Movies like Lesson of a Dead Language (1979)
The best movies like Lesson of a Dead Language (1979) are Men in War (1957), The Beast of War (1988) and The One That Got Away (1957). If Lesson of a Dead Language 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 ratedSophie's Choice (1982)7.3/10 from 978 votes
- NewestThe Last Rifleman (2023)Released 2023
Men in War (1957)
In Korea, on 6 September 1950, Lieutenant Benson's platoon finds itself isolated in enemy-held territory after a retreat. Soon they are joined by Sergeant Montana, whose overriding concern is caring for his catatonic colonel. Benson and Montana can't stand each other, but together they must get the survivors to Hill 465, where they hope the division is waiting. It's a long, harrowing march, fraught with all the dangers the elusive enemy can summon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Beast of War (1988)
During the war in Afghanistan a Soviet tank crew commanded by a tyrannical officer find themselves lost and in a struggle against a band of Mujahadeen guerrillas in the mountains.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe One That Got Away (1957)
Based on the true story of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war captured in Britain to escape back to Germany during the Second World War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & 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 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 drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1942)
During a raid on Germany, a British bomber crew is forced to bail out after their plane is damaged. They land in Holland, where they're aided by Dutch civilians.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this303 Squadron (2018)
After the fall of the September Campaign of 1939, two Polish pilots are forced to fight for their nation in foreign battlefronts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisMax (2002)
In 1918, a young, disillusioned Adolf Hitler strikes up a friendship with a Jewish art dealer while weighing a life of passion for art vs. talent at politics
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFilip (2023)
During World War II, a Polish food server at a luxury German hotel tempts fate as he romances local women while hiding his Jewish identity.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPassenger (1963)
A German woman on a ship returning to Europe notices a face of another woman which brings recollections from the past. She tells her husband that she had been an overseer in Auschwitz during the war, but she has actually saved a woman's life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPlay Dirty (1969)
During World War II in North Africa, a group of British commandos disguised as Italian soldiers must travel behind enemy lines and destroy a vital Nazi oil depot.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBattleground (1949)
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & 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 drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCloak and Dagger (1946)
Italian partisans help a professor sent by the OSS to find an atomic scientist held by Nazis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & 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 drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCast a Giant Shadow (1966)
An American Army officer is recruited by the yet to exist Israel to help them form an army. He is disturbed by this sudden appeal to his Jewish heritage. Each of Israel's Arab neighbors has vowed to invade the poorly prepared country as soon as partition is granted. He is made commander of the Israeli forces just before the war begins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLegions (2019)
A universal story about entering adulthood in difficult times, growing up to the community. The great history is the background for the love story unfolding in the foreground: Józek, a deserter from the tsarist army who joins the emerging Legions, an intelligence agent for the I Brigade and Women’s Leage member – Ola, and Tadek, her fiancée, a member of Shooting Team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBehold a Pale Horse (1964)
Manuel Artiguez, a famous bandit during the Spanish civil war, has lived in French exile for 20 years. When his mother is dying he considers visiting her secretly in his Spanish home town. But his biggest enemy, the Spanish police officer Vinolas, prepared a trap at the hospital as a chance to finally catch Artiguez.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Rifleman (2023)
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe War Below (2021)
During World War I, a group of British miners are recruited to tunnel underneath no man's land and set bombs from below the German front in hopes of breaking the deadly stalemate of the Battle of Messines.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Painted Bird (2019)
After losing his parents, a young Jewish boy wanders Eastern Europe, seeking refuge during World War II.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEscape from Sobibor (1987)
The true story of WWII's notorious Sobibor Nazi death camp, where a courageous inmate orchestrates and leads the escape of over 300 prisoners.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOlympic Fire (1970)
During World War 2 Polish skiers take up a fight against the Germans and become couriers, delivering mail to Budapest.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960)
A tale of a young impoverished nobleman, who with his uncle returns from a war against the order of the Teutonic Knights in Lithuania. He falls in love with a beautiful woman and pledges an oath to bring her "three trophies" from the Teutonic Knights.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Days (1999)
Romance brings two warring families together in this historical drama. As citizens fight for independence in 1810s Lithuania, Tadeusz, the son of a murderer, and Zosia, a young woman, come together for a wedding against a backdrop of changing politics, ancient traditions, and the uncertain future of a country.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Devil's Arithmetic (1999)
An American-born Jewish adolescent, Hannah Stern, is uninterested in the culture, faith and customs of her relatives. However, she begins to revaluate her heritage when she has a supernatural experience that transports her back to a Nazi death camp in 1941. There she meets a young girl named Rivkah, a fellow captive in the camp. As Rivkah and Hannah struggle to survive in the face of daily atrocities, they form an unbreakable bond.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSophie's Choice (1982)
Stingo, a young writer, moves to Brooklyn in 1947 to begin work on his first novel. As he becomes friendly with Sophie and her lover Nathan, he learns that she is a Holocaust survivor. Flashbacks reveal her harrowing story, from pre-war prosperity to Auschwitz. In the present, Sophie and Nathan's relationship increasingly unravels as Stingo grows closer to Sophie and Nathan's fragile mental state becomes ever more apparent.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRandom Love Story (1974)
This 50-minutes long TV production, Wiszniewski's only feature film, is the story of a young worker, who is given a flat by his union commission on condition that he gets married.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Wolka (2021)
Anna gets released from a Polish prison on parole after fifteen years behind bars. Once free, Anna has but one goal - to find a woman whose name is Dorota.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Czerwone węże (1983)
An adaptation of Helena Boguszewska's well-known novel from 1933. The film takes place two years before Colombian ants take control of a plane flying to the States.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lesson of a Dead Language?
The closest matches to Lesson of a Dead Language are Men in War (1957), The Beast of War (1988) and The One That Got Away (1957). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lesson of a Dead Language?
Start with Men in War (1957), the closest match to Lesson of a Dead Language.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lesson of a Dead Language?
Sophie's Choice (1982), rated 7.3/10 by 978 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lesson of a Dead Language?
The Last Rifleman (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Lesson of a Dead Language chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lesson of a Dead Language, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.