The epic cinematic adaptation of Patrick O’Brian’s book trilogy by Peter Weir shot to the top of lists of the greatest naval action movies ever made. Upon its initial release in November 2003, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World received a deluge of positive reviews. It was finally revealed that A Monster Calls screenwriter Patrick Ness was engaged in new material that was set in the same universe after years of speculation. Check out the films listed below in the meanwhile while we wait for more Master and Commander.
1. Operation Finale (2018)
Director- Chris Weitz
The historical thriller from director Chris Weitz is based on the true account of how a team of Israeli secret operatives detained infamous SS member Adolf Eichmann in Argentina. Eichmann was the person responsible for the “Final Solution.” Ben Kingsley portrays Peter Malkin, a renowned Mossad agent, and Oscar Isaac portrays his sociopathic adversary. Malkin and his men found Eichmann in Buenos Aires and pursued him there before capturing him. Hence, transporting him to Israel for an illustrious 8-month trial.
2. In The Heart Of The Sea (2015)
Director- Ron Howard
Herman Melville is the aspiring author of the epic whaling classic Moby-Dick. He visits Tom Nickerson, the sole survivor of the disaster, in the year 1850. That’s nearly 30 years after the life-changing events that took the unfortunate whale ship Essex to the bottom of the chilly Pacific Ocean. In 1820, a fourteen-year-old inexperienced seaman named Nickerson tells the tale of how Owen Chase, a veteran whaler from Nantucket. Along with his inexperienced captain, George Pollard, confronted the ocean’s ultimate Leviathan—a bull sperm whale. Also, learned about greed, human conceit, and nature’s omnipotence. The men would have to contend with foes, though, who were much more powerful than the pale-hued avenging force of the deep waters. All hopelessness and the worst aspect of human nature. They would be helpless and stranded in the merciless open sea.
3. Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Director- David Lean
The Burma-Siam railway needs a bridge, so during World War II, allies held as prisoners of war in a Japanese detention camp are instructed to construct one. However, under Colonel Nicholson’s guidance, they are convinced that the bridge should be completed to boost morale and spirit. Despite their natural inclination to sabotage it. The Japanese Commandant Colonel Saito gains Nicholson’s admiration as he valiantly undergoes torture rather than reneging on his convictions. However, the captives soon realise that this is actually a memorial to Nicholson and an act of collaboration with the enemy.
4. The African Queen (1951)
Director- John Huston
Religious spinster is offered safe passage by a dissolute steamer captain after her missionary brother is slain in WWI Africa. She convinces him to destroy a German warship because she is not content. Instead of fighting the Germans, the two are fighting each other the most of the time. Love comes from time spent alone on a river.
5. 1917 (2019)
Director- Sam Mendes
Three devastating years have passed since the start of the expensive World War I. The Imperial German Army now appears to have evacuated its position on the Western Front. It was the site of intense fighting. This apparent retreat is part of a sophisticated plot to draw the Allies into a trap that will prove fatal. The British Army Lance Corporals Tom Blake and Will Schofield set out on a perilous mission on April 6, 1917. It is to hand-deliver an important message to Colonel MacKenzie’s Second Battalion of the Devonshire line infantry regiment when 1,600 of their fellow soldiers’ lives were hanging in the balance.
To reach the 2nd Devons in time and stop the impending attack, the young brothers-in-arms must travel nine miles across dangerous enemy territory in rural France. All the while enduring the horrors of an unsettlingly silent no man’s land. Two regular troopers are now moving toward certain doom.
6. Captain Phillips (2013)
Director- Paul Greengrass
In 2009, American navigator Richard Phillips and his crew experience their worst nightmare after being given the hazardous responsibility of navigating the unarmed container ship Maersk Alabama from Oman to Mombasa, Kenya. For the first time in maritime history, off the coast of Somalia, a bold band of Somali pirates hijack an American ship and demand millions in ransom, engaging Alabama’s crew, the pirates, and the U.S. Navy in a five-day cat-and-mouse game. Captain Phillips’ ship approaches Somalia as the USS Bainbridge’s Navy SEALs are waiting nearby.
7. Dunkirk (2017)
Director- Christopher Nolan
1940 in May/June In Dunkirk, a port town in France, 400,000 British and French soldiers had taken refuge. Since the Germans have overwhelming air power and the only means of escape are ships and soldiers of Great Britain, they may bomb them with little resistance. In a last-ditch effort to try and evacuate the beleaguered forces since the situation appears hopeless, Britain sends civilian boats in addition to its overworked Navy. This is the account of that incident as viewed by a soldier who was a member of the stranded troops, two fighter pilots from the Royal Air Force, and a group of onboard civilians who were a part of the rescue fleet.
8. Paths Of Glory (1957)
Director- Stanley Kubrick
General Mireau, under General Broulard’s command during World War I, is instructed to attack a German trench position in exchange for a promotion. Mireau orders Colonel Dax, a subordinate of his, to arrange the attack even though it is reckless to the point of suicide. In an effort to save face after the disastrous outcome, General Mireau requests the court-martial of three unrelated soldiers.
9. Operation Mincemeat (2021)
Director- John Madden
The Operation Mincemeat plot stands out in the framework of WW2 narratives because it combines high-level espionage with clever fiction in a peculiar and alluring cinematic blend with extremely high stakes. The plot of Michelle Ashford’s play weaves together several themes and emotions, including tension, romance, suspense, humour, and countless surprises. It presents a wonderfully human tale of the soldiers we hardly ever see as they engage in a different kind of conflict in covert operations while tormented by the realisation that there is no such thing as certainty or assurance of success.
10. Greyhound (2020)
Director- Aaron Schneider
In the early stages of American engagement in World War II, a convoy of 37 Allied commercial ships from several nations crossed the icy seas of the Atlantic Ocean while being pursued by covert German U-boats. Commander-in-Chief Ernest Krause, a career officer and captain of the Fletcher-class destroyer USS Keeling, code-named Greyhound, is tasked with guiding the unreliable Allied convoy through the perilous Mid-Atlantic chasm known as the “Black Pit.” But in what would become known as the longest and most difficult combat operation in the naval history of World War II—the Battle of the Atlantic—Krause, making his maiden Atlantic crossing, will have to confront his inner demons and uncertainties in order to deliver the ships to safe seas.
