Movies Like The Desert Rats

If you liked The Desert Rats (1953), a war and action movie directed by Robert Wise, 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
Battle of the Bulge (1965)
★ 6.9/10Also war
In the winter of 1944, the Allied Armies stand ready to invade Germany at the coming of a New Year. To prevent it, Hitler orders an all-out offensive to re-take French territory and capture the major port city of…
2
The Guns of Navarone (1961)
★ 7.3/10Also 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.
3
Battleground (1949)
★ 6.7/10Also action 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…
4
The Secret of Santa Vittoria (1970)
★ 6.9/10Also war
During World War II, Italian villagers hide their wine from the German army.
5
Lucky Strike (2026)
★ 6.6/10Also war and action
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…
6
The Hill (1965)
★ 7.5/10Also war
North Africa, World War II. British soldiers on the brink of collapse push beyond endurance to struggle up a brutal incline. It's not a military objective. It's The Hill, a manmade instrument of torture, a tower of…
7
Bitter Victory (1957)
★ 6.4/10Also war
During the second world war, two British officers, Brand and Leith, who have never seen combat, are assigned a vital mission. Their relationship and the operation are complicated by the arrival of Brand's wife, who had…
8
Ice Cold in Alex (1958)
★ 7.3/10Also war
A group of army personnel and nurses attempt a dangerous and arduous trek across the deserts of North Africa during the second world war. The leader of the team dreams of his ice cold beer when he reaches Alexandria.
9
Greyhound (2020)
★ 7.4/10Also war and action
A first-time captain leads a convoy of allied ships carrying thousands of soldiers across the treacherous waters of the "Black Pit" to the front lines of WWII. With no air cover protection for 5 days, the captain and…
10
The Bridge at Remagen (1969)
★ 6.8/10Also war and action
In March of 1945, as the War in Europe is coming to a close, fighting erupts between German and American troops at the last remaining bridgehead across the Rhine.
11
The Codes of War (2025)
★ 6.2/10Also action and war
War stories about family, ethics and honor include the true story of two U.S. Marines who in a span of six seconds, must stand their ground to stop a suicide truck bomb, a Navy Corpsman who attempts to hold on to his…
12
U-571 (2000)
★ 6.6/10Also war and action
In the midst of World War II, the battle under the sea rages and the Nazis have the upper hand as the Allies are unable to crack their war codes. However, after a wrecked U-boat sends out an SOS signal, the Allies…
13
Little Boy (2015)
★ 7.3/10Also war
An eight-year-old boy is willing to do whatever it takes to end World War II so he can bring his father home. The story reveals the indescribable love a father has for his little boy and the love a son has for his…
14
Shepherd: The Story of a Jewish Dog (2020)
★ 6.8/10Also 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.
15
Lion of the Desert (1981)
★ 7.3/10Also 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…
16
Khartoum (1966)
★ 6.4/10Also war
English General Charles George Gordon is appointed military governor of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan by the Prime Minister. Ordered to evacuate Egyptians from the Sudan, Gordon stays on to protect the people of Khartoum, who…
17
The History of Love (2016)
★ 6.4/10Also war
The story of a long-lost book that mysteriously reappears and connects an old man searching for his son with a girl seeking a cure for her mother's loneliness.
18
Dunkirk (2017)
★ 7.5/10Also war and action
The story of the miraculous evacuation of Allied soldiers from Belgium, Britain, Canada and France, who were cut off and surrounded by the German army from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk between May 26th and June…
19
Hot Shots! Part Deux (1993)
★ 6.5/10Also action and war
Topper Harley is found to be working as an odd-job-man in a monastery. The CIA want him to lead a rescue mission into Iraq, to rescue the last rescue team, who went in to rescue the last rescue team—who went in to…
20
Their Finest (2017)
★ 6.6/10Also war
During the Blitz of World War II, a female screenwriter works on a film celebrating England's resilience as a way to buoy a weary populace's spirits. Her efforts to dramatise the true story of two sisters who undertook…