10 best TV series about the war

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Steven Spielberg's high-budget projects, Soviet classics, as well as satire and humor.

1. Brothers in Arms

• USA, UK, 2001.
• Drama, historical.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 9, 5.

Legends such as Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks are behind this miniseries. The plot tells about the path of one of the companies of the US Airborne Division during the Second World War. The action begins with training soldiers in a training camp, and then moves on to the landing in Normandy and other military operations.

The authors have invested a huge budget in the series in order to show the scale of the war as realistically and in detail as possible. As a result, the project received a Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series or Television Film, as well as six Emmy awards.

2. Seventeen Moments of Spring

• USSR, 1973.
• Drama, historical.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 9.

In the USSR, many multi-part projects were filmed about the war and post-war times. But still, the story of the Soviet intelligence officer Maxim Isaev, introduced into the highest circles of Nazi Germany under the name of SS Standartenführer Stirlitz, became a real legend. He continues his work even on the eve of the final defeat of the Nazis in the war, suppressing the last attempts of the enemy to escape from retaliation.

The best scenes from the series quickly sold for quotes, and Stirlitz eventually became a kind of hero of the epic, in particular anecdotes. The series is traditionally shown on May 9 and on other holidays. And in 2009, a restored color version was released.

3. Submarine

• Germany, Great Britain, France, 1985-1987.
• Drama, thriller.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 8.

The action begins in the fall of 1941. The crew of the German submarine is to sail to the Atlantic Ocean. The sailors only think about how to have some fun on the last day, and a war correspondent is sent to sail with them. But soon the jokes and conversations about love end, because the boat gets to the scene of hostilities.

Director Wolfgang Petersen tried to shoot the most realistic story about the everyday life of a submarine crew. That is why all the actors were forced to lose weight during the year of filming and were even forbidden to shave. In 1981, a theatrical version of "Submarine" with a duration of 2.5 hours was released. A few years later, a full television version of eight episodes was released.

4. Our mothers, our fathers

• Germany, 2013.
• Drama, historical.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 5.

Five German friends meet in a cafe in June 1941. Three of them leave for the Eastern Front, but expect to return home soon. However, all the heroes quickly fall into the maelstrom of war with its brutal orders.

This is the most controversial series in the collection. On the one hand, he received a lot of positive reviews for allowing him to see all the horrors of World War II, including for representatives of the German people, not all of whom agreed with the state ideology. On the other hand, the series showed too much cruelty on the part of Soviet soldiers and Polish partisans, which, of course, caused a lot of controversy.

5. Generation of killers

• USA, UK, 2008.
• Drama.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 5.

The series is dedicated to the first days of the American invasion of Iraq in 2003. Shows the story of the rank and file of the reconnaissance battalion. They are joined by journalist Evan Wright, who is trying to document what is happening.

The tough seven-part project of the HBO channel is based on the book of the real Rolling Stone journalist Evan Wright, and all the vicissitudes of this war were shown on the screen without embellishment.

6. Damn service at the MES hospital

• USA, 1972-1983.
• Medical drama, black comedy.
• Duration: 11 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 4.

The series comes against the backdrop of the success of the MES Field Hospital movie about the everyday life of doctors during the Korean War. Although all the leading performers changed in the television version, the plot remained approximately the same. This is a collection of funny and sometimes touching and even scary stories about military doctors.

Despite the comedic format and seeming lightness, the series has a lot of drama and realism. That is why MES is still considered one of the brightest anti-war statements to this day. The final episode "Goodbye, Goodbye and Amen" is considered the most watched episode in the history of television.

7. Pacific Ocean

• USA, Australia, 2010.
• Drama, historical.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 8, 3.

The same team that created Brothers in Arms almost 10 years later took on the filming of another large-budget project about the Second World War. This time, the story is based on the memories of US Marines Eugene Sledge and Robert Leckie, who fought in the Pacific. And these are again realistic stories about the life of soldiers and their loved ones.

We are also working on the third series in the lineup. It was named "Masters of the Air" and will tell about the participants of the Eighth US Air Force. The project was conceived back in 2013, but for a long time it was frozen due to too expensive production.

8. Dad's army

• Great Britain, 1968-1977.
• Sitcom.
• Duration: 9 seasons.
• IMDb: 8, 1.

In the midst of World War II, the Nazis are advancing on the south coast of England. All adult men left for the front long ago, so old people and teenagers are forced to defend their homes.

And again a comedy about the war. But in fact, the show's author Jimmy Perry took his own memories of hard times as a basis and found a way to show them with a smile.

9. Catch-22

• USA, 2019.
• Drama, comedy, thriller.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 8.

George Clooney created the television version of Joseph Heller's popular novel. The plot is dedicated to the captain of the US Air Force during the Second World War, John Yossarian. He is tired of combat missions and is trying to get a certificate of insanity. But it turns out that anyone who knowingly submits a statement about their insanity is, by definition, recognized as sane.

Heller's novel is also considered a striking anti-war work, showing not only the nightmares of the Second World War itself, but also the terrible bureaucracy and theft that reign in the units. And the TV version perfectly conveys the satirical atmosphere of this story.

10. Saboteur

• Russia, 2004.
• Drama, action.
• Duration: 1 season.
• IMDb: 7, 4.

In 1942, graduates of the intelligence school are sent to serve in a military unit. They have to carry out dangerous missions behind enemy lines. However, one of them is not who he claims to be.

The audience very warmly accepted the four-part project, and a few years later the sequel “Saboteur. The end of the war”, which already consists of 10 episodes.