Best movies like The Hanoi Hilton
Last updated March 2024
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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
Best tv shows and movies like The Hanoi Hilton (1987):
Similar in 84%
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 88%
Tour of Duty (1987)
Plot Summary:
The trials of a U.S. Army platoon serving in the field during the Vietnam War.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 47 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, realistic, vintage
Similar in 84%
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 81%
Going Back (2001)
Plot Summary:
A group of Marines return to Vietnam with a news crew to relive their tragic war experiences.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 714
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: Canada
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, emotional, cult film
Similar in 76%
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 86%
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 75%
Behind Enemy Lines (1986)
Plot Summary:
Col. Carradine leads a group of American P.O.W.s, battling their way to freedom as Saigon falls to the Viet Cong.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 742
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cult film
Similar in 82%
A Soldier's Sweetheart (1998)
Plot Summary:
An Army medic brings his girlfriend to stay with him at an out of the way Vietnam outpost in 1967, the woman disappears one day and he begins searching for her.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 655
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: sex comedy, psychological, atmospheric, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, disturbing
Similar in 88%
Latino (1985)
Plot Summary:
The fighting between the Sandinista government in Nicaragua and the Contra rebels backed by U.S. money and expertise is the focus of this pro-Sandinista film by Haskell Wexler. On a secret mission to help the U.S. Special Forces train Contra rebels in the jungles of Nicaragua, American soldier Eddie Guerrero begins to question the morality of the task at hand and consider how his actions may influence the fate of a nation.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 208
Genere: Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: political, independent film, sincere, thought provoking, serious, realistic, disturbing, biting, suspense
Similar in 83%
The Red and the White (1967)
Plot Summary:
In 1919, Hungarian Communists aid the Bolsheviks' defeat of Czarists, the Whites. Near the Volga, a monastery and a field hospital are held by one side then the other.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Hungary, Soviet Union
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: political, contemplative, black and white, philosophical, spiritual, experimental, art house, visual, thought provoking, bleak
Similar in 82%
Gardens of Stone (1987)
Plot Summary:
A sergeant must deal with his desires to save the lives of young soldiers being sent to Vietnam. Continuously denied the chance to teach the soldiers about his experiences, he settles for trying to help the son of an old army buddy.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: realistic, intense, harsh, bleak, sincere, touching, serious, emotional, contemplative, gloomy
Similar in 76%
Journey from the Fall (2006)
Plot Summary:
Thirteen years after the end of the Vietnam War, a family who was tragically affected by the war are forced to emigrate to America.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 937
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, bleak, inspirational, political, informative, realistic
Similar in 82%
Behind Enemy Lines (1985)
Plot Summary:
Professor-turned-spy Col. Calvin Turner and his associate, workaholic Lt. Shelley Flynn, plan a daring rescue behind enemy lines in World War II German-occupied Norway of a brilliant scientist who may or may not be aiding the Germans.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 80
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, cult film
Similar in 77%
A Little Pond (2009)
Plot Summary:
The Korean war does not start well for the US. They are being routed by the North Koreans and In July 1950, the early stage of the Korean War, at the Jugok Village in the middle of the Korean Peninsula, Chang-yee and his friends grow excited over the amateur singing contest knowing nothing about what is going on around them. At the time, the US Army keeps losing and are pushed back to the village, evacuating all villagers to head south. The villagers took refuge like going on a picnic believing that the US Army is protecting them, they just follow their orders moving south bound.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 286
Genere: Drama, War
Country: South Korea
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, bleak, captivating
Similar in 85%
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 81%
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 85%
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 76%
The Last Lieutenant (1993)
Plot Summary:
Norwegian war drama. The old sea-captain retires, but the next day German WWII occupation of Norway begins. He then kisses his wife good-bye and is off to Army HQ. There he finds a lack of leadership and morale that offends him. They even laugh at him and his out-dated uniform and officer-rank. Secondloitnanten then finds and leads his private troop of volunteers against the German attack. The movie tells the story of a man that refuses to give up, even when everybody else leaves. He will fight for the country he loves and do his duty.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 365
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Norway
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, contemplative
Similar in 77%
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 79%
Lost Command (1966)
Plot Summary:
The film begins with the final moments of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954, when the final assault of Viet Minh is imminent. The weakened French garrison awaits reinforcements that arrive with a single plane under the command of Major De Clairefons. The outpost commander, Basque Lt. Col. Pierre-Noel Raspeguy (Quinn) fights to protect the group, but the paras are slaughtered as they land.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cult film
Similar in 75%
The Siege of Firebase Gloria (1988)
Plot Summary:
A Marine patrol stops at Firebase Gloria at the start of the Tet Offensive during the Vietnam war. With the firebase attacked, the patrol remains to help defend it. The Marines barely hold off the VC (Viet Cong), but in the end, hold the base.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: Australia, USA, Philippines
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic, independent film, cult film
Similar in 90%
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 83%
The Boys in Company C (1978)
Plot Summary:
Disheartened by futile combat, appalled by the corruption of their South Vietnamese ally, and constantly endangered by the incompetence of their own company commander, the young men find a possible way out of the war. They are told that if they purposely lose a soccer game against a South Vietnamese team, they can spend the rest of their tour playing exhibition games behind the lines.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Hong Kong, USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, cult film
Similar in 82%
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 85%
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 77%
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 80%
Ike: Countdown to D-Day (2004)
Plot Summary:
This is the story of the senior-level preparations for the D-Day invasion on June 6, 1944 from the time of Dwight D. Eisenhower's appointment as the Supreme Allied Commander in Europe, to the establishment of the beachhead in Normandy. The film recounts many of the trials and tribulation Ike had to face, not the least of which were the many prima donnas surrounding him (Patton, Montgomery and especially de Gaulle) and the need for tact and diplomacy to bring all sides together for what would be the largest amphibious assault ever attempted.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful, political
Similar in 86%
Fires on the Plain (2014)
Plot Summary:
In the final days of World War II, occupying Japanese forces in the Philippines face resistance from the local population and the American offensive. The dwindling Japanese soldiers attempt to survive through the horrors of war.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 831
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Japan
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, atmospheric, realistic, captivating, rough, bleak, serious, gloomy, cult film
Similar in 77%
Land and Freedom (1995)
Plot Summary:
The movie narrates the story of David Carr, an unemployed worker and member of the Communist Party of Great Britain. In 1936 he decides to fight for the Republican side in the Spanish Civil War, an anti-fascist coalition of liberals, communists and anarchists. Similar to George Orwell's experiences documented in Homage to Catalonia, he joins the POUM worker militia and witnesses first hand the betrayal of the Spanish revolution by the Stalinists, loyal only to the dictat of Moscow.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK, Spain, Germany, Italy, France, USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: political, philosophical, social, sad, hispanic, informative, thought provoking, serious, captivating, emotional
Similar in 79%
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