Television series
Combat!
- War action
- Dip in and out
Combat! strips away Hollywood gloss to show WWII as exhausting, unglamorous, often terrifying. It follows a tight squad through North Africa and Europe, focusing on small missions and their terrible costs. Grounded, urgent, surprisingly modern in its refusal to celebrate war. For anyone who wants authenticity over spectacle.
If you liked this
Band of Brothers2001
Follows one company from training through the entire European campaign. Lavish production, stellar writing, and a cast of characters you'll genuinely mourn. Sets the gold standard for how war stories can be told on television.
But Ten hours is a significant commitment. Some find the mid-series slump tedious, and the reverent tone can feel heavy-handed.
M*A*S*H1972
Also uses ensemble dramedy to examine war's absurdity and cost. Shifts between humor and genuine heartbreak without feeling manipulative. The hospital setting provides variety that keeps the formula fresh across eleven seasons.
But The early seasons are broader and sillier than later ones. If you want consistent tonal weight, it takes time to find it.
The Pacific2010
From the Band of Brothers team. Follows the island campaign through three interwoven perspectives. Visually stunning and relentless—it doesn't let you look away from what combat actually does to men.
But Bleaker than Band of Brothers and slower to warm you to its characters. Some storylines feel more important than others, which can feel uneven.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Combat!
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Das Boot1981
Combat! shows you American soldiers as people doing a job in terrible circumstances. Das Boot does exactly that for the other side. Both ask you to see the enemy as human without compromising the reality that they're still your enemy.
German U-boat, claustrophobic and doomed, and you spend the entire film trapped inside with them. Extraordinary sound design and cinematography. Makes the enemy human without making them sympathetic—they're just terrified men doing a job.
But German perspective. Over three hours. Submarine combat is slow-burn tension, not action. The ending is foregone.
More like this (7)
Killing Eve2018
Tense, character-driven cat-and-mouse between an MI6 agent and a psychopath. Leans into the psychological and moral toll of obsessive work. Exactly the kind of character-first storytelling Combat! pioneered.
But Not a war story at all. If you're specifically after military action, this detours into espionage and character study instead.
Stalag 171953
POW camp mystery with the same economic storytelling and grounded atmosphere. Wilder directs with precision; it's tense, clever, and treats soldiers as thinking people, not props.
But Black-and-white, 1950s pacing. The plot hinges on elements that require patience and attention.
Pork Chop Hill1959
Korean War battle film that earned widespread critical respect for refusing jingoism. Gregory Peck leads; the focus is on the grinding difficulty of taking and holding ground, not glory.
But The climactic assault is intense and prolonged to the point of exhaustion—which is the point, but not everyone's looking for that.
From Here to Eternity1953
Pre-Pearl Harbor Hawaii, barracks life, personal struggle against military bureaucracy. Captures the texture of peacetime soldiering with real depth. Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift are superb.
But The melodrama, especially the famous beach scene, can feel overwrought. Some subplots matter more than others.
A Walk in the Sun1945
Single-day Italian campaign, focus entirely on one platoon and their internal thoughts. Matter-of-fact about death and fear. Sparse and hypnotic rather than explosive.
But Unconventional structure and minimal action may feel slow if you're after combat spectacle. Deeply interior and philosophical.
Hamburger Hill1987
Vietnam, but the tactical and moral DNA is pure Combat! Ten days to take one hill. Ensemble cast, brutal, doesn't mythologize. Shows soldiers as competent and fallible at once.
But More viscerally violent than Combat! gets. Some find it nihilistic rather than instructive, and the characters blend together quickly.
A Prayer Before Dawn2018
Both are about competent men stripped of control and facing people with absolute power over them. Both use craft—fighting skill, tactical knowledge—as a way to maintain identity and dignity when almost everything else is gone. Both understand that small victories are the only victories available.
Joe Cole as an American boxer imprisoned in Thailand. Brutal, visceral, focused on daily survival and the grinding degradation of being powerless. Uses fighting and physicality the way Combat! uses military maneuvers—as a language for endurance and will.
But Extremely violent. The setting is prison, not war. Stylized and sometimes incoherent. Not interested in explaining itself.
People
Cast
Directing
- Erich von StroheimAssistant Director
- G. J. FenadyAssistant Director
- Georg FenadyAssistant Director
- Harker WadeAssistant Director
- Joseph McEveetyAssistant Director
- Michael CaffeyAssistant Director
- Morris HarmellAssistant Director
- Ralph FerrinAssistant Director
Writing
- William Robert YatesStory Editor
Production
- Georg FenadyAssociate Producer
- Lou MorheimAssociate Producer
- Michael CaffeyAssociate Producer
- Richard CaffeyAssociate Producer
- Richard P. McDonaghAssociate Producer
- Selig J. SeligmanExecutive Producer
- Andy WhiteProducer
- Burt KennedyProducer
- Gene LevittProducer
- Paul StanleyProducer
- Richard CaffeyProducer
- Richard GoldstoneProducer
- Richard MaibaumProducer
- Robert AltmanProducer
- Robert BleesProducer
- Robert PiroshProducer