Movies Like Down by Law (1986)

Down by Law is a 1986 comedy, crime, drama film from Jim Jarmusch with a MovieMagicScore of 7.3/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Le Cercle Rouge and Pardon Us.

Comedy Crime Drama

Le Cercle Rouge

1970

When French criminal Corey gets released from prison, he resolves to never return. He is quickly pulled back into the underworld, however, after a chance encounter with escaped murderer Vogel. Along with former policeman and current alcoholic Jansen, they plot an intricate jewel heist. All the while, quirky Police Commissioner Mattei, who was the one to lose custody of Vogel, is determined to find him.

7.6

MagicScore

Pardon Us

1931

It's Prohibition, and the boys wind up behind bars after Stan sells some of their home-brew beer to a policeman.

6.4

MagicScore

The Second 100 Years

1927

Laurel and Hardy are convicts making an escape from prison.

6.2

MagicScore

Undisputed

2002

Monroe Hutchens is the heavyweight champion of Sweetwater, a maximum security prison. He was convicted to a life sentence due to a passionate crime. Iceman Chambers is the heavyweight champion, who lost his title due to a rape conviction to ten years in Sweetwater. When these two giants collide in the same prison, they fight against each other disputing who is the real champion.

6.5

MagicScore

The Ardennes

2015

A brutal home-jacking goes hopelessly wrong. Dave, one of the two robbers, manages to run off, leaving his brother Kenneth behind. Four years later, Kenneth is released from prison and much has changed. Dave has his life back on track and is trying to help Kenneth however possible, but is witnessing how the highly strung Kenneth tries to win back his ex-girlfriend Sylvie.

6.6

MagicScore

T2 Trainspotting

2017

After 20 years abroad, Mark Renton returns to Scotland and reunites with his old friends Sick Boy, Spud and Begbie.

6.9

MagicScore

Con Air

1997

Newly-paroled former US Army ranger Cameron Poe is headed back to his wife, but must fly home aboard a prison transport flight dubbed "Jailbird" taking the “worst of the worst” prisoners, a group described as “pure predators”, to a new super-prison. Poe faces impossible odds when the transport plane is skyjacked mid-flight by the most vicious criminals in the country led by the mastermind — genius serial killer Cyrus "The Virus" Grissom, and backed by black militant Diamond Dog and psychopath Billy Bedlam.

6.8

MagicScore

Papillon

1973

A man befriends a fellow criminal as the two of them begin serving their sentence on a dreadful prison island, which inspires the man to plot his escape.

7.8

MagicScore

Jackson County Jail

1976

A young woman stumbles into a nightmare land of hijacking and humiliation while driving cross-country from California to New York.

5.5

MagicScore

#10

The Great Escape

1963

The Nazis, exasperated at the number of escapes from their prison camps by a relatively small number of Allied prisoners, relocate them to a high-security 'escape-proof' camp to sit out the remainder of the war. Undaunted, the prisoners plan one of the most ambitious escape attempts of World War II. Based on a true story.

7.9

MagicScore

#11

A Man Escaped

1956

A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from prison.

7.9

MagicScore

#12

Escape from Alcatraz

1979

San Francisco Bay, January 18, 1960. Frank Lee Morris is transferred to Alcatraz, a maximum security prison located on a rocky island. Although no one has ever managed to escape from there, Frank and other inmates begin to carefully prepare an escape plan.

7.5

MagicScore

#13

Vivre Sa Vie

1962

Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.

7.7

MagicScore

#14

Next Friday

2000

A streetwise man flees South Central Los Angeles, heading to the suburbs and his lottery-winner uncle and cousin, to avoid a neighborhood thug with a grudge who has just escaped from prison.

6.4

MagicScore

#15

Lonely are the Brave

1962

A fiercely independent cowboy arranges to have himself locked up in jail in order to then escape with an old friend who has been sentenced to the penitentiary.

7.4

MagicScore

#16

Chasers

1994

Military men Rock Reilly and Eddie Devane are tasked with taking a prisoner, blonde bombshell Toni Johnson, on what becomes an unforgettable road trip. Toni, an enlistee who's in trouble for deserting her unit, soon proves that she's craftier than most inmates.

5.4

MagicScore

#17

Undercover Blues

1993

When fun-loving American agents Jeff and Jane Blue are called back from maternity leave for a special assignment in New Orleans, the spy parents decide to skip the sitter and give their bouncing baby girl the adventure of a lifetime.

6.0

MagicScore

#18

Le Trou

1960

Four prison inmates have been hatching a plan to literally dig out of jail when another prisoner, Claude Gaspard, is moved into their cell. They take a risk and share their plan with the newcomer. Over the course of three days, the prisoners and friends break through the concrete floor using a bed post and begin to make their way through the sewer system – yet their escape is anything but assured.

8.2

MagicScore

#19

V.C. Andrews' Hidden Jewel

2021

When Pearl's younger brother becomes deathly ill, she travels back to the bayou to find Ruby and uncover the mysterious secrets of her past.

6.9

MagicScore

#20

The Cat and the Canary

1939

Ten years after the death of millionaire Cyrus Norman, his will is to be read out to his six relatives, including Joyce Norman and Wally Campbell. Organized by Norman's lawyer, Crosby, the six meet at Norman's eerie New Orleans Gothic mansion. During the reading, the superstitious housekeeper declares that someone will be dead by midnight. Wally fears for Joyce when she is declared the sole inheritor, but all are alarmed when Crosby turns up dead.

6.9

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Down by Law?

The top films similar to Down by Law by MovieMagicScore are Le Cercle Rouge (7.6), Pardon Us (6.4), The Second 100 Years (6.2). Each shares comedy/crime/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Down by Law worth watching?

Down by Law holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.3/10 from 800 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Down by Law?

Down by Law (1986) is a comedy, crime, drama film directed by Jim Jarmusch, starring Tom Waits, John Lurie, Roberto Benigni.

Where can I find more recommendations like Down by Law?

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

Keep exploring

Movies like Le Cercle Rouge Movies like Pardon Us Movies like The Second 100 Years Movies like Undisputed Movies like The Ardennes Movies like T2 Trainspotting

About movies like Down by Law

This ranked list pairs Down by Law (1986), a comedy and crime and drama film from Jim Jarmusch, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Tom Waits 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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