Wargames with miniatures are an immersive experience. But even more immersive are films. I have listed a bunch with links when I could find them that are applicable to wargames and in some instances have inspired them.

Zulu

Whatever inadequacies may be found in its historical accuracy, the story presents the essence of the wargame, two forces balancing on the edge of a knife. The film presents a recreation of the Battle of Rorke’s Drift with Stanley Baker as the redoubtable Lt. Chard and Michael lCaine in his first major film role as Lt. Bromhead. For more information on the battle, try The Washing of the Spears by Donald R. Morris.

Kanal
Polish resistance on an odyssey through the sewers of Warsaw while fighting off the German army during the Warsaw Uprising of 1944. Memorable, striking, and grim. Unsurprisingly, the screenplay was written by someone with first hand knowledge and this and the on location shooting lends an authenticity to the film as a whole. First film of the wonderful actor Vladek Sheybal.

Alexander Nevsky

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-nRev9FvsBU

The invasion of Novgorod by the Teutonic Knights and one of Sergei Eisenstein’s masterpieces with an exceptional score by Sergei Prokofiev. The film culminates in the Battle of Lake Peipus (1242). It is easy to see bits and pieces of this film serving as inspiration for lots of other movies from Billion Dollar Brain to Return of the King.

A Bridge Too Far

The film presents a dauntingly complex operation in reasonably lucid fashion in one of the last of the WWII all-star blockbusters. An underrated film at the time of its release, it is fascinating to watch. There was criticism of the portrayal of General Browning. Curiously, Dirk Bogarde who played the part may have been the only major cast member to have actually participated in the battle at Arnhem.

Gettysburg

The initial screening of this film in NYC was over 5 hours in length. It is still a very long film and even so provides only glimpses of events during the 3-day battle. The cast is excellent, the normally thin ranks of the respective armies filled out with Civil War reenactors, and the countryside clearly Pennsylvania rather than the arid rural areas of southern California that have filled in for Pennsylvania in the past. Based on the novel by Michael Shaara.

Ghidorah the Three Headed Monster
OK, kaiju battles may not be everyone’s cup of tea but they make for some elegant games and Japanese toy companies happily provide a wealth of monsters. This is the first film I saw with multiple monsters hammering on each other and even though the JDF is not much in evidence, it is a pretty entertaining film featuring Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama. And speaking of Akiko Wakabayashi and Mie Hama…

You Only Live Twice
The film’s climax occurs when a ninja army led by James Bond blasts their way into a giant secret rocket launching facility in a dormant volcano. A battle begins involving ninjas, men in hard hats, a lone woman dressed in a bikini (Mie Hama), a pool full of piranha, an evil madman with a cat, and James Bond. This inspired one Simpson’s episode and one boardgame, and ought to lend purpose to anyone who has a lot of toy construction workers lying around.

Patton
I would be remiss not to mention the only war film my wife seemed to enjoy, a moving portrait of a complex and highly individualistic military commander during his career overseas during WWII from the initial occupation of Morocco to his final battle with the press corps. The most enthralling film biography I have seen. A memorable score by Jerry Goldsmith.

Likely no country has less interest in the Napoleonic Wars than the US. Supposedly, one history textbook even when so far as to state that Waterloo was Napoleon’s greatest victory. So it is not too surprising that this film is at the moment unavailable in this country on DVD. Still, it is worth seeing though it has been years since I did waiting up till some ungodly hour in the morning to watch it.

Historical epics have been all too rare but director Ridley Scott clearly has an affinity towards them and for the rest of us that means a new movie about the Crusades with a striking cast and a sumptuous production. The actual battles are pretty brief affairs except for the final siege of Jerusalem but beggars cannot be choosers. For those who want more, an extended version is available on DVD.

When I first saw this, I cut out some cardboard counters, colored them with appropriate flags, and attempted to craft a game. Watching this, it is pretty hard not to get drawn into the fascination of Napoleonic naval combat. Odd casting choices work well here though I can never quite see Virginia Mayo as Lady Barbara. The cast is great with a young Christopher Lee making an appearance as a Spanish officer. C.S. Forester condenses the three central novels of the series into the screenplay. For those wanting to read more, the novels are Beat to Quarters, Ship of the Line, and Flying Colors.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan

The spaceships move like whales in slow motion and have to be right on top of each other to cause any damage but this is still one of the most entertaining war in space films made. The screenplay harks back to Star Trek’s roots in the Horatio Hornblower novels. The primary battle in space is like a replay of the Lydia-Natividad duel from the book Beat to Quarters. This was also a favorite of SPI game designers who had Lydia and Natividad counters in at least 2 games. Kirk finally gets to do something that does not involve wooing attractive aliens or outwitting dimwitted computers and the film succeeds beautifully. The Kobayashi Maru Scenario played out in the Simulation Room is a particularly nice moment.

G.I. Samurai (Sengoku jieitai)

An interesting premise as a group of JDF soldiers and their vehicles and weapons are transported back in time to medieval Japan. They quickly join forces with a samurai army and the film ends with a massive battle between the JDF troops and the dedicated samurai warriors. The film contains graphic violence, nudity, and a repellent attitude towards rape but the military situation presented is certainly fascinating to consider and the manner in which it is handled is provocative.

Charlton Heston Under Siege

No actor seemed to have such an affinity for the historical epic as Charlton Heston, from a nuanced portrait of Cardinal Richelieu in The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers to his iconic portrayal of the eponymous Ben-Hur. Then, too, no one has withstood as many sieges as Charlton Heston. For those so inspired:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQh48R9_Zt8

El Cid

The film is long. Made in those days when a movie needed to be an event, the film is engaging with a vibrant score and lush art direction and costuming that can only be appreciated on a large screen. Frankly, the battle scenes are not the most engaging part of the film. Rather, it is the bizarre politics of Spain during the Middle Ages that is most enthralling. Valencia is laid siege twice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uh1xYqabd0Q

55 Days at Peking

An all too easy role for Heston as a battle hardened but sensitive marine officer riding into the siege of the foreign legations during the Boxer Rebellion. The original director left production midway through filming and this may account in part for the choppy feeling of the film. The main Chinese characters all appear to be played by English actors though the production company rounded up every Asian extra they could for filming which took place somewhere in Spain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-qdG0_rVORM

The Warlord

This time, Heston is a knight defending a watchtower from a siege of angry villagers and even angrier Frisian raiders. It is an odd story though interesting as a depiction of a small scale siege. Conte Collectibles produced a figure set based on the film. Then they seem to draw inspiration from Mr. Heston and also produced a set for Khartoum.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MdKmMcwRQqA

Khartoum

Heston finds himself fighting off Mahdist fighters in the siege of Khartoum. The city was actually overrun at night but looks better in the daytime. There are some interesting moments in the film though as with El Cid it is a long film. Still, as a visualization of a favorite wargaming era, it really cannot be beat.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JVZsWNbx_IQ

The Omega Man

Well, you knew there had to be zombies somewhere in the mix. Richard Matheson’s novel I Am Legend has spawned any number of zombie siege movies and this is yet another. Heston is comfortably settled into a luxurious mansion that is nightly laid siege by zombie-vampires who he dispatches during the daylight hours. This was not the first zombie siege movie (that was likely Invisible Invaders) but has a nice hokey 70s vibe to it.

The Naked Jungle

Heston besieged by killer ants in his plantation. An expanded adaptation of the popular story Leningen and the Ants, the siege is unusual to say the least. The ants are perhaps just a bit too dimwitted to provide Heston a worthy adversary.