Movies Like Cadence (1990)

Cadence is a 1990 drama film from Martin Sheen with a MovieMagicScore of 6.7/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Wooden Crosses and Courage Under Fire.

Drama

Wooden Crosses

1932

The young and patriotic student Demachy joins the French army in 1914 to defend his country. But he and his comrades soon experience the terrifying, endless trench war in Champagne, where more and more wooden crosses have to be erected for this cannon fodder.

7.0

MagicScore

Courage Under Fire

1996

A US Army officer, who made a "friendly fire" mistake that was covered up, has been reassigned to a desk job. He is tasked to investigate a female chopper commander's worthiness to be awarded the Medal of Honor. At first all seems in order. But then he begins to notice inconsistencies between the testimonies of the witnesses...

6.6

MagicScore

The Way Ahead

1944

A mismatched collection of conscripted civilians find training tough under Lieutenant Jim Perry and Sergeant Ned Fletcher when they are called up to replace an infantry battalion that had suffered casualties at Dunkirk.

6.5

MagicScore

Zulu Dawn

1979

In 1879, the British suffer a great loss at the Battle of Isandlwana due to incompetent leadership.

6.0

MagicScore

Stripes

1981

Hard-luck cabbie John Winger, directionless after being fired from his job and dumped by his girlfriend, enlists in the U.S. Army with his close pal, Russell Ziskey. After his barely satisfactory performance in basic training, the irreverent Winger emerges as the figurehead for a ragtag band of misfits. However, his hijinks threaten to cause an international scandal when he inadvertently commandeers a military assault vehicle behind enemy lines.

6.6

MagicScore

Full Metal Jacket

1987

A pragmatic U.S. Marine observes the dehumanizing effects the U.S.-Vietnam War has on his fellow recruits from their brutal boot camp training to the bloody street fighting in Hue.

8.1

MagicScore

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.

7.4

MagicScore

Cross of Iron

1977

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.

7.1

MagicScore

The Steel Helmet

1951

A ragtag group of American stragglers battles against superior Communist troops in an abandoned Buddhist temple during the Korean War.

7.0

MagicScore

#10

Fallen Art

2004

Fallen Art presents the story of General A, a self-proclaimed artist. His art, however, consists of a deranged method of stop motion photography, where the individual frames of the movie are created by photographs made by Dr. Johann Friedrich, depicting the bodies of dead soldiers, pushed down by Sergeant Al from a giant springboard onto a slab of concrete.

7.0

MagicScore

#11

The Big Red One

1980

A veteran sergeant of World War I leads a squad in World War II, always in the company of the survivor Pvt. Griff, the writer Pvt. Zab, the Sicilian Pvt. Vinci and Pvt. Johnson, in Vichy French Africa, Sicily, D-Day at Omaha Beach, Belgium and France, and ending in a concentration camp in Czechoslovakia where they face the true horror of war.

6.7

MagicScore

#12

Sands of Iwo Jima

1950

Haunted by personal demons, Marine Sgt. John Stryker is hated and feared by his men, who see him as a cold-hearted sadist. But when their boots hit the beaches, they begin to understand the reason for Stryker's rigid form of discipline.

6.4

MagicScore

#13

Between Heaven and Hell

1956

Sam Gifford remembers : In prewar years he was an arrogant southern cotton plantation owner, married to the daughter of a colonel. At the beginning of the war he was mobilized with his National Guard unit as a sergeant. Came the day when, revolted by the cowardice of his lieutenant, who had fired at his own men, he hit him. Downgraded, he was sent to a disciplinary battalion. Sam now discovers his new detachment, his new commanding officer, just another cowardly brute, Captain Waco Grimes. While in combat, Sam will gradually become closer to the privates, working-class people he used to despise. He will become another man, a better man.

6.0

MagicScore

#14

School for Buglars

1958

The police plan to capture a killer by using a double that looks exactly as one of his victims.

7.6

MagicScore

#15

Sahara

1943

In Libya, an American tank commander, along with a handful of Allied soldiers, tries to defend an isolated well with a limited supply of water from a German Afrika Korps battalion during the Western Desert Campaign of World War II.

7.2

MagicScore

#16

Forward March Hare

1953

Bugs Bunny gets a draft notice by mistake and joins the army, with disastrous results, especially for the sergeant of his platoon.

7.0

MagicScore

#17

Carry On Sergeant

1958

Sergeant Grimshawe wants to retire in the flush of success by winning the Star Squad prize with his very last platoon of newly called-up National Servicemen. But a motley bunch they turn out to be, and it's up to Grimshawe to put the no-hopers through their paces.

6.4

MagicScore

#18

Sahara

1995

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 soldiers, but soon they are running out of water. They find water at the ancient well, but the well is a goal of an entire German battalion. Despite the impossible odds, Sergeant Gunn decides to defend the well.

6.4

MagicScore

#19

The Package

1989

Experienced Green Beret sergeant Johnny Gallagher is escorting a prisoner, Airborne Ranger Thomas Boyette, back to the US, but Boyette escapes and Gallagher must risk life and limb to catch him.

6.1

MagicScore

#20

Battle: Los Angeles

2011

When once distant UFOs become a terrifying threat and an alien invasion force begins attacking Earths major costal and riverside cities, a U.S Marine staff sergeant and his team are sent into battle only to find they must take it upon themselves to defeat an unknown enemy and protect what remains of Los Angeles.

5.8

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Cadence?

The top films similar to Cadence by MovieMagicScore are Wooden Crosses (7.0), Courage Under Fire (6.6), The Way Ahead (6.5). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Cadence worth watching?

Cadence holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.7/10 from 98 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Cadence?

Cadence (1990) is a drama film directed by Martin Sheen, starring Charlie Sheen, Martin Sheen, Laurence Fishburne.

Where can I find more recommendations like Cadence?

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 Wooden Crosses Movies like Courage Under Fire Movies like The Way Ahead Movies like Zulu Dawn Movies like Stripes Movies like Full Metal Jacket

About movies like Cadence

This ranked list pairs Cadence (1990), a drama film from Martin Sheen, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Charlie Sheen 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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