Movies like Football Thrills of 1944 (1945)
The best movies like Football Thrills of 1944 (1945) are We Are Marshall (2006), 12 Mighty Orphans (2021) and Escape to Victory (1981). If Football Thrills of 1944 hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Football Thrills of 1944
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPressure (2026)7.7/10 from 541 votes
- NewestPressure (2026)Released 2026
We Are Marshall (2006)
When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this12 Mighty Orphans (2021)
Haunted by his mysterious past, a devoted high school football coach leads a scrawny team of orphans to the state championship during the Great Depression and inspires a broken nation along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEscape to Victory (1981)
A group of POWs in a German prison camp during World War II play the German National Soccer Team in this powerful film depicting the role of prisoners during wartime.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPressure (2026)
In the tense 72 hours before D-Day, and the fate of the free world hanging in the balance, General Dwight D. Eisenhower and Captain James Stagg face an impossible choice—launch the largest and most dangerous seaborne invasion in history or risk losing the war altogether.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Express (2008)
Follow the inspirational life of college football hero Ernie Davis, the first African-American to win the Heisman Trophy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnnapolis (2006)
Jake Huard, from a shipbuilders family, promised his dying mother he'd make it to Annapolis Naval Academy. Thanks to tenaciously bugging a Congressman, he's selected despite dubious grades. Once inside, Jake soon proves sub-standard academically. Constantly challenged to his limits, repeatedly made the 'over-cocky' reason for the entire class to suffer, Jake nearly quits, but after facing his utterly un-supportive father's gloating returns just in time. Stubborn Jake finds support withs mates as well as Senor Ali, his lover-to-be, and a discipline he may excel in: the 'brigade' boxing tournament, open to all ranks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPaterno (2018)
After becoming the winningest coach in college football history, Joe Paterno is embroiled in Penn State's Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse scandal, challenging his legacy and forcing him to face questions of institutional failure regarding the victims.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Freshman (1925)
An unathletic college freshman ridiculed by his peers for his mannerisms strives to become popular by making the football team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMen of Honor (2000)
Against formidable odds -- and an old-school diving instructor embittered by the U.S. Navy's new, less prejudicial policies -- Carl Brashear sets his sights on becoming the Navy's first African-American master diver in this uplifting true story. Their relationship starts out on the rocks, but fate ultimately conspires to bring the men together into a setting of mutual respect, triumph and honor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWhen the Game Stands Tall (2014)
A young coach turns a losing high school football program around to go undefeated for 12 consecutive seasons.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHorse Feathers (1932)
Quincy Adams Wagstaff, the new president of Huxley U, hires bumblers Baravelli and Pinky to help his school win the big football game against rival Darwin U.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRadio (2003)
In the racially divided town of Anderson, South Carolina in 1976, football coach Harold Jones spots a mentally disabled African-American young man nicknamed Radio near his practice field and is inspired to befriend him. Soon, Radio is Jones' loyal assistant, and he becomes a student at T.L. Hanna High School. But things start to sour when Coach Jones begins taking guff from parents and fans who feel that his devotion to Radio is getting in the way of the team's quest for a championship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCatch-22 (1970)
A WWII military pilot makes a valiant effort to be certified insane in order to be excused from flying missions. But there's a catch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRudy (1993)
Rudy grew up in a steel mill town where most people ended up working, but wanted to play football at Notre Dame instead. There were only a couple of problems. His grades were a little low, his athletic skills were poor, and he was only half the size of the other players. But he had the drive and the spirit of 5 people and has set his sights upon joining the team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Young Lions (1958)
The lives of three young men, a German and two Americans, during WWII.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMajor Payne (1995)
Major Benson Winifred Payne is being discharged from the Marines. Payne is a killin' machine, but the wars of the world are no longer fought on the battlefield. A career Marine, he has no idea what to do as a civilian, so his commander finds him a job - commanding officer of a local school's JROTC program, a bunch of ragtag losers with no hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOverlord (2018)
On the eve of D-Day, a team of American paratroopers crash behind enemy lines and come face-to-face with a Nazi threat unlike any the world has ever seen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Time for Sergeants (1958)
Georgia farm boy Will Stockdale is about to bust with pride. He’s been drafted. Will’s ready. But is Uncle Sam ready for Will?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCadet Kelly (2002)
Hyperactive teenager Kelly is enrolled into a military school when her new stepfather becomes the Commandant. At first she has problems fitting in and taking orders until she tries out for the drill team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Football Thrills of 1944?
The closest matches to Football Thrills of 1944 are We Are Marshall (2006), 12 Mighty Orphans (2021) and Escape to Victory (1981). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Football Thrills of 1944?
Start with We Are Marshall (2006), the closest match to Football Thrills of 1944.
What is the highest-rated movie like Football Thrills of 1944?
Pressure (2026), rated 7.7/10 by 541 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Football Thrills of 1944?
Pressure (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Football Thrills of 1944?
Yes: We Are Marshall (2006), 12 Mighty Orphans (2021) and Escape to Victory (1981).
How are movies similar to Football Thrills of 1944 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Football Thrills of 1944, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.