Best movies like How I Won the War
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
An inept British WWII commander leads his troops to a series of misadventures in North Africa and Europe.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, War
Country: UK
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: clever, humorous, witty, black comedy, parody, realistic, semi serious, dark comedy, thought provoking, intellectual
Best tv shows and movies like How I Won the War (1967):
Similar in 80%
McHale's Navy (1962)
Plot Summary:
McHale's Navy is an American sitcom that aired 138 half-hour episodes over four seasons, from October 11, 1962, to April 12, 1966, on the ABC network. The series was filmed in black and white and originated from an hour drama called Seven Against the Sea, broadcast on April 3, 1962. Universal commissioned the colorization of the series in the 1980s for syndication in hope of reviving its popularity.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, War
Country: USA
Duration: 30 min
Plot tags: sitcom, semi serious, humorous, realistic, tense, captivating, slapstick
Similar in 87%
A Man Called Sarge (1990)
Plot Summary:
In the midst of WWII, a group of half-witted soldiers lead by a slightly smarter sergeant, battle the Germans and especially Von Kraut in the desert.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 542
Genere: Comedy, War
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: parody, independent film, offbeat, humorous, realistic, not serious, biting, spoof, suspense
Similar in 76%
How I Unleashed World War II (1970)
Plot Summary:
How I unleashed World War II is a Polish feature film made in 1969, based on Kazimierz Sławiński's novel "Przygody kanoniera Dolasa" (The adventures of Dolas the cannoneer). The film was divided into three parts: Ucieczka (The escape), Za bronią (Following the arms) and Wśród swoich (Among friends).
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, War
Country: Poland
Duration: 224 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 77%
Which Way to the Front? (1970)
Plot Summary:
Brendan Byers III (Jerry Lewis), one of the richest men in America, has been pronounced 4-F and can't serve his country in it's war against Hitler. Byers does not takes "No" for an answer and recruits other 4-F's to fight against Hitler.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, War
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: slapstick, exciting, humorous, realistic, not serious, slapstick comedy, cult film
Similar in 75%
Oh! What a Lovely War (1969)
Plot Summary:
A movie about the First World War based on a stage musical of the same name, portraying the "Game of War" and focusing mainly on the members of one family (last name Smith) who go off to war. Much of the action in the movie revolves around the words of the marching songs of the soldiers, and many scenes portray some of the more famous (and infamous) incidents of the war, including the assassination of Duke Ferdinand, the Christmas meeting between British and German soldiers in no-mans-land, and the wiping out by their own side of a force of Irish soldiers newly arrived at the front, after successfully capturing a ridge that had been contested for some time.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, Musical, War
Country: UK
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: humorous, cynical, satirical, tense, thought provoking, captivating, parody, political, black comedy, cult classic
Similar in 79%
The Pigeon That Took Rome (1962)
Plot Summary:
An American Infantry officer assigned to a cloak-and-dagger role in Rome uses homing pigeons for outside contact, with humorous results.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 464
Genere: Comedy, War
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: humorous, captivating, realistic, semi serious, freeze frame
Similar in 77%
Churchill: The Hollywood Years (2004)
Plot Summary:
A group of American executives making a film about World War II decide that since their lead is rather unglamorous, they will draft in an American G.I. to play the part of Winston Churchill. Their take on the war depicts a handsome Churchill falling in love with Princess Elizabeth, who is herself involved in the war as an undercover agent.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Comedy, War
Country: UK
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: parody, humorous, semi serious, feel good, absurd, offbeat, realistic, alternative comedy
Similar in 80%
The Roses of the Desert (2006)
Plot Summary:
A sanitary battalion of Italian Army is sent to Sorman oasis in Lybia during the Africa campaign in 1940. Soon an Italian missionary, living nearby, succeed to transform the occupation by Italian Army in a kind of humanitarian mission. In fact all the battalion is involved to help the local population. The war anyway goes on with no regards to human feelings. The "glorious" Fascist campaign is going to became a fast retreat.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 445
Genere: Comedy, War
Country: Italy
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, humorous, realistic, semi serious
Similar in 82%
Ensign Pulver (1964)
Plot Summary:
1945, on an old cargo ship somewhere deep in the Pacific ocean: Captain Morton strives to become commander, so he demands the maximum quality of work from his crew, without granting them any freedom or favors - ignoring that they're thousand of miles away from the front. In one word: he drives his crew crazy. They are near mutiny, but no-one dares to do the first step. Until Ensign Pulver plays a prank on the captain that triggers fatal consequences.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: offbeat, humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, homoerotic
Similar in 81%
Privates on Parade (1983)
Plot Summary:
It is 1947, the year of the communist rebellion in Malaya and the British army's SADUSEA (Song And Dance Unit South East Asia) are called to the Malayan Jungle to entertain the troops. The eccentric, bible-bashing Major Giles Flack (John Cleese) is in command of the unit. Flack is accompanied by an ageing, theatrical drama queen, Terri Dennis (Denis Quilley) who hopes to entertain the troops with his flamboyant impressions, but the bored troops find other ways to enjoy themselves.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 977
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, witty, semi serious, entertaining, independent film
Similar in 85%
Black and White in Color (1976)
Plot Summary:
French colonists in Africa, several months behind in the news, find themselves at war with their German neighbors. Deciding that they must do their proper duty and fight the Germans, they promptly conscript the local native population. Issuing them boots and rifles, the French attempt to make "proper" soldiers out of the Africans. A young, idealistic French geographer seems to be the only rational person in the town, and he takes over control of the "war" after several bungles on the part of the others.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: Côte d'Ivoire, France, West Germany, Switzerland
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, witty, cynical, semi serious, biting, intercultural, suspense, period drama, inter cultural
Similar in 87%
Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At! (1966)
Plot Summary:
During World War II, two French civilians and a downed English Bomber Crew set out from Paris to cross the demarcation line between Nazi-occupied Northern France and the South. From there they will be able to escape to England. First, they must avoid German troops - and the consequences of their own blunders.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, War
Country: France, UK
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: humorous, exciting, realistic, semi serious, funny, compassionate, sincere, atmospheric, anthology, fast paced
Similar in 89%
Dad's Army (2016)
Plot Summary:
A cinema remake of the classic sitcom Dad's Army (1968). The Walmington-on-Sea Home Guard platoon deal with a visiting female journalist and a German spy as World War II draws to its conclusion.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, War
Country: UK
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: not serious, humorous, funny, light, feel good, captivating, entertaining, realistic
Similar in 81%
The Elusive Corporal (1962)
Plot Summary:
The story serves as a companion piece to Renoir's 1937 film, Grand Illusion, once more bringing together men from across the broad social spectrum of French society to depict one man's Sisyphean efforts to escape captivity in a German POW camp.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: France
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, contemplative, semi serious
Similar in 87%
The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966)
Plot Summary:
Without hostile intent, a Soviet sub runs aground off New England. Men are sent for a boat, but many villagers go into a tizzy, risking bloodshed.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Comedy, War
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: funny, political, satirical, black comedy, humorous, witty, retro, touching, technicolor, offbeat
Similar in 83%
Castle Keep (1969)
Plot Summary:
During the Battle of the Bulge, an anachronistic count shelters a ragtag squad of Americans in his isolated castle hoping they will defend it against the advancing Germans.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Comedy, Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, captivating, suspense, retro, offbeat, serious, realistic, surreal, historical drama
Similar in 80%
Guy X (2005)
Plot Summary:
A black comedy set in 1979, about a soldier mistakenly posted to an Arctic military base.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Comedy, War
Country: Canada, Iceland, UK, USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, realistic, dark comedy, offbeat, biting, black comedy, suspense
Similar in 89%
Hannibal Brooks (1969)
Plot Summary:
A POW in World War II is put to work in a Munich zoo, looking after an Asian elephant. The zoo is bombed by the Americans and the director of the zoo decides it is not safe for his Asian elephant Lucy to remain there. So he sends Brooks to safety with Lucy. They escape and go on the run in order to get to Switzerland.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, humorous, realistic, semi serious, buddy comedy, action comedy, cult film
Similar in 88%
Normandy (2011)
Plot Summary:
Klaus Muller, a battle-hardened veteran, finds himself fighting for his life on the Russian front. Surrounded by overwhelming numbers of Russian tanks and planes, he and his men are doomed until famed German tank ace, Michael Wittmann, shows up in his Tiger Tank and saves the day. Once wounded, Klaus is transferred to Normandy to serve under Field Marshal Rommel just days before the Allied invasion. Much to his surprise, he finds that his beloved Klaudia is also stationed nearby as a field nurse. Unfortunately, so is her father, who is working with the French resistance and now finds himself pursued by the ruthless Gestapo officer Brahms, whose search leads him to Klaus and Klaudia attempting a rescue. They are caught and imprisoned. As D-Day begins and the Allies attack from the beaches and the sky, they escape from the prison, fighting the Gestapo in the middle of the biggest invasion in world history... Written by tino struckmann.
IMDB Rating: 2.6
IMDB Votes: 460
Genere: War
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, emotional, realistic, suspenseful, sex comedy, independent film
Similar in 90%
Seven Beauties (1975)
Plot Summary:
Nominated for four Academy Awards including Best Director, Seven Beauties stars Giancarlo Giannini (Swept Away) as Pasqualino Frafuso, known in Naples as "Pasqualino Seven Beauties." A petty thief who lives off of the profits of his seven sisters while claiming to protect their honor at any cost, Pasqualino is arrested for murder and later sent to fight in the army after committing sexual assault. The Germans capture him and he gets sent to a concentration camp where he plots to make his escape by seducing a German officer.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: Italy
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: black comedy, humorous, disturbing, cynical, biting, sincere, controversial, clever, offbeat, realistic
Similar in 85%
Escape to Athena (1979)
Plot Summary:
During the World War II, the prisoners of a German camp in a greek island are trying to escape. They don't want only their freedom, but they also seek for an ineffable treasure hidden in a monastery at the top of the island's mountain.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, War
Country: UK
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, suspense, disturbing, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film, historical drama
Similar in 81%
The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)
Plot Summary:
A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 137000
Genere: Comedy, War
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: absurd, offbeat, humorous, black comedy, dark comedy, surreal, light, clever, not serious, parody
Similar in 83%
The Americanization of Emily (1964)
Plot Summary:
During the build-up to D-Day in 1944, the British found their island hosting many thousands of American soldiers who were "oversexed, overpaid, and over here". That's Charlie Madison exactly; he knows all the angles to make life as smooth and risk-free as possible for himself. But things become complicated when he falls for an English woman, and his commanding officer's nervous breakdown leads to Charlie being sent on a senseless and dangerous mission.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, realistic, witty, funny, black and white, cute, humorous, semi serious, sentimental, light
Similar in 86%
Two Men Went to War (2002)
Plot Summary:
Comedy drama based on the true story of two British Army dentists who in 1942, eager to see action, go AWOL and invade occupied France on their own.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 934
Genere: Comedy, War, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: humorous, semi serious, entertaining, captivating, offbeat, realistic
Similar in 77%
No Man's Land (2001)
Plot Summary:
Two soldiers from opposite sites get stuck between the front lines in the same trench. The UN is asked to free them and both sides agree on a ceasefire, but will they stick to it?.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 48000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: France, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Italy, Belgium, UK, Slovenia
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: bleak, harsh, political, talky, sentimental, thought provoking, sincere, rough, humorous, captivating
Similar in 88%
To Be or Not to Be (1983)
Plot Summary:
A bad Polish actor is just trying to make a living when Poland is invaded by the Germans in World War II. His wife has the habit of entertaining young polish officers while he's on stage, which is also a source of depression to him. When one of her officers comes back on a Secret Mission, the actor takes charge and comes up with a plan for them to escape. remake of Ernst Lubitsch's 1942 black comedy with the same name.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: humorous, parody, entertaining, funny, light, hilarious, witty, captivating, dark comedy, offbeat
Similar in 90%
The Pentagon Wars (1998)
Plot Summary:
From the director of “Made In America” and “The Money Pit” comes a hilarious look at one of the most expensive blunders in military history. Over 17 years and almost as many billion dollars have gone into devising the BFV (Bradley Fighting Vehicle). There's only one problem. . . it doesn't work.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Comedy, War
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: humorous, realistic, disturbing, semi serious, satirical, dark comedy, clever, biting, suspense
Similar in 80%
The Long Day's Dying (1968)
Plot Summary:
Three British soldiers and their German captive trek through the European countryside.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 527
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, cult film
Similar in 80%
Kelly's Heroes (1970)
Plot Summary:
A misfit group of World War II American soldiers goes AWOL to rob a bank behind German lines.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 53000
Genere: Adventure, Comedy, War
Country: Yugoslavia, USA
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: entertaining, light, cynical, semi serious, humorous, realistic, witty, parody, action comedy, relaxing
Similar in 87%
Tobruk (1967)
Plot Summary:
In September 1942, the German Afrika Korps under Rommel have successfully pushed the Allies back into Egypt. A counter-attack is planned, for which the fuel dumps at Tobruk are a critical impediment. In order to aid the attack, a group of British commandos and German Jews make their way undercover through 800 miles of desert, to destroy the fuel dumps starving the Germans of fuel.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA, Spain
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: spectacular, exciting, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful