Movies Like The Believer (2001)

The Believer is a 2001 drama film from Henry Bean with a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Ben-Hur and The Small Back Room.

Drama

Ben-Hur

1959

In ancient Judea, a Jewish aristocrat opposing Roman occupation of his homeland reunites with his childhood friend, now a Roman commander — setting in motion a saga of betrayal, adventure, tragedy, revenge, and faith.

7.9

MagicScore

The Small Back Room

1949

As the Germans drop explosive booby-traps on 1943 Britain, the embittered expert who'll have to disarm them fights a private battle with alcohol.

6.7

MagicScore

Hitler's Hollywood

2017

Film journalist and critic Rüdiger Suchsland examines German cinema from 1933, when the Nazis came into power, until 1945, when the Third Reich collapsed. (A sequel to From Caligari to Hitler, 2015.)

6.4

MagicScore

Jesus

1999

Jesus, a carpenter living a simple life, discovers his destiny as the biblical Messiah.

6.7

MagicScore

This Is England

2007

A story about a troubled boy growing up in England, set in 1983. He comes across a few skinheads on his way home from school, after a fight. They become his new best friends, even like family. Based on experiences of director Shane Meadows.

7.5

MagicScore

Godzilla

1977

A re-edited Italian-language dubbed version of the original Godzilla, using as a basis the U.S. version, "Godzilla, King of the Monsters!" (1956), plus WWII newsreel footage and clips from other science fiction films. The re-edited film was then colorized via a process called "Spectrorama 70" consisting of applying various colored gels to the black and white footage. The film's opening and ending also features new music composed by musicians Fabio Frizzi, Franco Bixio, and Vince Tempera (under the pseudonym Magnetic System).

6.7

MagicScore

American History X

1998

Derek Vineyard is paroled after serving 3 years in prison for killing two African-American men. Through his brother, Danny Vineyard's narration, we learn that before going to prison, Derek was a skinhead and the leader of a violent white supremacist gang that committed acts of racial crime throughout L.A. and his actions greatly influenced Danny. Reformed and fresh out of prison, Derek severs contact with the gang and becomes determined to keep Danny from going down the same violent path as he did.

8.3

MagicScore

School Ties

1992

When David Greene receives a football scholarship to a prestigious prep school in the 1950s, he feels pressure to hide the fact that he is Jewish from his classmates and teachers, fearing that they may be anti-Semitic. He quickly becomes the big man on campus thanks to his football skills, but when his Jewish background is discovered, his worst fears are realized and his friends turn on him with violent threats and public ridicule.

6.5

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

#10

Homicide

1991

A Jewish homicide detective investigates a seemingly minor murder and falls in with a Zionist group as a result.

6.3

MagicScore

#11

Omagh

2005

The movie starts at the 1998 bomb attack by the Real IRA at Omagh, Northern Ireland. The attack killed 31 people. Michael Gallagher one of the relatives of the victims starts an examination to bring the people responsible to court.

6.3

MagicScore

#12

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

#13

The Tin Drum

1979

Oskar Matzerath is a very unusual boy. Refusing to leave the womb until promised a tin drum by his mother, Agnes, Oskar is reluctant to enter a world he sees as filled with hypocrisy and injustice, and vows on his third birthday to never grow up. Miraculously, he gets his wish. As the Nazis rise to power in Danzig, Oskar wills himself to remain a child, beating his tin drum incessantly and screaming in protest at the chaos surrounding him.

6.9

MagicScore

#14

The Green Hornet

2011

Britt Reid, the heir to the largest newspaper fortune in Los Angeles, is a spoiled playboy who has been, thus far, happy to lead an aimless life. After his father dies, Britt meets Kato, a resourceful company employee. Realizing that they have the talent and resources to make something of their lives, Britt and Kato join forces as costumed crime-fighters to bring down the city's most-powerful criminal, Chudnofsky.

5.6

MagicScore

#15

Romper Stomper

1992

Nazi skinheads in Melbourne take out their anger on local Vietnamese, who are seen as threatening racial purity. Finally the Vietnamese have had enough and confront the skinheads in an all-out confrontation, sending the skinheads running. A woman who is prone to epileptic seizures joins the skins' merry band, and helps them on their run from justice, but is her affliction also a sign of impurity?

6.5

MagicScore

#16

Skinning

2010

Novica is a mathematics champion in a Belgrade high school. In an attempt to overcome the ‘geek’ status at school, Novica becomes attracted to the world of skinheads by his school friend Relja. Novica is exposed to violence, hooliganism and racism; embracing the ideology and climbing up the ladder in the gang hierarchy.

6.1

MagicScore

#17

Oi! Warning

1999

A young man gets caught up in a conflict between his friends, a skinhead and a gay anarchist.

5.5

MagicScore

#18

The Boys in the Band

1970

A witty, perceptive and devastating look at the personal agendas and suppressed revelations swirling among a group of gay men in Manhattan. Harold is celebrating a birthday, and his friend Michael has drafted some other friends to help commemorate the event. As the evening progresses, the alcohol flows, the knives come out, and Michael's demand that the group participate in a devious telephone game, unleashing dormant and unspoken emotions.

7.0

MagicScore

#19

Shame

2011

Brandon, a thirty-something man living in New York, eludes intimacy with women but feeds his deepest desires with a compulsive addiction to sex. When his younger sister temporarily moves into his apartment, stirring up bitter memories of their shared painful past, Brandon's life, like his fragile mind, gets out of control.

6.9

MagicScore

#20

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

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Believer?

The top films similar to The Believer by MovieMagicScore are Ben-Hur (7.9), The Small Back Room (6.7), Hitler's Hollywood (6.4). Each shares drama themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Believer worth watching?

The Believer holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10 from 646 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is The Believer?

The Believer (2001) is a drama film directed by Henry Bean, starring Ryan Gosling, Summer Phoenix, Theresa Russell.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Believer?

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 Ben-Hur Movies like The Small Back Room Movies like Hitler's Hollywood Movies like Jesus Movies like This Is England Movies like Godzilla

About movies like The Believer

This ranked list pairs The Believer (2001), a drama film from Henry Bean, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Ryan Gosling 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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