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This Memorial Day weekend, in between the barbecues and the baseball, the hot dogs cold beverages, you’ll probably want to take some time to reflect on the meaning of the holiday and the men and women who have died while serving in the armed forces. We put together a list of ten films and TV series that represent some of the best, most artistic depictions of war, battle, and soldiers. And every one of them is available to stream via either Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, and HBO NOW.
Have a happy holiday weekend, and enjoy these great films and shows.
'The Civil War'
Ken Burns’ 9-part documentary about the deadliest war in American history is characteristically thorough, enlightening, and humane. The Civil War was also the most-watched program in the history of PBS, drawing 40 million viewers during its initial broadcast. Featuring an all-star cast of voices, including Morgan Freeman, Jason Robards, Garrison Keillor, Laurence Fishburne, and as Abraham Lincoln, Sam Waterston.
'Twelve O'Clock High'
In 1949, über-producer Daryl F. Zanuck and star Gegory Peck came together to deliver one of the best-received war movies of its era. Twelve O’Clock High told the story of the U.S. Army Air Forces who fought the Nazis in World War II. This was a movie that made a point to focus on the men in those airplanes, their sacrifices and their heroism. It was nominated for four Academy Awards for 1949.
[You can stream Twelve O’Clock High on Netflix or Prime Video.]
'Band of Brothers'
Tom Hanks has done a lot for the remembrance of World War II veterans, and a big part of that was executive producing (along with Steven Spielberg) this 10-part limited series adaptation of of Stephen E. Ambrose’s book. Band of Brothers was as captivating as it was painstakingly researched produced. It was also received as one of the finest depictions of World War II ever put on screen.
'Atonement'
A multi-faceted movie like Joe Wright’s Atonement has more on its mind than simply the war. It’s a romance, it’s a story of unreliable witnesses, it’s a story of regret and the limits of what regret can do. But there’s a big chunk right there in the middle that focuses on Robbie’s time serving in World War II, including that breathtaking single-take shot at Dunkirk.
'The Thin Red Line'
Director Terrence Malick depicted the horrors of war with some of the most incongruously beautiful filmmaking of his entire career. Featuring an all-star cast including Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Adrien Brody, Woody Harrelson, John Travolta, and George Clooney, The Thin Red Line can be meandering and ponderous at times, but it’s also breathtaking in its way. Critic Gene Siskel called it the finest contemporary war film he’d ever seen.
'Rescue Dawn'
A war film by Werner Herzog pretty much guaranteed you’re not going to get the same old thing. This story of a Vietnam War pilot (Christian Bale) held in a Vietnamese prison camp features some phenomenal performances (Steve Zahn is so good in this movie), and as you might expect with Herzog, it doesn’t take long before matters turn to the nature of man and what he’s capable of enduring for his own survival.
[You can stream Rescue Dawn on Prime Video and Hulu.]
'71'
Jack O’Connell plays a newly recruited British soldier stationed in Belfast in 1971, during the early days of the Troubles. It’s less a story of the armed conflict between Ireland and the UK and more a story about one soldier caught between two opposing forces and fighting hard to stay alive. ’71 is a thrilling film and also a great showcase for Jack O’Connell, who is most definitely a rising star in Hollywood.
[You can watch ’71 on Prime Video and Hulu.]
'Top Gun'
It’s tough to think of Top Gun as a story of the armed services, as it’s always been more notable as a story of brash confidence, disgusting sex scenes, sublimated homosexuality expressed as volleyball, and the best of Kenny Loggins. But Maverick, Goose, and their brethren are all Naval aviators, and if your Memorial Day military marathon is starting to feel a bit somber, Top Gun is the right call.
'Generation Kill'
HBO ran up against the limits of the American public’s willingness to think about the ongoing armed conflict in the Middle East when they premiered Generation Kill in 2008. Co-written and co-produced by The Wire‘s David Simon, Generation Kill was wildly well-received by critics for its vivid, multi-faceted picture of the invasion of Iraq through the eyes of the soldiers who carried it out, but it never managed to capture the nation’s imagination like World War II films like Band of Brothers did. It’s well worth a look regardless.
'Restrepo'
The filmmakers behind Restrepo embedded themselves with the Second Platoon, B Company, 2nd Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team in Afghanistan, and the film that resulted is exhilaratingly, harrowingly, and eye-openingly intimate. Co-director Tim Hetherington was later killed by shrapnel while covering the Libyan Civil War in 2011. Restrepo remains but one document of his work.
