Each year, only a few movies venture into the world of elite soldiers and the complex technology that drives modern warfare. From the sky-high action of Top Gun (1986) to the brutal trenches of Netflix’s All Quiet on the Western Front (2022), filmmakers tend to focus on fighter pilots, submariners, and sweeping battlefield spectacles. However, the vital contributions of tanks—and the crews who operate them—are often left in the shadows. To bring this underappreciated side of combat to light, we’ve assembled a selection of 10 standout films that vividly portray the raw, human experience within these steel giants.
The Beast of War (1988)
The Beast of War (1988) follows a T-55 tank crew in a rare glimpse of the Soviet perspective of the Soviet-Afghan War. The tank crew finds themselves lost in the mountains with a less-than-capable commander, and eventually become locked in an intense battle against Mujahideen guerrilla fighters.
The epic plot and gritty visuals have made The Beast a cult favorite, despite it underperforming in theaters upon its release. The film also features an authentic Soviet T-55 that was captured by the Israeli Defence Forces during the Arab-Israeli conflict.
Fury (2014)
The dire conditions at the end of World War II were tackled in 2014’s Fury, a “grim, macho tank drama” written and directed by David Ayer. Set in April 1945, battle-hardened Don “Wardaddy” Collier, portrayed by Brad Pitt, leads his five-man M4A2E8 Sherman crew on a risky mission behind enemy lines.
Tasked with penetrating deep within German territory, Fury‘s crew faces an onslaught of attacks throughout the film. Scenes oscillate between expansive battlefields and the cramped interior of the tank; the visceral, bloody nature of Fury certainly lives up to its name.
The tank scenes are well-researched and generally accurate, minus a few inconsistencies. For example, when a Panzerfaust hit the fighting compartment, only a single man was killed. In reality, the strike would have been fatal for all those within the tank.
Battle of the Bulge (1965)
Battle of the Bulge (1965), starring Henry Fonda, Robert Shaw and Charles Bronson, depicts Germany’s last stand at the end of the Second World War. However, unlike Fury, viewers see both sides of the conflict.
The Battle of the Bulge was the last major German offensive campaign on the Western Front, as well as the largest and most deadly fought by the United States. The film shows the offensive through the eyes of American intelligence officer Lt. Col. Kiley (Fonda) and German Panzer Commander Col. Hessler (Shaw).
Like many war films, Battle of the Bulge misses a few historical details, and there are mistakes that overshadow the story. An example of this is the misrepresentation of the Ardennes Forest in Belgium, which was more densely-wooded in real life. Even Dwight D. Eisenhower denounced the film because of its historical inaccuracies.
If you’re looking for accuracy, Battle of the Bulge may not be for you, but its visceral imagery and epic battle scenes make it one of the best tank movies ever released.
T-34 (2018)
The 2018 Russian film T-34 centers on a Red Army tank commander and his crew, captured and held as prisoners of war by an SS Panzer division. Over the course of the story, they devise a daring plan to break free after three grueling years in captivity.
Authenticity is a hallmark of T-34. The production features several genuine tanks, including a restored WWII T-34 that was returned to operational condition and painted in historically accurate 1941 “winter forest” camouflage.
The movie became a major hit in Russia, earning a playful nickname from local media: “The Fast and the Furious on tanks.” For a foreign-language war film, T-34 delivers a gripping and immersive portrayal of the Soviet soldier’s experience during World War II.
Patton (1970)
Patton (1970) tells the story of one of history’s most famous tank commanders and military leaders: Gen. George S. Patton. The film depicts Patton’s military career during World War II, covering his actions from the North Africa Campaign to Germany’s surrender in 1945.
George C. Scott delivers a performance that centers both Patton’s important accomplishments and his known flaws. Known for his insubordination and stubbornness, Patton’s fiery temper ultimately led to him missing out on the role of the leading American general during Operation Overlord, a position that went to Eisenhower instead.
The film was one of the first to accurately portray the harsh realities of tank warfare, with numerous real tanks fighting battles on screen. In essence, Patton set a new benchmark by recreating a full-scale tank battle during its production.
Lebanon (2009)
Unlike many of the titles featured here, Lebanon (2009) steps away from World War II to depict the harrowing realities of the First Lebanon War. The film’s action takes place almost entirely inside a single tank, with the outside world glimpsed only through the gun sight—creating a claustrophobic, nerve-wracking atmosphere that mirrors the pressure of real combat.
Writer-director Samuel Maoz based the story on his own experiences as a tank gunner in a four-man crew, including a haunting incident in which he shot and killed an enemy soldier. This personal connection gives the film an authenticity and emotional weight rarely seen in war cinema. Its one shortcoming, however, is its limited scope—it presents the conflict solely from the Israeli perspective.
Kelly’s Heroes (1970)
Tanks, explosions, Clint Eastwood, and a fortune in Nazi gold—Kelly’s Heroes (1970) offers it all. Eastwood plays Sergeant First Class Kelly, who, after capturing German Colonel Dankhopf (David Hurst), gets him intoxicated and extracts a crucial secret: a $16 million gold shipment headed to a French stronghold. Lured by the prospect of wealth, Kelly gathers an unconventional team and plunges into enemy territory to claim it for themselves.
While the story takes creative liberties—loosely inspired by real Allied efforts to locate hidden Nazi treasures—the film immediately captivates viewers. It vividly captures the soldiers’ reactions when they discover the gold is protected by the fearsome German Tiger tanks (represented on screen by Soviet T-34s painted to look the part). Despite Eastwood’s reported doubts about the project, Kelly’s Heroes endures as a distinctive and entertaining war movie.
A Bridge Too Far (1977)
A Bridge Too Far (1977), starring Michael Caine, Sean Connery, Gene Hackman, Robert Redford, Anthony Hopkins and James Caan, tells the story of Operation Market Garden, a mixed-outcome campaign devised by the Allies to hasten the end of the Second World War. The aim was to push through Belgium and the Netherlands to Germany, along the way securing a bridgehead over the Rhine.
Spearheaded by several American airborne divisions that were backed by the British and Polish, Operation Market Garden relied on bridges to relieve paratroopers and advance toward the town of Arnhem in the Netherlands. Nearly everything that could go wrong did, and poor intelligence, overzealous commanders and unrelenting German resistance kept the Allies from reaching Arnhem – the bridge too far. They did, however, liberate a number of Dutch cities and towns.
Overall, A Bridge Too Far is among the most historically accurate tank movies on this list, therefore earning its title as one of the best. However, if we were to pick at it, our one complaint would be its overly-positive depiction of British Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery, the result of director Richard Attenborough not wanting to negatively portray the military leader in any way.
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Saving Private Ryan (1998) is one of the most renowned war films in recent history, so we’d be wrong to not include it on our list of the best tank movies. It has something for everyone, especially those interested in tanks, featuring a Tiger I on the chassis of a Soviet T-34 and two Marder III tank destroyers built on the chassis of a Panzer tank.
The film’s finale is an epic battle between a Tiger tank and a handful of soldiers, an exhilarating and suspenseful scene that truly shows why tanks are among an army’s biggest assets on the battlefield. While there are a few inaccuracies, Saving Private Ryan is one of the most immersive depictions of WWII, from the weaponry to the horrifying experiences of soldiers on D-Day.
Sahara (1943)
Starring Humphrey Bogart, Sahara (1943) takes viewers away from the Western Front and delivers them to Libya for an entirely different WWII experience. Following the fall of Tobruk, US Army Sgt. Joe Gunn (Bogart) leads his tank crew into the Sahara Desert, where they soon run out of their most valuable commodity: water.
Gunn and his men stumble upon an ancient well, and with the Germans close behind, they decide to stay and defend the site. Outgunned and outnumbered, the underdog group must face their enemies head-on with devastating consequences.
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Sahara makes a number of references to the actions in Tobruk during the middle part of 1942, when the British received the newly-produced American M3 Stuart, which wound up performing poorly in the region, as well as in North Africa and on the Eastern Front.
Not only is the storyline suspenseful and packed with action, Bogart’s acting perfectly captures the turmoil faced by soldiers who disliked the war, but continued to courageously serve.