List of book-based war films (21st-century wars)

A list of films that are based on war books.

For earlier conflicts, see the List of films based on war books — post-1945.

Contents

21st century

War on Terror

("War of Terror")
2001–ongoing [1]

Murder in Samarkand by Michael Winterbottom

Windows on the World by director unknown

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 The Guys 2002 Jim Simpson USA The Guys Anne Nelson 2002 Play
2 Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story * 2003 Robert Dornhelm USA Rudy!: An Investigative Biography of Rudy Giuliani Wayne Barrett 2000 Non-fiction
3 The Path to 9/11 * 2006 David L. Cunningham USA The Cell John Miller & Michael Stone 200? Non-fiction
3 1000 Years for Revenge: International Terrorism and the FBI – the Untold Story Peter Lance 2003 Non-fiction
3 Relentless Pursuit Samuel M. Katz 200? Non-fiction
4 Karol: The Pope, The Man * 2006 Giacomo Battiato Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Canada Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of Pope John Paul II Gian Franco Svidercoschi 2001 Non-fiction
5 The 9/11 Commission Report 2006 Leigh Scott USA Final Report of the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States 2004 Non-fiction
6 The Unit *** 2006–2009 David Mamet et al. USA Inside Delta Force: The Story of America's Elite Counterterrorist Unit Eric L. Haney 2002 Memoir
7 A Mighty Heart 2007 Michael Winterbottom USA A Mighty Heart Mariane Pearl 2003 Non-fiction
8 Body of Lies 2008 Ridley Scott USA Body of Lies David Ignatius 2007 Novel
9 Adopt a Sailor 2008 Charles Evered USA Adopt a Sailor Charles Evered 2002 Play
10 The End of America δ 2008 Annie Sundberg & Ricki Stern USA The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot Naomi Wolf 2007 Non-fiction
11 Murder in Samarkand ♠ 2011 Michael Winterbottom UK Murder in Samarkand Craig Murray 2006 Memoir/
Non-fiction
n Dear John 2010 Lasse Hallström USA Dear John Nicholas Sparks 2006 Novel

Prior international terrorism

Prior to 11/09/2001

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 Barcelona 1994 Whit Stillman USA The Scarlet Pimpernel ♠ (uncredited) Baroness Orczy (uncredited) 1903 & 1905 Play & Novel
2 My House in Umbria ♦ * 2003 Richard Loncraine UK & Italy My House in Umbria William Trevor 1991 Novella

War in Afghanistan

2001–ongoing

Home front

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 Army Wives *** 2007–present Ben Younger et al. USA Under the Sabers: The Unwritten Code of Army Wives Tanya Biank 200? Non-fiction

Classics in the making

# Source
work		 Author Date Type Country
1 A Thousand Splendid Suns Khaled Hosseini 2007 Novel USA
2 Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman Jon Krakauer 2009 Non-fiction USA

Ivorian Civil War

2002–2004

Darfur Conflict

2003–2009

Iraq War

2003–ongoing

Politics

Fair Game by Doug Liman
# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 Karol: The Pope, The Man * 2006 Giacomo Battiato Poland, Italy, France, Germany, Canada Stories of Karol: The Unknown Life of Pope John Paul II Gian Franco Svidercoschi 2001 Non-fiction
2 The War Prayer ♠ 2007 Michael A. Goorjian USA "The War Prayer" "Mark Twain" 1916 (posthumous) Story
3 W. 2008 Oliver Stone USA Fortunate Son: George W. Bush and the Making of an American President [2] (uncredited) J.H. Hatfield ♦ (uncredited) 1999 Non-fiction
3 The Perfect Wife: the Life and Choices of Laura Bush [2] (uncredited) Ann Gerhart (uncredited) c. 2004 [3]¤ Non-fiction
3 Ambling Into History: The Unlikely Odyssey of George W. Bush [2] (uncredited) Frank Bruni (uncredited) 2002 Non-fiction
3 The Dark Side: The Inside Story of How the War on Terror Turned into a War on American Ideals (uncredited) Jane Mayer ♦ (uncredited) 2008 Non-fiction
3 Bush at War
and others (uncredited)		 Bob Woodward ♦ (uncredited) 2002 Non-fiction
3 The Price of Loyalty: George W. Bush, the White House, and the Education of Paul O'Neill (uncredited) Ron Suskind ♦ (uncredited) 2004 Non-fiction
3 Hubris: The Inside Story of Spin, Scandal, and the Selling of the Iraq War (uncredited) David Corn & Michael Isikoff ♦ (uncredited) 2006 Non-fiction
3 ? (uncredited) Rissin ♦ (uncredited) 200? Non-fiction
3 The Bush Tragedy (uncredited) Jacob Weisberg ♦ (uncredited) 2008 Non-fiction
3 Bush on the Couch: Inside the Mind of a President (uncredited) Justin Frank ♦ (uncredited) 2004 Non-fiction
3 Angler [4][5][6] (uncredited) Barton Gellman ♦ & Jo Becker (uncredited) 200?–2008 Articles
3 Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency [7] (uncredited) Barton Gellman (uncredited) 2008 Non-fiction
3 First Son: George W. Bush and the Bush Family Dynasty (uncredited) Bill Minutaglio ♦ (uncredited) 1999 Non-fiction
3 The Faith of George W. Bush (uncredited) Stephen Mansfield ♦ (uncredited) 2004? Non-fiction
3 George W. Bush tapes (uncredited) Doug Wead ♦ (uncredited) 1997–2000 Audio interviews
3 Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential (uncredited) James Moore and Wayne Slater ♦ (uncredited) 2003 Non-fiction
3 Rove Exposed: How Bush's Brain Fooled America (uncredited) James Moore and Wayne Slater ♦ (uncredited) 2005 Non-fiction
3 Cobra II: The Inside Story of the Invasion and Occupation of Iraq (uncredited) Michael R. Gordon ♦ & Bernard E. Trainor (uncredited) 2006 Non-fiction
3 Against All Enemies: Inside America's War on Terror—What Really Happened (uncredited) Richard A. Clarke ♦ (uncredited) 2004 Non-fiction
4 10 Days to War * 2008 Bruce Goodison & David Belton UK "Eve-of-battle speech" Lt. Col.
Tim Collins		 2003 Speech
5 The Ghost Writer 2010 Roman Polanski France, Germany, UK The Ghost Robert Harris 2007 Novel
6 Fair Game 2010 Doug Liman USA Fair Game: My Life as a Spy, My Betrayal by the White House Valerie Plame Wilson 2007 Memoir

Operations

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 Saving Jessica Lynch * 2003 Peter Markle USA Because Each Life Is Precious Mohammed Odeh al-Rehaief 2003 Non-fiction
2 Generation Kill * 2008 Susanna White & Simon Cellan-Jones USA Generation Kill: Devil Dogs, Iceman, Captain America, and the New Face of American War [9][10][11][12] Evan Wright 2004 Non-fiction
2 "The Killer Elite" [13] et al. Evan Wright 2003 Articles
3 The Men Who Stare at Goats 2009 Grant Heslov USA The Men Who Stare at Goats Jon Ronson 2004 Non-fiction
4 Green Zone 2010 Paul Greengrass USA Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone [14] Rajiv Chandrasekaran 2006 Non-fiction
Last stand of Uday and Qusay Hussein

22 July 2003

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 House of Saddam 2008 Alex Holmes &
Jim O'Hanlon		 UK & USA Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge [15] (uncredited) Said Aburish ♣ 1999 Non-fiction
Capture of Saddam Hussein

14 December 2003

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 House of Saddam 2008 Alex Holmes &
Jim O'Hanlon		 UK & USA Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge [15] (uncredited) Said Aburish ♣ 1999 Non-fiction
Battle of Fallujah

April 2004 – May 2004

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 No True Glory: The Battle for Fallujah Cancelled [16] ? USA No True Glory: A Frontline Account of the Battle for Fallujah Bing West 2005 Non-fiction

Military justice and Courts-martial

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 The Mark of Cain * 2007 Marc Munden UK "Eve-of-battle speech" Lt. Col. Tim Collins 2003 Speech

Atrocities

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 The Mark of Cain * 2007 Marc Munden UK "Eve-of-battle speech" Lt. Col. Tim Collins 2003 Speech

Home front

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 Army Wives *** 2007–present Ben Younger et al. USA Under the Sabers: The Unwritten Code of Army Wives Tanya Biank 200? Non-fiction

Demobilization

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 In the Valley of Elah 2007 Paul Haggis USA "Death and Dishonor" Mark Boal 2004 Article

Casualties

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 Taking Chance * 2009 Ross Katz USA "Taking Chance Home" Lt. Col. Michael Strobl 2004 Article

Justice and Retribution

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 House of Saddam 2008 Alex Holmes &
Jim O'Hanlon		 UK & USA Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge [15] (uncredited) Said Aburish ♠ 1999 Non-fiction

Memorial

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type

Occupation of Iraq

# Film Date Director Country Source
work		 Author Date Type
1 Body of Lies 2008 Ridley Scott USA Body of Lies David Ignatius 2007 Novel

2006 Lebanon War

July–August 2006

South Ossetia War

2008

Georgia by Renny Harlin

References

Notes

  1. ^ The Bushism "War on Terror" is often not taken seriously outside of the United States. [1]
  2. ^ a b c Source: TIME. W.: The Official Film Guide, S. James Snyder, 21 Oct. 2008.
    This article is based on W. The Official Film Guide, David Wyles, Stanley Weiser, and Oliver Stone. Retrieved 2009-9-29.
  3. ^ Publication details for this title have been confirmed by the catalogue of the US Library of Congress.
    Source: Library of Congress Online Catalog.
  4. ^ Recipient of the George Polk Award for Political Reporting in 2007.
  5. ^ Recipient of the Pulitzer Prize in 2008.
  6. ^ Recipient of the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting in 2008?.
  7. ^ Recipient of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2008.
  8. ^ Source: DVD audio commentary.
  9. ^ Recipient of the PEN USA Award in 2004.
  10. ^ Recipient of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2004.
  11. ^ Recipient of the Gen. Wallace Greene Award in 2004.
  12. ^ Recipient of the Lukas Prize in 2005.
  13. ^ Recipient of the National Magazine Award for Excellence in Reporting in 2004.
  14. ^ Recipient of the Samuel Johnson Prize in 2007.
  15. ^ a b c "The actor [Yigal Naor read various books to prepare for his performance, in particular “Saddam Hussein: The Politics of Revenge” by Palestinian author Said Aburish. During a joint interview with Naor on the BBC World Service, Aburish said [...] that Naor has captured the swagger, gestures and nuances of Saddam."
    Source: ‘House of Saddam’ brings Saddam’s complexities to the small screen, Susannah Tarbush, Saudi Gazette. Retrieved 2010-06-24 (12 Rajab 1431 AH).
  16. ^ The justification for this film announcement came from Fallujah during the Iraq War. The cited IMDb page is no longer active.

Bibliography

See also

This film, television or video-related list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it with reliably sourced additions.
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