World War II in Popular Culture

In the past few years, I have seen many a movie set in the battlefields of World War II. Most, if not all of them, were quite good from a historical, videographical, or other point of view.

A few of movies that have made an impression on me are as follows:

Saving Private Ryan (1998): Saving Private Ryan has a relatively straightforward plot, but is well-written, well-filmed, and powerfully acted. To put it simply, a specially-formed group of Rangers is assigned to rescue a Private (James Ryan) from behind enemy lines in Normandy. Awesomeness ensues.

Flags of Our Fathers (2006): Flags of Our Fathers follows the behind-the-scenes political action behind the soldiers who raised the American flag on Mt. Suribachi on the Japanese island of Iwo Jima (this is a famous picture, you should probably have seen it before). It questions propaganda and the twisting of truth for the purposes of converting the public to the government's side. Philosophically interesting, but not nearly as exciting to watch as the other movies that are listed here.

Letters from Iwo Jima (2006): Perhaps one of the most touching and unique WWII movies I have seen, Letters from Iwo Jima follows the action of the American landing and assault of the Japanese-held island of Iwo Jima, but from the Japanese persective. It allows the viewers a peek into the thoughts and feelings of the soldiers of the Japanese army, painting them as people and not the crazy kamikaze-bombers and suicide-committers that they are often oversimplified as. If you have the time, you should watch this movie above all of the other movies that are listed here- it's just that beautiful.

Valkyrie (2008): This movie is yet another one about an alternative perspective of World War II- specifically that of a group of German soldiers who attempted to assassinate Hitler, take over the German government, and surrender to the Allies to avoid further destruction. It is very action-packed, and (I would say) it has more of a focus on the action than on making any subtle philosophical point. But it's awesome. Very awesome.

All of these are worth watching (although I'm not so much a fan of Flags of Our Fathers, but it's still good stuff).