How will Dunkirk stack up against the great WWII movies?

Films serve a practical purpose, rallying American solidarity behind WWII

Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Roman Polanski, Spike Lee, Clint Eastwood, Angelina Jolie, Steven Spielberg—all have made movies related to World War II.

Now Christopher Nolan joins their ranks with “Dunkirk,” the story of the military and civilian evacuation of more than 300,000 Allied troops trapped on the beaches of northern France in 1940. The big-budget Hollywood picture out this week, written and directed by the British-American filmmaker behind “The Dark Knight” trilogy, is not about an Allied victory, but a rescue at a highly precarious moment in history.

Directors who want to test their mettle continue to turn to World