Top twenty WWII films

The Guardian recently ran an article on the ten best World War II films, as voted by respondents to a Deltapoll for The War Movie Theatre podcast (see their list and link at the end of this piece).

As this year is 80 years since the end of hostilities, I thought it might be interesting to run down my top twenty World War II films. Here we go:

20. Empire of the Sun (Steven Spielberg - 1987)

This China-set drama of expats during the war in the Pacific theatre was Christian Bale's first big role at the age of 13. He's pretty bloody good too, as are most of the cast, including John Malkovich and Nigel Havers. Spielberg saw this J.G. Ballard story as a chance to make a comparatively 'darker' film about the loss of innocence and it turned out to be one of his very best.

19. The English Patient (Anthony Minghella - 1996)

All the press for this film was the love story angle between dreamy Ralph Fiennes (pre-Voldemort, of course) and elegantly icy Kristin Scott-Thomas, but I found the stuff with Juliette Binoche and Naveen Andrews to be more interesting. A fine film, split into two distinct parts - before and after Fiennes becomes the titular patient.

18. Persian Lessons (Vadim Perelman - 2020)

A fantastically absurd, but possibly true, story of a Jewish prisoner who escapes death by pretending he can speak Persian (he's captured with a Persian book given to him earlier). A camp commandant (the fantastic Lars Eidinger) who wants to move to Iran after the war tasks the prisoner, Reza (Nahuel Perez Biscayart) with teaching him the language. A cat and mouse game of suspicion and incredible tension ensues.

17. Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen - 1981)

It's been a long time since I've seen this but I recall an intense feeling of dread, brought on by the claustrophobic conditions of the 'boot' (the submarine) where the action takes place. Happily, you can watch this in many different ways, including an extended mini-series (of 300 minutes). An intriguing view of the maritime war from a German perspective.

16. The Dirty Dozen (Robert Aldrich - 1967)

Check out this mint premise - twelve criminals are sent behind enemy lines to kill a bunch of high ranking German officers. Any that return will have their sentences commuted. The original Suicide Squad. Lee Marvin, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Sutherland, Telly Savalas and George Kennedy don't muck about either. A great, hard-arsed romp.

15. Rome, Open City (Roberto Rossellini - 1945)

A staggering achievement, this was made in the dying days of war in Italy, just months after Rome had changed hands. It was directed by Rossellini, co-written by Federico Fellini and starred Anna Magnani - all legends of Italian cinema, and this film went some way to making them so. In a touch of great coincidental timing for Perth folk, the Revelation Film Festival is having one screening only of this classic in July at the Luna.

14. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino - 2009)

A return to peak Tarantino for me, this is such a juicy counter-factual reimagining of WWII, with great performances from Christoph Waltz, Diane Kruger Mélanie Laurent and Brad Pitt. Some of the scenes are already in the pantheon - Waltz's calm interrogation in the opening and Michael Fassbender in the basement bar. Electric stuff.

13. Escape to Victory (John Huston - 1981)

Silly fluff and nonsense (Sly Stallone as a goalkeeper!?) about a football match between a strong German team and a motley bunch of POWs. Only these POWs include Pelé, Ossie Ardiles and Bobby Moore, not to mention Michael Caine, all directed by the masterly John Huston. It's ludicrous, dated and heaps of fun.

12. From Here to Eternity (Fred Zinnemann - 1953)

This supremely well-tooled romantic drama, set at the time of the Pearl Harbour attacks, hoovered up the Oscars, with wins for Best Picture, director Zinnemann, supporting actors, Donna Reed and Ol Blue Eyes himself, Frank Sinatra, as well as editing, screenplay, sound and cinematography. Booty. It actually really holds up as a gripping piece of old Hollywood.

11. Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel - 2004)

Forget all the memes, this is the duck's guts. Bruno Ganz imbues Hitler with the requisite menace and instability, and Bernd Eichinger's script is nuanced enough, all things considered. This had a fair few brickbats thrown at it upon release but the filmmakers have done us all a favour by bringing us this difficult, but absorbing watch.

10. Ice Cold in Alex (J. Lee Thompson - 1958)

This maybe isn't as well known as some of the others on the list but it's a true lesson in stoicism. John Mills plays the captain of a medical army crew that have gotten themselves separated from the rest of the convoy heading across the North African desert to Alexandria. They pick up a South African officer on the way but things don't quite go to plan. This is a rousing mystery adventure flick in a theatre of war not always seen on film. Cracking 'boys own' stuff.

9. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (Nagisa Ôshima - 1983)

A fantastic internal war film with an odd but very effective 'musical' pairing of David Bowie and Ryuichi Sakamoto in two of the lead roles. Mainly set in a Japanese POW camp, it's all about hidden desires, betrayals and clashes of culture. Also significant for the memorably stunning theme from Sakamoto.

8. Europa Europa (Agnieszka Holland - 1990)

The only woman director on the list (a discussion to be had there), Holland has delivered an astonishing true life story of a young German Jew who saved himself by joining the Hitler Youth. Fascinating, almost absurd look at the plight of European Jews, the film even flirts with black comedy at times. A fine film from an underrated director (see her excellent Olivier, Olivier).

7. The Zone of Interest (Jonathan Glazer - 2023)

The most recent film on the list, this Auschwitz-based family drama (!) was the best I saw in 2024. Glazer is one of those singular talents (see above) whose films transcend genre and the audacity of some scenes still resonates in my brain. Sandra Hüller and Christian Friedel are superb as the mother and father, and the music and cinematography are top notch. Unflinchingly brilliant.

6. Stalag 17 (Billy Wilder - 1953)

A classic Hollywood POW camp film with a fine cast and an equally great director. US airmen detained behind enemy lines come to suspect that one of their number is an informant. An Oscar-winning performance from William Holden (who also appears higher on this list) and hard-boiled direction from Wilder make this a cut above most POW films (but crucially, not all).

5. The Tin Drum (Volker Schlöndorff - 1979)

Winning the Palme d'Or AND the Best Foreign Language film Oscar doesn't always guarantee greatness but it most certainly does here. Based on the Günter Grass novel, this weird, funny, sad film sees little Oscar (David Bennent) refuse to grow up in protest at all the dickheaded adults around him. Gob-smacking doesn't quite sum up this amazing, surreal film. Seek it out.

4. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz - 1942)

It really shouldn't have worked but credit to Curtiz, writers Koch and the Epsteins, Bogey and Bergman, as well as that unforgettable tune, 'As Time Goes By'. Rick (Bogart) runs a club in Casablanca, the Moroccan city nominally ruled over by the Germans. His idea is to stay neutral for the war's duration, look out for himself and make some coin while doing so. The reappearance of ex-lover Ilsa (Bergman), and her resistance hero husband, scuppers those plans. An outstanding piece of cinema. Propaganda never looked so good.

3. Dunkirk (Christopher Nolan - 2017)

A mesmerising display of filmmaking from a modern master. The ever-decreasing circles of time drive this film to a point and then slowly unravel again. The performances are restrained but stellar from a cast including Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance - but the real force of the film is the structure. Nolan has wizarded a classic, it's hard to go past this as his best ever.

2. The Bridge on the River Kwai (David Lean - 1957)

One of Lean's many masterpieces, this is almost unbearably tense, especially the fantastic climax. Based on Pierre Boulle's novel, which was itself loosely based on the construction of the Burma Railway, the film deals with the pride and sense duty of Allied prisoners of the Japanese. William Holden (making a habit of getting locked up in films) stars alongside the majestic Alec Guinness (a full 20 years before Obi-Wan Kenobi), and there has rarely been a more chalk and cheese pairing on screen, to the film's great benefit. Classy and timeless, this would be the best WWII film, if not for....

1. The Great Escape (John Sturges - 1963)

Here it is. Cinematic perfection. It's not only the best WWII film, for me, it's the best film ever made. This opinion is just that, an opinion, and I reckon it stems from seeing it so many times in my youth on TV in the 80s. But it really is a stirring, emotional behemoth, juggling action, pathos, comedy, tension, thrills and heart, all backed by Elmer Bernstein's incredible score. Doesn't hurt to have some of the best actors of the time starring either - Charles Bronson, James Garner, James Coburn, Donald Pleasance, Gordon Jackson, Richard Attenborough and the Cooler King, Steve McQueen. A fine adaptation of Paul Brickhill's book by James Clavell, and unfussy, solid direction by Sturges make The Great Escape a peerless work all round.

[Just to top and tail things, the best film about the build up to WWII is Cabaret (1972), and the best film about post-WWII is The Third Man (1949).]

Here's the link to the Guardian story

The full top 10 list, according to the War Movie Theatre podcast poll, was as follows:

1. Dunkirk (2017)

2. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

3. The Great Escape (1963)

4. The Dam Busters (1955)

5. Battle of Britain (1969)

6. The Longest Day (1962)

7. A Bridge Too Far (1977)

8. Pearl Harbor (2001)

9. Schindler’s List (1993)

10. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

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