Best movies like The Forgotten Man
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
A Marine officer reported as killed in Vietnam but was actually a POW returns home. Instead of being welcomed home, however, he discovers that his father has died, his wife has remarried, his daughter has been adopted, his business has been sold and his life has completely changed.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 89
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 73 min
Plot tags:
Best tv shows and movies like The Forgotten Man (1971):
Similar in 90%
Pueblo (1973)
Plot Summary:
Dramatization showing the 1968 seizure of the spy ship, Pueblo, by the North Koreans and the treatment of the Pueblo's crew during their year of captivity through flashbacks during the 1969 investigation of the affair.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 149
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 76%
Some Kind of Hero (1982)
Plot Summary:
A Vietnam vet returns home from a prisoner of war camp and is greeted as a hero, but is quickly forgotten and soon discovers how tough survival is in his own country.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: funny, sad, black comedy, intelligent, humorous, emotional, realistic, semi serious, slapstick
Similar in 81%
Railway Spine (2016)
Plot Summary:
Michael Delucca, a Vietnam veteran broken by his struggle with post-traumatic stress, recollects his violent postwar life in a raw and touching memoir for the son he never knew.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 27
Genere: Crime, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 78%
Don't Cry, It's Only Thunder (1982)
Plot Summary:
An Army medic working in a mortuary in Saigon becomes emotionally involved with a group of Vietnamese orphans.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 256
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA, Japan
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 84%
The Wall (1998)
Plot Summary:
The story of three items left at the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall: a pencil holder, a sheriff's badge, and an electric guitar. Each item connects the living with the dead and are left as either memorials or to heal the wounds of war.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 149
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: anthology, independent film
Similar in 79%
Friendly Fire (1979)
Plot Summary:
In March 1970, a U.S. Army officer arrived at the Iowa farm of Peg and Gene Mullen and informed them that their son Michael had been killed in Vietnam by "friendly fire." Their determined attempts to learn more about the circumstances of their son's death are the subject of this true account film.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 454
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 147 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol (1972)
Plot Summary:
An American soldier manages to endure his captivity in a Vietnamese POW camp by keeping alive the memories of life in his home town. When he is finally released from the camp, and is discharged from the military, he goes back to his town - but he can find no trace whatsoever of it.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 166
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
There Is No 13 (1974)
Plot Summary:
In this wartime drama, a young soldier spends much of stint in Vietnam remembering his life and his 12 love affairs. The story ends before he can have a 13th.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 25
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 84%
Heroes from Another Land (1996)
Plot Summary:
This docu-drama deals with the lives of two soldiers from Puerto Rico enlisted to fight during the Vietnam conflict. Based on a real-life incident, the movie relates the young soldiers' ambiguity about the war and the tragic consequences their plight holds for them, as well as their families.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 80
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Puerto Rico
Duration: 80 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
Fist of Glory (1991)
Plot Summary:
Vietnam. The last days of the war. A crack squad of Army special forces commandos led by Johnny Reynolds undertakes an unauthorized combat mission behind enemy lines with disasterous results.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 59
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: Hong Kong, USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: independent film, cult film
Similar in 77%
The Last Blood (1983)
Plot Summary:
A soldier attacks his corrupt superior officer and is court marshalled but before he can be sent to a firing squad he escapes.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 302
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: Italy
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: macaroni combat, cult film
Similar in 89%
Target for Death (1986)
Plot Summary:
Coordinates of Death (Russian Title: Koordinaty smerti / Координаты смерти) is a 1985 Soviet-Vietnamese co-production directed by Samvel Gasparov and Nguyen Xuan Chan. Set during the Vietnam War (presumably during Operation Linebacker II in 1972), the film is about a group of Soviet sailors aboard the freighter Chelyabinsk who aid their Vietnamese comrades after their ship is sunk, interspersed with scenes depicting the brutality of Americans towards Vietnamese civilians as seen through the eyes of an actress named Kate Francis (a Jane Fonda analogue).
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 55
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Vietnam, Soviet Union
Duration: 78 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 87%
Cease Fire (1985)
Plot Summary:
Tim Murphy is a Vietnam Vet. When he loses his job he starts to relive all the pain and horror of his time in Vietnam. The stresses and strains nearly destroy his marriage and his family. Only after joining a veterans' therapy group does Tim find relief from his nightmares. With the support of his fellow vets and the love of his wife, Tim recovers. Written by Pfyre Caidmon.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 243
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: independent film, cult film
Similar in 78%
Purple Hearts (1984)
Plot Summary:
A Navy surgeon and a nurse fall in love while serving in Vietnam during the war. Their affection for one another provides a striking contrast to the violence of warfare.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 981
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: political, anamorphic, independent film, sentimental, serious, captivating, realistic, cult film
Similar in 79%
Memorial Day (1983)
Plot Summary:
An attorney finds himself at the center of a surprise reunion with the veterans of his platoon from Vietnam.The reunion stirs up painful memories and disturbing secrets for all involved.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 74
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: psychological, thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing, contemplative
Similar in 83%
Platoon Leader (1988)
Plot Summary:
West Point graduate lieutenant Jeff Knight meets cynicism when taking command of sergeant Michael McNamara's tour veterans platoon in a Vietnamese trench camp. Unlike his predecessor, who hid till the end of his tour, Jeff takes charge, experiences the manual doesn't allow coping with all realities and gets wounded. He returns, now fully respect by men and superiors. Besides the Vietcong, the platoon wrestles with the inscrutable villagers, which the G.I.'s officially protect, but also fear as some collaborate with them, other covertly with the Cong, either way subject to bloody reprisals.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, cult classic, independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, eighties, cult film
Similar in 85%
The Veteran (2006)
Plot Summary:
Sidney J. Furie's The Veteran is a respectable straight-to-DVD movie that was headed for the "pleasant surprise" category before self-destructing with a terrible, out-of-the-blue ending.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 655
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: psychological, serious, rough, realistic, suspenseful, bleak, cult film
Similar in 78%
The Walking Dead (1995)
Plot Summary:
Five young marines on a suicide mission in Vietnam, struggle for survival in a jungle minefield. The mean streets of home did not prepare them for this.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 868
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: action adventure, independent film, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, biting, suspense, cult film
Similar in 80%
The Last Full Measure (2019)
Plot Summary:
The incredible true story of Vietnam War hero William H. Pitsenbarger, a U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen medic who personally saved over sixty men. Thirty-two years later, Pentagon staffer Scott Huffman investigates a Congressional Medal of Honor request for Pitsenbarger and uncovers a high-level conspiracy behind the decades-long denial of the medal, prompting Huffman to put his own career on the line to seek justice for the fallen airman.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sincere, captivating, disturbing, depressing, cult classic, period piece
Similar in 89%
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 79%
The Hanoi Hilton (1987)
Plot Summary:
Lionel Chetwynd's film documents the horrific struggles that faced American POWs held in the North Vietnamese prison Hoa Lo -- more infamously known as the Hanoi Hilton -- between 1964 and 1975. Williamson (Michael Moriarty) leads a group of American servicemen who are prisoners at the detention camp. He assumes command after Cathcart (Lawrence Pressman) is dragged off to be tortured.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: political, grindhouse, independent film, rough, thought provoking, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 87%
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 80%
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 84%
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 83%
The Green Berets (1968)
Plot Summary:
Col. Mike Kirby picks two teams of crack Green Berets for a mission in South Vietnam. First off is to build and control a camp that is trying to be taken by the enemy the second mission is to kidnap a North Vietnamese General.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 142 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, thought provoking, captivating, retro, exciting, sentimental, sexy, epic, bad ending
Similar in 77%
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 77%
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 79%
Bat*21 (1988)
Plot Summary:
Lt. Col. Iceal "Ham" Hambleton is a weapons countermeasures expert and when his aircraft is shot over enemy territory the Air Force very much wants to get him back. Hambleton knows the area he's in is going to be carpet-bombed but a temporary shortage of helicopters causes a delay. Working with an Air Force reconnaissance pilot, Capt. Bartholomew Clark, he maps out an escape route.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspense, harsh, exciting, serious, suspenseful, rough, tense, sentimental, light
Similar in 87%
84C MoPic (1989)
Plot Summary:
A cameraman embedded with a reconnaissance patrol charts their mission across territory controlled by the Vietnamese. An impressively naturalistic Vietnam film. Impressive performance by unknown actors in this low-budget Vietnam drama. The story is being told in the form of a documentary; a camera team follows an Army unit in pursuit of 'Charlie'. Filmed in Southern California. The movie's producing company itself is called '84 Charlie MoPic'.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, mockumentary, independent film, cult film
Similar in 84%
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