Best movies like Riders in the Sky
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
This movie is realistic and even crude, and maybe that is the reason, why it's so impressive. Instead of romantic (nearly melodramatic) scenes, incorporated to the Sverak's "Tmavomodry svet" (Dark Blue World) it offers stories from ordinary, cruel life of Czech pilots in Great Britain. And it's even more deeper. The final scene with two soldiers - Czech and German, which are not enemies more, when the both men are facing their destiny in despair... Some of the most haunting moments includes also story of soldier, which received serious face injury and now must try to reconcile himself... The main storyline follows the story of two young Czech pilots - Student (falling to an unhappy romance with British radio-operator) and Prcek, both excellently acted (by remarkable talents Jiri Bednar and Jiri Hrzan).
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 307
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like Riders in the Sky (1968):
Similar in 85%
Carriage to Vienna (1966)
Plot Summary:
A WW2 story of a young Austrian soldier running from the Russian army and a woman whom he forces to come along in order to save his wounded mate.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags: road movie, dark
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Promise (2005)
Plot Summary:
The film tells about members of Finnish women's Lotta Service during the Second World War through the eyes of three young women.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 868
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Finland
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: patriotic
Similar in 85%
Lancaster Skies (2019)
Plot Summary:
Douglas, a broken, solitary, Spitfire Ace, must overcome his past to lead a Lancaster bomber crew in the pivotal aerial war over Berlin, in 1944.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, touching, exciting, captivating, independent film, period piece, visually appealing
Similar in 77%
First Light (2010)
Plot Summary:
In May 1940, feeling the RAF needs every man to fight to Luftwaffe, Geoffrey 'Geoff'/'Boy' Wellum joins at 18, becoming the youngest ever Spitfire pilot. After an intense training, he soon bonds with the flying men of his squadron. In the air, danger is great, but on the ground drinks, sports and girls, in Geoff's case Sarah, provide great comfort. However in time, the casualties exact a grueling psychological toll, until his tour of duty is ended after 18 months.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 771
Genere: Biography, Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 84%
That Instant, That While (1981)
Plot Summary:
Autumn 1944. A doctor is accused in the collaboration with the Nazis and found guilty.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 26
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: crying
Similar in 89%
The Bombers (1973)
Plot Summary:
Two best friends, former Partisans, must face new challenges after the war.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 200
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Yugoslavia
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags:
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The Demolition Squad (1967)
Plot Summary:
The Germans held the strategically important airport, where planes were taking off to bombard partisans positions. Headquarters of one a partisan unit sent a few commandos to blow up airplanes and airport in the air.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 238
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Yugoslavia
Duration: 81 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
Stalingrad (1990)
Plot Summary:
The WWII pivotal battle of Stalingrad is shown through the eyes of the soldiers and officers on both sides of the war.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 476
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Soviet Union, USA, Czechoslovakia, East Germany
Duration: 196 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
Sirius (1975)
Plot Summary:
In SIRIUS, a young boy whose most cherished companion is his loyal German shepherd devises his own form of resistance when the Nazis arrest his father, then order the confiscation of local canines, including his pet, to be retrained as attack dogs against the rebellious populace.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 53
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
The Liberation of Prague (1977)
Plot Summary:
On 20th of April 1945 the Soviet army launches its attack on Berlin. The end has come for Nazi Germany and Hitler decides to commit suicide. In Prague K.H. Frank (Nazi Secretary of State and Chief of police in the Protectorate of Bohemia a Moravia) discusses with his commanders how to transform the city into an impregnable fortress, but the Praguers do not intend to wait any longer. From the early hours of 4th of May people start assembling in the streets and tearing down German signs. On the next day, the 5th of May, the uprising begins.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 52
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Czechoslovakia, East Germany
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
The Human Bullet (1968)
Plot Summary:
A soldier has been in the Japanese military for the entirety of WWII, and in that time, his dedication to the army has never faltered. However, as the war draws to a close, his commanding officers become increasingly desperate and push their men to ever more absurd extremes. The ridiculousness of the orders from above peak when the hero of the story is assigned to drive a one-man submarine straight into the hull of an enemy battleship.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 463
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 83%
A Bullet for Rommel (1969)
Plot Summary:
During World War II, a tough officer organizes a commando raid into Germany.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 104
Genere: War, Drama
Country: Spain, Italy
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: macaroni combat
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12 O'Clock High (1964)
Plot Summary:
This series chronicles the adventures--in the air and on the ground--of the men of the 918th Bombardment Group of the U.S. Eighth Air Force. First commanded by irascible General Frank Savage--and later by Colonel Joe Gallagher, the son of a Pentagon General--the Group is stationed in England, and flies long-range bombing missions into German-held Europe.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: vintage
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Mission of Honor (2018)
Plot Summary:
The story of the Polish fliers who found themselves fighting for the freedom of their own country in foreign skies. Seen through the eyes of Jan Zumbach, fighter ace and adventurer, it tells how the Poles, driven across Europe by the German war machine, finally made their last stand. Flying Hurricanes for the RAF over Britain, they became a key component in the legend of ‘The Few’. Up against the might of the Luftwaffe they hoped that, by saving Great Britain from Nazi invasion, they were keeping the dream of a free Poland alive.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: UK, Poland
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, exciting, suspense, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
Tomorrow Was the War (1987)
Plot Summary:
A drama a life in a small Russian provincial town in 1940 - one year before Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Two school girls for the first time in their lives discover truth about Stalin repressions against innocent people. Based on a novel by Boris Vasiliev.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 951
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 77%
The Battle of the Eagles (1979)
Plot Summary:
The first Yugoslav Partisan air force unit. Loosely based on historical facts.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 918
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Yugoslavia
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: epic, cult film
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For Those We Love (2007)
Plot Summary:
In 1943, as Japan's WWII effort falters, a vice-admiral proposes training squadrons of "volunteer" flyers to crash their armed planes into Allied warships. Yarn follows the lives of kamikaze pilots, as remembered by an aging Kyushu restaurateur who cherishes their memory. Honoring the dead and multiple military anthems may stir the soul of some Japanese, but elsewhere auds will make a one-way trip for exits. Battle scenes are well-executed and script delivers some memorable scenes, but overall competent helming and thesping are powerless over writer-cum-Tokyo governor Shintaro Ishiara's repetitive storytelling. A post-war postscript adds considerable length to an already over-extended narrative. Tech credits are good quality.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 402
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense
Similar in 77%
The Land Girls (1998)
Plot Summary:
During World War II, the organisation "The Women's Land Army" recruited women to work on British farms while the men were off to war. Three such "land girls" of different social backgrounds - quiet Stella, young hairdresser Prue, and Cambridge graduate Ag - become best friends in spite of their different backgrounds.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: UK, France
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: period piece, sentimental, touching, realistic, retro, anamorphic, historical drama, sincere, serious, crying
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The Shadow in My Eye (2021)
Plot Summary:
On March 21st, 1945, the British Royal Air Force set out on a mission to bomb Gestapo's headquarters in Copenhagen. The raid had fatal consequences as some of the bombers accidentally targeted a school and more than 120 people were killed, 86 of whom were children.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Denmark, Belgium
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: suspense, disturbing
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The War Lover (1962)
Plot Summary:
Buzz Rickson is a dare-devil World War II bomber pilot with a death wish. Failing at everything not involving flying, Rickson lives for the most dangerous missions. His crew lives with this aspect of his personality only because they know he always brings them back alive.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: sex comedy, serious, realistic, vintage
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Torpedo Bombers (1983)
Plot Summary:
In 1944 a Soviet marine air force unit stationed near Murmansk is fighting off the German bombers attacking the British navy convoys supplying the Soviet Union with war materials under the lend-lease agreement.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 410
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, contemplative
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Mosquito Squadron (1969)
Plot Summary:
In WW2, a RAF squadron leader mourns the death of a comrade and receives a bombing mission against a secret Nazi V-2 rocket testing facility in France.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful
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Every Time We Say Goodbye (1986)
Plot Summary:
An American flyer who joined the RAF before his country was in the war is recovering from a leg injury in Jerusalem. Through an English friend he meets a quiet Jewish girl whose close-knit family originally came from Spain. The two are attracted to each other but she is convinced their diverse backgrounds mean it could never work.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: Israel, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, serious, realistic, romantic, entertaining, cult classic
Similar in 85%
Road to Berlin (2015)
Plot Summary:
A story about two young men during the last days of WWII.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 901
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, captivating, suspenseful
Similar in 84%
Dark Blue World (2001)
Plot Summary:
Lt. Franta Slama is a top pilot in the Czech Air Force who is assigned to train a promising young flier, Karel Vojtisek, and they soon become friends. When Nazi Germany invades Czechoslovakia in 1939, they both reject the authority of their new leaders and escape to England where they join other Czech exiles in the RAF. While flying a mission over England, Karel crash lands and happens upon the farmhouse of Susan, a young woman whose husband is in the Navy. Karel soon falls head over heels for Susan but, while they enjoy a brief fling, in time Susan decides she prefers the company of the older and more worldly Franta. As Franta and Karel struggle to maintain their friendship despite their romantic rivalry.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: War, Drama, Action, Romance
Country: Czech Republic, UK, Germany, Denmark, Italy, France, USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: sentimental, intense, sincere, captivating, serious, realistic, non-linear, gloomy, independent film, crying
Similar in 75%
Fortress (2012)
Plot Summary:
When the commander of the crew of a B-17 Flying Fortress bomber is killed in action in a raid over Sicily in 1943, his replacement, a young, naive pilot struggles to be accepted by the plane's already tight-knit Irish American crew.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, tense
Similar in 86%
633 Squadron (1964)
Plot Summary:
When Norwegian resistance leader Lieutenant Erik Bergman reports the location of a German V-2 rocket fuel plant, the Royal Air Force's 633 Squadron is assigned the mission to destroy it. The plant is in a seemingly-impregnable location beneath an overhanging cliff at the end of a long, narrow fjord lined with anti-aircraft guns. The only way to destroy the plant is by collapsing the cliff on top of it.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, spectacular, sincere, fast, crying, weeping
Similar in 76%
Memphis Belle (1990)
Plot Summary:
The "Memphis Belle" is a World War II bomber, piloted by a young crew on dangerous bombing raids into Europe. The crew only have to make one more bombing raid before they have finished their duty and can go home. In the briefing before their last flight, the crew discover that the target for the day is Dresden, a heavily-defended city that invariably causes many Allied casualties.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: UK, Japan, USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, emotional, rough, serious, inspirational, suspense, intense, period piece, realistic
Similar in 86%
Battle of Britain (1969)
Plot Summary:
In 1940, the Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle against the might of the Luftwaffe for control of the skies over Britain, thus preventing the Nazi invasion of Britain.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: UK
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: epic, cult classic, exciting, realistic, patriotic, dieselpunk, spectacular, sincere, serious, black comedy
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The Shop on Main Street (1965)
Plot Summary:
In a small town in Nazi-occupied Slovakia during World War II, decent but timid carpenter Tono is named "Aryan comptroller" of a button store owned by an old Jewish widow, Rozalie. Since the post comes with a salary and standing in the town's corrupt hierarchy, Tono wrestles with greed and guilt as he and Rozalie gradually befriend each other. When the authorities order all Jews in town to be rounded up, Tono faces a moral dilemma unlike any he's known before.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: sincere, atmospheric, emotional, touching, serious, realistic, depressing, social, black comedy, offbeat