Recently, some friends asked for my opinion regarding films about World War II, so I began to compile a list.
Because many of these films were made in the first half of the 20th century, they are not gory or contain images that would be disturbing to most viewers. The standards of filmmaking were very different then. The points are made without the violence and gore. That being said, war is hell and war is bloody and sad and traumatic, but that could be another discussion point-- that the main point(s) portrayed are being done with more emotion than with depictions of violence. These films are still powerful and valuable educational tools.
In this post, I will be listing World War II films that I either used in the classroom or recommended my students watch on their own time. In future posts, I will list films from other eras of American history.
I think they would be a good asset to your homeschool or for educational family viewing.
They are in no particular order!
[affiliate links included]
1) Air Force (1943)
On December 6, 1941 nine B-17 bomber set off on a flight from San Francisco to Hawaii. One of the bombers, the Mary Ann, is commanded by 'Irish' Quincannon. The men are all highly professional with the exception of aerial gunner Joe Winocki, a bitter man who has every intention of leaving the army air corps. They arrive at Hickam Field on the morning of December 7, just as the Japanese are attacking Pearl Harbor and other military facilities. All of the men prepare to face the enemy, including Winocki whose attitude changes quickly. The bomber and its crew will participate in many missions but not all will survive.
2) Bataan (1943)
Japan has just invaded the Phillipines and the US Army attempts a desperate defence. Thirteen men are chosen to blow up a bridge on the Bataan peninsula and keep the Japanese from rebuilding it.
3) Back to Bataan (1945)
In 1942, after the fall of the Philippines to the Japanese, U.S. Army Col. Joseph Madden stays behind to organize the local resistance against the Japanese invaders.
4) Sands of Iwo Jima (1949)
A dramatization of the World War II Battle of Iwo Jima. Marine sergeant John Stryker seems a martinet and a bully as he trains young Marines for combat in the Pacific war. In the end, as survival in the bloody battle of Iwo Jima depends on the lessons Stryker has drilled into them, his troops discover why he was so hard on them.
5) They were Expendable (1945)
A dramatized account of the role of the American PT Boats in the defense of the Philippines in World War II. Shortly after Pearl Harbor, a squadron of PT-boat crews in the Philipines must battle the Navy brass between skirmishes with the Japanese.
6) Halls of Montezuma (1951)
The Marines attack a strongly held enemy island in the Pacific. We follow them from the beach to a Japanese rocket site through enemy infested jungle as their ex-school teacher leader is transformed into a battle veteran and his squad becomes a tight fighting unit.
7) Wake Island (1942)
December, 1941. With no hope of relief or re-supply, a small band of United States Marines try to keep the Japanese Navy from capturing their island base.
8) Objective, Burma! (1945)
A platoon of special ops are tasked to parachute into the remote Burmese jungle and destroy a strategic Japanese radar station, but getting out isn't as easy.
9) Destination Tokyo (1943)
In order to provide information for the first air raid over Tokyo, a U.S. submarine sneaks into Tokyo Bay and places a spy team ashore.
10) The Longest Day (1962)
The events of D-Day, told on a grand scale from both the Allied and German points of view with an all-star cast.
11) Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
After settling his differences with a Japanese PoW camp commander, a British colonel co-operates to oversee his men's construction of a railway bridge for their captors - while oblivious to a plan by the Allies to destroy it.
12) Stalag 17 (1953)
When two escaping American World War II prisoners are killed, the German POW camp barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.
13) The Diary of Anne Frank (1959)
Harrowing story of a young Jewish girl who, with her family and their friends, is forced into hiding in an attic in Nazi-occupied Amsterdam.
14) The Hiding Place (1975)
Corrie and Betsie ten Boom are middle-aged sisters working in their father's watchmaker shop in pre-WWII Holland. Their uneventful lives are disrupted with the coming of the Nazis.
15) Battle of the Bulge (1965)
An all-star cast led by Henry Fonda is featured in the epic dramatization of one of the most important battles of World War II.
16) Thirty Seconds over Tokyo (1944)
Oscar-winning fact-based World War II picture about General Jimmy Doolittle's efforts to train American troops for the first airborne attacks on Japan.
17) The Fighting Sullivans (1944)
They were known as the Fighting Sullivans, and were by far America s most famous sailors. The destruction of their ship in 1942, however, turned this story of national heroism to one of deep tragedy.
18) Midway (1976)
This gripping film interweaves the stories of the soldiers who fought the Battle of Midway, which took place six months after the attack on Pearl Harbor and was a turning point for the U.S.
19) Tora Tora Tora (1970)
Events from the American and Japanese perspectives leading up to and including the Japanese aerial attack on the U.S. Naval base in pearl harbor on December 7, 1941.
20) In Harm's Way (1965)
n all-star cast led by Hen
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