British WWII sentimental movies

July 29, 2009 5:32 AM

British WWII sentimental movie recommendations?

I have always loved the sentimental movies the British made during (and immediately after) WW II. The two that come to mind off the top of my head are "In Which We Serve" and "Captive Heart." When searching for other examples to watch and buy, the lists I have found seem to focus more on the "action" genre with lots of people and things being blown up. Can anyone suggest other movies or ways to search for these movies which are focused more on the pathos of war and on shoring up the British people emotionally (but I am not looking at strictly patriotic films.) Thank you, hivemind.

posted by eleslie to media & arts (25 comments total)

Mrs Miniver is probably the apotheosis of this genre.
posted by ROTFL at 5:33 AM on July 29 [1 favorite]

Powell and Pressburger ftw! Not strictly sentimental but very British: A Canterbury Tale, A Matter of Life and Death, Life and Death of Col Blimp...
posted by TWinbrook8 at 5:38 AM on July 29

Random Harvest: love, war, and amnesia! Also seconding Mrs. Miniver & A Matter of Life and Death.
posted by Kirjava at 5:42 AM on July 29 [1 favorite]

Went the day well is utterly awesome. Evil Nazi paratroops land in a sleepy English village, impersonating British troops. The villagers deploy their stiff upper lips and indominable spirits to resist!
posted by prentiz at 6:04 AM on July 29

Mrs Miniver: absolutely.
12 O Clock High might interest you in that it is about the interpersonal aspects of leadership rather than fighting per-se.

I suspect that many of the films which might fit your criteria were actually shorts - such as these ones which depict life on the 'home front'.
posted by rongorongo at 6:47 AM on July 29

Seconding Mrs. Miniver, Spitfires flying over framed through the hole in the church ceiling and all.
posted by littlerobothead at 6:48 AM on July 29

The Cruel Sea.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:53 AM on July 29

Although it's made well after the time I think Hope And Glory is great on the war's 'home front'
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 6:55 AM on July 29

I'll second Hope and Glory. Great film.
posted by trox at 7:11 AM on July 29

This Happy Breed (1944) has exactly the vibe you're after. And it has Ceilia Johnson playing a 'common Cockney', complete with Very Posh Person Trying To Do A Working Class Accent, for added unintentional comedy value.
posted by essexjan at 7:15 AM on July 29

National Velvet (1945). Lassie Come Home (1943 - made in the USA but set in the UK)
posted by rongorongo at 7:18 AM on July 29

Ice-Cold in Alex. Plucky Brits lost in the desert are kept going by the thought of a nice pint.
posted by permafrost at 7:37 AM on July 29

Waterloo Bridge
posted by spec80 at 7:51 AM on July 29

Whoops, it's more WWI than WW2. Still, it's a great movie.
posted by spec80 at 7:55 AM on July 29

Hmmn Went The Day Well sounds an awful lot like The Russians Are Coming!~ The Russians Are Coming!

Although it is somewhat 'actiony', The Dam Busters has a nice storyline concerning the friendships amongst the bomber pilots and crews.
posted by Gungho at 8:00 AM on July 29

It's a recent film but is all about that period and such: Mrs. Henderson Presents. (based on a true story, too.)
posted by dnash at 9:00 AM on July 29

Is it the WWII theme you want or just the era and atmosphere? If the latter, then Brief Encounter is your film.
posted by genesta at 10:50 AM on July 29

Island At War is a BBC drama covering the occupation of the British channel island of Jersey as of 1940.

Sword of Honor trilogy has bits of home front stuff between the action. It is more a personality study than pure action. Book was better, to my mind, but you do get Daniel Craig, so that's a plus.
posted by IndigoJones at 11:24 AM on July 29

Thirding Hope and Glory.
posted by Joh at 12:24 PM on July 29

Mrs. Miniver and Random Harvest, great movies to be sure, were made in the US: Pure Hollywood.

I suggest you check out the "Customers who bought this also bought…" list on the Amazon UK page for any of the Ealing Studio or other British films here, such as Went the Day Well, which has many pages of suggestions.
posted by dpcoffin at 1:14 PM on July 29

Although there's some action, and is quietly patriotic The Way Ahead is one of those films I'll always watch if it turns up on television. Although it was basically propaganda it's one of those few things that makes me proud to British to be honest... as it shows a group of raw recruits of all classes being turned into an infantry unit, it's great on the interactions between the men and their fears.
posted by fearfulsymmetry at 2:16 PM on July 29

The End of the Affair: Set in London during and just after World War II, the novel examines the obsessions, jealousy and discernments within the relationships between three central characters: writer Maurice Bendrix; Sarah Miles; and her husband, civil servant Henry Miles.

I love this film and Ralph Fiennes and Julianne Moore are so beautiful.
posted by bdowngold at 5:12 PM on July 29

Forever and a Day is along the lines of what you are looking for.

Going a bit further afield to Hollywood, a homefront movie that might work for you would be Until They Sail (set in New Zealand and made in the 1950's but still very much in this genre.)

Finally, I wanted to put a plug in for a couple of American homefront movies: Since You Went Away and the grandly sentimental coming home movie The Best Years of Our Lives . Of course, Casablanca is one of the most famous sentimental WWII movies there is, though it transcends its genre.
posted by gudrun at 10:36 PM on July 29

Definitely The Way to the Stars, it's a four-hankie weepie! Brief Encounter could arguably be seen as a film where WWII is conspicuous by its absence.
posted by low_horrible_immoral at 4:59 AM on July 30

Seconding Mrs. Henderson Presents.
posted by alona at 8:48 PM on July 30