17 Best War Documentaries

Peter Jackson directed.The Lord of the Rings trilogy.He turned his technical skill to an odd project. He and his team restored 100-year-old, 35mm footage of World War I from the London's Imperial War Museum over four years.

Jackson's team colorized the footage. They slowed the frames. They paired the footage with real interviews from World War I veterans to make the war and its people feel real. Sometimes, theteam even used lip readers.They used lip readers to figure out what people in the footage said. Then, they hired actors to speak those lines.

The result is amazing filmmaking. It breaks down past and present. It brings back the people who lived through one of history's worst wars.

AsJackson toldThe Guardian, “We are not adding anything that wasn't there when it was shot. We simply bring it back to what it was 100 years ago. That is exciting because we bring these guys back to life.”

This is one of the greatest Holocaust documentaries ever made.ShoahIt is also very unique. It does not use archival footage.It doesn't use archival footage.Instead, French filmmaker Claude Lanzmann told the story using survivor accounts. He spent 11 years collecting these accounts.

The result is a nine-hour story of the Holocaust told by those who lived it. In one account, barber Abraham Bomba recounts being forced to cut the hair of women about to be murdered in the Treblinka gas chamber and recognizing some of them.

ShoahShoah shows one of history's darkest moments. According toNew Yorkercritic Richard Brody:

[The documentary] changed film history. It did this by not using archival footage. It showed history in the present tense through first-hand, personal action. It changed political history with its news reveals and moral ideas.

Filmmaker John Huston made lasting, hard American cinema classics. Examples includeThe African Queen, The Maltese Falcon, The Night of the Iguana, andThe Treasure of the Sierra MadreDecades passed before one of his lesser-known films was released.

Huston madeLet There Be Lightfor the US Army in 1946. His subject involved World War II veterans returning to the United States with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Huston used unscripted interviews with these veterans.unscripted interviews with the veteranswho received treatment at a military hospital. Huston's film showed the war's psychological costs clearly.

For this reason, the US Armydid not want to release it.The documentary would not be available until 1981.

One thing makingWaltz with Bashirso unique is that it is an animated documentary. The animation medium highlights memory's strange, personal, and unclear parts. After all, it is a storyThis is about what we remember.It covers the past and what we forget.

Filmmaker Ari Folman attempts to rebuild what happened. He was an Israel Defense Forces soldier during the 1982 Lebanon War. He seeks to reconstruct his flawed memory and face past horrors.

The truth surfaces about Folman's role in the Sabra and Shatila massacre. Hundreds of people were killed in a refugee camp.These people were killed in a refugee camp.

France released Night and Fog a decade after World War II ended.Night and Fog is in the list of 17 Best War Documentaries.This film focuses on the war's greatest horror: concentration camps.

The documentary uses its short runtime well. In just 32 minutes, it shows viewers the extreme, casual violence people faced in concentration camps.

Critics recognized the documentary's importance right away upon release. Legendary French filmmaker recognized this.François Truffaut hailed it as “the most noble and necessary film ever made.”François Truffaut called it “the most noble and necessary film ever made.”

Many critics point out the film omits facts.The film leaves out facts.The film downplays how antisemitism shaped Nazi ideology.

The film avoids battlefield action. It focuses on what happened after the fighting stopped.The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On is in the list of 17 Best War Documentaries.This film focuses on events after the battles finished.

Released in 1987, the Japanese documentary follows Kenzo Okuzaki. Okuzaki, a World War II veteran, confronts other veterans about their war actions.

Okuzaki specifically attacks Japanese officers for betraying other Japanese soldiers in New Guinea. He finds the officers and aggressively questions them.

As critics point outfilmmaker Kazuo Hara's subject might be Okuzaki. It also shows Japan's refusal to admit its war crimes. These crimes include cannibalism and executing soldiers after the war ended.

Owning up to actions is a theme throughout the film. In one scene, Okuzaki turns himself in.Okuzaki turns himself in. He turns to the police after assaulting someone.

Released in 2010, RestrepoRestrepo is in the list of 17 Best War Documentaries.follows two journalists. Photojournalist Tim Hetherington and writer Sebastian Junger reported on an American platoon in the War in Afghanistan.

The documentary shows the soldiers' experiences. It depicts high-stakes and low-stakes moments. This ranges from active combat to the bonds holding soldiers together during stressful times.

The filmmakers of Restrepo.chose to avoid politics as much as possible. They wanted to give viewers a glimpse into soldiers' daily lives.Instead, they wanted viewers to see soldiers' everyday experiences.The filmmakers wanted viewers to see soldiers' everyday experiences.

Critics praised the film. It earned an Academy Award nomination.

Marcel Ophlus's The Memory of Justice.The Memory of Justice is in the list of 17 Best War Documentaries.This film seems to focus on the leaders of some of World War II's and humanity's worst war crimes. These men include Hermann Göring and Albert Speer.

While the documentary shows the trial of war criminals at Nuremberg after World War II, Ophuls also examines how states use violence against groups. He shows American and French involvement in Vietnam and Algeria, proving war atrocities lack nationality.War atrocities do not have a nationality..

Released first in 1976, The Memory of Justice.The Memory of Justice.Critics praised it, but it failed to reach a wide audience. A restoration in 2017 changed that.A restoration in 2017 changed that.Now new viewers can learn from it.

On August 6, 1945, an American bomber dropped an atomic bomb on Hiroshima. Three days later, Americans dropped a second bomb on Nagasaki.

The White Light/Black RainThe controversy over America's use of nuclear weaponsThe controversy over America's use of nuclear weapons on civilians still smolders decades later. An estimated 200,000 Japanese men, women, and children lost their lives in the bombings, and countless others suffered major injuries and long-term health problems.Two hundred thousand Japanese men, women, and children.Lost their lives in the bombings, and countless more suffered significant injuries and lifelong health issues.

White Light/Black Rain.White Light/Black Rain puts survivors' stories front and center, showing a horrific, eyewitness picture of the bombings. Survivors' testimony, paired with actual footage from the destroyed cities, highlights the staggering power of nuclear weapons.Paired with actual footageActual footage from the destroyed cities highlights the staggering destructive power of nuclear weapons.

When The Act of KillingThe Act of Killing.The Act of Killing was released in 2012.It brought international attention to a dark chapter in Indonesian history: the politically motivated mass killings of one million people between 1965 and 1966. The perpetrators of these killings still hold power in Indonesia and have never faced accountability.It shows a dark chapter in Indonesian history: politically motivated mass killings of one million people between 1965 and 1966. Perpetrators of these killings still hold power in Indonesia; they have never faced accountability.

What makes The Act of KillingThe Act of Killing.The Act of Killing's bold, unconventional approach to documentary filmmaking is noteworthy. Director Joshua Oppenheimer and his team got interviews with the perpetrators on film; he also had them reenact their crimes.Had them reenact their crimes for the camera.This gives the film an unexpected layer of uncomfortable authenticity.

The interviews also show the killers took pride in their gruesome work. One perpetrator, Anwar Congo, explains how he wore special jeans during the killings to feel like a glamorous movie star.He even wore special jeansDuring the killings so he would feel like a glamorous movie star.

For Sama is a deeply personal piece of documentary filmmaking.For Sama.For Sama began with journalist Waad Al-Kateab wanting to film her daughter Sama as a baby. Sama's babyhood happened in Aleppo during the Syrian War; bombs exploded, and fires broke out constantly. The film shows a glimpse into life in a war zone.

Al-Kateab's project also had a political aim. As she told The Guardian, the act of filming became the only way to show the world they were fighting for freedom.She told The GuardianThe Guardian. After the film's 2019 release, the act of filming became the only way to show the world they were fighting for freedom.

Critics gave the documentary many awards, including prizes at Cannes and SWSX, plus an Academy Award nomination.Critics showered the documentary with accolades, including prizes at Cannes and SWSX and an Academy Award nomination.

The Sorrow and the Pity.The documentary 'The Sorrow and the Pity' chronicles the Nazi occupation of France during World War II. Director Marcel Ophuls made the film in 1969, including interviews with people who lived through the occupation.

The four-hour documentary shows French Resistance members who tried to undermine the Vichy regime. It also shows that plenty of French people collaborated with the Nazis.Plenty of French people collaborated with the Nazis.French people collaborated with the Nazis.

Peter Davis'sHearts and MindsThe film 'Hearts and Minds' came out in 1974 while the United States was still in the Vietnam War. The documentary uses interviews with military personnel and footage from Vietnam to tell its story.

In a notorious scene, General William Westmoreland, the US Army chief of staff, says that “the Oriental”does not respect or value human life like Americans do.Davis puts Westmoreland's comment next to footage of a grieving mother in Vietnam, showing how Americans act.

Hearts and MindsThe film 'Hearts and Minds' won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

This 2012 documentary focuses on sexual assault in the US military. The film states that one in five female soldiers experiences sexual assault during their service.One in five female soldiers faces sexual assault during their service.Female soldiers experience sexual assault while serving.

Sexual assault happens in the military, but getting justice is hard. Filmmaker Kirby Dick interviewed many people to show how the military system makes it difficult for survivors to seek justice.

The film, which won Emmy and Peabody Awards, raised awareness about military sexual assault. This action spurred congressional action to try and change the military justice system to better support and validate survivors.This situation pushed Congress to act.attempt to reform the military justice system to better support and validate survivors.

Robert McNamara wasone of the most controversial figures.He was a figure from one of America's most controversial wars. McNamara served as Secretary of Defense during America's costly and unpopular war in Vietnam.

The Fog of WarThis film focuses on McNamara's life and work before and after Vietnam. McNamara agreed to be interviewed, and the documentary gives him a platform to explain some decisions and express regret.He said this in the film.He said, “I'm very sorry that in the process of accomplishing things, I've made errors.”

JournalistFred Kaplan praised the film as a fascinating portrait of McNamara, saying it “heightens the poignancy of McNamara's life” and “clarifies the true depths of his tragedy.”as a fascinating portrait of McNamara, one that “heightens the poignancy of McNamara's life” and “clarifies the true depths of his tragedy.”

Michael Moore'sFahrenheit 9/11The film 'Fahrenheit 9/11' shows how the Bush administration used the September 11, 2001, attacks to justify a war in the Middle East. It came out in 2004, while America was in its War on Terror.

The film also caused controversy. Some claimed Moore played fast and loose with the truth.played fast and loosewith the truth. Others disagreed with his confrontational filmmaking style, such as when he came up to congressmencame up to congressmenThey asked if people would join the Army with their kids.

Moore's film got much praise despite the controversy. It won Cannes' Palm d'Or in 2004, making it thefirst documentary to do so since 1956.This appeared since 1956.

On February 22, 2022, Russian troops started the Mariupol siege during their Ukraine invasion. The documentary20 Days in MariupolA group of Ukrainian journalists got a front-row view of the siege's horrors. The film came out in 2023; the Ukraine war still raged.

PBS and the Associated Press made this film win Best Documentary at the Oscars in 2024. Harrowing and direct, the film uses real footage the journalists shot during the siege.

When director and journalist Mstyslav Chernov took the Oscar, he said, “Iwant to tradethis to Russia never attacking Ukraine, never taking our cities.”