Movies like To Liberate Shanghai (1959)
The best movies like To Liberate Shanghai (1959) are The Eight Hundred (2020), Gezhi Town (2025) and The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021). If To Liberate Shanghai hooked you with its war, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedRed Cliff II (2009)7.3/10 from 518 votes
- NewestGezhi Town (2025)Released 2025
- In ChineseThe Eight Hundred (2020)Also in Chinese
The Eight Hundred (2020)
In 1937, eight hundred Chinese soldiers fight under siege from a warehouse in the middle of the Shanghai battlefield, completely surrounded by the Japanese army.
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 thisThe Battle at Lake Changjin (2021)
Korean War, winter 1950. In the frozen and snowy area of Changjin Lake, a bloody battle is about to begin between the elite troops of the United States and China.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Taking of Tiger Mountain (2014)
Yang Zirong disguises himself as a bandit to infiltrate and destroy a bandit group. He joins hands with a hostage, and together, they fight against the warlord, Hawk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing Rat (1965)
When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. Among the American prisoners is Cpl. King, a wheeler-dealer who has managed to establish a pretty good life for himself in the camp. King soon forms a friendship with an upper-class British officer who is fascinated with King's enthusiastic approach to life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWolf Warrior (2015)
A Chinese special force soldier with extraordinary marksmanship is confronted by a group of deadly foreign mercenaries who are hired to assassinate him by a vicious drug lord.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDevils on the Doorstep (2001)
During the Japanese occupation of China, two prisoners are dumped in a peasant's home in a small town. The owner is bullied into keeping the prisoners until the next New Year, at which time they will be collected. The village leaders convene to interrogate the prisoners. The townspeople then struggle to accommodate the prisoners. One is a bellicose Japanese nationalist, the other a nervous translator. Will the townspeople manage to keep the prisoners until the New Year?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Battle at Lake Changjin II: Water Gate Bridge (2022)
Commander Wu Qianli leads the 7th Infantry Company soldiers to Funchilin Pass where they are tasked to destroy a bridge to stop enemy troops from retreating.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGod of War (2017)
During the 16th century, pirates rule the Chinese coastline, pillaging the small villages and terrorizing the citizens. When maverick leader Commander Yu enlists the help of a sharp young general, they devise a plan to defeat the pirates. A violent clash of wit and weapons will decide who will rule the land.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
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 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBehold a Pale Horse (1964)
Manuel Artiguez, a famous bandit during the Spanish civil war, has lived in French exile for 20 years. When his mother is dying he considers visiting her secretly in his Spanish home town. But his biggest enemy, the Spanish police officer Vinolas, prepared a trap at the hospital as a chance to finally catch Artiguez.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lost Bladesman (2011)
During the warring period of the three kingdoms, ancient China is in turmoil. To unify the country, general Cao Cao, the real power behind the Emperor, enlists the aid of the greatest warrior in the land, Guan Yu. However, Guan Yu is a loyal friend of Cao Cao's enemy Liu Bei so to persuade the peerless warrior to fight, Cao Cao takes his beloved Qi Lan hostage. After leading Cao Cao's forces to victory Guan Yu sets out with Qi Lan to rejoin Liu Bei. Now Cao Cao has deemed him too great a threat to live, and on the journey he must face all the forces at the Emperor's command sent to destroy him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBunker (2023)
Trapped in a bunker during World War I, a group of soldiers are faced with an ungodly presence that slowly turns them against each other.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
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 thisRed Cliff II (2009)
The battle of Red Cliff continues and the alliance between Xu and East Wu is fracturing. With Cao Cao's massive forces on their doorstep, will the kingdoms of Xu and East Wu survive?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJarhead: Law of Return (2019)
Major Ronan Jackson, an accomplished fighter pilot for the Israel Defense Forces and son of a U.S. Senator, is shot down while flying through Syrian airspace. After miraculously surviving the crash, Jackson is taken captive by a group of Hezbollah militiamen. A squad of elite soldiers, led by Gunnery Sergeant Dave Torres, risk their own lives in the hopes of saving an ally they've never met.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBoudica (2023)
Inspired by events in A.D. 60, Boudica follows the eponymous Celtic warrior who rules the Iceni people alongside her husband Prasutagus. When he dies at the hands of Roman soldiers, Boudica’s kingdom is left without a male heir and the Romans seize her land and property. Driven to the edge of madness and determined to avenge her husband’s death, Boudica rallies the various tribes from the region and wages an epic war against the mighty Roman empire.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
SnoozefestMovies like thisRescue at Dongji (2025)
Inspired by the real life rescue of over 300 British soldiers in 1942, Dongji Rescue is a rousing, action-packed story of heroism on the high seas. When the Japanese warship Lisbon Maru is torpedoed off the coast of Dongji Island, the lives of over 300 British POWs on board are at risk of being claimed by the sea. Their only hope is a small group of defiant Chinese fisherman who will do anything to rescue and protect them from their captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWolf Warrior 2 (2017)
China's deadliest special forces operative settles into a quiet life on the sea. When sadistic mercenaries begin targeting nearby civilians, he must leave his newfound peace behind and return to his duties as a soldier and protector.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like To Liberate Shanghai?
The closest matches to To Liberate Shanghai are The Eight Hundred (2020), Gezhi Town (2025) and The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after To Liberate Shanghai?
Start with The Eight Hundred (2020), the closest match to To Liberate Shanghai.
What is the highest-rated movie like To Liberate Shanghai?
Red Cliff II (2009), rated 7.3/10 by 518 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like To Liberate Shanghai?
Gezhi Town (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Chinese movies like To Liberate Shanghai?
Yes: The Eight Hundred (2020), Gezhi Town (2025) and The Battle at Lake Changjin (2021).
How are movies similar to To Liberate Shanghai chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside To Liberate Shanghai, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















