Al Murray reveals his favourite World War 2 movie - and it's all-time classic

Al Murray and James Holland have shared their opinions on the most authentic World War 2 movies. The pair have studied the period in depth and share their knowledge via their We Have Ways Of Making You Talk podcast, which has also spawned the UK's premier festival dedicated to the Second World War, the We Have Ways Fest. Speaking exclusively to Express.co.uk, they gave very different answers when asked about the best World War 2 movies, which give an accurate depiction of the war. For his part, Al selected a classic, which was Britain's biggest box-office success of 1955.

"The thing is, war films are peculiar things because they're (of their time) - the 50s war films were a 50s reading of the Second World War. And as you, as you get further away (in time), they're telling you different things, and they're processing the event in different ways. So, for instance, I really like the Dam Busters because it's as sober and realistic and factual a telling as they could have done (at the time). They only made it 11 or 12, years after the event, and everything about it (the mission) was secret. But it's as close as it could be," he said.

The epic docudrama war film stars British film legends Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave and depicts the true story of Operation Chastise in which the RAF's 617 Squadron attacked the Möhne, Eder, and Sorpe dams in Nazi Germany with Barnes Wallis's bouncing bomb.

"What it really shows is people's attitudes and their attitudes to what they were going through and how difficult it was, and and the loss and coping with the loss and dealing with it. While it shows an extraordinary event, it shows the ordinary people and how they're dealing with it," Al said.

"And of course, Richard Todd, who plays Guy Gibson in the film, parachuted into Normandy on D-Day - as a soldier, he did something astounding himself. And so when at the end of the film, he says, 'I've got to go write some letters', which is to the families of the men who've been killed, you get the feeling he knows exactly what he's talking about. And very often those films of the 50s have that resonance in them (because the actors were in the war) that gets you that little bit closer to understanding or seeing how that generation of people coped with what they went through," he reflected.

Meanwhile, James selects The Thin Red Line, based on the 1962 novel by James Jones, which has been filmed twice - first in 1964 and later in 1998. The story is a fictionalised account of the Battle of Mount Austen.

"I love that film," he said. "I think it's very accurate. I think the depictions of the action are very accurate. I think the acting is second to none. It's not sensationalising in any sense or form. It feels very true to how the combat was fought, I think, and it gets across very well (with) a very rich cast of characters who kind of ring true. So that's the one I would take and also The Cruel Sea (1953). Another standout," he said.

The pair were speaking as they took a break from planning this year's We Have Ways Fest which is the UK's premier festival dedicated to the Second World War. The weekend is packed with top historians, demonstrations, iconic military vehicles, living history, wargaming, traders, live music, and much more.

The festival is going from strength to strength and James believes that is all down to simple human connections. "I mean, if the out of all the pain and misery of the Second World War, you've got people who have emerged out of deep depression, have got married, have created friendships for life, have created camaraderie of an intensity which has possibly only ever been experienced before in combating units in the Second World War. What's not to like? I mean, that's a great thing.

"And whilst at the same time learning about history, learning about our past, and learning some of those lessons, I mean, I just think that's a tremendous thing," he said.

This year's We Have Ways Fest takes place from 12 - 14 September 2025 at Blackpit Brewery. Tickets are available here.