Military Documentaries on Netflix
Last updated April 19, 2024
National Geographic: The Lost Fleet of Guadalcanal
1996 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsUsing historical footage, underwater exploration, interviews and narration by former president George Bush Sr., the acclaimed National Geographic crew and Dr. Robert Ballard (who discovered the shipwrecks of the Titanic and the Bismarck) trace the bloody 1942 battle of Guadalcanal, in which the Allies fought the Japanese and 50 ships were downed. The recently located ships are the focus of this fascinating documentary.
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Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State
2005 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsIt was the site of the largest mass murder the world has ever seen, yet few people know its full history. This landmark series puts together the most complete history of Auschwitz, from the evolution of the camp to the mentality of the perpetrators.
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National Geographic: Camp Leatherneck
2010 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsIn a part of Afghanistan controlled by the Taliban prior to 2009, the U.S. Marines' Camp Leatherneck now serves as the base of operations for more than 10,000 U.S. soldiers charged with turning the tide of war in a stark and alien landscape. This National Geographic documentary looks closely at the men and women making up that force and the obstacles they face -- including heat, isolation, boredom, and the constant, invisible threat of attack.
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Dirty Wars
2013 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsExploring America's covert operations in the war on terror, investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill takes viewers on a revealing journey through drone strikes, night raids, kill lists that include U.S. citizens and secret government-condoned torture.
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National Geographic: The Battle for Midway
1999 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsIt was here in 1942 where the U.S. and Japan fought one of the greatest naval battles of World War II that changed the course of history. Hear the stories of four remarkable men and how each survived the war despite incredible odds.
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Killing bin Laden
2011 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsExperience an intimate account of the Osama bin Laden operation, from crucial intelligence gathering to the burial at sea. Explore the details of how the operation was planned and executed, and see through the eyes of the highly trained SEAL Team 6.
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Camp Victory, Afghanistan
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsFilmed over a three-year span, this documentary chronicles the difficulties of building an effective Afghan army composed of uneducated and poverty-stricken enlistees trained by American soldiers who don't always grasp the scope of their task.
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Nova: Bombing Hitler's Dams
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsIn 1943 a squadron of Lancaster bombers staged one of the most audacious raids in history, destroying two gigantic dams in Germany's industrial heartland with a revolutionary bouncing bomb invented by British engineer Barnes Wallis. Now, NOVA re-creates the extreme engineering challenges faced by Wallis and the pilots.
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Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust
2004 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker Daniel Anker examines Hollywood's depiction of the Holocaust and its incomprehensible atrocities in this award-winning documentary narrated by Gene Hackman and featuring interviews with Steven Spielberg and Sidney Lumet. Through film clips, newsreels, scholars' comments and firsthand accounts, the documentary also questions the responsibility of filmmakers in retelling history and the effects of film portrayals on the social psyche.
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Sky Soldier
2012 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThis unique documentary is told in first person through the eyes of a helicopter pilot who flew tours during the Vietnam War. Years later, an archive of rare 3-D photographs and audio recordings turns up and tells a story of this 10,000-day war.
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Severe Clear
2009 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsUsing his home video camera, Lt. Michael T. Scotti records the violent and frightening experiences he and his Marine unit encounter while leading the initial American charge against Saddam Hussein's forces during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
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Armadillo
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsDocumentarian Janus Metz Pedersen hunkers down with a platoon of Danish soldiers on a six-month Afghan tour of duty, and his exceptional access yields a field-level view of the boredom, adrenaline and confusion that comprise their daily routine. Shot in assorted digital formats on cameras at times fixed to soldiers' helmets, the film records the recruits on patrol and at rest and witnesses their transformation when finally called to combat.
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National Geographic: The Search for Kennedy's PT 109
2002 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsDr. Robert Ballard, famous for discovering the watery remains of the Titanic, unearths the wreck of John F. Kennedy's legendary World War II patrol-torpedo boat in this intriguing National Geographic documentary. Includes compelling wartime footage and eyewitness accounts of Kennedy's heroism aboard the ill-fated ship that was cut in half by a Japanese destroyer in the murky waters off the Solomon Islands.
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Trinity & Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie
1995 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsUsing jaw-dropping footage that was previously classified by the U.S. government, this fascinating documentary compiled by special effects filmmaker Peter Kuran and narrated by William Shatner chronicles the development of the atomic hydrogen bomb. Highlights include an underwater detonation of an atomic bomb designed to test the effect of the blast on ships at sea, as well as an interview with nuclear weapons developer Edward Teller.
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The Devil Came on Horseback
2007 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsIn this unflinching documentary chronicling the genocide in Darfur, former Marine Capt. Brian Steidle is forever transformed by the atrocities he witnesses as a military observer for the African Union.
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Countdown to Zero
2009 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsSince the first atomic bomb exploded in 1945, scientists and world leaders have grappled with the apocalyptic dangers and paradoxes posed by nuclear weapons. Lucy Walker's documentary presents an unblinking look at humanity's lethal predicament.
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National Geographic: Inside American Power: Air Force One
2001 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsReigning as the only superpower in a post-Cold War world, the United States has managed to run its government with a veiled secrecy that extends even to the press briefings and State of the Union addresses. This feature from &NFi;National Geographic&NFi_; will take you deep inside the president's personal airplane, Air Force One.
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No End in Sight
2007 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsThis Oscar-nominated documentary from filmmaker (and former Brookings Institution fellow) Charles Ferguson examines the decisions that led to the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and the handling of the subsequent occupation by President George W. Bush and his administration. Featuring detailed analysis and exclusive interviews with central players, the film pulls no punches as it chronicles the twists and turns America took on the path to war.
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National Geographic: 21 Days to Baghdad
2003 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsFresh from the front lines, this visually compelling documentary from &NFi;National Geographic &NFi_;monitors the military action that put America in control of Iraq since the first of 2003's "shock and awe" tactics took effect. Day-by-day accounts from journalists right in the middle of the action punctuate this prolific and harshly real look at war.
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National Geographic: Search for the Battleship Bismarck
1989 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsJoin Dr. Robert Ballard and narrator Richard Kiley on this gripping underwater journey to discover the secrets of the Bismarck, a German battleship that terrorized the high seas during World War II and was finally downed by Allied firepower. Ballard, who discovered the remains of the Titanic, found the Bismarck in the eerie depths of the Atlantic Ocean, steeped in the secrets of its final destruction.
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Secrets of the Dead: Deadliest Battle
2010 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsWith the aid of eye-opening archival footage, eyewitness accounts and long-buried documents, this penetrating edition of the PBS series looks at Germany's infamous 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union, the largest troop offensive in history. More specifically, the program dissects the Battle of Stalingrad and analyzes Joseph Stalin's counterattack, which culminated in a decisive Russian victory -- and the single-deadliest conflict on record.
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National Geographic: Super Carrier
2006 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsJoin National Geograhic Explorer for seven days aboard the cutting-edge aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower as its crew prepares for action in Iraq. At 95,000 tons, she's one of the world's largest ships and home to 6,000 personnel.
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The Man Nobody Knew: In Search of My Father CIA Spymaster William Colby
2011 | NR | 3.8 out of 5 StarsCarl Colby, the son of enigmatic Cold War-era CIA op William Colby, gets to know his father in discussions with contemporaries and historians. Their insights illuminate the elder Colby's life as well as America's intelligence system then and now.
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Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers
2006 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsDirector Robert Greenwald makes a passionate point -- that private contractors are getting rich while others are suffering -- in this thought-provoking 2006 documentary about profiteering and the Iraq War. Using whistle-blower testimony, firsthand accounts, financial records and classified documents, Greenwald levels charges of greed, corruption and incompetence against private contractors and shows the effect they have on Americans and Iraqis.
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Somali Pirate Takedown: The Real Story
2009 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsFind out the real story behind the heroic Navy SEAL kill shots that freed Capt. Richard Phillips after a dramatic four-day Somali pirate siege. Experience the drama through stunning new footage of the actual rescue as it played out on the high seas.&NFi;&NFi_;
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