Movies like Empire of the Sun
Empire of the Sun (1987) is a history movie directed by Steven Spielberg. The list below collects the movies that people who loved it enjoyed most, best known first.
1. Tora! Tora! Tora! (1970)
★ 7.2 · 634 votes · War, History, Drama
In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words used by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War.
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2. Jojo Rabbit (2019)
★ 8.0 · 10,769 votes · Comedy, War, Drama
Jojo, a lonely German boy during World War II has his world shaken when he learns that his single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home. Influenced by a buffoonish imaginary version of Adolf Hitler, he begins to question his beliefs and confront the conflict between propaganda and his own humanity.
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3. The Thin Red Line (1998)
★ 7.4 · 3,459 votes · Drama, History, War
The story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. It follows their journey, from the surprise of an unopposed landing, through the bloody and exhausting battles that follow, to the ultimate departure of those who survived.
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4. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
★ 7.5 · 2,416 votes · Action, Drama, War
The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
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5. The Last Emperor (1987)
★ 7.6 · 2,005 votes · Drama, History
A dramatic history of Pu Yi, the last of the Emperors of China, from his lofty birth and brief reign in the Forbidden City, the object of worship by half a billion people; through his abdication, his decline and dissolute lifestyle; his exploitation by the invading Japanese, and finally to his obscure existence as just another peasant worker in the People's Republic.
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6. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)
★ 7.8 · 7,881 votes · Drama, War, History
When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.
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7. Unbroken (2014)
★ 7.4 · 4,470 votes · Drama, War
A chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II.
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8. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
★ 7.8 · 2,478 votes · Drama, History, War
The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.
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9. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (1983)
★ 7.3 · 551 votes · Drama, History, War
Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.
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10. Pearl Harbor (2001)
★ 6.9 · 7,229 votes · Drama, War
The lifelong friendship between Rafe McCawley and Danny Walker is put to the ultimate test when the two ace fighter pilots become entangled in a love triangle with beautiful Naval nurse Evelyn Johnson. But the rivalry between the friends-turned-foes is immediately put on hold when they find themselves at the center of Japan's devastating attack on Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941.
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11. Oppenheimer (2023)
★ 8.0 · 12,690 votes · Drama, History
The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
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12. The Great Escape (1963)
★ 7.9 · 2,967 votes · Adventure, Drama, War
The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.
Movies like The Great Escape →
13. The Pianist (2002)
★ 8.4 · 10,531 votes · Drama, War
The true story of pianist Władysław Szpilman's experiences in Warsaw during the Nazi occupation. When the Jews of the city find themselves forced into a ghetto, Szpilman finds work playing in a café; and when his family is deported in 1942, he stays behind, works for a while as a laborer, and eventually goes into hiding in the ruins of the war-torn city.
Movies like The Pianist →
14. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
★ 8.2 · 17,916 votes · War, Drama, History
As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.
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15. Fury (2014)
★ 7.5 · 13,318 votes · War, Drama, Action
April, 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theater, a battle-hardened army sergeant commands a Sherman tank with a five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines.
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16. Midway (2019)
★ 7.1 · 2,833 votes · War, History, Drama
The story of the Battle of Midway, and the leaders and soldiers who used their instincts, fortitude and bravery to overcome massive odds.
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17. Rescue Dawn (2007)
★ 7.0 · 1,499 votes · Adventure, Drama, War
A US Fighter pilot's epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.
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18. The Zone of Interest (2023)
★ 7.0 · 2,789 votes · Drama, History, War
The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.
Movies like The Zone of Interest →
19. Devotion (2022)
★ 7.1 · 868 votes · War, Drama, History
The harrowing true story of two elite US Navy fighter pilots during the Korean War. Their heroic sacrifices would ultimately make them the Navy's most celebrated wingmen.
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20. Flyboys (2006)
★ 6.5 · 877 votes · Drama, History, War
The adventures of the Lafayette Escadrille, young Americans who volunteered for the French military before the U.S. entered World War I, and became the country's first fighter pilots.
Movies like Flyboys →