Movies Like Tess (1979)

Tess is a 1979 drama, romance film from Roman Polanski with a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Revenant and Barnyard.

Drama Romance

The Revenant

2015

In the 1820s, a frontiersman, Hugh Glass, sets out on a path of vengeance against those who left him for dead after a bear mauling.

7.5

MagicScore

Barnyard

2006

Otis is a mischievous, carefree Holstein cow who lives on a farm where, unbeknownst to humans, the animals are anthropomorphic. He prefers having fun with his best friends: Pip the mouse, Freddy the ferret, Peck the rooster, and Pig the pig - rather than following strict rules and accepting responsibility. This annoys his stern adoptive father Ben, the leader of the farm's community. One evening, Otis convinces Ben to cover his night watch so he can attend a massive party in the barn and impress Daisy, a pregnant cow who recently arrived at the farm with her best friend Bessy as a newcomer. As the animals party, Dag the coyote and his pack attempt to raid the chicken coop. Ben fends them off alone but is fatally wounded and killed. Otis must now learn the value of responsibility when he becomes the leader of his farm home's community.

5.9

MagicScore

War and Peace

1956

The love story of young Countess Natasha Rostova and Count Pierre Bezukhov is interwoven with the Great Patriotic War of 1812 against Napoleon's invading army.

6.7

MagicScore

Anna Karenina

1935

In 19th century Russia a woman in a respectable marriage to a senior statesman must grapple with her love for a dashing soldier.

6.5

MagicScore

Days of Heaven

1978

In 1916, a Chicago steel worker accidentally kills his supervisor and flees to the Texas panhandle with his girlfriend and little sister to work harvesting wheat in the fields of a stoic farmer.

7.5

MagicScore

The Nightingale

2018

In 1825, Clare, a 21-year-old Irish convict, chases a British soldier through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. She enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past.

7.1

MagicScore

The Widow of Saint-Pierre

2000

In 1850, on the isolated French island of Saint-Pierre, a murder shocks the natives. Two fishermen are arrested. One of them, Louis Ollivier, dies in custody. The other, Neel Auguste, is sentenced to death by the guillotine. The island is so small that it has neither a guillotine nor an executioner. While those are sent for Auguste is placed under the supervision of an army Captain.

6.5

MagicScore

The Last House on the Left

2009

When athletic teen Mari Collingwood opts to hang out with her friend Paige in town rather than spend an evening in with her parents vacationing at the family's remote lake house, it marks the beginning of a night no one is going to forget.

6.5

MagicScore

Cousin Bette

1998

In 19th century Paris, Bette Fischer, a poor and homely spinster, forms an alliance with the seductive courtesan Valerie Marneffe to orchestrate revenge on her handsome and wealthy relatives.

5.5

MagicScore

#10

The Virgin Spring

1960

Devout Christians Töre and Märeta send their only daughter, the virginal Karin, and their foster daughter, the unrepentant Ingeri, to deliver candles to a distant church. On their way through the woods, the girls encounter a group of savage goat herders who brutally rape and murder Karin as Ingeri remains hidden. When the killers unwittingly seek refuge in the farmhouse of Töre and Märeta, Töre plots a fitting revenge.

7.8

MagicScore

#11

Diary of a Chambermaid

1964

Celestine has a new job as a chambermaid for the quirky M. Monteil, his wife and her father. When the father dies, Celestine decides to quit her job and leave, but when a young girl is raped and murdered, Celestine believes that the Monteils' groundskeeper, Joseph, is guilty, and stays on in order to prove it. She uses her sexuality and the promise of marriage to get Joseph to confess -- but things do not go as planned.

7.1

MagicScore

#12

Jacquou the Rebel

2007

In 1815, young Jacquou lives an idyllic peasant life with his parents in the Périgord region of France. But one day, his childhood happiness is cruelly ended when his father is arrested, after a dispute with the arrogant Count de Nansac. With both his parents dead, Jacquou is adopted by Bonal, a kind priest, under whose influence he grows into an assured, morally upright young man. Now an adult, Jacquou has one desire. To repay the Count de Nansac for the evil he once inflicted on his parents...

6.6

MagicScore

#13

Death Takes a Holiday

1934

After years of questioning why people fear him, Death takes on human form so he can mingle among the mortals and find an answer. However, events soon spiral out of control as he falls in love with the beautiful young Grazia, the only woman not afraid of him. As he falls in love with her, her father sees him for what he is and begs him to return to his duties. Death must decide whether or not to seek his own happiness or sacrifice it so that Grazia may live.

6.3

MagicScore

#14

Dragonwyck

1946

For Miranda Wells, moving to New York to live in Dragonwyck Manor with her rich cousin, Nicholas, seems like a dream. However, the situation gradually becomes nightmarish. She observes Nicholas' troubled relationship with his tenant farmers, as well as with his daughter, to whom Miranda serves as governess. Her relationship with Nicholas intensifies after his wife dies, but his mental imbalance threatens any hope of happiness.

6.7

MagicScore

#15

The Peasants

2023

Peasant girl Jagna is forced to marry the much older, wealthy farmer Boryna, despite her love for his son Antek. With time, Jagna becomes the object of envy and disdain with the villagers and she must fight to preserve her independence.

7.5

MagicScore

#16

The Holy Innocents

1984

Somewhere in the spanish country, in the 60s. Paco and his wife Régula are very poor. They work as tenant farmers for a very wealthy landowner. They have 3 children. One is backward. The others can not got to school because the master "needs" their work. When Regula's brother is fired from where he has worked for 61 years, he settles down at their little place... An attack against the archaism of the spanish country of the 60s.

7.8

MagicScore

#17

The Heiress

1949

In 1840s New York, the uneventful and boring days of the daughter of a wealthy doctor come to an end when she meets a dashing poorer man — who may or may not be after her inheritance.

7.8

MagicScore

#18

Eyes Wide Shut

1999

After Dr. Bill Harford's wife, Alice, admits to having sexual fantasies about a man she met, Bill becomes obsessed with having a sexual encounter. He discovers an underground sexual group and attends one of their meetings -- and quickly discovers that he is in over his head.

7.5

MagicScore

#19

We Live in Time

2024

An up-and-coming chef and a recent divorcée find their lives forever changed when a chance encounter brings them together, in a decade-spanning, deeply moving romance.

7.2

MagicScore

#20

Seven Samurai

1954

A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.

8.5

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Tess?

The top films similar to Tess by MovieMagicScore are The Revenant (7.5), Barnyard (5.9), War and Peace (6.7). Each shares drama/romance themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Tess worth watching?

Tess holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.1/10 from 356 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Tess?

Tess (1979) is a drama, romance film directed by Roman Polanski, starring Nastassja Kinski, Peter Firth, Leigh Lawson.

Where can I find more recommendations like Tess?

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 The Revenant Movies like Barnyard Movies like War and Peace Movies like Anna Karenina Movies like Days of Heaven Movies like The Nightingale

About movies like Tess

This ranked list pairs Tess (1979), a drama and romance film from Roman Polanski, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Nastassja Kinski 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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