World War II was the first conflict waged in the global film age. Newsreels kept those on the home front abreast of the battles going on all over the world. War propaganda, like Frank Capra’s Why We Fight series, was a way to deliver information to a film-going populace numbering in the millions. Even as it was happening, films were telling us how we should feel about the war and how the war felt. World War II has always been a fertile ground for stories that creating a list like this one is overwhelming. How can one possibly narrow the genre down to ten films? The answer is one can’t. These films are just a sampling of films that I think should be seen, covering the war from different national perspectives. What would your World War II list include?
Amen to Saving Private Ryan!