Movies like War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator
The best movies like War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator are Twelve O'Clock High (1949), Flyboys (2006) and The Rocketeer (1991). If War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBreathe (2017)7.4/10 from 822 votes
- NewestOn a Wing and a Prayer (2023)Released 2023
Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
In the early days of daylight bombing raids over Germany, General Frank Savage must take command of a 'hard luck' bomber group. Much of the story deals with his struggle to whip his group into a disciplined fighting unit in spite of heavy losses, and withering attacks by German fighters over their targets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFlyboys (2006)
The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rocketeer (1991)
A stunt pilot comes across a prototype jetpack that gives him the ability to fly. However, evil forces of the world also want this jetpack at any cost.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe First of the Few (1942)
This 1942 fictionalized biopic chronicles the true story of how two of the most remarkable men in aviation history - visionary Spitfire designer R.J. Mitchell and his test pilot Geoffrey Crisp - designed a streamlined monoplane that led to the development of the Spitfire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Station (2009)
A historical drama that illustrates Russian author Leo Tolstoy's struggle to balance fame and wealth with his commitment to a life devoid of material things. The Countess Sofya, wife and muse to Leo Tolstoy, uses every trick of seduction on her husband's loyal disciple, whom she believes was the person responsible for Tolstoy signing a new will that leaves his work and property to the Russian people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWings (1927)
Two young men, one rich, one middle class, both in love with the same woman, become US Air Corps fighter pilots and, eventually, heroic flying aces during World War I. Devoted best friends, their mutual love of the girl eventually threatens their bond. Meanwhile, a hometown girl who's the lovestruck lifelong next door neighbor of one of them pines away.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOn a Wing and a Prayer (2023)
After their pilot dies unexpectedly mid-flight, passenger Doug White must safely land a plane and save his entire family from insurmountable danger.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisFate Is the Hunter (1964)
An airline executive refuses to believe that pilot error, by his friend, caused a fatal crash and persists in looking for another reason.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNights in Rodanthe (2008)
Adrienne is trying to decide whether to stay in her unhappy marriage or not, and her life changes when Paul, a doctor who is travelling to reconcile with his estranged son, checks into an inn where she is staying.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDie Hard 2 (1990)
One year after his heroics in Los Angeles, John McClane is an off-duty cop who is the wrong guy in the wrong place at the wrong time. On a snowy Christmas Eve, as he waits for his wife's plane to land at Washington Dulles International Airport, terrorists take over the air traffic control system in a plot to free a South American army general and drug smuggler being flown into the US to face drug charges. It's now up to McClane to take on the terrorists, while coping with an inept airport police chief, an uncooperative anti-terrorist squad, and the life of his wife and everyone else trapped in planes circling overhead.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisReach for the Sky (1956)
The true story of airman Douglas Bader who overcame the loss of both legs in a 1931 flying accident to become a successful fighter pilot and wing leader during World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBreathe (2017)
Based on the true story of Robin, a handsome, brilliant and adventurous man whose life takes a dramatic turn when polio leaves him paralyzed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Vanishing of Sidney Hall (2018)
Over the course of 12 years, and three stages of life, Sidney Hall falls in love, writes the book of a generation and then disappears without a trace.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Philadelphia Experiment (1984)
Based on an "actual event" that took place in 1943. About a US Navy Destroyer Escort that disappeared from the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, and sent two men 40 years into the future to 1984.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Fountainhead (1949)
An uncompromising, visionary architect struggles to maintain his integrity and individualism despite personal, professional and economic pressures to conform to popular standards.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRed Tails (2012)
The story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots to fly in a combat squadron during World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFirefox (1982)
The Soviets have developed a revolutionary new jet fighter, called 'Firefox'. Worried that the jet will be used as a first-strike weapon—as there are rumours that it is undetectable by radar—the British send ex-Vietnam War pilot, Mitchell Gant on a covert mission into the Soviet Union to steal the Firefox.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAirport (1970)
An airport manager tries to keep his terminals open during a snowstorm, while a suicide bomber plots to blow up a Boeing 707 airliner in flight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDark of the Sun (1968)
A band of mercenaries led by Captain Curry travel through war-torn Congo across deadly terrain, battling rival armies, to steal $50 million in uncut diamonds. But infighting, sadistic rebels and a time lock jeopardize everything.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Delta Force (1986)
A 707 aircraft jetliner, en route from Athens to Rome and then to New York City, is hijacked by Lebanese terrorists, who demand that the pilot take them to Beirut. What the terrorists don't realize is that an elite team of commandos have been called in to eliminate all terrorists on the jetliner.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator?
The closest matches to War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator are Twelve O'Clock High (1949), Flyboys (2006) and The Rocketeer (1991). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator?
Start with Twelve O'Clock High (1949), the closest match to War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator.
What is the highest-rated movie like War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator?
Breathe (2017), rated 7.4/10 by 822 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator?
On a Wing and a Prayer (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator?
Yes: Twelve O'Clock High (1949), Flyboys (2006) and The Rocketeer (1991).
How are movies similar to War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside War Birds: Diary of an Unknown Aviator, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.