Movies like Thunderbirds (1952)
The best movies like Thunderbirds (1952) are The History of Love (2016), Supercross (2005) and Northwest Passage (1940). If Thunderbirds hooked you with its war and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFirst Blood (1982)7.5/10 from 7,223 votes
- NewestAn Autumn Romance (2021)Released 2021
The History of Love (2016)
The story of a long-lost book that mysteriously reappears and connects an old man searching for his son with a girl seeking a cure for her mother's loneliness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSupercross (2005)
Faced with the suspicious death of their father, two brothers must motivate one another to get back on their bikes and take the Las Vegas Motocross Championships by storm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNorthwest Passage (1940)
Based on the Kenneth Roberts novel of the same name, this film tells the story of two friends who join Rogers' Rangers, as the legendary elite force engages the enemy during the French and Indian War. The film focuses on their famous raid at Fort St. Francis and their marches before and after the battle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPassage to Marseille (1944)
A freedom-loving French journalist sacrifices his happiness and security to battle Nazi tyranny.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisObjective, Burma! (1945)
A group of men parachute into Japanese-occupied Burma with a dangerous and important mission: to locate and blow up a radar station. They accomplish this well enough, but when they try to rendezvous at an old air-strip to be taken back to their base, they find Japanese waiting for them, and they must make a long, difficult walk back through enemy-occupied jungle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDear John (2010)
While Sergeant John Tyree is home on two weeks leave from Germany, he meets Savannah after he dives into the ocean to retrieve Savannah's purse that had fallen off a pier. John eventually falls in love with Savannah, who promises to write to him until he returns from overseas.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSahara (1983)
Intent on winning a competition in place of her distinguished late father, beautiful young heiress Dale takes on the guise of a man and competes in his spot, embarking on a car race that crosses the unforgiving Sahara desert.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Call of the Wild (1972)
John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles from Skagway to Dawson, Alaska in the icy winter. His incredibly dog Buck is by his side and part of how he survives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWaiting for Anya (2020)
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinter's Tale (2014)
A burglar falls for an heiress as she dies in his arms. When he learns that he has the gift of reincarnation, he sets out to save her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Devil's Brigade (1968)
At the onset of World War II, American Lt. Col. Robert Frederick is put in charge of a unit called the 1st Special Service Force, composed of elite Canadian commandos and undisciplined American soldiers. With Maj. Alan Crown leading the Canadians and Maj. Cliff Bricker the acting head of the American contingent, there is initial tension -- but the team comes together when given a daunting mission that few would dare to attempt.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret: Dare to Dream (2020)
A widow with three children hires a handyman to fix her house during a major storm. When not doing home repairs, he shares his philosophy of believing in the power of the universe to deliver what we want.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRacing with the Moon (1984)
In a small coastal California town, Henry and Nicky are pals from blue collar families with only a short time before they ship off to World War II. Henry begins romancing new-to-town Caddie Winger, believing her to be wealthy. Mischievous and irresponsible, Nicky gets into trouble which forces the other two to become involved, testing their relationship, as well as the friendship between the boys.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAn Autumn Romance (2021)
When librarian Taylor Harris suddenly loses her job, she decides to visit her brother in a small town in Montana. There, she gets involved in the fight to help save her brother's hotel from tycoon Joel Sheenan, who wants to renovate it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNorthanger Abbey (2007)
A young woman's penchant for sensational Gothic novels leads to misunderstandings in the matters of the heart.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Magic of Ordinary Days (2005)
Pregnant out of wedlock, an educated young woman is pressured by her father into an arranged marriage with a lonely farmer in this drama set during WWII.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCave Rescue (2019)
When a youth football team of 12 boys, aged 11-16, and their 25-year-old coach is trapped deep inside a cave in Northern Thailand, thousands of volunteers and soldiers from around the world unite in a race against time to find them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNot Easily Broken (2009)
A car accident and shifting affections test the bond between a married couple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lost Battalion (2001)
Fact-based war drama about an American battalion of over 500 men which gets trapped behind enemy lines in the Argonne Forest in October 1918 France during the closing weeks of World War I.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChristmas Cottage (2008)
Inspired by the picturesque paintings of Thomas Kinkade, The Christmas Cottage tells the semi-autobiographical tale of how a young boy is propelled to launch a career as an artist after he learns that his mother is in danger of losing the family home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBiloxi Blues (1988)
A Jewish teenager sets three goals: lose his virginity, become a writer, and survive World War II.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaught in the Draft (1941)
Don Bolton is a movie star who can't stand loud noises. To evade the draft, he decides to get married...but falls for a colonel's daughter. By mistake, he and his two cronies enlist. In basic training, Don hopes to make a good impression on the fair Antoinette and her father, but his military career is largely slapstick. Will he ever get his corporal's stripes?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & war
Dear Soldier (1944)
Two Korean conscripts undergo Imperial Japanese Army training, much to the pleasure of their families.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
Between Heaven and Hell (1956)
Sam Gifford remembers : In prewar years he was an arrogant southern cotton plantation owner, married to the daughter of a colonel. At the beginning of the war he was mobilized with his National Guard unit as a sergeant. Came the day when, revolted by the cowardice of his lieutenant, who had fired at his own men, he hit him. Downgraded, he was sent to a disciplinary battalion. Sam now discovers his new detachment, his new commanding officer, just another cowardly brute, Captain Waco Grimes. While in combat, Sam will gradually become closer to the privates, working-class people he used to despise. He will become another man, a better man.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
Attack (1956)
Battle of the Bulge, World War II, 1944. Lieutenant Costa, an infantry company officer who must establish artillery observation posts in a strategic area, has serious doubts about Captain Cooney's leadership ability.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMedium Cool (1969)
John Cassellis is the toughest TV news reporter around. After extensively reporting about violence and racial tensions in poor communities, he discovers that his network is helping the FBI by granting them access to his footage to find suspects.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChicago 10 (2008)
Archival footage, animation and music are used to look back at the eight anti-war protesters who were put on trial following the 1968 Democratic National Convention.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Six Soldiers (1975)
Four recruits arrive at Kimberley station to undergo training at the local army camp. Soutie, Liebling, Tiny and PP soon become friends as they are put through their paces by the sergeant. They all volunteer for border duty, where they are joined by Chico, a black tracker, and are sent out on patrol. After they come upon a murdered farm family, their radio is destroyed by enemy fire and they are required to find their way back to base camp. In the ensuing skirmishes some of them perish.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
First Blood (1982)
When former Green Beret John Rambo is harassed by local law enforcement and arrested for vagrancy, he is forced to flee into the mountains and wage an escalating one-man war against his pursuers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEarthquake (1974)
Various interconnected people struggle to survive when an earthquake of unimaginable magnitude hits Los Angeles, California.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Thunderbirds?
The closest matches to Thunderbirds are The History of Love (2016), Supercross (2005) and Northwest Passage (1940). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Thunderbirds?
Start with The History of Love (2016), the closest match to Thunderbirds.
What is the highest-rated movie like Thunderbirds?
First Blood (1982), rated 7.5/10 by 7,223 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Thunderbirds?
An Autumn Romance (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Thunderbirds?
Yes: The History of Love (2016), Supercross (2005) and Northwest Passage (1940).
How are movies similar to Thunderbirds chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Thunderbirds, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.