Best movies like John Ford Goes to War
A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like John Ford Goes to War Starring Kris Kristofferson, Peter Bogdanovich, Oliver Stone, Andrew Sarris, and more. If you liked John Ford Goes to War then you may also like: We've Never Been Licked, The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, The Navy Comes Through, The Negro Soldier, Operation Pacific and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.
When World War II broke out, John Ford, in his forties, commissioned in the Naval Reserve, was put in charge of the Field Photographic Unit by Bill Donavan, director of the soon-to-be-OSS. During the war, Field Photo made at least 87 documentaries, many with Ford's signature attention to heroism and loss, and many from the point of view of the fighting soldier and sailor. Talking heads discuss Ford's life and personality, the ways that the war gave him fulfillment, and the ways that his war films embodied the same values and conflicts that his Hollywood films did. Among the films profiled are "Battle of Midway," "Torpedo Squadron," "Sexual Hygiene," and "December 7."
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The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
This documentary recounts the life and work of one of most famous, and yet reviled, German film directors in history, Leni Riefenstahl. The film recounts the rise of her career from a dancer, to a movie actor to the most important film director in Nazi Germany who directed such famous propaganda films as Triumph of the Will and Olympiad. The film also explores her later activities after Nazi Germany's defeat in 1945 and her disgrace for being so associated with it which includes her amazingly active life over the age of 90.
The Negro Soldier
Documentary focusing on the contributions to the American war effort of African-American soldiers.
Operation Pacific
During WWII, Duke E. Gifford is second in command of the USS Thunderfish, a submarine which is firing off torpedoes that either explode too early or never explode at all. It's a dilemma that he'll eventually take up personally. Even more personal is his quest to win back his ex-wife, a nurse; but he'll have to win her back from a navy flier who also happens to be his commander's little brother.
Know Your Enemy: Japan
Frank Capra-directed propaganda film produced during World War II depicting the United States' new enemy: Japan.
The Americanization of Emily
American sailor Charlie Madison falls for a pretty Englishwoman while trying to avoid a senseless and dangerous D-Day mission concocted by a deranged admiral.
Aventure Malgache
A former leader of the French Resistance finds that one of his fellow actors looks like a detestable official he knew in Madagascar during the war. He tells about his time, operating an illegal radio station while evading the Nazis.
San Pietro
This documentary movie is about the battle of San Pietro, a small village in Italy. Over 1,100 US soldiers were killed while trying to take this location, that blocked the way for the Allied forces from the Germans.
Okinawa
On the eve of their return to the states, the crew of the U.S.S. Blake is unpleasantly surprised when their new captain, Lt. Commander Hale, announces that they've been reassigned to the upcoming invasion of Okinawa. With the news turning the crew against him, Hale must rise to the occasion to keep his men inline.
Greyhound
A first-time captain leads a convoy of allied ships carrying thousands of soldiers across the treacherous waters of the “Black Pit” to the front lines of WW2. With no air cover protection for 5 days, the captain and his convoy must battle the surrounding enemy Nazi U-boats in order to give the allies a chance to win the war.
In Harm's Way
A naval officer reprimanded after Pearl Harbor is later promoted to rear admiral and gets a second chance to prove himself against the Japanese.
Morituri
A German living in India during World War II is blackmailed by the English to impersonate an SS officer on board a cargo ship leaving Japan for Germany carrying a large supply of rubber for tyres. His mission is to disable the scuttling charges so the captain cannot sink the ship if they are stopped by English warships.
Merrill's Marauders
Brigadier General Frank D. Merrill leads the 3,000 American volunteers of his 5307th Composite Unit (Provisional), aka "Merrill's Marauders", behind Japanese lines across Burma to Myitkyina, pushing beyond their limits and fighting pitched battles at every strong-point.
The Eternal Sea
Biography of Admiral John Hoskins' efforts to retain active command despite WW2 injury.
Hell in the Pacific
During World War II, a shot-down American pilot and a marooned Japanese navy captain find themselves stranded on the same small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean.
In Which We Serve
The story of the HMS Torrin, from it's construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship's first and only commanding officer is Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to be loyal to him and the country, but—most importantly—to themselves.
Task Force
After learning the finer points of carrier aviation in the 1920s, career officer Jonathan Scott and his pals spend the next two decades promoting the superiority of naval air power. But military and political "red tape" continually frustrate their efforts, prompting Scott to even consider leaving the Navy for a more lucrative civilian job. Then the world enters a second World War and Scott finally gets the opportunity to prove to Washington the valuable role aircraft carriers could play in winning the conflict. But what will it cost him and his comrades personally?
Atlantic Convoy
American naval forces are using a port in Iceland as a base for anti-submarine patrols to protect North Atlantic convoys from Nazi subs. The Nazis send undercover agents into the port in a scheme to blow up the entrance to the harbor and keep the patrols blocked in. The officers in charge of the patrols have to find the spies and stop them before they achieve their objective.
Manila Calling
During WWII, a group of brave Americans spy on the Japanese after their invasion of the Philippines and became the first U.S. Guerrilla fighters.
Run Silent, Run Deep
The captain of a submarine sunk by the Japanese during WWII is finally given a chance to skipper another sub after a year of working a desk job. His singleminded determination for revenge against the destroyer that sunk his previous vessel puts his new crew in unneccessary danger.
Dauntless: The Battle of Midway
By June 1942, the Japanese Navy has swept across the Pacific. In an effort to change the course of the war, a United States carrier group is positioned off the coast of Midway, tasked with springing a trap on the enemy. During this pivotal battle, the two-man crew of a U.S. Navy dive bomber is forced to ditch in the sea. Set adrift, the men look towards their comrades for rescue; namely, the ragtag crew of a PBY Catalina, who are sent to search for survivors. Amid the vast openness of the Pacific, with days passing and the chance of rescue fading, the men are forced to face their own mortality.
Elizabeth Taylor: An Intimate Portrait
Vintage 1975 documentary about the life of movie queen Elizabeth Taylor hosted by Peter Lawford, and featuring appearances by actors Roddy McDowall and Rock Hudson, directors Richard Brooks and Vincente Minnelli, Elizabeth's mother Sara Taylor, costumer Helen Rose, and producer Sam Marx.
Nazi Titanic
During a bizarre chapter of WWII, Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels decided to make a movie based on the sinking of the Titanic. This epic film was so large in scale that the Nazis were forced to divert men, material and ships from the war effort in order to complete it. Titanic was filmed aboard cruise ship SS Cap Arcona in the Baltic Sea. The movie’s director Herbert Selpin was arrested by the Gestapo over comments he made about the ship’s crew and he was questioned by Goebbels. Selpin was found dead the next day in his cell. The Gestapo’s verdict was suicide. Titanic never received the impressive premiere that Goebbels intended, being first shown in Nazi-occupied Paris in 1943. We reveal this little known but fascinating story by looking at the making of the film, as well as the fate of the German ship Cap Arcona.
Battle Stations
The crew of a U.S. Navy ship in World War II goes into battle against the Japanese fleet.
December 7th
"Docudrama" about the bombing of Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941 and its results, the recovering of the ships, the improving of defense in Hawaii and the US efforts to beat back the Japanese reinforcements.
The Fighting Lady
Oscar winner William Wyler directed this 1944 "newsdrama," narrated by Lieut. Robert Taylor, USNR (Bataan), and photographed in zones of combat by the U.S. Navy. The film follows one of the many new aircraft carriers built since Pearl Harbor, known as THE FIGHTING LADY in honor of all American carriers, as it goes into action against the Japanese in the Pacific Ocean in 1943. See the ship and its pilots undergo their baptism of fire, attacking the Japanese base on Marcus Island. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation.
Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia
The fifth film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, revealing the nature and process of the fight between the Soviet Union and Germany in the Second World War.
Report from the Aleutians
A documentary propaganda film produced by the U.S. Army Signal Corps about the Aleutian Islands Campaign during World War II. The film opens with a map showing the strategic importance of the island, and the thrust of the 1942 Japanese offensive into Midway and Dutch Harbor. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
When World War II broke out, John Ford, in his forties, commissioned in the Naval Reserve, was put in charge of the Field Photographic Unit by Bill Donavan, director of the soon-to-be-OSS. During the war, Field Photo made at least 87 documentaries, many with Ford's signature attention to heroism and loss, and many from the point of view of the fighting soldier and sailor. Talking heads discuss Ford's life and personality, the ways that the war gave him fulfillment, and the ways that his war films embodied the same values and conflicts that his Hollywood films did. Among the films profiled are "Battle of Midway," "Torpedo Squadron," "Sexual Hygiene," and "December 7."
A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like John Ford Goes to War Starring Kris Kristofferson, Peter Bogdanovich, Oliver Stone, Andrew Sarris, and more. If you liked John Ford Goes to War then you may also like: We've Never Been Licked, The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl, The Navy Comes Through, The Negro Soldier, Operation Pacific and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.
We've Never Been Licked
Young Brad Craig enters the military school with a chip on his shoulder which upperclassmen quickly knock off. Once adjusted, Craig falls in love with a professor's beautiful daughter, only to find she is in love with his roommate.