Movies Like Empire of the Sun

If you liked Empire of the Sun (1987), a drama and history movie directed by Steven Spielberg, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008)
★ 7.8/10Also drama and war
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…
2
The Zone of Interest (2023)
★ 7/10Also drama and history
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.
3
The Great Escape (1963)
★ 7.9/10Also drama and 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…
4
Prisoner of War (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also war and history
British RAF Wing Commander James Wright is captured by the Japanese during WWII and forced to fight in brutal hand-to-hand combat. The Japanese soldiers get more than they bargained for when Wright’s years of martial…
5
The Guns of Navarone (1961)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and war
A team of allied saboteurs are assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.
6
They Were Expendable (1945)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and war
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…
7
Devotion (2022)
★ 7/10Also war and drama
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.
8
55 Days at Peking (1963)
★ 6.9/10Also history and war
Diplomats, soldiers and other representatives of a dozen nations fend off the siege of the International Compound in Peking during the 1900 Boxer Rebellion. The disparate interests unite for survival despite competing…
9
The Alamo (2004)
★ 5.8/10Also history and war
Based on the 1836 standoff between a group of Texan and Tejano men, led by Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, and Mexican dictator Santa Anna's forces at the Alamo in San Antonio, Texas.
10
The Boy in the Woods (2023)
★ 7/10Also drama and war
The remarkable true-life survival story of a Jewish boy hiding and being hunted in the forests of Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, based on Maxwell Smart's memoir.
11
The Island on Bird Street (1997)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and war
Alex is an 11-year old boy who, during WWII, hides in the Jewish ghetto from Nazis after all his relatives have been sent to the concentration camp. The movie portrays the ghetto through his eyes.
12
The Monuments Men (2014)
★ 6.1/10Also war and drama
Based on the true story of the greatest treasure hunt in history, The Monuments Men is an action drama focusing on seven over-the-hill, out-of-shape museum directors, artists, architects, curators, and art historians…
13
The Scarlet and the Black (1983)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and history
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…
14
Rescue Dawn (2007)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and war
A US Fighter pilot's epic struggle of survival after being shot down on a mission over Laos during the Vietnam War.
15
The Big Red One (1980)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and war
A veteran sergeant of World War I leads a squad in World War II, always in the company of the survivor Pvt. Griff, the writer Pvt. Zab, the Sicilian Pvt. Vinci and Pvt. Johnson, in Vichy French Africa, Sicily, D-Day at…
16
Flyboys (2006)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and history
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.
17
Lion of the Desert (1981)
★ 7.3/10Also history and war
Resistance leader Omar Mukhtar opposes Italian colonization before World War II. The brutal guerrilla war against Italian General Rodolfo Graziani and the Fascist forces of Benito Mussolini highlights the struggle for…
18
Shepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog (2020)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and war
Follow the perilous journey to freedom when a young boy and his dog attempt to escape a concentration camp during World War II. Based on true events.
19
The Six Triple Eight (2024)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and war
During World War II, the US Army's only all-Black, all-women battalion takes on an impossible mission: sorting through a three-year backlog of 17 million pieces of mail that hadn't been delivered to American soldiers…
20
Young Washington (2026)
★ 7.7/10Also history and war
Before he led a nation, George Washington was a young soldier thrown into a global conflict. With alliances crumbling and war closing in, he must choose who to trust and confront the leader he's becoming.