Movies 'n stuff

This started as a list of tank-related movies I watched and enjoyed, in order of having viewed them. As my interests has temporarily diverged to submarines, this list has now evolved to include those and also more general war-movies (or documentaries) .

Movies


Only display rating 5 - 4 - 3 - 2 - 1 or higher.

My Rating

Fury (2014)

 
Some aspects of tank combat and tactics in this movie may be portrayed incorrect (or plain wrong), but they are without a doubt impressive and it's cool to see Tiger 131, the only running Tiger left in the world (even though their myth scared more ppl than they deserved).
 

T-34 (2019)

Again, exaggerations a-plenty, but I highly recommend this one.
 

Panfilov's 28 men (2016)

Excellent, crowd-funded Russian movie. Short review.
 

The Beast (of war) (1988)

Saying I enjoyed the movie is probably not something you should say, given the portrayed atrocities. I was half tempted to stop watching only 5 minutes in.
The tank (T-55) is referred to as "The Beast" by the Afghans, but it may as well refer to the tank commander. #tanksDontKillPeoplePeopleDo
 

Greyhound (2020)

The action starts a few minutes in and doesn't stop until the end of the movie. Tom Hanks in a very good role.
 

Dunkirk (2017)

Saints and Soldiers (2003)

The Dam Busters (1955)

An older one, but thoroughly enjoyable. Definitely learned something, even though I have no idea about historical accuracy.
I did learn afterwards that the entire operation yielded little results in disturbing the German war production in the Ruhr valley.
 

Midway (2019)

1917 (2019)

D-Day: the Battle of Omaha Beach (2019)

Das Boot (1981)

Both book and movie much criticized by actual submariners, but ... a classic!

Saints and Soldiers: Airborne Creed (2012)

Saints and Soldiers: The Void (2014)

Unexpectedly turned out to be a tank(destroyer) movie. Pleasant surprise!

Down Periscope (1996)

I knew it was going to be a parody, but was hoping for some good interior and exterior sub shots. Was not disappointed.

U-571 (2000)

Not a true story (for the U-571), but based on comparable missions the Allies ran to recover an Enigma machine.

Le Chant du loup / The Wolf's Call (2019)



Documentaries

My Rating

The World at War (1973 - 26 episodes)

A classic, but the best I've seen yet. If you want to know what happened and have limited time (even though this is a hefty series), watch this one and skip all the others.
 

WWII: Battles Won and Lost (8 episodes)

NatGeo
I liked the format of the 2 guys using a tactical table to move pieces around.
I guess I learned a lot from specific campaigns or battles, but I did not like the jumping back and forth, not only from Japan to Germany to Australia, but also to different time periods within the same episode. It felt random and plain confusing. Some video material was also reused more than a few times. I saw the same scene of Japanese soldiers landing on a beach in Burma, Guadalcanal and several other places.
 

WW2: Hell Under the Sea (3 seasons - 18 episodes)

NatGeo
Very enjoyable series for those new to submarine warfare. Not much technical stuff, more historical anecdotes.
In typical NatGeo style, my 2 points of critique are :
  • Too many and too long recaps after the commercial breaks. These 45 minute episodes could easily be 10 minutes shorter.
  • Repetitive animation. I realize animations cost money, but using the same one 5-10 times per episode across 2 seasons gets on my nerves. It was clear that season 3 had extra budget for a few extra scenes.

Nazi Megastructures (6 seasons - 34 episodes)

NatGeo
Learned a lot about many aspects of the war I wasn't familiar with. Good mix of historical footage versus present day remnants and also between the engineering and the campaigns they were related to.
 

Secret Nazi bases (2019 - 6 episodes)

Discovery
I like a good mystery, but when watching a documentary about one, I prefer them being solved at least partially by the end of the episode. This series asked a lot of questions, but answers few.
 

Hitler's last stand (2018 - 2 seasons, 10 episodes)

NatGeo
A spotlight on a few important, yet often brutal, campaigns and skirmished near the end of the war. The German army is retreating but making the Allies pay for every inch.

Annoyances : they used 1 Sherman and 1 Centurion throughout the series. The Centurion serves as Tiger, Stug III, a US anti-tank gun, and many more ... Also, the use of the same actor portraying at least 4 different German officers.
 

Drain the Oceans (2018 - 3 seasons, 35 episodes)

NatGeo
At least half of the episodes deal with something war-related. Some of the other are also quite interesting.
 

Tanks - Evolution of a Legend (2004 - 12 episodes)

YouTube
Some repetition of facts between episodes, but if you spot it, its because your tank-knowledge is improving :-).
 

War heroes of the sky (2013 - 6 episodes)

NatGeo
The life and career of some of the Allied Fighter Aces.

War factories (2019 - 2 seasons - 16 episodes)

Discovery
The amount and bravery of soldiers may be important, but a big factor to winning any war is the rate and quality of production on the factory floor, be it planes, tanks or handguns.


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