Best 1940s Movies & TV Shows

Band of Brothers

Drawn from interviews with survivors of Easy Company, as well as their journals and letters, Band of Brothers chronicles the experiences of these men from paratrooper training in Georgia through the end of the war. As an elite rifle company parachuting into Normandy early on D-Day morning, participants in the Battle of the Bulge, and witness to the horrors of war, the men of Easy knew extraordinary bravery and extraordinary fear - and became the stuff of legend. Based on Stephen E. Ambrose's acclaimed book of the same name.

Stars: Damian Lewis David Schwimmer Donnie Wahlberg Eion Bailey Matthew Settle Michael Cudlitz Neal McDonough Ron Livingston Scott Grimes Shane Taylor

The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

Archaeologist Rick O'Connell travels to China, pitting him against an emperor from the 2,000-year-old Han dynasty who's returned from the dead to pursue a quest for world domination. This time, O'Connell enlists the help of his wife and son to quash the so-called 'Dragon Emperor' and his abuse of supernatural power.

Run time: 112m Tagline: A New Evil Awakens. Release: 2008-07-01

Stars: Anthony Wong Chau-Sang Brendan Fraser Isabella Leong Lok-Sze Jet Li John Hannah Liam Cunningham Luke Ford Maria Bello Michelle Yeoh Russell Wong

The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe

Siblings Lucy, Edmund, Susan and Peter step through a magical wardrobe and find the land of Narnia. There, they discover a charming, once peaceful kingdom that has been plunged into eternal winter by the evil White Witch, Jadis. Aided by the wise and magnificent lion, Aslan, the children lead Narnia into a spectacular, climactic battle to be free of the Witch's glacial powers forever.

Run time: 143m Tagline: The beloved masterpiece comes to life. Release: 2005-12-07

Stars: Anna Popplewell Dawn French Georgie Henley James McAvoy Jim Broadbent Liam Neeson Ray Winstone Skandar Keynes Tilda Swinton William Moseley

The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian

One year after their incredible adventures in the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, Peter, Edmund, Lucy and Susan Pevensie return to Narnia to aid a young prince whose life has been threatened by the evil King Miraz. Now, with the help of a colorful cast of new characters, including Trufflehunter the badger and Nikabrik the dwarf, the Pevensie clan embarks on an incredible quest to ensure that Narnia is returned to its rightful heir.

Run time: 150m Tagline: Everything you know is about to change forever. Release: 2008-05-15

Stars: Anna Popplewell Ben Barnes Eddie Izzard Georgie Henley Liam Neeson Peter Dinklage Sergio Castellitto Skandar Keynes Tilda Swinton William Moseley

Godzilla Minus One

In postwar Japan, Godzilla brings new devastation to an already scorched landscape. With no military intervention or government help in sight, the survivors must join together in the face of despair and fight back against an unrelenting horror.

Run time: 124m Tagline: Postwar Japan. From zero to minus. Release: 2023-11-03

Stars: Hidetaka Yoshioka Kuranosuke Sasaki Minami Hamabe Mio Tanaka Munetaka Aoki Ryunosuke Kamiki Saki Nakatani Sakura Ando Yuki Yamada Yuya Endo

Marvel’s Agent Carter

It's 1946, and peace has dealt Peggy Carter a serious blow as she finds herself marginalized when the men return home from fighting abroad. Working for the covert SSR (Strategic Scientific Reserve), Peggy must balance doing administrative work and going on secret missions for Howard Stark all while trying to navigate life as a single woman in America, in the wake of losing the love of her life - Steve Rogers.

Stars: Enver Gjokaj Hayley Atwell James D'Arcy Wynn Everett

Monster: The Ed Gein Story

The shocking true-life tale of Ed Gein, the infamous murderer and grave robber who inspired many of Hollywood's most iconic on-screen killers.

Stars: Charlie Hunnam Laurie Metcalf Suzanna Son Vicky Krieps

Peaky Blinders: The Immortal Man

After his estranged son gets embroiled in a Nazi plot, self-exiled gangster Tommy Shelby must return to Birmingham to save his family — and his nation.

Run time: 112m Tagline: It will all come to this. Release: 2026-03-05

Stars: Barry Keoghan Cillian Murphy Ian Peck Jay Lycurgo Ned Dennehy Packy Lee Rebecca Ferguson Sophie Rundle Stephen Graham Tim Roth

All That’s Left of You

In the Occupied West Bank of the 1980s, a Palestinian teenager is swept into a protest that changes the course of his family's life. Reeling from its aftermath, his mother, Hanan, shares the story that led them to that fateful moment. Spanning seven decades, this epic drama traces the hopes and heartaches of one uprooted family, revealing not only the scars of displacement, but the unbreakable spirit of survival.

Run time: 146m Release: 2025-09-25

Stars: Adam Bakri Cherien Dabis Maria Zreik Mohammad Bakri Muhammad Abed Elrahman Rida Suleiman Salah Al Din Saleh Bakri Sanad Alkabareti Yousef Zaalok

Blue Moon

On the evening of March 31, 1943, legendary lyricist Lorenz Hart confronts his shattered self-confidence in Sardi’s bar as his former collaborator, Richard Rodgers, celebrates the opening night of his ground-breaking hit musical, “Oklahoma!”

Run time: 100m Tagline: Forgotten but not gone. Release: 2025-10-17

Stars: Andrew Scott Bobby Cannavale Cillian Sullivan Ethan Hawke Giles Surridge Jonah Lees Margaret Qualley Michael James Ford Patrick Kennedy Simon Delaney

The Brutalist

Escaping post-war Europe, visionary architect László Tóth arrives in America to rebuild his life, his work, and his marriage to his wife Erzsébet after being forced apart during wartime by shifting borders and regimes. On his own in a strange new country, László settles in Pennsylvania, where the wealthy and prominent industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren recognizes his talent for building. But power and legacy come at a heavy cost.

Run time: 215m Tagline: Welcome to America. Release: 2024-12-20

Stars: Adrien Brody Alessandro Nivola Benett Vilmányi Emma Laird Felicity Jones Guy Pearce Isaach de Bankolé Joe Alwyn Raffey Cassidy Stacy Martin