War Documentary Films

Soundtrack to War showcases spontaneous music performances by a striking cast of the battle weary soldiers in Iraq. These unrehearsed performances are made more powerful by the backdrop of a destroyed city and the distraction of gunfire and explosions. From critically acclaimed filmmaker and artist, Australian George Gittoes, Soundtrack to War is a poignant and [...]

Directed by Deborah Scranton, and produced by Robert May (The Fog of War) and Steve James (Hoop Dreams), THE WAR TAPES is Operation Iraqi Freedom as filmed by Sergeant Steve Pink, Sergeant Zack Bazzi, and Specialist Mark Moriarty. Steve is a wisecracking carpenter who aspires to be a writer. Zack is a Lebanese-American university student [...]

So you’re, say, a turkey farmer in Clarksville, Arkansas. You sign up for the National Guard, thinking it’ll be a fairly cushy gig, a chance to make a little extra cash and hang out with your pals on the occasional weekend. Next thing you know, you’re on your way to Iraq, where it’s about as [...]

The remarkable documentary Brothers at War begins with a simple premise: Jake Rademacher wants to understand the experience of his younger brothers Isaac and Joe, both serving in the American military in Iraq. What unfolds proves amazingly complex, fusing a troubled family history (another Rademacher brother died at home), wrenching interviews with wives and girlfriends [...]

Combat Diary: Marines of Lima Company provides a firsthand account of life and death on the front lines of battle. Shot on home video cameras by the very soldiers who were part of the hardest hit combat unit of the Iraq War, this remarkable program weaves heart-pounding digital camera footage with revealing interviews following the [...]

In this striking documentary shot in 2003, early on in the US-led war on Iraq, a group of American soldiers in Baghdad who have taken over a bombed-out palace that belonged to Uday Hussein, the son of Saddam Hussein, offer the camera a view on their world. While they party poolside for most of the [...]

The Blood of My Brother shows the war in Iraq from the perspective of an Iraqi family grieving the loss of a son who was killed by an American patrol as he stood guard at a mosque. The subtle dynamic between grief and rage is eloquently explored by director Andrew Berends, while he extends the [...]

Filmed in early 2004, director-editor Ian Olds’ documentary (for which he was given full access by the U.S. authorities) follows a group of soldiers from the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division stationed in al-Falluja where their mission is to maintain the peace and root out insurgents, but their goal is simply to survive their tours of [...]

Filmmakers travelled to the arid desert of Basra to join British forces on the ground. They watched as our 4000-strong Army rapidly diminished over the course of March to the end of May this year.  Extraordinary stories of soldiers become real as they speak openly about the the ordeals, trials and emotional stress they endure [...]

Medical personnel more accustomed to treating patients than handling weapons prepare to head to Iraq. The 21st CSH (“cash”), or Combat Support Hospital, sets up a full-service mobile hospital at an airbase in Balad, northwest of Baghdad. The first patients, both American and Iraqi soldiers, are treated for battle wounds. With their own health-care system [...]

During the summer of 2005, filmmaker Gordon Forbes spent three months embedded with the U.S. Marines 3rd Reconnaissance Battalion during their deployment to the Sunni Triangle in Iraq. He documented the daily grind and struggles of the men in Alpha Company as they fought the War on Terror, thousands of miles away from home. While [...]

This pioneering film illuminates the extraordinary experiences of American servicemen and women through their own powerful stories. Based on the acclaimed NEA-sponsored book of the same name, this eloquent and moving (Entertainment Weekly) film offers a profound look at the lives of those serving in America s armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Distinguished actors [...]

Frontline returns to Iraq, this time to embed with Halliburton/KBR to take a hard look at private contractors like Blackwater, Aegis, Erinys and Custer Battles, who play an increasingly critical role in running U.S. military supply lines, providing armed protection and operating U.S. military bases. 2005 production.   Buy Private Warriors – CLICK HERE   [...]

The Good Soldier follows the journeys of five combat veterans from different generations of American wars as they sign up, go into battle, and eventually change their minds about what it means to be a good soldier. “An astounding film ‘The Good Soldier’ should be mandatory viewing for every President and member of Congress who [...]

U.S. policy forbids women from serving in military units whose primary objective is direct ground combat. So how did a group of female support soldiers end up fighting alongside Marines in some of the most violent counterinsurgency battles of the Iraq War? Powerful and provocative, Lioness traces the stories of five female support soldiers who [...]

Every soldier wrestles with his conscience over killing. Although most decide to kill, some refuse. Made with official permission from the U.S. Army, Soldiers of Conscience reveals that far more soldiers decide not to kill than we might expect. Narrated by Emmy® winner Peter Coyote, Soldiers of Conscience profiles eight American soldiers: four who decide [...]

This is a short documentary of the battle of Fallujah.  I dont know the origin of this but it is definately worth watching.  Thanks to Robbie Wright for this excellent upload.                

Correspondent Nick Watt embedded with Marines of Kilo 3/5 in the battle of Fallujah.                  

Fight for Fallujah chronicles the intense 2004 insurgent attacks and military operations in Fallujah, which defined a new era of military engagement in Iraq.This special begins by profiling the height of the conflict, when insurgents assailed four private contractors, and then examines the subsequent U.S.and British operations that sought to regain control of the city.   [...]

Over 30 days and 26 missions, the story of the men of Dog Company -the Army’s 1-8 Cavalry Regiment is stationed in South Baghdad on the bank of the Tigris River.  The final battle for Iraq is won or lost in places like this and by soldiers like these.      

Thousands of private soldiers operate in Iraq alone… and many more around the world. These individuals, known as private security contractors, are changing the face of modern warfare everyday while their world has remained mystery to those at home. Shadow Company is the groundbreaking investigative feature-length documentary that seeks out and reveals the origins and [...]

In June 2007, as the American military surge reached its peak, a band of National Guard infantrymen who call themselves The Bad Voodoo Platoon was deployed to Iraq. To capture a first-person account of the new realities of war in Iraq director Deborah Scranton supplied cameras to the soldiers so they could tell the story [...]

The military teaches soldiers how to fight, how to kill, how to survive.  But who teaches them how to live with themselves?  Examining an under reported story of the Iraq War:  The psychological cost on those who fought it.      

The Wounded Platoon tells the dark tale of the modern-day ‘Band of Brothers’, and how the war followed them home. It is a story of heroism, grief, combat, drugs, alcohol and brutal murder, and a shocking portrait of what multiple tours and post-traumatic stress are doing to a generation of American soldiers.   Buy The [...]

This is War is a video diary about the experiences of an Oregon National Guard battalion sent to Iraq for a year in 2004, This Is War is divided into short chapters that bring home multiple aspects of a difficult and dangerous mission. Beginning with the troops emotionally preparing for a half-year’s combat training and [...]

The Surge: the Untold Story is the only documentary of its kind offering audiences a look into the real story of the Surge in Iraq, as told by top U.S. military commanders. These never-before-seen interviews move beyond Washington politics to tell the ground truth of a failing mission transformed into one of the most successful [...]

The Insurgency looks inside the kidnappings, suicide bombers, beheadings, and roadside bombs that make up the Iraqi insurgency, a challenge to the most highly trained and best-equipped military in the world. Through interviews and never-before-seen footage featuring insurgent leaders and their foot soldiers, U.S. military personnel and journalists, this report, The Insurgency, investigates the people [...]

Filmed on the ground in Iraq, Secret Iraq is a landmark two-part documentary series that sheds new light on the dramatic story of Iraq after the fall of Saddam. The series has gained access to Iraqi insurgents, American and British soldiers, generals, diplomats and spies, who recount their experiences of an Iraq that often bore [...]

French documentary on the 2004 Najaf battle between the Mahdi Army and US occupation forces. This journalist was the only one embedded with the resistance during the battle. Thanks to Ryan for telling me about this documentary.        

Marine Special Forces veteran, Rudy Reyes, fights to overcome the personal demons that led him to the military where he was trained to carry out special wartime missions that compound his torment.      

In 2004, coalition forces in Iraq launched Operation Phantom Fury, the battle for control of Fallujah. American troops fought through a city of enemy insurgents, moving house to house and street to street to seize control of the most dangerous city in the world. Perfect Valor is the story of the price paid by U.S. [...]

For The War at Home, students of Norwich University interviewed veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and explored issues soldiers face upon returning to civilian life. Students made the film to help veterans process their experiences, to give insight to those preparing to deploy and their families and to inform the general public [...]

A serving soldier in the British Army for 17 years, nine of which were spent in the SAS, hes seen action in the Middle and Far East, South and Central America and Northern Ireland. Now he uses his legendary experience and expertise to bring ITV4 viewers the truth about life in a war. An incredible [...]