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Home/Empire of the Sun/Similar Movies

Empire of the Sun

Movies Like Empire of the Sun (1987)

Empire of the Sun is a 1987 drama, history, war film from Steven Spielberg with a MovieMagicScore of 7.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Japan's Longest Day and The Burmese Harp.

Drama History War

Japan's Longest Day poster

Japan's Longest Day

1967

Following the detonation of the atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Japanese military and the government clash over the demand from the Allies for unconditional surrender. Minister of the Army Anami leads the military officers who propose to fight on, even to the death of every Japanese citizen. Emperor Hirohito, however, joins with his ministers in asking the unthinkable, the peaceful surrender of Japan. When the military plots a coup to overthrow the Emperor's civilian government, Anami must face the choice between his desires and loyalty to his Emperor.

The Burmese Harp poster

The Burmese Harp

1956

In Burma during the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier separated from his unit disguises himself as a Buddhist monk to escape imprisonment as a POW.

The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer poster

The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer

1961

After the Japanese defeat to the Russians, Kaji leads the last remaining men through Manchuria. Intent on returning to his dear wife and his old life, Kaji faces great odds in a variety of different harrowing circumstances as he and his fellow men sneak behind enemy lines.

Men Behind the Sun poster

Men Behind the Sun

1988

The film is a graphic depiction of the war atrocities committed by the Japanese at Unit 731, the secret biological weapons experimentation unit of the Imperial Japanese Army during World War II. The film details the various cruel medical experiments Unit 731 inflicted upon the Chinese and Soviet prisoners at the tail-end of the war.

The Thin Red Line poster

The Thin Red Line

1998

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.

Jojo Rabbit poster

Jojo Rabbit

2019

Jojo, a lonely German boy during World War II has his world shaken when he learns that his single mother is hiding a Jewish girl in their home. Influenced by a buffoonish imaginary version of Adolf Hitler, he begins to question his beliefs and confront the conflict between propaganda and his own humanity.

The Bridge on the River Kwai poster

The Bridge on the River Kwai

1957

The classic story of English POWs in Burma forced to build a bridge to aid the war effort of their Japanese captors. British and American intelligence officers conspire to blow up the structure, but Col. Nicholson, the commander who supervised the bridge's construction, has acquired a sense of pride in his creation and tries to foil their plans.

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence poster

Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence

1983

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.

Unbroken poster

Unbroken

2014

A chronicle of the life of Louis Zamperini, an Olympic runner who was taken prisoner by Japanese forces during World War II.

Hell in the Pacific poster

Hell in the Pacific

1968

During World War II, a shot-down American pilot and a marooned Japanese navy captain find themselves stranded on the same small uninhabited island in the Pacific Ocean.

Prisoner of War poster

Prisoner of War

2025

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 arts training in Hong Kong prove him to be a formidable opponent.

Three Came Home poster

Three Came Home

1950

Borneo, 1941, during World War II. When the Japanese occupy the island, American writer Agnes Newton Keith is separated from her husband and imprisoned with her son in a prison camp run by the enigmatic Colonel Suga.

The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity poster

The Human Condition II: Road to Eternity

1959

Kaji is sent to the Japanese army labeled Red and is mistreated by the vets. Along his assignment, Kaji witnesses cruelties in the army and revolts against the abusive treatment against the recruit Obara. He also sees his friend Shinjô Ittôhei defecting to the Russian border, and he ends in the front to fight a lost battle against the Russian tanks division.

Tora! Tora! Tora! poster

Tora! Tora! Tora!

1970

In the summer of 1941, the United States and Japan seem on the brink of war after constant embargos and failed diplomacy come to no end. "Tora! Tora! Tora!", named after the code words used by the lead Japanese pilot to indicate they had surprised the Americans, covers the days leading up to the attack on Pearl Harbor, which plunged America into the Second World War.

Fires on the Plain poster

Fires on the Plain

1959

In the closing days of WWII, a Japanese soldier afflicted with tuberculosis is abandoned by his company and left to wander the Philippine island of Leyte.

Letters from Iwo Jima poster

Letters from Iwo Jima

2006

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.

Purple Butterfly poster

Purple Butterfly

2003

Ding Hui is a member of Purple Butterfly, a powerful resistance group in Japanese occupied Shanghai. An unexpected encounter reunites her with Itami, an ex-lover and officer with a secret police unit tasked with dismantling Purple Butterfly.

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison poster

Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison

1957

A Roman Catholic nun and a hard-bitten US Marine are stranded together on a Japanese-occupied island in the South Pacific during World War II. Under constant threat of discovery by a ruthless enemy, they hide in a cave and forage for food together. Their forced companionship and the struggle for survival forge a powerful emotional bond between them.

The Camp on Blood Island poster

The Camp on Blood Island

1958

Set in a Japanese prisoner of war camp during World War II, the film focuses on the brutality and horror that the allied prisoners were exposed to as the Japanese metered out subjugation and punishment to a disgraced and defeated enemy. This harrowing drama concentrates on the deviations of legal and moral definitions when two opposing cultures clash. Although fictional, this was one of the earliest films to deal realistically with life and death in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp during the Second War.

Shanghai poster

Shanghai

2010

An American man returns to a corrupt, Japanese-occupied Shanghai four months before Pearl Harbor and discovers his friend has been killed. While he unravels the mysteries of the death, he falls in love and discovers a much larger secret that his own government is hiding.

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Empire of the Sun?

The top films similar to Empire of the Sun by MovieMagicScore are Japan's Longest Day (7.2), The Burmese Harp (7.9), The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (8.4). Each shares drama/history/war themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Empire of the Sun worth watching?

Empire of the Sun holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.5/10 from 2,034 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Empire of the Sun?

Empire of the Sun (1987) is a drama, history, war film directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Christian Bale, John Malkovich, Miranda Richardson.

Where can I find more recommendations like Empire of the Sun?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more drama recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like Japan's Longest Day Movies like The Burmese Harp Movies like The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer Movies like Men Behind the Sun Movies like The Thin Red Line Movies like Jojo Rabbit

About movies like Empire of the Sun

This ranked list pairs Empire of the Sun (1987), a drama and history and war film from Steven Spielberg, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Christian Bale take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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