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Best Drama Movies

Character-driven stories that sit with the hard questions.


These drama films are ranked by IMDb score — the ones that audiences worldwide have voted, re-watched, and argued over the most. Refine by year or cross-reference with another genre. The list begins with the best.
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Showing 36 of 40

  1. 01.
    The Shawshank Redemption

    The Shawshank Redemption

    1994·Dir. Frank Darabont·142 min·9.3

    Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.

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  2. 02.
    The Godfather

    The Godfather

    1972·Dir. Francis Ford Coppola·175 min·9.2

    Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.

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  3. 03.
    The Chaos Class

    The Chaos Class

    1975·Dir. Ertem Eğilmez·85 min·9.1

    Lazy, uneducated students mostly coming from money, share a very close band. They live together in the dormitory of this private highschool, where they daily plan their latest pranks on teachers or the other classes. When a new and obviously strict headmaster arrives, the students naturally try to overthrow him. A comic war of nitwits follows.

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  4. 04.
    Attack on Titan: THE LAST ATTACK

    Attack on Titan: THE LAST ATTACK

    2024·Dir. Yuichiro Hayashi·145 min·9.0

    A colossal-sized omnibus film bringing together the last two episodes of Attack on Titan in the franchise's first-ever theatrical experience. After venturing beyond the walls and separated from his comrades, Eren finds himself inspired by this new truth and plots the "Rumbling," a terrifying plan to eradicate every living thing in the world. With the fate of the world hanging in the balance, a motley crew of Eren's former comrades and enemies scramble to halt his deadly mission. The only question is, can they stop him?

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  5. 05.
    The Godfather Part II

    The Godfather Part II

    1974·Dir. Francis Ford Coppola·202 min·9.0

    In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.

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  6. 06.
    Schindler's List

    Schindler's List

    1993·Dir. Steven Spielberg·195 min·9.0

    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.

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  7. 07.
    David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet

    David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet

    2020·Dir. Keith Scholey·83 min·8.9

    The story of life on our planet by the man who has seen more of the natural world than any other. In more than 90 years, Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of our planet and documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder. Addressing the biggest challenges facing life on our planet, the film offers a powerful message of hope for future generations.

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  8. 08.
    Forrest Gump

    Forrest Gump

    1994·Dir. Robert Zemeckis·142 min·8.8

    A man with a low IQ has accomplished great things in his life and been present during significant historic events—in each case, far exceeding what anyone imagined he could do. But despite all he has achieved, his one true love eludes him.

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  9. 09.
    Fight Club

    Fight Club

    1999·Dir. David Fincher·139 min·8.8

    A ticking-time-bomb insomniac and a slippery soap salesman channel primal male aggression into a shocking new form of therapy. Their concept catches on, with underground "fight clubs" forming in every town, until an eccentric gets in the way and ignites an out-of-control spiral toward oblivion.

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  10. 10.
    The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

    The Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall

    2011·Dir. Laurence Connor·160 min·8.8

    A disfigured musical genius, hidden away in the Paris Opera House, terrorises the opera company for the unwitting benefit of a young protégée whom he trains and loves. The 25th anniversary of the first public performance of Phantom of the Opera was celebrated with a grand performance at the Royal Albert Hall in London.

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  11. 11.
    The Marathon Family

    The Marathon Family

    1982·Dir. Slobodan Šijan·92 min·8.8

    The Topalović family has been in the burial business for generations. When the 150-year-old Pantelija dies, five generations of his heirs start to fight for the inheritance.

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  12. 12.
    C/o Kancharapalem

    C/o Kancharapalem

    2018·Dir. Venkatesh Maha·152 min·8.8

    From a schoolboy’s crush to a middle-aged bachelor’s office romance, four love stories spanning age, religion and status unfold in a small Indian town.

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  13. 13.
    Kadaisi Vivasayi

    Kadaisi Vivasayi

    2022·Dir. M. Manikandan·145 min·8.7

    Maayandi, the only farmer in a village that has abandoned farming, is charged with a petty case that leads to his imprisonment.

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  14. 14.
    GoodFellas

    GoodFellas

    1990·Dir. Martin Scorsese·145 min·8.7

    The true story of Henry Hill, a half-Irish, half-Sicilian Brooklyn kid who is adopted by neighbourhood gangsters at an early age and climbs the ranks of a Mafia family under the guidance of Jimmy Conway.

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  15. 15.
    Interstellar

    Interstellar

    2014·Dir. Christopher Nolan·169 min·8.7

    The adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.

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  16. 16.
    12th Fail

    12th Fail

    2023·Dir. Vidhu Vinod Chopra·146 min·8.7

    Based on the true story of IPS officer Manoj Kumar Sharma, 12th Fail sheds limelight on fearlessly embracing the idea of restarting the academic journey despite the setbacks and challenges and reclaiming one's destiny at a place where millions of students attempt the world's toughest competitive exam: UPSC.

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  17. 17.
    Balkan Spy

    Balkan Spy

    1984·Dir. Dušan Kovačević·92 min·8.7

    Convinced that his subtenant is a spy and an enemy of the state, Ilija Čvorović falls into deep paranoia which leads to an absurd and destructive chain of events.

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  18. 18.
    777 Charlie

    777 Charlie

    2022·Dir. Kiranraj K.·166 min·8.7

    Dharma is stuck in a rut with his negative and lonely lifestyle and spends each day in the comfort of his loneliness. A pup named Charlie who is naughty and energetic which is a complete contrast with the Dharma’s character enters his life and gives him a new perspective towards it.

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  19. 19.
    Who's Singin' Over There?

    Who's Singin' Over There?

    1980·Dir. Slobodan Šijan·86 min·8.7

    On Saturday, 5 April 1941, one day before the Invasion of Yugoslavia of the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, a colourful group of random passengers on a country road deep in the heart of Serbia board a dilapidated bus, headed for the capital Belgrade. The group includes two gypsy musicians, a World War I veteran, a Germanophile, a budding singer, a sickly looking man, and a hunter with a shotgun. The bus is owned by Krstic senior, and driven by his impressionable and dim-witted son Misko.

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  20. 20.
    Peranbu

    Peranbu

    2019·Dir. Ram·147 min·8.7

    A single father tries to raise his daughter, who has cerebral palsy, even as she is beginning to wake up to her sexuality.

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  21. 21.
    The Green Mile

    The Green Mile

    1999·Dir. Frank Darabont·189 min·8.6

    A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.

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  22. 22.
    A Dog's Will

    A Dog's Will

    2000·Dir. Guel Arraes·104 min·8.6

    The lively João Grilo and the sly Chicó are poor guys living in the hinterland who cheat a bunch of people in a small town in Northeastern Brazil. When they die, they have to be judged by Christ, the Devil and the Virgin Mary before they are admitted to paradise.

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  23. 23.
    City of God

    City of God

    2002·Dir. Fernando Meirelles·129 min·8.6

    In the poverty-stricken favelas of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighborhood, while José “Zé” Pequeno is an ambitious drug dealer diving into a dangerous life of crime.

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  24. 24.
    One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

    One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

    1975·Dir. Miloš Forman·133 min·8.6

    A petty criminal fakes insanity to serve his sentence in a mental ward rather than prison. He soon finds himself as a leader to the other patients—and an enemy to the cruel, domineering nurse who runs the ward.

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  25. 25.
    Life Is Beautiful

    Life Is Beautiful

    1997·Dir. Roberto Benigni·116 min·8.6

    A touching story of an Italian book seller of Jewish ancestry who lives in his own little fairy tale. His creative and happy life would come to an abrupt halt when his entire family is deported to a concentration camp during World War II. While locked up he tries to convince his son that the whole thing is just a game.

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  26. 26.
    My Dear Brother

    My Dear Brother

    1973·Dir. Ertem Eğilmez·92 min·8.6

    Two poor men try to find a television as a last wish for the terminally ill brother of one of them.

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  27. 27.
    The Silence of the Lambs

    The Silence of the Lambs

    1991·Dir. Jonathan Demme·119 min·8.6

    Clarice Starling is a top student at the FBI's training academy. Jack Crawford wants Clarice to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter, a brilliant psychiatrist who is also a violent psychopath, serving life behind bars for various acts of murder and cannibalism. Crawford believes that Lecter may have insight into a case and that Starling, as an attractive young woman, may be just the bait to draw him out.

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  28. 28.
    The Broken Landlord

    The Broken Landlord

    1985·Dir. Nesli Çölgeçen·101 min·8.6

    The landowner (Agha) of the Haraptar village marries off his old father with the young and beautiful Kiraz. But on the nuptial night, his father dies and everything starts to go bad for the Agha. Due to the long drought and provocations of Kekec Salman (big brother of Kiraz), the peasants steal the crops and run away to Istanbul. Without the peasants and crops, Agha is also forced to sell the village and move to Istanbul. But he cannot keep up with the big city life and consumes all his money and belongings. Agha's wife and relatives leave him during this downfall.

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  29. 29.
    Saving Private Ryan

    Saving Private Ryan

    1998·Dir. Steven Spielberg·169 min·8.6

    As U.S. troops storm the beaches of Normandy, three brothers lie dead on the battlefield, with a fourth trapped behind enemy lines. Ranger captain John Miller and seven men are tasked with penetrating German-held territory and bringing the boy home.

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  30. 30.
    Pariyerum Perumal

    Pariyerum Perumal

    2018·Dir. Mari Selvaraj·155 min·8.6

    A law student from a lower caste begins a friendship with his classmate, a girl who belongs to a higher caste, and the men in her family start giving him trouble over this.

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  31. 31.
    Anne of Green Gables

    Anne of Green Gables

    1985·Dir. Kevin Sullivan·199 min·8.6

    At the turn of the century on Prince Edward Island, Matthew Cuthbert and his sister Marilla decide to take on an orphan boy as help for their farm. But they get an unexpected jolt when they're mistakenly sent a girl instead: Anne Shirley.

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  32. 32.
    Bo Burnham: Inside

    Bo Burnham: Inside

    2021·Dir. Bo Burnham·88 min·8.6

    Stuck in COVID-19 lockdown, US comedian and musician Bo Burnham attempts to stay sane and happy by writing, shooting and performing a one-man comedy special.

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  33. 33.
    Pretty Village, Pretty Flame

    Pretty Village, Pretty Flame

    1996·Dir. Srđan Dragojević·130 min·8.6

    In the opening stages of the Bosnian War, a small group of Serbian soldiers are trapped in a tunnel by a Muslim force.

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  34. 34.
    Nayakan

    Nayakan

    1987·Dir. Mani Ratnam·156 min·8.6

    Velu Naicker, who witnesses the brutal murder of his father, kills a corrupt policeman and escapes to Mumbai, only to become a gangster.

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  35. 35.
    Soorarai Pottru

    Soorarai Pottru

    2020·Dir. Sudha Kongara Prasad·149 min·8.6

    Nedumaaran Rajangam "Maara" sets out to make the common man fly and in the process takes on the world's most capital intensive industry and several enemies who stand in his way.

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  36. 36.
    Anbe Sivam

    Anbe Sivam

    2003·Dir. Sundar C·160 min·8.6

    Anbarasu, young and arrogant, and Nallasivam, damaged - physically but not spiritually - by life, are thrown together by circumstances, and find that they are in some ways bound together by fate.

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