The best Christopher Lee’s war movies
Sir Christopher Frank Carandini Lee, CBE, CStJ (born May 27, 1922, died June 7, 2015) was an English actor and musician. Lee initially portrayed villains and became famous for his role as Count Dracula in a string of Hammer Horror films. Other notable roles include Lord Summerisle in The Wicker Man (1973), Francisco Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun (1974), Count Dooku in Star Wars episodes II and III (2002, 2005) and Saruman in The Lord of the Rings film trilogy (2001–2003). Lee considers his most important role to have been his portrayal of Pakistan's founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah in the biopic Jinnah (1998). He is well known for his deep, strong voice. Lee has performed roles in 266 films since 1948 making him the Guinness book world record holder for most film acting roles ever. He was knighted in 2009 and received the BAFTA Fellowship in 2011.
1941
5.8/10
In the days after the attack on Pearl Harbor, panic grips California, where a military officer leads a mob chasing a Japanese sub.
Alexander the Great
5.8/10
He was a fierce military commander who led huge armies into battle without a single defeat; a magnificent warrior who many believed was part god - this was Alexander the Great (Richard Burton), the legendary Greek hero hailed by his countrymen as "The King of Kings". Born in 356 B.C. into a turbulent world of political unrest, educated by Aristotle (Barry Jones) and chosen to lead his people in the grand tradition of his powerful father (Fredric March), this glamorous world conqueror rose above all conflict to unite the continents of Europe and Asia to become one of the most celebrated rulers of all time! Written, produced and directed by Oscar - winner Robert Rossen and featuring the extraordinary Claire Bloom and a remarkable cast of thousands, this stunning portrait of one of history's most fascinating figures is colossal entertainment and an amazing spectacle.
The French Revolution
7.6/10
A history of the French Revolution from the decision of the king to convene the Etats-Generaux in 1789 in order to deal with France's debt problem. The first part of the movie tells the story from 1789 until August 10, 1792 (when the King Louis XVI lost all his authority and was put in prison). The second part carries the story through the end of the terror in 1794, including the deaths by guillotine of Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, Danton, and Desmoulins.
The Battle of the River Plate
6.6/10
In the opening years of World War II the Royal Navy was fighting a desperate battle to keep the Atlantic convoy routes open and the British Isles supplied. Of great danger were the numerous surface/commerce raiders that had slipped out of German waters just before war was declared. Supplied by axis cargo ships or tankers, they primarily attacked and sank merchant shipping, and they could and did strike anywhere and everywhere. This is the story of one such ship – the 'Admiral Graf Spee' – and how 3 lightly armed Royal Navy cruisers with mere 6 and 8 inch guns boldly took on this powerful 'pocket battleship' armed with 11 inch guns.
The Passage
6/10
During WW 2, a Basque shepherd is approached by the underground, who wants him to lead a scientist and his family across the Pyrenees. While being pursued by a sadistic German.
Glorious 39
6.4/10
A mysterious tale set around a traditional British family on the eve of World War Two. Oblivious to the looming shadow of World War II, the wealthy Keyes maintain a confident façade in the British countryside until daughter Anne becomes an unexpected pawn. Her accidental discovery of secret recordings creates a rift in the family.
Bitter Victory
6.7/10
During the second world war, two British officers, Brand and Leith, who have never seen combat are assigned a vital mission. Their relationship and the operation are complicated by the arrival of Brand's wife, who had a tryst with Leith years earlier.
Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N.
7.3/10
A naval adventure, based on the novels by C.S. Forester, about the heroic, 19th-century British seafarer. The story sails with his ship, the Lydia, through battles with Spain and then France won with wit rather than might.
Jinnah
7.8/10
Biography of Mohammed Ali Jinnah, the founder of modern Pakistan is told through flashbacks as his soul tries to find eternal rest. The flashbacks start in 1947 as Jinnah pleads for a separate nation from the Muslim regime, infuriating Lord Mountbatten. Mountbatten then tries to enlist Gandhi & Nehru to persuade Jinnah to stop his efforts. Gandhi sides with Jinnah, which upsets Nehru. However, Jinnah turns down the offer to become prime minister and the film takes another slide back to 1916, which reveals all of the political implications that have occurred.
Julius Caesar
6.1/10
All-star cast glamorizes this lavish 1970 remake of the classic William Shakespeare play, which portrays the assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March, and the resulting war between the faction led by the assassins and the faction led by Mark Anthony.
Private's Progress
6.4/10
Stanley Windrush has to interrupt his university education when he is called up towards the end of the war. He quickly proves himself not to be officer material, but befriends wily Private Percival Cox who knows exactly how all the scams work in the confused world of the British Army. And Stanley's brigadier War Office uncle seems to be up to something more than a bit shady too - and they are both soon working for him, behind the enemy lines.
The Cockleshell Heroes
6.5/10
During WW2, German ships are "safely" docked upriver at Bordeaux, but the British send a team of kayakers to attack them.
Un métier de seigneur
6.2/10
Ill Met by Moonlight
6.5/10
Led by British officers, partisans on Crete plan to kidnap the island's German commander and smuggle him to Cairo to embarrass the occupiers.
Fall of the Eagles
4.5/10
In World War II Germany, two young men, one, an ardent Nazi, and the other, a secret anti-Nazi, are in love with the same woman, the daughter of a wealthy banker. The two join the Army, and the young woman becomes a nightclub singer. Eventually she joins the Army too, to entertain the troops, but circumstances soon result in her entire world being changed.
They Were Not Divided
6.1/10
The film begins in a WW II training depot of a British Guards armoured regiment where recruits from many walks of life learn to survive the strict discipline and training together before going into battle in tanks. There is a cameo appearance by the real Sgt. Major Brittain who was famous in the British guards regiments.
The Bengal Lancers!
5.1/10
30 minutes of footage left after the finances collapsed.
Battle of the V-1
1943: A schoolmaster called Stefan Novak (Michael Rennie) and his watchmaker friend Tadek (David Knight) are working for the Polish resistance lead by Stanislav Muski (Peter Madden) and allow themselves to be captured by the Nazis and taken to a labour camp on the Baltic coast so that they can spy on the operations there. Stefan and Tadek discover that the camp houses a huge production unit where the V1 rocket is being built, which Hitler intends to use to destroy London. The pair succeed in informing the resistance of what is happening who in turn tip off the allies who launch a full scale raid on the plant and destroy it therefore setting back the Nazis' plan by months. However, the fight is far from over as Hitler's generals proceed with plans to build yet another plant and Stefan and Tadek are faced with a dangerous challenge, they must capture a complete V1 rocket and help in smuggling it back to Britain so that the allies can prepare themselves for Hitler's proposed invasion...
