Movies Like How I Unleashed World War II, Part I: The Escape

If you liked How I Unleashed World War II, Part I: The Escape (1970), a comedy and war movie directed by Tadeusz Chmielewski, 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
Triple Cross (1966)
★ 6.1/10Also adventure and war
Safecracker Eddie Chapman is languishing in prison on the island of Jersey when the Nazis arrive. An adept manipulator of situations, Chapman convinces the Germans to use him to spy on the British. And when the…
2
Kelly's Heroes (1970)
★ 7.4/10Also adventure and comedy
A misfit group of World War II American soldiers goes AWOL to rob a bank behind German lines.
3
Sahara (1995)
★ 6.7/10Also adventure and war
After the fall of Tobruk in June 1942, U.S. Army sergeant Joe Gunn leads his tank into the Sahara desert, in order to evade advancing Rommel's forces and reach Allied lines. Along the way he picks up few Allied…
4
Red Scorpion (1988)
★ 6/10Also adventure and war
A Soviet commando is sent to eliminate a rebel leader in Africa. Soon he finds himself doubting his mission.
5
U-571 (2000)
★ 6.6/10Also war and adventure
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…
6
Colonel Wolodyjowski (1969)
★ 7/10Also adventure and war
In 1668 Polish colonel Michał Wołodyjowski, who recently retired to a monastery, is recalled to active duty and takes charge of Poland's eastern frontier defenses against invading Tatar hordes and Ottoman armies.
7
The Dirty Dozen (1967)
★ 7.6/10Also adventure and war
12 American military prisoners in World War II are ordered to infiltrate a well-guarded enemy château and kill the Nazi officers vacationing there. The soldiers, most of whom are facing death sentences for a variety of…
8
The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare (2024)
★ 7/10Also comedy and war
During World War II, the British Army assigns a group of competent soldiers to carry out a mission against the Nazi forces behind enemy lines... A true story about a secret British WWII organization — the Special…
9
Legionnaire (1998)
★ 5.9/10Also war and adventure
Alain Lefevre is a boxer paid by a Marseille mobster to take a dive. When he wins the fight he attempts to flee to America with the mobster's girlfriend Katrina. This plan fails and he seeks escape by joining the…
10
Catch-22 (1970)
★ 6.7/10Also war and comedy
A WWII military pilot makes a valiant effort to be certified insane in order to be excused from flying missions. But there's a catch.
11
The Secret War of Harry Frigg (1968)
★ 6.2/10Also comedy and war
When 5 allied generals are captured in Italy in WWII, it is a propaganda nightmare for the allies. The generals are all 1 star and refuse to take orders from each other in order to plan an escape. Harry Frigg is a…
12
Hidden Strike (2023)
★ 6.9/10Also comedy and adventure
Two elite soldiers must escort civilians through a gauntlet of gunfire and explosions.
13
Accident Man (2018)
★ 6.3/10Also adventure and comedy
Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.
14
Von Ryan's Express (1965)
★ 7.1/10Also war and adventure
Von Ryan's Express stars Frank Sinatra as a POW colonel who leads a daring escape from WWII Italy by taking over a freight train, but he has to win over the British soldiers he finds himself commanding.
15
Balls Up (2026)
★ 5.8/10Also comedy and adventure
Two marketing executives go "balls out" and pitch a bold full‑coverage condom sponsorship with the World Cup. After their drunken celebration in Brazil sparks a global scandal, they must outrun furious fans, criminals…
16
Remo Williams: The Adventure Begins (1985)
★ 6.3/10Also adventure and comedy
Tough Brooklyn street cop Sam Makin is unwillingly recruited as an assassin for a secret United States organization known as CURE, who fake his death and give him a new identity: Remo Williams. With his appearance…
17
Three Kings (1999)
★ 6.7/10Also comedy and war
A group of American soldiers stationed in Iraq at the end of the Gulf War find a map they believe will take them to a huge cache of stolen Kuwaiti gold hidden near their base, and they embark on a secret mission that's…
18
The Men Who Stare at Goats (2009)
★ 6/10Also comedy and war
A reporter in Iraq might just have the story of a lifetime when he meets Lyn Cassady, a guy who claims to be a former member of the U.S. Army's New Earth Army, a unit that employs paranormal powers in their missions.
19
Tropic Thunder (2008)
★ 6.7/10Also comedy and war
A group of self-absorbed actors set out to make the most expensive war film ever. When budgets skyrocket and schedules fall far behind, the director tries to save the production by leading his cast into the jungles of…
20
Farewell to the King (1989)
★ 6/10Also war and adventure
An American soldier who escapes the execution of his comrades by Japanese soldiers in Borneo during WWII becomes the leader of a personal empire among the headhunters in this war story told in the style of Joseph…