Best movies like Slaughterhouse-Five
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
"Listen: Billie Pilgrim has come unstuck in time." Slaughterhouse-Five is an award-winning 1972 film adaptation of Kurt Vonnegut's novel of the same name. Director Hill faithfully renders for the screen Vonnegut's obsessive story of Pilgrim, who survives the 1945 firebombing of Dresden, then lives simultaneously in his past, present, and future.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi, War
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: surreal, atmospheric, philosophical, non-linear, talky, tense, serious, emotional, depressing, cerebral
Best tv shows and movies like Slaughterhouse-Five (1972):
Similar in 88%
Closely Watched Trains (1966)
Plot Summary:
In a small town still occupied by the Germans as World War II's tide is turning toward the Allies, apprentice train-watcher Milos is oblivious to the war. Instead, he is obsessed with having his first sexual experience. Despite the favors of train conductor Masa, Milos has no luck. His quest leads him to a female Resistance fighter who, in passing, recruits him to the cause. As Milos finally finds love, danger draws closer.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Romance, War
Country: Czechoslovakia
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, talky, touching, sincere, realistic, erotic, absurd, dark comedy, thought provoking, avant garde
Similar in 79%
Devils on the Doorstep (2000)
Plot Summary:
During the Japanese occupation of China, two prisoners are dumped in a peasant's home in a small town. The owner is bullied into keeping the prisoners until the next New Year, at which time they will be collected. The village leaders convene to interrogate the prisoners. The townspeople then struggle to accommodate the prisoners. One is a bellicose Japanese nationalist, the other a nervous translator. Will the townspeople manage to keep the prisoners until the New Year?.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: China
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: semi serious, atmospheric, humorous, realistic, dark comedy, depressing, cerebral, philosophical, absurd, independent film
Similar in 75%
Mother Night (1996)
Plot Summary:
An American spy behind the lines during WWII serves as a Nazi propagandist, a role he cannot escape in his future life as he can never reveal his real role in the war.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: political, political thriller, dieselpunk, independent film, uplifting, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 77%
Songs from the Second Floor (2000)
Plot Summary:
A film poem inspired by the Peruvian poet César Vallejo. A story about our need for love, our confusion, greatness and smallness and, most of all, our vulnerability. It is a story with many characters, among them a father and his mistress, his youngest son and his girlfriend. It is a film about big lies, abandonment and the eternal longing for companionship and confirmation.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: Sweden, Norway, Denmark, France, Germany
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: surreal, atmospheric, black comedy, philosophical, art house, disturbing, talky, depressing, melancholic, meditative
Similar in 76%
MASH (1970)
Plot Summary:
The staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and high jinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 76000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: satirical, humorous, black comedy, witty, talky, funny, dark comedy, hilarious, captivating, cult classic
Similar in 75%
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 82%
To End All Wars (2001)
Plot Summary:
Based on a real-life story, this drama focuses on a small group of Allied soldiers in Burma who are held captive by the Japanese. Capt. Ernest Gordon (Ciaran McMenamin), Lt. Jim Reardon (Kiefer Sutherland) and Maj. Ian Campbell (Robert Carlyle) are among the military officers kept imprisoned and routinely beaten and deprived of food. While Campbell wants to rebel and attempt an escape, Gordon tries to take a more stoic approach, an attitude that proves to be surprisingly resonant.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: harsh, tense, suspenseful, rough, serious, sentimental, intense, realistic, touching, captivating
Similar in 75%
Catch-22 (1970)
Plot Summary:
A bombardier in World War II tries desperately to escape the insanity of the war. However, sometimes insanity is the only sane way to cope with a crazy situation. Catch-22 is a parody of a "military mentality" and of a bureaucratic society in general.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, surreal, absurd, black comedy, dark, grim, cult classic, psychological, clever, humorous
Similar in 82%
Stop-Loss (2008)
Plot Summary:
A veteran soldier returns from his completed tour of duty in Iraq, only to find his life turned upside down when he is arbitrarily ordered to return to field duty by the Army.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: emotional, sad, harsh, serious, thought provoking, realistic, suspense, cult classic, edutainment, psychological
Similar in 75%
Cross of Iron (1977)
Plot Summary:
It is 1943, and the German army, ravaged and demoralised, are hastily retreating from the Russian front. In the midst of all this madness, conflict brews between the aristocratic yet ultimately pusillanimous Captain Stransky and the courageous Corporal Steiner. Stransky is the only man who believes that the Third Reich are still vastly superior to the Russian army; however within his pompous persona lies a quivering coward who longs for the Iron Cross so that he can return to Berlin a hero. Steiner, on the other hand is cynical, defiantly non-conformist and more concerned with the safety of his own men rather than the horde of military decorations offered to him by his superiors. Steiner's lack of respect results in a growing animosity between the two.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, West Germany
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: political, brutal, cult classic, tense, bleak, realistic, independent film, philosophical, mind bending, psychedelic
Similar in 89%
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 85%
Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Plot Summary:
A World War II satire that follows a lonely German boy whose world view is turned upside down when he discovers his single mother is hiding a young Jewish girl in their attic. Aided only by his idiotic imaginary friend, Adolf Hitler, Jojo must confront his blind nationalism.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 428000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, War
Country: New Zealand, USA, Czech Republic
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: sad, dark comedy, black comedy, funny, psychological, tense, touching, political, disturbing, controversial
Similar in 89%
Another Earth (2011)
Plot Summary:
On the night of the discovery of a duplicate Earth in the Solar system, an ambitious young student and an accomplished composer cross paths in a tragic accident.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 99000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: surreal, artsy, psychological, philosophical, independent film, clever, touching, contemplative, intellectual, mindfuck
Similar in 89%
A Boy and His Dog (1975)
Plot Summary:
Set in the year 2024 in post-apocalyptic America, 18-year old Vic and his telepathic dog Blood are scavengers in the desolate wilderness ravaged by World War 4, where survivors must battle for food, shelter, and sexual companionship in the desert-like wasteland. Vic and Blood eke out a meager existence, foraging for food and fighting gangs of cutthroats.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: cult classic, surreal, humorous, futuristic, tense, disturbing, stylized, grindhouse, dark comedy, offbeat
Similar in 88%
Predestination (2014)
Plot Summary:
Predestination chronicles the life of a Temporal Agent sent on an intricate series of time-travel journeys designed to prevent future killers from committing their crimes. Now, on his final assignment, the Agent must stop the one criminal that has eluded him throughout time and prevent a devastating attack in which thousands of lives will be lost.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 298000
Genere: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: Australia, USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, clever, confusing, twist ending, philosophical, mind bending, thought provoking, stylized, mind blowing, cerebral
Similar in 75%
Johnny Got His Gun (1971)
Plot Summary:
Joe, a young American soldier, is hit by a mortar shell on the last day of World War I. He lies in a hospital bed in a fate worse than death - a quadruple amputee who has lost his arms, legs, eyes, ears, mouth and nose. Unbeknown to his doctors, he remains conscious and able to think, thereby reliving his life through strange dreams and memories and unable to distinguish whether he is awake or dreaming. He remains frustrated by his situation, until one day when Joe discovers a unique way to communicate with his caregivers.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: depressing, disturbing, thought provoking, surreal, political, psychological, atmospheric, controversial, black and white, emotional
Similar in 79%
Empire of the Sun (1987)
Plot Summary:
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor named Basie, who looks out for him while they are in the camp together. Even though he is separated from his parents and in a hostile environment, Jamie maintains his dignity and youthful spirits, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 133000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 153 min
Plot tags: sad, emotional, heartbreaking, period piece, touching, realistic, inspirational, historical drama, sincere, philosophical
Similar in 81%
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Plot Summary:
Thomas Jerome Newton is an alien who comes to Earth to get water for his dying planet. He starts a high technology company to get the billions of dollars he needs to build a return spacecraft. A British science-fiction film from director Nicolas Roeg and starring David Bowie.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 28000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: UK
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, surreal, stylized, independent film, cult classic, erotic, meditative, disturbing, serious, art house
Similar in 78%
The Tin Drum (1979)
Plot Summary:
Oskar is born in Germany in 1924 with an advanced intellect. Repulsed by the hypocrisy of adults and the irresponsibility of society, he refuses to grow older after his third birthday.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: West Germany, France, Poland
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: surreal, disturbing, controversial, art house, harsh, talky, realistic, clever, epic, serious
Similar in 75%
The Truce (1997)
Plot Summary:
Although liberated from Auschwitz on January 27, 1945, Levi did not reach Turin until October 19 of that year. After spending some time in a Soviet camp for former concentration camp inmates, he embarked on an arduous journey home in the company of Italian former prisoners of war from the Italian Army in Russia. His long railway journey home to Turin took him on a circuitous route from Poland, through Russia, Romania, Hungary, Austria and Germany.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Italy, France, Germany, Switzerland
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: sincere, historical drama, uplifting, bleak, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 79%
Underground (1995)
Plot Summary:
Black marketeers Marko and Blacky manufacture and sell weapons to the Communist resistance in WWII Belgrade, living the good life along the way. Marko's surreal duplicity propels him up the ranks of the Communist Party, and he eventually abandons Blacky and steals his girlfriend. After a lengthy stay in a below-ground shelter, the couple reemerges during the Yugoslavian Civil War of the 1990s as Marko realizes that the situation is ripe for exploitation.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, War
Country: Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, France, Germany, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Hungary, UK, USA
Duration: 170 min
Plot tags: absurd, black comedy, art house, political, satirical, surreal, visually appealing, mindfuck, epic, philosophical
Similar in 84%
The Time Traveler's Wife (2009)
Plot Summary:
Due to a genetic disorder, handsome librarian Henry DeTamble involuntarily zips through time, appearing at various moments in the life of his true love, the beautiful artist Clare Abshire.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 156000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Fantasy, Romance, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: romantic, touching, sentimental, emotional, sad, sincere, tear jerker, sweet, heartbreaking, romantic comedy
Similar in 79%
Don't Look Up (2021)
Plot Summary:
Two low-level astronomers, upon discovering that a meteor will strike the Earth in six months, go on a media tour to try to warn the world but find an unreceptive and unbelieving populace.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 580000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
Country: USA
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: apocalyptic, feel good, entertaining, political, dark comedy, funny, thought provoking, cerebral, surreal, light
Similar in 85%
Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)
Plot Summary:
A fading actor best known for his portrayal of a popular superhero attempts to mount a comeback by appearing in a Broadway play. As opening night approaches, his attempts to become more altruistic, rebuild his career, and reconnect with friends and family prove more difficult than expected.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 657000
Genere: Comedy, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: surreal, psychological, dark comedy, black comedy, psychedelic, independent film, clever, intellectual, atmospheric, enigmatic
Similar in 84%
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 83%
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 83%
Cloud Atlas (2012)
Plot Summary:
A set of six nested stories spanning time between the 19th century and a distant post-apocalyptic future. Cloud Atlas explores how the actions and consequences of individual lives impact one another throughout the past, the present and the future. Action, mystery and romance weave through the story as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero and a single act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution in the distant future. Based on the award winning novel by David Mitchell. Directed by Tom Tykwer and the Wachowskis.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 371000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, China, UK, Spain
Duration: 172 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, psychological, futuristic, mind bending, surreal, spiritual, enigmatic, non-linear, atmospheric, reflective
Similar in 80%
The Butterfly Effect (2004)
Plot Summary:
A young man struggles to access sublimated childhood memories. He finds a technique that allows him to travel back into the past, to occupy his childhood body and change history. However, he soon finds that every change he makes has unexpected consequences.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 514000
Genere: Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: psychological, mind bending, philosophical, suspense, non-linear, dramatic, reflective, intellectual, intense, surprise ending
Similar in 77%
K-PAX (2001)
Plot Summary:
Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away Planet. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 191000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, cerebral, sentimental, surprise ending, futuristic, philosophical, atmospheric, clever, mind twisting
Similar in 78%
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