Best Drama Movies of All Time

The best drama movies by audience rating and number of votes. Each movie links to a list of similar ones. Still can't decide? Swipe to find yours.

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
★ 8.7 · 31,580 votes · Drama, Crime
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.
Movies like The Shawshank Redemption →
2. The Godfather (1972)
★ 8.7 · 23,760 votes · Drama, Crime
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.
Movies like The Godfather →
3. Michael (2026)
★ 8.6 · 4,565 votes · Music, Drama
The story of Michael Jackson, one of the most influential artists the world has ever known, and his life beyond the music. His journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fueled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world, highlighting both his life off-stage and some of the most iconic performances from his early solo career.
Movies like Michael →
4. 12 Angry Men (1957)
★ 8.6 · 10,477 votes · Drama
The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.
Movies like 12 Angry Men →
5. The Godfather Part II (1974)
★ 8.6 · 14,465 votes · Drama, Crime
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.
Movies like The Godfather Part II →
6. Schindler's List (1993)
★ 8.6 · 18,037 votes · Drama, History, War
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.
Movies like Schindler's List →
7. The Green Mile (1999)
★ 8.5 · 19,962 votes · Fantasy, Drama, Crime
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.
Movies like The Green Mile →
8. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
★ 8.5 · 4,633 votes · Comedy, Drama, Romance
Raj is a rich, carefree, happy-go-lucky second generation NRI. Simran is the daughter of Chaudhary Baldev Singh, who in spite of being an NRI is very strict about adherence to Indian values. Simran has left for India to be married to her childhood fiancé. Raj leaves for India with a mission at his hands, to claim his lady love under the noses of her whole family. Thus begins a saga.
Movies like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge →
9. Interstellar (2014)
★ 8.5 · 41,491 votes · Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
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.
Movies like Interstellar →
10. Parasite (2019)
★ 8.5 · 21,483 votes · Comedy, Thriller, Drama
All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
Movies like Parasite →
11. Forrest Gump (1994)
★ 8.5 · 30,662 votes · Comedy, Drama, Romance
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.
Movies like Forrest Gump →
12. Seven Samurai (1954)
★ 8.5 · 4,410 votes · Action, Drama
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.
Movies like Seven Samurai →
13. GoodFellas (1990)
★ 8.5 · 14,877 votes · Drama, Crime
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.
Movies like GoodFellas →
14. Fight Club (1999)
★ 8.4 · 33,029 votes · Drama, Thriller
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.
Movies like Fight Club →
15. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
★ 8.4 · 14,312 votes · Comedy, Drama
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.
Movies like Life Is Beautiful →
16. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
★ 8.4 · 5,013 votes · Drama, Romance
A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.
Movies like Cinema Paradiso →
17. City of God (2002)
★ 8.4 · 8,520 votes · Drama, Crime
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.
Movies like City of God →
18. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
★ 8.4 · 11,865 votes · Drama
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.
Movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest →
19. Gabriel's Inferno (2020)
★ 8.4 · 2,484 votes · Romance, Drama
An intriguing and sinful exploration of seduction, forbidden love, and redemption, Gabriel's Inferno is a captivating and wildly passionate tale of one man's escape from his own personal hell as he tries to earn the impossible--forgiveness and love.
Movies like Gabriel's Inferno →
20. Whiplash (2014)
★ 8.4 · 17,234 votes · Drama, Music, Thriller
Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.
Movies like Whiplash →

Best Drama Movies of All Time

The best drama movies by audience rating and number of votes. Each movie links to a list of similar ones. Still can't decide? Swipe to find yours.

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
★ 8.7 · 31,580 votes · Drama, Crime
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.
Movies like The Shawshank Redemption →
2. The Godfather (1972)
★ 8.7 · 23,760 votes · Drama, Crime
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.
Movies like The Godfather →
3. Michael (2026)
★ 8.6 · 4,565 votes · Music, Drama
The story of Michael Jackson, one of the most influential artists the world has ever known, and his life beyond the music. His journey from the discovery of his extraordinary talent as the lead of the Jackson Five, to the visionary artist whose creative ambition fueled a relentless pursuit to become the biggest entertainer in the world, highlighting both his life off-stage and some of the most iconic performances from his early solo career.
Movies like Michael →
4. 12 Angry Men (1957)
★ 8.6 · 10,477 votes · Drama
The defense and the prosecution have rested and the jury is filing into the jury room to decide if a young Spanish-American is guilty or innocent of murdering his father. What begins as an open and shut case soon becomes a mini-drama of each of the jurors' prejudices and preconceptions about the trial, the accused, and each other.
Movies like 12 Angry Men →
5. The Godfather Part II (1974)
★ 8.6 · 14,465 votes · Drama, Crime
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.
Movies like The Godfather Part II →
6. Schindler's List (1993)
★ 8.6 · 18,037 votes · Drama, History, War
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.
Movies like Schindler's List →
7. The Green Mile (1999)
★ 8.5 · 19,962 votes · Fantasy, Drama, Crime
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.
Movies like The Green Mile →
8. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)
★ 8.5 · 4,633 votes · Comedy, Drama, Romance
Raj is a rich, carefree, happy-go-lucky second generation NRI. Simran is the daughter of Chaudhary Baldev Singh, who in spite of being an NRI is very strict about adherence to Indian values. Simran has left for India to be married to her childhood fiancé. Raj leaves for India with a mission at his hands, to claim his lady love under the noses of her whole family. Thus begins a saga.
Movies like Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge →
9. Interstellar (2014)
★ 8.5 · 41,491 votes · Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi
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.
Movies like Interstellar →
10. Parasite (2019)
★ 8.5 · 21,483 votes · Comedy, Thriller, Drama
All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the wealthy and glamorous Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.
Movies like Parasite →
11. Forrest Gump (1994)
★ 8.5 · 30,662 votes · Comedy, Drama, Romance
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.
Movies like Forrest Gump →
12. Seven Samurai (1954)
★ 8.5 · 4,410 votes · Action, Drama
A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six others to help him teach the people how to defend themselves, and the villagers provide the soldiers with food.
Movies like Seven Samurai →
13. GoodFellas (1990)
★ 8.5 · 14,877 votes · Drama, Crime
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.
Movies like GoodFellas →
14. Fight Club (1999)
★ 8.4 · 33,029 votes · Drama, Thriller
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.
Movies like Fight Club →
15. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
★ 8.4 · 14,312 votes · Comedy, Drama
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.
Movies like Life Is Beautiful →
16. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
★ 8.4 · 5,013 votes · Drama, Romance
A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.
Movies like Cinema Paradiso →
17. City of God (2002)
★ 8.4 · 8,520 votes · Drama, Crime
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.
Movies like City of God →
18. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
★ 8.4 · 11,865 votes · Drama
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.
Movies like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest →
19. Gabriel's Inferno (2020)
★ 8.4 · 2,484 votes · Romance, Drama
An intriguing and sinful exploration of seduction, forbidden love, and redemption, Gabriel's Inferno is a captivating and wildly passionate tale of one man's escape from his own personal hell as he tries to earn the impossible--forgiveness and love.
Movies like Gabriel's Inferno →
20. Whiplash (2014)
★ 8.4 · 17,234 votes · Drama, Music, Thriller
Under the direction of a ruthless instructor, a talented young drummer begins to pursue perfection at any cost, even his humanity.
Movies like Whiplash →

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

2. The Godfather (1972)

3. Michael (2026)

4. 12 Angry Men (1957)

5. The Godfather Part II (1974)

6. Schindler's List (1993)

7. The Green Mile (1999)

8. Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (1995)

9. Interstellar (2014)

10. Parasite (2019)

11. Forrest Gump (1994)

12. Seven Samurai (1954)

13. GoodFellas (1990)

14. Fight Club (1999)

15. Life Is Beautiful (1997)

16. Cinema Paradiso (1988)

17. City of God (2002)

18. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

19. Gabriel's Inferno (2020)

20. Whiplash (2014)

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