There are many war documentaries out there but only recently have they really featured true combat footage. I’m not saying those that don’t are not good, they all have their purpose but if you are interested in watching some with real combat footage then this list is for you. Some of these are indie films, and all of them feature footage from real combat. Viewer discretion is advised for these.
The Volunteers
This is a two-part documentary so make sure you watch both parts. The documentary is filmed by River Hagg, a freelancer trying to capture video of conflicts. River travels to warn-torn Syria and joins a medical unit of foreign volunteers who provide aid to civilians and YPG fighters. The volunteers end up earning the trust of the YPG are and allowed to push further into the conflict zone with them. They end up getting to the front lines of the city of Manbij, Syria which ISIS had turned into a fortress. River does a good job of showing the conflict on the ground and documents the very real emotion felt during war.
Only the Dead
Time magazine war correspondent, Michael Ware, gets handpicked and given video footage by terrorists and then embeds with them during the Iraq war. For whatever reason Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi, one of the highest terrorist targets at one point (he’s dead now), picks Ware to deliver messages to the West. Ware in turn gets to capture incredible footage showing the unimaginable suffering and violence of war, specifically the Iraq conflict.
Armadillo
In February 2009 a group of Danish soldiers accompanied by documentary filmmaker Janus Metz arrived at Armadillo, an army base in the southern Afghan province of Helmand. Metz and cameraman Lars Skree spent six months following the lives of young soldiers situated less than a kilometer away from Taliban positions. The outcome of their work is a gripping and highly authentic war drama that was justly awarded the Grand Prix de la Semaine de la Critique at this year’s Cannes film festival. But it also provoked furious debate in Denmark concerning the controversial behavior of certain Danish soldiers during a shootout with Taliban fighters. The filmmakers repeatedly risked their lives shooting this tense, brilliantly edited, and visually sophisticated probe into the psychology of young men in the midst of a senseless war whose victims are primarily local villagers.
Ben