Movies Like Bigger Than Life (1956)

Bigger Than Life is a 1956 drama film from Nicholas Ray with a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Bringing Out the Dead and Don't Look Now.

Drama

Bringing Out the Dead

1999

Once called "Father Frank" for his efforts to rescue lives, Frank Pierce sees the ghosts of those he failed to save around every turn. He has tried everything he can to get fired, calling in sick, delaying taking calls where he might have to face one more victim he couldn't help, yet cannot quit the job on his own.

6.6

MagicScore

Don't Look Now

1973

While grieving a terrible loss, a married couple meet two mysterious sisters, one of whom gives them a message sent from the afterlife.

6.9

MagicScore

The Tenant

1976

A quiet and inconspicuous man rents an apartment in Paris where he finds himself drawn into a rabbit hole of dangerous paranoia.

7.6

MagicScore

Black Swan

2010

The story of a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life is completely consumed with dance. Nina lives with her retired ballerina mother who zealously supports her daughter's professional ambition. When the artistic director decides to replace the prima ballerina for the opening production of their new season, Nina is his first choice.

7.7

MagicScore

They Look Like People

2016

Suspecting that people are transforming into malevolent shape-shifters, Wyatt flees to New York City to seek out his estranged childhood friend Christian.

6.2

MagicScore

The Mothman Prophecies

2002

Reporter John Klein is plunged into a world of impossible terror and unthinkable chaos when fate draws him to a sleepy West Virginia town whose residents are being visited by a great winged shape that sows hideous nightmares and fevered visions.

6.2

MagicScore

Trainspotting

1996

Heroin addict Mark Renton stumbles through bad ideas and sobriety attempts with his unreliable friends --Sick Boy, Begbie, Spud and Tommy. He also has an underage girlfriend, Diane, along for the ride. After cleaning up and moving from Edinburgh to London, Mark finds he can't escape the life he left behind as Begbie and Sick Boy come knocking.

8.0

MagicScore

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

1998

Raoul Duke and his attorney Dr. Gonzo drive a red convertible across the Mojave desert to Las Vegas with a suitcase full of drugs to cover a motorcycle race. As their consumption of drugs increases at an alarming rate, the stoned duo trash their hotel room and fear legal repercussions. Duke begins to drive back to L.A., but after an odd run-in with a cop, he returns to Sin City and continues his wild drug binge.

7.2

MagicScore

Tell Your Children

1938

High-school principal Dr. Alfred Carroll relates to an audience of parents that marijuana can have devastating effects on teens: a drug supplier entices several restless teens, Mary and Jimmy Lane, sister and brother, and Bill, Mary's boyfriend, into frequenting a reefer house. Gradually, Bill and Jimmy are drawn into smoking dope, which affects their family lives.

4.3

MagicScore

#10

The Singing Detective

2003

Tormented and bedridden by a debilitating disease, a mystery writer relives his detective stories through his imagination and hallucinations.

5.0

MagicScore

#11

Despair

1978

Berlin, 1930, during the rise of Nazism. Hermann Hermann, a Russian emigrant and chocolate manufacturer, married to the capricious Lydia, loses his temper more and more every day when dealing with his workers and other businessmen; until he meets Felix, a vagrant, who seems to be physically identical to him; a disconcerting fact that leads Hermann Hermann to plot a particular way out of a fake world he actually hates.

6.4

MagicScore

#12

Smile

2022

After witnessing a bizarre, traumatic incident involving a patient, Dr. Rose Cotter starts experiencing frightening occurrences that she can't explain.

6.7

MagicScore

#13

Images

1972

While holidaying in Ireland, a pregnant children's author finds her mental state becoming increasingly unstable, resulting in paranoia, hallucinations, and visions of a doppelgänger.

6.8

MagicScore

#14

Burning Man

2011

Tom is a British chef in a Bondi restaurant who seems to have decided there are no longer any rules he needs to obey. Whatever Tom is up to, his actions seem to be tolerated by those around him. As Tom descends into darkness, fragments of a different story begin to emerge. All the women in his world are trying in their own, very different ways to help put him back together.

5.9

MagicScore

#15

Better Man

2024

Follow Robbie Williams' journey from childhood, to being the youngest member of chart-topping boyband Take That, through to his unparalleled achievements as a record-breaking solo artist – all the while confronting the challenges that stratospheric fame and success can bring.

7.7

MagicScore

#16

The Girl from the Wardrobe

2013

This is the story of three characters (brothers Tomek and Jacek and their neighbor Magda), each of them is in their own way lonely and alienated. The title character makes herself secluded. Tomek's alienation results from his neurological disease, and Jacek contacts the world mainly via the Internet. This is also a film about love. Love of one brother to the other and of one alienated human being to the other. All together it creates a very universal picture with a Polish entourage.

5.8

MagicScore

#17

Oculus

2013

A woman tries to exonerate her brother's murder conviction by proving that the crime was committed by a supernatural phenomenon.

6.5

MagicScore

#18

The Fabelmans

2022

Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, young Sammy Fabelman aspires to become a filmmaker as he reaches adolescence, but soon discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.

7.6

MagicScore

#19

Hard Candy

2005

Hayley’s a smart, charming teenage girl. Jeff’s a handsome, smooth fashion photographer. An Internet chat, a coffee shop meet-up, an impromptu fashion shoot back at Jeff’s place. Jeff thinks it’s his lucky night. He’s in for a surprise.

6.8

MagicScore

#20

Cheaper by the Dozen

2003

The Baker brood moves to Chicago after patriarch Tom gets a job coaching football at Northwestern University, forcing his writer wife, Kate, and the couple's 12 children to make a major adjustment. The transition works well until work demands pull the parents away from home, leaving the kids bored -- and increasingly mischievous.

6.3

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Bigger Than Life?

The top films similar to Bigger Than Life by MovieMagicScore are Bringing Out the Dead (6.6), Don't Look Now (6.9), The Tenant (7.6). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Bigger Than Life worth watching?

Bigger Than Life holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.2/10 from 174 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is Bigger Than Life?

Bigger Than Life (1956) is a drama film directed by Nicholas Ray, starring James Mason, Barbara Rush, Walter Matthau.

Where can I find more recommendations like Bigger Than Life?

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 Bringing Out the Dead Movies like Don't Look Now Movies like The Tenant Movies like Black Swan Movies like They Look Like People Movies like The Mothman Prophecies

About movies like Bigger Than Life

This ranked list pairs Bigger Than Life (1956), a drama film from Nicholas Ray, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of James Mason 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.

← Back to Bigger Than Life