Movies Like K-19: The Widowmaker (2002)

K-19: The Widowmaker is a 2002 drama, history, mystery, thriller, war film from Kathryn Bigelow with a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Despite the Falling Snow and The Hunt for Red October.

Drama History Mystery Thriller War

Despite the Falling Snow

2016

New York, 1961. Alexander Ivanov, a high-ranked Soviet bureaucrat, reluctantly defects to the West while is part of a diplomatic mission, feeling the grief of being unable to know the fate of his wife Katya, whom he has had to leave behind in Moscow. Only many years later, in 1991, he will finally find out the truth when his niece Lauren travels to Moscow to participate in a painting exhibition.

5.7

MagicScore

The Hunt for Red October

1990

A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S. coast under the command of Captain Marko Ramius. The American government thinks Ramius is planning to attack. Lone CIA analyst Jack Ryan has a different idea: he thinks Ramius is planning to defect, but he has only a few hours to find him and prove it - because the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find Ramius, too. The hunt is on!

7.4

MagicScore

Norwegian Ninja

2010

Norwegian Ninja is the true story of how Commander Arne Treholt and his Ninja Force saved Norway during the Cold War. In 1983 the Ninja Force discovers that the sinister NATO force Stay Behind, who take charge in times of war and emergency, are planning a coup-d'état in peacetime. Treholt and the Ninjas see only one solution: a full can of whoop-ass.

4.7

MagicScore

Phantom

2013

The haunted Captain of a Soviet submarine holds the fate of the world in his hands. Forced to leave his family behind, he is charged with leading a covert mission cloaked in mystery.

5.9

MagicScore

Jack Strong

2014

Poland, 1970. Firmly determined to fight against Soviet tyranny and prevent the destruction of the world, the high-ranking officer of the Polish army Ryszard Kukliński makes a serious decision that will put his life, his family and the fate of an entire nation at risk.

6.5

MagicScore

23

1998

The movie's plot is based on the true story of a group of young computer hackers from Hannover, Germany. In the late 1980s the orphaned Karl Koch invests his heritage in a flat and a home computer. At first he dials up to bulletin boards to discuss conspiracy theories inspired by his favorite novel, R.A. Wilson's "Illuminatus", but soon he and his friend David start breaking into government and military computers. Pepe, one of Karl's rather criminal acquaintances senses that there is money in computer cracking - he travels to east Berlin and tries to contact the KGB.

6.8

MagicScore

Red Joan

2018

London, England, May 2000. The peaceful life of elderly Joan Stanley is suddenly disrupted when she is arrested by the British Intelligence Service and accused of providing information to communist Russia during the forties.

6.6

MagicScore

Farewell

2009

An intricate thriller about an ordinary man thrust into the biggest theft of Soviet information of the Cold War. Right after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. A French businessman based in Moscow, Pierre Froment, makes an unlikely connection with Grigoriev, a senior KGB officer disenchanted with what the Communist ideal has become under Brezhnev. Grigoriev begins passing Froment highly sensitive information about the Soviet spy network in the US.

6.5

MagicScore

Crimson Tide

1995

After the Cold War, a breakaway Russian republic with nuclear warheads becomes a possible worldwide threat. U.S. submarine Capt. Frank Ramsey signs on a relatively green but highly recommended Lt. Cmdr. Ron Hunter to the USS Alabama, which may be the only ship able to stop a possible Armageddon. When Ramsey insists that the Alabama must act aggressively, Hunter, fearing they will start rather than stop a disaster, leads a potential mutiny to stop him.

7.2

MagicScore

#10

Action in the North Atlantic

1943

Merchant Marine sailors Joe Rossi (Humphrey Bogart) and Steve Jarvis (Raymond Massey) are charged with getting a supply vessel to Russian allies as part of a sea convoy. When the group of ships comes under attack from a German U-boat, Rossi and Jarvis navigate through dangerous waters to evade Nazi naval forces. Though their mission across the Atlantic is extremely treacherous, they are motivated by the opportunity to strike back at the Germans, who sank one of their earlier ships.

7.1

MagicScore

#11

U-571

2000

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 realise this is their chance to seize the 'enigma coding machine'.

6.5

MagicScore

#12

Steel Rain 2: Summit

2020

A futuristic film about a crisis near the brink of war after three leaders are kidnapped by a North Korean nuclear submarine in a coup d’état during a summit between the two Koreas and the United States.

7.0

MagicScore

#13

Thirteen Days

2000

The story of the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962—the nuclear standoff with the USSR sparked by the discovery by the Americans of missile bases established on the Soviet-allied island of Cuba.

7.0

MagicScore

#14

Octopus

2000

During the Cuban missile crisis in 1962, a Russian submarine strays into American waters. On board is a nuclear cargo destined for Castro. The Americans attack and destroy the sub. 38 years later US submarine Roosevelt is in the same waters. An unknown object attacks and disables the sub with devastating force and drags the vessel to the bottom of the ocean. What lies on the ocean bed beggars belief: dozens of wrecks, among them the sub destroyed 38 years ago. Whatever was on board has fed a creature of unbelievable size and strength! The only way out is the emergency submersible and a passing cruise ship. Above or below the water, there is no escape from the monster mutant octopus with a nuclear diet...

4.4

MagicScore

#15

Down Periscope

1996

Maverick Navy Lieutenant Commander Tom Dodge will never be a textbook officer, but he's a brilliant seaman who's always wanted to command a nuclear submarine — he's been given one last chance to clean up his record. Unfortunately, Admiral Graham, his nemesis, would rather sink the fleet than give Dodge his own boat. So, Graham stacks the deck against him and assigns Dodge to the Stingray, a diesel-powered WW2 submarine that can barely keep afloat. To make matters worse, Dodge's crew is a collection of maladjusted, mistake-prone misfits. Then, he's tagged the "enemy" in a crucial war game, and ordered to take on the U.S. Navy's best.

6.4

MagicScore

#16

The Day After

1983

In the mid-1980s, the U.S. is poised on the brink of nuclear war. This shadow looms over the residents of a small town in Kansas as they continue their daily lives. Dr. Russell Oakes maintains his busy schedule at the hospital, Denise Dahlberg prepares for her upcoming wedding, and Stephen Klein is deep in his graduate studies. When the unthinkable happens and the bombs come down, the town's residents are thrust into the horrors of nuclear winter.

6.8

MagicScore

#17

Hostile Waters

1997

Based on true events, an American submarine collides into a Soviet sub of the coast of America and an ensuing standoff occurs that could lead to total annihilation.

6.0

MagicScore

#18

Ginger & Rosa

2012

A look at the lives of two teenage girls - inseparable friends Ginger and Rosa -- growing up in 1960s London as the Cuban Missile Crisis looms, and the pivotal event the comes to redefine their relationship.

6.0

MagicScore

#19

Sink the Bismarck!

1960

The story of the breakout of the German battleship Bismarck—accompanied by the heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen—during the early days of World War II. The Bismarck and her sister ship, Tirpitz, were the most powerful battleships in the European theater of World War II. The British Navy must find and destroy Bismarck before it can escape into the convoy lanes to inflict severe damage on the cargo shipping which was the lifeblood of the British Isles. With eight 15 inch guns, it was capable of destroying every ship in a convoy while remaining beyond the range of all Royal Navy warships.

6.8

MagicScore

#20

The Lives of Others

2006

In 1984 East Berlin, dedicated Stasi officer Gerd Wiesler begins spying on a famous playwright and his actress-lover Christa-Maria. Wiesler becomes unexpectedly sympathetic to the couple, and faces conflicting loyalties when his superior takes a liking to Christa-Maria.

8.0

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like K-19: The Widowmaker?

The top films similar to K-19: The Widowmaker by MovieMagicScore are Despite the Falling Snow (5.7), The Hunt for Red October (7.4), Norwegian Ninja (4.7). Each shares drama/history/mystery/thriller/war themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is K-19: The Widowmaker worth watching?

K-19: The Widowmaker holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10 from 1,101 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is K-19: The Widowmaker?

K-19: The Widowmaker (2002) is a drama, history, mystery, thriller, war film directed by Kathryn Bigelow, starring Harrison Ford, Liam Neeson, Peter Sarsgaard.

Where can I find more recommendations like K-19: The Widowmaker?

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 Despite the Falling Snow Movies like The Hunt for Red October Movies like Norwegian Ninja Movies like Phantom Movies like Jack Strong Movies like 23

About movies like K-19: The Widowmaker

This ranked list pairs K-19: The Widowmaker (2002), a drama and history and mystery and thriller and war film from Kathryn Bigelow, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Harrison Ford 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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