War and conflict have been favorite subjects for movie makers since the earliest days of video.
Over the past century, thousands of movies have been made about war: some good, some bad,
and a few that can be called great, but here is a list of war movies movies deemed significant as
showing with reasonable accuracy some aspect of the History of Modern War. There are links to
trailers for some titles and, in select cases,
also clips of particularly significant portions of a film.
Military Veterans Pick 10 Most Realistic War Movies
( All are WW II or later when veterans still were alive to comment.
How would historians rate films covering wars from earlier periods? )
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Linear War / Pre-20th Century
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Trailer
Set during the Seven Years War, a global conflict among European power, 1756-1763.
Linear warfare attack scene
War & Peace is Leon Tolstoy's epic narrative of Russia during the
Napoleonic Wars, specifically:
• War of the Third Coalition (1803-1806) and the
• French Invasion of Russia (1812).
Several lavish video adaptations of Tolstoy's chronicle, some with spectacular battle scenes,
demonstrate the tactics and chaos of early 19th century warfare.
• The number of its video adaptations over more than a century speaks volumes to the compelling
greatness of Tolstoy's masterpeice.
• The significance of War and Peace
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War & Peace (1956 movie)
Trailer
Review
• Amercan-Italian condensed film addaptation of Tolstoy's classic but still runs 208 minutes!
• Served as the motivation for Russian director Sergei Bondarchuk's stunning 1966-67 TV series of
Tolstoy's classic as a matter of Cold War honor for the Soviet cinema industry to produce
a film surpassing the American-Italian version in artistic merit, authenticity and grandor.
Battle of Austerlitz Scene
War & Peace (1966-67 Soviet TV series, 2019 restoration)
Details
Trailer
Review
"... a singular feat of filmmaking that can never be repeated."
Immense in every aspect: The
Battle of Borodino scene involved 13,500 Soviet soldiers and 1,500
horsemen as extras, 23 tons of gunpowder and 40,000 liters of kerosene for special effects.
Generlly acknowledged as the most expensive motion picture ever made, reportedly $700 million
in 2007 dolllars.
Running time: 431 minutes (7 hours, 11 minutes).
Battle of Austerlitz (excerpt, restoration)
War & Peace (2007 TV mini-series
Trailer
IMDB
War & Peace (2016 BBC TV series)
• Six part adaptation of Tolstoy's classic recognized for faithfulness to the novel, grand costumes
and epic staging.
• Battle of Schφngrabern, 1805: cavalry charge
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Waterloo (1970)
Trailer
Video Review
Probably one of the most ambitious war movies ever produced -- stunning battle scenes!
Made in Russia before digital video effects using 12,000 Soviet soldiers and 1,200 cavalry.
Excellent representations of the chaos of early 19th century ground combat.
Notable segments:
Infantry squares against cavalry •
Charge of the British Heavy Cavalry
Attack of the French Imperial Guard
Entire movie Available on YouTube (in segments, running time 123 minutes)
Sharpe series (1993-1997, 2006-2008)
Trailer for Sharpe's Rifles (Ep. 1)
List of Episodes
A fictional series focused on a small group of sharpshooters in the British Army during the Napoleonic Wars.
Loosely based on a series of novels by Bernard Cornwell, most on actions in the Peninsular War (1807-1814)
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)
Trailer
Video Review
Critically well recieved story of naval warfare during the Napoleonic Wars.
Adapted from mutliple incidents in Patrick O'Brien's 20-volume Aubrey-Maturin novel series,
themselves taken from the life of Royal Navy legend Thomas Cochrane.
Good historical detail. Synopsis & Historical Background (21:35)
Hornblower (TV series, 1998-2003)
Review
Eight-part TV series based on
C.S. Forester's novels of life in the Royal Navy during the Napoleonic Wars.
Plot follows the career of a fictional Horatio
Hornblower from his arrival as a 17 year old midshipman on his
first posting to the frigate HMS Indefatigable, an actual ship of the line modified to a frigate in 1784.
Accurately portrays the dismal living conditions on an early 19th centruy warship: 300+ men living for months
at a time, often wet and cold, in a 160 ft. x 40 ft.
two floor wooden structure with a basement and rooftop patio.
Received Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Miniseries (1999).
Episodes available on YouTube:
1 - The Evan Chance
2 - The Examination for Lieutenant
3 - The Duchess and the Devil
4 - The Frogs and The Lobsters
5 - Mutiny
6 - Retribution
7 - Loyalty
8 - Duty
Gods & Generals (2003)
Trailer
Ted Turner's epic on the Battle of Fredericksberg (Dec 1862)
Map
Gettysburg (1993)
Trailer
Video Review
Another Turner classic, this on the pivotal Battle of Gettysburg (Jul 1863)
Excerpts: Picket's Charge
Glory (1989)
Trailer
Story of one of the first African-American units in the Union Army.
Segment: Assault on Fort Wagner
Background
Ironclads (1991)
Trailer
Made-for-TV movie on the Battle of Hampton Roads (March 1862) between
USS Monitor and CSS Virginia.
Cornball spy/love story subplot is distracting, but the special effects in the battle scene make it worthwhile.
All Ship Scenes (available on YouTube, 32:56)
Available on YouTube (2:06:33)
The Hunley (1999)
Preview
Trailer
Well made story ot the H. L. Hunley
and its first successful attack by a submarine (Feb 1864).
Another Turner production worth watching if you can find a copy.
World War I
• The Guns of August (1964)
Skillful use of archival footage to tell the runup to and first month of World War I in 1914.
Based on Barbara Tuchman's 1962 Pulitzer Prize-winning book.
Available on YouTube (1:39:58)
• The Battle of the Somme (1916)
Pioneering documentary of The Battle of the Somme (July 1-November 18, 1916)
Filmed by a War Department-sanctoned team of newsreel videographers during the battle.
Some scenes staged after the beginning of the battle.
Released while battle still raged -- first widespread public view of the war.
Tremendous response: 20 million tickets sold in first six weeks (44% 0f British population!).
Footage used in most subsequent WW I documentaries.
Restored Imperial War Museum version available
Excerpts (audio and editorial inserts added)
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
Trailer
An incredible example of cinemographic technology by Lord of the Rings director Peter Jackson in transforming
miles of 100 year-old silent video film into a colorized, sound account of British soldier life during WWI.
Excerpts: British soldier comments on Germans (voices of British veterans recorded in 1960s.)
End of the war
Comments by Peter Jackson
How he did it
Forensic Lip-Reader
Paths of Glory (1957)
Trailer
Based on mutiny of French army in 1917
Trench warfare attack scene (harrowing!)
Wings (1927)
Trailer (with sound commentary added)
Won first Oscar ever awarded for Best Picture (1927)
Dogfight scene (4:53)
Available on Internet Archive (2:18:39)
The Blue Max (1966)
Trailer
Near the end of WWI, a German pilot of humble
origin fights to prove himself to the aristocratic pilots in his
squadron.
Spectacular flying scenes capture the spirit of the Great War's mythical flying knights of the air. Air combat scene
Based on Jack Hunter's 1964 debut novel.
An avid WWI aviation buff, Hunter wrote of how the book came to be
and of his frustration with the indifference to accuracy in the movie production: The Blue Max Revisited (1998)
Name of novel and film, "Blue Max" is the nickname for Prussia's high military award: (photo)
Review, NY Times (June 22, 1966)
Von Richthofen and Brown (1971)
Trailer
Fictional WWI flying movie invoking the names of German ace Manfred Von Richthofen and
RAF Pilot Roy Brown, initially credited with downing von Richthofen in 1918.
Mediocre plot, good flying scenes -- an attempt to capitalize on the excitement generated by The Blue Max.
Available on YouTube (1:31:36)
The Red Baron (2008)
Trailer
German made film in English, this loosely structured biography of WWI German Air Force ace Manfred von Richthofen
is accurately summarized by
one critic as "The Red Baron is most impressive while bi- and tri-planes dodge and shoot
at each other in the sky. On the ground, the film falls pretty flat."
Aerial combat scenes (all high quality CGI) give
a good approximation of aerial warfare over the Western Front.
Takeaway: Despite the comment to his pilots
that "our job is to bring down airplanes, not men," it is hard to
determine
from this film whether von Richtofen was a chivalrous knight of the sky or a hard core killer.
Available on YouTube (2:03:37)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Trailer
The definitive video version of Erich Maria Remarque's classic anti-war epic from pre-WW II Germany.
Follows a group of German schoolboys from the
patriotic enthusiasm of 1914 to the realities of trench warfare.
Oscar: Best Picture (1930)
Excerpt: Frontal Assault sequence
Available on YouTube (1:51:11:28) (good video, audio quality but small size)
The Road Back (1937)
Eric Remarque wrote a sequel: The Road Back (1931) telling the story of the German soldiers
returning from the war and their disenchantment. Book was banned during Nazi era.
Critics panned the movie for not being faithful
to Remarque's anti-war theme, but it still was a box office success.
Available on YouTube (First 1:57 of credits skipped )
All Quiet on the Western Front (1979)
Trailer
Remake of 1930 classic: color, camera technolog,
special effects provide welcome updates for modern audiences.
The trailer sums it up very well.
Available on YouTube (1:36:28)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Trailer
Records the role of British officer T. E. Lawrence in the Arab insurgency against the Ottoman Empire during WW I.
Lavish, star-studded epic with many liberties in accuracy but a good account of period desert warfare.
Academy Award for best picture, 1963.
Gallipoli (1981)
Trailer
Drama centered on two Australians in the ill-fated 1915 Gallipoli (Dardanelles) Campaign.
An Allied strategic effort to flank the stalemated Western Front through the Turkish Straits.
Gallipoli (Turkish documentary, 2005)
Trailer
Highly acclaimed documentary from both Allied (British & ANZAC) and Turkish perspectivves.
Worth trying to find a copy.
World War II: Atlantic
Sink the Bismark (1960)
Trailer
Reasonably accurate account of the
Battle of the Denmark Straits and the subsequent search for
and destruction of the German battleship Bismark in May 1941.
Available on YouTube (1:37:33)
Das Boot (The Boat, 1981)
From the perspective of the German U-boat crews
Trailer
Worth finding a copy: a classic!
The Cruel Sea (1953)
Trailer
Excerpt
From the perspective of the British escort vessel crews
The Enemy Below (1957)
Trailer
From the perspective of both the U-boats and the escorts
Trivia: The slogan in the U-boat,"Fόhrer befehl, wir folgen," translates as "Fόhrer command, we follow."
More
Available on YouTube (2:18:34)
In Which We Serve (1942)
Trailer
Noel Coward wrote, directed and stars in this classic tale of a Royal Navy destroyer and its crew.
Based on the story of HMS Kelly,
commanded by Lord Louis Mountbatten and lost off Crete (May 41).
Available on YouTube (1:49:28)
Action in the North Atlantic (1943)
Trailer
A classic, star-studded salute to the US Merchant Marine in WW II.
Good description of the procedures and perils for merchant ships in the Arctic convoys to Murmansk in Russia
The Sea Shall Not Have Them (1954)
An unusual sea action story of a RAF crash rescue boat in the North sea, 1944.
Available on YouTube (1:32:24)
Enigma (2001)
Trailer
Interesting account of the Bletchley Park effort to re-crack Enigma after a code change
Worth putting up with the "boy meets girl" and "damsel in distress" plot diversions
World War II: Europe
Triumph of the Will (Triumph des Willens) (1935)
Directed by Leni Riefenstahl,
this is a documentary of the 1934 Nazi Party rally at Neuremburg.
It dramaticly shows the mesmerizing impact of Hitler's Nazi pageantry.
Hailed by many as the ultimate propaganda video.
Banned by YouTube in June 2019 but ...
Still available on Internet Archive (1:44:28)
The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (1968)
Documentary adopted from William L. Shirer's 1960 history of Adolph Hitler and Germany in World War II.
Segments on Hitler's rise
largely based on Shirer's experience as news correspondent in Berllin,
1934-1940.
Available on YouTube (1:46:14)
Soldier of Orange (1977, Dutch)
Trailer (ignore strange Survival Run reference!)
A well told story of six young men in the University of Lieden, how each reacts to the invasion of the Netherlands
in 1940 and the paths they follwow.
Reviewed as "an exceptional character study."
Opening scene (10:43, other segments available)
Dunkirk (2017)
Trailer
Video Review
A masterfully produced dramatization of a major turining point in WW II.
Weaves the stories of the
soldiers on the beach, the rescue force at sea and the air battle above
it all.
Spitfire (a.k.a. The First of the Few, 1942)
Dramitization of the effort of aircraft designer/patriot R. J. Mitchel to perfect a defense against the
German
Messerschmidt in the face of pre-WW II German militarism at the cost of
his health.
Available on YouTube (1:39:56)
Battle of Britain (1969)
Trailer Alternate
Trivia
A grand cinematic depiction of a turning point in the European war.
Spectacular flying scenes and star-studded cast.
Production details included a collection of 100 period aircraft, at the time the "35th largest air force in the world".
Producers went to great pains to retain historical accuracy within the time restriction.
Details
Many of the scenes were filmed on actual WWII RAF facilities.
The German (2008)
November 1940, during the
Battle of Britain, an epic duel unfolds between two ace pilots each
willing
to take the match to
it's ultimate conclusion. Unknown to the pilots is a fate neither has
considered." (IMBD)
This short video has some excellent aerial combat footage.
The making of The German (Spoiler Alert: don't watch this clip until you have seen the movie!)
Malta Story (1953)
A recounting of the 1942 siege of the strategic island of Malta, midway between Italy and Libya and
astride the supply line for Rommel's Africa Corps. • Malta Location
Skillful use of archival film adds authenticity to this retelling of a pivotal WWII campaign.
Available on YouTube (1:39:08)
The Dam Busters (1955)
Trailer
Details of Operation Chastise, the RAF raid on the Ruhr Valley dams (16-17 May 1943).
Trivia
Comparsion: Original Star Wars with The Dam Busters
Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
Trailer
Realistic, fact-based story of the strategic bombing campaign against Germany.
Used by the US Air Force as a case study in combat leadership.
Available on YouTube: Pt. 1 (1:04:25)
Pt. 2 (1:02:32)
1:02:32
Read
"The Real Twelve O'Clock High" for the historic background.
Twelve O'Clock High (TV series, 1964-67)
Series available on YouTube
Good action series for those who like binge watching.
The Memphis Belle: A Story of a Flying Fortress (1944)
IMDB
An excellent documentary on the first B-17 to complete 25 bombing missions in Europe.
Directed by William Wyler, movie includes actual combat footage shot by Wyler and his team.
One of Wyler's camera crews was lost during this mission.
Available on YouTube (39:55)
The Battle of Stalingrad (1949)
"The last of a series of propaganda epics that recreated the history of the Second World War with a Stalinist
interpretation of the events. Like all of the other films in the genre, The Battle of Stalingrad consists mainly of battle
scenes and staff meetings, reconstructing the campaign from the point of view of the soldiers and the generals, in a
heroic manner fitting the state's ideology."
Available on YouTube (2:55:04)
Stalingrad (1993)
German movie with English subtitles.
Stark, brutal, disturbing -- only a survivor of this battle can evaluate the authentisity of this film.
Available on YouTube (2:17:38)
Enemy at the Gates (2001)
Trailer
Loosely fact-based sidebar to the Battle of Stalingrad
Good action movie that manages to capture the desperation of this WW II turning point
Opening scene (1/9): Crossing the Volga River into Stalingrad
(2-9 also on YouTube)
Band of Brothers (1991)
Trailer
Video Review
An epic story of soldiers in war
(10 episodes)
Follows a company of paratroopers through training and across Europe
Historically accurate with excellent special effects --
D-Day air drop scene is spectacular!
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Trailer
The first scene --
the landing in Normandy -- is a classic.
The rest is just a good action movie.
The Longest Day (1962)
Trailer
Told from both Allied and German perspectives
Good coverage of the broad scope of the operation
Segment: British gider assault on Pegasus Brridge
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
Trailer
Video Review
Operation Market-Garden: combined US-UK airborne/ground sweep through Holland into Northern Germany.
Available on YouTube (2:56:12)
(unfortunately, segments in German and Dutch are not translated!)
Theirs is the Glory (a.k.a. Men of Arnham; 1946)
Authentic story of the the British 1st Airborne Division in the Battle of Arnhem (17-25 Sep 1944)
part of Operation Market Garden covered in A Bridge Too Far.
Filmed in and around Arnham
with little of the battle damage repaired and many veterans of the
battle participating.
Comparison to A Bridge Too Far
Available on YouTube (1:18:44)
Go For Broke (1951)
Trailer
The story of the WWII 442nd Regimental Combat Team
made up almost entirely of second-generation
American soldiers
of Japanese ancestry (Nisei) who fought in the European theater of
operations.
More on the 442nd RCT
The 442nd is the most highly
decorated unit in US military history: nine Presidtial Unit Citations,
21 Medals of Homor, 9,486 Purple Hearts.
Available on YouTube (1:31:54)
Downfall (2004)
Clip (as Russian forces take Berlin)
A haunting story of Hitler's last days in Berlin bunker, very well told
Portrays the true madness of the Nazi regime.
World War II: Pacific
The Sand Pebbles (1966)
; Trailer
Dramitization of the pre-WWII Yangtze River Patrol
and the 1937 Japanese sinking of the gunboat USS Panay.
Movie Scene: Firing on the "USS San Pablo" (a.k.a. "The Sand Pebble")
Newsreel: Attack on USS Panay, 12 Dec 1937
Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
; Trailer
Detailed Trailer
The best of the Pearl Harbor movies -- detailed, accurate but mixed reviews
Review
Detailed Critique§
Available on YouTube but at faster speed: ~ 3.9 x faster!
In Harm's Way (1965)
Trailer
A star-studded Otto
Preminger-produced blockbuster covering attack on Pearl Harbor and early
days of Pacific War.
Air Force (1943)
Trailer
The story of the B-17s inbound to Hickam Field on December 7th
Rousing motivation for Home Front audiences yet historically accurate
Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1945)
Trailer
A true story by and about a pilot on the Doolittle Raid (1942)
The Bombing Run (3:39)
Newsreel Footage of Raid (9:37)
Midway (1976)
Trailer
Not a critical or box office success, but a reasonably accurate dramatization of the turning point of the Pacific War.
Available on YouTube
Gung Ho!: The Story of Carlson's Makin Island Raiders (1943)
Loosely based on the 1942 submarine-launched
raid on Makin Island in the Pacific by
Lt Col Evans Carlson's 2nd Marine Raider Battalion (Carlson's Radiers).
Lt Col James Roosevelt, son of then-President Franklin Roosevelt was second in command
during the operation for which he was awarded the Navy Cross.
• Full move available on YouTube and Internet Archive
PT 109 (1963)
Trailer
Dramitization of President John F. Kennedy's service on a
on a PT boat in the South Pacific during WW II.
The Fighting Lady (1944)
Wartime documentary of an Essex-class aircraft carrier (the second USS Lexington but not identified).
Follows ship and crew from post-construction work-up to the Battle of Philippine Sea.
Moving home front motivational piece -- excellent naval air action color footage.
Available on YouTube
Flat Top (1952)
Sterling Hayden plays a carrier commander during the Korean War.
The film is essentially a flashback of his time on the same carrier (The USS Princeton)
during World War II and what was learned and required to get men physically
and mentally ready to fight an intractable enemy - the Japanese - in "their own" waters
Cold War
Fog of War (2003)
Trailer
Subtitled "Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara"
McNamara on his philosophy of war (11 basic tenants)
McNamara's 11 lessions from Vietnam
Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature 2003
Available on YouTube (1:29:11) (good video & audio quality but small size)
The Big Lift (1950)
A unique dramitization of the Berlin Airliift (1948-1949).
Filmed on location in Berlin a year after the airlift with good integration of newsreel footage.
With the exception of the stars (Montgomery Cliff and Paul Douglas), all military personnel in the film
are played by US Air Force members assigned in Germany.
The cockpit procedures and air traffic sequences are authentically done -- well worth watching!
Available on YouTube (1:42:06)
Alternate
Strategic Air Command (1959)
Trailer
A classy effort to showcase America's nuclear deterrent force (a.k.a SAC) during the early days of the Cold War.
Stars Jimmy Stewart who actually flew B-17 and B-24 bombers in WW II.
Stewart was an Air Force Reserve colonel at the time the movies was made.
The movie features some great aerial footageof the monsterous B-36 Peacemaker and then-new B-47 Stratojet.
An excerpt from the movie featuring the B-36 Peacemaker
B-47 takeoff sequence (7:18)
On the Beach (1959)
Video Review
Fictional account of a global nuclear war and
its impact on individuals in Australia as radiation contaminates the
planet.
Available on YouTube (2:14:31)
Thirteen Days` (2000)
Trailer
Reasonably accurate dramatization of the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), a near-nuclear war situation.
Available on DVD from Netflix and Amazon
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
& Trailer
Trivia
A black comedy on the dangers of accidental nuclear war.
Chillingly realistic.
Memorable scenes and lines
Fail Safe (1964)
Trailer
A sobering fictional account of accidental nuclear war.
Like Dr.Strangelove, another fallout from the Cuban Missile Crisis.
The War Game (1965)
A chilling fictional account of the impact on Britain of a global crisis that escalates into a nuclear war.
Graphic depictions of human reactions, casualties, and difficult decisions reponding to such a catastrophe.
An obvious attempt at public awareness but judged so shocking that it was not publicly released intil 1985.
Of all the nuclear apocalypse movies, this is the one you will not forget ... if you can finish it.
Available on Vimeo (40:58)
The Hunt for Red October (1990)
Trailer
A Cold War submarine/spy thriller about the captain of a the Soviet Navy's newest and most advanced
missile submarine who wants to defect to the west and take his crew and ship with him.
Based on a true story
of a 1975 mutiney on a Soviet destroyer.
More
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Trailer
A Cold War suspence thriller about American Korean War POWs brainwashed to serve as sleeper agents
to serve as assassins in a Communist plot to take over the U.S. government.
Chillingly prescient
Ten Cold War Films Worth Watching
Korean War
The Bridges At Toko-Ri (1954)
Trailer
The classic movie of carrier jets in Korea based on the James Michener novel.
Reality of The Bridges at Toko Ri
More historical background
Excerpts: Opening
Aircraft Footage
Min-fuel Landing
Attacking bridge
Men of the Fighting Lady (1954)
Trailer
Background
Naval air action -- more great carrier aviation footage.
Based on a true story, "The Case of the Blind Pilot" (pdf), in the Saturday Evening Post.
Cease Fire (1953)
IMBD
An unusally realistic war movie, shot on location in Korea at the end of the war using actual infantrymen.
Available on YouTube
Pork Chop Hill (1959)
Trailer
One of the better ground combat movies on the Korean War
Based on a true story
Vietnam & Counterinsurgency
Battle of Algiers (1966)
Trailer
Terror Tactic scenes
The story of a classic counterinsurgency conducted by the French in Algeria (1956-57).
Told from both sides: how a revolution starts and the steps taken to suppress it
Used by the U.S. as a case study in fighting Iraqi insurgency (2004 on)
Available from YouTube (2:01:33)
Path to War (2002)
Comprehensive dramatization of the LBJ White House from 1965 to 1968
Covers LBJ's conflict between his Great Society agenda and the Vietnam War
While the scene of the discussion to escalate (1965) are not accurate in location or timeline,
the positions of the major players are correctly represented.
Available on YouTube (2:44:35)
We Were Soldiers (2002)
Trailer
Video Review
Account of the Battle of Ia Drang (1965), first major US action in Vietnam.
Good presentation of introduction of airmobile tactics.
Covers issues of families at home and casualty notification procedures early in war.
Impactful presentaion of the horrors of close combat in the Vietnam war.
Hamburger Hill (1987)
Trailer
"War at its worse fought by young men at their best"
Realistic account of ground combat in the A Shau Valley (1969)
Deals with issues of turnover of soldiers in units as a result of one year tour of duty policy later in war.
Interesting contrast to We Were Soldiers where full units trained and deployed together early in war.
84 Charlie MoPic (1989)
A sleeper! This low-budget film deals with the interactions of a patrol in Vietnam late in the war.
Based around the making of a training film to pass along tips and tactics for long range patrols.
Title refers to the Army MOS (military occupational specialty) for a motion picture specialist (84C).
Available from YouTube (1:30:51)
Bat 21 (1988)
Trailer
Based on rescue of a USAF EB-66 crewman
just south of the DMZ duirng NVA's 1972 Easter Offensive.
The crew member had sensitive defense information that the U.S. did not want to fall into NVA hands.
What followed was the most complex, costly and controversial
SAR operation of the war.
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Trailer
Review (Roger Ebert)
A Vietnam war film based on on Joseph Conrad's 1988 epic Heart of Darkness comparing the similarities
between "civilived people" and "savages."
Opened to mixed reviews but now considered among the most significant movies.
Vietnam War vets will recognize events common to all who were "in country."
Ride of the Valkyries scene (8:27 -- turn up the volume!)
Land of Sorrow (1975?)
Detailed plot summary.
"Filmed in Vietnam in and around Hue during the Tet Offensive, Land of Sorrow is an account
of a Hue family buffeted by war. It does not concern itself with the Americans or larger geopolitical issues."
Completed in 1975, the film was never released commercially because of sensitivities at the time.
• (Source)
Reviewer Comments: First part of film is at night and dark. Poor quality captioning haunts the entire film.
Many of the daylight scenes of the flight from Hue are interspersed with actual documentary footage.
Veterans of the fighting around Hue will recognize many of the locations, including truck convoy traffic
along QL1 over the Hai Van pass in the opening credits. Bottom Line: Noteworthy as a unique view of that war.
Available from YouTube (Vietnamese w/ English subtitles, 1:42:29)
Post-Cold War
Black Hawk Down (1991)
Trailer
Arguably one of the most realistic small unit combat movie ever made.
No End In Sight (2007)
Trailer
Review (NY Times)
Excellent documentary on how U.S. post-invasion decisions led to chaos in Iraq.
A good primer for those studying the genisis of ISIS.
Background: "Blind Into Baghdad" (James Fallows, The Atlantic, January 1, 2004)
Discussion (video)
The Hurt Locker (2008)
Trailer
Film follows an Iraq War Explosive Ordnance Disposal team targeted by insurgents.
Nominated for nine Academy Awards and won six, including Best Picture ... making it the first Best Picture
winner by a female director, Kathryn Bigelow.
Available on YouTube (2:56:13)
Zero Dark Thirty (2012)
Trailer
Story of
the decade-long manhunt for Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and the military
raid that resulted in his death death on May 2, 2011.
Directed by Kathryn Bigelow and written by Mark Boal, both of whom received Oscars for Hurt Locker in 2009.
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Respect those who came back; honor those who didn't.
Hymn to the Fallen by John Williams
"The Circle of Modern War" and logo
© Thomas D. Pilsch 2016, 2021
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