20 best movies like Deserter (2002)

North Africa, World War II. British soldiers on the brink of collapse push beyond endurance to struggle up a brutal incline. It's not a military objective. It's The Hill, a manmade instrument of torture, a tower of sand seared by a white-hot sun. And the troops' tormentors are not the enemy, but their own comrades-at-arms.

Set just before the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989, Sgt. Ray Elwood is an American soldier stationed at a German army camp. A soldier because a judge gave him a choice between the army and jail, Ray spends much of his free time cooking cocaine for the MPs. When a soldier dies and a toxicology screen shows an alarming level of illegal narcotics, someone is sent in to investigate.

When the body of Army Capt. Elizabeth Campbell is found on a Georgia military base, two investigators, Warrant Officers Paul Brenner and Sara Sunhill, are ordered to solve her murder. What they uncover is anything but clear-cut. Unseemly details emerge about Campbell's life, leading to allegations of a possible military coverup of her death and the involvement of her father, Lt. Gen. Joseph Campbell.

During the First Lebanon War in 1982, a lone tank and a paratroopers platoon are dispatched to search a hostile town.

A German soldier tries to determine if the Dutch resistance has planted a spy to infiltrate the home of Kaiser Wilhelm in Holland during the onset of World War II, but falls for a young Jewish Dutch woman during his investigation.

In December 1941, Czech soldier Jozef Gabčík and Jan Kubiš parachute into their occupied homeland to assassinate Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich

Afghanistan, 2006, Helmand Province becomes one of the most dangerous places on Earth as the British Army is deployed into the Taliban heartland. The Operation, Herrick, became synonymous with the struggle as British troops fought a losing battle against this unseen enemy.

Just after World War I, Major Foster is incorporating new recruits into his French Foreign Legion platoon when he is sent to his former remote outpost located in the French Morocco to protect an archaeological excavation from El Krim, a Rifian leader who intends to unite all local tribes to fight the colonial government…

Untold and lost history. A true story of the American Pathfinders, the volunteer paratroopers whose deadly mission was to land 30 minutes before the Normandy invasion, locate and mark strategic "drop zones" and set up the top-secret navigation equipment needed to guide the main airborne assault on D-Day.

Bolívar was instrumental in Latin America’s struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire, and is today considered one of the most influential politicians and emancipators in American history. Libertador is told from the viewpoint of Bolívar, portrayed by Ramírez, about his quests and epic military campaigns, which covered twice the territory Alexander the Great conquered, and his vision to unify South America.

Three different men, three different worlds, three different wars – all stand at the intersection of modern warfare – a murky world of fluid morality where all is not as it seems.

The true story of the formation of Ian Fleming's 30 Commando unit, a precursor for the elite forces in the U.K.

Beirut, 1982: a young Palestinian refugee and an Israeli fighter pilot form a tentative bond in their attempt to make their way across war-torn Lebanon back to their home.

Last months of World War II in April 1945. As the Allies make their final push in the European Theater, a battle-hardened U.S. Army sergeant in the 2nd Armored Division named Wardaddy commands a Sherman tank called "Fury" and its five-man crew on a deadly mission behind enemy lines. Outnumbered and outgunned, Wardaddy and his men face overwhelming odds in their heroic attempts to strike at the heart of Nazi Germany.

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.

Billy is an innocent, naive seaman in the British Navy in 1797. When the ship's sadistic master-at-arms is murdered, Billy is accused and tried.

A group of army personnel and nurses attempt a dangerous and arduous trek across the deserts of North Africa during the second world war. The leader of the team dreams of his ice cold beer when he reaches Alexandria.

When the Nazis secure a heavy water plant to realize their plan to create an atomic bomb, the Norwegian Allies struggle to sabotage the operation.

Four Navy SEALs on a covert mission to neutralize a high-level al-Qaeda operative must make an impossible moral decision in the mountains of Afghanistan that leads them into an enemy ambush. As they confront unthinkable odds, the SEALs must find reserves of strength and resilience to fight to the finish.

An unassuming young lawyer leads a fight against the Nazis near the end of the Second World War.

19-year-old Billy Lynn is brought home for a victory tour after a harrowing Iraq battle. Through flashbacks the film shows what really happened to his squad - contrasting the realities of war with America's perceptions.

Disgusted with the policies of King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell plans to take his family to the New World. But on the eve of their departure, Cromwell is drawn into the tangled web of religion and politics that will result in the English Civil War.

Spain, 1808. The Napoleonic Army suffers its first defeat at the hands of a single man: a drummer boy who used the Montserrat mountains to echo his drums and send the enemy troops into a panicked retreat. When the news reaches Napoleon, he furiously orders the captain of the Imperial Guard to bring back the head of the young hero responsible for his army's defeat…

Toward the end of World War II, two American soldiers fighting in Southern France become romantically involved with a young, American woman. Her background will reveal more about them than her.

A Danish officer, Michael (Thomsen), is sent away to the International Security Assistance Force operation in Afghanistan for three months. His first mission there is to find a young radar technician who had been separated from his squad some days earlier. While on the search, his helicopter is shot down and he is taken as a prisoner of war, but is reported dead to the family.

He had everything and wanted nothing. He learned that he had nothing and wanted everything. He saved the world and then it shattered. The path to enlightenment is as sharp and narrow as a razor's edge.

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.

A naval adventure, based on the novels by C.S. Forester, about the heroic, 19th-century British seafarer. The story sails with his ship, the Lydia, through battles with Spain and then France won with wit rather than might.

At the end of World War II, a National Guard infantry company must set up artillery observation posts in a strategic area. Lt. Costa (Jack Palance) knows that Capt. Cooney (Eddie Albert) is in command only because of the "connections" he made stateside. Costa has serious doubts concerning Cooney's ability to lead, and when Cooney sends Costa and his men out on a dangerous mission -- and refuses to reenforce them -- all hell breaks loose.

The story of Frank W. "Spig" Wead - a Navy-flyer turned screenwriter.

A soldier protects a mule during the Spanish Civil War.

An investigation of the massacre of 24 men, women and children in Haditha, Iraq allegedly shot by 4 U.S. Marines in retaliation for the death of a U.S. Marine killed by a roadside bomb. The movie follows the story of the Marines of Kilo Company, an Iraqi family, and the insurgents who plant the roadside bomb.

The true story of WWII's notorious Sobibor Nazi death camp, where a courageous inmate orchestrates and leads the escape of over 300 prisoners.

This historical drama is an account of the early life of British politician Winston Churchill, including his childhood years, his time as a war correspondent in Africa, and culminating with his first election to Parliament.

Tracing the struggle of the Algerian Front de Liberation Nationale to gain freedom from French colonial rule as seen through the eyes of Ali from his start as a petty thief to his rise to prominence in the organisation and capture by the French in 1957. The film traces the rebels' struggle and the increasingly extreme measures taken by the French government to quell the revolt.

During World War I, a group of British miners are recruited to tunnel underneath no man's land and set bombs from below the German front in hopes of breaking the deadly stalemate of the Battle of Messines.

A UK-based military officer in command of a top secret drone operation to capture terrorists in Kenya discovers the targets are planning a suicide bombing and the mission escalates from “capture” to “kill.” As American pilot Steve Watts is about to engage, a nine-year old girl enters the kill zone, triggering an international dispute reaching the highest levels of US and British government over the moral, political, and personal implications of modern warfare.

Three U.S. journalists (Nick Nolte, Joanna Cassidy, Gene Hackman) get too close to one another and their work in 1979 Nicaragua.

When the Nazi high command learns in late 1943 that Winston Churchill will be spending time at a country estate in Norfolk, it hatches an audacious scheme to kidnap the prime minister and spirit him to Germany for enforced negotiations with Hitler.

British soldiers guarding the Kajaki Dam set out to rescue a three-man team after one of them loses a leg to a landmine.

In 1944, in the Belgian - German border, seven German soldiers survive an American attack in the front and lock themselves in a bunker to protect the position. Under siege by the enemy and with little ammunition, they decide to explore underground tunnels to seek supplies and find an escape route. While in the tunnel, weird things happen with the group.

Mallory and Miller are back. The survivors of Navarone are sent on a mission along with a unit called Force 10, which is led by Colonel Barnsby. But Force 10 has a mission of their own which the boys know nothing about.

The true story of British intelligence whistleblower Katharine Gun who—prior to the 2003 Iraq invasion—leaked a top-secret NSA memo exposing a joint US-UK illegal spying operation against members of the UN Security Council. The memo proposed blackmailing member states into voting for war.

A young British soldier must find his way back to safety after his unit accidentally abandons him during a riot in the streets of Belfast.

Tsar Nicholas II, the inept last monarch of Russia, insensitive to the needs of his people, is overthrown and exiled to Siberia with his family.

At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of soldiers.

A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.

One of the most celebrated war correspondents of our time, Marie Colvin is an utterly fearless and rebellious spirit, driven to the frontlines of conflicts across the globe to give voice to the voiceless.

Major Ronan Jackson (Devon Sawa), an accomplished fighter pilot for the Israel Defense Forces and son of a U.S. Senator (Robert Patrick), is shot down while flying through Syrian airspace. After miraculously surviving the crash, Jackson is taken captive by a group of Hezbollah militiamen. A gripping and powerful story packed with hard-hitting action, Jarhead: Law of Return follows a squad of elite soldiers, led by Gunnery Sergeant Dave Torres (Amaury Nolasco), as they risk their own lives in the hopes of saving an ally they've never met.

The Young Lions follows the lives of three soldiers: one German and two Americans, paralleling their experiences in World War II until they meet up at the end for a confrontation