Spoiler alert! The following story contains major plot details about “Blitz” (now streaming on Apple TV+). NEW YORK – Saoirse Ronan had no desire to make another World War II drama. But that changed when the “Atonement” actress read “Blitz ...

Blitz,” loosely gripping, doesn’t tap into our collective idea of what a war film is so much as it does the youthful, perilous journeys through 19th century Britain of Charles Dickens.

Director Steve McQueen’s war drama about a defiant boy’s journey home was released in theaters on Nov. 1. Now, you can watch “Blitz” from home for free with a trial on Apple TV.

I think we know more about the Tudors than we do about the Blitz era,” notes Steve McQueen in the latest episode of Esquire’s Freeze Frame series. It’s that collective historical shortcoming which makes the Oscar-winning director’s latest film – Blitz starring Saoirse Ronan and newcomer Elliott Heffernan as a mother and son – so moving and surprising.

If you want to watch a new, big-budget movie this weekend but don’t feel like going to the movie theaters for Wicked or Gladiator 2, then Apple TV+ has got you covered with the streaming release of Steve McQueen’s new WWII movie,