War: 96

The Good German (2006), an American neo-noir crime film, was directed by Steven Soderbergh and based on Joseph Kanon’s 2001 novel of the same name. It follows Jacob Geismer, an American war correspondent for The New Republic, as he returns to Berlin during the Potsdam negotiations after World War II in Europe (May 1945), but before the end of hostilities in Asia (August 1945). While there, he witnesses his driver Tully’s murder and discovers that Tully had been involved in black-market activities. As Geismer investigates further, he becomes entangled in the ...

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) is a Japanese-language American war film directed and co-produced by Clint Eastwood. It tells the story of the Battle of Iwo Jima from the perspective of the Japanese soldiers and serves as a complement to Eastwood’s Flags of Our Fathers, which portrays the same battle from the American viewpoint. Both films were shot back to back. In 2005, Japanese archaeologists discover something in the dirt while exploring tunnels on Iwo Jima. The year is 1944. Private First Class Saigo, a conscripted baker who longs for his wife and newborn ...

The American war drama film, Flags of Our Fathers (2006), was directed, co-produced, and scored by Clint Eastwood and written by William Broyles Jr. and Paul Haggis. It is based on the book of the same name written by James Bradley and Ron Powers about the 1945 Battle of Iwo Jima. The story follows the five Marines and one Navy corpsman involved in raising the flag on Iwo Jima and explores the impact it had on their lives. ...

Annapolis (2006), an American drama directed by Justin Lin, follows the story of Jake Huard. After being knocked down in a boxing match, Huard wakes up and heads home where his distant father and employer doubts his potential. Despite this, Lieutenant Commander Burton visits Huard to inform him of his acceptance to the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland. While celebrating at a bar with friends, they introduce him to Ali, who they claim is a prostitute hired as a going-away present. However, Huard’s attempts to seduce Ali fail and he leaves frustrated after saying goodbye to his father. On his first day at ...

Jarhead (2005), the American war drama film, is based on Anthony Swofford’s 2003 memoir of the same title. Following the footsteps of his father who served in Vietnam, Anthony enlists in the United States Marine Corps and is sent to Camp Pendleton, California. Though he initially joined the military as an alternative to college, Anthony struggles to fit in at Camp Pendleton and faces difficulty making friends. Despite faking illness to avoid responsibilities, Anthony catches the eye of Staff Sergeant Sykes, who recognizes his potential and offers him a spot at his highly competitive Scout Sniper course. After ...

Head in the Clouds (2004) is a war drama film written and directed by John Duigan. The original screenplay focuses on the tough decisions young lovers must make in the face of growing political turmoil in late-1930s Europe. Unfortunately, the film was both a critical and financial disappointment. In 1924 Paris, 14-year-old Gilda Bessé is the daughter of a French aristocrat and an emotionally unstable American mother. A fortune teller predicts that her life will end at age 34. Years later, during a rainstorm in 1933, Gilda seeks refuge in the room of Guy Malyon, an Irish first-year student at Cambridge University. After ...

The Silence of the Sea (2004), a French-Belgian TV drama film directed by Pierre Boutron, is an adaptation of the novel with the same title written by Jean Bruller (using the pseudonym ‘Vercors’) in 1942. Set during the Second World War, it depicts the dynamics between a Frenchman and his granddaughter and a German captain who occupies their home during the German occupation of France. France, 1941. Amidst the Nazi Occupation, a German Wehrmacht captain named Werner von Ebrennac seeks lodging from a man and his ...

Beyond Borders (2003) is an American romantic-drama film directed by Martin Campbell, following the story of aid workers. During a fund-raising gala, Sarah Jordan, a married American socialite residing in England, witnesses an impassioned speech given by Dr. Nick Callahan – a rebel humanitarian. His plea for the impoverished children under his care has a profound impact on Sarah’s life. She becomes captivated by Nick and his cause, leading her to leave her job at an art gallery and comfortable life in England to assist him at the refugee camps. Her journey takes her to Ethiopia, where she arrives with ...

The American war film We Were Soldiers (2002), written and directed by Randall Wallace and starring Mel Gibson, tells the story of a group of soldiers faced with an ambush from the Viet Minh during the First Indochina War in 1954. Eleven years later, in 1965, US Army Lieutenant Colonel Hal Moore is tasked with training and leading a battalion during the Vietnam War. When their base is attacked, Moore’s 400 men are ordered to pursue and eliminate the North Vietnamese attackers, despite being unaware of their numbers according to intelligence reports. Upon landing in ...

Live from Baghdad (2002) is an American TV war drama film directed by Mick Jackson and co-written by Robert Wiener, based on his book of the same name. On August 2, 1990, Iraqi forces invade Kuwait City, prompting CNN to select Wiener and his team for coverage. At the Rome International Airport, Wiener meets his producer Ingrid Formanek before arriving in Baghdad on August 23 and settling into their rooms at the Al-Rasheed Hotel. However, they soon realize they are being monitored. Their first story focuses on a young British boy being held captive by Saddam Hussein. As ...

John Madden directed Captain Corelli’s Mandolin (2001), a war film based on Louis de Bernières‘ 1994 novel of the same name. The Italian Army, accompanied by a few Germans, occupies Greece’s Ionian Islands and takes over the peaceful island of Cephalonia. The island’s inhabitants surrender quickly. Among the invaders is Captain Antonio Corelli of the Italian 33rd Acqui Infantry Division. He is known for his cheerful personality and love for playing the mandolin. Despite his troops never having fired a shot before, he teaches them to sing in ...

The British drama film, Charlotte Gray (2001), directed by Gillian Armstrong, is based on the 1999 novel of the same name by Sebastian Faulks. In 1942, a young Scot, Charlotte Gray, travels to London to work in a surgery. During her train ride, she meets Richard Cannerley who is intrigued by her fluency in French and gives her his business card for a book launch party. At the party, Cannerley introduces Charlotte to his acquaintances and asks her to keep in touch. Later on, she enters into a brief romance with Royal Air Force Flight Lieutenant Peter Gregory whom she met ...

Band of Brothers (2001), an American war drama miniseries, is based on historian Stephen E. Ambrose’s 1992 non-fiction book of the same name. It was created and executive produced by Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks, who had previously collaborated on the 1998 World War II film Saving Private Ryan. Across ten episodes, Band of Brothers follows Easy Company’s experiences during the war. These include their training at Camp Toccoa, participation in the Normandy landings, Operation Market Garden, ...

The film Pearl Harbor (2001) was directed by Michael Bay and produced by both Bay and Jerry Bruckheimer. Written by Randall Wallace, the story takes place in Tennessee in 1923 where two close friends, Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker, often play together in Danny’s father’s old biplane, pretending to be heroic pilots. Danny’s father is a World War One Veteran struggling with PTSD. Fast forward to January 1941 during the height of World War II, both Rafe and ...

Black Hawk Down (2001) is a war film directed and produced by Ridley Scott, co-produced by Jerry Bruckheimer, and written by Ken Nolan. Based on journalist Mark Bowden’s 1999 book of the same name, it revolves around the events of 1992 when the United Nations Security Council authorized a military operation with a peacekeeping mandate in southern Somalia during the civil war and famine. However, tensions arise between UNOSOM II and Mogadishu’s militia loyal to ...

U-571 (2000), a submarine film directed by Jonathan Mostow and co-written by Sam Montgomery and David Ayer, takes place during the Battle of the Atlantic in 1942. After successfully sinking an Allied convoy ship, German U-boat U-571 is heavily damaged by depth charges from a British destroyer. The boat’s captain, Kapitänleutnant Günther Wassner, sends out a distress call which is picked up by American intelligence. In response, the US Navy modifies their submarine S-33 to resemble a German supply vessel in order to ...

Men of Honor (2000) is an American drama film directed by George Tillman Jr. In the movie, Carl Brashear leaves his life as a sharecropper in Kentucky behind to join the United States Navy in 1949. Prior to leaving, he made a promise to his father that he would never give up and would fight for what he wants. Carl serves on the USS Hoist as part of the crew, working in the galley. During his time on the ship, he witnesses Master Chief Petty Officer Leslie William ‘Billy’ Sunday’s courageous actions as he rescues a diver who had fallen overboard without an air line. Unfortunately, Sunday suffers from an ...

American filmmaker David O. Russell released Three Kings (1999), a darkly humorous war movie based on a story by John Ridley. Set after the Gulf War, it follows a group of bored U.S. soldiers tasked with wrapping up loose ends. To pass the time, they throw wild parties at night. Among them is Major Archie Gates, an Army Special Forces soldier who trades sex for stories with journalist Cathy Daitch. Their escapades are interrupted by Adriana Cruz, a TV reporter assigned to their unit. During a search of an Iraqi officer, Sergeant First Class Troy Barlow and his best friend ...

The Thin Red Line (1998), an American epic war film by Terrence Malick, is the second adaptation of James Jones’ 1962 novel. Private Witt of the United States Army goes AWOL in 1942 and lives amongst Melanesian natives in the South Pacific. However, he is eventually discovered and confined on a troopship by First Sergeant Welsh. Due to his actions, Witt is not allowed to rejoin his unit and is instead assigned as a stretcher bearer for an upcoming campaign. C Company, led by Capt. James Staros, has been called to Guadalcanal to reinforce the efforts in securing ...

The director Steven Spielberg and writer Robert Rodat collaborated on Saving Private Ryan (1998), an epic American war film. During the Normandy invasion on June 6, 1944, the U.S. Army faced heavy losses at Omaha Beach from German artillery and machine gun fire. Amidst the chaos, Captain John H. Miller of the 2nd Ranger Battalion takes charge of a surviving group and strategically infiltrates behind enemy lines for a successful victory. Unfortunately, word reaches the United States Department of War that three out of four Ryan brothers have been killed in action, with ...