehl, Devid Striesow, Martin Brambach
Votes: 47,179 | Gross: $5.48M
13. Son of Saul (2015)
R | 107 min | Drama, War
A Jewish-Hungarian concentration camp prisoner sets out to give a child he mistook for his son a proper burial.
Director: László Nemes | Stars: Géza Röhrig, Levente Molnár, Urs Rechn, Todd Charmont
Votes: 51,961 | Gross: $1.78M
14. Defiance (I) (2008)
R | 137 min | Action, Drama, History
Jewish brothers in German-occupied Eastern Europe escape into a Belorussian forest, where they join Russian resistance fighters, and endeavor to build a village, in order to protect themselves and about one thousand Jewish non-combatants.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Daniel Craig, Liev Schreiber, Jamie Bell, Alexa Davalos
Votes: 155,700 | Gross: $28.64M
15. Anthropoid (2016)
R | 120 min | Action, Drama, History
Based on the extraordinary true story of Operation Anthropoid, the WWII mission to assassinate SS General Reinhard Heydrich, the main architect behind the Final Solution and the Reich's third in command after Hitler and Himmler.
Director: Sean Ellis | Stars: Jamie Dornan, Cillian Murphy, Brian Caspe, Karel Hermánek Jr.
Votes: 54,246 | Gross: $2.96M
16. Valkyrie (2008)
PG-13 | 121 min | Drama, History, Thriller
A dramatization of the July 20, 1944 assassination and political coup plot by desperate renegade German Army officers against Adolf Hitler during World War II.
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Tom Cruise, Bill Nighy, Carice van Houten, Kenneth Branagh
Votes: 259,311 | Gross: $83.08M
17. Max Manus: Man of War (2008)
Not Rated | 118 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The true story about one of the most brilliant saboteurs during World War II and his battle to overcome his inner demons.
Directors: Joachim Rønning, Espen Sandberg | Stars: Aksel Hennie, Agnes Kittelsen, Nicolai Cleve Broch, Ken Duken
Votes: 29,778
18. The King's Choice (2016)
133 min | Biography, Drama, History
April 1940. Norway has been invaded by Germany and the royal family and government have fled into the interior. The German envoy to Norway tries to negotiate a peace. Ultimately, the decision on Norway's future will rest with the king.
Director: Erik Poppe | Stars: Jesper Christensen, Anders Baasmo, Karl Markovics, Tuva Novotny
Votes: 10,080 | Gross: $0.11M
19. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
R | 139 min | Biography, Drama, History
World War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, serving during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer
Votes: 594,416 | Gross: $67.21M
20. The Imitation Game (2014)
PG-13 | 114 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
During World War II, the English mathematical genius Alan Turing tries to crack the German Enigma code with help from fellow mathematicians while attempting to come to terms with his troubled private life.
Director: Morten Tyldum | Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Allen Leech
Votes: 825,238 | Gross: $91.13M
21. April 9th (2015)
93 min | Drama, History, War
On April 9, 1940 Germany invaded Denmark. Based on real events - in Southern Jutland a military unit on bicycles was sent south to help hold back the Germans until reinforcement.
Director: Roni Ezra | Stars: Pilou Asbæk, Lars Mikkelsen, Ari Alexander, Joachim Fjelstrup
Votes: 6,473
22. U-571 (2000)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, War
A German submarine is boarded by disguised American submariners trying to capture their Enigma cipher machine.
Director: Jonathan Mostow | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Bill Paxton, Harvey Keitel, Jon Bon Jovi
Votes: 87,419 | Gross: $77.09M
23. 13 Minutes (2015)
R | 114 min | Biography, Drama, War
In November 1939, Georg Elser's attempt to assassinate Adolf Hitler fails, and he is arrested. During his confinement, he recalls the events leading up to his plot and his reasons for deciding to take such drastic action.
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel | Stars: Christian Friedel, Katharina Schüttler, Burghart Klaußner, Johann von Bülow
Votes: 10,068 | Gross: $0.16M
24. Black Book (2006)
R | 145 min | Drama, Thriller, War
In the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II, a Jewish singer infiltrates the regional Gestapo headquarters for the Dutch resistance.
Director: Paul Verhoeven | Stars: Carice van Houten, Sebastian Koch, Thom Hoffman, Halina Reijn
Votes: 80,516 | Gross: $4.40M
25. Naked Among Wolves (2015 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, History, War
As WWII comes to an end, a group of Buchenwald's emaciated prisoners risk their lives for the safety of the camp's youngest inmate: a four-year-old Auschwitz-born Jewish prisoner. Is there a future for the Buchenwald boy?
Director: Philipp Kadelbach | Stars: Florian Stetter, Peter Schneider, Sylvester Groth, Sabin Tambrea
Votes: 4,186
26. The Way Back (I) (2010)
PG-13 | 133 min | Adventure, Drama, History
Siberian gulag escapees travel four thousand miles by foot to freedom in India.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Jim Sturgess, Ed Harris, Colin Farrell, Dragos Bucur
Votes: 122,024 | Gross: $2.70M
27. Winter in Wartime (2008)
R | 103 min | Drama, History, War
In German-occupied Netherlands, a teenage boy gets involved in the Dutch resistance after coming to the aid of a wounded RAF pilot.
Director: Martin Koolhoven | Stars: Martijn Lakemeier, Jamie Campbell Bower, Yorick van Wageningen, Raymond Thiry
Votes: 13,531 | Gross: $0.54M
28. Before the Fall (2004)
110 min | Drama, Sport, Thriller
Friedrich's boxing skills gets him in an elite Nazi high school in a castle in 1942. He enrolls against his dad's wish as it promises a brighter future. It's not what he expected.
Director: Dennis Gansel | Stars: Max Riemelt, Tom Schilling, Devid Striesow, Jonas Jägermeyr
Votes: 17,137 | Gross: $0.14M
29. Into the White (I) (2012)
R | 104 min | Action, Biography, Drama
World War II: After an aerial battle over Norway, British and German airmen find themselves stranded in the wilderness. Finding shelter in the same cabin, they realize the only way to survive the winter is to set aside the rules of war.
Director: Petter Næss | Stars: Florian Lukas, David Kross, Lachlan Nieboer, Stig Henrik Hoff
Votes: 22,365
30. Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
R | 135 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The life stories of the six men who raised the flag at the Battle of Iwo Jima, a turning point in World War II.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Ryan Phillippe, Barry Pepper, Joseph Cross, Jesse Bradford
Votes: 129,268 | Gross: $33.60M
31. The Grey Zone (2001)
R | 108 min | Drama, History, War
A Nazi doctor, along with the Sonderkommando, Jews who are forced to work in the crematoria of Auschwitz against their fellow Jews, find themselves in a moral gray zone.
Director: Tim Blake Nelson | Stars: David Arquette, Velizar Binev, David Chandler, Michael Stuhlbarg
Votes: 11,425 | Gross: $0.52M
32. Europa Europa (1990)
R | 112 min | Drama, History, War
A boy in Nazi Germany, trying to conceal that he is Jewish, joins the Hitler Youth.
Director: Agnieszka Holland | Stars: Solomon Perel, Marco Hofschneider, René Hofschneider, André Wilms
Votes: 17,480 | Gross: $5.58M
33. The Heavy Water War: Stopping Hitler's Atomic Bomb (2015)
TV-14 | 45 min | Drama, History, War
The story behind Germany's attempt to develop an atomic bomb during World War II and the sabotage of the heavy water program in Rjukan, Norway from the points of view of the Germans, the Allies, the saboteurs, and the company.
Stars: Andreas Döhler, Marc Ben Puch, Robert Hunger-Bühler, Anna Friel
Votes: 7,772
34. The Monuments Men (2014)
PG-13 | 118 min | Comedy, Drama, War
An unlikely World War II platoon is tasked to rescue art masterpieces from German thieves and return them to their owners.
Director: George Clooney | Stars: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Bill Murray, Cate Blanchett
Votes: 141,213 | Gross: $78.03M
35. Hart's War (2002)
R | 125 min | Drama, War
A law student becomes a lieutenant during World War II, is captured and asked to defend a black prisoner of war falsely accused of murder.
Director: Gregory Hoblit | Stars: Bruce Willis, Colin Farrell, Terrence Howard, Cole Hauser
Votes: 55,339 | Gross: $19.08M
36. Land of Mine (2015)
R | 100 min | Drama, History, War
In post-World War II Denmark, a group of young German POWs are forced to clear a beach of thousands of land mines under the watch of a Danish Sergeant who slowly learns to appreciate their plight.
Director: Martin Zandvliet | Stars: Roland Møller, Louis Hofmann, Joel Basman, Mikkel Boe Følsgaard
Votes: 45,781 | Gross: $0.44M
37. Pearl Harbor (2001)
PG-13 | 183 min | Action, Drama, Romance
A tale of war and romance mixed in with history. The story follows two lifelong friends and a beautiful nurse who are caught up in the horror of an infamous Sunday morning in 1941.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Ben Affleck, Kate Beckinsale, Josh Hartnett, William Lee Scott
Votes: 351,872 | Gross: $198.54M
38. The Book Thief (2013)
PG-13 | 131 min | Drama, War
While subjected to the horrors of World War II Germany, young Liesel finds solace by stealing books and sharing them with others. In the basement of her home, a Jewish refugee is being protected by her adoptive parents.
Director: Brian Percival | Stars: Sophie Nélisse, Geoffrey Rush, Emily Watson, Ben Schnetzer
Votes: 142,318 | Gross: $21.49M
39. Flame & Citron (2008)
Not Rated | 130 min | Action, Drama, History
A drama centered on two fighters in the Holger Danske World War II resistance group.
Director: Ole Christian Madsen | Stars: Thure Lindhardt, Mads Mikkelsen, Stine Stengade, Peter Mygind
Votes: 19,948 | Gross: $0.15M
40. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008)
PG-13 | 94 min | Drama, War
Through the innocent eyes of Bruno, the eight-year-old son of the commandant at a German concentration camp, a forbidden friendship with a Jewish boy on the other side of the camp fence has startling and unexpected consequences.
Director: Mark Herman | Stars: Asa Butterfield, David Thewlis, Rupert Friend, Zac Mattoon O'Brien
Votes: 246,548 | Gross: $9.03M
41. Days of Glory (2006)
R | 120 min | Action, Drama, War
During World War II, four North African men enlist in the French army to liberate that country from German oppression, and to fight French discrimination.
Director: Rachid Bouchareb | Stars: Samy Naceri, Roschdy Zem, Sami Bouajila, Jamel Debbouze
Votes: 15,143 | Gross: $0.32M
42. Sophie Scholl: The Final Days (2005)
Not Rated | 120 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
A dramatization of the final days of Sophie Scholl, one of the most famous members of the German World War II anti-Nazi resistance movement, The White Rose.
Director: Marc Rothemund | Stars: Julia Jentsch, Fabian Hinrichs, Alexander Held, Johanna Gastdorf
Votes: 28,671 | Gross: $0.68M
43. Come and See (1985)
Not Rated | 142 min | Drama, Thriller, War
After finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.
Director: Elem Klimov | Stars: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas
Votes: 97,303
44. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
PG-13 | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
Director: Roberto Benigni | Stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano
Votes: 743,382 | Gross: $57.60M
45. Labyrinth of Lies (2014)
R | 124 min | Drama, History
A story that exposes the conspiracy of prominent German institutions and government branches to cover up the crimes of Nazis during World War II.
Director: Giulio Ricciarelli | Stars: André Szymanski, Alexander Fehling, Friederike Becht, Johannes Krisch
Votes: 14,001 | Gross: $0.79M
46. My Way (2011)
R | 137 min | Action, Drama, War
In World War II-era Korea, rival runners, one Korean (Jang Dong-gun) and one Japanese (Joe Odagiri), go to war together against the Soviets.
Director: Kang Je-kyu | Stars: Jang Dong-Gun, Joe Odagiri, Bingbing Fan, Kim In-kwon
Votes: 12,643 | Gross: $0.07M
47. The Resistance Banker (2018)
TV-MA | 123 min | Biography, Drama, War
In Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, banker brothers Walraven and Gijs van Hall face their greatest challenge yet when they decide to help fund the Dutch resistance.
Director: Joram Lürsen | Stars: Jacob Derwig, Barry Atsma, Fockeline Ouwerkerk, Pierre Bokma
Votes: 10,681
48. Skyggen i mit øje (2021)
TV-MA | 107 min | Drama, History, War
The fates of several Copenhagen residents collide when a WWII bombing mission accidentally targets a school full of children.
Director: Ole Bornedal | Stars: Bertram Bisgaard Enevoldsen, Ester Birch, Ella Josephine Lund Nilsson, Malena Lucia Lodahl
Votes: 16,655
49. The Forgotten Battle (2020)
TV-MA | 124 min | Drama, War
1944, the Second World War. A British glider pilot, a Dutch boy fighting on the German side and a Dutch female resistance member all end up involved in the Battle of the Schelde. Their choices differ, but their goal is the same: freedom.
Director: Matthijs van Heijningen Jr. | Stars: Gijs Blom, Jamie Flatters, Susan Radder, Jan Bijvoet
Votes: 37,070
50. Dunkirk (2017)
PG-13 | 106 min | Action, Drama, History
Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Commonwealth and Empire, and France are surrounded by the German Army and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy
Votes: 740,335 | Gross: $188.37M
51. Into the Darkness (2020)
152 min | Drama, History, War
Denmark, April 9th, 1940. Danish industrialist (portrayed by Jesper Christensen of James Bond fame) , cooperates and profits from the German occupation of Denmark. While his family finds themselves on opposite sides of the conflict.
Director: Anders Refn | Stars: Jesper Christensen, Bodil Jørgensen, Mads Reuther, Gustav Dyekjær Giese
Votes: 1,734
52. Out of the Darkness (2022)
152 min | Drama, War
Strong and dramatic sequel to "Into the Darkness" which follows the Skov family from 1943 to the end of WWII. The growing opposition to the occupation and the increased brutality of the Germans have fatal consequences for the family.
Director: Anders Refn | Stars: Jesper Christensen, Bodil Jørgensen, Mads Reuther, Gustav Dyekjær Giese
Votes: 623
53. Narvik: Hitler's First Defeat (2022)
TV-14 | 108 min | Drama, History, War
April 1940. The eyes of the world are on Narvik, a small town in northern Norway, source of the iron ore needed for Hitler's war machinery. Through two months of fierce winter warfare, Hitler is dealt his first defeat.
Director: Erik Skjoldbjærg | Stars: Kristine Hartgen, Carl Martin Eggesbø, Christoph Gelfert Mathiesen, Henrik Mestad
Votes: 17,410
54. Munich: The Edge of War (2021)
PG-13 | 130 min | Biography, Drama, History
A British diplomat travels to Munich in the run-up to World War II, where a former classmate of his from Oxford is also en route, but is working for the German government.
Director: Christian Schwochow | Stars: George MacKay, Jannis Niewöhner, Jeremy Irons, Liv Lisa Fries
Votes: 35,898
55. Betrayed (2020)
126 min | Drama, History, War
The Braude family's experiences when Norway was occupied by Nazi Germany and Jews were arrested and deported.
Director: Eirik Svensson | Stars: Jakob Oftebro, Pia Halvorsen, Michalis Koutsogiannakis, Carl Martin Eggesbø
Votes: 2,413
56. War Sailor (2022)
TV-MA | 150 min | Drama, War
The sailor Alfred is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when World War II breaks out. Suddenly the sailors are in the front of the war, without any weapons.
Director: Gunnar Vikene | Stars: Kristoffer Joner, Pål Sverre Hagen, Ine Marie Wilmann, Henrikke Lund Olsen
Votes: 3,956
57. War Sailor (2023)
TV-MA | 175 min | Drama, War
The sailor Alfred is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when World War II breaks out. Suddenly the sailors are in the front of the war, without any weapons.
Stars: Ine Marie Wilmann, Pål Sverre Hagen, Kristoffer Joner, Alexandra Gjerpen
Votes: 2,490
58. Greyhound (2020)
PG-13 | 91 min | Action, Drama, History
Several months after the U.S. entry into World War II, an inexperienced U.S. Navy commander must lead an Allied convoy being stalked by a German submarine wolf pack.
Director: Aaron Schneider | Stars: Tom Hanks, Elisabeth Shue, Stephen Graham, Matt Helm
Votes: 114,888
59. Oppenheimer (I) (2023)
R | 180 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of American scientist J. Robert Oppenheimer and his role in the development of the atomic bomb.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Matt Damon, Robert Downey Jr.
Votes: 729,000 | Gross: $326.11M
60. Sisu (2022)
R | 91 min | Action, War
When an ex-soldier who discovers gold in the Lapland wilderness tries to take the loot into the city, German soldiers led by a brutal SS officer battle him.
Director: Jalmari Helander | Stars: Jorma Tommila, Aksel Hennie, Jack Doolan, Mimosa Willamo
Votes: 76,044
61. All the Light We Cannot See (2023)
TV-MA | 57 min | Drama, History, War
The story of Marie-Laure, a blind French teenager, and Werner, a German soldier, whose paths collide in occupied France as both try to survive the devastation of World War II.
Stars: Aria Mia Loberti, Louis Hofmann, Lars Eidinger, Hugh Laurie
Votes: 44,278
62. Blood & Gold (2023)
TV-MA | 98 min | Action, Drama, War
At the end of World War II, a German soldier is looking for his daughter while an SS troop is looking for a Jewish treasure.
Director: Peter Thorwarth | Stars: Jördis Triebel, Robert Maaser, Alexander Scheer, Marie Hacke
Votes: 17,178
63. Band of Brothers (2001)
TV-MA | 59 min | Drama, History, War
The story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.
Stars: Scott Grimes, Damian Lewis, Ron Livingston, Shane Taylor
Votes: 527,494
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