Movies like WWII: China's Forgotten War (2015)
The best movies like WWII: China's Forgotten War (2015) are Empire of the Sun (1987), Zulu Dawn (1979) and Beneath Hill 60 (2010). If WWII: China's Forgotten War hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Last Emperor (1987)7.6/10 from 2,032 votes
- NewestDesert Warrior (2026)Released 2026
Empire 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZulu Dawn (1979)
In 1879, the British suffer a great loss at the Battle of Isandlwana due to incompetent leadership.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeneath Hill 60 (2010)
The true story of Australia's cat-and-mouse underground mine warfare—one of the most misunderstood, misrepresented and mystifying conflicts of WW I. It was secret struggle BENEATH the Western Front that combined daring engineering, technology and science. Few on the surface knew of the brave, claustrophobic and sometimes barbaric work of these tunnellers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this55 Days at Peking (1963)
Diplomats, soldiers and other representatives of a dozen nations fend off the siege of the International Compound in Peking during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion. The disparate interests unite for survival despite competing factions, overwhelming odds, delayed relief and tacit support of the Boxers by the Empress of China and her generals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDestination 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Emperor (1987)
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCaptain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951)
Captain Horatio Hornblower leads his ship HMS Lydia on a perilous transatlantic voyage, during which his faithful crew battle both a Spanish warship and a ragged band of Central American rebels.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Bridge Too Far (1977)
The story of Operation Market Garden—a failed attempt by the allies in the latter stages of WWII to end the war quickly by securing three bridges in Holland allowing access over the Rhine into Germany. A combination of poor allied intelligence and the presence of two crack German panzer divisions meant that the final part of this operation (the bridge in Arnhem over the Rhine) was doomed to failure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe English Patient (1996)
In the 1930s, Count Almásy is a Hungarian map maker employed by the Royal Geographical Society to chart the vast expanses of the Sahara Desert along with several other prominent explorers. As World War II unfolds, Almásy enters into a world of love, betrayal, and politics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisArabian Adventure (1979)
An evil caliph offers his daughter’s hand in marriage to a prince if he can complete a perilous quest for a magical rose. Helped by a young boy and a magic carpet, Prince Hasan has to overcome genies, fire-breathing monsters, and treacherous swamps to reach his prize and claim the hand of the Princess Zuleira.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFarewell to the King (1989)
An American soldier who escapes the execution of his comrades by Japanese soldiers in Borneo during WWII becomes the leader of a personal empire among the headhunters in this war story told in the style of Joseph Conrad and Rudyard Kipling. The American is reluctant to rejoin the fight against the Japanese on the urging of a British commando team but conducts a war of vengeance when the Japanese attack his adopted people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCatch a Fire (2006)
The true story of anti-apartheid activists in South Africa, and particularly the life of Patrick Chamusso, a timid foreman at Secunda CTL, the largest synthetic fuel plant in the world. Patrick is wrongly accused, imprisoned and tortured for an attempt to bomb the plant, with the injustice transforming the apolitical worker into a radicalised insurgent, who then carries out his own successful sabotage mission.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShanghai Express (1932)
A beautiful temptress re-kindles an old romance while trying to escape her past during a tension-packed train journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDesert Warrior (2026)
In 7th-century Arabia, Princess Hind becomes a warrior to defy the ruthless Emperor Kisra. Forged into a warrior and aided by legendary bandit Hanzala, Hind unites warring tribes for a last stand—the historic Battle of Dhi Qar—that will change history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisLittle Boy (2015)
An eight-year-old boy is willing to do whatever it takes to end World War II so he can bring his father home. The story reveals the indescribable love a father has for his little boy and the love a son has for his father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeyond the Reach (2014)
A high-rolling corporate shark and his impoverished young guide play the most dangerous game during a hunting trip in the Mojave Desert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisKing Rat (1965)
When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. Among the American prisoners is Cpl. King, a wheeler-dealer who has managed to establish a pretty good life for himself in the camp. King soon forms a friendship with an upper-class British officer who is fascinated with King's enthusiastic approach to life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattle Over Britain (2023)
A young pilot, fresh out of training, is called to join a Flight while they wait for the call to scramble. Throughout a single day, he witnesses the skies of southern England filled with deadly dog fights, and after every exhausting battle the men return to their dispersal hut, only to find another of their number missing. Unwilling to surrender, the pilot and his comrades unite to take to the skies once more, determined to defend not only the airfield, but their entire country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWe Were Soldiers (2002)
The year is 1965 and America is at war with North Vietnam. Commanding the air cavalry is Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Gibson), a born leader committed to his troops. His target: the Ia Drang Valley, called "The Valley of Death." As Moore prepares for one of the most violent battles in U.S. history, he delivers a stirring promise to his soldiers and their families: "I will leave no man behind...dead or alive. We will all come home together."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like WWII: China's Forgotten War and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like WWII: China's Forgotten War?
The closest matches to WWII: China's Forgotten War are Empire of the Sun (1987), Zulu Dawn (1979) and Beneath Hill 60 (2010). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after WWII: China's Forgotten War?
Start with Empire of the Sun (1987), the closest match to WWII: China's Forgotten War.
What is the highest-rated movie like WWII: China's Forgotten War?
The Last Emperor (1987), rated 7.6/10 by 2,032 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like WWII: China's Forgotten War?
Desert Warrior (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like WWII: China's Forgotten War?
Yes: Empire of the Sun (1987), Zulu Dawn (1979) and Beneath Hill 60 (2010).
How are movies similar to WWII: China's Forgotten War chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside WWII: China's Forgotten War, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.