Movies like 1971: Beyond Borders (2017)
The best movies like 1971: Beyond Borders (2017) are Megan Leavey (2017), Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) and When the Wind Blows (1986). If 1971: Beyond Borders 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 ratedAmerican History X (1998)8.3/10 from 13,125 votes
- NewestLucky Strike (2026)Released 2026
Megan Leavey (2017)
The true story of Marine Corporal Megan Leavey, who forms a powerful bond with an aggressive combat dog, Rex. While deployed in Iraq, the two complete more than 100 missions and save countless lives, until an IED explosion puts their faithfulness to the test.
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 thisWhen the Wind Blows (1986)
With the help of government-issued pamphlets, an elderly British couple build a shelter and prepare for an impending nuclear attack, unaware that times and the nature of war have changed from their romantic memories of World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies 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 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 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 thisDevotion (2022)
The harrowing true story of two elite US Navy fighter pilots during the Korean War. Their heroic sacrifices would ultimately make them the Navy's most celebrated wingmen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAll Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
When a group of idealistic young men join the German Army during the Great War, they are assigned to the Western Front, where their patriotism is destroyed by the harsh realities of combat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies 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 war & drama
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 Guns of Navarone (1961)
A team of allied saboteurs are assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisShepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog (2020)
Follow the perilous journey to freedom when a young boy and his dog attempt to escape a concentration camp during World War II. Based on true events.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boy in the Woods (2023)
The remarkable true-life survival story of a Jewish boy hiding and being hunted in the forests of Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, based on Maxwell Smart's memoir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Passage to India (1984)
Cultural mistrust and false accusations doom a friendship in British colonial India between an Indian doctor, an Englishwoman engaged to marry a city magistrate, and an English educator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSpirit: Stallion of the Cimarron (2002)
Against impossible odds, Spirit, a young mustang, sets out across the majestic wilderness to regain his freedom and save his homeland. Along the way, he forms a friendship with a young Lakota brave, outwits a squadron of soldiers, and ultimately, finds love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
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 drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last of the Mohicans (1920)
As Alice and Cora Munro attempt to find their father, a British officer in the French and Indian War, they are set upon by French soldiers and their cohorts, Huron tribesmen led by the evil Magua. Fighting to rescue the women are Chingachgook and his son Uncas, the last of the Mohican tribe, and their white ally, the frontiersman Natty Bumppo, known as Hawkeye.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe War Game (1966)
A hypothetical Chinese invasion of South Vietnam triggers a new world war between East and West. In Rochester, Kent, the anticipation of a nuclear attack leads to mass evacuations. When a stray missile explodes, the ensuing firestorm blinds all those who see it. It's not long before the fabric of society is ripped apart from radiation poisoning, a lack of infrastructure and rioting for food and other necessities.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParadise Now (2005)
Two childhood friends are recruited for a suicide bombing in Tel Aviv
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMuriel's Wedding (1994)
Socially awkward Muriel Heslop wants nothing more than to get married. Unfortunately, due to her oppressive politician father, Muriel has never even been on a date. Ostracized by her more socially adept friends, Muriel runs into fellow outcast Rhonda Epinstalk, and the two move from their small Australian town to the big city of Sydney, where Muriel changes her name and begins the arduous task of redesigning her life to match her fantasies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAbout a Boy (2002)
Will Freeman is a good-looking, smooth-talking bachelor whose primary goal in life is avoiding any kind of responsibility. But when he invents an imaginary son in order to meet attractive single moms, Will gets a hilarious lesson about life from a bright, but hopelessly geeky 12-year-old named Marcus. Now, as Will struggles to teach Marcus the art of being cool, Marcus teaches Will that you're never too old to grow up.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBed and Board (1970)
Parisian everyman Antoine Doinel has married his sweetheart Christine Darbon, and the newlyweds have set up a cozy domestic life of selling flowers and giving violin lessons while Antoine fitfully works on his long-gestating novel. As Christine becomes pregnant with the couple's first child, Antoine finds himself enraptured with a young Japanese beauty. The complications change the course of their relationship forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAvance et tu verras (2025)
The sun rises over the dark, misty forest. It's springtime. Nature is lush. A man in his fifties walks warily along a hiking trail cut through tall ferns. He's not walking alone; something invisible is connected to him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Open Hearts (2002)
Cecilie and Joachim are about to get married when a freak car accident leaves Joachim disabled, throwing their lives into a spin. The driver of the other car, Marie, and her family don’t get off lightly, either. Her husband Niels works in the hospital where he meets Cecilie and falls madly in love with her.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican History X (1998)
Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNo End (1985)
1982, Poland. A translator loses her husband and becomes a victim of her own sorrow. She looks to sex, to her son, to law, and to hypnotism when she has nothing else in this time of martial law when Solidarity was banned.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBerlin is in Germany (2001)
When Martin, a former GDR citizen, is released from jail, he lately becomes confronted with the consequences of the German re-unification.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Stand by Me (1986)
After learning that a boy their age has been accidentally killed near their rural homes, four boys decide to go see the body. Gordie, Vern, Chris, and Teddy encounter a mean junk man and a marsh full of leeches, but they also learn more about one another and their very different home lives. Just a lark at first, the boys' adventure evolves into a defining event in their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 1971: Beyond Borders?
The closest matches to 1971: Beyond Borders are Megan Leavey (2017), Cast a Giant Shadow (1966) and When the Wind Blows (1986). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 1971: Beyond Borders?
Start with Megan Leavey (2017), the closest match to 1971: Beyond Borders.
What is the highest-rated movie like 1971: Beyond Borders?
American History X (1998), rated 8.3/10 by 13,125 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 1971: Beyond Borders?
Lucky Strike (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Malayalam movies like 1971: Beyond Borders?
The closest matches are in other languages.
How are movies similar to 1971: Beyond Borders chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 1971: Beyond Borders, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.