Movies Like Summer of Sam (1999)

Summer of Sam is a 1999 crime, drama, thriller film from Spike Lee with a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with London River and A Bronx Tale.

Crime Drama Thriller

London River

2009

After traveling to London to check on their missing children in the wake of the 2005 terror attacks on the city, two strangers come to discover their respective children had been living together at the time of the attacks

6.7

MagicScore

A Bronx Tale

1993

Set in the Bronx during the tumultuous 1960s, an adolescent boy is torn between his honest, working-class father and a violent yet charismatic crime boss. Complicating matters is the youngster's growing attraction - forbidden in his neighborhood - for a beautiful black girl.

7.9

MagicScore

Bomb City

2017

An ongoing feud between punk rockers and a more affluent clique in a small Texas town leads to a hate crime.

7.1

MagicScore

To Kill a Mockingbird

1962

Scout Finch, 6, and her older brother Jem live in sleepy Maycomb, Alabama, spending much of their time with their friend Dill and spying on their reclusive and mysterious neighbor, Boo Radley. When Atticus, their widowed father and a respected lawyer, defends a black man named Tom Robinson against fabricated rape charges, the trial and tangent events expose the children to evils of racism and stereotyping.

8.0

MagicScore

25th Hour

2002

In New York City in the days following the events of 9/11, Monty Brogan is a convicted drug dealer about to start a seven-year prison sentence, and his final hours of freedom are devoted to hanging out with his closest buddies and trying to prepare his girlfriend for his extended absence.

7.3

MagicScore

Brokeback Mountain

2005

In 1960s Wyoming, two men develop a strong emotional and sexual relationship that endures as a lifelong connection complicating their lives as they get married and start families of their own.

7.8

MagicScore

B&B

2017

Gay Londoners Marc and Fred plan for a weekend of mischief, baiting the Christian owner of a remote Christian B&B. Events take a deadly turn when another guest arrives, who they think might have something more sinister in mind.

6.3

MagicScore

Do the Right Thing

1989

Salvatore "Sal" Fragione is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out, becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin' Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin' Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.

7.8

MagicScore

Raging Bull

1980

The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.

7.9

MagicScore

#10

Casino

1995

In early-1970s Las Vegas, Sam "Ace" Rothstein gets tapped by his bosses to head the Tangiers Casino. At first, he's a great success in the job, but over the years, problems with his loose-cannon enforcer Nicky Santoro, his ex-hustler wife Ginger, her con-artist ex Lester Diamond and a handful of corrupt politicians put Sam in ever-increasing danger.

8.0

MagicScore

#11

At Close Range

1986

Brad Whitewood Jr. lives in rural Pennsylvania and has few prospects. Against his mother's wishes, he seeks out his estranged father, the head of a gang of thieves in a nearby town. Though his new girlfriend supports his criminal ambitions, Brad Jr. soon learns that his father is a dangerous man. Inspired by the real events that led to the end of the Johnston Gang, who operated in the northeastern United States in the 1970s.

6.8

MagicScore

#12

Rubble Kings

2015

Through archival footage Nicholson tells the story of the real Warriors that walked the streets of New York City in the 1970s and the harsh reality of gang life in a city that seemed to be falling apart.

6.9

MagicScore

#13

Suspiria

2018

A darkness swirls at the center of a world-renowned dance company, one that will engulf the artistic director, an ambitious young dancer, and a grieving psychotherapist. Some will succumb to the nightmare. Others will finally wake up.

6.9

MagicScore

#14

Cruella

2021

In 1970s London amidst the punk rock revolution, a young grifter named Estella is determined to make a name for herself with her designs. She befriends a pair of young thieves who appreciate her appetite for mischief, and together they are able to build a life for themselves on the London streets. One day, Estella’s flair for fashion catches the eye of the Baroness von Hellman, a fashion legend who is devastatingly chic and terrifyingly haute. But their relationship sets in motion a course of events and revelations that will cause Estella to embrace her wicked side and become the raucous, fashionable and revenge-bent Cruella.

8.0

MagicScore

#15

Persepolis

2007

In 1970s Iran, Marjane 'Marji' Satrapi watches events through her young eyes and her idealistic family of a long dream being fulfilled of the hated Shah's defeat in the Iranian Revolution of 1979. However as Marji grows up, she witnesses first hand how the new Iran, now ruled by Islamic fundamentalists, has become a repressive tyranny on its own.

7.9

MagicScore

#16

20th Century Women

2016

In 1979 Santa Barbara, California, Dorothea Fields is a determined single mother in her mid-50s who is raising her adolescent son, Jamie, at a moment brimming with cultural change and rebellion. Dorothea enlists the help of two younger women – Abbie, a free-spirited punk artist living as a boarder in the Fields' home and Julie, a savvy and provocative teenage neighbour – to help with Jamie's upbringing.

7.3

MagicScore

#17

Sid and Nancy

1986

January 1978. After their success in England, the punk rock band Sex Pistols venture out on their tour of the southern United States. Temperamental bassist Sid Vicious is forced by his band mates to travel without his troubled girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, who will meet him in New York. When the band breaks up and Sid begins his solo career in a hostile city, the turbulent couple definitely falls into the depths of drug addiction.

6.7

MagicScore

#18

Sons of Norway

2011

It’s not easy to rebel when your dad wants to join the party... One day (in 1979), Magnus and his son Nikolaj hit the wall in their new terrace house in Rykkinn. Magnus is an architect, hippie and free spirit, a glaring exception in a community where equality and conformity is the norm. He always stands up for his son, supporting him unconditionally, even when Nikolaj decides to stop giving a damn.

6.6

MagicScore

#19

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

2011

Disgraced journalist Mikael Blomkvist investigates the disappearance of a weary patriarch's niece from 40 years ago. He is aided by the pierced, tattooed, punk computer hacker named Lisbeth Salander. As they work together in the investigation, Blomkvist and Salander uncover immense corruption beyond anything they have ever imagined.

7.4

MagicScore

#20

Sex & Drugs & Rock & Roll

2010

A biography of Ian Dury, who was stricken with polio at a young age and defied expectations by becoming one of the founders of the punk-rock scene in Britain in the 1970s.

6.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Summer of Sam?

The top films similar to Summer of Sam by MovieMagicScore are London River (6.7), A Bronx Tale (7.9), Bomb City (7.1). Each shares crime/drama/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Summer of Sam worth watching?

Summer of Sam holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10 from 507 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Summer of Sam?

Summer of Sam (1999) is a crime, drama, thriller film directed by Spike Lee, starring John Leguizamo, Adrien Brody, Mira Sorvino.

Where can I find more recommendations like Summer of Sam?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like London River Movies like A Bronx Tale Movies like Bomb City Movies like To Kill a Mockingbird Movies like 25th Hour Movies like Brokeback Mountain

About movies like Summer of Sam

This ranked list pairs Summer of Sam (1999), a crime and drama and thriller film from Spike Lee, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of John Leguizamo 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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