List of book-based war films (1945–2000 wars)
For earlier and later conflicts, see list of book-based war films (1927–1945 wars) and list of book-based war films (21st-century wars).
A list of films that are based on war books.
Chinese Civil War
1945–1950
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Left Hand of God | 1955 | Edward Dmytryk | US | The Left Hand of God | William E. Barrett | 1951[1] | 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[2] | 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 官司 | Yang Jingyuan[3] | 199? | Novel |
Greek Civil War
1946–1949
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eleni | 1985 | Peter Yates | US | Eleni | Nicholas Gage | 1983[1] | Non-fiction |
First Indochina War
1946–1954
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Quiet American | 1958 | Joseph L. Mankiewicz | US | The Quiet American[4] | 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[4] | 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
- ♠ The film is set in Vienna during the Allied occupation of Austria.
- * television film.
Secret missions
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 & Curt Gentry | 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 ... film currently in development: Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy
- ♠ 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The 39 Steps | 1959 | Ralph Thomas | UK | The Thirty-Nine Steps | John Buchan | 1915 | Novel |
Defection
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scarface | 1983 | Brian De Palma | US | Scarface (uncredited) | Armitage Trail (uncredited) | 1930[1] | Novel |
| Memorias del desarrollo | 2009 | Miguel Coyula | Cuba & US | Memories of Overdevelopment Memorias del desarrollo | Edmundo Desnoes | 2008? | Novel |
Détente
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soldier of Fortune | 1955 | Edward Dmytryk | US | Soldier of Fortune | Ernest K. Gann | 1954 | Novel |
Espionage
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stopover Tokyo | 1957 | Richard L. Breen | US | Rendezvous in Tokyo aka Right You Are, Mr. Moto | John P. Marquand | 1956 | Novel |
Defection
Bulletin ... film now in release: Mao's Last Dancer by Bruce Beresford
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Memories of Underdevelopment Memorias del subdesarrollo | 1968 | Tomás Gutiérrez Alea | Cuba | Inconsolable Memories Memorias del subdesarrollo | 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[9] | 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 work | 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 Slagskämpen | 1984 | Tom Clegg | Sweden & UK | The Fighter Slagskämpen | 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 72 метра | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fail-Safe | 1964 | Sidney Lumet | US | Fail-Safe | Eugene Burdick & Harvey Wheeler | 1962 | Novel |
| Dr. Strangelove[10] | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Damned | 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– 1987 | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Mouse That Roared | 1959 | Jack Arnold | UK | The Day New York Was Invaded aka The Mouse That Roared | 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 work | 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 & Christopher Morahan | UK | Raj Quartet | Paul Scott | 1966–1975 | Tetralogy |
| Tamas ** | 1987 | Govind Nihalani | India | Tamas[11] | Bhisham Sahni | 1974 | Novel |
| Train to Pakistan | 1998 | Pamela Rooks | UK & India | Train to Pakistan | Khushwant Singh | 1956 | Novel |
| Earth अर्थ | 1998 | Deepa Mehta | India & Canada | Ice Candy Man | Bapsi Sidhwa | 1988 | Novel |
| Pinjar: Beyond Boundaries ... ♠[12] पिंजर | 2003 | Dr. Chandraprakash Dwivedi | India & Pakistan | Pinjar | Amrita Pritam | 1970 | Novel |
| Midnight's Children | 2011 | Deepa Mehta | Canada? | Midnight's Children[13][14][15] | Salman Rushdie | 1981 | Novel |
- ♠ The opening credits include the title (پنجر) in Urdu.[16]
- ** TV miniseries.
Royal Indian Navy Mutiny
February 1946
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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.[17]
1948 Arab–Israeli War
1948–1949
Bulletin ... upcoming film: Miral by Julian Schnabel
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hill 24 Doesn't Answer Giv'a 24 Eina Ona | 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[1] | 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 work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Harry S. Truman: Plain Speaking * | 1976 | Daniel Petrie | US | Plain Speaking: An Oral Biography of Harry S. Truman[18] | Merle Miller | 1974 | Memoir/ Non-fiction |
Land operations
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 集結號 | 2007 | Feng Xiaogang | China | Guan Si 官司 | Yang Jingyuan[3] | 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.[19]
Air operations
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Bridges at Toko-Ri | 1955 | Mark Robson | US | The Bridges at Toko-Ri | James Michener | 1953 | Novel |
| The Hunters | 1958 | Dick Powell | US | The Hunters | James Salter | 1956 | Novel |
Military bases
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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[1] | Non-fiction |
- * television film.
Military hospitals
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Great Impostor ♠ | 1961 | Robert Mulligan | US | The Great Impostor | Robert Crichton | 1959 | Non-fiction |
| MASH ♦[20] | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Manchurian Candidate[21] | 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 murder a North Korean POW.
Koje Island Uprisings
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint Security Area | 2000 | Park Chan-wook | South Korea | DMZ DMZ | Park Sang-yeon | 1997 | Novel |
Refugees
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Battle Hymn | 1957 | Douglas Sirk | US | Battle Hymn | Col. Dean E. Hess | 1956 | Memoir |
Home front
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Last Picture Show[22] | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joint Security Area | 2000 | Park Chan-wook | South Korea | DMZ DMZ | Park Sang-yeon | 1997 | Novel |
Egyptian Revolution of 1952
1952
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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[23] | 1978 | Autobiography |
Mau Mau Uprising
1952–1960
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Gun Runners | 1958 | Don Siegel | US | To Have and Have Not | Ernest Hemingway[24] | 1937 | Novel |
| Our Man in Havana | 1959 | Carol Reed | UK | Our Man in Havana | Graham Greene | 1958 | Novel |
| Memories of Underdevelopment Memorias del subdesarrollo | 1968 | Tomás Gutiérrez Alea | Cuba | Inconsolable Memories Memorias del subdesarrollo | Edmundo Desnoes | 1962 | Novel |
| Che Part 1 | 2008 | Steven Soderbergh | US | Episodes of the Cuban Revolutionary War Pasajes de la guerra revolucionaria | Ernesto "Che" Guevara | 1963 | Diary |
| Che Guevara aka Che | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Che Guevara aka Che | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Che Part 1 | 2008 | Steven Soderbergh | US | Episodes of the Cuban Revolutionary War Pasajes de la guerra revolucionaria | 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 work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Che Guevara aka Che ♠ | 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[25]
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lost Command | 1966 | Mark Robson | US[26] | Les centurions | "Jean Lartéguy" | 1960 | Novel |
| Le Crabe-tambour | 1977 | Pierre Schoendoerffer | France | Le Crabe-tambour[27] | Pierre Schoendoerffer | 1976 | Novel |
| Là-bas... mon pays | 2000 | Alexandre Arcady | France | Grande vacance : roman | René Bonnell | 1997[28]¤ | Novel |
| Mon colonel[29] | 2006 | Laurent Herbiet | France & Belgium | Mon colonel : roman | Francis Zamponi | 1999[28] | Novel |
Atrocities
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| La Question La Question | 1977 | Laurent Heynemann | France | La Question ♠ La Question | Henri Alleg | 1958 | Memoir |
Home front
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wild Reeds Les Roseaux sauvages | 1994 | André Téchiné | France | "The Oak and the Reed" "Le Chêne et le Roseau" | Jean de La Fontaine | 1668 | Fable |
Cyprus Emergency
1955–1959
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 work | 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 work | 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 work | 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 [30][31] | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Green Berets | 1968 | John Wayne | US | The Green Berets | Robin Moore | 1965 | Novel |
| The Deer Hunter[20] | 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[32] | 1979 | Francis Ford Coppola | US | “Inspired by” Heart of Darkness | Joseph Conrad | 1902 | Novella |
| The Odd Angry Shot | 1979 | Tom Jeffrey | Australia | The Odd Angry Shot | William Nagle | 1975[33]¤ | Novel |
| Platoon Leader | 1988 | Aaron Norris | US | Platoon Leader | James R. McDonough | 1985 | Novel/Memoir |
| White Badge ♠ | 1992 | Chung Ji-young | South Korea | White Badge: a novel of Korea 하얀전쟁 | Ahn Junghyo (An Chŏng-hyo) | 1983 | Novel |
| A Soldier's Sweetheart | 1998 | Thomas Michael Donnelly | US | "Sweetheart of the Song Tra Bong" from The Things They Carried[34] [4] | Tim O'Brien | 1990 | Story |
- ♠ A South Korean sergeant deals with his memories by writing a novel about the guys in his unit.[35]
Battle of Ia Drang
14–18 November 1965
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| We Were Soldiers | 2002 | Randall Wallace | US | We Were Soldiers Once... And Young[36] | Lt. Gen. Harold G. Moore & Joseph L. Galloway | 1992 | Non-fiction |
Battle of Long Tan
18 August 1966
Battle of Hué
1968
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full Metal Jacket | 1987 | Stanley Kubrick | US | The Short-Timers[4] | Gustav Hasford | 1980 | Novel |
Air operations
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 work | 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 work | 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[1] | Memoir |
| Some Kind of Hero | 1982 | Michael Pressman | US | Some Kind of Hero: a novel | James Kirkwood | 1975[1] | Novel |
| Faith of My Fathers * | 2005 | Peter Markle | US | Faith of My Fathers | John McCain with Mark Salter | 1999 | Autobiography |
| Rescue Dawn | 2007 | Werner Herzog | US | Escape from Laos[37] (uncredited) | Dieter Dengler (uncredited) | 1979 | Memoir |
- * television film.
Atrocities
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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[38] | Tim O'Brien | 1994 | Novel |
- * television film.
Refugees and Boat people
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turtle Beach | 1992 | Stephen Wallace | Australia | Turtle Beach | Blanche d'Alpuget | 1981 | Novel |
Home front
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Bamboo Incident Hoa-Binh ♠ | 1970 | Raoul Coutard | France | La Colonne de cendres | Françoise Lorrain | 1954[28] | 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.[39]
The novel's publication date implies that it actually concerned the First Indochina War.
Demobilization
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who'll Stop the Rain | 1978 | Karel Reisz | US | Dog Soldiers[40] | Robert Stone | 1974 | Novel |
| Americana ♠ | 1983 | David Carradine | US | The Perfect Round | Henry Norton Robinson | 1945[1] | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Deer Hunter[20] | 1978 | Michael Cimino | US | Three Comrades (uncredited) | Erich Maria Remarque (uncredited) | 1937 | Novel |
| Coming Home | 1978 | Hal Ashby | US | Coming Home | George Davis | 1972[1] | Novel |
| Birdy | 1984 | Alan Parker | US | Birdy[41] | 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 | Chung Ji-young | South Korea | White Badge: a novel of Korea 하얀전쟁 | Ahn Junghyo (An Chŏng-hyo) | 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 work | 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[4] | Bobbie Ann Mason | 1985 | Novel |
What if ...
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Watchmen | 2009 | Zack Snyder | US | Watchmen | Alan Moore | 1986– 1987 | Comic |
Cambodian Civil War
1967–1975
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Killing 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 & Carl Bernstein | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dark of the Sun ♠ | 1968 | Jack Cardiff | US | Train From Katanga aka The Dark of the Sun | 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 work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Che Part 2 | 2008 | Steven Soderbergh | US | Bolivian Diary Diario del Che en Bolivia | Ernesto "Che" Guevara | 1968/ 1994 | Diary |
| Che Guevara aka Che | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Albino aka Whispering Death | 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 work | 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[42] (uncredited) | 1997 | Memoir/ Non-fiction |
| 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Murder in Television House * | 2001 | Ram Loevy | Israel | "Ido and Einam" from Thus Far | S. Y. Agnon[43] | 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 work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Unbearable Lightness of Being | 1988 | Philip Kaufman | US | The Unbearable Lightness of Being[44] | Milan Kundera | 1984 | Novel |
Bangladesh Liberation War
1971
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aguner Poroshmoni | 1995 | Humayun Ahmed | Bangladesh | The Touchstone of Fire Aguner Poroshmoni | Humayun Ahmed | 198? | Novel |
| Shyamol Chhaya | 2004 | Humayun Ahmed | Bangladesh | The Green Shade Shyamol Chhaya | Humayun Ahmed | 1973 | Novel |
Indo-Pakistani War of 1971
1971
Battle of Longewala
4–5 December 1971
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Border | 1997 | J. P. Dutta | India | Diary | J. P. Dutta | 1971 | Diaries |
October War
1973
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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[23] | 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 work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Circle of Deceit/Die Fälschung | 1981 | Volker Schlöndorff | France & West Germany | The Deception Die Fälschung | 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 work | 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 [45][46][47][48] | Giles Foden | 1998 | Novel |
Dirty War
1976–1983
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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[49][50] | 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 La deuda interna | 1988 | Miguel Pereira | Argentina & UK | Costumbres, Poemas y Regionalismos[51] | Fortunato Ramos | 198? | Memoir[52] |
| Imagining Argentina | 2003 | Christopher Hampton | Spain, UK, US | Imagining Argentina | Lawrence Thornton | 1987 | Novel |
| Chronicle of an Escape Crónica de una fuga | 2006 | Israel Adrián Caetano | Argentina | Pase libre: la fuga de la Mansión Seré | Claudio Tamburrini | 200? | Novel/ Memoir |
- * television film.
Second Shaba War
1978
Battle of Kolwezi
18 May 1978
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military Coup in Kolwezi La légion saute sur Kolwezi | 1980 | Raoul Coutard | France | La Légion saute sur Kolwezi : Opération Léopard | Capitaine Pierre Sergent | 1978 | Non-fiction |
Uganda-Tanzania War
1978–1979
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 [45][46][47][48] | 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 work | 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 work | 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 work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persepolis α | 2007 | Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi | France & US | Persepolis | Marjane Satrapi | 2000–2003 | Memoir/ Graphic novel |
| House of Saddam ** | 2008 | Alex Holmes & Jim O'Hanlon | UK & US | Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge[53] (uncredited) | Said Aburish ♠ | 1999 | Non-fiction |
- ♠ Abu Rish [sic] is credited as script consultant, rather than author.
- ** TV miniseries.
- α Animated film.
Canadian caper
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Escape from Iran: The Canadian Caper * | 1981 | Lamont Johnson | Canada & US | The Canadian Caper (uncredited) | Jean Pelletier ♠ & Claude Adams (both uncredited) | 1981[54]¤ | Non-fiction/ Memoir |
- ♠ Journalist Pelletier broke the story for La Presse and appears in the film as a character.[55]
- * television film.
Gwangju Uprising
May 1980
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| White Badge | 1992 | Chung Ji-young | South Korea | White Badge: a novel of Korea | Ahn Junghyo (An Chŏng-hyo) | 1989[1] | Novel |
| A Petal | 1994 | Jang Sun-woo | South Korea | There a Petal Silently Falls | Ch'oe Yun | 1988 | Short Story |
Iran–Iraq War
1980–1988
Politics and Diplomacy
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| House of Saddam ** | 2008 | Alex Holmes & Jim O'Hanlon | UK & US | Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge[53] (uncredited) | Said Aburish ♠ | 1999 | Non-fiction |
- ♠ Abu Rish [sic] is credited as script consultant, rather than author.
- ** TV miniseries.
Iran–Contra affair
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Persepolis α | 2007 | Vincent Paronnaud & Marjane Satrapi | France & US | Persepolis | Marjane Satrapi | 2000–2003 | Memoir/ Graphic novel |
- α Animated film.
Salvadoran Civil War
1980–1992
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Salvador | 1986 | Oliver Stone | US | The Flower of the Dragon: the Breakdown of the U.S. Army in Vietnam[56][57] (uncredited) | Richard Boyle (uncredited) | 1972[1]¤ | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resurrected | 1989 | Paul Greengrass | UK | Summer Soldier | Philip Williams & M. S. Power | 1990 | Memoir |
| Blessed by Fire Iluminados por el fuego | 2005 | Tristán Bauer | Argentina | Iluminados por el fuego: confesiones de un soldado que combatió en Malvinas ♠ | Edgardo Esteban with Gustavo Romero Borri | 1993[1] | 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 work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Verónico Cruz La deuda interna | 1988 | Miguel Pereira | Argentina & UK | Costumbres, Poemas y Regionalismos[51] | Fortunato Ramos | 198? | Memoir[52] |
Casualties physical and mental
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 Iluminados por el fuego | 2005 | Tristán Bauer | Argentina | Iluminados por el fuego: confesiones de un soldado que combatió en Malvinas | Edgardo Esteban with Gustavo Romero Borri | 1993[1] | Non-fiction |
- * television film.
Memorial
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Blessed by Fire Iluminados por el fuego | 2005 | Tristán Bauer | Argentina | Iluminados por el fuego: confesiones de un soldado que combatió en Malvinas | Edgardo Esteban with Gustavo Romero Borri | 1993[1] | Non-fiction |
Invasion of Lebanon
1982–1985
Bulletin ... upcoming release: Lebanon by Samuel Maoz
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beaufort בופור | 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 & David Polonsky | 2009 | Memoir/ Graphic novel |
- ◊ 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Waltz with Bashir | 2008 | Ari Folman | Israel | Waltz with Bashir: A Lebanon War Story | Ari Folman & David Polonsky | 2009 | Memoir/ Graphic novel |
Lord's Resistance Army Insurgency
1987–2009
Bulletin ... film currently in development: Machine Gun Preacher by Marc Forster
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Man Who Knew Too Little | 1997 | Jon Amiel | US | Watch That Man | Robert Farrar | 199? | Novel (unpublished)[58] |
Soviet coup of 1991
1991
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 work | 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 & Jim O'Hanlon | UK & US | Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge[53] (uncredited) | Said Aburish ♠ | 1999 | Non-fiction |
- ♠ Abu Rish [sic] is credited as script consultant, rather than author.
- ** TV miniseries.
Operations
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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.
Home front
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Law of Enclosures ♠ | 1999 | John Greyson | Canada | The Law of Enclosures | Dale Peck | 1996 | Novel |
| Towelhead | 2007 | Alan Ball | US | Towelhead | Alicia Erian | 2005 | Novel |
- ♠ The film is set in the industrial city of Sarnia, Ontario in order to have an oil industry parallel with the war.[59]
Yugoslav Wars
1991–2001
Bulletin ... film currently in development: The Filthy War by John Irvin
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Territorio Comanche | 1997 | Gerardo Herrero | Spain, France, Germany, Argentina | Territorio Comanche | Arturo Perez-Reverte | 1994 | Novel/ Memoir |
- * television film.
Politics
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 work | 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 work | 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 work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black Hawk Down | 2001 | Ridley Scott | US | Black Hawk Down: A Story of Modern War | Mark Bowden | 1999 | Non-fiction |
Rwandan Genocide
1994
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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[60] | Roméo Dallaire | 2003 | Non-fiction |
First Chechen War
1994–1996
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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"[61] | Book of Psalms Псалтирь | ? | Scripture |
| Proof of Life | 2000 | Taylor Hackford | US | "Adventures in the Ransom Trade" | William Prochnau | 199? | Article |
1998 Chadian Civil War
1998–2002
Justice and Retribution
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seven Days in May | 1964 | John Frankenheimer | US | Seven Days in May | Fletcher Knebel and Charles W. Bailey II | 1962 | Novel |
| The Dogs of War ♠ | 1981 | John Irvin | UK and 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 and Charles W. Bailey II | 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.
- ** Television miniseries.
Wars
| Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | 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 work | Author | Date | Type |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Neighbours α | 1952 | Norman McLaren | Canada | Synoptic Gospels | Evangelists | before 100 | Scripture |
| The Desert of the Tartars Il deserto dei Tartari | 1976 | Valerio Zurlini | Italy, France, West Germany | The Tartar Steppe Il deserto dei Tartari[15] [4]¤ | Dino Buzzati | 1940 | Novel |
| Notre musique | 2004 | Jean-Luc Godard | Switzerland & France | ? | Fedor Dostoievski[64] | ? | Texte |
- α Animated film (using pixilation).
For future conflicts which have yet to occur, see the List of films based on war books — future.
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
Notes
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Publication details for this title have been confirmed by the catalogue of the US Library of Congress.
Source: Library of Congress Online Catalog. - 1 2 British Library Integrated Catalogue.
- 1 2 DVD opening credits.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Recommended by Sebastian Faulks. Source: Faulks and Hensgen (q.v.).
- ↑ Laxness was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1955.
- ↑ Gouzenko's second book, a novel entitled The Fall of a Titan, was the recipient of the Governor General's Award in 1954.
- ↑ Recipient of the Edgar Award in 1965.
- ↑ The film was later spoofed as The Man Who Knew Too Little, with Joanne Whalley-Kilmer playing a similar role in both films.
- ↑ Recipient of the National Book Award in 1979.
- ↑ Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1989.
- ↑ Recipient of the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1975.
- ↑ The film is dedicated to the late Indira Gandhi, amongst others.
- ↑ Recipient of the Booker Prize in 1981.
- ↑ Recipient of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 1981.
- 1 2 Listed in the 100 livres du siècle, from a poll organized by FNAC and Le Monde in 1999.
- ↑ The film also credits the poetry of both Amrita Pritam and Zehra Nigah (of Pakistan); it is unclear whether this poetry is original or source material.
- ↑ Source: Wikipedia article on Bhowani Junction.
- ↑ Miller's biography is now controversial due to allegations of falsification.
- ↑ Source: Wikipedia, main article.
- 1 2 3 Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1996.
- ↑ Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1994.
- ↑ Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1998.
- 1 2 Sadat was awarded the Nobel Prize in Peace in 1978, jointly with Menachem Begin.
- ↑ Hemingway was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1954.
- ↑ According to French Wikipédia, this war in France is still referred to as "the Events of Algeria": dans les textes législatifs notamment, l'expression officielle continue d'être « événements d'Alger » ou « événements d'Algérie ».
- ↑ The film was shot in Spain.
- ↑ Recipient of the Grand Prix de l'Académie française in 1976.
- 1 2 3 Publication details for this title have been confirmed by the catalogue of the French Bibliothèque nationale.
Source: Catalogue collectif de France. - ↑ Costa-Gavras produced the film and wrote the screen story.
- ↑ Recipient of the National Book Award in 1988.
- ↑ Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in 1989.
- ↑ Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 2000.
- ↑ Publication details for this title have been confirmed by the catalogue of the National Library of Australia.
Source: Catalogue Home. - ↑ Recipient of the Prix du Meilleur livre étranger in 1993.
- ↑ Incidents include a short-arm inspection, interrogation (drowning) of civilian suspects, tunnel ratting, a brothel scene, an altercation with US GIs, a war crime, and a VC night assault.
- ↑ The 2008 sequel is entitled, We Are Soldiers Still: A Journey Back to the Battlefields of Vietnam.
- ↑ "The film is vaguely based on the book, Escape From Laos written by Dieter Dengler."
Source: Rescue Dawn the Truth. - ↑ Recipient of the Cooper Prize in 1995.
- ↑ The film's Italian title is Sciuscià nel Vietnam (Shoeshine in Vietnam) with an implicit reference to De Sica's 1946 neo-realist classic Shoeshine, a film about children.
According to French Wikipédia, the film concerns « l'état d'innocence ou [sic] se trouvaient les enfants confrontés à cette guerre ininterrompue que décrit Coutard [the film's director]. Comme ils n'ont aucune notion autre que la guerre quotidienne et banale, ils s'y retrouvent bien naturellement pour vivre une existence que peu d'humains pourraient supporter en continu. » (But then, that's the resilience of children, isn't it?) See Boorman's Hope and Glory for a close World War II equivalent. - ↑ Recipient of the National Book Award in 1975.
- ↑ Recipient of the National Book Award for First Novel in 1980.
- ↑ Mullan is credited as co-producer and actor, not as an author.
- ↑ Agnon was awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1966.
- ↑ Recipient of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 1984.
- 1 2 Recipient of the Whitbread Award for First Novel in 1998.
- 1 2 Recipient of a Somerset Maugham Award in 1999.
- 1 2 Recipient of a Betty Trask Award in 1999.
- 1 2 Recipient of the Winifred Holtby Memorial Prize in 1999.
- ↑ Recipient of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 1981.
- ↑ Recipient of the Crime Writers' Association Gold Dagger Award in 1981.
- 1 2 Costumbres, Poemas y Regionalismos por Fortunato Ramos.
(En sus textos se basó la pelicula [sic] La Deuda Interna)
Humahuaca - Jujuy - 1988
Tercera edicion [sic]
La base del largometraje "La deuda interna", de Miguel Ángel Pereyra [sic], es parte de la vida de un alumno de Santa Ana, Veronico [sic] Cruz; relato vivencial escrito por este maestro rural.
Source: Costumbres, Poemas y Regionalismos por Fortunato Ramos - 1 2 English Wikipedia claims the unnamed source book is non-fiction. Spanish Wikipedia claims it is a novela.
- 1 2 3 "The actor[Yigal Naor read various books to prepare for his performance, in particular “Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge” by Palestinian author Said Aburish. During a joint interview with Naor on the BBC World Service, Aburish said [...] that Naor has captured the swagger, gestures and nuances of Saddam."
Source: ‘House of Saddam’ brings Saddam’s complexities to the small screen, Susannah Tarbush, Saudi Gazette. Retrieved 2010-06-24 (12 Rajab 1431 AH). - ↑ Publication details for this title have been confirmed by the catalogue of Library and Archives Canada.
Source: Library Search. - ↑ Source: TV captures heroic Iran escape, Mike Boone, Montreal Gazette, 16 May 1981.
- ↑ Source: Lavington (q.v.), p. 63–64.
- ↑ Foreword by Paul N. McCloskey.
- ↑ Source: DVD commentary.
- ↑ Source: The Free Library: John Greyson's The law of enclosures
- ↑ Recipient of the Governor General's Award in 2004.
- ↑ The Eastern Orthodox numbering of the psalms differs from the Protestant numbering, so the psalm is listed in the Russian opening credits as Psalm 136, rather than Psalm 137.
The passage used is as follows:
7 Remember, O LORD, the children of Edom in the day of Jerusalem; who said, Rase it, rase it, even to the foundation thereof.
8 O daughter of Babylon, who art to be destroyed; happy shall he be, that rewardeth thee as thou hast served us.
9 Happy shall he be, that taketh and dasheth thy little ones against the stones. - ↑ In Grozny, Arabs and Chechens cut the head off a terrified Russian soldier as black American mercenaries stand and laugh. The corpse continues to kick as the head receives a light roasting over the fire. Later, an Arab attaches the severed head to an RPG and shoots it into the Russian lines.
Baltic women snipers target the crotch of a screaming Russian soldier.
Black Americans laugh heartily as an Arab urinates on Russian corpses while performing a little dance.
A Russian male sniper gains the upper hand when he takes out the groins of the Baltic women.
The fact that a surviving Russian tank crewman has only one limb remaining makes it more difficult for the Chechens to crucify him. The blood-drooling Russian Christ survives long enough to see victory.
Many urban warfare scenes involving tanks and infantry are effective.
The Chechen commander smokes Sobranie Cocktail cigarettes. - ↑ Source: IMDb review by "Over Nine Thousand", 2008.
- ↑ These authors are credited without specifying the precise nature of the texte in question.
The film also contains "quotations" which may be the work of the screenwriter (Godard),
e.g. « Le rêve d’un individu est d’être deux. Le rêve de l’Etat est d’être seul. »
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.
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