The Greatest World War II Movies of All Time

(part 1)

Schindler's List  (1993)

Director: Steven SpielbergWriters: Thomas Keneally (book), Steven Zaillian (screenplay)Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley

Businessman Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) arrives in Krakow in 1939, ready to make his fortune from World War II, which has just started. After joining the Nazi party primarily for political expediency, he staffs his factory with Jewish workers for similarly pragmatic reasons. When the SS begins exterminating Jews in the Krakow ghetto, Schindler arranges to have his workers protected to keep his factory in operation, but soon realizes that in so doing, he is also saving innocent lives.

The Human Condition. A Soldier's Prayer.

(1961)

Director: Masaki KobayashiStars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Tamao Nakamura, Yûsuke Kawazu

The Human Condition is a Japanese epic film trilogy made between 1959 and 1961, based on the six-volume novel published from 1956 to 1958 by Junpei Gomikawa.It was directed by Masaki Kobayashi and stars Tatsuya Nakadai. The trilogy follows the life of Kaji, a Japanese pacifist and socialist, as he tries to survive in the totalitarian and oppressive world of World War II-era Japan.

Life Is Beautiful (1997)

Director: Roberto BenigniWriters: Vincenzo Cerami (story), Roberto Benigni (story)Stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini

A gentle Jewish-Italian waiter, Guido Orefice (Roberto Benigni), meets Dora (Nicoletta Braschi), a pretty schoolteacher, and wins her over with his charm and humor. Eventually they marry and have a son, Giosue (Giorgio Cantarini). Their happiness is abruptly halted, however, when Guido and Giosue are separated from Dora and taken to a concentration camp. Determined to shelter his son from the horrors of his surroundings, Guido convinces Giosue that their time in the camp is merely a game.

Casablanca (1942)

Director: Michael CurtizWriters: Julius J. Epstein (screenplay), Philip G. Epstein (screenplay)Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid

Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who owns a nightclub in Casablanca, discovers his old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) is in town with her husband, Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid). Laszlo is a famed rebel, and with Germans on his tail, Ilsa knows Rick can help them get out of the country.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Director: Steven SpielbergWriter: Robert RodatStars: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore

Captain John Miller (Tom Hanks) takes his men behind enemy lines to find Private James Ryan, whose three brothers have been killed in combat. Surrounded by the brutal realties of war, while searching for Ryan, each man embarks upon a personal journey and discovers their own strength to triumph over an uncertain future with honor, decency and courage.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Director: Steven SpielbergWriters: Lawrence Kasdan (screenplay), George Lucas (story)Stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman

Renowned archeologist and expert in the occult, Dr. Indiana Jones, is hired by the U.S. Government to find the Ark of the Covenant, which is believed to still hold the ten commandments. Unfortunately, agents of Hitler are also after the Ark. Indy, and his ex-flame Marion, escape from various close scrapes in a quest that takes them from Nepal to Cairo.

The Pianist (2002)

Director: Roman PolanskiWriters: Ronald Harwood (screenplay), Wladyslaw Szpilman (book)Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay

In this adaptation of the autobiography "The Pianist: The Extraordinary True Story of One Man's Survival in Warsaw, 1939-1945," Wladyslaw Szpilman (Adrien Brody), a Polish Jewish radio station pianist, sees Warsaw change gradually as World War II begins. Szpilman is forced into the Warsaw Ghetto, but is later separated from his family during Operation Reinhard. From this time until the concentration camp prisoners are released, Szpilman hides in various locations among the ruins of Warsaw.

The Great Dictator (1940)

Director: Charles ChaplinWriter: Charles ChaplinStars: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie

After dedicated service in the Great War, a Jewish barber (Charles Chaplin) spends years in an army hospital recovering from his wounds, unaware of the simultaneous rise of fascist dictator Adenoid Hynkel (also Chaplin) and his anti-Semitic policies. When the barber, who bears a remarkable resemblance to Hynkel, returns to his quiet neighborhood, he is stunned by the brutal changes and recklessly joins a beautiful girl (Paulette Goddard) and her neighbors in rebelling.

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Director: Isao TakahataWriters: Akiyuki Nosaka (novel), Isao TakahataStars: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi

A devastating meditation on the human cost of war, this animated tale follows Seita (Tsutomu Tatsumi), a teenager charged with the care of his younger sister, Setsuko (Ayano Shiraishi), after an American firebombing during World War II separates the two children from their parents. Their tale of survival is as heartbreaking as it is true to life. The siblings rely completely on each other and struggle against all odds to stay together and stay alive.

The Boat (1981)

Director: Wolfgang Petersen

Writers: Wolfgang Petersen (screenplay), Lothar G. Buchheim (novel)

Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann

A German submarine patrols the Atlantic Ocean during World War II, manned by a crew that must contend with tense conflicts and long stretches of confined boredom. While war correspondent Werner (Herbert Grönemeyer) observes day-to-day life aboard the U-boat, the grizzled captain (Jürgen Prochnow) struggles to maintain his own motivation as he attempts to keep the ship's morale up in the face of fierce battles, intense storms and dwindling supplies.

The Third Man (1949)

Director: Carol ReedWriters: Graham Greene (by), Graham Greene (screen play)Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli

Set in postwar Vienna, Austria, "The Third Man" stars Joseph Cotten as Holly Martins, a writer of pulp Westerns, who arrives penniless as a guest of his childhood chum Harry Lime (Orson Welles), only to find him dead. Martins develops a conspiracy theory after learning of a "third man" present at the time of Harry's death, running into interference from British officer Maj. Calloway (Trevor Howard) and falling head-over-heels for Harry's grief-stricken lover, Anna (Alida Valli).

Inglourious Basterds (2009)

Directors: Quentin Tarantino, Eli Roth (uncredited)Writer: Quentin TarantinoStars: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth

It is the first year of Germany's occupation of France. Allied officer Lt. Aldo Raine (Brad Pitt) assembles a team of Jewish soldiers to commit violent acts of retribution against the Nazis, including the taking of their scalps. He and his men join forces with Bridget von Hammersmark, a German actress and undercover agent, to bring down the leaders of the Third Reich. Their fates converge with theater owner Shosanna Dreyfus, who seeks to avenge the Nazis' execution of her family.

Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade

(1989)

Director: Steven SpielbergWriters: Jeffrey Boam (screenplay), George Lucas (story), 3 more credits »Stars: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody

An art collector appeals to Jones to embark on a search for the Holy Grail. He learns that another archaeologist has disappeared while searching for the precious goblet, and the missing man is his own father, Dr. Henry Jones. The artifact is much harder to find than they expected, and its powers are too much for those impure in heart.

The Great Escape (1963)

Director: John SturgesWriters: Paul Brickhill (book), James Clavell (screenplay)Stars: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough

Imprisoned during World War II in a German POW camp, a group of Allied soldiers are intent on breaking out, not only to escape, but also to draw Nazi forces away from battle to search for fugitives. Among the prisoners determined to escape are American Captain Virgil Hilts (Steve McQueen) and British Squadron Leader Roger Bartlett (Richard Attenborough). Outwitting their captors by digging a tunnel out of the prison grounds, the soldiers find the stakes much higher when escape becomes a reality.

Downfall  (2004)

Director: Oliver HirschbiegelWriters: Bernd Eichinger (screenplay), Joachim Fest (book)Stars: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes

In 1942, young Traudl Junge (Alexandra Maria Lara) lands her dream job -- secretary to Adolf Hitler (Bruno Ganz) at the peak of his power. Three years later, Hitler's empire is now his underground bunker. The real-life Traudl narrates Hitler's final days as he rages against imagined betrayers and barks orders to phantom armies, while his mistress, Eva Braun (Juliane Köhler), clucks over his emotional distance, and other infamous Nazis prepare for the end.

Come and See (1985)

Director: Elem Klimov Writers: Ales Adamovich (screenplay), Ales Adamovich (stories) Stars: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Lauciavicius

The invasion of a village in Byelorussia by German forces sends young Florya (Alexei Kravchenko) into the forest to join the weary Resistance fighters, against his family's wishes. There he meets a girl, Glasha (Olga Mironova), who accompanies him back to his village. On returning home, Florya finds his family and fellow peasants massacred. His continued survival amidst the brutal debris of war becomes increasingly nightmarish, a battle between despair and hope.

Judgment at Nuremberg (1961) 

Director: Stanley KramerWriters: Abby Mann, Abby Mann (based on his original story byStars: Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark

In 1947, four German judges who served on the bench during the Nazi regime face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. Chief Justice Haywood (Spencer Tracy) hears evidence and testimony not only from lead defendant Ernst Janning (Burt Lancaster) and his defense attorney Hans Rolfe (Maximilian Schell), but also from the widow of a Nazi general (Marlene Dietrich), an idealistic U.S. Army captain (William Shatner) and reluctant witness Irene Wallner (Judy Garland).

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Director: David LeanWriters: Pierre Boulle (novel), Carl Foreman (screenplayStars: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins

Adaptation of the Pierre Bouelle novel about POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American officers plot to blow up the structure, but the commander of the bridge's construction has different plans

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Director: Clint EastwoodWriters: Iris Yamashita (screenplay), Iris Yamashita (story)Stars: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara

Long-buried missives from the island reveal the stories of the Japanese troops who fought and died there during World War II. Among them are Saigo (Kazunari Ninomiya), a baker; Baron Nishi (Tsuyoshi Ihara), an Olympic champion; and Shimizu (Ryo Kase), an idealistic soldier. Though Lt. Gen. Tadamichi Kuribayashi (Ken Watanabe) knows he and his men have virtually no chance of survival, he uses his extraordinary military skills to hold off American troops as long as possible.

end

cast 1 The Greatest World War II Movies of All Time (part 1)

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