Movies Like Reach for the Sky

If you liked Reach for the Sky (1956), a war and drama movie directed by Lewis Gilbert, 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 First of the Few (1942)
★ 6.7/10Also war and drama
This 1942 fictionalized biopic chronicles the true story of how two of the most remarkable men in aviation history - visionary Spitfire designer R.J. Mitchell and his test pilot Geoffrey Crisp - designed a streamlined…
2
Battle of Britain (1969)
★ 6.8/10Also war and drama
In 1940, the Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle against the might of the Luftwaffe for control of the skies over Britain, thus preventing an attempted Nazi invasion.
3
The Spirit of St. Louis (1957)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
In 1927, Charles Lindbergh struggles to finance and design an airplane that will make his New York to Paris flight the first solo transatlantic crossing.
4
The Tuskegee Airmen (1995)
★ 7.1/10Also war and drama
During the Second World War, a special project is begun by the US Army Air Corps to integrate African American pilots into the Fighter Pilot Program. Known as the "Tuskegee Airman" for the name of the airbase at which…
5
The Right Stuff (1983)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
At the dawn of the Space Race, seven test pilots set out to become the first American astronauts to enter space. However, the road to making history brings momentous challenges.
6
Hell's Angels (1930)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and war
As the Great War breaks out in Europe, English brothers Roy and Monte enlist in the Royal Flying Corps to fight for king and country, while their Oxford College friend Karl is ordered back to Germany. As a love…
7
The Purple Plain (1954)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and war
An RAF airfield in Burma in 1945, during World War II. Canadian bomber pilot Bill Forrester is a bitter man who lives haunted by a tragic past. He has became a reckless warrior, and is feared by his comrades, who…
8
The Great Waldo Pepper (1975)
★ 6.6/10Also drama
A biplane pilot and WWI veteran takes up barnstorming and later a movie career in his quest for the glory days he misses.
9
Darkest Hour (2017)
★ 7.4/10Also drama
In May 1940, the fate of World War II hangs on Winston Churchill, who must decide whether to negotiate with Adolf Hitler or fight on knowing that it could mean the end of the British Empire.
10
Fate Is the Hunter (1964)
★ 6.5/10Also drama
An airline executive refuses to believe that pilot error, by his friend, caused a fatal crash and persists in looking for another reason.
11
The Last Rifleman (2023)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and war
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his…
12
The Young Lions (1958)
★ 6.7/10Also war and drama
The lives of three young men, a German and two Americans, during WWII.
13
The One That Got Away (1957)
★ 6.8/10Also war and drama
Based on the true story of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war captured in Britain to escape back to Germany during the Second World War.
14
In Which We Serve (1942)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and war
The story of the HMS Torrin, from its construction to its sinking in the Mediterranean during action in World War II. The ship’s first and only commanding officer is Captain E.V. Kinross, who trains his men not only to…
15
Churchill (2017)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
A ticking-clock thriller following Winston Churchill in the 24 hours before D-Day.
16
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.
17
Sink the Bismarck! (1960)
★ 6.9/10Also war and drama
The story of the breakout of the German battleship Bismarck—accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen—during the early days of World War II. The Bismarck and her sister ship, Tirpitz, were the most powerful…
18
Operation Mincemeat (2022)
★ 6.5/10Also war and drama
In 1943, two British intelligence officers concoct Operation Mincemeat, wherein their plan to drop a corpse with false papers off the coast of Spain would fool Nazi spies into believing the Allied forces were planning…
19
Flying Tigers (1942)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and war
Jim Gordon commands a unit of the famed Flying Tigers, the American Volunteer Group which fought the Japanese in China before America's entry into World War II. Gordon must send his outnumbered band of fighter pilots…
20
Lifeboat (1944)
★ 7.4/10Also war and drama
During World War II, a small group of survivors is stranded in a lifeboat together after the ship they were traveling on is destroyed by a German U-boat.