Movies like Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940)
The best movies like Forty Thousand Horsemen (1940) are War Horse (2011), Battleground (1949) and Sergeant York (1941). If Forty Thousand Horsemen hooked you with its drama and war, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedPaths of Glory (1957)8.3/10 from 3,439 votes
- NewestCoward (2026)Released 2026
War Horse (2011)
On the brink of the First World War, Albert's beloved horse Joey is sold to the Cavalry by his father. Against the backdrop of the Great War, Joey begins an odyssey full of danger, joy, and sorrow, and he transforms everyone he meets along the way. Meanwhile, Albert, unable to forget his equine friend, searches the battlefields of France to find Joey and bring him home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattleground (1949)
Members of the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division are fighting for their country amidst the rugged terrain of Bastogne, Belgium, in December 1944. Holley and his American compatriots have already seen one of their own, Roderigues, perish under enemy fire. The men try to rebuff another series of Nazi attacks, but what they really need is a change in the weather. Without clear skies, they'll never get the air support they need.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSergeant York (1941)
Alvin York a hillbilly sharpshooter transforms himself from ruffian to religious pacifist. He is then called to serve his country and despite deep religious and moral objections to fighting becomes one of the most celebrated American heroes of WWI.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Four Feathers (1939)
A disgraced officer risks his life to help his childhood friends in battle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattle of the Bulge (1965)
In the winter of 1944, the Allied Armies stand ready to invade Germany at the coming of a New Year. To prevent it, Hitler orders an all-out offensive to re-take French territory and capture the major port city of Antwerp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Charge of the Light Brigade (1968)
During the Crimean War between Britain and Russia in the 1850s, a British cavalry division, led by the overbearing Lord Cardigan, engages in an infamously reckless strategic debacle against a Russian artillery battery.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOperation Pacific (1951)
During WWII, Duke E. Gifford is second in command of the USS Thunderfish, a submarine which is firing off torpedoes that either explode too early or never explode at all. It's a dilemma that he'll eventually take up personally. Even more personal is his quest to win back his ex-wife, a nurse; but he'll have to win her back from a navy flier who also happens to be his commander's little brother.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOverlord (1975)
During World War II, a young man is called up and, with an increasing sense of foreboding, undertakes his army training ready for D-Day, June 6th, 1944.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlood on the Sun (1945)
Nick Condon, an American journalist in 20s Tokyo, publishes the Japanese master plan for world domination. Reaction from the understandably upset Japanese provides the action, but this is overshadowed by the propaganda of the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
SnoozefestMovies 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 drama & war
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 · both war & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Longest Day (1962)
The retelling of June 6, 1944, from the perspectives of the Germans, US, British, Canadians, and the Free French. Marshall Erwin Rommel, touring the defenses being established as part of the Reich's Atlantic Wall, notes to his officers that when the Allied invasion comes they must be stopped on the beach. "For the Allies as well as the Germans, it will be the longest day"
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIce Cold in Alex (1958)
A group of army personnel and nurses attempt a dangerous and arduous trek across the deserts of North Africa during the second world war. The leader of the team dreams of his ice cold beer when he reaches Alexandria.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThey Were Expendable (1945)
After a demonstration of new PT boats, Navy brass are still unconvinced of their viability in combat, leaving Lt. "Rusty" Ryan frustrated. After the attack on Pearl Harbor, however, Ryan and his buddy Lt. Brickley are told they can finally take their squadron into battle. The PT boats quickly prove their worth, successfully shooting down Japanese planes, relaying messages between islands, and picking off a multitude of enemy ships.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTaking 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 · both drama & war
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJohnny Got His Gun (1971)
A young American soldier, rendered in pseudocoma from an artillery shell from WWI, recalls his life leading up to that point.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKokoda (2006)
A bitter battle is fought between Australian and Japanese soldiers along the Kokoda trail in New Guinea during World War II.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLucky Strike (2026)
A wounded American soldier fights to survive behind enemy lines during WWII's Battle of the Bulge against the Germans, relying on his instinct, spy craft and a hand-radio to evade capture and find his way back to his unit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLawrence of Arabia (1962)
During World War I, English officer Thomas Edward 'T.E.' Lawrence sets out to unite and lead the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes to fight the Turks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Codes of War (2025)
War stories about family, ethics and honor include the true story of two U.S. Marines who in a span of six seconds, must stand their ground to stop a suicide truck bomb, a Navy Corpsman who attempts to hold on to his humanity, and a WW2 soldier who gets separated from his squad and is forced to re-evaluate his code.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe 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: Similar story and style · both war & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPaths of Glory (1957)
A commanding officer defends three scapegoats on trial for a failed offensive that occurred within the French Army in 1916.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBeyond Victory (1931)
Four battle-weary American soldiers under fire reflect on the women they left behind.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Namenlose Helden (1925)
A family suffers greatly during the First World War.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war & drama
Coward (2026)
Surrounded by brutality but bound by a tender intimacy, two World War I soldiers find a fragile sanctuary of love and art amid the shadows of the Belgian trenches.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & war
Sarajevo (2014)
The events in Sarajevo in June 1914 are the backdrop for a thriller directed by Andreas Prochaska and written by Martin Ambrosch, focusing on the examining magistrate Dr. Leo Pfeffer (Florian Teichtmeister) investigating the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. Trying to do his job in a time of lawlessness and violence, intrigues and betrayal, Leo struggles to maintain his integrity and save his love, Marija, and her father, prominent Serbian merchant. But the events of Sarajevo have set into motion an inescapable course of events that will escalate to become … the Great War.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOpal Dream (2006)
Pobby & Dingan are invisible. They live in an opal town in Australia and are friends with Kellyanne, the 9 year-old daughter of an opal miner. The film tells the story of the bizarre and inexplicable disappearance of Pobby & Dingan, Kellyanne's imaginary friends, and the impact this has on her family and the whole town. The story is told through the eyes of Kellyanne's 11 years old brother Ashmol.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Square (2008)
Ray, a construction worker trapped in an unhappy marriage, pursues an affair with his neighbor, Carla. Carla's husband, Greg, is a mobster who keeps large sums of drug money in their home. With this in mind, Carla comes up with a plan: She and Ray will steal Greg's money, burn down her house, convince Greg the money was lost in the fire and then run away together. Carla's scheme, however, doesn't go off as planned.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOyster Farmer (2004)
A love story about a young man who runs away up an isolated Australian river and gets a job with eighth generation oyster famers.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
The Pity of War (2014)
Professor Niall Ferguson argues that Britain's decision to enter the First World War was a catastrophic error that unleashed an era of totalitarianism and genocide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both war
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Forty Thousand Horsemen?
The closest matches to Forty Thousand Horsemen are War Horse (2011), Battleground (1949) and Sergeant York (1941). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Forty Thousand Horsemen?
Start with War Horse (2011), the closest match to Forty Thousand Horsemen.
What is the highest-rated movie like Forty Thousand Horsemen?
Paths of Glory (1957), rated 8.3/10 by 3,439 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Forty Thousand Horsemen?
Coward (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Forty Thousand Horsemen?
Yes: War Horse (2011), Battleground (1949) and Sergeant York (1941).
How are movies similar to Forty Thousand Horsemen chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Forty Thousand Horsemen, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.