Movies Like The Devil's Playground (1977)

The Devil's Playground is a 1977 drama film from Fred Schepisi with a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Lady Bird and I Killed My Mother.

Drama

Lady Bird

2017

Lady Bird McPherson, a strong willed, deeply opinionated, artistic 17 year old comes of age in Sacramento. Her relationship with her mother and her upbringing are questioned and tested as she plans to head off to college.

7.2

MagicScore

I Killed My Mother

2009

Hubert, a brash 17-year-old, is confused and torn by a love-hate relationship with his mother that consumes him more and more each day. After distressing ordeals and tragic episodes, Hubert will find his mother on the banks of Saint Lawrence river, where he grew up, and where a murder will be committed: the murder of childhood.

7.5

MagicScore

Heaven Help Us

1985

Sixteen-year-old Michael Dunn arrives at St. Basil's Catholic Boys School in Brooklyn circa 1965. There, he befriends all of the misfits in his class as they collide with the repressive faculty and discover the opposite sex as they come of age.

6.3

MagicScore

The Time to Live and the Time to Die

1985

An autobiographical film based on Taiwanese director Hou Hsiao-hsien's memories of his youth growing up in Taiwan after emigrating from mainland China.

7.3

MagicScore

Liberty Heights

1999

This semi-autobiographical film by Barry Levinson follows various members of the Kurtzman clan, a Jewish family living in suburban Baltimore during the 1950s. As teenaged Ben completes high school, he falls for Sylvia, a black classmate, creating inevitable tensions. Meanwhile, Ben's brother, Van, attends college and becomes smitten with a mysterious woman while their father tries to maintain his burlesque business.

6.6

MagicScore

Evil

2003

Stockholm, in the 1950s. Erik is expelled from the local school for getting into one brawl too many. To protect Erik from his violent stepfather’s reaction to his expulsion, Erik's mother arranges for Erik to spend a year at Stjärnsberg Boarding School, the only school willing to accept him. This is Erik's last chance to graduate to Upper School and he promises his mother, for his and her sake, to do all he can to stay out of trouble.

7.3

MagicScore

Wild Child

2008

Sixteen-year-old Poppy has everything her unlimited credit cards can buy, and a spoiled attitude to match. After a final thoughtless prank, her exasperated father ships her off to boarding school in England. There, Poppy meets her match in a stern headmistress and a class full of girls who will not tolerate her selfishness.

6.7

MagicScore

Saint Ralph

2005

This Canadian made comedy/drama, set in Hamilton, Ontario in 1954, is a sweet and - at times - goofy story that becomes increasingly poignant as the minutes tick by. It's the fictional tale of a wayward 9th grader, Ralph (Adam Butcher), who is secretly living on his own while his widowed, hospitalized mother remains immersed in a coma. Frequently in trouble with Father Fitzpatrick (Gordon Pinsent), the principal of his all-boys, Catholic school, Ralph is considered something of a joke among peers until he decides to pull off a miracle that could save his mother, i.e., winning the Boston Marathon. Coached by a younger priest and former runner, Father Hibbert (Campbell Scott), whose cynicism has been lifted by the boy's pure hope, Ralph applies himself to his unlikely mission, fending off naysayers and getting help along a very challenging path from sundry allies and friends.

6.9

MagicScore

White Squall

1996

In 1960, a hardy group of prep school students boards an old-fashioned sailing ship. With Capt. Christopher Sheldon at the helm, the oceangoing voyage is intended to teach the boys fortitude and discipline. But the youthful crew are about to get some unexpected instruction in survival when they get caught in the clutches of a white squall storm.

6.3

MagicScore

#10

Schoolgirls

2020

In early 1990s Spain, eleven-year-old Celia lives with her mother and studies at a convent school in Zaragoza. When Brisa, a confident new classmate from Barcelona, arrives, Celia is drawn into a world that challenges the strict religious teachings and sheltered life she has known. Their friendship pushes her to confront hidden truths at home and the uncertainties of adolescence, leading her to explore questions of identity, independence, and belonging.

6.6

MagicScore

#11

Our Ladies

2019

In 1996 Scotland, a group of Catholic schoolgirls get an opportunity to go into Edinburgh for a choir competition, but they're more interested in drinking, partying and hooking up than winning the competition.

6.5

MagicScore

#12

The Chocolate War

1988

Jerry, a new student at an elite Catholic prep school, must face the hazing practices handed down by the Vigils, a group of powerful students. When teacher Brother Leon pushes the students to sell chocolates for a fundraiser, the head of the Vigils, Archie, gets Jerry to reject selling for 10 days. However, Jerry decides to keep up the refusal past the original time frame, which pits him against the Vigils and the school staff.

6.3

MagicScore

#13

The Long Day Closes

1992

Bud is a lonely and quiet boy whose moments of solace occur when he sits in rapture at the local cinema, watching towering and iconic figures on the movie screen. The movies give Bud the strength to get through another day as he deals with his oppressive school environment and his burgeoning homosexuality.

7.2

MagicScore

#14

Chocolat

1988

On her way to visit her childhood home in a colonial outpost in Northern Cameroon, a young French woman recalls her childhood, her memories concentrating on her family's houseboy.

6.9

MagicScore

#15

Queen & Country

2014

In this sequel to Hope and Glory (1987), Bill Rohan has grown up and is drafted into the army, where he and his eccentric best mate, Percy, battle their snooty superiors on the base and look for love in town.

6.0

MagicScore

#16

Sami Blood

2016

Elle Marja, 14, is a reindeer-breeding Sami girl. Exposed to the racism of the 1930s and phrenological examinations at her boarding school, she starts dreaming of another life. To achieve this other life she has to become someone else and break all ties with her family and culture.

7.3

MagicScore

#17

Spud 2: The Madness Continues

2013

The year is 1991, and Spud Milton's long walk to manhood is still creeping along at an unnervingly slow pace. Approaching the ripe old age of fifteen and still no signs of the much anticipated ball-drop, Spud is coming to terms with the fact that he may well be a freak of nature. With a mother hell-bent on emigrating, a father making a killing out of selling homemade moonshine, and a demented grandmother called Wombat, the new year seems to offer little except extreme embarrassment and more mortifying Milton madness. But Spud is returning to a boarding school where he is no longer the youngest or the smallest. His dormitory mates, known as the Crazy Eight, have an unusual new member and his house has a new clutch of first years (the Normal Seven). If Spud thinks his second year will be a breeze, however, he is seriously mistaken.

6.9

MagicScore

#18

Flirting

1991

Two freethinking teenagers - a boy and a girl - confront with authoritarian teachers in their boarding schools. The other students treat this differently.

6.6

MagicScore

#19

Crazy

2000

Benjamin, a 16-year-old with lousy grades, switches to a boarding school in order to eventually reach grammar school. Adjusting to his new environment is difficult as he has to struggle with being a teen... specially when he falls in love to the school's dream girl, Malen.

6.3

MagicScore

#20

The 400 Blows

1959

For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents, Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene, trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.

8.0

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Devil's Playground?

The top films similar to The Devil's Playground by MovieMagicScore are Lady Bird (7.2), I Killed My Mother (7.5), Heaven Help Us (6.3). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Devil's Playground worth watching?

The Devil's Playground holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.5/10 from 33 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Devil's Playground?

The Devil's Playground (1977) is a drama film directed by Fred Schepisi, starring Arthur Dignam, Nick Tate, Simon Burke.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Devil's Playground?

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 Lady Bird Movies like I Killed My Mother Movies like Heaven Help Us Movies like The Time to Live and the Time to Die Movies like Liberty Heights Movies like Evil

About movies like The Devil's Playground

This ranked list pairs The Devil's Playground (1977), a drama film from Fred Schepisi, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Arthur Dignam 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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