War films changed significantly during the 1970s, as the Vietnam War soured moviegoers' appetites for the genre. As a result, fewer World War II films were released at the time, particularly later in the decade, when blockbusters took over theaters. Vietnam was the subject of many of the better war films the 1970s produced, particularly Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter. When World War II was the subject, Hollywood seemed to prefer military biographies and historical accounts of famous battles.
As '70s films became more realistic and gritty, a handful of lower-budget and independent films took on a somber, more cynical approach to World War II. In many instances, a 1970s film about World War II used the war to comment upon the depressing situation in Vietnam. It was a stark departure from the films of the 1950s and 1960s when war films were largely patriotic and gravitated toward happier endings. The John Wayne era was over, and the directors of America's New Wave saw war very differently.
The 1970s may not have been the most prolific decade for World War II films, but its cinematic legacy continues to influence how filmmakers interpret and present the war to a younger generation. We've ranked some of the best World War II films of the 1970s.
Update August 31, 2023: This list has been updated with more great World War II movies from the 1970s.
20 Mr. Klein (1976)
French film icon Alain Delon starred as the eponymous dishonest art dealer who sets out to capitalize on World War II by taking advantage of French Jews in a hurry to sell their artwork in order to flee the country as it becomes occupied by the Nazis in Mr. Klein.Enjoying a life of extravagance and luxury, Robert Klein finds his cushy existence upended when he is mistaken for a Jewish man of the same name and falls under the suspicion of the authorities, and he races against the clock to clear his name before he becomes targeted in the Holocaust.
The haunting and poignant picture is an understated thriller that garnered widespread critical acclaim upon its release, premiering at the Cannes Film Festival, where it participated for the prestigious Palme d'Or. Mr. Klein was also the recipient of three César Awards, including Best Film, and touts a phenomenal performance by Delon as the icy titular character.
19 1941 (1979)
Steven Spielberg directed the underappreciated war comedy 1941, centering on a group of anxiety-ridden California residents as they fearfully prepare for a Japanese invasion following the devastating attack on Pearl Harbor. John Belushi headlines the film as Captain Wild Bill Kelso, a frenzied National Guard pilot searching for Japanese forces and Hollywood legends like Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, and Christopher Lee as soldiers on high-alert as they get ready to officially enter World War II.
1941 was initially regarded as a box office flop and was unfavorably compared to the director's other releases of the decade like Jaws and Close Encounters of the Third Kind, but the comedy actually went on to earn $90 million worldwide. Though it failed to make a splash with critics during its original release, 1941 has gone on to acquire a newfound appreciation and is now a celebrated cult classic.
18 Slaughterhouse-Five (1972)
Based on the Kurt Vonnegut novel of the same name, Slaughterhouse-Five tells the spellbinding story of how Billy Pilgrim (Michael Sacks) became "unstuck in time" as the New York optometrist finds himself traveling through time and reliving his past experience as a soldier fighting behind enemy lines in Belgium at the height of World War II. The engrossing sci-fi dramedy is a faithful adaptation of its subject source and chronicles Pilgrim's experiences as a prisoner of war and the atrocities he witnessed during the firebombing of Dresden.
Slaughterhouse-Five won the Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and was also nominated for the Palme d'Or, and Vonnegut himself was thoroughly impressed with director George Roy Hill's riveting interpretation, stating that the filmmaker "made a flawless translation of my novel Slaughterhouse-Five to the silver screen. I drool and cackle every time I watch that film, because it is so harmonious with what I felt when I wrote the book."
17 Overlord (1975)
Set during the Battle of France and Normandy Landings, the black-and-white war drama Overlord focuses on young British soldier Thomas Beddows (Brian Stirner) and chronicles the horrors the sensitive everyman witnessed while on the battlefield, depicting his struggles during training camp and subsequent involvement in the deadly D-Day invasion. Director Stuart Cooper declared, "Overlord is not about military heroics; on the contrary, it is about the bleakness of sacrifice."
Overlord garnered widespread critical acclaim for its jarring and intimate look at the brutality the soldiers experienced during World War II, and the drama featured actual archive footage of the invasion that it paired with its stunning and sobering cinematography.
16 Hell Boats (1970)
In Hell Boats, James Franciscus (Beneath the Planet of the Apes) stars as an American attack boat commander serving with the British Royal Navy in the Mediterranean in 1942. He is assigned to a secret mission to destroy a Nazi submarine base in nearby Sicily, only to discover the woman he has fallen in love with (Elizabeth Shepherd) is the wife of his superior officer (Ronald Allen).
It's more than a little melodramatic, but combat involving "motor torpedo boats" were rarely featured in World War II films, giving this film an original feel. Plus, any James Franciscus film is worth watching. The Valley of Gwangi star was a great leading man who died far too young, at age 57.
15 Jacob the Liar (1975)
Adapted from Jurek Becker's bestselling novel, Jacob the Liar takes place during the Holocaust in Nazi-occupied Poland and follows Polish Jew Jakob Heym (Vlastimil Brodský) as he attempts to survive in a Jewish ghetto, following the man's efforts to boost the morale of his neighbors and friends after overhearing news through the German officers that Russian forces are closing in on the Nazis. Jacob decides to embellish the details and lies about having a radio (a major crime in the ghetto) and makes up stories to try and keep his fellow survivor's hopes alive, escalating his deception along the way.
Jacob the Liar became the only East Germany picture to be nominated for Best Foreign-Language Film and competed for the Golden Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival. Hans-Christoph Blumenberg of the German newspaper Die Zeit commended the Frank Beyer drama, writing, "Gently, softly, without cheap pathos and sentimentality, Beyer tells a story about people in the middle of horror... The remarkable quality of this quiet film is achieved not least due to superb acting by the cast."
14 The McKenzie Break (1970)
There have been plenty of movies about Allied POWs escaping their imprisonment, but The McKenzie Break flips the script. In this 1970 drama, Brian Keith plays an Irish officer in the British army who must stop German prisoners suspected of planning an escape from an Allied POW camp in Scotland.
Keith must outwit the Germans' highest-ranking prisoner, a U-boat commander (Helmut Griem) who seems to be planning the break. The film is directed by Lamont Johnson, who also directed the 1980s cult classic Spacehunter: Adventures in the Forbidden Zone.
13 Too Late the Hero (1970)
Too Late the Hero is directed by the great Robert Aldrich (The Dirty Dozen, What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?), who also co-wrote the film. Cliff Robertson plays an American translator who joins Michael Caine and a British strike team on a mission to destroy a Japanese communications station.
While there are some definite Dirty Dozen vibes here, the second half of the film is more of an expanded chase sequence. It's an underrated, gritty, and action-packed war film that's definitely worth a watch. Keep an eye out for Denholm Elliott (Raiders of the Lost Ark) in a key supporting role.
12 Force 10 from Navarone (1978)
It's hard to follow up a classic, as 1978's Force 10 from Navarone proves. The film is a sequel to 1961's The Guns of Navarone, which starred Gregory Peck, David Niven, and Richard Harris. Rather than remake the film or introduce new characters, producers chose to recast characters. Peck was recast with the great Robert Shaw (Jaws), Harris was replaced with Harrison Ford, and Niven was replaced with Edward Fox.
Despite the star power of Ford and Shaw, audiences and critics of the time found them poor substitutes for the Hollywood legends. But while Force 10 from Navarone isn't as good as its predecessor, but it's a very solid war film thhat benefits from nostalgia, and centers on Ford and Shaw blowing up a dam to take out a German bridge. While the script is a bit formulaic, the cast involved makes it a much better film than it should be.
11 MacArthur (1977)
In 1977's MacArthur, Gregory Peck gives a superb performance as the legendary general, although the script is somewhat bland, a by-the-numbers affair that isn't as insightful as it should have been. The film, from director Joseph Sargent (The Taking of Pelham One Two Three), follows the career of Douglas MacArthur from the triumph of World War II through to the Korean War and his unceremonious firing by President Harry Truman. Peck earned a Golden Globe nomination as Best Actor, and the film works best as a visual history lesson.
10 Catch-22 (1970)
Director Mike Nichols' war satire was written by Buck Henry (The Graduate, Get Smart) from the Joseph Heller book. While Catch-22 has a number of funny moments, overall it's a disjointed collection of hit-and-miss bits. The all-star cast makes this a totally watchable film, however, as Alan Arkin plays a frazzled pilot pretending to be crazy, so he can be grounded before he gets killed.
Orson Welles, Martin Sheen, Jon Voight, Anthony Perkins, Bob Newhart, Martin Balsam, and Richard Benjamin make up the fantastic cast, and each manages a few chuckles along the way. George Clooney remade the film as a miniseries for Hulu in 2019.
9 Kelly's Heroes (1970)
Don't sit down to watch Kelly's Heroes expecting a history lesson. It's a trippy piece of historical fiction that plays fast and loose with the World War II era for sheer entertainment. That would sink most films of the genre, but here, it works in the film's favor, and it has become a cult classic from the 70s.
Clint Eastwood leads a group of American soldiers on a mission to steal Nazi gold in occupied France, finding it to be more than they bargained for. The film features The Dirty Dozen alums Telly Savalas and Donald Sutherland, with Savalas playing a more sympathetic soldier this time, while Sutherland is a hippie tank commander who acts like he's in an entirely different film. He's one of the more enjoyable characters, however, in a film with a decidedly 1970s cultural vibe.
8 Midway (1976)
Midway is Hollywood's all-star depiction of the decisive Pacific sea battle of World War II. It's a much stronger film overall than Roland Emmerich's 2019 take on Midway, and is a deep dive into the tactics and motivations on both sides of the conflict. It's an interesting approach, but the narrative slows down to cover the major military figures in the battle, as well as the subplots. The attention to historical detail is admirable, and yet they add a romantic subplot that's totally unnecessary.
Midway stays afloat, however, thanks to stars Charlton Heston, Glenn Ford, James Coburn, Henry Fonda, Hal Holbrook, and Robert Mitchum. The film also features some fantastic Asian actors, including frequent Kurosawa collaborator Toshirô Mifune, and James Shigeta, who would go on to play Takagi in Die Hard.
7 The Eagle Has Landed (1976)
The Eagle Has Landed starts off a bit slow, but there's a strong second half to this '70s action/adventure thriller about a German commando unit on a mission to kidnap Winston Churchill. Making the Germans the protagonists is an interesting angle, although it is hard to buy Michael Caine and Robert Duval as Nazis. The film was directed by the wonderful John Sturges, who also helmed The Great Escape and The Magnificent Seven, and there's a solid finale.
6 Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
Toei Company
The attack on Pearl Harbor gets an epic retelling in Tora! Tora! Tora!, and like Midway, is both historically accurate and one of the best Navy films ever made. The film was split between an American cast and crew and a great Japanese one, which includes the brilliant actor Toshirô Mifune.
While Oscar-winning filmmaker Richard Fleischer (Soylent Green, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea) directs most of the film, scenes depicting the Japanese forces are actually helmed by Toshio Masuda (Space Battleship Yamato) and Kinji Fukasaku (the incredible Battle Royale). This gives those scenes an arguably more authentic vibe. The cast includes Martin Balsam, So Yamamura, Jason Robards, and Joseph Cotten, and the film was nominated for five Oscars in technical categories, winning for Best Visual Effects.
5 Soldier of Orange (1977)
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Soldier of Orange is a fantastic Dutch film directed by Paul Verhoeven (Robocop), a group of friends in the Netherlands is splintered by the Nazi occupation, and how they choose to respond changes them. Erik (Rutger Hauer, Blade Runner) and Guus (Jeroen Krabbé, The Fugitive) join the resistance, while others become collaborators, and their decisions have devastating consequences.
Superbly acted, the film features many of the themes Verhoeven explored 20 years later in Starship Troopers, but this is the better film. It's a movie that even many Verhoeven fans are not aware of, but it is easily among his best films, and it deserves more attention.
4 The Inglorious Bastards (1978)
1978's The Inglorious Bastards (a film title which is spelled correctly) is a low-budget, grindhouse-style take on World War II; it inspired Quentin Tarantino to create his own version in 2009, with an A-list cast and a healthy budget. The original Italian production, by director Enzo G Castellari, has been a cult favorite for decades, and is earning a new legion of fans thanks to Tarantino.
While the two films' styles are similar, the plots are much different. Rather than a revisionist history tale, Castellari's film features noted character actors Bo Svenson (who cameos in Tarantino's film) and Fred Williamson as American military prisoners who escape custody in 1944 France and take on a mission to steal a German V2 rocket. It's a grittier version of The Dirty Dozen, and just as much fun to watch.
3 Cross of Iron (1977)
James Coburn is excellent in director Sam Peckinpah's only World War II film. Cross of Iron is a brutal, dizzying look at the horrors of war on the other side, following a platoon of German soldiers on the Russian front. Coburn and the cast are put through the ringer (it is Peckinpah, after all) as they fight to survive while their scheming superior (Maximilian Schell) angles for medals he didn't earn.
As he did in The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs, Peckinpah adds layers underneath the intense violence of Cross of Iron. Man's thirst for violence and evil is a prevalent theme, but the draw here is Peckinpah's ability to direct an ensemble and allow each a character arc. James Mason and David Warner are quite good in supporting roles as well.
2 A Bridge Too Far (1977)
A Bridge Too Far is a thoroughly detailed account of the Allies' Operation Market Garden in September 1944. Critics say it is actually too historically detailed (it does drag on at points), but director Richard Attenborough (yep, Jurassic Park's John Hammond) intricately covers every facet of the disastrous battle.
It takes nearly an hour for the combat to get rolling, but the second half is much stronger, and the film plays better while watching it in the comfort of your own home. The all-star cast featured literally dozens of A-list actors, most notably Sean Connery and Michael Caine, who are each fantastic. For the record, Michael Caine did not appear in every film made in the 1970s. It only seems like he did.
1 Patton (1970)
George C. Scott's Oscar-winning performance in Patton is arguably the best of his career (Dr. Strangelove is a very close second), with a bombastic, unapologetic portrayal of George Patton. The screenplay, co-written by Francis Ford Coppola, is a warts-and-all portrayal of Patton, and one in which the combat rarely takes center stage.
And yet, it is one of the more authentic, honest depictions of war put to film. Director Franklin J. Schaffner (Planet of the Apes) keeps the pace brisk, and the nearly three-hour runtime just flies by. The film was nominated for ten Oscars and won seven, including Best Picture and Best Director. It should be required viewing every Memorial Day. It's that good.
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