Movies like Fires on the Plain: 20 to watch next

If you loved Fires on the Plain (1959) — a drama and war film directed by Kon Ichikawa — these 20 movies are the closest matches.

The first picks are what fans of Fires on the Plain most often go on to watch; the rest share its genres and themes like world war ii, defeat and philippines. 8 of them are streaming in India right now — each entry shows where.

Where to watch Fires on the Plain →·Get picks for your whole taste →

1
Flags of Our Fathers 2006★ 6.9
Shares: War, Drama
There were five Marines and one Navy Corpsman photographed raising the U.S. flag on Mt. Suribachi by Joe Rosenthal on February 23, 1945. This is the story of three of the six surviving servicemen - John 'Doc' Bradley, Pvt. Rene Gagnon and Pvt. Ira Hayes - who fought in the battle to take Iwo Jima from the Japanese.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
2
Letters from Iwo Jima 2006★ 7.5
Shares: Drama, War
The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
3
King Rat 1965★ 7.1
Shares: Drama, War
When Singapore surrendered to the Japanese in 1942, the Allied POWs, mostly British but including a few Americans, were incarcerated in Changi prison. Among the American prisoners is Cpl. King, a wheeler-dealer who has managed to establish a pretty good life for himself in the camp. King soon forms a friendship with an upper-class British officer who is fascinated with King's enthusiastic approach to life.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
4
Back to Bataan 1945★ 6.1
Shares: War, Drama
A U.S. Army colonel leads local fighters in a guerrilla campaign against the Japanese in the Philippines.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
5
Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence 1983★ 7.3
Shares: Drama, War
Island of Java, 1942, during World War II. British Major Jack Celliers arrives at a Japanese prison camp, run by the strict Captain Yonoi. Colonel John Lawrence, who has a profound knowledge of Japanese culture, and Sergeant Hara, brutal and simpleton, will witness the struggle of wills between two men from very different backgrounds who are tragically destined to clash.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
6
Too Late the Hero 1970★ 6.4
Shares: Drama, War
A WWII film set on a Pacific island. Japanese and allied forces occupy different parts of the island. When a group of British soldiers are sent on a mission behind enemy lines, things don't go exactly to plan. This film differs in that some of the 'heroes' are very reluctant, but they come good when they are pursued by the Japanese who are determined to prevent them returning to base.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
7
Cross of Iron 1977★ 7.2
Shares: Drama, War
It is 1943, and the German army—ravaged and demoralised—is hastily retreating from the Russian front. In the midst of the madness, conflict brews between the aristocratic yet ultimately pusillanimous Captain Stransky and the courageous Corporal Steiner. Stransky is the only man who believes that the Third Reich is still vastly superior to the Russian army. However, within his pompous persona lies a quivering coward who longs for the Iron Cross so that he can return to Berlin a hero. Steiner, on the other hand is cynical, defiantly non-conformist and more concerned with the safety of his own men rather than the horde of military decorations offered to him by his superiors.
Stream in India on Cultpix
8
When Trumpets Fade 1998★ 6.6
Shares: Drama, War
In WWII Western Germany, Private David Manning reluctantly leaves behind a mortally wounded fellow soldier and searches for survivors from his platoon, only to learn from commanding officer Captain Pritchett that they have all been killed in action. Despite requesting a discharge on the grounds of mental disability, Manning is promoted to sergeant and assigned to lead a new platoon of young inductees.
Stream in India on JioHotstar, VI movies and tv
9
Farewell to the King 1989★ 6.0
Shares: War
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 Conrad and Rudyard Kipling. The American is reluctant to rejoin the fight against the Japanese on the urging of a British commando team but conducts a war of vengeance when the Japanese attack his adopted people.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
10
Pork Chop Hill 1959★ 6.7
Shares: Drama, War
Korean War, April 1953. Lieutenant Clemons, leader of the King company of the United States Infantry, is ordered to recapture Pork Chop Hill, occupied by a powerful Chinese Army force, while, just seventy miles away, at nearby the village of Panmunjom, a tense cease-fire conference is celebrated.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
11
Men in War 1957★ 6.6
Shares: War, Drama
In Korea, on 6 September 1950, Lieutenant Benson's platoon finds itself isolated in enemy-held territory after a retreat. Soon they are joined by Sergeant Montana, whose overriding concern is caring for his catatonic colonel. Benson and Montana can't stand each other, but together they must get the survivors to Hill 465, where they hope the division is waiting. It's a long, harrowing march, fraught with all the dangers the elusive enemy can summon.
Stream in India on Plex
12
The Thin Red Line 1998★ 7.4
Shares: Drama, War
The story of a group of men, an Army Rifle company called C-for-Charlie, who change, suffer, and ultimately make essential discoveries about themselves during the fierce World War II battle of Guadalcanal. It follows their journey, from the surprise of an unopposed landing, through the bloody and exhausting battles that follow, to the ultimate departure of those who survived.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
13
The Last Samurai 2003★ 7.6
Shares: Drama, War
Nathan Algren is an American hired to instruct the Japanese army in the ways of modern warfare, which finds him learning to respect the samurai and the honorable principles that rule them. Pressed to destroy the samurai's way of life in the name of modernization and open trade, Algren decides to become an ultimate warrior himself and to fight for their right to exist.
Stream in India on Netflix
14
Inglourious Basterds 2009★ 8.2
Shares: Drama, War
In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a group of Jewish-American soldiers known as "The Basterds" are chosen specifically to spread fear throughout the Third Reich by scalping and brutally killing Nazis. The Basterds, lead by Lt. Aldo Raine soon cross paths with a French-Jewish teenage girl who runs a movie theater in Paris which is targeted by the soldiers.
Stream in India on Amazon Prime Video, JioHotstar, VI movies and tv
15
Hacksaw Ridge 2016★ 8.2
Shares: Drama, War
WWII American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, who served during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first Conscientious Objector in American history to receive the Congressional Medal of Honor.
Stream in India on Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Prime Video with Ads
16
Escape from Sobibor 1987★ 7.2
Shares: Drama, War
The true story of WWII's notorious Sobibor Nazi death camp, where a courageous inmate orchestrates and leads the escape of over 300 prisoners.
Stream in India on Artiflix, Plex
17
Hamburger Hill 1987★ 6.6
Shares: War, Drama
The men of Bravo Company are facing a battle that's all uphill… up Hamburger Hill. Fourteen war-weary soldiers are battling for a mud-covered mound of earth so named because it chews up soldiers like chopped meat. They are fighting for their country, their fellow soldiers and their lives. War is hell, but this is worse. Hamburger Hill tells it the way it was, the way it really was. It's a raw, gritty and totally unrelenting dramatic depiction of one of the fiercest battles of America's bloodiest war. This happened. Hamburger Hill - war at its worst, men at their best.
Stream in India on Movie Sphere+
18
Walking with the Enemy 2014★ 6.3
Shares: Drama, War
Regent Horthy is the leader of Hungary and a German ally, but his favorable standing with Hitler changes as the war comes to an end. Forced to cede Hungary’s power or else witness the execution of his son, Regent Horthy gives up control of his country to the Nazis, who quickly move Hungarians to ghettos and death camps, with no hope in sight. But the despair changes when a young man named Elek emerges. Separated from his family during the relocations and aided by the woman he loves , Elek defies the enemy by becoming one of them. In a race against time, disguised as a Nazi Officer he embarks on a mission to save his family and thousands of his countrymen.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
19
Jacknife 1989★ 6.4
Shares: Drama, War
A conflict develops between a troubled Vietnam veteran and the sister he lives with when she becomes involved romantically with the army buddy who reminds him of the tragic battle they both survived.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now
20
The Last Full Measure 2020★ 7.3
Shares: Drama, War
The incredible true story of Vietnam War hero William H. Pitsenbarger, a U.S. Air Force Pararescuemen medic who personally saved over sixty men. Thirty-two years later, Pentagon staffer Scott Huffman investigates a Congressional Medal of Honor request for Pitsenbarger and uncovers a high-level conspiracy behind the decades-long denial of the medal, prompting Huffman to put his own career on the line to seek justice for the fallen airman.
Not on subscription streaming in India right now