WW2 Classics from the 1940s to the late 1990s

Here’s a Chronological WWII Classics List — focusing on the most iconic and critically acclaimed films that capture the war from various perspectives (battlefield, resistance, home front, and POW camps).

1940s – Wartime & Immediate Aftermath

• Mrs. Miniver (1942) – British home-front drama that boosted Allied morale.
• Casablanca (1942) – Romantic drama set against wartime intrigue in Vichy-controlled Morocco.
• In Which We Serve (1942) – Patriotic Royal Navy tale narrated by Noël Coward.
• The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) – A humanistic portrait of a British officer’s career through two world wars.
• Rome, Open City (1945) – Italian neorealist classic about the resistance under Nazi occupation.

1950s – Postwar Heroics & Realism

• The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) – Epic POW drama about building a railway bridge for the Japanese.
• The Dam Busters (1955) – The story of the RAF’s daring low-level bombing raid on German dams.
• Stalag 17 (1953) – POW camp drama with suspense and dark humor.
• Battle of the River Plate (1956) – Naval drama based on the hunt for the German battleship Admiral Graf Spee.
• Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) – Tense submarine thriller starring Clark Gable and Burt Lancaster.

1960s – Large-Scale Epics

• The Guns of Navarone (1961) – Commandos on a mission to destroy massive German guns.
• The Longest Day (1962) – All-star retelling of D-Day from multiple perspectives.
• The Great Escape (1963) – True story of a mass breakout from a German POW camp.
• Battle of Britain (1969) – A sweeping recreation of the aerial battle over Britain.
• Attack on the Iron Coast (1968)
• Where Eagles Dare (1968) – Action-packed commando raid in the Alps with espionage twists.
• The Bridge at Remagen (1969)
• Kelly’s Heroes (1970) – War caper with soldiers hunting Nazi gold.

1970s – Darker & Grittier

• Patton (1970) – Biopic of the brilliant and controversial US general.
• Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970) – Meticulous, dual-perspective account of the Pearl Harbor attack.
• The Eagle Has Landed (1976)
• Cross of Iron (1977) – Sam Peckinpah’s gritty look at the Eastern Front from the German side.
• A Bridge Too Far (1977) – All-star recreation of Operation Market Garden’s failure in the Netherlands.

1980s – Human Cost & Moral Complexity

• Das Boot (1981) – Claustrophobic masterpiece about a German U-boat crew.
• Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983) – POW drama with David Bowie, exploring cultural and emotional conflicts.
• Empire of the Sun (1987) – Spielberg’s coming-of-age story about a boy in a Japanese internment camp in China.

1990s – Modern Epic Storytelling

• Schindler’s List (1993) – Spielberg’s haunting portrayal of the Holocaust.
• Saving Private Ryan (1998) – Revolutionary D-Day depiction and a deeply human mission behind enemy lines.
• The Thin Red Line (1998) – Philosophical, lyrical take on the Battle of Guadalcanal.