Best tv shows like The Penal Battalion
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
The authors of the television series studied archival materials and military chronicles. The last series ends with a demonstration of the list of penalty parts, which from 1942 to 1945 fought on the Soviet fronts.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, Romance, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 550 min
Plot tags: sentimental, captivating, realistic, exciting, suspenseful, rough
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Best tv shows and movies like The Penal Battalion (2004):
Similar in 79%
Ladoga (2014)
Plot Summary:
The Second World War. Leningrad was in blockade in the winter of 1941. The only way to deliver food and other supplies to the city is through the icy Lake Ladoga, the so-called “Road of Life”. The path itself passes through the ice of the lake. But the Nazis are preparing a diversion along the way, and their informant is most likely a truck driver. To deal with this situation entrusted to the captain of the NKVD Sergienko.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 98
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 208 min
Plot tags: touching, disturbing, tense, suspenseful, realistic
Similar in 89%
One-Two, Soldiers Were Going... (1977)
Plot Summary:
The families of 18 soldiers who heroically died in 1944 are meeting at the place of the squad last battle.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: sentimental, atmospheric, thought provoking, realistic, compassionate
Similar in 80%
We Are from the Future (2008)
Plot Summary:
Four 21st century treasure seekers are transported back into the middle of a WWII battles in Soviet Union.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Drama, Fantasy, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, rough
Similar in 83%
Battalion (2015)
Plot Summary:
Russia, 1917, WWI. This is the story of the 1st Russian Women's Battalion of Death, formed as part of an ill-conceived propaganda ploy by the Russian Provisional Government in late May of 1917.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating
Similar in 86%
The Confrontation (2006)
Plot Summary:
Moldavia, 1944. An elite squad of Red Army scouts is sent to stop an equally elite squad of Germans soldiers committing war crimes behind Soviet lines.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 38
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 147 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, bleak, suspenseful
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Similar in 83%
Bastards (2006)
Plot Summary:
A "Hitlerjugend" kind of story, set in the Soviet Union during the Second World War, based on a fictitious story from the eponymous book by Vladimir Kunin.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: rough, art house, suspenseful, serious, captivating, realistic, exciting
Similar in 89%
Warriors Five (1962)
Plot Summary:
World War II Italy...1943. After parachuting behind enemy lines on an espionage mission, an American soldier is imprisoned by the enemy. He escapes with four Italian prisoners, enlisting their aid in exploding a bridge.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 111
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: Italy, France, Yugoslavia
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: macaroni combat, exciting, rough, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful
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Similar in 88%
Tankers (2018)
Plot Summary:
The film is based on the true story about a Soviet KV-1 crew of a Soviet KV-1 tank, under the command of Semyon Konovalov , whom despite being heavily outnumbered by German forces, destroyed 16 tanks, 2 armored vehicles and 8 other enemy vehicles at the village of Nizhnemytyakin, Tarasovsky district, Rostov region on July 13th, 1942.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, bleak, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 80%
The Saboteur (2004)
Plot Summary:
Two young intelligence officers headed by a tough captain are assigned various secret missions on the Nazi-occupied territories.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 739
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 208 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspense, humorous, feel good
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Similar in 88%
Apostle (2008)
Plot Summary:
At the beginning of the war, the Germans abandoned their saboteur in the USSR. The landing is unsuccessful - the spy is captured by the NKVD. When trying to escape, the saboteur, who turned out to be a Russian thief in law, accidentally remaining in the occupied territory, dies. To find the other spies participating in the operation, the Chekists have to turn to the twin brother of the criminal - the village teacher. He takes the place of the deceased in the German intelligence network and enters into a deadly game.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 570
Genere: Action, History, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 600 min
Plot tags: exciting, captivating, patriotic, realistic, clever, serious
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Similar in 88%
The Fight for Moscow (1985)
Plot Summary:
A historic movie telling the story about a battle of Moscow during WWII.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 455
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, East Germany, Vietnam
Duration: 358 min
Plot tags: rough, thought provoking, suspenseful, disturbing, philosophical, political
Similar in 86%
White Tiger (2012)
Plot Summary:
Great Patriotic War, early 1940s. After barely surviving a battle with a mysterious, ghostly-white Tiger tank, Red Army Sergeant Ivan Naydenov becomes obsessed with its destruction.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Fantasy, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 75%
Panfilov's 28 (2016)
Plot Summary:
USSR, Late November, 1941. Based on the account by reporter Vasiliy Koroteev that appeared in the Red Army's newspaper, Krasnaya Zvezda, shortly after the battle, this is the story of Panifilov's Twenty-Eight, a group of twenty-eight soldiers of the Red Army's 316th Rifle Division, under the command of General Ivan Panfilov, that stopped the advance on Moscow of a column of fifty-four Nazi tanks of the 11th Panzer Division for several days. Though armed only with standard issue Mosin-Nagant infantry rifles and DP and PM-M1910 machine guns, all useless against tanks, and with wholly inadequate RPG-40 anti-tank grenades and PTRD-41 anti-tank rifles, they fight tirelessly and defiantly, with uncommon bravery and unwavering dedication, to protect Moscow and their Motherland.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: touching, rough, captivating, suspense, suspenseful
Similar in 81%
The Last Escape (1970)
Plot Summary:
During World War II, American officer Capt. Lee Mitchell (Stuart Whitman) and a British military unit boldly infiltrate German-occupied enemy territory and attempt to kidnap brilliant Nazi scientist Dr. Von Heinken (Pinkas Braun) and bring him back in one piece. While shuttling their prized captive to safety, the Allied forces courageously assist desperate refugees and tussle with overpowering German and Russian forces.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 268
Genere: Action, Drama, War
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: exciting, bleak, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 86%
In June 1941 (2008)
Plot Summary:
A Russian frontier guard Ivan Burov and a Polish girl Hanna love each other in spite of every prohibition and obstacle. But on the 22d of June 1941 the war begins.. After a series of clashes with the Germans Ivan Burov remains the only surviving frontier guard, and he will stay at the border to the end. True to his military oath and his love.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 189
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Russia, Belarus
Duration: 200 min
Plot tags: sentimental, atmospheric, rough, serious, emotional, suspense, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, intense
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Similar in 81%
Alyosha (2020)
Plot Summary:
Summer 1944. The Second World War rages. On one side, elite German soldiers serving in the most dangerous and cruel army the world has ever seen. On the other, Russian partisans-fatigued, wounded and hungry, they have almost forgotten the warmth of home. But they do remember one thing: their country is behind them, and they cannot give up. The story is about machine gunner Yefrem Zhavoronok and Alyosha, a young boy. Alyosha is only sixteen, and Yefrem knows that he must look after him like his own. In war, everyone's children, mothers, wives and brothers are your family.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 19
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Russia
Duration:
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense
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Similar in 77%
Death to Spies (2019)
Plot Summary:
1941. Georgy Volkov, Captain of the State Security Service, is delivering to the Soviet Union a consignment of emeralds under a trade agreement between the USSR and Germany.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 61
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Mystery, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 45 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, suspense, suspenseful
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Similar in 77%
Colditz (2005)
Plot Summary:
Three prisoners, Jack Rose, Tom Willis and Nick McGrade, embark on an heroic plan to escape from a World War Two POW camp. As Rose And Willis are recaptured by the Germans, McGrade manages to traverse their clutches and travels to London to inform Rose's girlfriend of his capture. So begins a complex love story.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: UK
Duration: 240 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, touching, exciting, tense, historical drama, period drama
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Similar in 86%
Time of Honor (2008)
Plot Summary:
Days of honor is a Polish World War II television drama series, broadcast on TVP2 since September 7, 2008.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 783
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: Poland
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, exciting
Similar in 77%
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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Similar in 82%
Soldier Boy (2019)
Plot Summary:
The film is based on real events. This is a story about exciting events that occurred in the life of the smallest soldier - the hero of the Great Patriotic War, six-year-old Sergei Aleshkov. He lost all his relatives and got into the army. With a six-year-old boy, they started playing the soldier game in order to preserve his childhood, and he, in order to comply with this honorary title, became a real defender of the Motherland.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 795
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Belarus, Russia
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, captivating, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 90%
In Tranzit (2008)
Plot Summary:
Nazi POWs suspected of heinous acts are locked up in a Soviet women's prison run by vengeful female guards. To weed out the guilty, the innocent must pay. Can supposed enemies turn into great loves? Based on a true post-World War II story, this drama stars Thomas Kretschmann, John Malkovich and Vera Farmiga in a bitter game of cat and mouse and a battle between hate and humanity, mercy and revenge.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Romance, War
Country: UK, Russia
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: sincere, uplifting, realistic, captivating, period piece, serious, emotional
Similar in 76%
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%
They Fought for Their Country (1975)
Plot Summary:
In July 1942, in the Second World War, the rearguard of the Russian army protects the bridgehead of the Don River against the German army while the retreating Russian troops cross the bridge. While they move back to the Russian territory through the countryside, the soldiers show their companionship, sentiments, fears and heroism to defend their motherland.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 158 min
Plot tags: heroic, tense, sentimental, rough, suspenseful, philosophical, political, suspense
Similar in 81%
Unknown Battle (2019)
Plot Summary:
During WW2, in 1942 and 1943, a series of not-so-well known yet bloody battles occurred near the town of Rzhev. Those battles received the name of ‘Rzhev Meat Grinder’. The film is based on the award-winning novel by Vyacheslav Kondratyev, which tells about one of those battles and the ability to demonstrate courage, friendship, and the power of human spirit in the most horrible situations.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, History, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: rough, epic, serious, suspense, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 78%
At War as at War (1969)
Plot Summary:
To the young lieutenant Maleshkin the war is a minor obstacle, if compared to his personal battle to command his subordinates, while conducting an armored vehicle at the same time he's trying to impress his superior Soviet officers who put him under extreme pressures, one after the other, fighting the German forces occupying Ukraine during World War II. Here's the story of an impressionable man who learns in the hard way that being a leader is more than just using of his commanding voice to get what he wants.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 637
Genere: Drama, War
Country: Soviet Union
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, captivating, realistic, disturbing, patriotic
Similar in 79%
Generation War (2013)
Plot Summary:
Berlin, 1941. Five friends eager to become heroes in an adventure that will change the face of Europe - and that will forever change them as well.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 32000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, War
Country: Germany
Duration: 270 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, serious, thought provoking, anime, mind blowing, realistic, controversial, epic, period drama
Similar in 80%
Battle for Sevastopol (2015)
Plot Summary:
The breakout of the war shatters the world of a young student, Lyudmila Pavlichenko, forcing her to enlist in the army in 1941. The maiden turns out to be a natural-born sniper, her impressive skill and prowess make her stand out among men and women alike. Seeing Pavlichenko as a tangible threat, the German High Command gives orders to eliminate the girl whatever the cost. In the meanwhile, Lyudmila meets a man and falls in love. War fades into the background... Soon, however, another misfortune befalls Lyudmila leaving the man she loves on the brink of death and herself seriously wounded. The girl is pulled out of combat and later goes to the United States with a publicity visit. Eleanor Roosevelt welcomes Lyudmila in the White House and the two women soon become close. It won't be long before Pavlichenko stands before an audience in Chicago pressing for a second front. Will her words have the capacity to change the course of war?.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Action, Biography, Drama, History, Romance, War
Country: Ukraine, Russia
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: dramatic, rough, realistic, tense, serious, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, philosophical, political
Similar in 79%
Sniper: Weapons of Retaliation (2009)
Plot Summary:
This world war two story depicts the personal war between a Soviet sniper and a German sniper. Their feud continues after the war in Soviet occupied Germany. At the same time a Nazi rocket scientist continues his research while a Soviet secret police team arrives from Moscow to find hidden Nazi rocket research documents and rocket propulsion systems.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 192
Genere: Action, Drama, Romance, War
Country: Belarus, Russia
Duration: 162 min
Plot tags:
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Similar in 88%
T-34 (2018)
Plot Summary:
In 1944, a courageous group of Russian soldiers managed to escape from German captivity in a half-destroyed legendary T-34 tank. Those were the times of unforgettable bravery, fierce fighting, unbreakable love, and legendary miracles.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Action, War
Country: Russia
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: suspense, disturbing, exciting, uplifting, rough, touching, humorous, fun, tragic