Best movies like Arabesque
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Story of international intrigue involving a university professor, an Arab prime minister, a ruthless businessman, a beautiful spy, and hieroglyphics.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, talky, witty, realistic, serious, stylized, political thriller, spy comedy, fast, technicolor
Best tv shows and movies like Arabesque (1966):
Similar in 79%
The Black Windmill (1974)
Plot Summary:
A British agent's son is kidnapped and held for a ransom of diamonds. The agent finds out that he can't even count on the people he thought were on his side to help him, so he decides to track down the kidnappers himself.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: UK, France
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: bloody, political thriller, psychological, serious, realistic, suspenseful, poliziottesco
Similar in 85%
The Assassination Bureau (1969)
Plot Summary:
The Assassination Bureau has existed for decades (perhaps centuries) until Diana Rigg begins to investigate it. The high moral standing of the Bureau (only killing those who deserve it) is called into question by her. She puts out a contract for the Bureau to assassinate its leader on the eve of World War I.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: dark comedy, retro, political thriller, black comedy, exciting, clever, humorous, realistic, suspenseful, witty
Similar in 86%
The Adventurers (1970)
Plot Summary:
The wealthy playboy son of an assassinated South American diplomat discovers that his father was really murdered on orders of the corrupt president of the country--a man who was his father's friend and who, in fact, his father had helped put into power. He returns from living a jet-set life in Europe to lead a revolution against the government, only to find out that things aren't quite as black and white as he had assumed.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 885
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 171 min
Plot tags: exciting, sexy, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 85%
Hidden Agenda (1999)
Plot Summary:
A young medical student travels to Berlin to investigate the apparent death of his brother and discovers a secret life of espionage, betrayal and murder at the highest levels.
IMDB Rating: 4.5
IMDB Votes: 421
Genere: Action, Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: independent film, psychological, exciting, tense, rough, mind bending, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cult film
Similar in 76%
The Chairman (1969)
Plot Summary:
An American scientist is sent to Red China to steal the formula for a newly developed agricultural enzyme. What he is not told by his bosses is that a micro-sized bomb has been planted in his brain so that should the mission ever look likely to fail, he can be eliminated at the push of a button!.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, surprise ending, suspense, black comedy, microfilm
Similar in 78%
Freefall (1994)
Plot Summary:
New York publisher Dex Dellum sends his fiancée and star photographer Katy Mazur to Swaziland to shoot the taita falcon. There she meets 'highman' (altitude stuntman) Grant Orion, who practices skydiving. After an initial clash, they become hot lovers, her first infidelity. She's drugged before he leaves unannounced. In London Grant saves her from armed killers and discloses to be an Interpol agent. Dex has an incompatible story but is killed. It's the start of a cascade of violence and charades.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 706
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA, South Africa
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: realistic, suspenseful, serious, exciting, tense, cliffhanger, suspense, independent film
Similar in 89%
24: Redemption (2008)
Plot Summary:
Former federal agent Jack Bauer confronts African dictator Benjamin Juma, whose forces have been ordered to capture the children Bauer oversees for malicious military training.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: intense, rough, serious, suspenseful, exciting, clever, suspense, cliffhanger, realistic, stylized
Similar in 90%
From Russia with Love (1963)
Plot Summary:
Agent 007 is back in the second installment of the James Bond series, this time battling a secret crime organization known as SPECTRE. Russians Rosa Klebb and Kronsteen are out to snatch a decoding device known as the Lektor, using the ravishing Tatiana to lure Bond into helping them. Bond willingly travels to meet Tatiana in Istanbul, where he must rely on his wits to escape with his life in a series of deadly encounters with the enemy.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 143000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: exciting, realistic, suspenseful, witty, saga, cult classic, retro, atmospheric, slasher, mind blowing
Similar in 83%
The Art of War (2000)
Plot Summary:
When ruthless terrorists threaten to bring down the United Nations, they frame the one man they believe can stop them: an international security expert named Shaw. Now he must run from his own allies and become a solitary force for good, as he tries to stop what could become World War III.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspense, intense, stylized, serious, suspenseful, action packed, surprise ending, action adventure, realistic
Similar in 88%
A Dandy in Aspic (1968)
Plot Summary:
Double-agent Alexander Eberlin is assigned by the British to hunt out a Russian spy, known to them as Krasnevin. Only Eberlin knows that Krasnevin is none other than himself! Accompanying him on his mission is a ruthless partner, who gradually discovers his secret as Eberlin tries to maneuver himself out of a desperate situation.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: neo noir, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, psychological thriller, political thriller, romantic drama, eurospy, british noir
Similar in 87%
To Commit a Murder (1967)
Plot Summary:
A writer gets wrapped up in espionage.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 113
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, West Germany, Italy
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, eurospy
Similar in 89%
The Looking Glass War (1970)
Plot Summary:
From the John le Carre novel about a British spy who sends a Polish defector to East Germany to verify missile sites.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: neo noir, political thriller, clever, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, contemplative, talky, suspense
Similar in 78%
Icon (2005)
Plot Summary:
A former US Operative, who lived in Russia in his earlier years and had been married there with a child, comes out of retirement to face down a former enemy, now running as a candidate for President in modern Russia. Working with a Russian policewoman, they work to uncover a plot to use biological weapons against certain factions of the Russian people to commit genocide. The virus would also be released in other populations, but would be treated making the candidate a hero. A side plot has the agent being reunited with his long lost daughter.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 190 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, suspense
Similar in 80%
Spartan (2004)
Plot Summary:
U.S. government agent Scott is assigned to rescue the daughter of a high-ranking government official. As willing as he is to bend the rules to get things done, though, Scott is shocked to find that others are willing to go even further to protect a political career.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 33000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, intense, rough, political thriller, action thriller, mindfuck, serious, realistic, neo noir
Similar in 83%
Target (1985)
Plot Summary:
A Texan with a secret past (Gene Hackman) searches Europe with his son (Matt Dillon) after the KGB kidnaps his wife (Gayle Hunnicutt).
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, realistic, suspense, neo noir, cult classic, fast, surprise ending, independent film, black comedy
Similar in 79%
The Kremlin Letter (1970)
Plot Summary:
A network of older spies from the West recruits a young intelligence officer with a photographic memory to accompany them on a mission inside Russia. They must recover a letter written by the CIA that promises American assistance to Russia if China gets the atomic bomb.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: neo noir, political thriller, visually stunning, tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Billion Dollar Brain (1967)
Plot Summary:
A former British spy stumbles into in a plot to overthrow Communism with the help of a supercomputer. But who is working for whom?.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: political thriller, psychotronic, suspense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fast, surprise ending, eurospy, vintage
Similar in 89%
No Way Out (1987)
Plot Summary:
Navy Lt. Tom Farrell meets a young woman, Susan Atwell , and they share a passionate fling. Farrell then finds out that his superior, Defense Secretary David Brice, is also romantically involved with Atwell. When the young woman turns up dead, Farrell is put in charge of the murder investigation. He begins to uncover shocking clues about the case, but when details of his encounter with Susan surface, he becomes a suspect as well.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 45000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspenseful, suspense, political thriller, psychological, surprise ending, political, tense, sexy, exciting
Similar in 88%
The Little Drummer Girl (1984)
Plot Summary:
An American Actress with a penchant for lying is forceably recruited by Mosad, the Israeli intelligence agency to trap a Palestinian bomber, by pretending to be the girlfriend of his dead brother.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: political thriller, realistic, suspenseful, tense, serious, political, eighties
Similar in 81%
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 75%
The Deadly Affair (1967)
Plot Summary:
Charles Dobbs is a British secret agent investigating the apparent suicide of Foreign Office official Samuel Fennan. Dobbs suspects that Fennan's wife, Elsa, a survivor of a Nazi Germany extermination camp, might have some clues, but other officials want Dobbs to drop the case. So Dobbs hires a retiring inspector, Mendel, to quietly make inquiries. Dobbs isn't at all sure as there are a number of anomalies that simply can't be explained away. Dobbs is also having trouble at home with his errant wife, whom he very much loves, having frequent affairs. He's also pleased to see an old friend, Dieter Frey, who he recruited after the war. With the assistance of a colleague and a retired policeman, Dobbs tries to piece together just who is the spy and who in fact assassinated Fennan.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, psychological, exciting, enigmatic, neo noir, political, dark, slasher
Similar in 84%
The Quiller Memorandum (1966)
Plot Summary:
Two British agents are murdered by a mysterious Neonazi organization in West Berlin. The British Secret Service sends agent Quiller to investigate. Soon Quiller is confronted with Neonazi chief "Oktober" and involved in a dangerous game where each side tries to find out the enemy's headquarters at any price.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: neo noir, political thriller, independent film, exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, eurospy
Similar in 76%
Charade (1963)
Plot Summary:
After Regina Lampert falls for the dashing Peter Joshua on a skiing holiday in the French Alps, she discovers upon her return to Paris that her husband has been murdered. Soon, she and Peter are giving chase to three of her late husband's World War II cronies, Tex, Scobie and Gideon, who are after a quarter of a million dollars the quartet stole while behind enemy lines. But why does Peter keep changing his name?.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 84000
Genere: Comedy, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, humorous, atmospheric, exciting, feel good, entertaining, clever, witty, funny
Similar in 75%
The International (2009)
Plot Summary:
An interpol agent and an attorney are determined to bring one of the world's most powerful banks to justice. Uncovering money laundering, arms trading, and conspiracy to destabilize world governments, their investigation takes them from Berlin, Milan, New York and Istanbul. Finding themselves in a chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 99000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany, UK, France
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: clever, exciting, suspenseful, sexy, enigmatic, suspense, intense, tricky, serious, action packed
Similar in 81%
Gorky Park (1983)
Plot Summary:
Police Inspector Renko tries to solve the case of three bodies found in Moscow's Gorky Park but finds his attempts to solve the crime impeded by his superiors. Working on his own, Renko seeks out more information and stumbles across a conspiracy involving the highest levels of the government.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: detective, political, suspense, tense, bleak, suspenseful, neo noir, political thriller, action thriller, serious
Similar in 87%
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 87%
The Day of the Jackal (1973)
Plot Summary:
An international assassin known as ‘The Jackal’ is employed by disgruntled French generals to kill President Charles de Gaulle, with a dedicated gendarme on the assassin's trail.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 44000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, France
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: political thriller, exciting, suspenseful, political, atmospheric, talky, intense, rough, serious, suspense
Similar in 85%
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 81%
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 80%
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