10 More Insanely Accurate War Movie Details

10. Authentic Uniforms - Atonement

While 2007's Atonement is more of a romantic drama than a full-blown war movie, Joe Wright's offering is loaded with precise historical detail. This attribute is particularly obvious in the film's sequences depicting the Dunkirk evacuation.

Providing a snapshot of the chaos that rings far truer than Christopher Nolan's take, historian James Holland has highlighted the superb level of authenticity on display in Atonement's version of Dunkirk. The Englishman lavishes particular praise upon the inclusion of the British Battledress.

The Battledress' benefits were twofold, as the shorter design cut off at the waist, mirroring the trousers of the time. This meant wasting less material, considering that part of the soldier's body was already covered. At the outbreak of WWII, Britain was also the only nation with an entirely mechanised army. Soldiers constantly found themselves jumping in and out of vehicles; the shorter design meant that any flapping coattails were less likely to get caught on something.

Atonement is hardly the first war film to feature the Battledress. However, what sets the movie apart is the incorporation of older combat uniforms; several soldiers can also be seen sporting the longer, pre-1939 tunic. This subtle inclusion highlights the equipment shortages of the conflict, as well as Wright's attention to detail.