Best movies like 1989 - A Spy Story
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Due to the fall of the Berlin Wall, a double agent is targeted by the American foreign intelligence service CIA.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 389
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Germany
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: romantic, serious, suspense, intense
Best tv shows and movies like 1989 - A Spy Story (2019):
Similar in 83%
Athena: Goddess of War (2011)
Plot Summary:
Sometime in the near future, the Korean peninsula attempts to reunify. The South Korean government, which needs enormous funds for the unification to succeed, develops a landmark new technology called the TWR. The TWR is a high speed nuclear reactor and other countries want the technology. To prevent terror in the aftermath of the TWR breakthrough, the government establishes a new organization named NTS (National Anti-Terror Service). Jung-Woo (Jung Woo-Sung) is transferred to the NTS group from the NIS. He's excited about the transfer and hopes to live the life of a real agent, but then discovers his main responsibility is to watch North Korean defectors.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 92
Genere: Action, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: South Korea
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: tense, romantic, captivating
Similar in 83%
Kill Plan (2021)
Plot Summary:
A weathered CIA agent is thrown into a web of deception when he uncovers a rogue government plot to unleash a deadly drug on humanity.
IMDB Rating: 3.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 71 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, black cinema
Similar in 84%
ExPatriot (2017)
Plot Summary:
CIA analyst Riley Quinn lost everything when she blew the whistle on the US government. Hunted into exile, she escaped to Colombia. Two years later, Riley is living a loner lifestyle when suddenly CIA Agent Bill Donovan shows up with an offer. Her name will be cleared if she helps an international task force confiscate millions. Riley accepts the job, but she realizes too late that it's a lie. Pursued by corrupt agents, Riley must battle the demons of her past and find a way back home.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 377
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing
Similar in 88%
In From the Cold (2022)
Plot Summary:
Exposed as an ex-Russian spy, an American single mom must juggle family life and unique shape-shifting skills in a battle against an insidious enemy.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, surprise ending
Similar in 85%
The Foreigner (1978)
Plot Summary:
A French special op suffers an existential crisis as he wanders New York City in search of a mission and the requisite connections.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 214
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 77 min
Plot tags: independent film, atmospheric, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, existential
Similar in 85%
Shadow Lines (2019)
Plot Summary:
During the 1950s, Helsinki was the focal point of the Cold War, as global powers and their intelligence agencies coalesced in the small neutral country that stood between the East and the West. Shadow Lines is an international spy thriller that follows a secret intelligence team whose mission is to defend the independence of Finland no matter the cost.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 687
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Finland
Duration: 43 min
Plot tags: political, tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, political thriller, historical drama
Similar in 88%
Negative (2017)
Plot Summary:
Negative is set in the American southwest and follows Natalie, a former British spy who flees Los Angeles for Phoenix after a deal with a cartel goes wrong. She's joined by Hollis, a street photographer who has put his life at risk by taking Natalie's photo at the wrong time and in the wrong place.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 684
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: suspense, intense, tense
Similar in 86%
Spy City (2020)
Plot Summary:
After a defector is murdered, British agent Fielding Scott is assigned to track down a mole in his own ranks in 1961 Berlin. His investigation leads him into a deadly web of crime, betrayal and paranoia. Who can Scott trust in the city of spies?.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 48 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, thrilling
Similar in 83%
The Sell Out (1976)
Plot Summary:
This action drama centers on a former CIA operative who grudgingly rejoins the spy game due to the machinations of his one-time student - a screw up who goes to work for the Soviets. As his job drags him deeper into a dangerous and under-handed world, the student wants out of the agency and oout of the U.S.S.R. But the man's choices have made him a target and now both the United States and Russia want him dead, sending their mos able hit men to do it.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 619
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, Italy, Israel
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: suspense, poliziottesco
Similar in 88%
The Tamarind Seed (1974)
Plot Summary:
During a Caribbean holiday, a British civil servant finds herself falling in love with a Russian agent.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: romantic, independent film, serious, realistic, microfilm
Similar in 83%
The Cape Town Affair (1967)
Plot Summary:
A color remake of the Sam Fuller film, Pickup on South Street.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 477
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: South Africa
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: suspense, exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, neo noir, eurospy
Similar in 75%
Deutschland 83 (2015)
Plot Summary:
A gripping coming-of-age story set against the real culture wars and political events of Germany in the 1980s. The drama follows Martin Rauch as the 24 year-old East Germany native is pulled from the world as he knows it and sent to the West as an undercover spy for the Stasi foreign service. Hiding in plain sight in the West German army, he must gather the secrets of NATO military strategy. Everything is new, nothing is quite what it seems and everyone he encounters is harboring secrets, both political and personal.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: Germany
Duration: 42 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, exciting, captivating, epic, political, action adventure
Similar in 77%
Restless (2012)
Plot Summary:
A young woman finds out that her mother worked as a spy for the British Secret Service during World War II and has been on the run ever since.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Romance
Country: UK, Germany
Duration: 180 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, captivating, realistic, historical drama, neo noir, period drama
Similar in 77%
Torn Curtain (1966)
Plot Summary:
During the Cold War, an American scientist appears to defect to East Germany as part of a cloak and dagger mission to find the formula for a resin solution, but the plan goes awry when his fiancee, unaware of his motivation, follows him across the border.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: suspense, tense, suspenseful, stylized, political thriller, enigmatic, psychological, serious, realistic, clever
Similar in 77%
Spy(ies) (2009)
Plot Summary:
Vincent is a bright young man but has introverted personality. He is working as a baggage handler at an airport and refuses to follow a career path accordingly to his education. With his colleague, Gerard, Vincent used to steal objects from the luggage in the hold before shipment. As he opens a diplomatic baggage, Gerard provokes an explosion and dies.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: France, UK
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sentimental, realistic, suspenseful, serious, psychological, bleak
Similar in 90%
Shining Through (1992)
Plot Summary:
Spirited New Yorker Linda Voss goes to work for international lawyer and secret Office of Strategic Services operative Ed Leland just before World War II. As they fall in love, the United States enters the fight against Hitler, and Linda volunteers to work for Ed spying undercover behind Nazi lines. Assigned to uncover information about a German bomb, Linda also has personal motives to fulfill: discovering the fate of her Jewish family members in Berlin.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 132 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, sentimental, suspense, melancholic, exciting, serious, realistic, romantic, retro, anamorphic
Similar in 75%
Red Sparrow (2018)
Plot Summary:
Prima ballerina, Dominika Egorova faces a bleak and uncertain future after she suffers an injury that ends her career. She soon turns to Sparrow School, a secret intelligence service that trains exceptional young people to use their minds and bodies as weapons. Dominika emerges as the most dangerous Sparrow after completing the sadistic training process. As she comes to terms with her new abilities, she meets a CIA agent who tries to convince her that he is the only person she can trust.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 198000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: suspense, surprise ending, psychological thriller, sexy, rough, brutal, erotic, sexual, exciting, motivational
Similar in 81%
Farewell (2009)
Plot Summary:
Engaging, emotional and riveting, FAREWELL is an intricate and highly intelligent thriller pulled from the pages of history— about an ordinary man thrust into the biggest theft of Soviet information of the Cold War. Ronald Reagan called this piece of history - largely unknown until now - “one of the most important espionage cases of the 20th century.” FAREWELL begins in 1981, after the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan. A French businessman based in Moscow, Pierre Froment, (Guillaume Canet) makes an unlikely connection with Grigoriev (Emir Kusturica), a senior KGB officer disenchanted with what the Communist ideal has become under Brezhnev. Grigoriev begins passing Froment highly sensitive information about the Soviet spy network in the US.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, political, sincere
Similar in 89%
The Russia House (1990)
Plot Summary:
An expatriate British publisher unexpectedly finds himself working for British intelligence to investigate people in Russia.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: political, stylized, sentimental, sex comedy, sincere, thought provoking, serious, realistic, suspenseful, contemplative
Similar in 78%
Enigma (1982)
Plot Summary:
Five highly-trained KGB agents are sent to the west to assassinate several Soviet dissidents. In order to stop the diabolical plot, an American agent must infiltrate Soviet intelligence and obtain information from a Russian computer.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, France
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, intense, serious, realistic, political, political thriller, independent film, exciting, romantic, atmospheric
Similar in 77%
The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965)
Plot Summary:
British agent Alec Leamas refuses to come in from the cold war during the 1960s, choosing to face another mission, which may prove to be his final one.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: political, black and white, suspense, grim, clever, bleak, realistic, talky, political thriller, retro
Similar in 90%
Page Eight (2011)
Plot Summary:
Page Eight is lovingly turned, with elegant writing, a flawless cast and a heartfelt message from writer/director David Hare about the danger zone where spies and politicians meet. The tension builds gently as we follow the fortunes of Johnny Worricker, a jazz-loving charmer who works high up at MI5 as an intelligence analyst. It’s a part made for Bill Nighy and he purrs out bon mots with a weary panache that women 20 years younger find irresistible. One such is his neighbour, Nancy Pierpan (Rachel Weisz), in a Battersea mansion block. The question for Johnny is whether her interest in him is genuine or hides something darker. As his boss (Michael Gambon) puts it: “Distrust is a terrible habit.” Questions of trust, honour and friendship rumble through the play. The characters exchange oblique repartee as a plot about a damning dossier unwinds. It’s not to be missed.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: political thriller, tense, serious, realistic, political, captivating, psychological, exciting, sincere, suspense
Similar in 80%
The Executioner (1970)
Plot Summary:
A British intelligence agent must track down a fellow spy suspected of being a double agent.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 450
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, talky, suspense, eurospy
Similar in 85%
The Operative (2019)
Plot Summary:
A young Western woman is recruited by the Mossad to go undercover in Tehran where she becomes entangled in a complex triangle with her handler and her subject.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, Israel, Germany, USA, UK
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: psychological, exciting, suspense, powerful
Similar in 86%
The Debt (2010)
Plot Summary:
Rachel Singer is a former Mossad agent who tried to capture a notorious Nazi war criminal – the Surgeon of Birkenau – in a secret Israeli mission that ended with his death on the streets of East Berlin. Now, 30 years later, a man claiming to be the doctor has surfaced, and Rachel must return to Eastern Europe to uncover the truth. Overwhelmed by haunting memories of her younger self and her two fellow agents, the still-celebrated heroine must relive the trauma of those events and confront the debt she has incurred.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 71000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, UK, Hungary, Israel
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, psychological, tense, exciting, talky, realistic, serious, psychological thriller, political
Similar in 78%
Topaz (1969)
Plot Summary:
A French intelligence agent becomes embroiled in the Cold War politics first with uncovering the events leading up to the 1962 Cuban Missle Crisis, and then back to France to break up an international Russian spy ring.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: suspense, tense, suspenseful, psychological, political thriller, enigmatic, psychological thriller, exciting, retro, art house
Similar in 75%
A Most Wanted Man (2014)
Plot Summary:
A Chechen Muslim illegally immigrates to Hamburg and becomes a person of interest for a covert government team which tracks the movements of potential terrorists.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 79000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA, Germany
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: clever, bleak, tense, political, suspense, melancholic, thought provoking, psychological, cerebral, independent film
Similar in 82%
The Ipcress File (1965)
Plot Summary:
This espionage thriller represents a landmark in spy movies introducing the sly, dry intelligence agent Harry Palmer. The story, centers on Palmer's investigation into British Intelligence security. He's soon enmeshed in a world of double-dealing, kidnap and murder and finds a traitor is operating at the heart of the secret service. Will the mysterious 'Ipcress File' reveal who the traitor is?.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, suspenseful, suspense, exciting, tense, enigmatic, clever, realistic, cynical, retro
Similar in 79%
Despite the Falling Snow (2016)
Plot Summary:
In Cold War Moscow, a female spy steals secrets from an idealistic politician – and falls in love with him. Moscow, 1959: Katya (Rebecca Ferguson, Mission Impossible- Rogue Nation, The Girl on the Train, The White Queen), is young, beautiful – and a spy for the Americans. When she and Mischa (Oliver Jackson-Cohen, Emerald City), begin spying on Alexander ( Sam Reid, Anonymous), an idealistic Communist politician, the last thing she expects is to fall in love with him. Her choice between love and duty leads to a nail-biting conclusion that Alexander (Charles Dance, The Imitation Game) can only unravel decades later in 1990s New York. His journey back to the snowbound streets of Moscow uncovers a love triangle and betrayals from those he trusted most.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK, Canada
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: tense, touching, suspense, suspenseful, emotional
Similar in 78%
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy (2011)
Plot Summary:
In the bleak days of the Cold War, espionage veteran George Smiley is forced from semi-retirement to uncover a Soviet mole within his former colleagues at the heart of MI6.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 210000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, France, Germany, USA
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: suspense, clever, tense, confusing, bleak, non-linear, atmospheric, thought provoking, period piece, political