Best movies like Some Kind of Hero
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A Vietnam vet returns home from a prisoner of war camp and is greeted as a hero, but is quickly forgotten and soon discovers how tough survival is in his own country.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: funny, sad, black comedy, intelligent, humorous, emotional, realistic, semi serious, slapstick
Best tv shows and movies like Some Kind of Hero (1982):
Similar in 88%
Who'll Stop the Rain (1978)
Plot Summary:
John, a disillusioned Vietnam War journalist, turns to heroin smuggling. He cons Ray, an equally burnt out veteran into delivering the drugs stateside to his wife. Everything soon falls apart and Ray ends up on the run with John's wife trying to evade crooked narcotics agents.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, serious, neo noir, exciting, suspense, psychological, rough, realistic, detective
Similar in 76%
McBain (1991)
Plot Summary:
Santos attempts to lead a people's revolt in Colombia to overthrow the Presidente. When his revolt fails and he is killed, his sister Christina goes to New York to find McBain, a lieutenant Santos rescued during the Vietnam War. McBain agrees to help, recruits his old war buddies, raises some cash by killing a few drug dealers, then leads an attack to topple the Colombian government.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, captivating, exciting, suspense, independent film, bleak, realistic, fast, detective
Similar in 81%
Streamers (1983)
Plot Summary:
Four young recruits about to be sent to Vietnam confront their prejudicial feelings toward one another when it's learned one of them is homosexual.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: realistic, psychological, serious, disturbing, political, independent film, talky, controversial, queer cinema, eighties
Similar in 85%
Platoon Leader (1988)
Plot Summary:
West Point graduate lieutenant Jeff Knight meets cynicism when taking command of sergeant Michael McNamara's tour veterans platoon in a Vietnamese trench camp. Unlike his predecessor, who hid till the end of his tour, Jeff takes charge, experiences the manual doesn't allow coping with all realities and gets wounded. He returns, now fully respect by men and superiors. Besides the Vietcong, the platoon wrestles with the inscrutable villagers, which the G.I.'s officially protect, but also fear as some collaborate with them, other covertly with the Cong, either way subject to bloody reprisals.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, cult classic, independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, eighties, cult film
Similar in 84%
The Veteran (2006)
Plot Summary:
Sidney J. Furie's The Veteran is a respectable straight-to-DVD movie that was headed for the "pleasant surprise" category before self-destructing with a terrible, out-of-the-blue ending.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 655
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, rough, realistic, suspenseful, bleak, cult film
Similar in 87%
The Walking Dead (1995)
Plot Summary:
Five young marines on a suicide mission in Vietnam, struggle for survival in a jungle minefield. The mean streets of home did not prepare them for this.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 868
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: action adventure, independent film, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, biting, suspense, cult film
Similar in 78%
Monsignor (1982)
Plot Summary:
The vows of an ambitious young American priest are tested during World War II. Not only does Father John Flaherty get involved with the black market to raise money for the Vatican, he also falls in love with a young French nun.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic
Similar in 89%
The Visitors (1972)
Plot Summary:
Bill, Martha and their little child Hal are spending a quiet winter Sunday in their cosy house when they get an unexpected visit from Mike Nickerson and Tony Rodriguez. Mike and Tony are old acquaintances of Bill; a few years back, in Vietnam, they were in the same platoon. They also became opposed parties in a court martial - for a reason that Bill never explained to Martha. What happened in Vietnam, and what is the reason for the presence of Mike and Tony ?.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
Hit Man (1972)
Plot Summary:
Bernie Casey portrays Tyrone and Pamela Grier plays a sultry skin-flick star in this first Americanized remake of the iconic Michael Caine action film Get Carter. From Watts to the West Side, from porno parlors to a high-rise, from motel dives to a crime kingpin’s sprawling pleasure dome, from corner hangouts to a wildlife preserve, Tyrone covers a lot of real estate, busts a lot of heads.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: neo noir, psychotronic, grindhouse, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, black cinema
Similar in 90%
Least Among Saints (2012)
Plot Summary:
A haunted soldier just back from war and a boy who has never known peace in his home life embark on a life-changing journey as they become unlikely friends — and one another’s last shot at redemption.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 621
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, emotional, captivating, tense, indie film, serious, independent film
Similar in 90%
In Country (1989)
Plot Summary:
Samantha Hughes, a teenaged Kentucky girl, never knew her father, who died in Vietnam before her birth. Samantha lives with her uncle Emmett, who also served in Vietnam. Emmett hangs around with Tom, Earl, and Pete, three other Vietnam vets who, like Emmett, all have problems of one kind or another that relate to their war experiences. Samantha,becomes obsessed with finding out about her father.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: touching, emotional, realistic, sex comedy, psychological, sincere, serious, contemplative, sentimental, sexy
Similar in 79%
Missing in America (2005)
Plot Summary:
A haunted Vietnam veteran, living in exile in the forests of the Pacific Northwest, is faced with a life-changing decision after he is visited by a former platoon member and his young Amerasian daughter.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, touching, emotional, captivating, serious, contemplative, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 85%
Blue Collar (1978)
Plot Summary:
Fed up with mistreatment at the hands of both management and union brass, and coupled with financial hardships on each man's end, three auto assembly line workers hatch a plan to rob a safe at union headquarters.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: neo noir, clever, realistic, disturbing, funny, light, retro, entertaining, cynical, colorful
Similar in 84%
Willie & Phil (1980)
Plot Summary:
Loosely inspired by Truffaut's JULES ET JIM, this comedy-drama follows the experiences of two friends who fall in love with the same woman.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 522
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: touching, humorous, emotional, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 90%
The Year That Trembled (2002)
Plot Summary:
The Year That Trembled is a 1970 coming-of-age story set in the shadow of Kent State that focuses on a group of young characters facing the Vietnam Draft Lottery.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 222
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: sentimental, sincere, touching, emotional, serious, realistic, contemplative, independent film
Similar in 87%
A Bright Shining Lie (1998)
Plot Summary:
Something in his past keeps career Army man John Paul Vann from advancing past colonel. He views being sent to Vietnam as part of the US military advisory force a stepping stone to promotion. However, he disagrees vocally (and on the record) with the way the war is being run and is forced to leave the military. Returning to Vietnam as a civilian working with the Army, he comes to despise some South Vietnamese officers while he takes charge of some of the U.S. forces and continues his liaisons with Vietnamese women.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, cult film
Similar in 79%
Heaven & Earth (1993)
Plot Summary:
Le Ly lives in a small Vietnamese village whose serenity is shattered when war breaks out. Caught between the Viet Cong and the South Vietnamese army, the village is all but destroyed. After being both brutalized and raped, Le Ly resolves to flee. She leaves for the city, surviving desperate situations, but surviving nonetheless. Eventually she meets a U.S. Marine named Steve Butler who treats her kindly and tells her he would like to be married -- maybe to her.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA, France
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: emotional, psychological, realistic, intense, bleak, serious, epic, scenic, sad, art house
Similar in 90%
1969 (1988)
Plot Summary:
Two rebellious youths, Ralph and Scott, find themselves struggling with adulthood as the Vietnam War rages. Feeling trapped in their small town, Scott battles with his conservative veteran father, Cliff, and Ralph deals with his desperately sexual mother, Ev. When tragic news arrives from overseas, the entire town, inspired by Ralph and Scott's antiwar efforts, reevaluates its attitude toward the war.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: realistic, independent film, sentimental, sincere, thought provoking, serious, road movie, intellectual, feel good, emotional
Similar in 75%
The Hanoi Hilton (1987)
Plot Summary:
Lionel Chetwynd's film documents the horrific struggles that faced American POWs held in the North Vietnamese prison Hoa Lo -- more infamously known as the Hanoi Hilton -- between 1964 and 1975. Williamson (Michael Moriarty) leads a group of American servicemen who are prisoners at the detention camp. He assumes command after Cathcart (Lawrence Pressman) is dragged off to be tortured.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: political, grindhouse, independent film, rough, thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 89%
Faith of My Fathers (2005)
Plot Summary:
Faith of My Fathers is based on the story of Lieutenant Commander John McCain's experiences as a prisoner of war in North Vietnam for five and a half years during the Vietnam War, interleaved with his memories of growing up in a heritage rich with military service.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 643
Genere: Biography, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, captivating, disturbing, suspense, bleak, realistic, cult film
Similar in 83%
The Iron Triangle (1989)
Plot Summary:
Based on the diary of an unknown Viet Cong soldier, this film provides a sympathetic look at a Viet Cong soldier who protected a captured American soldier whom he believed did not kill him when the American had the opportunity. Written by John Sacksteder.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 532
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, suspenseful, exciting, serious, independent film, bleak, captivating, cult film
Similar in 77%
The Green Berets (1968)
Plot Summary:
Col. Mike Kirby picks two teams of crack Green Berets for a mission in South Vietnam. First off is to build and control a camp that is trying to be taken by the enemy the second mission is to kidnap a North Vietnamese General.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, thought provoking, captivating, retro, exciting, sentimental, sexy, epic, bad ending
Similar in 80%
Birdy (1984)
Plot Summary:
Two young men are seriously affected by the Vietnam war. One of them has always been obsessed with birds - but now believes he really is a bird, and has been sent to a mental hospital. Can his friend help him pull through?.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: depressing, emotional, psychological, touching, realistic, art house, thought provoking, offbeat, political, surreal
Similar in 79%
Go Tell the Spartans (1978)
Plot Summary:
Go Tell the Spartans is a 1978 American war film based on Daniel Ford's 1967 novel "Incident at Muc Wa." It tells the story about U.S. Army military advisers during the early part of the Vietnam War. Led my Major Asa Barker, these advisers and their South Vietnamese counterparts defend the village of Muc Wa against multiple attacks by Viet-Cong guerrillas.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, bleak, realistic, independent film, contemplative, gloomy, cult film
Similar in 76%
Casualties of War (1989)
Plot Summary:
During the Vietnam War, a soldier finds himself the outsider of his own squad when they unnecessarily kidnap a female villager. Based on the actual events of an incident on Hill 192 in November, 1966.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 47000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, emotional, realistic, intense, suspenseful, serious, tense, touching, dark
Similar in 87%
Bat*21 (1988)
Plot Summary:
Lt. Col. Iceal "Ham" Hambleton is a weapons countermeasures expert and when his aircraft is shot over enemy territory the Air Force very much wants to get him back. Hambleton knows the area he's in is going to be carpet-bombed but a temporary shortage of helicopters causes a delay. Working with an Air Force reconnaissance pilot, Capt. Bartholomew Clark, he maps out an escape route.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspense, harsh, exciting, serious, suspenseful, rough, tense, sentimental, light
Similar in 83%
84C MoPic (1989)
Plot Summary:
A cameraman embedded with a reconnaissance patrol charts their mission across territory controlled by the Vietnamese. An impressively naturalistic Vietnam film. Impressive performance by unknown actors in this low-budget Vietnam drama. The story is being told in the form of a documentary; a camera team follows an Army unit in pursuit of 'Charlie'. Filmed in Southern California. The movie's producing company itself is called '84 Charlie MoPic'.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, mockumentary, independent film, cult film
Similar in 87%
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Plot Summary:
A group of working-class friends decides to enlist in the Army during the Vietnam War and finds it to be hellish chaos -- not the noble venture they imagined. Before they left, Steven married his pregnant girlfriend -- and Michael and Nick were in love with the same woman. But all three are different men upon their return.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 356000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 183 min
Plot tags: epic, depressing, harsh, psychological, emotional, rough, disturbing, intense, controversial, serious
Similar in 82%
The Mack (1973)
Plot Summary:
Goldie returns from five years at the state pen and winds up king of the pimping game. Trouble comes in the form of two corrupt white cops and a crime lord who wants him to return to the small time.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, hood, funny, cult classic, independent film, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 87%
Dead Presidents (1995)
Plot Summary:
Depicts a heist of old bills, retired from circulation and destined by the government to be "money to burn". However, more broadly, it addresses the issues of Black Americans' involvement in the Vietnam War and their subsequent disillusionment with progress in social issues and civil rights back home in the United States, during the 1960s.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspense, disturbing, intense, neo noir, tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, cult classic