Movies Like Downtown '81 (2001)

Downtown '81 is a 2001 comedy, drama, music film from Edo Bertoglio with a MovieMagicScore of 6.7/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Hannah and Her Sisters and New York Stories.

Comedy Drama Music

Hannah and Her Sisters

1986

Between two Thanksgivings, Hannah's husband falls in love with her sister Lee, while her hypochondriac ex-husband rekindles his relationship with her sister Holly.

7.5

MagicScore

New York Stories

1989

Three tales of love, ambition, and neurosis unfold in the city that never sleeps. In "Life Lessons" (Martin Scorsese), a tormented painter channels heartbreak into his art. In "Life Without Zoë" (Francis Ford Coppola), a precocious 12-year-old navigates privilege and loneliness in a Manhattan hotel. And in "Oedipus Wrecks" (Woody Allen), a man’s domineering mother literally becomes a looming presence over New York.

6.2

MagicScore

Factory Girl

2006

In the mid-1960s, wealthy debutant Edie Sedgwick meets artist Andy Warhol. She joins Warhol's famous Factory and becomes his muse. Although she seems to have it all, Edie cannot have the love she craves from Andy, and she has an affair with a charismatic musician, who pushes her to seek independence from the artist and the milieu.

6.0

MagicScore

Showing Up

2023

In the days leading up to a possibly career-changing exhibition, a sculptor navigates her relationships with family, friends, and colleagues.

5.8

MagicScore

The Sunlit Night

2020

An aspiring painter meets eccentric locals and a fellow New Yorker while working on a barn in Norway.

5.5

MagicScore

Le Divorce

2003

While visiting her sister in Paris, a young woman finds romance and learns her brother-in-law is a philanderer.

4.9

MagicScore

The Danish Girl

2015

When Gerda Wegener asks her husband Einar to fill in as a portrait model, Einar discovers the person she's meant to be and begins living her life as Lili Elbe. Having realized her true self and with Gerda's love and support, Lili embarks on a groundbreaking journey as a transgender pioneer.

7.6

MagicScore

The Great Beauty

2013

Jep Gambardella has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, Jep looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.

7.5

MagicScore

Lust for Life

1956

An intense and imaginative artist, revered Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh possesses undeniable talent, but he is plagued by mental problems and frustrations with failure. Supported by his brother, Theo, the tormented Van Gogh eventually leaves Holland for France, where he meets volatile fellow painter Paul Gauguin and struggles to find greater inspiration.

7.2

MagicScore

#10

Afterimage

2016

In 1945, as Stalin sets his hands over Poland, famous painter Wladislaw Strzeminski refuses to compromise on his art with the doctrines of social realism. Persecuted, expelled from his chair at the University, he's eventually erased from the museums' walls. With the help of some of his students, he starts fighting against the Party and becomes the symbol of an artistic resistance against intellectual tyranny.

6.6

MagicScore

#11

Caravaggio's Shadow

2022

The Catholic Church secretly investigates Caravaggio as the Pope weighs whether to grant him clemency for killing a rival.

6.4

MagicScore

#12

Savage Messiah

1972

In the Paris of the 1910s, brash young sculptor Henri Gaudier begins a creative partnership with an older writer, Sophie Brzeska. Though the couple is 20 years apart in age, Gaudier finds that his untamed work is complemented by the older woman's cultural refinement. He then moves to London with Brzeska, where he falls in with a group of avant-garde artists. There, Gaudier encounters yet another artistic muse in passionate suffragette Gosh Boyle.

6.1

MagicScore

#13

Crumb

1994

This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, ex-wife and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind.

7.5

MagicScore

#14

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

2013

Follows the behind-the-scenes work of Studio Ghibli, focusing on the notable figures Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki.

7.5

MagicScore

#15

The Mystery of Picasso

1956

Using a specially designed transparent 'canvas' to provide an unobstructed view, Picasso creates as the camera rolls. He begins with simple works that take shape after only a single brush stroke. He then progresses to more complex paintings, in which he repeatedly adds and removes elements, transforming the entire scene at will, until at last the work is complete.

7.3

MagicScore

#16

David Lynch: The Art Life

2017

An intimate journey through the formative years of David Lynch's life. From his idyllic upbringing in small town America to the dark streets of Philadelphia, we follow Lynch as he traces the events that have helped to shape one of cinema's most enigmatic directors.

7.0

MagicScore

#17

Cutie and the Boxer

2013

This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.

6.9

MagicScore

#18

Caravaggio: The Soul and the Blood

2018

An exciting and unsettling cinematic journey through the life, work and torments of Caravaggio.

6.7

MagicScore

#19

The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob

1973

In this riot of frantic disguises and mistaken identities, Victor Pivert, a blustering, bigoted French factory owner, finds himself taken hostage by Slimane, an Arab rebel leader. The two dress up as rabbis as they try to elude not only assasins from Slimane's country, but also the police, who think Pivert is a murderer. Pivert ends up posing as Rabbi Jacob, a beloved figure who's returned to France for his first visit after 30 years in the United States. Adding to the confusion are Pivert's dentist-wife, who thinks her husband is leaving her for another woman, their daughter, who's about to get married, and a Parisian neighborhood filled with people eager to celebrate the return of Rabbi Jacob.

7.4

MagicScore

#20

Six Degrees of Separation

1993

The story of a young, gay, black, con artist who, posing as the son of Sidney Poitier, cunningly maneuvers his way into the lives of a white, upper-class New York family.

6.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Downtown '81?

The top films similar to Downtown '81 by MovieMagicScore are Hannah and Her Sisters (7.5), New York Stories (6.2), Factory Girl (6.0). Each shares comedy/drama/music themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Downtown '81 worth watching?

Downtown '81 holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.7/10 from 28 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Downtown '81?

Downtown '81 (2001) is a comedy, drama, music film directed by Edo Bertoglio, starring Jean-Michel Basquiat, Saul Williams, Anna Shroeder.

Where can I find more recommendations like Downtown '81?

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 Hannah and Her Sisters Movies like New York Stories Movies like Factory Girl Movies like Showing Up Movies like The Sunlit Night Movies like Le Divorce

About movies like Downtown '81

This ranked list pairs Downtown '81 (2001), a comedy and drama and music film from Edo Bertoglio, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Jean-Michel Basquiat 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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