List of book-based war films (future wars)
A list of films that are based on war books. If a book has been turned into both a film and a television series (or television film), then the television series is included.
This is a fictional history page. The films and books are real. The history is not.
For other conflicts, see the List of films based on war books — fantasy.
Prehistory
Fire War
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Quest for Fire | 1981 | Jean-Jacques Annaud | Canada & France | La Guerre du feu | "J.-H. Rosny" | 1911 | Novel | - | - | - |
Days of future past
Wars of Barsoom
1865
Bulletin ... film currently in production: John Carter of Mars by Andrew Stanton
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Princess of Mars | 2009 | Mark Atkins | US | Under the Moons of Mars aka A Princess of Mars | Edgar Rice Burroughs | 1912 | Novel | - | - | - |
2 | John Carter of Mars ♠ | 2012 | Andrew Stanton | US | Under the Moons of Mars aka A Princess of Mars | Edgar Rice Burroughs | 1912 | Novel | - | - | - |
- ♠ John Carter is an American Civil War veteran who employs his sabre skills on Mars.
War of the Worlds
(War of the Martians against the Victorians)
1890s
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The War of the Worlds ♠ | 1953 | Byron Haskin | US | The War of the Worlds [2] | H.G. Wells | 1897 | Novel | - | - | - |
- ♠ The setting has been changed from Queen Victoria's London to Pres. Eisenhower's California but it is still conservative.
Invasion by Emanon
1915
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Battle Cry of Peace ♠ | 1915 | J. Stuart Blackton & Wilfrid North | US | Defenseless America † | Hudson Maxim | 1916 | Non-fiction | - | - | - |
- ♠ Also known as A Call to Arms Against War, An American Home, The Battle Cry of War.[3]
- † Maxim appears in the film. His book apparently was published after the film's release.
Rebellion of the Loyal Legion
1916
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Fall of a Nation ♠ | 1916 | Rev. Thomas F. Dixon Jr. | US | The Fall of a Nation | Rev. Thomas F. Dixon Jr. | 1916 | Novel | - | - | - |
- ♠ The Loyal Legion of American Women led the uprising against the Emperor of the US.[4]
Martian Proletarian Revolution
c. 1920
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Aelita: Queen of Mars Аэлита | 1924 | Yakov Protazanov | USSR | Aelita | Alexei Tolstoy | 1923 | Novel | - | - | - |
Metropolis Rebellion
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Metropolis | 1927 | Fritz Lang | Germany | Metropolis | Thea von Harbou | 1926 | Novel | - | - | - |
Freedonia–Sylvania War
1933
Collision of the Earth with Bronson Alpha
1933
Since this incident resulted in the destruction of the Earth, it is possible that it is legend and not fact.
Some academics continue to disagree.
Global Civil War
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | When Worlds Collide | 1951 | Rudolph Maté | US | When Worlds Collide | Philip Wylie & Edwin Balmer | 1933 | Novel | - | - | - |
Wars of Oceania against Eurasia and Eastasia
1940s
Frequently filmed: Nineteen Eighty-Four
Bulletin ... film currently in development: 1984 by director unknown
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 1984 | 1956 | Michael Anderson | UK | Nineteen Eighty-Four [2] | George Orwell | 1949 | Novel | - | - | - |
Second World War
1940–1966
Rebellion of 2036
2036
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Things to Come | 1936 | William Cameron Menzies | UK | The Shape of Things to Come | H.G. Wells | 1933 | Novel | - | - | - |
Advent of World Peace
1968
World peace arrived in 1968 when the Star Child destroyed all of the world's nuclear weapons.
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 2001: A Space Odyssey [5] | 1968 | Stanley Kubrick | UK | 2001: A Space Odyssey | Arthur C. Clarke | 1968 | Novel | - | - | - |
World War III (TV miniseries)
1982
Occupying force
Resistance
Red Dawn
1984
Occupying force
Resistance
Colorado high school students, commanded by Jed Eckert
Amerika (TV miniseries)
1987
Occupying force
Resistance
Second American Revolution, initiated by the
Heartland Defense Force, based in Omaha
Left Behind
2005
Occupying force
UN (Global Community), led by the Antichrist
Resistance
Reign of Fire
2008–2020
This is the present day.
Apocalyptic
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | On the Beach | 1959 | Stanley Kramer | US | On the Beach | Nevil Shute | 1957 | Novel | On the Beach | 2000 | Australia |
2 | Panic in Year Zero! | 1962 | Ray Milland | US | "Lot" & "Lot's Daughter" (uncredited) | Ward Moore (uncredited) | 1953–1954 | Stories | - | - | - |
3 | Testament | 1983 | Lynne Littman | US | "The Last Testament" | Carol Amen | 198? | Story | - | - | - |
4 | When the Wind Blows | 1986 | Jimmy Murakami | UK | When the Wind Blows | Raymond Briggs | 1982 | Graphic novel | - | - | - |
Post-apocalyptic
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Last Man on Earth ♠ | 1924 | John G. Blystone | US | The Last Man (uncredited) | Mary Shelley (uncredited) | 1826 | Novel | - | - | - |
2 | A Boy and His Dog | 1974 | L.Q. Jones | US | A Boy and His Dog [6] | Harlan Ellison | 1969/1976 | Novella | - | - | - |
3 | The Handmaid's Tale | 1990 | Volker Schlöndorff | US & Germany | The Handmaid's Tale [7][8] | Margaret Atwood | 1985 | Novel | - | - | - |
4 | The Postman | 1997 | Kevin Costner | US | The Postman [9][10] | David Brin | 1985 | Novel | - | - | - |
5 | Woundings aka Brand New World | 1998 | Roberta Hanley | UK | Woundings | Jeff Noon | 1986 | Play | - | - | - |
6 | Children of Men | 2006 | Alfonso Cuarón | UK | The Children of Men | P.D. James | 1992 | Novel | - | - | - |
7 | The Road | 2009 | John Hillcoat | US | The Road [11][12] | Cormac McCarthy | 2006 | Novel | - | - | - |
n | Malevil Malevil | 1981 | Christian de Chalonge | France | Malevil [13] Malevil | Robert Merle [14] | 1972 | Novel | - | - | - |
- ♠ A comedy, beginning in the Ozarks, inspired by Shelley's novel with roots in the Greek War of Independence.
Frequently filmed: I Am Legend
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | The Last Man on Earth | 1964 | Ubaldo Ragona & Sidney Salkow | US & Italy | I Am Legend | Richard Matheson | 1954 | Novel | - | - | - |
2 | Soy leyenda | 1967 | Mario Gómez Martín | Spain | I Am Legend | Richard Matheson | 1954 | Novel | - | - | - |
3 | The Omega Man | 1971 | Boris Sagal | US | I Am Legend | Richard Matheson | 1954 | Novel | - | - | - |
Ape Revolt
Frequently filmed: La Planète des singes
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Planet of the Apes [15] | 1968 | Franklin J. Schaffner | US | La Planète des singes | Pierre Boulle | 1963 | Novel | - | - | - |
2 | Conquest of the Planet of the Apes ♠ | 1972 | J. Lee Thompson | US | La Planète des singes (characters) | Pierre Boulle | 1963 | Novel | - | - | - |
- ♠ The film where the Ape Revolt actually occurs.
Campaigns of the American Forces / Fuerzas Americanas
Battle of the Argentine Moons
2036 (Year 40)
Battle of Tannhäuser Gate
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Blade Runner ♠ [16] | 1982 | Ridley Scott | US | Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? | Philip K. Dick | 1968 | Novel | - | - | - |
- ♠ The battle is mentioned in Blade Runner.
Bolivian Coup
2015
Battle of Shanghai
2012
Shoulder of Orion
Battle of Arcadia 234
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Soldier | 1998 | Paul W.S. Anderson | US | Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (uncredited) | Philip K. Dick (uncredited) | 1968 | Novel | - | - | - |
Drac War
c. 2080
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Enemy Mine | 1985 | Wolfgang Petersen | US | Enemy Mine [18][19] | Barry B. Longyear | 1979 | Novella | - | - | - |
Wars of the Colonial Marines
Nostromo Incident
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Alien [20] | 1979 | Ridley Scott | US | The Voyage of the Space Beagle (uncredited) | A.E. van Vogt (uncredited) | 1950 | Novel | - | - | - |
Battle of Planetoid LV-426
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Aliens | 1986 | James Cameron | US | Starship Troopers [21] (uncredited) | Robert A. Heinlein (uncredited) | 1959 | Novel | - | - | - |
Bug War
(War of Terrans and Skinnies against Arachnids)
Battle of Planet P
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Uchū no senshi aka Starship Troopers | 1987 | Tetsuro Amino | Japan | Starship Troopers [21] | Robert A. Heinlein | 1959 | Novel | - | - | - |
2 | Starship Troopers | 1997 | Paul Verhoeven | US | Starship Troopers [21] | Robert A. Heinlein | 1959 | Novel | - | - | - |
Second Bug War
Battle of Planet OM-1
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Starship Troopers 3: Marauder | 2008 | Ed Neumeier | US | Starship Troopers [21] (characters) | Robert A. Heinlein | 1959 | Novel | - | - | - |
Exterminator Rebellion
2293
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Zardoz ♠ | 1974 | John Boorman | UK | The Wonderful Wizard of Oz | L. Frank Baum | 1900 | Novel | - | - | - |
- ♠ The revolt against the Eternals, who are anti-penis, by the Brutals, who are (presumably) pro-penis. Eternals worship the Baum.
Forever War
(United Nations against the Taurans) [22][23][24]
Bulletin ... film currently in development: The Forever War by Ridley Scott
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Psychlo Occupation of Earth
c. AD 2000
Revolt of the Man-animals
AD 3000
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Outsider War
Stardate 3045.6
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Arena from Star Trek ♠ | 1967 | Joseph Pevney | US | "Arena" | Fredric Brown | 1944 | Story | - | - | - |
- ♠ Brown's Outsider, being impossible to portray with 1960s special effects, became the reptilian Gorn.
War of the Old Empire against House Atreides
Fremen Jihad
Battle of Arrakeen
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Dune | 1984 | David Lynch | US | Dune [25][26] | Frank Herbert | 1965 | Novel | - | - | - |
2 | Dune Extended Version | 1989 | "Alan Smithee" | US | Dune [25][26] | Frank Herbert | 1965 | Novel | - | - | - |
Clone Wars
22 BBY – 19 BBY
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
War of the Rebel Alliance against the Empire
Battle of the Moon of Endor
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Return of the Jedi | 1983 | Richard Marquand | US | Earthman's Burden ♠ (uncredited) | Gordon R. Dickson & Poul Anderson (uncredited) | 1957 | Stories | - | - | - |
1 | Little Fuzzy ♠ (uncredited) | H. Beam Piper (uncredited) | 1962 | Novel | - | - | - | ||||
- ♠ Hokas and especially Little Fuzzies, both well-known within science fiction, are considered to have inspired the Ewoks.
Periodic Civil War of Lagash
Every 2049 years, civilization on Lagash collapses.
# | Film | Date | Director | Country | Source work | Author | Date | Type | Television | Date | Country |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Nightfall | 1988 | Paul Mayersberg | US | Nightfall | Isaac Asimov | 1941 | Story | - | - | - |
For other conflicts, see the List of films based on war books — fantasy.
References
Notes
- ↑ The title of this section bears no relation to any Moody Blues album from 1967 or otherwise.
- 1 2 Listed in the 100 livres du siècle, from a poll organized by FNAC and Le Monde in 1999.
- ↑ Source: controversial IMDb review by F. Gwynplaine MacIntyre, 2003.
- ↑ Source: IMDb plot summary by Jim Beaver.
- ↑ Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1991.
- ↑ Recipient of the Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1969.
- ↑ Recipient of the Governor General's Award in 1985.
- ↑ Recipient of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 1986.
- ↑ Recipient of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1986.
- ↑ Recipient of the Locus Award in 1986.
- ↑ Recipient of the James Tait Black Memorial Prize in 2006.
- ↑ Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in 2007.
- ↑ Recipient of the John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1974 (tie with Rendezvous with Rama).
- ↑ Merle was awarded the Grand Prix Jean-Giono in 2003.
- ↑ Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 2001.
- ↑ Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 1993.
- ↑ Sharp view of 'Orion's shoulder' BBC News, Wednesday, 29 July 2009
- ↑ Recipient of the Hugo Award for Best Novella in 1980.
- ↑ Recipient of the Nebula Award for Best Novella in 1980.
- ↑ Inducted into the US National Film Registry in 2002.
- 1 2 3 4 Recipient of the Hugo Award in 1960.
- ↑ Recipient of the Nebula Award in 1975.
- ↑ Recipient of the Hugo Award in 1976.
- ↑ Recipient of the Locus Award in 1976.
- 1 2 Recipient of the Nebula Award in 1965.
- 1 2 Recipient of the Hugo Award in 1966.
See also
- List of films based on war books — fantasy
- List of films based on war books
- List of films based on war books — pre-1775
- List of films based on war books — 1775–1898
- List of films based on war books — 1898–1926
- List of films based on war books — 1927–1945
- List of films based on war books — post-1945
- List of films based on war books — peace
- Assassinations in fiction
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