Although it’s not a movie but rather a mini-series I had to have it on this list since Band of Brothers is a masterpiece. Band of Brothers is based on Stephen Ambrose’s book with the same name (which I also recommend, as well as Maj. Winters own book Beyond Band of Brothers: The War Memoirs of Major Dick Winters).

This is the story of Easy Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, U.S. 101st Airborne Division; from their training in the US to the end of the war. They fought in Operation Overlord (Normandy France, D-Day), Operation Market Garden (Holland), the Battle of the Bulge (Bastogne, Ardennes forest) and the capturing of the Eagle’s Nest at Berchtesgaden.

It’s a brilliant story, very authentic but with a few artistic touches, and at the end of the series you feel like you know each and every one of the main characters by heart. The series are very true to the book (and the real events), and before every episode there are clips from interviews with the veterans.

I personally love how Band of Brothers is shot and edited — as well as the desaturated colors — it doesn’t feel like a big Hollywood production (like Saving Private Ryan does). It feels like you’re actually there, in Europe some 64 years ago. The episode in which they come across a German concentration camp, near Landsberg, is one of the most difficult dramatizations I’ve ever seen.

You get great insight to how the soldiers lived, both during battle and the long waiting periods. Of all the movies on this list, this is my favorite and you shouldn’t miss out on it.