Movies Like Despair (1978)

Despair is a 1978 drama, thriller film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder with a MovieMagicScore of 6.4/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with The Double and Hitler: A Career.

Drama Thriller

The Double

2014

An awkward office drone becomes increasingly unhinged after a charismatic and confident look-alike takes a job at his workplace and seduces the woman he desires.

6.5

MagicScore

Hitler: A Career

1977

A keen chronicle of the unlikely rise to power of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) and a dissection of the Third Reich (1933-1945), but also an analysis of mass psychology and how the desperate crowd can be deceived and shepherded to the slaughterhouse.

7.4

MagicScore

Double Indemnity

1944

An insurance representative is seduced by a dissatisfied housewife into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, a claims investigator.

8.1

MagicScore

Perfect Blue

1998

Rising pop star Mima Kirigoe quits singing to pursue a career as an actress. After she takes up a role on a popular detective show, her handlers and collaborators begin turning up murdered. Harboring feelings of guilt and haunted by visions of her former self, Mima's reality and fantasy meld into a frenzied paranoia.

8.3

MagicScore

Enemy

2014

A mild-mannered college professor discovers a look-alike actor and delves into the other man's private affairs.

6.9

MagicScore

Inland Empire

2006

When actress Nikki Grace gets the lead role in a cursed film, her world becomes more and more surreal, blending realities and ideas of infidelity, reincarnation, and supernatural forces.

7.0

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

Lost Highway

1997

A tormented jazz musician finds himself lost in an enigmatic story involving murder, surveillance, gangsters, doppelgängers, and an impossible transformation inside a prison cell.

7.5

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

#10

Possession

1981

A young woman left her family for an unspecified reason. The husband determines to find out the truth and starts following his wife. At first, he suspects that a man is involved. But gradually, he finds out more and more strange behaviors and bizarre incidents that indicate something more than a possessed love affair.

7.3

MagicScore

#11

The Prowler

1951

Los Angeles, California. A cop who, unhappy with his job, blames others for his work problems, is assigned to investigate the case of a prowler who stalks the home of a married woman.

6.8

MagicScore

#12

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

#13

The House on Telegraph Hill

1951

Concentration camp survivor Victoria Kowelska finds herself involved in mystery, greed, and murder when she assumes the identity of a dead friend in order to gain passage to America.

6.4

MagicScore

#14

Bigger Than Life

1956

A friendly, successful suburban teacher and father grows dangerously addicted to cortisone, resulting in his transformation into a household despot.

7.2

MagicScore

#15

Kuhle Wampe or Who Owns the World?

1932

Kuhle Wampe takes place in early-1930s Berlin. The film begins with a montage of newspaper headlines describing steadily-rising unemployment figures. This is followed by scenes of a young man looking for work in the city and the family discussing the unpaid back rent. The young man, brother of the protagonist Anni, removes his wristwatch and throws himself from a window out of despair. Shortly thereafter his family is evicted from their apartment. Now homeless, the family moves into a garden colony of sorts with the name “Kuhle Wampe.”

6.9

MagicScore

#16

The Substance

2024

A fading celebrity decides to use a black market drug, a cell-replicating substance that temporarily creates a younger, better version of herself.

7.1

MagicScore

#17

The Sound of Music

1965

In the years before World War II, a tomboyish postulant at an Austrian abbey is hired as a governess in the home of a widowed naval captain with seven children, and brings a new love of life and music into the home.

7.7

MagicScore

#18

The Slingshot

1993

Stockholm in the 1920s. Young Roland lives with his socialist father, Jewish mother and a boxing brother. His mother sells condoms illegally, and from them, Roland makes slingshots which he sells. His rebellious ways has gotten him the special attention of his school teacher, who always makes sure that Roland is punished. Roland also tries to make extra money by repairing bicycles, a successful business that in the end lands him in hot water.

6.0

MagicScore

#19

Girl, Interrupted

1999

Set in the changing world of the late 1960s, Susanna Kaysen's prescribed "short rest" from a psychiatrist she had met only once becomes a strange, unknown journey into Alice's Wonderland, where she struggles with the thin line between normal and crazy. Susanna soon realizes how hard it is to get out once she has been committed, and she ultimately has to choose between the world of people who belong inside or the difficult world of reality outside.

7.6

MagicScore

#20

Anastasia

1956

Russian exiles in Paris plot to collect ten million pounds from the Bank of England by grooming a destitute, suicidal girl to pose as heir to the Russian throne. While Bounin is coaching her, he comes to believe that she is really Anastasia. In the end, the Empress must decide her claim.

6.8

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Despair?

The top films similar to Despair by MovieMagicScore are The Double (6.5), Hitler: A Career (7.4), Double Indemnity (8.1). Each shares drama/thriller themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Despair worth watching?

Despair holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.4/10 from 44 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Despair?

Despair (1978) is a drama, thriller film directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, starring Dirk Bogarde, Andréa Ferréol, Klaus Löwitsch.

Where can I find more recommendations like Despair?

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 The Double Movies like Hitler: A Career Movies like Double Indemnity Movies like Perfect Blue Movies like Enemy Movies like Inland Empire

About movies like Despair

This ranked list pairs Despair (1978), a drama and thriller film from Rainer Werner Fassbinder, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Dirk Bogarde 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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