The Best War Movies on BBC iPlayer to Watch in 2023 [Updated]

Looking for the best war movies available on BBC iPlayer? You’ve discovered it! The BBC iPlayer is a popular video-on-demand platform in the United Kingdom, and its content is blocked outside the UK. To watch BBC iPlayer outside the UK, all you need is a reliable VPN to access the best war movies on BBC iPlayer outside of the UK. ExpressVPN is the best VPN for BBC iPlayer, through ExpressVPN you can watch the best films on BBC iPlayer.

High-rated war movies have regularly dominated the online streaming market. The public enjoyed watching some war films that demonstrated how difficult it was for soldiers to deal with the turmoil of warfare. In 2023, BBC iPlayer will have even more amazing war movies to watch, with a wide range of themes, settings, and situations.

The best war movies available on BBC iPlayer are listed below. You can also watch various BBC iPlayer shows. Let’s hop on the list quickly.


What are the Best War Movies on BBC iPlayer to Stream Right Now?

To assist you, we have created a list of the top war movies available on BBC iPlayer in January 2023. Here are some of the best war films on the BBC iPlayer. That includes BBC iPlayer – films a-z list:

1. Defiance

defiance

Genre: War, History, Action, Drama

Director: Edward Zwick

Major Cast: Daniel Craig, Jamie Bell, Liev Schreiber

Runtime: 2 Hour 17 Minutes

Include the year of release: 2009

During World War II, when the Germans controlled both Poland and Belarus, it was hard for the four Bielski brothers to find food and weapons in the dense forests of both countries. They worry about being found out, fight off Soviet partisans, and figure out who to trust, all while taking care of a huge number of Polish Jews who have escaped the Nazi army.

As Germany ruled over Eastern Europe, many people ran to the woods, where they had to deal with the worst conditions. Now You can access BBC iPlayer on apple TV to watch this war content movie on the big screen.

2. Schindler’s List

schindler list

Genre: War, Biography, History Drama

Director: Steven Spielberg

Major Cast: Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes, Liam Neeson

Runtime: 3 Hour 15 Minutes

Include the year of release: 1994

Oskar Schindler transforms from a ruthless businessman who cares about making money to a surprising hero when he decides to make his factory a safe haven for Jews during the brutal German Nazi government.

Because it is based on the historical story of Oskar Schindler, who saved some 1100 Jews from being gassed at the Auschwitz concentration camp, it is a testament to the goodness in all of us.

3. The Man with the Iron Heart

iron heart

Genre: War, Action, Thrill

Director: Cédric Jimenez

Major Cast: Rosamund, Jason Clarke, Jack O’Connell

Runtime: 2 Hours

Include the year of release: 2017

In 1942, the Third Reich was at the height of its power. The Czech resistance is currently in London making preparations for Anthropoid, which will be the most significant military action that will take place during World War II. Reinhard Heydrich was the Reichsprotector, the SS and Gestapo chief, and the brain behind the “Final Solution.” Two inexperienced recruits in their late 20s named Jozef Gabcik and Jan Kubis were sent to Prague to assassinate Heydrich.

4. Persian Lessons

persian lessan

Genre: War, Drama

Director: Vadim Perelman

Major Cast: Nahuel Pérez Biscayart, Lars Eidinger, Jonas Nay

Runtime: 2 Hours 7 Minutes

Include the year of release: 2020

Gilles, a young Belgian, is seized by the SS and taken to a Nazi detention camp with other Jews. By pretending he is Persian, he escapes execution. Once this falsehood saves him, Gilles is given an apparently impossible task: teaching Persian to Koch, the camp’s cooking officer, who wants to start a restaurant in Iran after the war. Gilles must create a new language word by word. Gilles realizes that if he makes a mistake, it could show that he is a fraud. The strange bond between the two men makes people suspicious and jealous.

5. The Imitation Game

the imitation game

Genre: War, Drama, Thrill, Biography

Director: Morten Tyldum

Major Cast: Keira Knightley, Benedict Cumberbatch, Matthew Goode

Runtime: 1 Hour 54 minutes

Include the year of release: 2014

The story of the great cryptanalyst Alan Turing’s life served as inspiration for the fictional account. During the darkest days of World War II, the film shows how Turing and his brilliant team of codebreakers worked against the clock at the top-secret Government Code and Cypher School at Bletchley Park in Britain.

You can also watch BBC iPlayer on PS5 and enjoy your favorite war movies on the gaming console.

6. Odette

odette

GenreWar, History, Drama

Director: Herbert Wilcox

Major Cast: Anna Neagle, Trevor Howard, Marius Goring

Runtime: 1 Hour 45 Minutes

Include the year of release: 1950

The following is the account of a fearless lady who served in the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during World War II after volunteering for the organization. She was taken by air into occupied France, where she joined the French resistance and battled against the Nazis. After being caught and tortured by the Gestapo, she still wouldn’t say who else was in on the plot.

7. Operation Crossbow

Operation Crossbow

Genre: War, Action, Drama

Director: Michael Anderson

Major Cast: Sophia Loren, George Peppard, Trevor Howard

Runtime: 1 Hour 55 Minutes

Include the year of release: 1st of April, 1965

This is the tale of how the Allies defeated Hitler’s “revenge weapons,” the V1 (doodlebug) and V2 (rocket), in the last stages of World War II. The Nazis were on the run, yet they might have been victorious with these weapons. There are allusions to the real-life German test pilot Hannah Reich in this film.

To watch the best iPlayer movies outside the UK install ExpressVPN and enjoy the best films on BBC iPlayer.

8. 12 Monkeys

12 Monkeys

Genre: War, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Director: Terry Gilliam

Major Cast: Bruce Willis, Madeleine Stowe, Brad Pitt

Runtime: 2 Hours 9 Minutes

Include the year of release: 5th of January 1996

In 2035, state prisoner James Cole can be paroled if he travels back in time to stop an epidemic. Since the air is poisoned, the survivors live underground. Cole is imprisoned in a psychiatric institute in 1990, six years before the epidemic, because his warnings sound crazy. He meets Dr. Kathryn Railly and Jeffrey Goines, the insane son of a famous virologist. Cole is sent back to 2035 by the authorities and arrives in 1996. He kidnaps Dr. Railly for help.

As Cole looks into the graffiti left by the Army of the Twelve Monkeys, he hears voices, gets lost, and starts to wonder if he is crazy. He must determine if Goines, a screaming madman, is the key to the mystery.

9. The Adventures of Robin Hood

The Adventures of Robin Hood

Genre: War, Adventure, Romance, Action

Director: Michael Curtiz, William Keighley

Major Cast: Errol Flynn, Olivia de Havilland, Basil Rathbone

Runtime: 1 Hour 42 Minutes

Include the year of release: 1938

Sir Robin of Locksley, who helps Saxons who are being mistreated, fights with the Norman government and is made an outlaw because of it. He steals from the wealthy, gives to the needy, and yet finds time to woo Maid Marian, thwart Sir Guy of Gisbourne, and prevent the evil Prince John from ascending to the kingdom with his company of Merry Men.

10. Bringing Up Baby

bringing-up-baby

Genre: War, Comedy

Director: Howard Hawks

Major Cast: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charles Ruggles

Runtime: 1 Hour 39 Minutes

Include the year of release: 18 February 1938

A bewildered paleontologist is being chased by a flighty and frequently vexatious heiress and her pet leopard, Baby, while he is attempting to obtain a contribution of one million dollars for his museum. Baby is a leopard.

A fantastic movie is available on BBC iPlayer. Likewise, you can also watch the best drama films on BBC iPlayer.

11. The Thing from Another World

the-thing-from-another-world

Genre: War, Horror, Sci-Fi

Director: Christian Nyby, Howard Hawks

Major Cast: Kenneth Tobey, Margaret Sheridan, James Arness

Runtime: 1 Hour 27 Minutes

Include the year of release:6th April 1951

A spaceship is unearthed by researchers working at a Arctic location specializing in arctic research. After giving it more attention, they found the pilot, who had been frozen. The moment they bring him back to their station, where he is inadvertently allowed to thaw out, all hell breaks loose.

We also created whole list of best Sci-Fi shows on BBC iPlayer for you to watch this weekend

12. The Diary of Anne Frank

The Diary of Anne Frank

Genre: War, Biography, Drama

Director: George Stevens

Major Cast: Millie Perkins, Shelley Winters, Joseph Schildkraut

Runtime:3 Hours

Include the year of release: 18 March 1959

During World War II, Kraler is a store owner in Holland that the Nazis have taken over. He hides two Jewish families in his attic. Young Anne Frank documents the Franks ‘ and the Van Daans’ daily activities in her journal, as well as the Nazi danger and changes within the family. Anne and her sister Margot are envious of her relationship with Peter Van Daan. Otto Frank returns to the attic many years after both families were found and finds his late daughter’s diary.

13. The Fall of the Roman Empire

the-fall-of-empire

Genre: War, Drama, History

Director: Anthony Mann

Major Cast: Sophia Loren, Stephen Boyd, Alec Guinness

Runtime: 2 hours, 52 minutes

Include the year of release: 1964

After the Germanic tribes were defeated, Emperor Marcus Aurelius called together governors from all over the Roman Empire to make sure that peace and prosperity would continue. Marcus had chosen General Livius to take over as emperor instead of Commodus, who was a bad person and should have been the next emperor because he was his son.

High treason and mindless ambition corrupt Aurelius, launching a new era of oppression, unending machinations, and rapid downfall. As darkness falls on the Empire’s outskirts, Commodus declares himself a deity and threatens Lucilla, Aurelius’ daughter. Can the Roman Empire be saved?

14. The Jackal

the-jackal

Genre: War, Action, Drama, Crime

Director: Michael Caton-Jones

Major Cast: Bruce Willis, Richard Gere, Sidney Poitier

Runtime: 2 Hour 4 Minutes

Include the year of release: 1997

After his brother was shot at a Moscow nightclub, Russian criminal Terek Murad declared war on the Russian militia and FBI. He hires “The Jackal,” a shady assassin, to kill FBI Director Donald Brown. FBI Deputy Director Carter Preston and Russian militia Major Valentina Koslova saw Murad’s brother’s shooting. Only imprisoned IRA sniper Declan Mulqueen has seen The Jackal. Preston and Koslova get Mulqueen to help them find the Jackal before he can kill Director Brown.

15. The Outlaw

outlaw

Genre:

Director: Howard Hughes, Howard Hawks

Major Cast: Jack Buetel, Thomas Mitchell, Jane Russell

Runtime: 1 Hour 56 Minutes

Include the year of release: 1943

When Doc Holliday arrives in Lincoln, New Mexico, sheriff Pat Garrett is happy. Doc finds his stolen horse with Billy the Kid. Billy and Doc become friends unexpectedly. Doc and Pat’s friendship cools. After Billy gets shot, Doc hides Billy in Rio’s house. She loves Billy despite his mistreatment. These four interact against an Indian attack until a last clash shrinks the group.


Wrap Up

BBC iPlayer is a no-cost streaming service that regularly adds fresh and interesting content for its users. We have compiled a list of the top war movies available on BBC iPlayer, and we are confident that you will find at least a few that you will want to watch over the weekend. Watching these movies on BBC iPlayer is super easy as it provides a BBC iPlayer free trial.

You can also cancel BBC iPlayer subscription but we would not recommend that because BBC iPlayer offers you a wide variety of war movies to entertain you. To watch BBC iPlayer outside the UK, you need a trustworthy VPN like ExpressVPN to unblock the geo-block content.