15 Most Accurate WW2 Movies, Ranked

Summary

World War II movies often take artistic liberties with historical events, but some films strive to maintain a high degree of accuracy.
Films like
Saving Private Ryan
and
Hacksaw Ridge
offer gripping stories while accurately depicting the harrowing realities of war.
Dunkirk
and
Tora! Tora! Tora!
provide faithful portrayals of historical events from multiple perspectives, while
Downfall
delves into the complexities of Adolf Hitler’s final days.

Plenty of World War II movies take artistic liberties when recounting their true stories, either to enhance drama or because they are only interested in using historical events as a backdrop for their fictional narratives, but some are historically accurate. There is no shortage of World War II movies with glaring historical inaccuracies, ranging from the reimagined events in Pearl Harbor to the intentionally reconfigured history in Inglourious Basterds that adds comedic action. However, some films stand out for their meticulous attention to historical accuracy. These movies strive to depict events from World War II faithfully.

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Fueled by Adolf Hitler’s invasion of Poland in the autumn of 1939, World War II spanned six years and wrought greater destruction to lives and property worldwide than any previous conflict. The Second World War involved many countries, with major players including Germany, Italy, and Japan on one side and France, Great Britain, the Soviet Union, and the United States on the other. In portraying the broader conflicts and specific battles of World War II, several movies have provided a compelling depiction of the war while maintaining a high degree of historical accuracy.

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15 The Darkest Hour (2017)

Churchill’s Tough Decision In England During World War II

PG-13

Director Chris Gorak Release Date December 22, 2011 Cast Emile Hirsch , Olivia Thirlby , Max Minghella , Rachael Taylor , Joel Kinnaman , Veronika Vernadskaya Runtime 89 minutes Writers Jon Spaihts , Leslie Bohem , M.T. Ahern

While the 2007 biographical war movie The Darkest Hour condenses a large amount of time into what seems like a shorter period, it remains a highly accurate movie about what happens. This biggest inaccuracy was in the persona of Winston Churchill, as Gary Oldman portrayed him. Some fictional traits were added to his personal actions during this moment during World War II (such as the fictional scene on the London Underground). However, the movie portrays Britain at this time during World War II in a highly accurate way.

Gary Oldman won the Oscar for Best Actor for his performance.

As the movie showed, confidence in Churchhill was at a low during World War II, and while some think he always had support, that was not true. The movie showed how hard he had it when making the huge decision concerning the country’s part in World War II. The weight of the decision was also a very heavy part of his light at the time, and the film also showed that accurately. While Churchill was very private behind closed doors, the movie did a great job of showing this specific era of World War II.

14 The Thin Red Line (1998)

Terrence Malick’s Depiction Of The Horrors Of World War II

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Director Terrence Malick Release Date December 23, 1998 Writers James Jones , Terrence Malick Cast Jim Caviezel , Sean Penn , Nick Nolte , Kirk Acevedo , Penelope Allen Runtime 171 Minutes

Terrence Malick returned to filmmaking after a 20-year absence to make The Thin Red Line. The World War II movie is based on the 1962 novel by James Jones, which showed the horrors of fighting in the trenches. The movie had a strong cast, including Adrian Brody, Jim Caviezel, George Clooney, Sean Penn, John Travolta, and many more. However, it was overshadowed by Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, which came out around the same time. Despite that, this movie deserves a watch.

This story is so accurate because James Jones based it on his experiences at the Battle of Mount Austen, the Galloping Horse, and the Sea Horse during World War II’s Guadalcanal campaign. The novel and the movie depict the actual battles realistically and don’t shy away from the more gruesome acts that even the “good” soldiers undertook during wartime. The movie also goes further than many other World War II movies when showing images of the dead and wounded in a highly realistic manner.

13 Valkyrie (2008)

Tom Cruise Stars In The Retelling Of Nazi Dissenters

valkyrie

Director Bryan Singer Release Date December 25, 2008 Writers Bryan Singer Cast Tom Cruise , Eddie Izzard , Bill Nighy , Kenneth Branagh

Tom Cruise caused some controversy when he starred in Valkyrie as a German army Colonel who conspired against Nazi Germany during World War II. Cruise’s casting alone as the German military man caused many people to immediately question the accuracy of this World War II movie. However, Cruise and the movie’s production team worked hard to make the depiction of Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg as close to realistic as possible. When it comes to the actual events, the movie is highly accurate.

The film is about Operation Valkyrie, an emergency plan to take control of the country away from Hitler’s allies during World War II. The costumes, props, and vehicles are all authentic for the time and are some of the best in any WWII movie. The plans and details of the conspiracy were also accurate and based on the Gestapo investigation at the time, which was highly documented. All the facts are accurate, and while the movie shows they were closer to success than they really were, it sticks to the facts most of the time.

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12 Twelve O’Clock High (1949)

A Movie Based On The 306th Bomb Group In World War II

Twelve O’Clock High is a war movie that came out in 1949 when the thoughts of World War II were still fresh on the world’s minds. The movie itself is based on Colonel Frank A. Armstrong, who commanded the 306th Bomb Group, in which Brig. Gen. Frank Savage and his 918th were modeled. While this is a fictionalized account of actual events, director Henry King stayed close to historical accuracy when depicting the war itself. All the characters are based on real people, and the events that happened in the actual war are

What really helped the movie rise above others of its era was that it was praised as an accurate portrayal of the effects that the constant and heavy bombing had on the pilots during World War II. This was not a group of flyboys who glamorized their missions. Instead, it shows the horrors of war and how it psychologically impacted even the men who came out as the victors. The movie also used actual footage of combat missions shot during World War II, adding to the realism of the scenes.

11 A Bridge Too Far (1977)

A Movie About A Failed Allied Operation In World War II

A Bridge Too Far (1977)

Director Richard Attenborough Release Date June 15, 1977 Writers Cornelius Ryan , William Goldman Cast Sean Connery , Ryan O’Neal , Michael Caine , Laurence Olivier , Siem Vroom , Marlies van Alcmaer , Wolfgang Preiss , Hans von Borsody

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Most war movies show the Allied Forces in action, defeating their enemies and helping to win World War II. However, a rare example of this not happening comes in Richard Attenborough’s A Bridge Too Far, which was instead on a failed Allied operation. The movie is based on this historical novel by Cornelius Ryan, and the cast had some of the top stars of the 1970s, including Sean Connery, James Caan, Anthony Hopkins, Michael Caine, Robert Redford, and more.

A Bridge Too Far won four BAFTAs with eight nominations.

This was an early big-budget movie about Operation Market Garden, which means it needed to include heroics and big “heroes,” but it was still a movie about a failed mission. The film runs for three hours, and Attenborough watched actual historical footage from the Imperial War Museum and worked on recreating it from that (via Military-History.com). The movie also closely sticks to the historical events and doesn’t embellish too much outside of clearly fictional relationships and discussions between characters.

10 Saving Private Ryan (1997)

A Fictional Story With a Historically Accurate Portrayal Of The Omaha Beach Assault

Release Date July 24, 1998 Director Steven Spielberg Cast Tom Sizemore , adam goldberg , Vin Diesel , Tom Hanks , Edward Burns , Matt Damon Runtime 169 minutes Writers Robert Rodat

With an ensemble cast that includes Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, and Vin Diesel, Saving Private Ryan recounts the story of a group of U.S. soldiers on a mission to retrieve one of their own and relieve him of duty. While the film’s characters are fictional, they draw inspiration from real individuals. Damon’s titular character, for instance, is loosely based on U.S. military paratrooper Fritz Niland.

According to History.com, the film presents a highly accurate portrayal of the harrowing Omaha Beach assault, making it one of the best D-Day movies. Director Steven Spielberg meticulously recreated the events, from the aircraft to the authentic sound effects used for the gunfire.

However, several elements of the film, particularly the crew’s daytime crossing of enemy lines to find Private Ryan, did not happen, as it would have exposed them to significant risk. Even more, the battle of Ramelle is entirely invented for the movie. One of the most notable discrepancies in Saving Private Ryan is that Fritz Niland was not hard to find, at least not in the same way as portrayed in the film, although similar situations did occur during the war.

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9 Hacksaw Ridge (2016)

A Faithful Telling Of The True Story Of The Pacifist World War II Hero Desmond Doss

Release Date October 7, 2016 Director Mel Gibson Cast Sam Worthington , Rachel Griffiths , Richard Roxburgh , Andrew Garfield , Teresa Palmer , matt nable , Vince Vaughn , Luke Bracey , Nathaniel Buzolic , Hugo Weaving , Ryan Corr Runtime 139 minutes Writers Robert Schenkkan , Andrew Knight

Hacksaw Ridge is a gripping portrayal of the remarkable true story of Desmond Doss, a combat medic during World War II who staunchly adhered to his religious beliefs and refused to bear arms, yet still heroically saved 75 men in the heat of battle. According to NPR, the film is commendably accurate in its depiction of Doss’s wartime experiences, especially the relentless mistreatment he endured from fellow soldiers who sought to force him out of their company.

It also faithfully recreates the Battle of Okinawa, meticulously capturing the treacherous terrain characterized by steep cliffs and numerous hidden perils. Nonetheless, Hacksaw Ridge does take some creative liberties, with one notable example being the invention of a backstory for Doss’s pacifism.

The film suggests that Doss’s commitment to nonviolence was rooted in a traumatic incident where his father threatened his mother with a gun, a narrative that doesn’t align with historical records. It also contains an inaccurate representation of how grenades work, which is one of the things movies always get wrong about war.

8 The Longest Day (1962)

An Accurate Depiction Of D-Day From The Perspectives Of Both Sides

Release Date October 4, 1962 Director Ken Annakin , Andrew Marton , Bernhard Wicki , Darryl F. Zanuck Runtime 178 minutes Writers Cornelius Ryan , Romain Gary , James Jones , David Pursall , Jack Seddon

offers an accurate recreation of the events of D-Day from the perspective of both the Allied forces and Axis powers. This technically stunning film boasts an ensemble cast of iconic stars including Robert Mitchum, Henry Fonda, Richard Burton, John Wayne, and Sean Connery. The movie impressively captures the authentic essence of the real events, including the reservations held by both sides, the complete surprise of the attacks, and the invaluable assistance provided by French civilians.

Time notes that the harrowing scene of a paratrooper becoming entangled in a church tower actually transpired during the operation. One egregious omission, however, is the absence of representation for Black soldiers. However, despite that change, the movie’s depictions of the war itself are all highly accurate and present a great look at the battles during the terrible events of D-Day from everyone involved.

7 Dunkirk (2017)

An Accurate Depiction Of The Dunkirk Evacuation From The Perspectives Of Fictional Characters.

PG-13

Release Date July 21, 2017 Director Christopher Nolan Cast Kenneth Branagh , Aneurin Barnard , Mark Rylance , Tom Hardy , James D’Arcy , Jack Lowden , Cillian Murphy , Harry Styles , Fionn Whitehead , Barry Keoghan Runtime 106 minutes Writers Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk vividly portrays the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the titular French region after being encircled by the German army. While the characters in the film are fictional, Slate notes that the representation of the evacuation is quite faithful to the real historical events of the Dunkirk evacuation. A significant aspect that the film accurately depicts is the limited one-hour operational time of Royal Air Force planes due to their small fuel capacity.

Additionally, the film effectively captures the confrontations between British soldiers and French soldiers desperate to escape after the French chose to hold their troops back. There was also great praise coming from Air Force officer Lt. Col. Matt Ziemann, who pointed out the “extremely accurate” dogfight sequences. He praised the use of real aircraft during the scenes and said that Nolan “nailed” certain aspects of actual flying tactics employed in these dogfight battles.

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6 Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)

A Fairly Accurate Depiction Of The Attack on Pearl Harbor From Both Sides

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Release Date September 23, 1970 Director Richard Fleischer , Kinji Fukasaku , Toshio Masuda Cast Martin Balsam , Sô Yamamura , Jason Robards , Joseph Cotten , Tatsuya Mihashi , E.G. Marshall , Takahiro Tamura , James Whitmore Runtime 144 Minutes Writers Larry Forrester , Hideo Oguni , Ryûzô Kikushima , Gordon W. Prange , Ladislas Farago , Akira Kurosawa

Named after the code words used by Japanese pilots to signal the commencement of their attack, Tora! Tora! Tora! provides a comprehensive look at the days leading up to the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor, shown from both the American and Japanese viewpoints. According to Daily History, while the film does have a few notable instances of the wrong aircraft models being used and combines multiple events in an attempt to streamline the narrative, it is fairly accurate.

The film largely succeeds in capturing the surprise experienced by the Americans, as well as conveying Japan’s planning of the attack and the underlying political tensions that led to it. While the later Michael Bay movie Pearl Harbor is often criticized for its unrealistic portrayal of everything but the bombing, this is a movie that most critics and historians admit got most of it right as the fateful day approached American soil.

5 Patton (1970)

An Accurate Portrayal Of World War II Operations Led By General George S. Patton

Release Date April 2, 1970 Director Franklin J. Schaffner Runtime 172 Minutes Writers Ladislas Farago , Omar N. Bradley , Francis Ford Coppola , Edmund H. North

Patton is a biopic about General George S. Patton, a prominent figure in the U.S. Army who commanded several troops during World War II. According to The Guardian, the film made no attempt to obfuscate history. Notably, one scene in which Patton visits a field hospital and berates a young soldier for perceived cowardice reflects a real incident that nearly jeopardized the general’s career, though the real subsequent apology was less contrived.

Pattonexcels in capturing General Patton’s larger-than-life personality, his outspokenness, and his remarkable leadership skills. Moreover, it masterfully portrays the intensity of the battles he led his troops through and the actual military operations that were executed. This is a case where there is plenty of information surrounding the man showcased in the movie, and for a biographical epic about a legendary military figure, it got more right than it did wrong in this case.

4 Letters From Iwo Jima (2006)

A Faithful Depiction Of The Battle Of Iwo Jima From The Japanese Perspective

Release Date February 2, 2007 Director Clint Eastwood Cast Ken Watanabe , Kazunari Ninomiya , Tsuyoshi Ihara , Ryo Kase , Shido Nakamura , Hiroshi Watanabe , Takumi Bando , Yuki Matsuzaki Runtime 141 Minutes Writers Iris Yamashita , Paul Haggis , Tadamichi Kuribayashi , Tsuyoko Yoshido

Clint Eastwood’s Letters from Iwo Jima follows the battle and subsequent capture of the island of Iwo Jima by American soldiers from the viewpoint of the Japanese. According to Coffee or Die Magazine, while many of the characters in the film are fictional, the portrayal of events is notably faithful to the facts. One particular accurate detail is the limited choice Japanese soldiers had when it came to military service.

Letters from Iwo Jima excels in various other aspects as well, including the weaponry employed, its depiction of the battle events, and the faithful representation of the island’s challenging terrain. At the same time, Eastwood also made a version of the movie from the American point of view called Flags of Our Fathers, but that movie received criticism for the portrayal of the flag-raisers, which turned out to be wrong in the film. However, Eastwood received great praise for Iwo Jima.

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3 Das Boot (1981)

A Faithful Depiction Of a German U-96 Submarine Crew During World War II

Release Date February 10, 1982 Director Wolfgang Petersen Cast Jurgen Prochnow , Herbert Grönemeyer , Klaus Wennemann , Hubertus Bengsch , Martin Semmelrogge , Bernd Tauber , Erwin Leder , Martin May Runtime 149 Minutes Writers Wolfgang Petersen , Lothar G. Buchheim

This tense, claustrophobic film follows a German submarine and its crew navigating the perils of life below the surface after being detected by British forces. Das Boot draws from the real-life experiences of Lothar-Günther Buchheim, and two authentic veterans who served on a U-96 submarine were consultants on the film as well. This was something that the filmmakers set out to ensure was as historically accurate as possible for the film.

According to SlashFilm, the filmmakers painstakingly used reference photos of the U-96 submarine model to recreate sets that closely mirrored the actual vessel. Das Boot offers a nuanced portrayal of German soldiers, especially those who held anti-Nazi sentiments, and an adept depiction of the unrelenting stress faced in such dire circumstances. The movie’s honest depiction of World War II allowed it to receive six Oscar nominations, including two for Wolfgang Petersen.

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2 Come And See (1985)

A Remarkably Accurate Portrayal Of The Emotional Tolls Of War.

Release Date October 17, 1985 Director Elem Klimov Cast Aleksei Kravchenko , Olga Mironova , Liubomiras Laucevicius , Vladas Bagdonas , Jüri Lumiste Runtime 142 Minutes Writers Elem Klimov , Ales Adamovich

One of the most harrowing war movies of all time, the Soviet film Come and See provides a stark perspective on the Nazi occupation of Belarus, recounted through the eyes of a young teenager who becomes involved in the resistance movement. According to Real History, the film is remarkably accurate, a quality attributed to its co-writer, Ales Adamovich, whose own childhood experiences closely parallel those of the movie’s central character.

The film not only achieves historical accuracy but goes beyond it to delve into the emotional tolls of war, concentrating on the relentless struggle for survival of one young boy. The movie has also held up through the test of time. With a 90% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, the movie is praised as not only a harrowing and frightening anti-war movie but one that is unapologetic in its depiction of what things were really like during this time in World War II concerning the crimes on the Eastern Front.

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1 Downfall (2004)

A Faithful Portrayal Of Adolf Hitler During His And Nazi Germany’s Final Days.

Release Date September 8, 2004 Director Oliver Hirschbiegel Cast Bruno Ganz , Alexandra Maria Lara , Corinna Harfouch , Ulrich Matthes , Juliane Köhler , Heino Ferch Runtime 150 minutes

With brilliant performances and shocking realism, Oliver Hirschbiegel’s Downfall depicts the final days in the life of Adolf Hitler as he witnesses the collapse of the Nazi party. According to The Guardian, the film is highly authentic thanks to a lot of research on the circumstances, people, and even the visual accuracy of various locations linked to these real events.

Beyond its historical accuracy, Downfallexcels in portraying the complexities of Hitler’s character and the dynamics of those around him during this pivotal period. This also caused the movie to receive criticism. It tried to humanize Hitler, which was important in showing how the downfall of his empire destroyed him and his Nazi party, but that caused great debate from people who felt historical accuracy didn’t need to humanize a “monster as a human being” (via NBC News).

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Category: Entertainment