Movies like The Red Detachment of Women (1972)
The best movies like The Red Detachment of Women (1972) are Buck Privates (1941), Taking Sides (2002) and For the Boys (1991). If The Red Detachment of Women hooked you with its music and war, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStalag 17 (1953)7.7/10 from 700 votes
- NewestGezhi Town (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseStep Up: Year of the Dance (2019)Also in Chinese
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 music & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaking Sides (2002)
One of the most spectacular and renowned conductors of the 1930s, Wilhelm Furtwangler's reputation rivaled that of Toscanini's. After the war, he was investigated as part of the Allies' de-Nazification programme. In the bombed-out Berlin of the immediate post-war period, the Allies slowly bring law and order to bear on an occupied Germany. An American major is given the Furtwangler file, and is told to find everything he can and to prosecute the man ruthlessly. Tough and hard-nosed, Major Steve Arnold sets out to investigate a world of which he knows nothing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFor the Boys (1991)
Talented USO entertainer Dixie Leonard and comedian Eddie Sparks deal with their relationship over the course of 5 decades from World War II to the Vietnam War era to their twilight era in the 90's.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music & 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 war
SnoozefestMovies like thisStep Up: Year of the Dance (2019)
Two young people from different social classes put aside their differences and come together to form a dance group and win a championship in China.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Secret of Santa Vittoria (1970)
During World War II, Italian villagers hide their wine from the German army.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYouth (2017)
A group of performing art troupe members each face their own trials and tribulations in Chengdu; from escaping a family scandal to dealing with unrequited love, each experiences rejection that shapes their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Scarlet and the Black (1983)
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him the next time he leaves the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGezhi Town (2025)
A group of Chinese refugees and straggler soldiers, led by a machinist, defend their mountain town, "Gezhi," against a surprise attack by Japanese reconnaissance troops in a desperate fight using civilian ingenuity against a trained military force.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHome Coming (2022)
Two members of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs are tasked with the evacuation of Chinese citizens when war breaks out in Numia, North Africa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Long Voyage Home (1940)
The crew of the merchant ship Glencairn hope to survive a transatlantic crossing during World War II. Adapted from four Eugene O'Neill one-act plays.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Store (1941)
A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHell Hath No Fury (2021)
Branded a traitor by her countrymen, French national Marie DuJardin is rescued by American soldiers on one condition: to survive, she must lead them to a cache of gold - before the Nazis return to claim it for themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSong for Marion (2012)
Arthur is a grumpy pensioner who can't understand why his wife Marion would want to embarrass herself singing silly songs with her unconventional local choir. But choir director Elizabeth sees something special in the reluctant Arthur and refuses to give up on him. As she coaxes him out of his shell, Arthur realizes that it is never too late to change.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
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 music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStar! (1968)
Gertrude Lawrence rises to stage stardom at the cost of happiness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978)
The story of the rise and fall of the Pre-Fab Four.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStalag 17 (1953)
After two American prisoners are killed by guards in the act of escaping from a German POW camp in World War II, barracks black marketeer J.J. Sefton is suspected of being an informer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWaiting for Anya (2020)
During the harrows of WWII, Jo, a young shepherd along with the help of the widow Horcada, helps to smuggle Jewish children across the border from southern France into Spain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl with a Thousand Faces (1959)
Gu Lingxiu's dream of becoming an actress is opposed by her grandmother. Her father Zhongqi remains ambivalent. Years ago, Zhongqi was in love with a Peking opera diva Hua Yanhong, but the lovers were separated by the matriarch. Regretful of the mistake, the matriarch discards her prejudice and allows Lingxiu to pursue her career. She also urges Zhongqi to look for Hua.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Lucky Purse (1966)
Film version of Suo Lin Nang, the popular Peking opera written by Weng Ouhong.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Das Wohltemperierte Klavier - Band 2 (2020)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Bugsy Malone (1976)
New York, 1929, a war rages between two rival gangsters, Fat Sam and Dandy Dan. Dan is in possession of a new and deadly weapon, the dreaded "splurge gun". As the custard pies fly, Bugsy Malone, an all-round nice guy, falls for Blousey Brown, a singer at Fat Sam's speakeasy. His designs on her are disrupted by the seductive songstress Tallulah who wants Bugsy for herself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDingjun Mountain (1905)
The first Chinese film ever made, a sung representation of Battle of Mount Dingjun.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Mylène Farmer : Music Videos (2001)
Maman à tort, Plus grandir, Libertine, Pourvu qu'elles soient douces, Tristana, Sans contrefaçon, Ainsi soit-je, Sans logique, A quoi je sers, Allan (live 89), Plus grandir (live 89), Désenchantée, Regrets (a duo with Jean-Louis Murat), Je t'aime mélancolie, and Beyond my control.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Demi Lovato & Nick Jonas - Tidal X - Future Now (2016)
TIDAL X: Future Now – an exclusive livestream of pop sensations Nick Jonas and Demi Lovato as they perform at Atlanta, Georgia’s Philips Arena on their Future Now tour.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Queerama (2017)
Created from a treasure trove of archive, Queerama traverses a century of gay experiences, encompassing persecution and prosecution, injustice, love and desire, identity, secrets, forbidden encounters, sexual liberation and pride. The soundtrack weaves the lyrics and music of John Grant, Goldfrapp and Hercules & Love Affair with the images and guides us intimately into the relationships, desires, fears and expressions of gay men and women in the 20th century – a century of incredible change.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Mylene Farmer: Music Videos II & III (2001)
Includes videos of Mylène Farmer made by Laurent Boutonnat, Luc Besson, Abel Ferrara and Marcus Nispel.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Red Detachment of Women?
The closest matches to The Red Detachment of Women are Buck Privates (1941), Taking Sides (2002) and For the Boys (1991). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Red Detachment of Women?
Start with Buck Privates (1941), the closest match to The Red Detachment of Women.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Red Detachment of Women?
Stalag 17 (1953), rated 7.7/10 by 700 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Red Detachment of Women?
Gezhi Town (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like The Red Detachment of Women?
Yes: Step Up: Year of the Dance (2019), Youth (2017) and Gezhi Town (2025).
How are movies similar to The Red Detachment of Women chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Red Detachment of Women, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.