Movies Like Playing for Time (1980)

Playing for Time is a 1980 drama, history, music, tv movie film from Daniel Mann with a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Schindler's List and Simone: Woman of the Century.

Drama History Music TV Movie

Schindler's List

1993

The true story of how businessman Oskar Schindler saved over a thousand Jewish lives from the Nazis while they worked as slaves in his factory during World War II.

8.6

MagicScore

Simone: Woman of the Century

2022

Simone Veil's life story through the pivotal events of Twentieth Century. Her childhood, her political battles, her tragedies. An intimate and epic portrait of an extraordinary woman who eminently challenged and transformed her era defending a humanist message still keenly relevant today.

7.9

MagicScore

The Zone of Interest

2023

The commandant of Auschwitz, Rudolf Höss, and his wife Hedwig, strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden next to the camp.

7.0

MagicScore

Triumph of the Spirit

1989

During World War II, Salamo Arouch, a passionate boxer, is arrested and sent to a concentration camp. Soon, he is forced to box against his fellow prisoners for the sake of entertainment.

6.5

MagicScore

The Guard of Auschwitz

2018

Nazi occupied Poland, during the World War II. Hans, a former brilliant student, has become an SS officer stationed at the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp. When he is commissioned by his superior officer to build an efficient gas chamber, Hans, facing the harsh reality, begins to realize the magnitude of the atrocious acts of which he is being accomplice.

4.2

MagicScore

The Truce

1997

After the liberation of Auschwitz, an Italian prisoner of War begins a torturous voyage home to Turin, through a Europe caught between war and peace.

6.1

MagicScore

The Counterfeiters

2007

The story of Jewish counterfeiter Salomon Sorowitsch, who was coerced into assisting the Nazi operation of the Sachsenhausen concentration camp during World War II.

7.4

MagicScore

The Champion

2021

It is 1940. The first transport of prisoners arrives at the newly created concentration camp Auschwitz. One of them is Tadeusz “Teddy” Pietrzykowski, pre-war boxing champion of Warsaw. The camp officers force him to fight in the ring for his and other prisoners’ lives. However, his every win strengthens the hope that Nazis are not invincible. Auschwitz officers notice the growing resistance. The confrontation with the authorities of the camp becomes inevitable.

7.7

MagicScore

And Along Come Tourists

2007

Sven arrives in nowadays Auschwitz to do his civil service at the memorial. He encounters unfriendliness, especially by Stanislaw Krzeminski, the 85 year old KZ-survivor, and Krzysztof Lanuszewski, brother of his early love affair Ania. Even his boss Herold, the places manager, does little to help Sven familiarize. But when problems accumulate Sven realises that he already has become involved.

6.6

MagicScore

#10

Charlotte

2022

The true story of Charlotte Salomon, a young German-Jewish painter who comes of age in Berlin on the eve of the Second World War. Fiercely imaginative and deeply gifted, she dreams of becoming an artist. Her first love applauds her talent, which emboldens her resolve. When anti-Semitic policies inspire violent mobs, she escapes to the safety of the South of France. There she begins to paint again, and finds new love. But her work is interrupted, this time by a family tragedy that reveals an even darker secret. Believing that only an extraordinary act will save her, she embarks on the monumental adventure of painting her life story.

6.3

MagicScore

#11

Night and Fog

1959

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.

8.2

MagicScore

#12

The Last Stage

1948

Poland, during World War II. Martha Weiss, a Jewish woman, arrives at the Auschwitz extermination camp with her family. She is assigned the role of interpreter, but her loved ones are much less fortunate.

7.2

MagicScore

#13

Son of Saul

2015

In the horror of 1944 Auschwitz, a prisoner forced to burn the corpses of his own people finds moral survival trying to save from the flames the body of a boy he takes for his son, seeking to give him a proper jewish burial.

7.1

MagicScore

#14

Phoenix

2014

In the aftermath of WWII, German-Jewish cabaret singer Nelly has to undergo facial reconstructive surgery following her survival from Auschwitz. Without recognising Nelly, her former husband Johnny asks her to help him claim his wife’s inheritance. To see if he's betrayed her, she agrees, becoming her own doppelgänger.

6.8

MagicScore

#15

Judgment at Nuremberg

1961

In 1947, four German judges who served on the bench during the Nazi regime face a military tribunal to answer charges of crimes against humanity. Chief Justice Haywood hears evidence and testimony not only from lead defendant Ernst Janning and his defense attorney Hans Rolfe, but also from the widow of a Nazi general, an idealistic U.S. Army captain and reluctant witness Irene Wallner.

8.0

MagicScore

#16

The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas

2008

When his family moves from their home in Berlin to a strange new house in Poland, young Bruno befriends Shmuel, a boy who lives on the other side of the fence where everyone seems to be wearing striped pajamas. Unaware of Shmuel's fate as a Jewish prisoner or the role his own Nazi father plays in his imprisonment, Bruno embarks on a dangerous journey inside the camp's walls.

7.8

MagicScore

#17

Naked Among Wolves

2015

Taking place at the Concentration camp Buchenwald at the end of March 1945, prisoner Hans Pippig discovers in a carrying case of an incoming prisoner a Jewish child. If reported the three-year-old is sure to die. On the other hand, a violation of the rules of the camp would threaten the long prepared uprising of the concentration camp prisoners against the SS.

7.3

MagicScore

#18

Escape from Sobibor

1987

The true story of WWII's notorious Sobibor Nazi death camp, where a courageous inmate orchestrates and leads the escape of over 300 prisoners.

7.2

MagicScore

#19

Olga

2004

Based upon the true story of Olga Benário, the German-born wife of Brazilian communist leader Luís Carlos Prestes. During the dictatorship of Getúlio Vargas (1930-1945) she was arrested and sent to Nazi Germany, where she was put to death in a concentration camp. After World War II began, Vargas decided to uphold the Allies.

7.1

MagicScore

#20

Lee

2024

The true story of photographer Elizabeth "Lee" Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II.

7.0

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Playing for Time?

The top films similar to Playing for Time by MovieMagicScore are Schindler's List (8.6), Simone: Woman of the Century (7.9), The Zone of Interest (7.0). Each shares drama/history/music/tv movie themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Playing for Time worth watching?

Playing for Time holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.8/10 from 56 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Playing for Time?

Playing for Time (1980) is a drama, history, music, tv movie film directed by Daniel Mann, starring Vanessa Redgrave, Jane Alexander, Maud Adams.

Where can I find more recommendations like Playing for Time?

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 Schindler's List Movies like Simone: Woman of the Century Movies like The Zone of Interest Movies like Triumph of the Spirit Movies like The Guard of Auschwitz Movies like The Truce

About movies like Playing for Time

This ranked list pairs Playing for Time (1980), a drama and history and music and tv movie film from Daniel Mann, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Vanessa Redgrave 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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