Movies Like 12 Years a Slave (2013)

12 Years a Slave is a 2013 drama, history film from Steve McQueen with a MovieMagicScore of 7.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Burn! and Django Unchained.

Drama History

Burn!

1969

The professional mercenary Sir William Walker instigates a slave revolt on the Caribbean island of Queimada in order to help improve the British sugar trade. Years later he is sent again to deal with the same rebels that he built up because they have seized too much power that now threatens British sugar interests.

6.8

MagicScore

Django Unchained

2012

With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.

8.2

MagicScore

Case départ

2011

Two contempo Frenchmen of Antillean descent visit their ancestor's time as well as their land in the slavery-themed French era.

6.0

MagicScore

The Butler

2013

A look at the life of Cecil Gaines, who served eight presidents as the White House's head butler from 1952 to 1986, and had a unique front-row seat as political and racial history was made.

7.3

MagicScore

13th

2016

An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.

7.9

MagicScore

Black Snake

1973

On a 19th century Caribbean island, slaves revolt against their beautiful and sadistic mistress.

5.3

MagicScore

Emancipation

2022

Inspired by the gripping true story of a man who would do anything for his family—and for freedom. When Peter, an enslaved man, risks his life to escape and return to his family, he embarks on a perilous journey of love and endurance.

7.8

MagicScore

Band of Angels

1957

Living in Kentucky prior to the Civil War, Amantha Starr is a privileged young woman. Her widowed father, a wealthy plantation owner, dotes on her and sends her to the best schools. When he dies suddenly Amantha's world is turned upside down. She learns that her father had been living on borrowed money and that her mother was actually a slave and her father's mistress.

6.2

MagicScore

Mandingo

1975

Warren Maxwell, the owner of a run-down plantation, pressures his son, Hammond, to marry and produce an heir to inherit the plantation. Hammond settles on his own cousin, Blanche, but purchases a sex slave when he returns from the honeymoon. He also buys his father a new Mandingo slave named Mede to breed and train as a prize-fighter.

6.6

MagicScore

#10

Belle

2013

Dido Elizabeth Bell, the illegitimate, mixed-race daughter of a Royal Navy admiral, plays an important role in the campaign to abolish slavery in England.

7.1

MagicScore

#11

The Housemaid

2016

When an orphaned Vietnamese girl is hired to be a housemaid at a haunted rubber plantation in 1953 French Indochina, she unexpectedly falls in love with the French landowner and awakens the vengeful ghost of his dead wife... who is out for blood.

6.0

MagicScore

#12

Santa Fe Trail

1940

As a penalty for fighting fellow classmates days before graduating from West Point, J.E.B. Stuart, George Armstrong Custer and four friends are assigned to the 2nd Cavalry, stationed at Fort Leavenworth. While there they aid in the capture and execution of the abolitionist, John Brown following the Battle of Harper's Ferry.

5.7

MagicScore

#13

Malcolm X

1992

A tribute to the controversial black activist and leader of the struggle for black liberation. He hit bottom during his imprisonment in the '50s, he became a Black Muslim and then a leader in the Nation of Islam. His assassination in 1965 left a legacy of self-determination and racial pride.

7.5

MagicScore

#14

Sweet Country

2018

In 1929, an Australian Aboriginal stockman kills a white station owner in self-defense and goes on the lam, pursued by a posse.

6.6

MagicScore

#15

The Price of Sugar

2013

A story about two half-sisters life in the eighteenth century Suriname. There is Lynda, a white colonial and slave owner, and her slave Mini-Mini's. While Lynda is slowly embittered by the hard life in the colony, Mini-Mini gets a chance at her own happiness. The question is, if she dares to seize that chance, as this happiness is at the expense of her mistress and half sister?

6.1

MagicScore

#16

Out of Africa

1985

Tells the life story of Danish author Karen Blixen, who at the beginning of the 20th century moved to Africa to build a new life for herself. The film is based on her 1937 autobiographical novel.

7.2

MagicScore

#17

Hillary's America: The Secret History of the Democratic Party

2016

Bestselling author and influential filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza reveals the sordid truth about Hillary Clinton and the secret history of the Democratic Party. This important and controversial film releases at a critical time leading up to the 2016 Presidential campaign and challenges the state of American politics.

5.3

MagicScore

#18

Gone with the Wind

1939

The spoiled daughter of a Georgia plantation owner conducts a tumultuous romance with a cynical profiteer during the American Civil War and Reconstruction Era.

7.9

MagicScore

#19

The Last Supper

1976

A pious plantation owner attempts to teach Christianity to 12 of his slaves by inviting them to participate in a reenactment of the Last Supper.

7.8

MagicScore

#20

The Third Wife

2019

Though only 14 years old, May is selected to be the third wife of a wealthy landowner. Her new home seems idyllic, her husband favours her, and she quickly becomes pregnant with what she is certain will be the desired male progeny. But trouble is quietly brewing: she witnesses a forbidden tryst that will spark a chain reaction of misfortunes — and stir in May urges that until now had been dormant.

6.4

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like 12 Years a Slave?

The top films similar to 12 Years a Slave by MovieMagicScore are Burn! (6.8), Django Unchained (8.2), Case départ (6.0). Each shares drama/history themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is 12 Years a Slave worth watching?

12 Years a Slave holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.9/10 from 11,655 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is 12 Years a Slave?

12 Years a Slave (2013) is a drama, history film directed by Steve McQueen, starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Fassbender, Lupita Nyong'o.

Where can I find more recommendations like 12 Years a Slave?

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 Burn!Movies like Django Unchained Movies like Case départ Movies like The Butler Movies like 13th Movies like Black Snake

About movies like 12 Years a Slave

This ranked list pairs 12 Years a Slave (2013), a drama and history film from Steve McQueen, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Chiwetel Ejiofor 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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