Movies like Balkan Express (1983)
The best movies like Balkan Express (1983) are Buck Privates (1941), What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966) and Oh! What a Lovely War (1969). If Balkan Express hooked you with its comedy and war, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedA Night at the Opera (1935)7.4/10 from 584 votes
- NewestDie Hart (2023)Released 2023
Buck Privates (1941)
Petty con artists Slicker Smith and Herbie Brown mistakenly join the Army evading the cops. The cop chasing them winds up as their drill instructor. A rich young man and his former working class chauffeur are not only in the same unit, they're vying for a pretty girl who seems attracted to both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966)
A by-the-book Captain is ordered to capture a strategic village in Italy. The Italian soldiers are willing to surrender, if they can have a festival first. The lieutenant convinces the Captain this is the only way. Because of aerial reconnaissance, they must look like they are fighting. To sort this out an intelligence officer is sent in. Meanwhile the festival gets complicated with the Mayors daughter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
SnoozefestMovies like thisOh! What a Lovely War (1969)
The working-class Smiths change their initially sunny views on World War I after the five boys of the family witness the harsh reality of trench warfare.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCarry On Sergeant (1958)
Sergeant Grimshawe wants to retire in the flush of success by winning the Star Squad prize with his very last platoon of newly called-up National Servicemen. But a motley bunch they turn out to be, and it's up to Grimshawe to put the no-hopers through their paces.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDuck Soup (1933)
Rufus T. Firefly is named president/dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of wealthy Mrs. Teasdale.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
Topper Harley is found to be working as an odd-job-man in a monastery. The CIA want him to lead a rescue mission into Iraq, to rescue the last rescue team, who went in to rescue the last rescue team—who went in to rescue hostages left behind after Desert Storm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSupport Your Local Gunfighter (1971)
A con artist arrives in a mining town controlled by two competing companies. Both companies think he's a famous gunfighter and try to hire him to drive the other out of town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCriminal (2004)
Needing a new partner capable of intricate cons, Richard Gaddis, recruits Rodrigo, a crook with a perfect poker face. The two plan a big-time scam: selling a fake Silver Certificate to currency collector William Hannigan. Rodrigo distrusts his new associate, but needs money to help out his ill father. The situation becomes more complicated when Rodrigo falls for Gaddis' sister, Valerie, drawing another player into the game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBig Stan (2007)
A weak con man panics when he learns he's going to prison for fraud. He hires a mysterious martial arts guru who helps transform him into a martial arts expert who can fight off inmates who want to hurt or love him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hustle (2019)
Two female scam artists, one low rent and the other high class, compete to swindle a naïve tech prodigy out of his fortune. A remake of the 1988 comedy "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA-Haunting We Will Go (1942)
Stan and Ollie get involved with con men, crooks, a genial magician, and two interchangeable coffins with disastrous but funny results.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFun with Dick and Jane (1977)
When an upwardly mobile couple find themselves unemployed and in debt, they turn to armed robbery in desperation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Cheap Detective (1978)
A spoof of the entire 1940s detective genre. San Francisco private detective, Lou Pekinpaugh is accused of murdering his partner at the instigation of his mistress—his partner's wife.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Night at the Opera (1935)
The Marx Brothers take on high society and the opera world to bring two lovers together. A sly business manager and two wacky friends of two opera singers help them achieve success while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Song Is Born (1948)
The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want to give her up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOscar (1991)
Angelo "Snaps" Provolone made his dying father a promise on his deathbed: he would leave the world of crime and become an honest businessman. Despite having no experience in making money in a legal fashion, Snaps sets about to keep his promise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mouse That Roared (1959)
The Duchy of Grand Fenwick decides that the only way to get out of their economic woes is to declare war on the United States, lose and accept foreign aid. They send an invasion force (in chain mail, armed with bows and arrows) to New York and they arrive during a nuclear drill that has cleared the streets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdam Sandler: 100% Fresh (2018)
Adam Sandler takes his comical musical musings back out on the road, from comedy clubs to concert halls to one very unsuspecting subway station.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDie Hart (2023)
Kevin Hart - playing a version of himself - is on a death-defying quest to become an action star. And with a little help from John Travolta, Nathalie Emmanuel, and Josh Hartnett - he just might pull it off.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisAirheads (1994)
The Lone Rangers have heavy-metal dreams and a single demo tape they can't get anyone to play. The solution: Hijack an FM rock radio station and hold the deejays hostage until they agree to broadcast the band's tape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMo' Money (1992)
Trying to get his act together, a con artist gets a job in a credit card company. He falls in love with a fellow employee, he steals a couple of cards, everything is going great. But soon, the chief of security drags him into the big leagues of criminals...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisHappy New Year (2014)
Six would-be thieves enter a prestigious dance competition as a cover for their larger goal of pulling off a major heist.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLeap of Faith (1992)
Jonas Nightengale is a fraudulent Christian faith healer who makes a living travelling around America holding revival meetings and conducting 'miracles' with the help of his friend and manager, Jane, and their entourage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisStrictly Confidential (1959)
Two con-men just released from prison get straight back to their old tricks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Rainbow Raani (2006)
A sexy comedy with a message that shatters geographic and gender barriers for true love. The story revolves around a musical band called "The Rainbows": a quartet, like the Beatles, but composed of an African, an Indian, a Caucasian and a Chinese player.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Arrivederci, Baby! (1966)
Nick Johnson has wed several times, but all his rich wives were 'accidentally' killed after some time. Now he's married a young Italian widow, but she's not so easy to get rid of, especially when she learns of his plans and tries to turn the tables.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Just My Luck (2006)
Manhattanite Ashley is known to many as the luckiest woman around. After a chance encounter with a down-and-out young man, however, she realizes that she's swapped her fortune for his.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHot Tamale (2006)
A road trip to Los Angeles inadvertently leads a young man from Wyoming into a wild maze of psychotic hit-men, racy women, jewel thieves and a salsa band.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
The Brothers Grimm (2005)
Folklore collectors and con artists, Jake and Will Grimm, travel from village to village pretending to protect townsfolk from enchanted creatures and performing exorcisms. However, they are put to the test when they encounter a real magical curse in a haunted forest with real magical beings, requiring genuine courage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisBeat the Devil (1953)
A group of con artists stake their claim on a bogus uranium mine.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Balkan Express and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Balkan Express?
The closest matches to Balkan Express are Buck Privates (1941), What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (1966) and Oh! What a Lovely War (1969). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Balkan Express?
Start with Buck Privates (1941), the closest match to Balkan Express.
What is the highest-rated movie like Balkan Express?
A Night at the Opera (1935), rated 7.4/10 by 584 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Balkan Express?
Die Hart (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Balkan Express chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Balkan Express, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.




























