Talk:List of World War II films

Help Required

Hey guys any help would be fantastic. I also refer to developing stronger restrictions. --Spud85 14:16, 9 March 2006 (UTC)

Are war films that came out during the war purposely left off this list (or in other words, why does the list start in 1946?) MikeBriggs 13:21, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

I just add some films to the list, and i was thinking about two films from Russian director Aleksandr Sokurov : The Sun and Moloch.

Also, Spud85, i'm ready for any help you need ! I think MikeBriggs bring an interesting question about adding the films that were made during the war. --Kakihara2046 15:13, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

I've started on the war time films, in table format. Eventually I think the whole thing should go to table, but not quite yet. I have tried to be discrminating in what I list, excluding spy films, documenties, shorts, and cartoons, and leaving it to feature narritive films. OK with ya'll?--Dudeman5685 04:39, 30 September 2006 (UTC)

What to leave in, what to exclude?

I getting into a bit of a crisis of conscience as to what to include under films made during the war. I had already said that I would exclude spy films, or things that do not directly concern the war, however the line is difficult to draw. On the one hand films made during the war, but not technically speaking, "war" films include things like Caseblanca or Rosie the Riveter, which have a degree of artistic and historical value, even though they are about spies or the Home Front.

On th other, I don't want somebody adding Indiana Jones to the list on this basis. Perhaps it would be better to create another list for movies made during the war?--Dudeman5685 19:18, 1 October 2006 (UTC)

- You did a very good job, Dudeman ! Adding the films made during the war is in a way "our duty" =) In my opinion, this page has to list all the films related to World War II (made during and after the war), including :

- "pure" war films - films about the causes and the consequences of the war (like Germania anno zero) - films related to an important personnality of the war - films about the Holocaust - spy / resistance films

I don't totally agree with this part of your contribution : " Excludes non-fictional documenteries, shorts and animation. " There are animation films who are strongly related to war (Hotaru no haka, or Der Fuehrer's Face during the war) and who should be considered "films" too! Also, non-fictional documentaries could be interesting .. but maybe in another section (List of WW2 related footages ?) I agree that the Indiana Jones have not really something to do with the war .. It's quite difficult to define in which category each film need to be put, and if they really belong to this section. If you want to discuss which films you want to put or to erase, let's go !^^ --Kakihara2046 15:12, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

I've been considering creating a seperate category for "official" Allied propaganda films made in WW2. Of course many Hollywood movies from that period are propaganda, but I think that the ones commission by government and semi-governmental agencies (Why We Fight, Your Job in Germany etc.) are sufficiatly disticnt to have list of their own.

Possibly other categories that could have their own list: Holocaust films (a large genre, but a good, narrow definition); films depicting the Third Reich (Swing Kids, Sound of Music).

Not sure were to put animated films.--70.112.236.174 20:33, 4 October 2006 (UTC)

I add some directors' names on the 50's films, and i made a table for the 60's films. Very good work done for the others films !

How can we define movies like Where Eagles dare or The dirty dozen ? Spy movies ? Something like " British and American infiltration on Germany" or "Operations behind enemy lines" ?

Also, i don't know how to put all the dates (1960s : 1960-1961-1962..) in one group, with the little "+" and the Javascript code. It would be more presentable !

About the categories, there're all on this page > [1]

The best thing will be to merge all the categories together : a link to this page (List of World War II films) on the Category of World War II films, then erasing all the films listed on the page. I wanted to do it, but i don't know how to edit the page ..

And for the animated films, i put them on the same level of "real snapshots" films, so i think we can put them into the list too. --Kakihara2046 15:12, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

I'm not quite sure what you mean about the "categories" perhaps there was a miscomunication. I beleive we should keep the wiki categories as they are; but I think at least two seperate new lists shuld be created: Official Allied Propaganda films and Holocaust films. These two are distict enough to be put on a seperate list.

I have frankly come to the conclusion that most spy films should probably get on THIS list, as the intelligence war and resistence were inseperable component of the war itself.

Lastly: I blelieve that full length animated films, like Mometaros Devine Sea Warriors, should be put on this page, but shorts like "Der Fuhrers Face" and "Private Snafu" should get their own page as those also form a disticnt genre.Thanks for your kind words and help on this page--Dudeman5685 01:11, 16 October 2006 (UTC)

I've begun the prelimenries for the official alleid propaganda here List of Allied Propaganda Films of World War 2, and I'll start another one for the Holocaust films eventually, once that is done.--Dudeman5685 04:55, 17 October 2006 (UTC)

Three possible additions to the list are Hope_and_Glory, Empire_of_the_Sun and Merry_Christmas,_Mr._Lawrence The first is set in blitz era london, the second two are set in WW2 detention camps.Mark1512 00:48, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Documentaries like Sinimäed and especially Surnupealuu Sõdurid contain many played scenes, is it right to exclude them? Then we should delete also non-fictional documentaries like The Lion Has Wings. DJ Sturm (talk) 19:57, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

Hi DJ Sturm,

I did delete your Estonian films because the IMDb has them classified as "Documentary". Estonia is probably like Canada; we have a lot of docs with dramatized scenes too. Over at List of films based on war books, I mark any films that are in that category with a †, and I normally only include them if there are no "real" films on the same topic.

Now, it is certainly possible that Estonian history is like Canadian history, namely, it is either a dramatized documentary or nothing.

But I like the fact that this list here is only fully dramatized feature films. No shorts, no cartoons, no documentaries.

Maybe this page should have a separate list at the bottom for important dramatized documentaries.

But if someone from the United States wants to start listing their films in this category, then we should probably just have another page. We should call it List of World War II dramatized documentaries and you should have the honour of creating it, and adding your movies to it.

That's my opinion.

Varlaam (talk) 05:16, 18 July 2009 (UTC) (in Toronto)

Added Flags

I added the flags of the respective countries of origin for the films discussed. No real reason, just thought it would add a little color.--Dudeman5685 01:19, 25 October 2006 (UTC)

Ionly used the Olympic flags because they were the only place I knew were to get them. I might have to use them again for the correct WWII era Italian flag, with the Savoy shield.--Dudeman5685 20:39, 20 January 2007 (UTC)

The Eagle has Landed

Why was 1976's "The Eagle has Landed" excluded from this list? —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 66.171.240.63 (talk) 14:22, 14 May 2007 (UTC).

Is Paris Burning ?

I was looking at the list you introduced and I thought the Flag idea is great. Despite the fact that most of the movies introduced are american, the idea of creating such a list if very good. There is however something bugging me : why French movies are forgotten so much ? What about all the Clement's movies (even if one is close to propaganda), Melville's movies, Costa-Gavras, Ophuls, Malle ? There are a lot of movies about the second world war in French movie's history and I am a bit surprised that almost none are introduced in this article. If you need some help, I would be glad to participate.

The Purple Heart

I believe that the 1944 film The Purple Heart should be on this list. --72.90.130.253 (talk) 01:18, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

Indiana Jones

This article is profoundly hypocritical if the "Indiana Jones" films (Raiders & Last Crusade) are not included here while so many other films of an utterly fictional nature have made it in. Just have a critical look for yourself. Lifeboat? The Guns of Navarone? Von Ryan's Express? Where Eagles Dare? Kelly's Heroes? The Eagle Has Landed? Return to Never Land? Hart's War? Casablanca? I could just go on and on. While these films are indeed wonderful films, they are ultimately just as fictional as any of the Indiana Jones films and have just as much to do the actual real war as Indie does. Ultimately most are just action films which have WWII as a backdrop. Indiana Jones is the same thing. My suggestion is to either start scrutinizing this list more, or accept any and all films that have some connection to WWII and be done with it. I quote from the article, "Below is an incomplete list of full-length films to feature or partly feature events of World War II in the narrative.", according to that vague terminology, why would any of the films I have previously listed deserve acceptance, but not "Indie"? You can't exclude "Raiders" or "Last Crusade", and keep "Guns of Navarone", "Where Eagles Dare", and "Kelly's Heroes". If you can make an argument against that statement, I'd like to hear it. Trippz (talk) 17:00, 20 May 2008 (UTC)

I'm a big fan of Indy, but none of his movies actually take place during the war itself. The others that are fictional, Lifeboat, The Guns of Navarone, do take place during the war. While fictional they portrayl actual event. The Indiana Jones movies, though they feature Nazis looking for rare artifacts, some what like the Ahnenerbe, do not portray many real historic events, and none of them during the war itself. I did not write the current quote "Below is an incomplete list of full-length films to feature or partly feature events of World War II in the narrative." though I did write a distict ancestor a few years ago.--Dudeman5685 (talk) 16:44, 25 May 2008 (UTC)

I have to disagree with you. Tough equally as fictional as the other films, they do in fact take place during the lead-up to the war (pre 1939, but still related in the same way as other films listed here), in fact Indy has his book signed by Hitler at one point. No historical events in Indy? Same could be said about Navarone, Kelly's Heroes (a favorite of mine), The Dirty Dozen. Actually when you think about the premise of The Dirty Dozen it is equally as absurd as Raiders, if not more so. And what is the premise of Kelly's Heroes? A group of treasure seeking adventurers battle Nazis during WWII. Strangely, thats precisely how you could describe Indiana Jones as well. What I'm saying is, once you start becoming selective because you see Indy as simply an action adventure film, you are missing that it does have WWII as a backdrop. What about "The English Patient", doesn't really much to do with the war, but its the major backdrop. This list is full of titles that could be ripped apart if we apply the same selection process that is currently being applied to "Raiders" and "Crusade". Obviously "Temple of Doom" and "Crystal Skull" don't have a place. Basically, as I said, if the list is to be scrutinized, it should be scrutinized fairly. Sadly, that is going to mean this list will be greatly reduced. You could make an argument to split the list out into "Fictional Portrayals" vs. "Non-Fictional Portrayal", but I don't know if its necessary. If you want to eliminate pre-1939 period pieces (even though related to WWII) then perhaps we should put that disclaimer in the article. Just an idea. Trippz (talk) 01:45, 26 May 2008 (UTC)

It has never occurred to me to think of Raiders as a WWII film. Because of the tone and the obvious, overwhelming fantasy elements.

But, when presented with the same issue over at List of films based on war books, I created "What If" sections after the major wars. So when the Russian Revolution spread to the Moon, that movie goes into What If.

For WWII, I have titles like the The Keep and Boys From Brazil over there. I haven't looked here to see how those titles get handled here.

Maybe this list needs a separate What If section, or maybe it's easier just to have a big "What If" label pinned to the titles in the list with fantasy elements. So Raiders would be listed with a "What If" (or equivalent) label on it.

Varlaam (talk) 16:54, 18 July 2009 (UTC)

The reasoning here is bizarre. It's not exactly a trivial detail that the Jones films, though they involve Nazis, take place several years before World War II; in fact, it's essential to the plot that they not take place in wartime. "Films about World War II" is not the same category as "Films with Nazis in them". And why do we need a 'disclaimer' that "pre-1939 period" films are not included? World War II started in 1939 (or, at earliest, 1937, and that just for the Chinese theatre). If it doesn't take place at least partially during the war, then it's obviously not a war film. RandomCritic (talk) 19:35, 8 August 2009 (UTC)

50-star US flag

The page is using the Alaska-Hawaii flag on films which predate that period.
Not noticeable at this scale, but if someone clicks on the icon ...

Varlaam (talk) 17:31, 10 July 2009 (UTC)

Years

I notice that They Were Not Divided appears in this article in the 1949 'Year' section. In the film's article it states 'March, 1950'. Does 'Year' refer to the year or years of production (the latter might be more relevant to recent films), or the year of first release, or something slse? RASAM (talk) 22:09, 9 October 2009 (UTC)

The IMDb defined a current standard for this in the 1990s, by settling on year of release. There has always been trouble in this area; the IMDb finally had to come down on one side or the other as the central data repository. Yes, this is a problem for films which never see the light of day. Unreleased films end up labelled with intended year of release for a long time.

So, for films in production, this year will be in the future.

There is occasional disagreement between sources on this detail however.

You also have the problem of festival screenings vs. general release vs. early release in non-originating countries. The IMDb favours the earliest date regardless. So it is conceivable that 1949 is a festival, and 1950 is a general release. But that was less common then than now.

It's difficult to make a final determination without really getting into it.

As a former IMDb researcher, I tend to think of that number as a range that is plus or minus 1. Historically, some IMDb dates could be off by 5 or 10 years since a researcher was forced to estimate. These discrepancies have probably been largely rectified over time however.

Varlaam (talk) 18:16, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

The Great Dictator

Shouldn't The Great Dictator be here ? I think it's clearly a World War II film. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 79.144.88.43 (talk) 21:06, 21 November 2009 (UTC)

Documentaries

I think we should have a similar list for documentaries about WWII. I'll start one soon at List of World War II documentary films; feel free too contribute. Jmj713 (talk) 14:18, 17 December 2009 (UTC)

Estonian films which aren't (yet)

The page has a number of pre-1991 films marked Estonia,
when those of course are Soviet films made in the Estonian SSR.
This page is not the place to rewrite the history of the 20th century.
Varlaam (talk) 17:06, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

Corrected. Varlaam (talk) 23:31, 18 August 2010 (UTC)

Short films?

Why can't there be a companion page for List of World War II short films,
for Blitz Wolf, and Donald Duck, and Japoteurs, and Russian Rhapsody,
and Bugs Bunny Nips the Nips?
Varlaam (talk) 17:45, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

And my favourite, Nimbus libéré, with its Allied collateral damage?

Varlaam (talk) 17:52, 5 March 2010 (UTC)

I would like to see someone start this page right now: List of World War II short films

Employ the same table structure that this page uses.

Varlaam (talk) 16:43, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Dudeman5685, up above, argues in favour of a short film list, and that was back in October 2006!

So somebody who does not already have a lot of pages to manage should just start that list.

Doesn't everybody want to know about the singing Canadian short with sexy CWACs in it? Of course you do.

Varlaam (talk) 16:53, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Go ahead and do it. Jmj713 (talk) 18:14, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

Ok, guys, go crazy.

I have happily resurrected Blitz Wolf which I was reluctantly forced to put before a firing squad last week.

Varlaam (talk) 19:52, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

But I am not the Editor/monitor/guardian/supervisor/Mum and Dad of this page.

I already have a dozen film lists.

Varlaam (talk) 19:55, 11 March 2010 (UTC)

TV series

Possibly World War II-inspired TV series are not listed anywhere at present. The British, the Americans, the Russians, they've all made them. Maybe other countries too. There's an Iranian one I've seen.
Rat Patrol was one of my favourite shows when I was a kid, with its token Commonwealth character.
I personally would be reluctant to find further reasons to expand the current list.
I am thinking in terms of an independent list, List of World War II TV series.
What say you?
Varlaam (talk) 17:17, 12 May 2010 (UTC)

This list currently includes McHale's Navy since apparently no one noticed that it is not a film.

Varlaam (talk) 15:59, 1 September 2010 (UTC)

In lieu of a distinct page, I have set up a distinct table at the end of the page. Varlaam (talk) 17:31, 21 September 2010 (UTC)

Illustrations

Adding a picture to this article is a great suggestion.
All those with free images, one pace forward.
I have now added the only free image I can find.
Varlaam (talk) 21:00, 13 October 2010 (UTC)

List of World War I films needs some love

Hi there, I just stumbled across the article List of World War I films and it's somewhat lacking... in that it currently lists one film. All Quiet on the Western Front... Passchendaele... There. This discussion page is now twice as useful as the actual article. It's not an area where I have any particular expertise, but I assume there's someone out there who might be able to lend a hand. Thanks. Gpollock (talk) 20:23, 4 April 2011 (UTC)