Movies like Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
The best movies like Flags of Our Fathers (2006) are Midway (2019), They Were Expendable (1945) and Letters from Iwo Jima (2006). If Flags of Our Fathers hooked you with its war and drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSaving Private Ryan (1998)8.2/10 from 18,074 votes
- NewestLucky Strike (2026)Released 2026
- Same seriesLetters from Iwo Jima (2006)Clint Eastwood's Iwo Jima
Midway (2019)
The story of the Battle of Midway, and the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude and bravery to overcome massive odds.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThey Were Expendable (1945)
After a demonstration of new PT boats, Navy brass are still unconvinced of their viability in combat, leaving Lt. "Rusty" Ryan frustrated. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, Ryan and his buddy Lt. Brickley are told they can finally take their squadron into battle. The PT boats quickly prove their worth, successfully shooting down Japanese planes, relaying messages between islands, and picking off a multitude of enemy ships.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLetters from Iwo Jima (2006)
The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
Why it matches: Same series: Clint Eastwood's Iwo Jima · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words used by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRed Tails (2012)
The story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots to fly in a combat squadron during World War II.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Six Triple Eight (2024)
During World War II, the US Army's only all-Black, all-women battalion takes on an impossible mission: sorting through a three-year backlog of 17 million pieces of mail that hadn't been delivered to American soldiers and finish within six months.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYamato (2005)
Directed by Junya Sato and based on a book by Jun Henmi, "Yamato" has a framing story set in the present day and uses flashbacks to tell the story of the crew of the World War II Japanese battleship Yamato. The film was never released in the United States, where reviewers who have seen it have compared the military epic to "Titanic" and "Saving Private Ryan."
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisMerry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)
Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSaving Private Ryan (1998)
As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMidway (1976)
This war drama depicts the U.S. and Japanese forces in the naval Battle of Midway, which became a turning point for Americans during World War II.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMacArthur (1977)
The film portrays MacArthur's life from 1942, before the Battle of Bataan, to 1952, when he was removed from his Korean War command by President Truman for insubordination, and is recounted in flashback as he visits West Point.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFat Man and Little Boy (1989)
Assigned to oversee the development of the atomic bomb, Gen. Leslie Groves is a stern military man determined to have the project go according to plan. He selects J. Robert Oppenheimer as the key scientist on the top-secret operation, but the two men clash fiercely on a number of issues. Despite their frequent conflicts, Groves and Oppenheimer ultimately push ahead with two bomb designs — the bigger "Fat Man" and the more streamlined "Little Boy."
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Thin Red Line (1998)
The story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. It follows their journey, from the surprise of an unopposed landing, through the bloody and exhausting battles that follow, to the ultimate departure of those who survived.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPearl Harbor (2001)
The lifelong friendship between Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker is put to the ultimate test when the two ace fighter pilots become entangled in a love triangle with beautiful Naval nurse Evelyn Johnson. But the rivalry between the friends-turned-foes is immediately put on hold when they find themselves at the center of Japan's devastating attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies 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: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Commander (2023)
One dark night during the early phases of WWII, the Italian Royal Navy submarine Cappellini sinks an armed merchant ship sailing with lights out. At that moment, its commander Salvatore Todaro makes a decision that was destined to go down in history: to save the 26 shipwrecked Belgians who otherwise would have drowned in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean and disembark them at the nearest safe harbor. To make room for them on board his submarine, he is forced to navigate on the surface of the water for three days, visible to the enemy forces and endangering his life and that of his men.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattle of Britain (1969)
In 1940, the Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle against the might of the Luftwaffe for control of the skies over Britain, thus preventing an attempted Nazi invasion.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLucky Strike (2026)
A wounded American soldier fights to survive behind enemy lines during WWII's Battle of the Bulge against the Germans, relying on his instinct, spy craft and a hand-radio to evade capture and find his way back to his unit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Chinese Widow (2017)
It’s 1941 and the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor has destroyed America’s morale. The US President Franklin D. Roosevelt then decides to risk it all by bombing Tokyo and raise more hope for his citizens. After completing its mission, a unit of the US Air Force is forced to make an emergency landing in China. Its commander Jack Turner (Emilie Hirsch) barely survives but gets rescued by Ying (Crystal Liu), a local widow who will stop at nothing to hide him from the Japanese occupant.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
During the Second World War, a special project is begun by the US Army Air Corps to integrate African American pilots into the Fighter Pilot Program. Known as the "Tuskegee Airman" for the name of the airbase at which they were trained, these men were forced to constantly endure harassement, prejudice, and much behind the scenes politics until at last they were able to prove themselves in combat.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKokoda (2006)
A bitter battle is fought between Australian and Japanese soldiers along the Kokoda trail in New Guinea during World War II.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLee (2024)
The true story of photographer Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUSS Indianapolis: Men of Courage (2016)
The harrowing true story of the crew of the USS Indianapolis, who were stranded in the Philippine Sea for five days after delivering the atomic weapons that would eventually end WWII. As they awaited rescue, they endured extreme thirst, hunger, and relentless shark attacks.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war
SnoozefestMovies like thisIsoroku Yamamoto, the Commander-in-Chief of the Combined Fleet (2011)
Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto (1884-1943) was the Japanese Naval commander who was given the order to attack Pearl Harbour, an order he was duty bound to obey which went against his own personal beliefs. While this infamous attack is a low point in Japanese and US history it wouldn’t have happened if the Japanese government had listened to Yamamoto in 1939 and searched for a more peaceful way to end their war campaign, proving his many ominous presages of the outcomes of the attack to come true.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHacksaw Ridge (2016)
WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisYanks (1979)
During WWII, the United States set up army bases in Great Britain as part of the war effort. Against their proper sensibilities, many of the Brits don't much like the brash Yanks, especially when it comes to the G.I.s making advances on the lonely British girls. One relationship that develops is between married John, an Army Captain, and the aristocratic Helen, whose naval husband is away at war. Helen loves her husband, but Helen and John are looking for some comfort during the difficult times.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
SnoozefestMovies like thisEnemy at the Gates (2001)
A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both war & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnbroken (2014)
A chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEmperor (2012)
As the Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, Gen. Fellers is tasked with deciding if Emperor Hirohito will be hanged as a war criminal. Influencing his ruling is his quest to find Aya, an exchange student he met years earlier in the U.S.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Flags of Our Fathers?
The closest matches to Flags of Our Fathers are Midway (2019), They Were Expendable (1945) and Letters from Iwo Jima (2006). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Flags of Our Fathers?
People who watched Flags of Our Fathers most often go on to Midway (2019), They Were Expendable (1945) and Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970).
What is the highest-rated movie like Flags of Our Fathers?
Saving Private Ryan (1998), rated 8.2/10 by 18,074 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Flags of Our Fathers?
Lucky Strike (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Is Flags of Our Fathers part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to Clint Eastwood's Iwo Jima, which includes Letters from Iwo Jima (2006).
Are there English movies like Flags of Our Fathers?
Yes: Midway (2019), They Were Expendable (1945) and Letters from Iwo Jima (2006).
How are movies similar to Flags of Our Fathers chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Flags of Our Fathers, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.