Military Documentaries on Netflix
Last updated December 21, 2024
Ken Burns: The Civil War
1990 | NR | 4.2 out of 5 StarsThis documentary masterpiece from Ken Burns depicts the strategies and action of famous Civil War battles, and relates the stories of generals, field soldiers, politicians, heroes and a beleaguered president.
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Ken Burns: The War
2007 | NR | 4.2 out of 5 StarsDocumentarians Ken Burns and Lynn Novick bring the harrowing history of World War II to life through the personal accounts of a handful of participants from four "typical" American towns -- proving nothing was typical during this terrible time.
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Ken Burns: The War
2007 | NR | 4.2 out of 5 StarsA seven-part series brings World War II to life through the harrowing personal accounts of a handful of soldiers and others from "typical" American towns, recreating visceral scenes of the battles at Omaha Beach, Guadalcanal, Okinawa and more.
Details about Ken Burns: The War
Ken Burns: The Civil War
1990 | NR | 4.2 out of 5 StarsThis documentary masterpiece from Ken Burns depicts the strategies and action of famous Civil War battles, and relates the stories of generals, field soldiers, politicians, heroes and a beleaguered president.
Details about Ken Burns: The Civil War
Hiroshima: BBC History of World War II
2005 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsThis fascinating documentary recounts the world's first nuclear attack and examines the alarming repercussions. Covering a three-week period from the New Mexico test blast to dropping the bomb on Hiroshima, the program chronicles America's political gamble and the planning for the momentous event. Archival film, dramatizations and special effects take viewers aboard the &NFi;Enola Gay&NFi_; and inside the exploding bomb.
Details about Hiroshima: BBC History of World War II
Dirty Wars
2013 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsExploring America's covert operations in the war on terror, investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill takes viewers on a revealing journey through drone strikes, night raids, kill lists that include U.S. citizens and secret government-condoned torture.
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Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State
2005 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsIt was the site of the largest mass murder the world has ever seen, yet few people know its full history. This landmark series puts together the most complete history of Auschwitz, from the evolution of the camp to the mentality of the perpetrators.
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Lost Airmen of Buchenwald
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsThis is a documentary feature that chronicles the little-known story of Allied airmen imprisoned at the Buchenwald Concentration Camp during WWII.
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American Experience: Death and the Civil War
2012 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsThis film explores how the American Civil War created a "republic of suffering" and charts the far-reaching social, political and social changes brought about by the pervasive presence and fear of death during the war.
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Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State
2005 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsThis six-part documentary series tackles one of World War II's -- and history's -- most disquieting and repugnant subjects: the Holocaust and its infamous killing factory, the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp.
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The Devil Came on Horseback
2007 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsIn this unflinching documentary chronicling the genocide in Darfur, former Marine Capt. Brian Steidle is forever transformed by the atrocities he witnesses as a military observer for the African Union.
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Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust
2004 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker Daniel Anker examines Hollywood's depiction of the Holocaust and its incomprehensible atrocities in this award-winning documentary narrated by Gene Hackman and featuring interviews with Steven Spielberg and Sidney Lumet. Through film clips, newsreels, scholars' comments and firsthand accounts, the documentary also questions the responsibility of filmmakers in retelling history and the effects of film portrayals on the social psyche.
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The Fog of War
2003 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsThis Oscar-winning documentary traces former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara's career from government to the World Bank; but his work during the Vietnam War -- examined through archival footage and interviews -- is the real highlight.
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Under Fire: Journalists in Combat
2011 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsCombat footage, intense interviews with reporters from around the world and commentary by psychiatrist Anthony Feinstein, who specializes in treating journalists, shed light on the traumas faced by those who risk their lives to report from war zones.
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Where Soldiers Come From
2011 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsStarting this coming-of-age documentary in her own hometown, filmmaker Heather Courtney follows a tight-knit group of friends who grow up together, sign up for the National Guard and are subsequently sent to Afghanistan.
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Day of the Kamikaze
2008 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsExamine the history behind kamikazes, the Japanese suicide pilots of World War II. Through archival footage, historic reenactments and interviews with veterans, this program explores how and why thousands of men sacrificed their lives in combat.
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Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story
2012 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsIn 1976, Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu led a daring rescue of hostages at Uganda's Entebbe Airport, in which he was the lone Israeli casualty. Through letters, photos, family, friends and fellow soldiers, this moving documentary tells a hero's story.
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Mission for Mussolini
2006 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThis riveting documentary centers on Italian journalist Luigi Romersa and the task given to him in 1944 by Benito Mussolini: to investigate and report back on Adolf Hitler's claims of Nazi superweapons, including a bomb that would "shock the world."
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Sir! No Sir!
2005 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker and activist David Zeiger's documentary chronicles the largely forgotten antiwar activities of American GIs and other members of the military during the Vietnam era -- actions that put them in greater peril than civilian protesters. Powerful and surprising, the film weaves together the stories of veterans who participated in the opposition movement, an effort that, by the early 1970s, found widespread support from civilians and troops alike.
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Sierra Leone's Refugee All Stars
2005 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsThis stunning documentary captures the triumphant story of six musicians who escaped the horrific violence of Sierra Leone's civil war, landed in a West African refugee camp and formed a band that would go on to travel the world. An unbelievable testament to the human spirit, the refugees' journey exemplifies the power of music. Directed by Zach Niles and Banker White, this film was honored by the American Film Institute in 2005.
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16 Acres
2012 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsCapturing the controversies and searing emotions surrounding the plans for rebuilding the Ground Zero site, filmmaker Richard Hankin documents the political jousting and maneuvering that have plagued the process, making consensus hard to achieve.
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Radio Bikini
1988 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsThis Oscar-nominated documentary chronicles the eye-opening story of Bikini Atoll, which in 1946 was the site of U.S. atomic bomb tests that left the island uninhabitable for 40 years and exposed thousands of sailors to heavy doses of radiation.
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Return to Tarawa: The Leon Cooper Story
2009 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsSome 65 years after leaving the Pacific, former Navy Ens. Leon Cooper returns to the site of the bloody battle at Tarawa to investigate a disturbing rumor: that trash and debris now decorate the shores where thousands of men fell dead or wounded. Out of respect for the sacrifices his countrymen made there in the fall of 1943, Cooper is determined to clean up the area and restore honor to once hallowed ground. Oscar-nominated actor Ed Harris narrates.
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War Don Don
2010 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker Rebecca Richman Cohen offers this gripping documentary that follows the sensational trial of Issa Sesay, a controversial leader in Sierra Leone's bloody civil war who stands accused of heinous crimes against humanity.
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Forgotten Warriors
1997 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsAboriginal veterans poignantly share their unforgettable war memories and their healing process.
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