Dynamic Watchlist Hub: Apr 19, 2026

10 Best Movies Like They Were the First

If you loved They Were the First, we've curated the perfect watchlist for you based on shared genres, themes, and directorial style.

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Expert Review & Ratings

See our full critical analysis and audience score for They Were the First.

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#1
The War Below

The War Below

2021★ 6.6

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to They Were the First for fans of War & Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

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 o...

#2
Trial on the Road

Trial on the Road

1986★ 7.0

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to They Were the First for fans of War & Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Shot in 1971 but banned until 1986, this distinctly Russian war story takes place in 1942 behind enemy lines. A regiment of partisans captures former Red Army lieutenant Lazarev wh...

#3
The Last Frontier

The Last Frontier

2020★ 6.6

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to They Were the First for fans of War & Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

The story of the Podolsk cadets’ heroic stand outside Moscow in October 1941. Cadets were sent to the Ilyinsky line, fighting alongside units from the Soviet 43rd Army to hold back...

#4
Infiltration

Infiltration

2022★ 7.5

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to They Were the First for fans of War & Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Ivan sets off on a dangerous mission into Syria to save his ex-commander Grey after his capture by ISIS. With the help of U.S. military patrols, he succeeds in freeing Grey and att...

#5
The One That Got Away

The One That Got Away

1957★ 6.8

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to They Were the First for fans of War & Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

Based on the true story of Oberleutnant Franz von Werra, the only German prisoner of war captured in Britain to escape back to Germany during the Second World War....

#6
The Beast

The Beast

1988★ 7.0

Why watch this? A perfect follow-up to They Were the First for fans of War & Drama. It captures a similar emotionally gripping atmosphere.

During the war in Afghanistan a Soviet tank crew commanded by a tyrannical officer find themselves lost and in a struggle against a band of Mujahadeen guerrillas in the mountains....

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