Movies Like Fear and Desire

If you liked Fear and Desire (1953), a drama and war movie directed by Stanley Kubrick, 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
Flyboys (2006)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and 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.
2
Aces High (1976)
★ 5.9/10Also drama and war
The first World War is in its third year and aerial combat above the Western Front is consuming the nation's favored children at an appalling rate. By early 1917, the average life-span of a British pilot is less than a…
3
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.
4
Battleground (1949)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and war
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…
5
Courage Under Fire (1996)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and war
A US Army officer, who made a "friendly fire" mistake that was covered up, has been reassigned to a desk job. He is tasked to investigate a female chopper commander's worthiness to be awarded the Medal of Honor. At…
6
Memphis Belle (1990)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and war
The "Memphis Belle" is a World War II bomber, piloted by a young crew on dangerous bombing raids into Europe. The crew only have to make one more bombing raid before they have finished their duty and can go home. In…
7
Prisoner of War (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also war
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…
8
Pearl Harbor (2001)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and 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…
9
The War (1994)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and war
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.
10
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.
11
Strategic Air Command (1955)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and war
Air Force reservist Lt. Col. Robert "Dutch" Holland is recalled into active duty at the peak of his professional baseball career.
12
The Blue Max (1966)
★ 6.8/10Also war and drama
A young pilot in the German air force of 1918, disliked as lower-class and unchivalrous, tries ambitiously to earn the medal offered for 20 kills.
13
Lucky Strike (2026)
★ 6.6/10Also war
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…
14
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…
15
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.
16
Empire of the Sun (1987)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and war
Jamie Graham, a privileged English boy, is living in Shanghai when the Japanese invade and force all foreigners into prison camps. Jamie is captured with an American sailor, who looks out for him while they are in the…
17
Ballistic (2026)
★ 5.8/10Also drama
When a soldier's mother discovers the bullet that killed her son in Afghanistan was made at the factory where she works, she sets out on a path of revenge against those responsible.
18
Red Tails (2012)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and war
The story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American pilots to fly in a combat squadron during World War II.
19
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…
20
Taking Chance (2009)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and war
Lt. Col. Michael Strobl, a volunteer military escort accompanies the body of Lance Cpl. Chance Phelps to his hometown in Wyoming.