Movies like Underwater Papanikolis (1971)
The best movies like Underwater Papanikolis (1971) are The Cruel Sea (1953), The Battle of the River Plate (1956) and Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951). If Underwater Papanikolis hooked you with its drama and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest rated1900 (1976)7.8/10 from 708 votes
- NewestButterfly (2025)Released 2025
The Cruel Sea (1953)
At the start of World War II, Cmdr. Ericson is assigned to convoy escort HMS Compass Rose with inexperienced officers and men just out of training. The winter seas make life miserable enough, but the men must also harden themselves to rescuing survivors of U-Boat attacks, while seldom able to strike back. Traumatic events afloat and ashore create a warm bond between the skipper and his first officer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Battle of the River Plate (1956)
In the early years of the World War II, the Royal Navy is fighting a desperate battle to keep the Atlantic convoy routes open to supply the British Isles, facing the great danger posed by the many German warships, such as the Admiral Graf Spee, which are scouring the ocean for cargo ships to sink.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCaptain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951)
Captain Horatio Hornblower leads his ship HMS Lydia on a perilous transatlantic voyage, during which his faithful crew battle both a Spanish warship and a ragged band of Central American rebels.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWalking 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 drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOperation Pacific (1951)
During WWII, Duke E. Gifford is second in command of the USS Thunderfish, a submarine which is firing off torpedoes that either explode too early or never explode at all. It's a dilemma that he'll eventually take up personally. Even more personal is his quest to win back his ex-wife, a nurse; but he'll have to win her back from a navy flier who also happens to be his commander's little brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGreyhound (2020)
A first-time captain leads a convoy of allied ships carrying thousands of soldiers across the treacherous waters of the "Black Pit" to the front lines of WWII. With no air cover protection for 5 days, the captain and his convoy must battle the surrounding enemy Nazi U-boats in order to give the allies a chance to win the war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bedford Incident (1965)
During a routine patrol, a reporter is given permission to interview a hardened cold-war warrior and captain of the American destroyer USS Bedford. The reporter gets more than he bargained for when the Bedford discovers a Soviet sub and the captain begins a relentless pursuit, pushing his crew to breaking point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRun Silent, Run Deep (1958)
The captain of a submarine sunk by the Japanese during WWII is finally given a chance to skipper another sub after a year of working a desk job. His singleminded determination for revenge against the destroyer that sunk his previous vessel puts his new crew in unneccessary danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDestination Tokyo (1943)
During World War II, Captain Cassidy and his crew of submariners are ordered into Tokyo Bay on a secret mission. They are to gather information in advance of the planned bombing of Tokyo. Along the way, the crew learn about each other as they face the enemy and some of them lose their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisU-571 (2000)
In the midst of World War II, the battle under the sea rages and the Nazis have the upper hand as the Allies are unable to crack their war codes. However, after a wrecked U-boat sends out an SOS signal, the Allies realise this is their chance to seize the 'enigma coding machine'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHostile Waters (1997)
Based on true events, an American submarine collides into a Soviet sub of the coast of America and an ensuing standoff occurs that could lead to total annihilation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMurphy's War (1971)
Murphy is the sole survivor of his crew, that has been massacred by a German U-Boat in the closing days of World War II. He is rescued, and ends up at a forgotten mission station near the mouth of the Orinoco, and begins to plot his vengeance. He wishes to sink the U-Boat by means of any method imaginable to him, and sets about to make the courageous attempt, assisted by Louis, the administrator of the local oil company.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKursk (2018)
Barents Sea, August 12th, 2000. During a Russian naval exercise, and after suffering a serious accident, the K-141 Kursk submarine sinks with 118 crew members on board. While the few sailors who are still alive barely manage to survive, their families push for accurate information and a British officer struggles to obtain from the Russian government a permit to attempt a rescue before it is late. But general incompetence are against all their efforts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Sea (2014)
A rogue submarine captain pulls together a misfit crew to go after a sunken treasure rumored to be lost in the depths of the Black Sea. As greed and desperation take control on-board their claustrophobic vessel, the increasing uncertainty of the mission causes the men to turn on each other to fight for their own survival.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisK-19: The Widowmaker (2002)
When Russia's first nuclear submarine malfunctions on its maiden voyage, the crew must race to save the ship and prevent a nuclear disaster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLifeboat (1944)
During World War II, a small group of survivors is stranded in a lifeboat together after the ship they were traveling on is destroyed by a German U-boat.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn Which We Serve (1942)
The story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship’s first and only commanding officer is Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to be loyal to him and the country, but—most importantly—to themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisToo Late the Hero (1970)
A WWII film set on a Pacific island. Japanese and allied forces occupy different parts of the island. When a group of British soldiers are sent on a mission behind enemy lines, things don't go exactly to plan. This film differs in that some of the 'heroes' are very reluctant, but they come good when they are pursued by the Japanese who are determined to prevent them returning to base.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSink the Bismarck! (1960)
The story of the breakout of the German battleship Bismarck—accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen—during the early days of World War II. The Bismarck and her sister ship, Tirpitz, were the most powerful battleships in the European theater of World War II. The British Navy must find and destroy Bismarck before it can escape into the convoy lanes to inflict severe damage on the cargo shipping which was the lifeblood of the British Isles. With eight 15 inch guns, it was capable of destroying every ship in a convoy while remaining beyond the range of all Royal Navy warships.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Sea Chase (1955)
As the Second World War breaks out, German freighter captain Karl Ehrlich is about to leave Sydney, Australia with his vessel, the Ergenstrasse. Ehrlich, an anti-Nazi but proud German, hopes to outrun or out-maneuver the British warship pursuing him. Aboard his vessel is Elsa Keller, a woman Ehrlich has been ordered to return to Germany safely along with whatever secrets she carries. When Ehrlich's fiercely Nazi chief officer Kirchner commits an atrocity, the British pursuit becomes deadly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Match (2021)
Inspired by true events from the spring of 1944 when the Nazis organized a football match between a team of camp inmates and an elite Nazi team on Adolf Hitler's birthday. A match the prisoners are determined to win, no matter what happens.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUn crime de guerre (1994)
A film that relates the trial in Bordeaux in January 1953 of some of the participants in the Oradour-sur-Glane massacre of June 10, 1944.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
The Old Gun (1975)
In Montauban in 1944, Julien Dandieu is a surgeon in the local hospital. Frightened by the German army entering Montauban, he asks his friend Francois to drive his wife and his daughter in the back country village where Julien has an old castle. One week later, Julien decides to meet them for the week end, but the Germans are already occupying the village.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Assault (1986)
At the end of WWII the Dutch resistance kills a German officer in front of the house of a Dutch family. Years after the war the young boy who witnessed the killing runs into the members of the resistance who committed the killing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisButterfly (2025)
A Jewish North African middle-aged man's swim in the sea triggers memories of his earlier life as an Olympic swimmer before and after World War II.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
1900 (1976)
The epic tale of a class struggle in twentieth century Italy, as seen through the eyes of two childhood friends on opposing sides.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrothers (2004)
A Danish officer, Michael, is sent away to the International Security Assistance Force operation in Afghanistan for three months. His first mission there is to find a young radar technician who had been separated from his squad some days earlier. While on the search, his helicopter is shot down and he is taken as a prisoner of war, but is reported dead to the family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Train (1973)
Two people, a Frenchman and a Jewish German woman, meet on a train while escaping the German army entering France.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mamluks (1965)
After suffering Egyptians from the oppression of the Mamluks and despotism clump the people and organize popular resistance to eliminate them and get rid of the ruling Circassians and the commander of his bodyguards Aybak, joins Alhabiban Ahmad and Qamar resistance despite suffering colors they receive, designed Ahmed to avenge the death of his mother on their hands, achieved guerrilla dream he is condemned the country's young people from Egyptians are free.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & adventure
The Abyss (1989)
A civilian oil rig crew is recruited to conduct a search and rescue effort when a nuclear submarine mysteriously sinks. One diver soon finds himself on a spectacular odyssey 25,000 feet below the ocean's surface where he confronts a mysterious force that has the power to change the world or destroy it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Underwater Papanikolis?
The closest matches to Underwater Papanikolis are The Cruel Sea (1953), The Battle of the River Plate (1956) and Captain Horatio Hornblower R.N. (1951). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Underwater Papanikolis?
Start with The Cruel Sea (1953), the closest match to Underwater Papanikolis.
What is the highest-rated movie like Underwater Papanikolis?
1900 (1976), rated 7.8/10 by 708 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Underwater Papanikolis?
Butterfly (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to Underwater Papanikolis chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Underwater Papanikolis, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.