Movies like The Illegals (1976)
The best movies like The Illegals (1976) are Walking with the Enemy (2014), Battleground (1949) and The Devil's Brigade (1968). If The Illegals hooked you with its action and war, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Dirty Dozen (1967)7.6/10 from 1,399 votes
- NewestLucky Strike (2026)Released 2026
Walking with the Enemy (2014)
Regent Horthy is the leader of Hungary and a German ally, but his favorable standing with Hitler changes as the war comes to an end. Forced to cede Hungary’s power or else witness the execution of his son, Regent Horthy gives up control of his country to the Nazis, who quickly move Hungarians to ghettos and death camps, with no hope in sight. But the despair changes when a young man named Elek emerges. Separated from his family during the relocations and aided by the woman he loves , Elek defies the enemy by becoming one of them. In a race against time, disguised as a Nazi Officer he embarks on a mission to save his family and thousands of his countrymen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & 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 action & drama
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 action & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Great War (2019)
In November of 1918 as World War I was ending, a unit of American soldiers goes behind enemy lines to find a lost platoon of African American soldiers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCross of Iron (1977)
It is 1943, and the German army—ravaged and demoralised—is hastily retreating from the Russian front. In the midst of the madness, conflict brews between the aristocratic yet ultimately pusillanimous Captain Stransky and the courageous Corporal Steiner. Stransky is the only man who believes that the Third Reich is still vastly superior to the Russian army. However, within his pompous persona lies a quivering coward who longs for the Iron Cross so that he can return to Berlin a hero. Steiner, on the other hand is cynical, defiantly non-conformist and more concerned with the safety of his own men rather than the horde of military decorations offered to him by his superiors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStory of G.I. Joe (1945)
War correspondent Ernie Pyle joins Company C, 18th Infantry as this American army unit fights its way across North Africa in World War II. He comes to know the soldiers and finds much human interest material for his readers back in the States. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 2000.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiracle at St. Anna (2008)
Miracle at St. Anna chronicles the story of four American soldiers who are members of the all-black 92nd "Buffalo Soldier" Division stationed in Tuscany, Italy during World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWolf Hound (2022)
Inspired by the real-life German special operations unit KG 200 that shot down, repaired, and flew Allied aircraft as Trojan horses, "Wolf Hound" takes place in 1944 German-occupied France and follows the daring exploits of Jewish-American fighter pilot Captain David Holden. Ambushed behind enemy lines, Holden must rescue a captured B-17 Flying Fortress crew, evade a ruthless enemy stalking him at every turn, and foil a plot that could completely alter the outcome of World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDecision Before Dawn (1951)
WWII is entering its last phase: Germany is in ruins, but does not yield. The US army lacks crucial knowledge about the German units operating on the opposite side of the Rhine, and decides to send two German prisoners to gather information. The scheme is risky: the Gestapo retains a terribly efficient network to identify and capture spies and deserters. Moreover, it is not clear that "Tiger", who does not mind any dirty work as long as the price is right, and war-weary "Happy", who might be easily betrayed by his feelings, are dependable agents. After Tiger and another American agent are successfully infiltrated, Happy is parachuted in Bavaria. His duty: find out the whereabouts of a powerful German armored unit moving towards the western front.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOperation Mincemeat (2022)
In 1943, two British intelligence officers concoct Operation Mincemeat, wherein their plan to drop a corpse with false papers off the coast of Spain would fool Nazi spies into believing the Allied forces were planning to attack by way of Greece rather than Sicily.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & 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 & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKandahar (2023)
After his mission is exposed, an undercover CIA operative stuck deep in hostile territory in Afghanistan must fight his way out, alongside his Afghan translator, to an extraction point in Kandahar, all whilst avoiding elite enemy forces and foreign spies tasked with hunting them down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTriple Cross (1966)
Safecracker Eddie Chapman is languishing in prison on the island of Jersey when the Nazis arrive. An adept manipulator of situations, Chapman convinces the Germans to use him to spy on the British. And when the would-be traitor arrives home, he convinces the English to use him as a double agent -- in exchange for a full pardon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLion of the Desert (1981)
Resistance leader Omar Mukhtar opposes Italian colonization before World War II. The brutal guerrilla war against Italian General Rodolfo Graziani and the Fascist forces of Benito Mussolini highlights the struggle for Libyan independence and the harsh tactics utilised by the colonisers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisForce 10 from Navarone (1978)
World War II, 1943. Mallory and Miller, the heroes who destroyed the guns of Navarone, are sent to Yugoslavia in search of a ghost from the past.
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 thisWhen Trumpets Fade (1998)
In WWII Western Germany, Private David Manning reluctantly leaves behind a mortally wounded fellow soldier and searches for survivors from his platoon, only to learn from commanding officer Captain Pritchett that they have all been killed in action. Despite requesting a discharge on the grounds of mental disability, Manning is promoted to sergeant and assigned to lead a new platoon of young inductees.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 action & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Counterfeit Traitor (1962)
Blacklisted in modern day WW2, a Swedish oil trader opts to assist British Allies, by means of infiltrating and surveying Nazi Germany.
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 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: Similar story and style · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this300 (2007)
A story very loosely based the 480 B.C. Battle of Thermopylae, where the King of Sparta led his army against the advancing Persians.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Dirty Dozen (1967)
12 American military prisoners in World War II are ordered to infiltrate a well-guarded enemy château and kill the Nazi officers vacationing there. The soldiers, most of whom are facing death sentences for a variety of violent crimes, agree to the mission and the possible commuting of their sentences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEcho on the Seashore (1966)
World War II. Patriot Jonuz Bruga has troubles with his young son, Selim, who leads an immoral lifestyle and does not support the anti-fascist war, while his brothers fight in the city's guerrilla units.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
The Ambush (1968)
A film set during World War II - a small partisan unit must ambush a German convoy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
Valkyrie (2008)
Wounded in Africa during World War II, Nazi Col. Claus von Stauffenberg returns to his native Germany and joins the Resistance in a daring plan to create a shadow government and assassinate Adolf Hitler. When events unfold so that he becomes a central player, he finds himself tasked with both leading the coup and personally killing the Führer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Drop (2006)
Different factions in WWII-era Holland race to find a stash of Nazi gold.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & war
SnoozefestMovies like thisFlags of Our Fathers (2006)
There were five Marines and one Navy Corpsman photographed raising the U.S. flag on Mt. Suribachi by Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945. This is the story of three of the six surviving servicemen - John 'Doc' Bradley, Pvt. Rene Gagnon and Pvt. Ira Hayes - who fought in the battle to take Iwo Jima from the Japanese.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHart's War (2002)
When Col. William McNamara is stripped of his freedom in a German POW camp, he's determined to keep on fighting even from behind enemy lines. Enlisting the help of a young lieutenant in a brilliant plot against his captors, McNamara risks everything on a mission to free his men and change the outcome of the war.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWe Were Soldiers (2002)
The year is 1965 and America is at war with North Vietnam. Commanding the air cavalry is Lt. Col. Hal Moore (Gibson), a born leader committed to his troops. His target: the Ia Drang Valley, called "The Valley of Death." As Moore prepares for one of the most violent battles in U.S. history, he delivers a stirring promise to his soldiers and their families: "I will leave no man behind...dead or alive. We will all come home together."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & war
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Illegals?
The closest matches to The Illegals are Walking with the Enemy (2014), Battleground (1949) and The Devil's Brigade (1968). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Illegals?
Start with Walking with the Enemy (2014), the closest match to The Illegals.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Illegals?
The Dirty Dozen (1967), rated 7.6/10 by 1,399 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Illegals?
Lucky Strike (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Illegals chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Illegals, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.