Movies Like The Cotton Club (1984)

The Cotton Club is a 1984 crime, drama film from Francis Ford Coppola with a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Young Man with a Horn and Jazzclub - Der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm.

Crime Drama

Young Man with a Horn

1950

Taken in by the musical world as a young orphan, Rick Martin grows up with a desire to play pure jazz instead of the commercial gigs he lands, whilst also coping with the problems caused by his tempestuous marriage to an aloof heiress.

6.4

MagicScore

Jazzclub - Der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm

2004

A musician tries to get by working several jobs.

5.7

MagicScore

The Color Purple

2023

A decades-spanning tale of love and resilience and of one woman's journey to independence. Celie faces many hardships in her life, but ultimately finds extraordinary strength and hope in the unbreakable bonds of sisterhood.

7.0

MagicScore

There's No Business Like Show Business

1954

Molly and Terry Donahue, plus their three children, are The Five Donahues. Youngest son Tim meets hat-check girl Vicky and the family act begins to fall apart.

6.1

MagicScore

Shoot the Piano Player

1960

Charlie is a former classical pianist who has changed his name and now plays jazz in a grimy Paris bar. When Charlie's brothers, Richard and Chico, surface and ask for Charlie's help while on the run from gangsters they have scammed, he aids their escape. Soon Charlie and Lena, a waitress at the same bar, face trouble when the gangsters arrive, looking for his brothers.

7.2

MagicScore

Blues in the Night

1941

A struggling band find themselves attached to a fugitive and drawn into a series of old feuds and love affairs, as they try to stay together and find musical success.

6.2

MagicScore

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

2019

An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).

7.2

MagicScore

Let's Get Lost

1988

Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least one movie and at least one jail cell (for drug possession). And, we see the aged Baker, detached, indifferent, his face a ruin. Includes interviews with his children and ex-wife, women companions, and musicians.

7.0

MagicScore

Jam Session

1942

Duke Ellington and Orchestra perform 'C Jam Blues'.

6.2

MagicScore

#10

'Round Midnight

1986

Inside the Blue Note nightclub one night in 1959 Paris, an aged, ailing jazzman coaxes an eloquent wail from his tenor sax. Outside, a young Parisian too broke to buy a glass of wine strains to hear those notes. Soon they will form a friendship that sparks a final burst of genius.

7.1

MagicScore

#11

Le Bal

1983

In a French nightclub, choreographed song and dance routines are performed, rather than a streamlined narrative. They tell the story of Parisian culture and politics from the 1920s—1980s. A disparate, anachronistic series of characters, including an ordinary waiter, a Nazi collaborator, resistance fighters, and 1960s student protestors gather to celebrate and satirize 20th century France's icons, demons, and social changes.

7.0

MagicScore

#12

Lady Sings the Blues

1972

Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.

6.9

MagicScore

#13

Harlem Nights

1989

'Sugar' Ray is the owner of an illegal casino and must contend with the pressure of vicious gangsters and corrupt police who want to see him go out of business. In the world of organised crime and police corruption in the 1920s, any dastardly trick is fair.

6.1

MagicScore

#14

Pete Kelly's Blues

1955

In 1927, a Kansas City, Missouri cornet player and his band perform nightly at a seedy speakeasy until a racketeer tries to extort them in exchange for protection.

6.1

MagicScore

#15

La La Land

2016

Mia, an aspiring actress, serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and Sebastian, a jazz musician, scrapes by playing cocktail party gigs in dingy bars, but as success mounts they are faced with decisions that begin to fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.

7.9

MagicScore

#16

The Gay Divorcee

1934

Seeking a divorce from her absentee husband, Mimi Glossop travels to an English seaside resort. There she falls in love with dancer Guy Holden, whom she later mistakes for the corespondent her lawyer hired.

6.9

MagicScore

#17

New York, New York

1977

An egotistical saxophone player and a young singer meet on V-J Day and embark upon a strained and rocky romance, even as their careers begin a long uphill climb.

6.6

MagicScore

#18

Saturday Evening Puss

1950

Mammy steps out for the evening. While she's away, the cats - in this case Tom and three of his alley cat friends - play. Play and perform rollicking jazz, that is.

6.7

MagicScore

#19

Three Little Bops

1957

Three hip, Little Pigs are travelling entertainers, moving from straw to wood, to brick nightclubs, playing swinging tunes for high-class, "with it" crowds, but an uncool Big Bad Wolf keeps intruding on their act with with his "corny horn" and uses it to blow their nightclubs down when they throw him out- until they are playing in their brick club and the Wolf tries a more drastic, explosive method for destroying the "House of Bricks".

6.8

MagicScore

#20

Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

2008

London, England, on the eve of World War II. Guinevere Pettigrew, a strict governess who is unable to keep a job, is fired again. Lost in the hostile city, a series of fortunate circumstances lead her to meet Delysia LaFosse, a glamorous and dazzling American jazz singer whose life is a chaos ruled by indecision, a continuous battle between love and fame.

6.8

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Cotton Club?

The top films similar to The Cotton Club by MovieMagicScore are Young Man with a Horn (6.4), Jazzclub - Der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm (5.7), The Color Purple (7.0). Each shares crime/drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Cotton Club worth watching?

The Cotton Club holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10 from 425 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Cotton Club?

The Cotton Club (1984) is a crime, drama film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, starring Richard Gere, Gregory Hines, Diane Lane.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Cotton Club?

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 Young Man with a Horn Movies like Jazzclub - Der frühe Vogel fängt den Wurm Movies like The Color Purple Movies like There's No Business Like Show Business Movies like Shoot the Piano Player Movies like Blues in the Night

About movies like The Cotton Club

This ranked list pairs The Cotton Club (1984), a crime and drama film from Francis Ford Coppola, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Richard Gere 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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