I have been asked to write a blog entry. By the producer of The Girl Who Wore Freedom. Who happens to be my wife.
I do not have to do what the producer asks me to do because I do not technically work for the producer. And by golly, I do not have to write a blog just because my wife says so. I am my own man. I make my own decisions, thank you very much.
So I am writing a blog entry.
Given the circumstances, I might as well write on one of my favorite topics – WWII movies. So let’s make this simple and go with my ten favorite WWII movies of all time. I will not do exhaustive explanations of each film because… well… I do not want to be exhausted at the end of the list, nor do I want you to be exhausted after reading it. I care, after all.
So with no further ado, my list of my ten favorite WWII movies:
T10. Tora! Tora! Tora!
Tora! Tora! Tora! is the best movie ever made about the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor.
I am sure that at least one or two of you now are thinking, “Wait, what about Pearl Harbor? Ben Affleck was great in that.” If you are that person, you should stop reading this list now because you and I are just never going to agree on anything. Ever. Same if you would put Fury on your list. Or Valkyrie. And I am not saying you cannot have guilty pleasures. Of course you can. I do. My Blue Heaven with Steve Martin qualifies for my guilty pleasure list. Go watch it. And Enemy at the Gates is on my WWII guilty pleasure list. You can watch that, too. But I would not put it on this top ten list, and you just cannot credibly argue that movies like Pearl Harbor and Fury and Valkyrie should be on a top ten list of the best movies about WWII and keep my attention.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
T10. Dunkirk.
A different take on presenting a war movie, one that takes some a second watching to really follow. But it is worth the second watching. Beyond that, the story of the evacuation of the British Expeditionary Forces from the shores of Dunkirk long has been a story that needed to be told, given that it was one of the more important moments in the early days of WWII.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
T10. Patton.
I probably enjoyed watching Patton less than any other movie on this list. But I also recognize that a top ten list of WWII movies is hard to take seriously if Patton is not on that list somewhere. So here it is.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
T10. Victory.
Sylvester Stallone, Pelé, and Max Von Sydow in a movie that combines WWII, soccer, and a prisoner escape. You’re in, aren’t you? Only caveat is that this movie probably should be watched on a VCR. Just because it should. In fact, if you can watch it on 8-track, go that route.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
T10. The Sound of Music.
Yes, it is a WWII movie. And the only one of the list that you can credibly ask your family to watch at Christmas without getting laughed out of the room. So you should have it on your list, too.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
T10. The Pianist.
This is one of those movies that surprises me in terms of being on my list. But then I watch it again and realize that yes, it absolutely has to be on the list, as it takes you through the invasion of, and ultimately the liberation of, Poland in a way that pulls at your heartstrings.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
T10. The Big Red One.
When you read this list and complain “Where is that Lee Marvin classic, The Dirty Dozen’?”, the answer is, “Here is that Lee Marvin classic, The Big Red One.”
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
T10. Letters From Iwo Jima.
A rare WWII movie told from the Japanese perspective. A worthwhile watch.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
T10. Saving Private Ryan.
Objectively, Saving Private Ryan should be higher on this list. I know this. I accept this. But for whatever reason, it was a movie that I appreciated when I watched it, and thought it was important that I had the experience of watching it, but would not necessarily choose to watch it – or at least certain scenes of it – again if I do not have a reason to do so.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
9. Midway.
Midway is a war movie. About one of the most important battles in the Pacific Theater of WWII. And Erik Estrada is in it. Need I say more?
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
8. Battle of the Bulge.
I am not saying this is the most accurate depiction of the Battle of the Bulge. But I like it. I do not have a better explanation than that.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
7. The Great Escape.
A Steve McQueen classic with a fantastic theme song. In fact, this musical score would be perfect but for the fact that it lacks the theme to The Rockford Files, which I expect to hear played every time James Garner is in a scene.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
6. Schindler’s List.
Like Saving Private Ryan, this is a movie that you may not be pining to see twice … but the subject is important enough that you should.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
5. The Bridge on the River Kwai.
For those of my generation, I will admit that it takes you a couple of scenes to adjust to the fact that Obi-Wan Kenobi is in a WWII movie. But once you do, you find yourself enthralled by one of the true mental twisters of this genre.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
4. The Longest Day.
When you watch The Longest Day today, your initial thought is this is the kind of movie that should be taught to an elementary school class so that they understand what happened on D-Day. And hey, that’s fair. That’s exactly the movie it is today. But you know what? If you stop and think about it that is not the reason this movie should not be on this list … it is the reason the movie must be on this list.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
3. A Bridge Too Far.
Let’s start with the cast … Robert Redford, Sean Connery, Michael Caine, James Caan, Dirk Bogarde, Ryan O’Neal, Anthony Hopkins, Laurence Olivier, Gene Hackman, Elliot Gould, Maximilian Schell, and so on and so on and so on. Heck, Cliff Clavin of Cheers fame (John Ratzenberger) is in it. In other words, basically everyone that has ever been in any movie and been any good is in this movie. That should tell you all you need to know.
On top of that, that story is exceptional. If you have never heard of Operation Market Garden, look it up. Or watch this movie. In fact, that’s probably easier. Just do that.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
2. Band of Brothers.
OK, OK, I know what you are thinking. Band of Brothers is a mini-series, not a movie. Ten parts, hours and hours long … not a movie.
Whatever. My list, not yours. I get to have it on the list. And if you accept the fiction that it is a movie, I am sure you agree that it is ranked appropriately.
Rent or buy this movie from your favorite service provider.
1. The Girl Who Wore Freedom.
What exactly were you expecting?
This post was authored by:
Jeremy Taylor
Guest blogger for The Girl Who Wore Freedom
Jeremy Taylor, pictured here in Normandy with son Josh, is the husband of The Girl Who Wore Freedom producer Christian Taylor. He writes stuff when his wife tells him to write stuff.
This is fantastic my dear husband. You are such a delightful writer… and always so right 🙂 Love your picks!
PS. Personally, I would also add: Best Years of Our Lives and Five Came Back
I am going to argue that Best Years of Our Lives was a post-war movie, just because I argue. It is my thing.
Five Came Back is a mini-series, not a movie. And if you want to be a mini-series and make my list, you better be as good as Band of Brothers.
Touché, Monsieur Pussycat. I conceed. You win. As always.
An excellent list, Mr. Taylor…..I’d have put Bridge Over the River Kwai higher (absolutely gutting), and would have found room for Das Boot and Casablanca (and arguably From Here to Eternity), but a solid list nonetheless…..
If you want to move Bridge Over The River Kwai ahead of The Longest Day, you would not get a huge argument from me. On the other hand, putting BOTRW ahead of A Bridge Too Far and Band of Brothers is not happening for me, and putting it ahead of my wife’s movie is a risk I am not foolish enough to take.
Das Boot could have been in that tie for 10th, no doubt.
Ooooo Chad!! You’re right! Casablanca and From Here to Eternity should definitely be added to the list. Good call! Thanks for taking time to stop by and read! Nice to hear from you 🙂
Nothing that can be fairly described as a “romantic drama” will make my list.
How do I do a laughing with tear emoji here?
Are we just going to act like Mrs. Miniver doesn’t exist? 😉
Yes, that is my plan. After all, I figured it already has received enough attention with the 6 Academy Awards, etc., etc.
I cannot really put up much of an argument for excluding Mrs. Miniver from excluding from the list, even if I did enjoy it as much as others do. In that respect, it probably falls into the Patton category of a movie that should be on the list objectively, even if it does not make my list of movies I enjoyed the most.
Great list, But SPR should have been higher…Just saying. I total agree with BOB being that high. I toured with the 101st 506th on the 60th Anniversary Of DDAY. It was the trip of a lifetime and I got to become friends with several members of the famous outfit. Great stories, pictures, memories!!!
KOG
You are right — as noted, SPR objectively should be ranked higher. I just couldn’t put it higher.
I was thinking after i wrote this blog that of the movies on this list, BOB would lap the rest of the list in terms of how often I have rewatched it.
Jeremy Taylor, you are full of surprises! And another one to add to the list:
Exceptional blog writer – CHECK!
And for my next trick…….
Another great one is Anthropoid!
Heard of it but have not seen it yet. Story line is interesting so I will be sure to add that to my list.
Wasn’t expecting to laugh reading a blog about WWII movies… thanks Jeremy! 😉
This inspires me to revisit some of my favorites, i.e. The Pianist and SVP. Dunkirk and The Bridge on the River Kwai are on my to-watch list this summer.
My pleasure.
If you are deciding between Dunkirk and The Bridge on the River Kwai … I don’t know which to tell you to watch first. Totally different movie that require you to lock in mentally in both cases. Dunkirk is more in-your-face, while TBOTRW is more of a thinker’s movie. I guess I would go with TBOTRW first, but your mood could dictate one over the other.
Please consider the movie “Hell is for Heroes.” It was one of the first and best of a new wave of World War II combat movies. It was released in 1962 and starred Steve McQueen, Bobby Darin, Fess Parker, Harry Guardino, James Coburn, Bob Newhart, and Nick Adams. It dramatized some of the exploits of the 95th Infantry Division opposite the German Siegfried Line in the winter of 1944.
I admit that I have not seen it. But seriously … Bob Newhart? In a WWII movie? I’m sold. I will watch it soon.
And also please note that the writer was Robert Pirosh who also wrote the script for the film “Battleground” and then for the film “Go for Broke”. After “Hell is for Heroes” Pirosh created the World War II TV series “Combat”.
Interesting. Thanks for the background. It is definitely on my watch list now.
Great list and worthy descriptions. The first movie I ever saw in a theater was Snow White, followed by Gone with the Wind, Dirty Dozen, and Patton. With a list like that, it’s easy to remember first movies even when I saw them in grade school. They were impressionable.
I feel the same way about movies. Different things stick with me, and those things stay with me. True of every movie on this list.
This was an awesome read! I laughed out loud. Great writing. Solid choices too! I usually try to work Ghostbusters into any movie list I make, but tough to make the leap to include it here in this list … that being said … #11 – GHOSTBUSTERS.
Thanks.
And as for Ghostbusters, I assume that we can only be talking about the 1984 original, otherwise we cannot be friends. But if we are talking about that film, getting it onto a WWII movie list might be tough, but we probably could cram it onto on a war movie list, if we really tried. There were guns, after all, and humanity’s future clearly was at stake. Feels close enough for me.
Jeremy, great list and entertaining writing too, well done sir!
I’ve seen several of these, most recently Band of Brothers which was excellent and informative.
Thanks, Jeff. Glad you enjoyed it.
I must say that the made for TV movie “Gettysburg” is one of my all time favorite movies. Although it has been many years since I last watched it, the emotions that it brings forth are still in my memory and I may want to revisit it once again. I was kidnapped back then by my daughter and wife and taken up from Virginia to Gettysburg where we walked the trails and I narrated as we stomped around Cemetery Ridge and Little Round Top.
I have seen that and enjoyed it, too. Wasn’t in consideration for this list since this list was only about WWII films, but a good film without a doubt.
Makes me wonder if I could put together a list of films that were made for TV….
I must say that one of my all time favorite war movies is the made for TV movie Gettysburg – along with the book “The Killer Angels”. It’s been many years since I’ve watched it, but I may have to revisit it. The emotions it brought forth were gripping.
I have not read the book on which the movie was based. May add that to my reading list.
Thank you for including “The Sound of Music” on your list. It’s a great WWII movie and my favorite movie of all time. And you are correct for leaving out “The Dirty Dozen,” which I only watched because of its mention in “Sleepless in Seattle.” (The mention was better than the actual movie!) My hubby and I would add “Where Eagles Dare” and “Twelve O’ Clock High.” He would also add “Casablanca” and Stalag-17.”
Cherry~
Thanks for reading and leaving a comment! You have suggested some great films too. As for “Casablanca” well, that film is legendary for many reasons.
TGWWF Blog Team
Sound of Music really is a remarkable — and rewatchable — movie. Will be on my list for good.
I should add that Where Eagles Dare absolutely could have made this list.