Back to trending
The Young Lions

The Young Lions

War · Drama · Action · 1958

The lives of three young men, a German and two Americans, during WWII.

Movie details

The Young Lions

“Irwin Shaw's monumental best-seller”

1958 War · Drama · Action 2h 47m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.7 / 10

Community rating

The lives of three young men, a German and two Americans, during WWII.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over The Young Lions?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

Battleground

Battleground

Action · 1949

Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.

Memphis Belle

Memphis Belle

Drama · 1990

The "Memphis Belle" is a World War II bomber, piloted by a young crew on dangerous bombing raids into Europe. The crew only have to make one more bombing raid before they have finished their duty and can go home. In the briefing before their last flight, the crew discover that the target for the day is Bremen.

Fixed Bayonets!

Fixed Bayonets!

War · 1951

The story of a platoon during the Korean War. One by one, Corporal Denno's superiors are killed until it comes to the point where he must try to take command responsibility.

The Longest Day

The Longest Day

War · 1962

The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"

Operation Pacific

Operation Pacific

War · 1951

During WWII, Duke E. Gifford is second in command of the USS Thunderfish, a submarine which is firing off torpedoes that either explode too early or never explode at all. It's a dilemma that he'll eventually take up personally. Even more personal is his quest to win back his ex-wife, a nurse; but he'll have to win her back from a navy flier who also happens to be his commander's little brother.

The Guns of Navarone

The Guns of Navarone

Adventure · 1961

A team of allied saboteurs are assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.

Ice Cold in Alex

Ice Cold in Alex

War · 1958

A group of army personnel and nurses attempt a dangerous and arduous trek across the deserts of North Africa during the second world war. The leader of the team dreams of his ice cold beer when he reaches Alexandria.

Shepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog

Shepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog

Family · 2020

Follow the perilous journey to freedom when a young boy and his dog attempt to escape a concentration camp during World War II. Based on true events.

Taking Sides

Taking Sides

Drama · 2002

One of the most spectacular and renowned conductors of the 1930s, Wilhelm Furtwangler's reputation rivaled that of Toscanini's. After the war, he was investigated as part of the Allies' de-Nazification programme. In the bombed-out Berlin of the immediate post-war period, the Allies slowly bring law and order to bear on an occupied Germany. An American major is given the Furtwangler file, and is told to find everything he can and to prosecute the man ruthlessly. Tough and hard-nosed, Major Steve Arnold sets out to investigate a world of which he knows nothing.

All Quiet on the Western Front

All Quiet on the Western Front

War · 1979

At the start of World War I, Paul Baumer is a young German patriot, eager to fight. Indoctrinated with propaganda at school, he and his friends eagerly sign up for the army soon after graduation. But when the horrors of war soon become too much to bear, and as his friends die or become gravely wounded, Paul questions the sanity of fighting over a few hundreds yards of war-torn countryside.

Where it lives

Watch in your region.

Cinema release signals and current streaming, rental, and purchase options for your region.

Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Edward Dmytryk

Written by

Edward Anhalt

Marlon Brando

Marlon Brando

Lt. Christian Diestl

Montgomery Clift

Montgomery Clift

Noah Ackerman

Dean Martin

Dean Martin

Michael Whiteacre

Hope Lange

Hope Lange

Hope Plowman

Barbara Rush

Barbara Rush

Margaret Freemantle

May Britt

May Britt

Gretchen Hardenberg

Maximilian Schell

Maximilian Schell

Capt. Hardenberg

Court is in session

Put The Young Lions on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Ambition earns the room.”

The film reaches for consequence and scale, accepting the risk of seriousness instead of shrinking from it.

The prosecution The Cool Ironist

“Importance has entered the chat.”

The production keeps announcing its significance, as though awards-season posture were proof of insight.