WWII Movies: Lest we forget

September 1 marks the day World War II began. Here’s a look at some the most memorable World War II films that got us uncomfortably close to the action

September 01, 2016 08:28 pm | Updated February 22, 2023 10:22 pm IST

The Pianist (2002)

Based on an autobiographical memoir by Polish-Jewish music composer Wladyslaw Szpilam, the movie is a heart-wrenching tale of a survivor. Played by Adrien Brody, the storyline follows his attempts at surviving in a small apartment after he’s kicked out of home. Roman Polanski, himself a war survivor having escaped from the Krakow ghetto at age eight, directed this moving tale.

The movie bagged many awards in 2002 including the Palme d’ Or at Cannes. Brody’s captivating performance as the pianist also got him an Oscar.

Fury (2014)

This Brad Pitt-starrer that was directed by David Ayer, realisitically captured what happens on the battlefield. There is bloodshed, terror and drama, all packed in with moving performances. The director is said to have been influenced by the services of veterans in his family.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Often regarded as the greatest war film ever (#1 greatest war film in UK’s Channel 4 ’s 2005 poll), this 1998 WWII masterpiece is the feather on director Steven Spielberg’s already well-decorated cap. Though most people remember the film for the elaborate opening war scene depicting the Omaha Beach Landings (called the “best battle scene of all time” by Empire Magazine ), in time, it has grown into an unforgettable tale of holding honour and pride in the face of a ruthless, faceless war.

A film that still looks cutting-edge eight years after its release, there’s a reason why George Bush considers it his most favourite film.

Casablanca (1942)

Forget the often wrongly-quoted, “Play it again, Sam.” Or Humphrey Bogart’s effortless charm and Ingrid Bergman’s arresting presence. There is a scene in Casablanca where after German officers at the cafe sing a patriotic song, they are made to listen to La Marseillaise, when Victor Laszlo orders the band to play the song. The other actors in the scene are part of the French film industry who are fleeing their homeland to make it to the U.S.

It is with this background that we see people who are real-life refugees at the time of making the film, who sing the French national anthem, with the kind of gusto that only people who are fleeing their homes forever could.

Schindler’s List (1993)

Of all of Spielberg’s War films, Schindler’s List stands out as being the most gripping and profound. It is honest, sincere and moving. The 17-minute long liquidation of the ghetto scene was one of the most horrifying visuals of cinematic history, and the way it was shot made the audience look at individual members, instead of a crowd.

And the little girl in the red coat. Who could forget that? It was Spielberg’s way of depicting the bloodshed of the genocide and Schindler’s change of heart.

Flags of our Fathers (2006) & Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)

Both of Clint Eastwood’s war films have a unique aspect to them — they both released in the same year and are companion films. While Flags of our Fathers was sombre and shrewd, Letters from Iwo Jima was dramatic. The former was the story of the soldiers who first planted a flag on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima, a universal symbol of victory. And the latter was more personal — the glorification of war was more muted and restrained in this.

But they both dealt with the horrors war throws in the way of people. A soldier is thrown off a ship, in Flags of Our Fathers , as the invasion begins. His mates cheer and boo him thinking he will be rescued, but he is left to die.

Pearl Harbor (2001)

Considering how most war films become favourites with critics and historians alike, here’s a film that disappointed both equally. Coming from the makers of films like The Rock and Bad Boys , Pearl Harbour lacked the subtlety and sensitivity you look for in a film that’s based on the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941. But what it lacked in drama, it made up for in craft, with it winning an award for sound editing at the Oscars. Not surprisingly, the film marked the first occurrence of a Worst-Picture-Golden-Raspberry-nominated film winning an Oscar.

Von Ryan’s Express (1965)

In a scene in Von Ryan’s Express , the POWs after having taken over the train they are being transported in, realise that their train is going to German-occupied Austria. They need to change the route to Switzerland. When the train arrives at Bologna, it is with a forged document and successful imitation of Nazi officials that they manage this.

The entire scene is grimly funny. It is unimaginable to think that someone would have gotten away with such antics, but quite believable that someone would have gone to those lengths to escape the Germans, especially given that one of the actors, Michael Goodcliffe, was an actual POW.

The Great Dictator (1940)

“Soldiers! don’t give yourselves to brutes — men who despise you, enslave you, who regiment your lives, tell you what to do, what to think and what to feel! Who drill you, diet you — treat you like cattle, use you as cannon fodder. Don’t give yourselves to these unnatural men — machine men with machine minds and machine hearts! You are not machines! You are not cattle! You are men! You have the love of humanity in your hearts! You don’t hate! Only the unloved hate — the unloved and the unnatural! Soldiers! Don’t fight for slavery! Fight for liberty!”

This is only a part of the iconic speech that Charlie Chaplin gives in the climax of The Great Dictator . He picks apart every part of why a dictator is the worst person to follow and also lays to rest the excuse that soldiers are just men following orders.

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