Best movies like Born on the Fourth of July
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 114000
Genere: Biography, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: factual, disturbing, emotional, realistic, intense, thought provoking, serious, captivating, psychological, sincere
Best tv shows and movies like Born on the Fourth of July (1989):
Similar in 85%
Gardens of Stone (1987)
Plot Summary:
A sergeant must deal with his desires to save the lives of young soldiers being sent to Vietnam. Continuously denied the chance to teach the soldiers about his experiences, he settles for trying to help the son of an old army buddy.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: realistic, intense, harsh, bleak, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 83%
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 81%
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 87%
Music Within (2007)
Plot Summary:
After a confrontation with one of his idols dashes his dreams of studying public speaking in college, Richard Pimentel joins the Army and ships off to Vietnam. During his service, Richard loses nearly all of his hearing. Joining a new circle of friends, including a man with cerebral palsy and an alcoholic war veteran, Richard discovers his gift for motivational speaking and becomes an advocate for people with disabilities.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama, Music, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: emotional, serious, sentimental, touching, realistic, uplifting, captivating, spiritual, inspirational, thought provoking
Similar in 81%
Taking Chance (2009)
Plot Summary:
Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort accompanies the body of Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps to his hometown in Wyoming.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 77 min
Plot tags: realistic, touching, emotional, sincere, sentimental, sad, serious, harsh, christian film, motivational
Similar in 85%
Journey from the Fall (2006)
Plot Summary:
Thirteen years after the end of the Vietnam War, a family who was tragically affected by the war are forced to emigrate to America.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 937
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, bleak, inspirational, political, informative, realistic
Similar in 88%
Coming Home (1978)
Plot Summary:
The wife of a Marine serving in Vietnam, Sally Hyde (Jane Fonda) decides to volunteer at a local veterans hospital to occupy her time. There she meets Luke Martin (Jon Voight), a frustrated wheelchair-bound vet who has become disillusioned with the war. Sally and Luke develop a friendship that soon turns into a romance, but when her husband, Bob (Bruce Dern), returns unexpectedly, she must decide between staying with him and pursuing her new love.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: political, emotional, realistic, erotic, romantic, patriotic, sincere, thought provoking, touching, serious
Similar in 80%
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 79%
Live from Baghdad (2002)
Plot Summary:
A group of CNN reporters wrestle with journalistic ethics and the life-and-death perils of reporting during the Gulf War.A Directors Guild Award-winning movie for director Mick Jackson, starring Michael Keaton and Helena Bonham Carter. In 1990, CNN was a 24-hour news network in search of a 24-hour story. They were about to find it in Baghdad. Veteran CNN producer Robert Wiener and his longtime producing partner Ingrid Formanek find themselves in Iraq on the eve of war. Up against the big three networks, Weiner and his team are rebels with a cause, willing to take risks to get the biggest stories and - unlike their rivals - take them live at a moment's notice. As Baghdad becomes an inevitable US target, one by one the networks pull out of the city until only the crew from CNN remains. With a full-scale war soon to be launched all around them, and CNN ready to broadcast whatever happens 24 hours a day, Wiener and Formanek are about to risk their lives for the story of a lifetime.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: serious, disturbing, sincere, emotional, realistic, cult classic, talky
Similar in 86%
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 85%
The Railway Man (2013)
Plot Summary:
A victim from World War II's "Death Railway" sets out to find those responsible for his torture. A true story.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance, War
Country: Switzerland, UK, Australia
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: intense, emotional, captivating, inspirational, romantic, touching, epic, dramatic, historical drama, realistic
Similar in 82%
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 79%
Tigerland (2000)
Plot Summary:
A group of recruits go through Advanced Infantry Training at Fort Polk, Louisiana's infamous Tigerland, last stop before Vietnam for tens of thousands of young men in 1971.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 43000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, psychological, harsh, talky, stylized, intense, rough, thought provoking, serious
Similar in 88%
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 81%
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 85%
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 81%
Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
Plot Summary:
There were five Marines and one Navy Corpsman photographed raising the U.S. flag on Mt. Suribachi by Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945. This is the story of three of the six surviving servicemen – John 'Doc' Bradley, Pvt. Rene Gagnon and Pvt. Ira Hayes, who fought in the battle to take Iwo Jima from the Japanese.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 128000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: sincere, emotional, realistic, epic, factual, suspense, serious, touching, patriotic, historical drama
Similar in 80%
Blaze (1989)
Plot Summary:
This movie tells the story of the latter years of Earl Long, a flamboyant governor of Louisiana. The aging Earl, an unapologetic habitue of strip joints, falls in love with young stripper Blaze Starr. When Earl and Blaze move in together, Earl's opponents use this to attack his controversial political program, which included civil rights for blacks in the 1950's.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: sexy, anime, serious, realistic, light, feel good, unusual plot structure, political, melancholic, dramatic
Similar in 85%
Michael Collins (1996)
Plot Summary:
Michael Collins plays a crucial role in the establishment of the Irish Free State in the 1920s, but becomes vilified by those hoping to create a completely independent Irish republic.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Thriller, War
Country: USA, Ireland
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: political, brutal, harsh, intense, factual, serious, captivating, dramatic, inspirational, costume drama
Similar in 80%
Glory (1989)
Plot Summary:
Robert Gould Shaw leads the US Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices of both his own Union army and the Confederates.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 142000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: epic, inspirational, suspense, realistic, rough, factual, period piece, emotional, talky, serious
Similar in 78%
The Killing Fields (1984)
Plot Summary:
The Killing Fields tells the real-life story of a friendship between two journalists, an American and a Cambodian, during the bloody Khmer Rouge takeover of Cambodia in 1975, which led to the death of 2-3 million Cambodians during the next four years, until Pol Pot's regime was toppled by the intervening Vietnamese in 1979.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 58000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 141 min
Plot tags: disturbing, rough, political, heartbreaking, emotional, tense, compassionate, serious, captivating, depressing
Similar in 86%
Jarhead (2005)
Plot Summary:
Jarhead is a film about a US Marine Anthony Swofford’s experience in the Gulf War. After putting up with an arduous boot camp, Swafford and his unit are sent to the Persian Gulf where they are eager to fight, but are forced to stay back from the action. Swofford struggles with the possibility of his girlfriend cheating on him, and as his mental state deteriorates, his desire to kill increases.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 203000
Genere: Biography, Drama, War
Country: USA, UK, Germany
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: realistic, emotional, factual, tense, serious, disturbing, suspenseful, psychological, visually stunning, dark comedy
Similar in 77%
Men of Honor (2000)
Plot Summary:
Against formidable odds -- and an old-school diving instructor embittered by the U.S. Navy's new, less prejudicial policies -- Carl Brashear sets his sights on becoming the Navy's first African-American master diver in this uplifting true story. Their relationship starts out on the rocks, but fate ultimately conspires to bring the men together into a setting of mutual respect, triumph and honor.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 124000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: inspirational, motivational, touching, emotional, sincere, tear jerker, factual, sentimental, rough, realistic
Similar in 79%
American Sniper (2014)
Plot Summary:
U.S. Navy SEAL Chris Kyle takes his sole mission—protect his comrades—to heart and becomes one of the most lethal snipers in American history. His pinpoint accuracy not only saves countless lives but also makes him a prime target of insurgents. Despite grave danger and his struggle to be a good husband and father to his family back in the States, Kyle serves four tours of duty in Iraq. However, when he finally returns home, he finds that he cannot leave the war behind.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 519000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: tense, emotional, factual, serious, realistic, rough, suspenseful, political, clever, sad
Similar in 80%
Platoon (1986)
Plot Summary:
As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 432000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: epic, realistic, rough, disturbing, atmospheric, emotional, suspense, brutal, tense, harsh
Similar in 76%
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Plot Summary:
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 777000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: disturbing, suspense, bleak, cult classic, psychological, psychological thriller, clever, political, visually stunning, tense
Similar in 89%
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Plot Summary:
At the height of the Vietnam war, Captain Benjamin Willard is sent on a dangerous mission that, officially, "does not exist, nor will it ever exist." His goal is to locate - and eliminate - a mysterious Green Beret Colonel named Walter Kurtz, who has been leading his personal army on illegal guerrilla missions into enemy territory.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 698000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, War
Country: USA
Duration: 147 min
Plot tags: psychological, bleak, atmospheric, disturbing, surreal, visual, visually stunning, tense, allegory, visually appealing
Similar in 76%
We Were Soldiers (2002)
Plot Summary:
The story of the first major battle of the American phase of the Vietnam War and the soldiers on both sides that fought it.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 149000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: France, Germany, USA
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: serious, factual, realistic, emotional, suspenseful, sentimental, brutal, epic, suspense, intense
Similar in 84%
Nixon (1995)
Plot Summary:
An all-star cast powers this epic look at American President Richard M. Nixon, a man carrying the fate of the world on his shoulders while battling the self-destructive demands within. Spanning his troubled boyhood in California to the shocking Watergate scandal that would end his presidency.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History
Country: USA
Duration: 192 min
Plot tags: political, factual, talky, compassionate, intense, thought provoking, realistic, sincere, touching, serious
Similar in 90%
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Plot Summary:
As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.
IMDB Rating: 8.6
IMDB Votes: 15000000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 169 min
Plot tags: realistic, epic, breathtaking, captivating, touching, motivational, rough, visually stunning, tense, inspirational