Movies like The Silent Service (2023)
The best movies like The Silent Service (2023) are Destination Tokyo (1943), Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) and The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966). If The Silent Service hooked you with its war, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)7.8/10 from 2,514 votes
- Newestcocoon - One Summer of Girlhood (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseWife of a Spy (2020)Also in Japanese
Destination Tokyo (1943)
During World War II, Captain Cassidy and his crew of submariners are ordered into Tokyo Bay on a secret mission. They are to gather information in advance of the planned bombing of Tokyo. Along the way, the crew learn about each other as they face the enemy and some of them lose their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRun Silent, Run Deep (1958)
The captain of a submarine sunk by the Japanese during WWII is finally given a chance to skipper another sub after a year of working a desk job. His singleminded determination for revenge against the destroyer that sunk his previous vessel puts his new crew in unneccessary danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966)
When a Soviet submarine gets stuck on a sandbar off the coast of a New England island, its commander orders his second-in-command, Lieutenant Rozanov, to get them moving again before there is an international incident. Rozanov seeks assistance from the island locals, including the police chief and a vacationing television writer, while trying to allay their fears of a Communist invasion by claiming he and his crew are Norwegian sailors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOperation Pacific (1951)
During WWII, Duke E. Gifford is second in command of the USS Thunderfish, a submarine which is firing off torpedoes that either explode too early or never explode at all. It's a dilemma that he'll eventually take up personally. Even more personal is his quest to win back his ex-wife, a nurse; but he'll have to win her back from a navy flier who also happens to be his commander's little brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWife of a Spy (2020)
It’s 1940, and the population of Japan is divided over its entry into World War II. Satoko, the wife of a fabric merchant, is devoted to her husband but is beginning to suspect he’s up to something. Soon she allows herself to be drawn into a game in which she enigmatically conceals her intentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Caine Mutiny Court-Martial (2023)
Barney Greenwald, a skeptical lawyer, reluctantly defends an officer of the navy who took control of the Caine from its captain, Lt. Philip Francis Queeg, while caught in a violent sea storm. As the court-martial proceeds, however, Greenwald increasingly questions if it was truly a mutiny or rather the courageous acts of a group of sailors who could not trust their unstable leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisH.M.S. Defiant (1962)
Defiant's crew is part of a fleet-wide movement to present a petition of grievances to the Admiralty. Violence must be no part of it. The continual sadism of Defiant's first officer makes this difficult, and when the captain is disabled, the chance for violence increases.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAttack Force Z (1982)
Sent to rescue survivors from the site of a plane crash in the South Pacific during WWII, Captain Kelly and his elite squad of Australian commandos must keep tabs on a defecting Japanese official who could hold the secret to peace.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
SnoozefestMovies like thisBlood on the Sun (1945)
Nick Condon, an American journalist in 20s Tokyo, publishes the Japanese master plan for world domination. Reaction from the understandably upset Japanese provides the action, but this is overshadowed by the propaganda of the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
SnoozefestMovies like thisMister Roberts (1955)
Mr. Roberts is a Navy officer who's yearning for battle but is stuck in the backwaters of World War II on a non-commissioned ship run by the bullying Captain Morton.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Enemy Below (1957)
The crew of the American destroyer escort, the USS Haynes, detects a German U-Boat—resulting in a prolonged, deadly battle of wits.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
In the wake of Pearl Harbor, a young lieutenant leaves his expectant wife to volunteer for a secret bombing mission which will take the war to the Japanese homeland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bedford Incident (1965)
During a routine patrol, a reporter is given permission to interview a hardened cold-war warrior and captain of the American destroyer USS Bedford. The reporter gets more than he bargained for when the Bedford discovers a Soviet sub and the captain begins a relentless pursuit, pushing his crew to breaking point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBarefoot Gen (1983)
A story about the effect of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Long Voyage Home (1940)
The crew of the merchant ship Glencairn hope to survive a transatlantic crossing during World War II. Adapted from four Eugene O'Neill one-act plays.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Spy in Black (1939)
A German submarine is sent to the Orkney Isles in 1917 to sink the British fleet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Wackiest Ship in the Army (1960)
Lieutenant Rip Crandall is hoodwinked into taking command of the "Wackiest Ship in the Navy" – a real garbage scow with a crew of misfits who don't know a jib from a jigger. What none of them knows, including Crandall, is that this ship has a very important top-secret mission to complete in waters patrolled by the Japanese fleet. Their mission will save hundreds of allied lives – if only they can get there in one piece.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCode Geass: Akito the Exiled 1: The Wyvern Arrives (2012)
The side story takes place in 2017 a.t.b., between the rise of the “Black Knights” organization and the return of the supposedly "dead" Zero. The setting is in Europe, where the European Union (E.U.) allied nations are being invaded by the overwhelming forces of the Holy Britannian Empire. On the verge of defeat, the E.U. army forms a special unit known as “W-0″, of which a young pilot named Akito Hyuga is a member. Leila Malkal , a former Britannian Aristocrat comes to the E.U.'s aid, commanding the “Wyvern” Knightmare corps comprised of Japanese teenagers. They recklessly plunge into a battlefield, where the survival rate is extremely low, at about 5% only. They fight for their freedom and for a "home" to which they can return.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmpire of the Sun (1987)
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, 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 spirit, providing a beacon of hope for the others held captive with him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOperation Petticoat (1959)
A World War II submarine commander finds himself stuck with a damaged sub, a con-man executive officer, and a group of army nurses.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Silent Service: The Battle of Arctic Ocean (2025)
In the freezing northern seas, the Yamato nuclear submarine begins its deep underwater voyage to the tune of Mozart, heading for the United Nations headquarters in New York. In the Bering Strait between the US and Russia, another submarine approaches: an American nuclear submarine that overwhelmingly dwarfs the Yamato. Now, a battle commences among the cracking floes of the cold Arctic Ocean.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
The Sea Wolves (1980)
A German spy is passing on information about the location of Allied ships in the neutral harbor of Goa, India, with catastrophic results. Unable to undertake a full military operation in the Portuguese stronghold, English intelligence brings out of retirement a crew of geriatric ex-soldiers, veterans from World War I, using their age as cover. These old soldiers are asked to take to the seas and pull off an unlikely undercover mission.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
SnoozefestMovies like thisMurphy's War (1971)
Murphy is the sole survivor of his crew, that has been massacred by a German U-Boat in the closing days of World War II. He is rescued, and ends up at a forgotten mission station near the mouth of the Orinoco, and begins to plot his vengeance. He wishes to sink the U-Boat by means of any method imaginable to him, and sets about to make the courageous attempt, assisted by Louis, the administrator of the local oil company.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhite Slaves (1937)
Amid the Russian Revolution of 1917, a mutiny aboard the battleship Sevastopol helps revolutionary forces seize control of the port city. Maria, the daughter of the deposed governor, struggles to protect her family and reunite with her lover while a ruthless former servant, now a revolutionary commissar, pursues her. A dramatic blend of romance, naval action, and revolutionary violence, this 1937 Nazi propaganda film presents the upheaval through an intensely anti-communist perspective.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Battle of the Commandos (1969)
A British Colonel is angry with his superiors after his entire platoon is slaughtered by the Germans in what he saw as a suicide mission. So for his next mission, he takes along a platoon a convicted criminals - to prepare the Normandy beaches for the D-Day landings.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin VI – Rise of the Red Comet (2018)
On January 23, U.C. 0079, a decisive battle between Zeon and the Earth Federation begins at Side 5, or Loum. Though the Zeon forces are overwhelmingly outnumbered, their secret plan suddenly turns the tide of battle as they deploy a special assault regiment made up of humanoid mobile suit weapons, winning them a huge victory. Char Aznable of the Zeon forces produces particularly impressive results in his red mobile suit “Zaku II”, earning a promotion to Lieutenant Commander and the nickname "Red Comet." After the Battle of Loum, the Earth Federation Forces initiate Operation V to fight back against Zeon. At Side 7, young Amuro Ray is indirectly involved as he takes action to uncover the secret of the new weapon "Gundam." Meanwhile, as high officials of the Earth Federation and Zeon forces meet in Antarctica for early peace negotiations, a certain speech is broadcast from Luna II throughout the world...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
The Incredible Mr. Limpet (1964)
Milquetoast Henry Limpet experiences his fondest wish and is transformed into a fish. As a talking fish he assists the US Navy in hunting German submarines during World War II.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thiscocoon - One Summer of Girlhood (2026)
San and Mayu attend an all-girls school on a warm and tranquil island. When war reaches their shores, they are ordered to help nurse the wounded in a military hospital hidden away in a cave. Amidst escalating death and brutality, the friends struggle to find solace in their fragile lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Kingdom III: The Flame of Destiny (2023)
To defend their kingdom against a sudden invasion, a mighty general returns to the battlefield alongside a war orphan, now grown up, who dreams of glory.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like The Silent Service and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Silent Service?
The closest matches to The Silent Service are Destination Tokyo (1943), Run Silent, Run Deep (1958) and The Russians Are Coming! The Russians Are Coming! (1966). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Silent Service?
Start with Destination Tokyo (1943), the closest match to The Silent Service.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Silent Service?
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), rated 7.8/10 by 2,514 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Silent Service?
cocoon - One Summer of Girlhood (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like The Silent Service?
Yes: Wife of a Spy (2020), Barefoot Gen (1983) and Code Geass: Akito the Exiled 1: The Wyvern Arrives (2012).
How are movies similar to The Silent Service chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Silent Service, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.