Best movies like John Ford Goes to War
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
When World War II broke out, John Ford, in his forties, commissioned in the Naval Reserve, was put in charge of the Field Photographic Unit by Bill Donavan, director of the soon-to-be-OSS. During the war, Field Photo made at least 87 documentaries, many with Ford's signature attention to heroism and loss, and many from the point of view of the fighting soldier and sailor. Talking heads discuss Ford's life and personality, the ways that the war gave him fulfillment, and the ways that his war films embodied the same values and conflicts that his Hollywood films did. Among the films profiled are "Battle of Midway," "Torpedo Squadron," "Sexual Hygiene," and "December 7.".
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 153
Genere: Documentary, Action, Biography, War
Country: USA
Duration: 56 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, captivating, disturbing, black and white, documentary filmmaking
Best tv shows and movies like John Ford Goes to War (2002):
Similar in 78%
Obscene (2007)
Plot Summary:
A look at the life and work of American publisher Barney Rosset, who struggled to bring controversial works like "Tropic of Cancer" and "Naked Lunch" to publication.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 258
Genere: Documentary, Biography
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, captivating, experimental, controversial
Similar in 83%
Fighting for Life (2008)
Plot Summary:
Fighting for Life is a very different movie about war and medicine, a real-life "M*A*S*H" for our times about the doctors and nurses fighting on the front lines. The film interweaves stories of military doctors, nurses, and medics who are working with skill, compassion, and dedication amid the vortex of the Iraq War; wounded soldiers and marines reacting with courage, dignity, and determination to survive and to heal; and students at Uniformed Services University, the "West Point" of military medicine, on their journey toward becoming career military physicians. The film also follows 21-year-old Army Specialist Crystal Davis from Iraq to Germany to Walter Reed Hospital in Washington DC as she fights to recover and "bounce back" from the loss of a leg.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 155
Genere: Documentary, War
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: uplifting, thought provoking, serious, realistic, contemplative, documentary filmmaking
Similar in 79%
1971: Beyond Borders (2017)
Plot Summary:
Set against the backdrop of 1971 Indo-Pak war, the movie is inspired by real incidents and the protagonists are inspired by Param Vir Chakra recipients. The movie shows what consequences of war are on the lives of soldiers on either side of the border.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, War
Country: India
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 80%
Ardennes Fury (2014)
Plot Summary:
As the Battle of the Bulge rages on, an American tank unit gets trapped behind Nazi lines. With just hours before the bombs of Operation Ardennes Fury fall, the tank's commander makes the risky decision to rescue an orphanage.
IMDB Rating: 2.3
IMDB Votes: 939
Genere: Action, War
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, captivating, psychological, tense, mockbuster, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 90%
Wicked Spring (2002)
Plot Summary:
During the 1864 battle of the Wilderness, three Union soldiers and three Confederate Soldiers get seperated from their units as twilight engulfs the ravaged battlefield. The men wander alone through the dangerous woods, separate of each other, until they meet by chance on the banks of a quiet creek. The men meet and spend the night around a campfire, not realizing they are enemies until the next morning when the sun rises and a new day of battle begins.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, epic, emotional, serious, captivating, realistic, independent film, contemplative
Similar in 80%
Straight Into Darkness (2004)
Plot Summary:
The movie encompasses several different elements-the perils of war, a touch of macabre, sadness and redemption.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Drama, Horror, War
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, realistic, surreal, rough, bleak, serious, twisted, offbeat
Similar in 79%
The Situation (2006)
Plot Summary:
The first U.S.-made film drama set during the Iraq war, THE SITUATION chronicles the tragic death of an Iraqi teenager at the hands of U.S. soldiers. The incident sets off an "investigation," a cover-up, and complications involving Iraqi mayor Sheikh Tahsin (Saïd Amadis), who has a complex relationship with the Americans.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 885
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, rough, realistic, extraordinary
Similar in 75%
A Taste of Hell (1973)
Plot Summary:
Set in the Philippines during WW II, two U.S. Army officers are caught and shot by a Japanese officer. One survives and soon joins with a guerrilla troop to battle the enemy... and get revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 90
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA, Philippines
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, cult film
Similar in 80%
Jew Suss: Rise and Fall (2010)
Plot Summary:
This intricate historical drama tells the story of actor Ferdinand Marian (Tobias Moretti), who is ordered by Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels to star in the 1940 anti-Semitic film Jew Suss. Despite his cooperation, Ferdinand's actions have unexpected costs. Ferdinand's Jewish wife, Anna (Martina Gedeck), is sent to a concentration camp, and as World War II intensifies, he rebels against the Nazis, leading to the destruction of his career.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, War
Country: Germany, Austria
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: realistic, captivating, psychological, factual, sad, serious, contemplative, hot
Similar in 90%
American Soldiers (2005)
Plot Summary:
Iraq, 2004: during a routine sortie a US patrol is ambushed and the young soldiers are forced to put their training and skills into action fast. A determined foe with superior local knowledge, the Fedayeen insurgents soon draw them into close quarter combat and a desperate fight for survival.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: Canada
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 76%
Memorial Day (2012)
Plot Summary:
Memorial Day, 1993. When 13-year-old Kyle Vogel discovers the World War II footlocker belonging to his grandfather, Bud, everyone tells Kyle to put it back. Luckily, he ignores them. Although Bud has never talked about the war, he finds himself striking a deal with his grandson: Kyle can pick any three souvenirs, and Bud will tell him the stories behind each one. Memorial Day not only takes us on a journey into Bud's complicated wartime past, but also into Kyle's wartime future. As the two men share parallel experiences in combat, they come to realize how that magical day on the porch shaped both of their lives. .
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: exciting, sincere, serious, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 75%
The Ravagers (1965)
Plot Summary:
Cruel captors of the war in the pacific.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 109
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: Philippines, USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, psychotronic
Similar in 75%
Death and Glory in Changde (2010)
Plot Summary:
Directed by Shen Dong and starring Ray Lui, An Yixuan and Yuan Wenkang, Death and Glory in Changde recalls one of the most cruel and controversial battles during China's War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1937-45), Changde Battle, in November 1943.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 283
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: China
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, disturbing
Similar in 81%
The World Wars (2014)
Plot Summary:
The World Wars tells the story of three decades of war told through the eyes of various men who were its key players: Roosevelt, Hitler, Patton, Mussolini, Churchill, Tojo, DeGaulle and MacArthur. The documentary examines the two wars as one contiguous timeline starting in 1914 and concluding in 1945 with these unique individuals coming of age in World War I before ultimately calling the shots in World War II.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Documentary, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 270 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 87%
Pathfinders: In the Company of Strangers (2011)
Plot Summary:
Untold and lost history. A true story of the American Pathfinders, the volunteer paratroopers whose deadly mission was to land 30 minutes before the Normandy invasion, locate and mark strategic "drop zones" and set up the top-secret navigation equipment needed to guide the main airborne assault on D-Day.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, captivating, suspenseful, epic, serious, independent film
Similar in 88%
Company K (2004)
Plot Summary:
Based on the popular World War I novel by author William March, director Robert Clem's COMPANY K follows a veteran of the first great conflict as he finishes a book about his wartime experiences and reflects on how a man's true character is revealed through his actions on the battlefield. From the German soldier who visits him in dreams to the camaraderie that is forged by fighting together and the true gravity of laying down your life for a greater cause, World War I veteran Joe Delaney will attempt to exorcise his demons through writing while struggling to readjust to small-town life following the trauma of war.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 339
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: psychological, epic, serious, captivating, disturbing, bleak, emotional, realistic
Similar in 80%
Back Door to Hell (1964)
Plot Summary:
During WWII, a three-man commando team places its trust in the hands of a band of Filipino resistors, as they try to knock out a Japenese communication center.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 907
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Philippines, USA
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, tense, psychotronic, bleak, suspenseful
Similar in 81%
Stalingrad (2013)
Plot Summary:
Drama set in 1942, during one of the most important battles of World War II, which stopped the progress of Nazi forces and turned the tide of war in favor of the Allies. The Soviet army mounts a counter-attack on the Nazi forces that occupy half of Stalingrad on the other side of the Volga, but the operation to cross the river is unsuccessful. A few soldiers who managed to get to the other side take refuge in a house on the bank of Volga. Here they find a girl who didn’t escape when the Germans came. While the whole might of the German army descends onto them, the heroes of Stalingrad experience love, loss, joy and the sense of ultimate freedom that can only be felt by those about to die. They defend the house at all costs while the Red Army prepares for another attack.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: captivating, realistic, exciting, rough, serious, bleak, epic, historical drama
Similar in 88%
The Fallen (2004)
Plot Summary:
THE FALLEN is a three-sided story about German, Italian, and American soldiers, set in Northern Italy during the final weeks of the World War II. On the one side, a group of American supply soldiers delivers ammunition to the front line, a journey that becomes a descent into hell, the success of the mission becomes less likely with every setback. On the other, a doomed German unit and their ragtag Italian partners struggle to maintain morale and discipline amongst their beleaguered troops in the face of certain defeat. Torn between these are the divided loyalties of the Italians, both fascist soldiers and communist partisans, who have turned brother against brother in a bloody civil war. The film looks at the everyday life of the soldiers, their encounters on the road, their hopes and dreams, and the differences in values, morals, and patriotism between the cultures at the end of that era.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 932
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA, Germany, Italy
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, captivating, realistic, bleak
Similar in 75%
Jarhead 2: Field of Fire (2014)
Plot Summary:
Battle-scarred and disillusioned by the war, Corporal Chris Merrimette is put in charge of a unit whose next mission is to resupply a remote outpost on the edge of Taliban-controlled territory. While driving through the hostile Helmand province, a Navy SEAL flags down their convoy and enlists the unit on an operation of international importance: they must help an Afghan woman famous for her defiance of the Taliban escape the country. Without tanks or air support, Merrimette and his team will need all the courage and firepower they can muster to fight their way across the war-torn country and shepherd the woman to safety.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, exciting, rough, captivating, suspenseful, perverse, bleak
Similar in 81%
Company of Heroes (2013)
Plot Summary:
American soldiers lost behind enemy lines during the WWII make a horrific discovery: Hitler has a super bomb in development. Against all odds, they set out to find the scientist in charge of the program who is looking to defect.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, War
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, exciting, realistic, suspenseful, tense, scenic
Similar in 76%
Farewell to the King (1989)
Plot Summary:
An American soldier who escapes the execution of his comrades by Japanese soldiers in Borneo during WWII becomes the leader of a personal empire among the headhunters in this war story told in the style of Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling. The American is reluctant to rejoin the fight against the Japanese on the urging of a British commando team but conducts a war of vengeance when the Japanese attack his adopted people.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: epic, exciting, rough, serious, independent film, thought provoking, brutal, enigmatic, unusual plot structure, bloody
Similar in 76%
Everyman's War (2009)
Plot Summary:
No one in high command believed that German forces would attack in the sub zero temperatures and near blizzard conditions. As the pre-dawn attack comes, with communications down Sgt. Smith is left with no choice but to make his way through enemy fire, unarmed and wounded, into town and warn of the coming attack. Based on actual accounts "Everyman's War" explores the heroic events of this decorated veterans courage and the struggle between duty and desire. Between the prospect of the life and love, Dorine that waits at home and the harsh realities of war which marks the pivotal epoch in his life as he discovers that the loss of hope can be worse than the loss of life. One man's courage... One man's hope...Everyman's War.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, uplifting
Similar in 81%
Saints and Soldiers: The Void (2014)
Plot Summary:
Germany, May 1945, deep in the Harz Mountains a U.S. tank crew discovers a platoon of Germans preparing to ambush U.S. supply trucks.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, exciting, captivating, realistic, christian film, historical drama, independent film
Similar in 81%
When Trumpets Fade (1998)
Plot Summary:
In WWII Western Germany, Private David Manning reluctantly leaves behind a mortally wounded fellow soldier and searches for survivors from his platoon, only to learn from commanding officer Captain Pritchett that they have all been killed in action. Despite requesting a discharge on the grounds of mental disability, Manning is promoted to sergeant and assigned to lead a new platoon of young inductees.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, captivating, realistic, bleak
Similar in 77%
MacArthur (1977)
Plot Summary:
The film portrays MacArthur's (Gregory Peck) life from 1942, before the Battle of Bataan, to 1952, the time after he had been removed from his Korean War command by President Truman (Ed Flanders) for insubordination, and is recounted in flashback as he visits West Point.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: melancholic, epic, intense, realistic, serious, political, exciting, tense, sincere, rough
Similar in 85%
Hiroshima (1995)
Plot Summary:
Hiroshima is a 1995 Japanese / Canadian film directed by Koreyoshi Kurahara and Roger Spottiswoode about the decision-making processes that led to the dropping of the atomic bombs by the United States on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki toward the end of World War II. Except as actors, no Americans took part in the production. The three-hour film was made for television and evidently had no theatrical release, but is available on DVD for home viewing. A combination of dramatisation, historical footage, and eyewitness interviews, the film alternates between documentary footage and the dramatic recreations. Both the dramatisations and most of the original footage are presented as sepia-toned images, serving to blur the distinction between them. The languages are English and Japanese, with subtitles, and the actors are largely Canadian and Japanese.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 968
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Canada, Japan
Duration: 190 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 87%
Texas '46 (2002)
Plot Summary:
Based on a true story its the untold story of Italian World War II POW"S in Jan 1946. Luca Zingaretti stars as one of over 50,000 Italian Prisoners of War detained at POW camps in the U.S. Roy Schneider stars as Colonel Gartner, the Commander of the camp. Things take a turn for the worse when Manin is brought back from his most recent escape by a patrol force, only to realize that the camp has been evacuated while he was gone. Gartner is forced to keep Manin at the camp until another patrol force can come pick him up. However, no one ever comes. The phone lines get cut, and the two men realize they are completely isolated from the outside world. It is up to each man now to escape the camp.An untold and rarely known fact of US held Italian POW"S.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 235
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: USA, Italy
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing, exciting, bleak, serious, captivating
Similar in 86%
Too Young the Hero (1988)
Plot Summary:
WWII drama.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 540
Genere: Biography, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 75%
The Color of War (2001)
Plot Summary:
A series featuring actual color footage of World War II.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 156
Genere: History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 780 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, disturbing, realistic, bleak, contemplative