Movies like The P.O.W. (1973)
The best movies like The P.O.W. (1973) are The War (1994), Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses (2014) and Birdy (1984). If The P.O.W. hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks
- Highest ratedFull Metal Jacket (1987)8.1/10 from 11,940 votes
- NewestThe Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022)Released 2022
The War (1994)
The son of a Vietnam War Veteran must deal with neighborhood bullies as well as his dad's post-traumatic stress disorder while growing up in the deep south in the 1970's.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBad Ass 2: Bad Asses (2014)
Vietnam vet Frank Vega now runs an East L.A. community center where he trains young boxers to survive in and out of the ring. But when his prize student falls in with the wrong crowd and turns up dead, Frank teams up with his pal Bernie to take matters into their own fists and prove that justice never gets old.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBirdy (1984)
Two young men are seriously affected by the Vietnam War. One of them has always been obsessed with birds - but now believes he really is a bird, and has been sent to a mental hospital. Can his friend help him pull through?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDead Presidents (1995)
On the streets they call cash dead presidents. And that's just what a Vietnam veteran is after when he returns home from the war only to find himself drawn into a life of crime. With the aid of his fellow vets he plans the ultimate heist -- a daring robbery of an armored car filled with unmarked U.S. currency!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJacknife (1989)
A conflict develops between a troubled Vietnam veteran and the sister he lives with when she becomes involved romantically with the army buddy who reminds him of the tragic battle they both survived.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFull Metal Jacket (1987)
A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBorn on the Fourth of July (1989)
Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, Ron Kovic becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country he fought for.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCombat Shock (1986)
A dangerously disturbed Vietnam veteran struggles with life 15 years after his return home, and slowly falls into insanity from his gritty urban lifestyle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRenaissance Man (1994)
An advertising man is slowly sliding downhill. When he is fired from his job in Detroit, he signs up for unemployment. One day they find him a job: teaching thinking skills to Army recruits. He arrives on base to find that there is no structure set up for the class.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalinger (2013)
An in-depth investigation into the private world of the American writer J. D. Salinger (1919-2010), who lived most of his life behind the impenetrable wall of a self-imposed seclusion: how his dramatic experiences during World War II influenced his life and work, his relationships with very young women, his obsessive writing methods, his many literary secrets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPlatoon (1986)
As a young and naive recruit in Vietnam, Chris Taylor faces a moral crisis when confronted with the horrors of war and the duality of man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlue Thunder (1983)
Los Angeles, California. Officer Murphy, a veteran Metropolitan Police helicopter pilot suffering from severe trauma due to his harsh experiences during the Vietnam War, and Lymangood, his resourceful new partner, are tasked with testing an advanced and heavily armed experimental chopper known as Blue Thunder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUniversal Soldier (1992)
An American soldier who had been killed during the Vietnam War is revived 25 years later by the military as a semi-android, UniSols, a high-tech soldier of the future. After the failure of the initiative to erase all the soldier's memories, he begins to experience flashbacks that are forcing him to recall his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDa 5 Bloods (2020)
Four African-American Vietnam veterans return to Vietnam. They are in search of the remains of their fallen squad leader and the promise of buried treasure. These heroes battle forces of humanity and nature while confronted by the lasting ravages of the immorality of the Vietnam War.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMissing in Action 2: The Beginning (1985)
Prequel to the first Missing In Action, set in the early 1980s it shows the capture of Colonel Braddock during the Vietnam war in the 1970s, and his captivity with other American POWs in a brutal prison camp, and his plans to escape.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Last Full Measure (2020)
The incredible true story of Vietnam War hero William H. Pitsenbarger, a U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen medic who personally saved over sixty men. Thirty-two years later, Pentagon staffer Scott Huffman investigates a Congressional Medal of Honor request for Pitsenbarger and uncovers a high-level conspiracy behind the decades-long denial of the medal, prompting Huffman to put his own career on the line to seek justice for the fallen airman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022)
Chickie wants to support his friends fighting in Vietnam, so he does something wild—personally bring them American beer. What starts as a well-meaning journey quickly changes Chickie's life and perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUncommon Valor (1983)
A group of Vietnam War veterans re-unite to rescue one of their own left behind and taken prisoner by the Vietnamese.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGardens of Stone (1987)
At Arlington National Cemetery during the Vietnam era, veteran sergeant Clell Hazard trains young soldiers while mourning those lost in combat. Unable to return to war himself, he mentors Jackie Willow—the idealistic son of a fallen comrade—hoping to prepare him for the realities of Vietnam and the cost of duty.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBennett's War (2019)
After surviving an IED explosion in combat overseas, a young soldier with the Army Motorcycle Unit is medically discharged with a broken back and leg. Against all odds he trains to make an impossible comeback as a motocross racer in order to support his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The P.O.W.?
The closest matches to The P.O.W. are The War (1994), Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses (2014) and Birdy (1984). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The P.O.W.?
Start with The War (1994), the closest match to The P.O.W..
What is the highest-rated movie like The P.O.W.?
Full Metal Jacket (1987), rated 8.1/10 by 11,940 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The P.O.W.?
The Greatest Beer Run Ever (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The P.O.W.?
Yes: The War (1994), Bad Ass 2: Bad Asses (2014) and Birdy (1984).
How are movies similar to The P.O.W. chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The P.O.W., then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.



















