War may be worse than hell, according to M*A*S*H’s Dr. Hawkeye Pierce, but we sure do love to make and watch movies about it.
We’ve been retelling war stories for centuries—millennia, even—through the written and spoken word. Almost as soon as we could film them, we brought the clashes of countries and kingdoms past and present to life on the big screen. They’ve got plenty of explosions and manpower, but that’s now always why people watch: It comes down to the characters to make them compelling and even entertaining. They can tug at your heartstrings at their best and still manage to be a somewhat decent piece of entertainment at their worst, albeit with some exceptions (we’re looking at you, Pearl Harbor and The Patriot).
While everyone else is busy outside barbecuing outdoors and enjoying their day off, celebrate Memorial Day by watching the fictional troops (and those based on real soldiers) on Netflix once you’ve honored the real-life veterans who walk in the local Memorial Day parades. Some of the films with name recognition, such as Saving Private Ryan, Stalag 17, The Great Escape, and the Band of Brothers miniseries aren’t available to watch on Netflix (although you should check them all out anyway), but there’s still plenty to choose from (and by no means is this a complete list).
If it’s absolutely terrible Netflix films to fill your day that you’re looking for, check out Joey Keeton’s roundup instead.
1) Patton
Looking to feel particularly patriotic this holiday? The biopic on the American World War II general opens with George S. Patton giving a speech to the troops while he stands in front of a giant American flag (based on an iconic speech he gave during the war). Rousing the troops is one thing, but it just as easily rouses the audience as it dives into Patton’s war career in northern Africa and his role in leading the Allied forces against the Axis powers. Even if you hadn’t heard of him prior, you may come to admire and respect him largely due to George C. Scott’s performance.
When it came out in the middle of the Vietnam War, critics initially saw it as an anti-war film, but it ended up being one of President Richard Nixon’s favorite films, one he screened multiple times at the White House.
2) The Longest Day
The story of D-Day has been told countless times over the years, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a nearly impossible mission, the stakes have never been higher, and while the Allied troops have fought back for years, D-Day was a chance for them to take the offensive. With 159,000 troops landing by the end of the day, there’s an infinite number of stories to tell. The Longest Day, however, plays it straight as it shows what’s happening on both sides, showing no preference for either the Allied forces or the German ones.
As with many war movies made during this time, it had the added gravitas of featuring a cast of actors who had also fought in World War II; they knew firsthand what war was like, and the film had plenty of consultants who had fought in the battle. It’s as real a docudrama to the day as you’re gonna get.
3) Tora! Tora! Tora!
We’ve seen WWII movies, and we’ve seen movies about Pearl Harbor. This one, like The Longest Day, gives us a look at both sides and attempts to humanize the other side, something we don’t always see in films. And for the filmmakers, it was crucial to cast actors who weren’t household names so as to not distract the audience from the importance of the story.
While a bigger commercial success in Japan than the U.S., it was applauded for the action sequences—the footage which ended up being used in subsequent films—and the plot’s accuracy.
4) Black Hawk Down
Based on a series of articles by Mark Bowden that appeared in the Philadelphia Inquirer, Black Hawk Down illustrates the 1993 raid in Mogadishu, Somalia, and the U.S. military’s attempt to capture Mohamed Farrah Aidid after Somali officials declare war on UN peacekeepers. With plenty of action and an ensemble cast, it’s not about an individual soldier but rather a team as a whole.
Although it was both a critical and commercial success, it was criticized for how it portrayed Somalis in the film.
5) We Were Soldiers
Rather than taking a macrocosmic view of the Vietnam War and its consequences on both the soldiers and the people protesting back in the U.S., We Were Soldiers dives right into the heat of the Battle of Ia Drang, the first major battle between the U.S. and North Vietnam in 1965. Based on a book by Lt. General Hal Moore and Joseph L. Galloway, who were both at the battle, the film is both harrowing and realistic while portraying both sides of the battle fairly. Moore had complained in the book about how Hollywood always got war wrong, which made the filmmakers even more determined to try and make it right.
Released just a year after Black Hawk Down, critics were relieved that the film was able to differentiate its characters as well as portraying the enemy as human.
6) Wings
The World War I love story has the distinction of being the first Best Picture Oscar—as well as the only silent film that’s won the honor. Two men are vying for the same woman, but they eventually become friends once they join the Air Service.
It was a huge success when it was released in 1927 and a big cinematic achievement, making it something for other filmmakers to strive for when creating their own aviation films. Nowadays we may roll our eyes at yet another love triangle, but it could be worse: a war movie with a love triangle that just isn’t that good.
Photo via thecultbox/YouTube