Movies Like Spitfire (2018)

Spitfire is a 2018 documentary, history, war film from David Fairhead with a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The First of the Few and Battle of Britain.

Documentary History War

The First of the Few

1942

This 1942 fictionalized biopic chronicles the true story of how two of the most remarkable men in aviation history - visionary Spitfire designer R.J. Mitchell and his test pilot Geoffrey Crisp - designed a streamlined monoplane that led to the development of the Spitfire.

6.7

MagicScore

Battle of Britain

1969

In 1940, the Royal Air Force fights a desperate battle against the might of the Luftwaffe for control of the skies over Britain, thus preventing an attempted Nazi invasion.

6.8

MagicScore

Battle Over Britain

2023

A young pilot, fresh out of training, is called to join a Flight while they wait for the call to scramble. Throughout a single day, he witnesses the skies of southern England filled with deadly dog fights, and after every exhausting battle the men return to their dispersal hut, only to find another of their number missing. Unwilling to surrender, the pilot and his comrades unite to take to the skies once more, determined to defend not only the airfield, but their entire country.

7.1

MagicScore

Dark Blue World

2001

Lt. Franta Slama is a top pilot in the Czech Air Force who is assigned to train a promising young flier, Karel Vojtisek, and they soon become friends. When Nazi Germany invades Czechoslovakia in 1939, they both reject the authority of their new leaders and escape to England where they join other Czech exiles in the RAF. While flying a mission over England, Karel crash lands and happens upon the farmhouse of Susan, a young woman whose husband is in the Navy. Karel soon falls head over heels for Susan but, while they enjoy a brief fling, in time Susan decides she prefers the company of the older and more worldly Franta. As Franta and Karel struggle to maintain their friendship despite their romantic rivalry.

6.8

MagicScore

Angels One Five

1952

The year is 1940 and Pilot Officer T.B. Baird arrives straight out of flight school to join a front line RAF squadron at the height of the Battle of Britain. After an unfortunate start and a drumming down from his commanding officer, Baird must balance the struggle to impress his Group Captain, regain his pride, fit in with his fellow pilots, and survive one of the most intense air battles in history.

6.1

MagicScore

The Way to the Stars

1945

Life on a British bomber base, and the surrounding towns, from the opening days of the Battle of Britain, to the arrival of the Americans, who join in the bomber offensive. The film centres around Pilot Officer Peter Penrose, fresh out of a training unit, who joins the squadron, and quickly discovers about life during war time. He falls for Iris, a young girl who lives at the local hotel, but he becomes disillusioned about marriage, when the squadron commander dies in a raid, and leaves his wife, the hotel manageress, with a young son to bring up. As the war progresses, Penross comes to terms that he has survived, while others have been killed.

6.0

MagicScore

Hurricane

2018

The story of the Polish fliers who found themselves fighting for the freedom of their own country in foreign skies. Seen through the eyes of a Polish fighter ace and adventurer, it tells how the Poles—driven across Europe by the German war machine—finally make their last stand. Flying Hurricanes for the RAF over Britain, they became a key component in the legend of ‘The Few’. Up against the might of the Luftwaffe they hoped that, by saving Great Britain from Nazi invasion, they were keeping the dream of a free Poland alive.

5.9

MagicScore

The Rape of Europa

2007

World War II was not just the most destructive conflict in humanity, it was also the greatest theft in history: lives, families, communities, property, culture and heritage were all stolen. The story of Nazi Germany's plundering of Europe's great works of art during World War II and Allied efforts to minimize the damage.

7.4

MagicScore

Report from the Aleutians

1943

A documentary propaganda film produced by the U.S. Army Signal Corps about the Aleutian Islands Campaign during World War II. The film opens with a map showing the strategic importance of the island, and the thrust of the 1942 Japanese offensive into Midway and Dutch Harbor. Nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

5.9

MagicScore

#10

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.

8.4

MagicScore

#11

Shoah

1985

Director Claude Lanzmann spent 11 years on this sprawling documentary about the Holocaust, conducting his own interviews and refusing to use a single frame of archival footage. Dividing Holocaust witnesses into three categories – survivors, bystanders, and perpetrators – Lanzmann presents testimonies from survivors of the Chelmno concentration camp, an Auschwitz escapee, and witnesses of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, as well as a chilling report of gas chambers from an SS officer at Treblinka.

8.2

MagicScore

#12

Night and Fog

1959

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

8.2

MagicScore

#13

Saving Private Ryan

1998

As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.

8.2

MagicScore

#14

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.

8.2

MagicScore

#15

Come and See

1985

The invasion of a village in Belarus by German forces sends young Flyora into the forest to join the weary Resistance fighters, against his family's wishes. There he meets a girl, Glasha, who accompanies him back to his village. On returning home, Flyora finds his family and fellow peasants massacred. His continued survival amidst the brutal debris of war becomes increasingly nightmarish, a battle between despair and hope.

8.2

MagicScore

#16

The Human Condition I: No Greater Love

1959

After handing in a report on the treatment of Chinese colonial labor, Kaji is offered the post of labor chief at a large mining operation in Manchuria, which also grants him exemption from military service. He accepts, and moves to Manchuria with his newly-wed wife Michiko, but when he tries to put his ideas of more humane treatment into practice, he finds himself at odds with scheming officials, cruel foremen, and the military police.

8.1

MagicScore

#17

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.

7.8

MagicScore

#18

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

2008

When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.

7.8

MagicScore

#19

The Round Up

2010

A faithful retelling of the 1942 "Vel' d'Hiv Roundup" and the events surrounding it.

7.5

MagicScore

#20

Barefoot Gen

1983

A story about the effect of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people.

7.5

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Spitfire?

The top films similar to Spitfire by MovieMagicScore are The First of the Few (6.7), Battle of Britain (6.8), Battle Over Britain (7.1). Each shares documentary/history/war themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Spitfire worth watching?

Spitfire holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10 from 27 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Spitfire?

Spitfire (2018) is a documentary, history, war film directed by David Fairhead, starring Charles Dance, Mary Ellis, Geoffrey Wellum.

Where can I find more recommendations like Spitfire?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like The First of the Few Movies like Battle of Britain Movies like Battle Over Britain Movies like Dark Blue World Movies like Angels One Five Movies like The Way to the Stars

About movies like Spitfire

This ranked list pairs Spitfire (2018), a documentary and history and war film from David Fairhead, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Charles Dance 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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