List of book-based war films (1945–2000 wars)
A list of films that are based on war books.
Chinese Civil War
1945–1950
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Left Hand of God |
1955 |
Edward Dmytryk |
US |
The Left Hand of God |
William E. Barrett |
1951 |
Novel |
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst |
1957 |
Michael Anderson |
UK |
Yangtse Incident: The Story of H.M.S. Amethyst, April 20, 1949, to July 31, 1949 |
Lawrence Earl |
1950 |
Non-fiction |
Satan Never Sleeps |
1962 |
Leo McCarey |
US |
Satan Never Sleeps |
Pearl S. Buck |
1962 |
Novel |
Farewell My Concubine |
1993 |
Chen Kaige |
China |
Farewell My Concubine |
Lilian Lee |
1993 |
Novel |
Assembly |
2007 |
Feng Xiaogang |
China |
Guan Si |
Yang Jingyuan |
199? |
Novel |
Greek Civil War
1946–1949
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Eleni |
1985 |
Peter Yates |
US |
Eleni |
Nicholas Gage |
1983 |
Non-fiction |
First Indochina War
1946–1954
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Quiet American |
1958 |
Joseph L. Mankiewicz |
US |
The Quiet American |
Graham Greene |
1955 |
Novel |
The 317th Platoon |
1965 |
Pierre Schoendoerffer |
France |
La 317e Section |
Pierre Schoendoerffer |
1963 |
Novel |
The Quiet American |
2002 |
Phillip Noyce |
US |
The Quiet American |
Graham Greene |
1955 |
Novel |
Cold War
1947–1989
This section deals with the confrontational elements of the Cold War, including mutual suspicion and espionage.
Actual combat operations, such as proxy wars supported by the two sides, are handled in their own sections.
Iron Curtain
Confrontation
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Third Man |
1949 |
Carol Reed |
UK |
The Third Man |
Graham Greene |
1950 |
Novella |
The Red Danube |
1949 |
George Sidney |
US |
Vespers in Vienna |
Bruce Marshall |
1947 |
Novel |
Assignment: Paris |
1952 |
Robert Parrish & Phil Karlson (uncredited) |
US |
"Trial of Terror" |
Paul Gallico & Pauline Gallico |
195? |
Story |
Seven Days in May |
1964 |
John Frankenheimer |
US |
Seven Days in May |
Fletcher Knebel & Charles W. Bailey II |
1962 |
Novel |
The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming |
1966 |
Norman Jewison |
US |
The Off-Islanders |
Nathaniel Benchley |
1961 |
Novel |
The Shoes of the Fisherman |
1968 |
Michael Anderson |
US |
The Shoes of the Fisherman |
Morris West |
1963 |
Novel |
Ice Station Zebra |
1968 |
John Sturges |
US |
Ice Station Zebra |
Alistair MacLean |
1963 |
Novel |
Gorky Park |
1983 |
Michael Apted |
US |
Gorky Park |
Martin Cruz Smith |
1981 |
Novel |
Atomic Station |
1984 |
Þorsteinn Jónsson |
Iceland |
The Atom Station |
Halldór Laxness |
1948 |
Novel |
Orion's Belt |
1985 |
Ola Solum & |
Norway & UK |
Orion's Belt |
Jon Michelet |
1977 |
Novel |
Buffalo Soldiers |
2001 |
Gregor Jordan |
US |
Buffalo Soldiers |
Robert O'Connor |
1993 |
Novel |
Karol: A Man Who Became Pope * |
2005 |
Giacomo Battiato |
Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Canada |
Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of Pope John Paul II |
Gian Franco Svidercoschi |
2001 |
Non-fiction |
Karol: The Pope, The Man * |
2006 |
Giacomo Battiato |
Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Canada |
Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of Pope John Paul II |
Gian Franco Svidercoschi |
2001 |
Non-fiction |
The Good German |
2006 |
Steven Soderbergh |
US |
The Good German |
Joseph Kanon |
2001 |
Novel |
- ♠ The film is set in Vienna during the Allied occupation of Austria.
- * television film.
Secret missions
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Action of the Tiger |
1957 |
Terence Young |
US |
Action of the Tiger |
James Wellard |
195? |
Novel |
Francis Gary Powers: The True Story of the U-2 Spy Incident |
1976 |
Delbert Mann |
US |
Operation Overflight |
Francis Gary Powers & |
1971 |
Memoir |
Firefox |
1982 |
Clint Eastwood |
US |
Firefox |
Craig Thomas |
1977 |
Novel |
Smuggler's Ransom ♠ |
2008 |
Daniel Noa & Brandon Rice |
Canada |
To Die and Live: Smuggler's Ransom |
Steve Losee |
200? |
Story? |
- ♠ A US agent must rescue a born-again Bible smuggler from the Romanians.
Espionage
Bulletin ... upcoming film: L'Affaire Farewell by Christian Carion
Bulletin ... film currently in development: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Iron Curtain |
1948 |
William Wellman |
US |
This Was My Choice |
Igor Gouzenko |
1948 |
Memoir |
I Was a Communist for the FBI |
1951 |
Gordon Douglas |
US |
Saturday Evening Post series |
Matt Cvetic |
194? |
Stories |
5 Steps to Danger |
1957 |
Henry S. Kesler |
US |
The Steel Mirror |
Donald Hamilton |
1948 |
Novel |
From Russia with Love |
1963 |
Terence Young |
UK |
From Russia, with Love |
Ian Fleming |
1957 |
Novel |
Hot Enough for June |
1964 |
Ralph Thomas |
UK |
The Night of Wenceslas |
Lionel Davidson |
1960 |
Novel |
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold |
1965 |
Martin Ritt |
UK |
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold |
"John le Carré" |
1963 |
Novel |
The Ipcress File |
1965 |
Sidney J. Furie |
UK |
The IPCRESS File |
Len Deighton |
1962 |
Novel |
The Deadly Affair |
1966 |
Sidney Lumet |
UK |
Call for the Dead |
"John le Carré" |
1961 |
Novel |
The Looking Glass War |
1969 |
Frank Pierson |
UK |
The Looking Glass War |
"John le Carré" |
1965 |
Novel |
Topaz |
1969 |
Alfred Hitchcock |
US |
Topaz |
Leon Uris |
1967 |
Novel |
The Kremlin Letter |
1970 |
John Huston |
US |
The Kremlin Letter |
Noel Behn |
196? |
Novel |
Hopscotch |
1980 |
Ronald Neame |
US |
Hopscotch |
Brian Garfield |
1975 |
Novel |
TASS Is Authorized to Declare... * |
1984 |
Vladimir Fokin |
USSR |
ТАСС уполномочен заявить... |
"Yulian Semyonov" |
1979 |
Novel |
The Falcon and the Snowman |
1985 |
John Schlesinger |
UK & US |
The Falcon and the Snowman: A True Story of Friendship and Espionage |
Robert Lindsey |
1979 |
Non-fiction |
The Whistle Blower |
1986 |
Simon Langton |
UK |
The Whistle Blower |
John Hale |
1984 |
Novel |
No Way Out |
1987 |
Roger Donaldson |
US |
The Big Clock |
Kenneth Fearing |
1946 |
Novel |
Scandal |
1989 |
Michael Caton-Jones |
UK |
Scandal (uncredited) |
Christine Keeler (uncredited) |
1989 |
Memoir |
The Russia House |
1990 |
Fred Schepisi |
US |
The Russia House |
"John le Carré" |
1989 |
Novel |
The Waiting Time * |
1999 |
Stuart Orme |
UK |
The Waiting Time |
Gerald Seymour |
1998 |
Novel |
A Different Loyalty |
2004 |
Marek Kanievska |
Canada, UK, US |
Kim Philby: The Spy I Loved (uncredited) |
Eleanor Brewer Philby (uncredited) |
1967 |
Memoir |
The Company ♠ * |
2007 |
Mikael Salomon |
US |
The Company: A Novel of the CIA |
Robert Littell |
2002 |
Novel |
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy |
201? |
Tomas Alfredson |
UK |
Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy |
"John Le Carré" |
1974 |
Novel |
A Perfect Spy ** |
1987 |
Peter Smith |
UK |
A Perfect Spy |
"John le Carré" |
1986 |
Novel |
- ♠ The story of the CIA, from postwar Berlin, through the Hungarian Revolution and the Bay of Pigs, to Gorbachev and Yeltsin.
- * television film.
- ** TV miniseries.
The Thirty-Nine Steps
The famous 1935 Alfred Hitchcock version is set during the interwar years.
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The 39 Steps |
1959 |
Ralph Thomas |
UK |
The Thirty-Nine Steps |
John Buchan |
1915 |
Novel |
Defection
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Never Let Me Go |
1953 |
Delmer Daves |
UK |
Came the Dawn |
"Roger Bax" |
1949 |
Novel |
Skyjacked |
1972 |
John Guillermin |
US |
Hijacked |
"David Harper" |
197? |
Novel |
The Girl from Petrovka |
1974 |
Robert Ellis Miller |
US |
The Girl from Petrovka |
George Feifer |
197? |
Novel |
Judgment in Berlin |
1988 |
Leo Penn |
West Germany & US |
Judgment in Berlin |
Herbert Jay Stern |
1984 |
Memoir |
The Contract * |
1988 |
Ian Toynton |
UK |
The Contract |
Gerald Seymour |
1980 |
Novel |
I Am David |
2003 |
Paul Feig |
US |
I Am David |
Anne Holm |
1963 |
Novel |
- * television film.
Mariel Boatlift
(analogous to the Berlin Airlift)
1980
Bulletin ... film currently in production: Memorias del desarrollo
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Scarface |
1983 |
Brian De Palma |
US |
Scarface (uncredited) |
Armitage Trail (uncredited) |
1930 |
Novel |
Memorias del desarrollo |
2009 |
Miguel Coyula |
Cuba & US |
Memories of Overdevelopment |
Edmundo Desnoes |
2008? |
Novel |
Détente
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Russian Roulette |
1975 |
Lou Lombardo |
Canada & UK |
Kosygin Is Coming |
Tom Ardies |
1974 |
Novel |
"Bamboo Curtain"
Confrontation
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blood Alley |
1955 |
William A. Wellman |
US |
Blood Alley |
Albert Sidney Fleischman |
195? |
Novel |
On Dangerous Ground * |
1996 |
Lawrence Gordon Clark |
Canada, UK |
On Dangerous Ground |
"Jack Higgins" |
1994 |
Novel |
- * television film.
Secret missions
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Soldier of Fortune |
1955 |
Edward Dmytryk |
US |
Soldier of Fortune |
Ernest K. Gann |
1954 |
Novel |
Espionage
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Stopover Tokyo |
1957 |
Richard L. Breen |
US |
Rendezvous in Tokyo |
John P. Marquand |
1956 |
Novel |
Defection
Bulletin ... film now in release: Mao's Last Dancer by Bruce Beresford
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Mao's Last Dancer |
2009 |
Bruce Beresford |
Australia |
Mao's Last Dancer |
Li Cunxin |
2003 |
Autobiography |
McCarthy hearings
1954
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Citizen Cohn * |
1992 |
Frank Pierson |
US |
Citizen Cohn |
Nicholas von Hoffman |
1988 |
Non-fiction |
- * television film.
Cuban Missile Crisis
October 1962
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Memories of Underdevelopment |
1968 |
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea |
Cuba |
Inconsolable Memories |
Edmundo Desnoes |
1962 |
Novel |
The Missiles of October * |
1974 |
Anthony Page |
US |
Thirteen Days |
Robert F. Kennedy |
1969 |
Memoir |
Robert Kennedy & His Times * |
1985 |
Marvin J. Chomsky |
US |
Robert Kennedy and His Times |
Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr. |
1978 |
Non-fiction |
Thirteen Days |
2000 |
Roger Donaldson |
US |
The Kennedy Tapes - Inside the White House During the Cuban Missile Crisis |
Ernest May & Philip Zelikow |
1997 |
Non-fiction |
- * television film.
Mutually assured destruction
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bombers B-52 |
1957 |
Gordon Douglas |
US |
Bombers B-52 (?) |
Sam Rolfe |
195? |
Novel |
Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! |
1958 |
Leo McCarey |
US |
Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! |
Max Shulman |
195? |
Novel |
The Inside Man |
1984 |
Tom Clegg |
Sweden & UK |
The Fighter |
Harry Kullman |
1980 |
Novel |
The Hunt for Red October |
1990 |
John McTiernan |
US |
The Hunt for Red October |
Tom Clancy |
1984 |
Novel |
Hostile Waters * |
1997 |
David Drury |
France, Germany, UK, US |
Hostile Waters (uncredited) |
Capt. Peter Huchthausen ♠, Igor Kurdin, R. Alan White (uncredited) |
1997 |
Non-fiction |
K-19: The Widowmaker |
2002 |
Kathryn Bigelow |
UK, Germany, US, Canada |
K-19: The Widowmaker — The Secret Story of the Soviet Nuclear Submarine (uncredited) |
Capt. Peter Huchthausen (uncredited) |
2002 |
Non-fiction |
72 Metres |
2004 |
Vladimir Khotinenko |
Russia |
? |
Aleksandr Pokrovsky |
199? |
Novels |
- ♠ Huchthausen is credited as a researcher, not as an author.
- * television film.
Doomsday scenario
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fail-Safe |
1964 |
Sidney Lumet |
US |
Fail-Safe |
Eugene Burdick & Harvey Wheeler |
1962 |
Novel |
Dr. Strangelove |
1964 |
Stanley Kubrick |
UK & US |
Red Alert |
Peter Bryant |
1958 |
Novel |
The Bedford Incident |
1965 |
James B. Harris |
US |
The Bedford Incident |
Mark Rascovich |
1963 |
Novel |
Twilight's Last Gleaming |
1977 |
Robert Aldrich |
US |
Viper Three |
Walter Wager |
1971 |
Novel |
The Fifth Missile * |
1986 |
Larry Peerce |
Italy & US |
The Gold Crew |
Frank M. Robinson & Thomas N. Scortia |
1980 |
Novel |
By Dawn's Early Light * |
1990 |
Jack Sholder |
US |
Trinity's Child |
William Prochnau |
1983 |
Novel |
- * television film.
What if ...
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The [...] |
1963 |
Joseph Losey |
UK |
The Children of Light |
H.L. Lawrence |
196? |
Novel |
Archangel * |
2005 |
Jon Jones |
UK |
Archangel |
Robert Harris |
1998 |
Novel |
Watchmen |
2009 |
Zack Snyder |
US |
Watchmen |
Alan Moore |
1986– |
Graphic novel |
The Iron Giant α |
1999 |
Brad Bird |
US |
The Iron Man |
Ted Hughes |
1968 |
Novel |
- * television film.
- α Animated film.
Grand Fenwick-American War
The fictional defeat of the US by the bowmen of the Duchy of Grand Fenwick.
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Mouse That Roared |
1959 |
Jack Arnold |
UK |
The Day New York Was Invaded aka |
Leonard Wibberley ♠ |
1955 |
Novel |
The Mouse on the Moon |
1963 |
Richard Lester |
UK |
The Mouse on the Moon |
Leonard Wibberley ♠ |
1962 |
Novel |
- ♠ Wibberley was the father of Cormac Wibberley, screenwriter of the National Treasure film series, amongst other titles.
Partition of India
1947
Bulletin ... film currently in development: Midnight's Children by Deepa Mehta
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bhowani Junction |
1956 |
George Cukor |
US & UK |
Bhowani Junction |
John Masters |
1952 |
Novel |
Dharmputra |
1961 |
Yash Chopra |
India |
Dharmputra |
Acharya Chatursen Shastri |
195? |
Novel |
The Jewel in the Crown ** |
1984 |
Jim O'Brien & |
UK |
Raj Quartet |
Paul Scott |
1966–1975 |
Tetralogy |
Tamas ** |
1987 |
Govind Nihalani |
India |
Tamas |
Bhisham Sahni |
1974 |
Novel |
Train to Pakistan |
1998 |
Pamela Rooks |
UK & India |
Train to Pakistan |
Khushwant Singh |
1956 |
Novel |
Earth |
1998 |
Deepa Mehta |
India & Canada |
Ice Candy Man |
Bapsi Sidhwa |
1988 |
Novel |
Pinjar: Beyond Boundaries … ♠ |
2003 |
Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi |
India & Pakistan |
Pinjar |
Amrita Pritam |
1970 |
Novel |
Midnight's Children |
2011 |
Deepa Mehta |
Canada? |
Midnight's Children |
Salman Rushdie |
1981 |
Novel |
- ♠ The opening credits include the title () in Urdu.
- ** TV miniseries.
Royal Indian Navy Mutiny
February 1946
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bhowani Junction Δ |
1956 |
George Cukor |
US & UK |
Bhowani Junction |
John Masters |
1952 |
Novel |
- Δ It is not clear to what extent this conflict is covered by the film or by the source novel.
1948 Arab–Israeli War
1948–1949
Bulletin ... upcoming film: Miral by Julian Schnabel
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Hill 24 Doesn't Answer |
1955 |
Thorold Dickinson |
Israel |
? |
Zvi Kolitz |
195? |
Story |
Exodus |
1960 |
Otto Preminger |
US |
Exodus |
Leon Uris |
1958 |
Novel |
Cast a Giant Shadow |
1966 |
Melville Shavelson |
US |
Cast a Giant Shadow: The Story of Mickey Marcus Who Died to Save Jerusalem |
Ted Berkman |
1962 |
Non-fiction |
Bab el shams |
2004 |
Yousry Nasrallah |
France, Egypt, Belgium, Denmark, Morocco |
The Gate of the Sun |
Elias Khoury |
1998 |
Novel |
O Jerusalem |
2006 |
Élie Chouraqui |
Belgium |
O Jerusalem! |
Larry Collins & Dominique Lapierre |
1972 |
Non-fiction |
Miral |
2010 |
Julian Schnabel |
UK, Israel, France |
Miral |
Rula Jebreal |
199? |
Novel |
Malayan Emergency
1948–1960
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Windom's Way |
1957 |
Ronald Neame |
UK |
Windom's Way |
James Ramsey Ullman |
195? |
Novel |
The 7th Dawn |
1964 |
Lewis Gilbert |
UK |
The Durian Tree |
Michael Keon |
1960 |
Novel |
The Virgin Soldiers |
1969 |
John Dexter |
UK |
The Virgin Soldiers |
Leslie Thomas |
1966 |
Novel |
Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers |
1977 |
Norman Cohen |
UK |
Stand Up, Virgin Soldiers ♠ |
Leslie Thomas |
1975 |
Novel |
- ♠ Thomas wrote a third, intermediate novel in his series, Onward Virgin Soldiers (1971).
Korean War
1950–1953
Politics
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Harry S. Truman: Plain Speaking * |
1976 |
Daniel Petrie |
US |
Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman |
Merle Miller |
1974 |
Memoir/ |
Land operations
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Fixed Bayonets! |
1951 |
Samuel Fuller |
US |
Immortal Sergeant ♠ |
John Brophy |
194? |
Novel |
Hold Back the Night |
1956 |
Allan Dwan |
US |
Hold Back the Night |
"Pat Frank" |
1952 |
Novel |
Men in War |
1957 |
Anthony Mann |
US |
Day Without End |
Van Van Praag |
195? |
Novel |
Pork Chop Hill |
1959 |
Lewis Milestone |
US |
Pork Chop Hill: The American Fighting Man in Action, Korea, Spring, 1953 |
S.L.A. Marshall |
1956 |
Non-fiction |
Assembly |
2007 |
Feng Xiaogang |
China |
Guan Si |
Yang Jingyuan |
199? |
Novel |
- ♠ The novel is in fact credited, but its relationship to the film is said to be coincidental, with its creditation being merely legal in nature.
Air operations
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Bridges at Toko-Ri |
1955 |
Mark Robson |
US |
The Bridges at Toko-Ri |
James Michener |
1953 |
Novel |
The Hunters |
1958 |
[...] Powell |
US |
The Hunters |
James Salter |
1956 |
Novel |
Military bases
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Code Breakers * |
2005 |
Rod Holcomb |
US |
A Return to Glory: the Untold Story of Honor, Dishonor, and Triumph at the United States Military Academy, 1950-53 |
Bill McWilliams |
2000 |
Non-fiction |
- * television film.
Military hospitals
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Great Impostor ♠ |
1961 |
Robert Mulligan |
US |
The Great Impostor |
Robert Crichton |
1959 |
Non-fiction |
MASH ♦ |
1970 |
Robert Altman |
US |
M*A*S*H |
"Richard Hooker" |
1953 |
Novel |
- ♠ The hospital is aboard an RCN destroyer, the HMCS Cayuga.
- ♦ In the film version, the implicit target of the satire is the Vietnam War, rather than the Korean War.
Involuntary confinement
POWs
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Manchurian Candidate |
1962 |
John Frankenheimer |
US |
The Manchurian Candidate |
Richard Condon |
1959 |
Novel |
The Hook ♠ |
1963 |
George Seaton |
US |
L'Hameçon |
"Vahé Katcha" |
195? |
Novel |
- ♠ US soldiers are under orders to [...] a North Korean POW.
Koje Island Uprisings
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Joint Security Area |
2000 |
Park Chan-wook |
South Korea |
DMZ |
Park Sang-yeon |
1997 |
Novel |
Refugees
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Battle Hymn |
1957 |
Douglas Sirk |
US |
Battle Hymn |
Col. Dean E. Hess |
1956 |
Memoir |
Home front
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Last Picture Show |
1971 |
Peter Bogdanovich |
US |
The Last Picture Show |
Larry McMurtry |
1966 |
Novel |
Though None Go with Me * |
2006 |
Armand Mastroianni |
US |
Though None Go with Me |
Jerry B. Jenkins |
199? |
Novel |
- * television film.
DMZ
1953–ongoing
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Joint Security Area |
2000 |
Park Chan-wook |
South Korea |
DMZ |
Park Sang-yeon |
1997 |
Novel |
Egyptian Revolution of 1952
1952
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Abdulla the Great |
1955 |
Gregory Ratoff |
UK & Egypt |
My Kingdom for a Woman |
Ismet Regeila |
195? |
Novel |
Ayam El-Sadat |
2001 |
Mohamed Khan |
Egypt |
In Search of Identity: An Autobiography |
Anwar Sadat |
1978 |
Autobiography |
Mau Mau Uprising
1952–1960
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Simba |
1955 |
Brian Desmond Hurst |
UK |
Simba |
Anthony Perry |
195? |
Novel |
Something of Value |
1957 |
Richard Brooks |
US |
Something of Value |
Robert Ruark |
1955 |
Novel |
Guns at Batasi ♠ |
1964 |
John Guillermin |
UK |
The Siege of Battersea |
Robert Holles |
1962 |
Novel |
- ♠ Officially, this film does not take place in Kenya, but in a fictional emerging East African country where there is a rebellion against a British garrison. Both Uganda and Tanganyika enjoyed smooth transitions during this period.
Cuban Revolution
1953–1959
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Gun Runners |
1958 |
Don Siegel |
US |
To Have and Have Not |
Ernest Hemingway |
1937 |
Novel |
Our Man in Havana |
1959 |
Carol Reed |
UK |
Our Man in Havana |
Graham Greene |
1958 |
Novel |
Memories of Underdevelopment |
1968 |
Tomás Gutiérrez Alea |
Cuba |
Inconsolable Memories |
Edmundo Desnoes |
1962 |
Novel |
Che Part 1 |
2008 |
Steven Soderbergh |
US |
Episodes of the Cuban Revolutionary War |
Ernesto "Che" Guevara |
1963 |
Diary |
Che Guevara |
2008 |
Josh Evans |
US |
Don Quixote ♦ (uncredited) |
Miguel de Cervantes (uncredited) |
1615 |
Novel |
- ♠ Anderson is credited as chief consultant, not as author.
- ♦ Guevara recommends Don Quixote to a campesino.
Attack on El Uvero
28 May 1957
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Che Guevara |
2008 |
Josh Evans |
US |
Don Quixote (uncredited) |
Miguel de Cervantes (uncredited) |
1615 |
Novel |
Battle of Santa Clara
28 December 1958 – 1 January 1959
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Che Part 1 |
2008 |
Steven Soderbergh |
US |
Episodes of the Cuban Revolutionary War |
Ernesto "Che" Guevara |
1963 |
Diary |
Bay of Pigs Invasion
1961
Bulletin ... film currently in development: Fire Bay by Randall Fried
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Company * |
2007 |
Mikael Salomon |
US |
The Company: A Novel of the CIA |
Robert Littell |
2002 |
Novel |
- * television film.
Guatemalan coup of 1954
1954
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Che Guevara |
2008 |
Josh Evans |
US |
Don Quixote (uncredited) |
Miguel de Cervantes (uncredited) |
1615 |
Novel |
- ♠ Guevara discusses his participation in Guatemala, before he fled to Mexico where he met Cuban revolutionaries.
Algerian War
1954–1962
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Lost Command |
1966 |
"Jean Lartéguy" |
US |
Les centurions |
"Jean Lartéguy" |
1960 |
Novel |
Le Crabe-tambour |
1977 |
Pierre Schoendoerffer |
France |
Le Crabe-tambour |
Pierre Schoendoerffer |
1976 |
Novel |
Là-bas... mon pays |
2000 |
Alexandre Arcady |
France |
Grande vacance : roman |
René Bonnell |
1997¤ |
Novel |
Mon colonel |
2006 |
Laurent Herbiet |
France & Belgium |
Mon colonel : roman |
Francis Zamponi |
1999 |
Novel |
Atrocities
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
La Question |
1977 |
Laurent Heynemann |
France |
La Question ♠ |
Henri Alleg |
1958 |
Memoir |
Home front
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wild Reeds |
1994 |
André Téchiné |
France |
"The Oak and the Reed" |
Jean de La Fontaine |
1668 |
Fable |
Cyprus Emergency
1955–1959
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The High Bright Sun |
1964 |
Ralph Thomas |
UK |
The High Bright Sun |
Ian Stuart Black |
1962 |
Novel |
Poznań June
1956
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Karol: A Man Who Became Pope * |
2005 |
Giacomo Battiato |
Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Canada |
Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of Pope John Paul II |
Gian Franco Svidercoschi |
2001 |
Non-fiction |
Hungarian Revolution
1956
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Secret Ways |
1961 |
Phil Karlson & Richard Widmark (uncredited) |
US |
The Last Frontier |
Alistair MacLean |
1959 |
Novel |
The Company * |
2007 |
Mikael Salomon |
US |
The Company: A Novel of the CIA |
Robert Littell |
2002 |
Novel |
- * television film.
Vietnam War
1957–1975
(See also the First Indochina War)
Politics
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Ugly American ♠ |
1963 |
George Englund |
US |
The Ugly American |
William Lederer & Eugene Burdick |
1958 |
Novel |
Blind Ambition * |
1979 |
George Schaefer |
US |
Blind Ambition: The White House Years |
John Dean with Taylor Branch |
1976 |
Memoir |
Kissinger and Nixon * |
1995 |
Daniel Petrie |
Canada |
Kissinger: A Biography |
Walter Isaacson |
1992 |
Non-fiction |
A Bright Shining Lie * |
1998 |
Terry George |
US |
A Bright Shining Lie: John Paul Vann and America in Vietnam |
Neil Sheehan |
1988 |
Non-fiction |
- ♠ The film is set in the fictional Southeast Asian country of Sarkhan, rather than Vietnam per se.
Sarkhan, a US ally, is invaded by Communist North Sarkhan. - * television film.
Land operations
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Green Berets |
1968 |
John Wayne |
US |
The Green Berets |
Robin Moore |
1965 |
Novel |
The Deer Hunter |
1978 |
Michael Cimino |
US |
Three Comrades (uncredited) |
Erich Maria Remarque (uncredited) |
1937 |
Novel |
Go Tell the Spartans |
1978 |
Ted Post |
US |
Incident at Muc Wa |
Daniel Ford |
1967 |
Novel |
Apocalypse Now |
1979 |
Francis Ford Coppola |
US |
“Inspired by” |
Joseph Conrad |
1902 |
Novella |
The Odd |
1979 |
Tom Jeffrey |
Australia |
The Odd Angry Shot |
William Nagle |
1975¤ |
Novel |
Platoon Leader |
1988 |
Aaron Norris |
US |
Platoon Leader |
James R. McDonough |
1985 |
Novel/Memoir |
White Badge ♠ |
1992 |
Jeong Ji-yeong |
South Korea |
White Badge: a novel of Korea |
Ahn Junghyo |
1983 |
Novel |
A Soldier's Sweetheart |
1998 |
Thomas Michael Donnelly |
US |
"Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" from The Things They Carried |
Tim O'Brien |
1990 |
Story |
- ♠ A South Korean sergeant deals with his memories by writing a novel about the guys in his unit.
Battle of Ia Drang
14–18 November 1965
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
We Were Soldiers |
2002 |
Randall Wallace |
US |
We Were Soldiers Once… And Young |
Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore & Joseph L. Galloway |
1992 |
Non-fiction |
Battle of Long Tan
18 August 1966
Bulletin ... film currently in development: Long Tan by Bruce Beresford
Battle of Hué
1968
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full Metal Jacket |
1987 |
Stanley Kubrick |
US |
The Short-Timers |
Gustav Hasford |
1980 |
Novel |
Air operations
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bat*21 |
1988 |
Peter Markle |
US |
BAT-21 |
William Charles Anderson |
1980 |
Non-fiction |
Air America |
1990 |
Roger Spottiswoode |
US |
Air America: The Story of the CIA's Secret Airline |
Christopher Robbins |
1978 |
Non-fiction |
Flight of the Intruder |
1991 |
John Milius |
US |
''Flight of the Intruder |
'' Stephen Coonts |
1986 |
Novel |
Military bases
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full Metal Jacket |
1987 |
Stanley Kubrick |
US |
The Short-Timers |
Gustav Hasford |
1980 |
Novel |
Involuntary confinement
POWs
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
When Hell was in Session * |
1979 |
Paul Krasny |
US |
When Hell was in Session |
Rear Adm. Jeremiah A. Denton, Jr. with Ed. Brandt |
1976 |
Memoir |
Some Kind of Hero |
1982 |
Michael Pressman |
US |
Some Kind of Hero: a novel |
James Kirkwood |
1975 |
Novel |
Faith of My Fathers * |
2005 |
Peter Markle |
US |
Faith of My Fathers |
John McCain |
1999 |
Autobiography |
Rescue Dawn |
2007 |
Werner Herzog |
US |
Escape from Laos (uncredited) |
Dieter Dengler (uncredited) |
1979 |
Memoir |
- * television film.
Atrocities
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Casualties of War |
1989 |
Brian De Palma |
US |
Casualties of War |
Daniel Lang |
1969 |
Novel |
In the Lake of the Woods * |
1996 |
Carl Schenkel |
US |
In the Lake of the Woods |
Tim O'Brien |
1994 |
Novel |
- * television film.
Refugees and Boat people
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Turtle Beach |
1992 |
Stephen Wallace |
Australia |
Turtle Beach |
Blanche d'Alpuget |
1981 |
Novel |
Home front
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Bamboo Incident |
1970 |
Raoul Coutard |
France |
La Colonne de cendres |
Françoise Lorrain |
1954 |
Novel |
Friendly Fire |
1979 |
David Greene |
US |
Friendly Fire |
C.D. Bryan |
1976 |
Non-fiction |
Taking Woodstock |
2009 |
Ang Lee |
US |
Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life |
Elliot Tiber & Tom Monte |
2007 |
Memoir |
- ♠ Information on this film is scanty, but it appears to be about the effect of war on Vietnamese children.
The novel's publication date implies that it actually concerned the First Indochina War.
Demobilization
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Who'll Stop the Rain |
1978 |
Karel Reisz |
US |
Dog Soldiers |
Robert Stone |
1974 |
Novel |
Americana ♠ |
1983 |
David Carradine |
US |
The Perfect Round |
Henry Norton Robinson |
1945 |
Novel |
Heaven & Earth |
1993 |
Oliver Stone |
US |
When Heaven and Earth Changed Places: A Vietnamese Woman's Journey from War to Peace |
Le Ly Hayslip & Jay Wurts |
1989 |
Memoir |
- ♠ A rootless veteran works to repair a small town merry-go-round.
Casualties physical and mental
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Deer Hunter |
1978 |
Michael Cimino |
US |
Three Comrades (uncredited) |
Erich Maria Remarque (uncredited) |
1937 |
Novel |
Coming Home |
1978 |
Hal Ashby |
US |
Coming Home |
George Davis |
1972 |
Novel |
Birdy |
1984 |
Alan Parker |
US |
Birdy |
William Wharton |
1978 |
Novel |
Born on the Fourth of July ♠ |
1989 |
Oliver Stone |
US |
Born on the Fourth of July |
Ron Kovic |
1976 |
Memoir |
White Badge ♦ |
1992 |
Jeong Ji-yeong |
South Korea |
White Badge: a novel of Korea |
Ahn Junghyo |
1983 |
Novel |
Skins ♥ |
2002 |
Chris Eyre |
US |
Skins |
Adrian C. Louis |
1995 |
Novel |
- ♠ For another recent autobiography of a seriously wounded serviceman, see Tumbledown (Falklands War).
The World War II classic film on this subject is The Men with Marlon Brando (original screenplay, not based on a book).
Of related interest are Pride of the Marines with John Garfield and The Best Years of Our Lives with Harold Russell. - ♦ One veteran of the South Korean platoon is left badly disturbed.
- ♥ The story involves a troubled Sioux veteran.
Memorial
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Gardens Of Stone |
1987 |
Francis Ford Coppola |
US |
Gardens Of Stone |
Nicholas Proffitt |
1983 |
Novel |
In Country |
1989 |
Norman Jewison |
US |
In Country |
Bobbie Ann Mason |
1985 |
Novel |
What if ...
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Watchmen |
2009 |
Zack Snyder |
US |
Watchmen |
Alan Moore |
1986– |
Comic |
Cambodian Civil War
1967–1975
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The [...] Fields |
1984 |
Roland Joffé |
UK |
The Death and Life of Dith Pran |
Sydney Schanberg |
1980 |
Non-fiction |
Nixon ♠ |
1995 |
Oliver Stone |
US |
The Final Days |
Bob Woodward & |
1976 |
Non-fiction |
- ♠ Cambodia is covered, in addition to Vietnam.
Congo Crisis
1960–1966 (including the Katangan Secession and the Simba Rebellion)
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dark of the Sun ♠ |
1968 |
Jack Cardiff |
US |
Train From Katanga |
Wilbur Smith |
1965 |
Novel |
- ♠ The film was unofficially remade as Tears of the Sun, set in a fictitious Nigerian Civil War.
Quiet Revolution
1960–1970?
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Duplessis * |
1977 |
Mark Blandford |
Canada |
Duplessis |
Conrad Black |
1973/1977 |
Non-fiction |
- * television film.
Abortive Bolivian revolution
1966–1967
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Che Part 2 |
2008 |
Steven Soderbergh |
US |
Bolivian Diary |
Ernesto "Che" Guevara |
1968/ |
Diary |
Che Guevara |
2008 |
Josh Evans |
US |
Don Quixote ♦ (uncredited) |
Miguel de Cervantes (uncredited) |
1615 |
Novel |
- ♠ Anderson is credited as chief consultant, not as author.
- ♦ Guevara recommends Don Quixote to a campesino.
Rhodesian Bush War
1966–1980
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Albino aka |
1976 |
Jürgen Goslar |
West Germany |
The Whispering Death |
Daniel Carney |
1969 |
Novel |
A Game for Vultures |
1979 |
James Fargo |
UK |
A Game for Vultures (?) |
Michael Hartmann |
197? |
Novel |
The Troubles
1966–1998
Bulletin ... Film currently in production: The Special Relationship by Richard Loncraine
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Cal |
1984 |
Pat O'Connor |
UK & Ireland |
Cal |
Bernard MacLaverty |
1983 |
Novel |
Harry's Game * |
1982 |
Lawrence Gordon Clark |
UK |
Harry's Game |
Gerald Seymour |
1975 |
Novel |
The Glory Boys * |
1984 |
Michael Ferguson |
UK |
The Glory Boys |
Gerald Seymour |
1976 |
Novel |
The Railway Station Man |
1992 |
Michael Whyte |
UK |
The Railway Station Man |
Jennifer Johnston |
1985 |
Novel |
In the Name of the Father |
1993 |
Jim Sheridan |
Ireland & UK |
Proved Innocent |
Gerry Conlon |
199? |
Memoir |
The Informant * |
1997 |
Jim McBride |
Ireland & US |
Field of Blood |
Gerald Seymour |
1985 |
Novel |
Bloody Sunday * |
2002 |
Paul Greengrass |
UK & Ireland |
Eyewitness Bloody Sunday – The Truth (uncredited) |
Don Mullan (uncredited) |
1997 |
Memoir/ |
Fifty Dead Men Walking |
2008 |
Kari Skogland |
UK & Canada |
Fifty Dead Men Walking |
Martin McGartland |
1997 |
Memoir |
The Rising of the Moon |
2002 |
Deborah Baxtrom |
US |
Diary |
Bobby Sands |
1981 |
Diary |
- * television film.
Six Day War
1967
Atrocities
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
[...] in Television House * |
2001 |
Ram Loevy |
Israel |
"Ido and Einam" from Thus Far |
S. Y. Agnon |
197? |
Story |
- * television film.
Biafran War
1967–1970
Bulletin ... film currently in development: Half of a Yellow Sun by director unknown
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Dogs of War Δ |
1981 |
John Irvin |
UK & US |
The Dogs of War ♠ |
Frederick Forsyth |
1974 |
Novel |
- Δ The film changes the setting of the opening to non-specific Central America from non-specific Africa.
- ♠ The novel's team of mercenaries depart from an African civil war but it goes unnamed. Forsyth had been a war correspondent in Biafra.
Prague Spring
1968
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Unbearable Lightness of Being |
1988 |
Philip Kaufman |
US |
The Unbearable Lightness of Being |
Milan Kundera |
1984 |
Novel |
Bangladesh Liberation War
1971
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aguner Poroshmoni |
1995 |
Humayun Ahmed |
Bangladesh |
The Touchstone of Fire |
Humayun Ahmed |
198? |
Novel |
Shyamol Chhaya |
2004 |
Humayun Ahmed |
Bangladesh |
The Green Shade |
Humayun Ahmed |
1973 |
Novel |
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
1971
Battle of Longewala
4–5 December 1971
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Border |
1997 |
J. P. Dutta |
India |
Diary |
J. P. Dutta |
1971 |
Diaries |
October War
1973
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Kippur |
2000 |
Amos Gitai |
Israel |
One-Dimensional Man (uncredited) |
Herbert Marcuse ♠ (uncredited) |
1964 |
Non-fiction |
Ayam El-Sadat |
2001 |
Mohamed Khan |
Egypt |
In Search of Identity: An Autobiography |
Anwar Sadat |
1978 |
Autobiography |
- ♠ Two Israeli reservists discuss Marcuse (as well as used cars) as they drive, looking for the war.
Invasion of East Timor
1975
Bulletin ... upcoming film: Balibo by Robert Connolly
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Balibo |
2009 |
Robert Connolly |
Australia |
Cover-Up: The inside story of the Balibo Five |
Jill Jolliffe |
2001 |
Non-fiction |
Lebanese Civil War
1975–1982
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Circle of Deceit/Die Fälschung |
1981 |
Volker Schlöndorff |
France & West Germany |
The Deception |
Nicolas Born |
1979 |
Novel |
Karol: The Pope, The Man * |
2006 |
Giacomo Battiato |
Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Canada |
Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of Pope John Paul II |
Gian Franco Svidercoschi |
2001 |
Non-fiction |
- * television film.
Entebbe Raid
1976
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rise and Fall of Idi Amin |
1981 |
Sharad Patel |
UK |
The White Pumpkin |
Denis Hills |
1976 |
Non-fiction |
The Last King of Scotland |
2006 |
Kevin Macdonald |
UK |
The Last King of Scotland |
Giles Foden |
1998 |
Novel |
Dirty War
1976–1983
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Jacobo Timerman: Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number * |
1983 |
Linda Yellen |
US |
Prisoner Without a Name, Cell Without a Number |
Jacobo Timerman |
1981 |
Memoir |
Funny Dirty Little War |
1983 |
Héctor Olivera |
Argentina |
No habrá más penas ni olvido |
Osvaldo Soriano |
1979 |
Novel |
Night of the Pencils |
1986 |
Héctor Olivera |
Argentina |
La noche de los lápices |
María Seoane & Héctor Ruiz Núñez |
198? |
Non-fiction |
Verónico Cruz |
1988 |
Miguel Pereira |
Argentina & UK |
Costumbres, Poemas y Regionalismos |
Fortunato Ramos |
198? |
Memoir |
Imagining Argentina |
2003 |
Christopher Hampton |
Spain, UK, US |
Imagining Argentina |
Lawrence Thornton |
1987 |
Novel |
Chronicle of an Escape |
2006 |
Israel Adrián Caetano |
Argentina |
Pase libre: la fuga de la Mansión Seré |
Claudio Tamburrini |
200? |
Novel/ |
- * television film.
Second Shaba War
1978
Battle of Kolwezi
18 May 1978
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Military Coup in Kolwezi |
1980 |
Raoul Coutard |
France |
La Légion saute sur Kolwezi : Opération Léopard |
Capitaine |
1978 |
Non-fiction |
Uganda-Tanzania War
1978–1979
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Rise and Fall of Idi Amin |
1981 |
Sharad Patel |
UK |
The White Pumpkin (uncredited) |
Denis Hills ♠ (uncredited) |
1976 |
Non-fiction |
The Last King of Scotland Δ |
2006 |
Kevin Macdonald |
UK |
The Last King of Scotland |
Giles Foden |
1998 |
Novel |
- ♠ Author Hills appears in the film as himself.
- Δ The war is a feature of the novel, not the film.
Nicaraguan Revolution
1978–1979
Nicaraguan Civil War
1979–1990
Politics and Diplomacy
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Karol: The Pope, The Man ** |
2006 |
Giacomo Battiato |
Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Canada |
Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of Pope John Paul II |
Gian Franco Svidercoschi |
2001 |
Non-fiction |
- ** TV miniseries.
Iran–Contra affair
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North * |
1989 |
Mike Robe |
US |
Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North (?) |
Ben Bradlee Jr. |
198? |
Non-fiction |
- * television film.
Soviet-Afghan War
1978–1989
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Charlie Wilson's War |
2007 |
Mike Nichols |
US |
Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History |
George Crile |
2003 |
Non-fiction |
The Kite Runner |
2007 |
Marc Forster |
US |
The Kite Runner |
Khaled Hosseini |
2003 |
Novel |
Iranian Revolution
1979
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Persepolis α |
2007 |
Vincent Paronnaud & |
France & US |
Persepolis |
Marjane Satrapi |
2000–2003 |
Memoir/ |
House of Saddam ** |
2008 |
Alex Holmes & |
UK & US |
Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge (uncredited) |
Said Aburish ♠ |
1999 |
Non-fiction |
- ♠ Abu Rish is credited as script consultant, rather than author.
- ** TV miniseries.
- α Animated film.
Canadian caper
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper * |
1981 |
Lamont Johnson |
Canada & US |
The Canadian Caper (uncredited) |
Jean Pelletier ♠ & Claude Adams |
1981¤ |
Non-fiction/Memoir |
- ♠ Journalist Pelletier broke the story for La Presse and appears in the film as a character.
- * television film.
Gwangju Uprising
May 1980
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White Badge |
1992 |
Jeong Ji-yeong |
South Korea |
''White Badge: a novel of Korea |
'' Ahn Junghyo |
1989 |
Novel |
Iran–Iraq War
1980–1988
Politics and Diplomacy
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
House of Saddam ** |
2008 |
Alex Holmes & |
UK & US |
Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge (uncredited) |
Said Aburish ♠ |
1999 |
Non-fiction |
- ♠ Abu Rish is credited as script consultant, rather than author.
- ** TV miniseries.
Iran–Contra affair
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North * |
1989 |
Mike Robe |
US |
Guts and Glory: The Rise and Fall of Oliver North (?) |
Ben Bradlee Jr. |
198? |
Non-fiction |
- * television film.
Home front
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Persepolis α |
2007 |
Vincent Paronnaud & |
France & US |
Persepolis |
Marjane Satrapi |
2000–2003 |
Memoir/ |
- α Animated film.
Salvadoran Civil War
1980–1992
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Salvador |
1986 |
Oliver Stone |
US |
The Flower of the Dragon: the Breakdown of the U.S. Army in Vietnam (uncredited) |
Richard Boyle (uncredited) |
1972¤ |
Non-fiction |
Karol: The Pope, The Man * |
2006 |
Giacomo Battiato |
Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Canada |
Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of Pope John Paul II |
Gian Franco Svidercoschi |
2001 |
Non-fiction |
- * television film.
Falklands War
1982
Land operations
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Resurrected |
1989 |
Paul Greengrass |
UK |
Summer Soldier |
Philip Williams & M. S. Power |
1990 |
Memoir |
Blessed by Fire |
2005 |
Tristán Bauer |
Argentina |
Iluminados por el fuego: confesiones de un soldado que combatió en Malvinas ♠ |
Edgardo Esteban with Gustavo Romero Borri |
1993 |
Non-fiction |
- ♠ The book was reprinted in 1999 as Malvinas, diario del regreso: iluminados por el fuego.
Battle of Mount Tumbledown
13–14 June 1982
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tumbledown * |
1988 |
Richard Eyre |
UK |
When the Fighting Is Over: A Personal Story of the Battle for Tumbledown Mountain and Its Aftermath |
John Lawrence & Robert Lawrence |
198? |
Memoir |
- * television film.
Naval operations
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Verónico Cruz |
1988 |
Miguel Pereira |
Argentina & UK |
Costumbres, Poemas y Regionalismos |
Fortunato Ramos |
198? |
Memoir |
Casualties physical and mental
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Tumbledown * |
1988 |
Richard Eyre |
UK |
When the Fighting Is Over: A Personal Story of the Battle for Tumbledown Mountain and Its Aftermath |
John Lawrence & Robert Lawrence |
198? |
Memoir |
Blessed by Fire |
2005 |
Tristán Bauer |
Argentina |
Iluminados por el fuego: confesiones de un soldado que combatió en Malvinas |
Edgardo Esteban with Gustavo Romero Borri |
1993 |
Non-fiction |
- * television film.
Memorial
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Blessed by Fire |
2005 |
Tristán Bauer |
Argentina |
Iluminados por el fuego: confesiones de un soldado que combatió en Malvinas |
Edgardo Esteban with Gustavo Romero Borri |
1993 |
Non-fiction |
Invasion of Lebanon
1982–1985
Bulletin ... upcoming release: Lebanon by Samuel Maoz
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Beaufort |
2007 |
Joseph Cedar |
Israel |
Beaufort |
Ron Leshem |
2005 |
Novel |
Waltz with Bashir † α |
2008 |
Ari Folman |
Israel |
Waltz with Bashir: A Lebanon War Story ◊ |
Ari Folman & |
2009 |
Memoir/ |
- ◊ The graphic novel was published after the release of the film.
- † Dramatized documentary.
- α Animated film.
Sabra and Shatila Massacre
16 September 1982
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Waltz with Bashir |
2008 |
Ari Folman |
Israel |
Waltz with Bashir: A Lebanon War Story |
Ari Folman & |
2009 |
Memoir/ |
Lord's Resistance Army Insurgency
1987–2009
Bulletin ... film currently in development: Machine Gun Preacher by Marc Forster
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Karol: The Pope, The Man * |
2006 |
Giacomo Battiato |
Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Canada |
Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of Pope John Paul II |
Gian Franco Svidercoschi |
2001 |
Non-fiction |
Machine Gun Preacher |
2012 |
Marc Forster |
US |
Another Man's War: The True Story of One Man's Battle to Save Children in the Sudan |
Sam Childers |
2009 |
Memoir |
- * television film.
Invasion of Panama
1989–1990
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Full Fathom Five |
1990 |
Carl Franklin |
Peru & US |
Full Fathom Five |
Bart Davis |
198? |
Novel |
Collapse of the Soviet Union
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Man Who Knew Too Little |
1997 |
Jon Amiel |
US |
Watch That Man |
Robert Farrar |
199? |
Novel (unpublished) |
Soviet coup of 1991
1991
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Company * |
2007 |
Mikael Salomon |
US |
The Company: A Novel of the CIA |
Robert Littell |
2002 |
Novel |
- * television film.
Gulf War
1991
Politics
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Karol: The Pope, The Man ** |
2006 |
Giacomo Battiato |
Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Canada |
Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of Pope John Paul II |
Gian Franco Svidercoschi |
2001 |
Non-fiction |
House of Saddam ** |
2008 |
Alex Holmes & |
UK & US |
Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge (uncredited) |
Said Aburish ♠ |
1999 |
Non-fiction |
- ♠ Abu Rish is credited as script consultant, rather than author.
- ** TV miniseries.
Operations
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Courage Under Fire |
1996 |
Edward Zwick |
US |
"In a Grove" (uncredited) |
Ryūnosuke Akutagawa (uncredited) |
1922 |
Story |
The One That Got Away * |
1996 |
Paul Greengrass |
UK |
The One That Got Away ♠ |
"Chris Ryan", M.M. |
1995? |
Memoir |
Bravo Two Zero * |
1999 |
Tom Clegg |
UK |
Bravo Two Zero ♠ |
"Andy McNab" |
1993 |
Memoir |
Live from Baghdad * |
2002 |
Mick Jackson |
US |
Live from Baghdad |
Robert Wiener |
200? |
Memoir |
Jarhead |
2005 |
Sam Mendes |
US |
Jarhead: A Marine's Chronicle of the Gulf War and Other Battles |
Anthony Swofford |
2003 |
Memoir |
- ♠ The events of these books were thoroughly questioned by Michael Asher in The Real Bravo Two Zero: The Truth Behind Bravo Two Zero.
(See Bravo Two Zero accounts for the saga of the historiography on this single patrol.) - ♦ Producer Ingrid Formanek is seen with a copy of the book shortly before the war commences.
- * television film.
Casualties physical and mental
Home front
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
The Law of Enclosures ♠ |
1999 |
John Greyson |
Canada |
The Law of Enclosures |
Dale Peck |
1996 |
Novel |
- ♠ The film is set in the industrial city of Sarnia, Ontario in order to have an oil industry parallel with the war.
Demobilization
Yugoslav Wars
1991–2001
Bulletin ... film currently in development: The Filthy War by John Irvin
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Harrison's Flowers |
2000 |
Elie Chouraqui |
France |
Le diable a l'avantage |
Isabel Ellsen |
199? |
Novel |
Dezerter Дезертер |
2000 |
Živojin Pavlović |
Yugoslavia |
"The Eternal Husband" |
Fyodor Dostoyevsky |
18?? |
Story |
Bosnian War
1992–1995
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Territorio Comanche |
1997 |
Gerardo Herrero |
Spain, France, Germany, Argentina |
Territorio Comanche |
Arturo Perez-Reverte |
1994 |
Novel/ |
- * television film.
Politics
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Karol: The Pope, The Man * |
2006 |
Giacomo Battiato |
Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Canada |
Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of Pope John Paul II |
Gian Franco Svidercoschi |
2001 |
Non-fiction |
Siege of Sarajevo
1992–1996
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Welcome To Sarajevo |
1997 |
Michael Winterbottom |
US & UK |
Natasha's Story |
Michael Nicholson |
1993 |
Novel |
Shot Through the Heart * |
1998 |
David Attwood |
Canada, US, UK, Hungary |
"Anti-Sniper" |
John Falk |
1995 |
Article |
- * television film.
Demobilization
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
That Beautiful Somewhere ♠ |
2006 |
Robert Budreau |
Canada |
Loon |
A.W. Plumstead |
200? |
Novel |
- ♠ The detective leading an investigation is a Canadian veteran of Bosnia.
Justice and Retribution
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Avenger * |
2006 |
Robert Markowitz |
US |
Avenger |
Frederick Forsyth |
2003 |
Novel |
The Hunting Party |
2007 |
Richard Shepard |
US, Croatia, Bosnia |
"How I Spent My Summer Vacation" |
Scott Anderson |
2000 |
Article |
- * television film.
Director:Robert Markowitz Writers (WGA):Alan Sharp (teleplay) Frederick Forsyth (novel)
Somalian Civil War
1991–present
Battle of Mogadishu
1993
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Black Hawk Down |
2001 |
Ridley Scott |
US |
Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War |
Mark Bowden |
1999 |
Non-fiction |
Rwandan [...]
1994
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
A Sunday in Kigali |
2006 |
Robert Favreau |
Canada |
A Sunday at the pool in Kigali |
Gil Courtemanche |
2000 |
Novel |
Shake Hands with the Devil |
2007 |
Roger Spottiswoode |
Canada |
Shake Hands with the Devil: The Failure of Humanity in Rwanda |
Roméo Dallaire |
2003 |
Non-fiction |
First Chechen War
1994–1996
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Prisoner of the Mountains |
1996 |
Sergei Bodrov |
Russia |
"The Prisoner of the Caucasus" |
Leo Tolstoy |
18?? |
Story |
Purgatory Chistilishche ♠ * |
1998 |
Alexander Nevzorov |
Russia |
"Psalm 137" |
Book of Psalms Псалтирь |
? |
Scripture |
Proof of Life |
2000 |
Taylor Hackford |
US |
"Adventures in the Ransom Trade" |
William Prochnau |
199? |
Article |
- ♠ A grisly Russian film, deemed "ultra-nationalist exploitation".
- * television film.
1998 Chadian Civil War
1998–2002
Justice and Retribution
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Daratt |
2006 |
Mahamat Saleh Haroun |
France, Belgium, Chad, Austria |
La clemenza di Tito |
Metastasio |
1791 |
Libretto |
What if ...
20th century
Coups
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Seven Days in May |
1964 |
John Frankenheimer |
US |
Seven Days in May |
Fletcher Knebel & |
1962 |
Novel |
The Dogs of War ♠ |
1981 |
John Irvin |
UK & US |
The Dogs of War |
Frederick Forsyth |
1974 |
Novel |
A Very British Coup ** |
1988 |
Mick Jackson |
UK |
A Very British Coup |
Chris Mullin |
1982 |
Novel |
The Enemy Within * |
1994 |
Jonathan Darby |
US |
Seven Days in May |
Fletcher Knebel & |
1962 |
Novel |
- ♠ The film concerns a coup in the fictional African country of 'Zangaro', but the novel's basis was a genuine plot against the government of Equatorial Guinea.
- * television film.
- ** TV miniseries.
Wars
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Far North |
2007 |
Asif Kapadia |
UK & France |
"True North" from Telling Tales |
Sara Maitland |
1983 |
Story |
War in the abstract
20th century
Film |
Date |
Director |
Country |
Source |
Author |
Date |
Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Neighbours α |
1952 |
Norman McLaren |
Canada |
Synoptic Gospels |
Evangelists |
before 100 |
Scripture |
The Desert of the Tartars |
1976 |
Valerio Zurlini |
Italy, France, |
The Tartar Steppe |
Dino Buzzati |
1940 |
Novel |
Notre musique |
2004 |
Jean-Luc Godard |
Switzerland & France |
? |
Fedor Dostoievski |
? |
Texte |
- α Animated film (using pixilation).
For future conflicts which have yet to occur, see the List of films based on war books — future.
References
Unless otherwise stated, the source for film information is the IMDb.
Notes
Bibliography
- Clarke, James. Virgin Film: War Films, Virgin Books, London, 2006.
- Faulks, Sebastian and Jörg Hensgen. The Vintage Book of War Stories, Vintage, London, 1999.
- Lavington, Stephen. Virgin Film: Oliver Stone, Virgin Books, London, 2004.
- Russell, Jamie. The Pocket Essential Vietnam War Movies, Pocket Essentials, Harpenden, Herts, 2002.
- 100 Greatest War Movies, special issue of Military History Magazine, Weider History Group, Leesburg, Virginia, 2007.
- The Cinema of North Korea
- Delisle, Guy. Pyongyang: A Journey to North Korea, L'Association, Paris, 2003; Drawn & Quarterly, Montreal, 2005.
See also
- List of films based on war books
- List of films based on war books — pre-1775
- List of films based on war books — 1775–1898
- List of films based on war books — 1898–1926
- List of films based on war books — 1927–1945
- List of films based on war books — peace
- List of films based on war books — future
- List of films based on war books — fantasy
- War film
- War novel
- List of war films
- Fiction based on the Vietnam War
- List of United States military books
- Assassinations in fiction
- Pages with the same format
- List of films based on arts books
- List of films based on civics books
- List of films based on crime books
- List of films based on film books
- List of films based on sports books
- List of films based on spy books
- List of films based on westerns
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