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Movies like John Ross: An African Adventure (1987)

The best movies like John Ross: An African Adventure (1987) are The African Queen (1952), Sahara (2005) and Captain Phillips (2013). If John Ross: An African Adventure hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. The African Queen (1952)

    At the start of the First World War, in the middle of Africa’s nowhere, a gin soaked riverboat captain is persuaded by a strong-willed missionary to go down river and face-off a German warship.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  2. Sahara (2005)

    Seasoned adventurer and treasure hunter Dirk Pitt, a former Navy SEAL, sets out for the African desert with his wisecracking buddy Al in search of a confederate ironclad battleship rumored to have vanished long ago, the main draw being the treasure supposedly hidden within the lost vessel. When the daring duo come across Dr. Eva Rojas, a beautiful scientist who is juggling an escape from a warlord and a mission to stop the spread of a powerful plague, their desert expedition begins to heat up.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

  3. Captain Phillips (2013)

    The true story of Captain Richard Phillips and the 2009 hijacking by Somali pirates of the US-flagged MV Maersk Alabama, the first American cargo ship to be hijacked in two hundred years.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  4. Zulu (1964)

    In 1879, during the Anglo-Zulu War, man-of-the-people Lt. Chard and snooty Lt. Bromhead are in charge of defending the isolated and vastly outnumbered Natal outpost of Rorke's Drift from tribal hordes.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  5. The Vikings (1958)

    Einar, brutal son of the viking Ragnar and future heir to his throne, tangles with clever slave Eric, for the hand of a beautiful English maiden.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  6. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

    Fletcher Christian successfully leads a revolt against the ruthless Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty. However, Bligh returns one year later, hell bent on revenge.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  7. Zulu Dawn (1979)

    In 1879, the British suffer a great loss at the Battle of Isandlwana due to incompetent leadership.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  8. China Seas (1935)

    Captain Alan Gaskell sails the perilous waters between Hong Kong and Singapore with a secret cargo: a fortune in British gold. That's not the only risky cargo he carries; both his fiery mistress and his refined fiancee are aboard!

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  9. The Long Ships (1964)

    Moorish ruler El Mansuh is determined to locate a massive bell made of gold known as the "Mother of Voices." Viking explorer Rolfe also becomes intent on finding the mythical treasure, and sails with his crew from Scandinavia to Africa to track it down. Reluctantly working together, El Mansuh and Rolfe, along with their men, embark on a quest for the prized object, but only one leader will be able to claim the bell as his own — if it even exists at all.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. Life of Pi (2012)

    The story of an Indian boy named Pi, a zookeeper's son who finds himself in the company of a hyena, zebra, orangutan, and a Bengal tiger after a shipwreck sets them adrift in the Pacific Ocean.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  11. Shout at the Devil (1976)

    During World War One an English adventurer, an American elephant poacher and the latter's attractive young daughter, set out to destroy a German battle-cruiser which is awaiting repairs in an inlet just off Zanzibar. The story is based on a novel by Wilbur Smith, which in turn is very loosely based on events involving the light cruiser SMS Königsberg, which was sunk after taking refuge in Rufigi delta in 1915.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  12. Moby Dick (1956)

    In 1841, young Ishmael signs up for service aboard the Pequod, a whaler sailing out of New Bedford. The ship is under the command of Captain Ahab, a strict disciplinarian who exhorts his men to find Moby Dick, the great white whale. Ahab lost his leg to that creature and is desperate for revenge. As the crew soon learns, he will stop at nothing to gain satisfaction.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. Desert Flower (2009)

    The autobiography of a Somalian nomad who was sold in marriage at 13, fled from Africa a while later to become finally an American supermodel and is now at the age of 38, the UN spokeswoman against female genital mutilation.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003)

    After an abrupt and violent encounter with a French warship inflicts severe damage upon his ship, a captain of the British Royal Navy begins a chase over two oceans to capture or destroy the enemy, though he must weigh his commitment to duty and ferocious pursuit of glory against the safety of his devoted crew, including the ship's thoughtful surgeon, his best friend.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. Gigi & Nate (2022)

    A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  16. Taking Chance (2009)

    Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort accompanies the body of Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps to his hometown in Wyoming.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  17. Robinson Crusoe (1997)

    Robinson Crusoe flees Britain on a ship after killing his friend over the love of Mary. A fierce ocean storm wrecks his ship and leaves him stranded by himself on an uncharted island. Left to fend for himself, Crusoe seeks out a tentative survival on the island, until he meets Friday, a tribesman whom he saves from being sacrificed. Initially, Crusoe is thrilled to finally have a friend, but he has to defend himself against the tribe who uses the island to sacrifice tribesman to their gods. During time their relationship changes from master-slave to a mutual respected friendship despite their difference in culture and religion.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. The Bounty (1984)

    An idyllic voyage to Tahiti in 1789 turns a crew aboard the H.M.S. Bounty against its captain when they find a tropical paradise.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  19. King Solomon's Mines (1950)

    Fortune hunter Allan Quatermain teams up with a resourceful woman to help her find her missing husband lost in the wilds of 1900s Africa while being pursued by hostile tribes and a rival German explorer.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  20. Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (1984)

    A shipping disaster in the 19th Century has stranded a man and woman in the wilds of Africa. The lady is pregnant, and gives birth to a son in their tree house. Soon after, a family of apes stumble across the house and in the ensuing panic, both parents are killed. A female ape takes the tiny boy as a replacement for her own dead infant, and raises him as her son. Twenty years later, Captain Phillippe D'Arnot discovers the man who thinks he is an ape. Evidence in the tree house leads him to believe that he is the direct descendant of the Earl of Greystoke, and thus takes it upon himself to return the man to civilization.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like John Ross: An African Adventure?

The closest matches to John Ross: An African Adventure are The African Queen (1952), Sahara (2005) and Captain Phillips (2013). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after John Ross: An African Adventure?

Start with The African Queen (1952), the closest match to John Ross: An African Adventure.

What is the highest-rated movie like John Ross: An African Adventure?

Desert Flower (2009), rated 7.6/10 by 508 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like John Ross: An African Adventure?

Gigi & Nate (2022) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like John Ross: An African Adventure?

Yes: The African Queen (1952), Sahara (2005) and Captain Phillips (2013).

How are movies similar to John Ross: An African Adventure chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside John Ross: An African Adventure, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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