Television series
SAS: Rogue Warriors
A meticulously researched documentary series that unveils the SAS's shadowy origins during WWII through declassified archives and interviews with founding members. Ben Macintyre guides you through the unit's unconventional tactics and the audacious individuals who built legend from necessity. Gripping military history for those who want real stories, not mythology.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like history told through declassified files and first-hand testimony, where a presenter with a novelist's eye reconstructs how a secret unit was improvised out of wartime desperation.
Skip it if you want battle scenes and combat spectacle, since it leans on interviews, archive material and reconstruction rather than staged action.
What it asks of you: Three hour-long episodes, unhurried and documentary-paced, asking for steady attention to names, dates and paperwork more than emotional immersion.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
The World at War1973
Laurence Olivier narrates this definitive 26-part history of WWII with the same archival rigor and human focus Macintyre brings to the SAS. Each episode is a masterclass in how to make historical documentary feel urgent and alive.
But It's a significant time commitment, and the 1970s aesthetic feels distant. Some episodes focus on theatres of war you may not care about.
Band of Brothers2001
Tom Hanks and Steven Spielberg dramatise the real 506th Regiment of Easy Company from D-Day onwards. Same DNA as SAS—elite soldiers doing impossible things—but you get character arcs and emotional weight alongside the history.
But It's ten hours long, and the episodic structure means pacing varies. Some viewers find the reverent tone occasionally cloying.
Patton1970
George C. Scott's career-defining performance as the controversial general. Explores military genius, ego, and the strange magnetism of men who excel at war—themes that haunt the SAS story too.
But It's a portrait of a difficult man who doesn't change. Some find the admiration in the film itself troubling, and the pacing is deliberate.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from SAS: Rogue Warriors
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
The Men Who Stare at Goats2009
Both explore the gap between official military history and what was actually authorised in secret; this film asks whether institutions that operate in shadow always become a little mad.
George Clooney and Ewan McGregor in a surreal comedy-thriller about classified military research into psychic warfare and remote viewing. It's a documentary-adjacent satire on the obsessive secrecy and unaccountable funding that allowed the SAS to exist in the shadows.
But It's deliberately absurdist and anarchic—nothing like the rigorous Macintyre approach. If you want coherent reality, this destabilises every assumption you bring.
More like this (7)
Dunkirk2017
Nolan's non-linear thriller captures the desperation and improvisation of 1940. The SAS emerged from this moment of British vulnerability; watching the chaos explains why they were needed.
But The sound mixing is notoriously difficult—you may struggle to hear dialogue. If you prefer conventional narrative structure, the three timelines are exhausting rather than clever.
A Bridge Too Far1977
An all-star cast in a meticulously detailed account of Operation Market Garden. Shows how elite units function in actual combat, with consequences for failure that feel real, not glossy.
But At three and a half hours, it's unwieldy. The sprawling ensemble means no single character gets deep focus, which some find frustrating.
Churchill2017
Gary Oldman as Churchill during WWII, focusing on the weeks before D-Day. Shows the political pressure on the men who authorised the SAS's dangerous operations.
But It's a chamber piece more than a war film. Some find Oldman's performance mannered, and the scope is narrow compared to the SAS's broader canvas.
The Crown2016
The early seasons show Britain in the immediate postwar years when the SAS was establishing itself as legend. The monarchy's relationship to its military is woven through elegantly.
But It's a drama, not documentary—historical accuracy is secondary to narrative. If you want facts rather than intrigue, you'll be frustrated.
Anthropoid2016
A tense procedural about the assassination of Nazi Heydrich. Shows SOE operatives and special forces working in occupied Europe—the real, unglamorous side of wartime commando operations.
But It's Czech cinema subtitled in English, which requires attention. The tone is deliberately bleak, and the ending is historically grim.
My Brother Tom2001
The SAS series tells you what men like this accomplished; this film shows you what accomplishing it cost them—the counterweight that documentary alone cannot provide.
A quiet British drama about a working-class boy who joins the military and doesn't come home the same. Portrays the SAS-type soldier not as hero but as a person whose elite training has hollowed him into something dangerous.
But It's intimate and anti-heroic where the series is celebratory. There's no action; it's about aftermath and damage. Slow and genuinely sad.
The Gentlemen2020
The series documents how the SAS was built; this explores what happens to those men when the war ends and there's no authorised outlet for what they've been trained to be.
Guy Ritchie's crime thriller centres on a retired SAS operator as enforcer and moral anchor. It's trash cinema with real texture—shows how the skills the series documents get weaponised in civilian life, for profit rather than principle.
But It's a stylish, profane crime movie. If you want seriousness, Ritchie's wink-at-the-camera approach will feel like disrespect to the source material.
People
Cast
Ben MacintyrePresenter