Movies like Sparkling Red Star (1974)
The best movies like Sparkling Red Star (1974) are Wolf Warrior (2015), Gezhi Town (2025) and Jacknife (1989). If Sparkling Red Star hooked you with its war, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Eight Hundred (2020)7.0/10 from 360 votes
- NewestGezhi Town (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseWolf Warrior (2015)Also in Chinese
Wolf Warrior (2015)
A Chinese special force soldier with extraordinary marksmanship is confronted by a group of deadly foreign mercenaries who are hired to assassinate him by a vicious drug lord.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGezhi Town (2025)
A group of Chinese refugees and straggler soldiers, led by a machinist, defend their mountain town, "Gezhi," against a surprise attack by Japanese reconnaissance troops in a desperate fight using civilian ingenuity against a trained military force.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJacknife (1989)
A conflict develops between a troubled Vietnam veteran and the sister he lives with when she becomes involved romantically with the army buddy who reminds him of the tragic battle they both survived.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDevils on the Doorstep (2001)
During the Japanese occupation of China, two prisoners are dumped in a peasant's home in a small town. The owner is bullied into keeping the prisoners until the next New Year, at which time they will be collected. The village leaders convene to interrogate the prisoners. The townspeople then struggle to accommodate the prisoners. One is a bellicose Japanese nationalist, the other a nervous translator. Will the townspeople manage to keep the prisoners until the New Year?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBoudica (2023)
Inspired by events in A.D. 60, Boudica follows the eponymous Celtic warrior who rules the Iceni people alongside her husband Prasutagus. When he dies at the hands of Roman soldiers, Boudica’s kingdom is left without a male heir and the Romans seize her land and property. Driven to the edge of madness and determined to avenge her husband’s death, Boudica rallies the various tribes from the region and wages an epic war against the mighty Roman empire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
SnoozefestMovies like thisHell Hath No Fury (2021)
Branded a traitor by her countrymen, French national Marie DuJardin is rescued by American soldiers on one condition: to survive, she must lead them to a cache of gold - before the Nazis return to claim it for themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJarhead: Law of Return (2019)
Major Ronan Jackson, an accomplished fighter pilot for the Israel Defense Forces and son of a U.S. Senator, is shot down while flying through Syrian airspace. After miraculously surviving the crash, Jackson is taken captive by a group of Hezbollah militiamen. A squad of elite soldiers, led by Gunnery Sergeant Dave Torres, risk their own lives in the hopes of saving an ally they've never met.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe New One-Armed Swordsman (1971)
Lei Li lost his right-arm in a sword duel with the master of a martial arts school, long ago. Now, he is able to defend himself well with just his left arm, and kung fu techniques. That he proves with just the help of his friend Chung-Chieng, when he crosses his path with a beautiful girl in need, Pao Chiao. Even against impossible odds, he will prove a great warrior.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBat★21 (1988)
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.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisField of Lost Shoes (2015)
A group of teenage cadets sheltered from war at the Virginia Military Institute must confront the horrors of an adult world when they are called upon to defend the Shenandoah Valley.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Taking of Tiger Mountain (2014)
Yang Zirong disguises himself as a bandit to infiltrate and destroy a bandit group. He joins hands with a hostage, and together, they fight against the warlord, Hawk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Children of Huang Shi (2008)
About young British journalist, George Hogg, who with the assistance of a courageous Australian nurse, saves a group of orphaned children during the Japanese occupation of China in 1937.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOutlaws - For Greater Glory (2012)
A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRescue at Dongji (2025)
Inspired by the real life rescue of over 300 British soldiers in 1942, Dongji Rescue is a rousing, action-packed story of heroism on the high seas. When the Japanese warship Lisbon Maru is torpedoed off the coast of Dongji Island, the lives of over 300 British POWs on board are at risk of being claimed by the sea. Their only hope is a small group of defiant Chinese fisherman who will do anything to rescue and protect them from their captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWolf Warrior 2 (2017)
China's deadliest special forces operative settles into a quiet life on the sea. When sadistic mercenaries begin targeting nearby civilians, he must leave his newfound peace behind and return to his duties as a soldier and protector.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Court-Martial of Billy Mitchell (1955)
A dramatization of the American general and his court martial for publically complaining about High Command's dismissal and neglect of the aerial fighting forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed Dawn (1984)
It is the dawn of World War III. In mid-western America, a group of teenagers band together to defend their town—and their country—from invading Soviet forces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Eight Hundred (2020)
In 1937, eight hundred Chinese soldiers fight under siege from a warehouse in the middle of the Shanghai battlefield, completely surrounded by the Japanese army.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeal Team Eight: Behind Enemy Lines (2014)
Seal Team Eight must fight their way deep into Africa's Congo, decommission a secret uranium mine, and stop our most dangerous enemy from smuggling weapon's grade yellow-cake out of the country.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Scarlet and the Black (1983)
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sparkling Red Star?
The closest matches to Sparkling Red Star are Wolf Warrior (2015), Gezhi Town (2025) and Jacknife (1989). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sparkling Red Star?
Start with Wolf Warrior (2015), the closest match to Sparkling Red Star.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sparkling Red Star?
The Eight Hundred (2020), rated 7.0/10 by 360 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sparkling Red Star?
Gezhi Town (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like Sparkling Red Star?
Yes: Wolf Warrior (2015), Gezhi Town (2025) and Devils on the Doorstep (2001).
How are movies similar to Sparkling Red Star chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sparkling Red Star, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.