Best movies like Circus World
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Circus owner Matt Masters is beset by disasters as he attempts a European tour of his circus. At the same time, he is caught in an emotional bind between his adopted daughter and her mother.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, epic
Best tv shows and movies like Circus World (1964):
Similar in 85%
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991)
Plot Summary:
Scott Glenn is H.D., a champion rodeo rider whose career is ruined after being gored by a bull. He returns home to discover things have drastically changed -- the family farm has been abandoned, his old girlfriend Julie (Kate Capshaw) is a now a widowed mother, and his sister Cheryl (Tess Harper) has put his father (Ben Johnson) in a nursing home. H.D. rescues his father from the home and returns him to the ranch. But when H.D. leaves the farm to visit Julie, his father seeks out Cheryl. Cheryl retaliates by threatening to return her father to the nursing home and sell the ranch. At this point, H.D. takes notice of rodeo contest which would give him $100,000 if he can ride four bulls for a total of 32 seconds. H.D. bonds with his father as he gruelingly prepares for a return to the rodeo to win the contest and buy the ranch. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 701
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: independent film, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 79%
McLintock! (1963)
Plot Summary:
George Washington McLintock, 'GW' to friends and foes alike, is a cattle baron and the richest man in the territory. He anxiously awaits the return of his daughter Becky who has been away at school for the last two years. He's also surprised to see that his wife Katherine has also returned. She had left him some years before without really explaining what he done but she does make the point of saying that she's returned to take their daughter back to the State Capitol with her. GW is highly respected by everyone around him including the farmers who are pouring into the territories with free grants of land and the Indians who are under threat of being relocated to another reservation. Between his wife, his headstrong daughter, the crooked land agent and the thieving government Indian agent, GW tries to keep the peace and do what is best for everyone.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Comedy, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: humorous, funny, light, exciting, captivating, slapstick, black and white, slapstick comedy, touching, realistic
Similar in 82%
Paper Hearts (1993)
Plot Summary:
Western drama directed by Rod McCall. Henry deserted his family years before, Henry (James Brolin) kicks up a storm when he shows up to see his youngest daughter before her wedding. He has ulterior motives, including a divorce from wife Jenny (Sally Kirkland), but her new beau, Tom (Kris Kristofferson), throws his plans off the rails. Meanwhile, Sally's older daughter must choose between love with a cowboy and life in New York.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 158
Genere: Drama, Romance, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: independent film, touching, serious, emotional, realistic
Similar in 77%
Valdez Is Coming (1971)
Plot Summary:
A Mexican-American sheriff must resort to violence against a powerful rancher in order to get just compensation for the pregnant Indian widow of a wrongly killed black man.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: spaghetti western, clever, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cynical, enigmatic, unusual plot structure
Similar in 84%
Bye Bye Blackbird (2005)
Plot Summary:
A period drama set in the early years of the 20th century. Josef, a former construction worker who delighted in dancing on girders high above the city, who now sweeps up at the circus. Once the big top's owner spots the young roustabout defying gravity on the trapeze, however, he endeavors to pair Josef with his aerialist daughter Alice in a perilous sky-high pas de deux. Offers a romantic view of big top life, with a moth-eaten angel in his feathered, tattered costume.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 260
Genere: Drama
Country: Austria, Luxembourg, Germany, UK
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, realistic, captivating, romantic, serious, stylized
Similar in 85%
Heaven with a Gun (1969)
Plot Summary:
Glenn Ford plays Jim Killian, a preacher who arrives in a town divided between cattlemen and sheep herders. But Killian isn't just any preacher. He is a former fast gun who has set upon a different path.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: retro, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, romantic drama
Similar in 78%
The Comancheros (1961)
Plot Summary:
Texas Ranger Jake Cutter arrests gambler Paul Regret, but soon finds himself teamed with his prisoner in an undercover effort to defeat a band of renegade arms merchants and thieves known as Comancheros.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, fairy tale, tense, sentimental, light, sexy
Similar in 89%
Cowboy Up (2001)
Plot Summary:
"Cowboy Up" is a celebration of the risk-taking, daredevil personalities of modern rodeo. In the world of professional bull riding, newcomer Ely Braxton (Marcus Thomas) is the craziest guy around; his brother Hank (Kiefer Sutherland) is a rodeo clown, and the two use each other to play up their acts. But love may be one thing that tears the brothers apart. When Ely falls for the rodeo's sweetheart (Daryl Hannah), Hank is filled with jealousy and hatred. The brothers try to come to grips with their differences, but the competition gets as fierce as the bulls in the ring.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 941
Genere: Drama, Romance, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, sincere, touching, sex comedy
Similar in 81%
The Cowboys (1972)
Plot Summary:
When his cattlemen abandon him for the gold fields, rancher Wil Andersen is forced to take on a collection of young boys as his cowboys in order to get his herd to market in time to avoid financial disaster. The boys learn to do a man's job under Andersen's tutelage; however, neither Andersen nor the boys know that a gang of cattle thieves is stalking them.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: harsh, serious, captivating, exciting, suspense, funny, cult classic, rough, realistic, tense
Similar in 78%
The Hired Hand (1971)
Plot Summary:
Harry Collings returns home to his farm after drifting with his friend, Arch. His wife, who had given up on him, reluctantly allows him to stay, and soon believes that all will be well again. But then Harry has to make a difficult decision regarding his loyalties and priorities.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, realistic, gloomy, vintage
Similar in 88%
Welcome to Hard Times (1967)
Plot Summary:
A sociopathic stranger all but destroys a small hardscrabble town but the 'mayor' convinces its survivors to stay and rebuild.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: retro, neo noir, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 82%
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Plot Summary:
A senator, who became famous for killing a notorious outlaw, returns for the funeral of an old friend and tells the truth about his deed.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 81000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: black and white, suspense, atmospheric, serious, melancholic, meditative, funny, epic, entertaining, spaghetti western
Similar in 83%
Heartland (1979)
Plot Summary:
Disarmingly realistic in its depiction of the realities of frontier life, Heartland is a strong antidote to the cliches of traditional Westerns. This semi-documentary slice of life is based on the diaries of Elmore Randall Stewart about her days on the Wyoming frontier in the early 20th century. It's a strongly feminist statement about a woman raising her small daughter alone and scrapping for a living by working for a shy Scottish rancher. Director Richard Pearce brings an endearing touch to a film that is helped greatly by the dazzling cinematography of Fred Murphy. Conchata Ferrell and Rip Torn star in this small film that substitutes veracity for a high-powered plot.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: historically accurate, independent film, sincere, bleak, serious, realistic, contemplative, factual, wild
Similar in 89%
Big Jake (1971)
Plot Summary:
An aging Texas cattle man who has outlived his time swings into action when outlaws kidnap his grandson.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: spaghetti western, tense, entertaining, atmospheric, serious, captivating, realistic, disturbing, independent film, neo western
Similar in 78%
The Last Cowboy (2003)
Plot Summary:
John William 'Will' Cooper is a modern-day rancher, maintaining his ranch in hard times along with his friend and foreman Amos Russell. When Will's estranged daughter Jake returns to the ranch for her grandfather's funeral, father and daughter clash over how to run the ranch and over the death years before of Jake's mother, which she blames on Will. Crisis comes in the form of insurmountable debt, and it is only by working together that Will and Jake have any chance of saving their home and their family.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 673
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 80%
A Touch of Fate (2003)
Plot Summary:
One night in a small town in North Carolina, fate brings together three lives: an entertainment lawyer returning home to his dying mother after years in escape of his past, a woman trying to reclaim her supposed love, and a boy with a penchant for the sixth sense who struggles with the death of his father and overbearing love of his single mother. When the past and future suddenly bind these people together on a journey of need, forgiveness and discovery, they realize they've gained something when they least expected it.
IMDB Rating: 5.5
IMDB Votes: 216
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, independent film
Similar in 77%
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
Plot Summary:
The Elder boys return to Clearwater, Texas for their Mother's funeral. John the eldest is a well known gunfighter and trouble follows him wherever he goes. The boys try to get back their ranch from the towns gunsmith who won it from their father in a card game with which he was shortly murdered there after but not before getting through the troubles that come with the Elders name.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: serious, exciting, rough, suspenseful, suspense, realistic, tense, romantic, road movie, clever
Similar in 77%
The War Wagon (1967)
Plot Summary:
An ex-con seeks revenge on the man who put him in prison by planning a robbery of the latter's stagecoach, which is transporting gold. He enlists the help of a partner, who could be working for his nemesis.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: exciting, intense, humorous, suspense, tense, captivating, retro, realistic, semi serious, surprise ending
Similar in 75%
Gunsmoke: One Man's Justice (1994)
Plot Summary:
After his mother is killed in a wagoncoach robbery a young man pursues the gang responsible. Matt Dillon goes after him hoping to stop him before the gang can kill him. Dillon is joined by Davis Healy, a businessman, who is hiding a few secrets of his own.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 390
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, cult film
Similar in 80%
American Bandits: Frank and Jesse James (2010)
Plot Summary:
After Jesse James is wounded by a bullet to the chest, Frank James splits the gang up and plans a rendezvous in four days time. With U.S.-Marshall Kane in hot pursuit, and betrayal within the outlaw band, the stage is set for a blazing and climactic shootout in the deserted town of 'Gila Wells'.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 460
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: exciting, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 82%
El Dorado (1966)
Plot Summary:
Cole Thornton, a gunfighter for hire, joins forces with an old friend, Sheriff J.P. Hara. Together with an old indian fighter and a gambler, they help a rancher and his family fight a rival rancher that is trying to steal their water.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 30000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: talky, tense, suspense, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, spaghetti western, entertaining
Similar in 78%
Chisum (1970)
Plot Summary:
Cattle baron John Chisum joins forces with Billy the Kid and Pat Garrett to fight the Lincoln County land war.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: harsh, exciting, rough, serious, tense, realistic, spaghetti western, light, clever, enigmatic
Similar in 84%
Cahill U.S. Marshal (1973)
Plot Summary:
J.D. Cahill is the toughest U.S. Marshal they've got, just the sound of his name makes bad guys stop in their tracks, so when his two young boy's want to get his attention they decide to rob a bank. They end up getting more than they bargained for.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: tense, talky, sentimental, suspenseful, semi serious, sincere, realistic, suspense, light, road movie
Similar in 76%
Conagher (1991)
Plot Summary:
Mrs. Evie Teale is struggling to stay alive while raising her two children alone on a remote homestead. Conn Conagher is a honest, hardworking cowboy. Their lives are intertwined as they fight the elements, indians, outlaws, and loneliness.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, wild
Similar in 80%
Barquero (1970)
Plot Summary:
Jake Remy leads a gang of outlaw cutthroats making their escape toward Mexico from a successful robbery. Barring their way is a river--crossable only by means of a ferry barge. The barge operator, Travis, refuses to be bullied into providing transport for the gang and escapes across river with most of the local populace--leaving Remy and his gang behind, desperately seeking a way across. A river-wide stand-off begins between the gang and the townspeople, both groups of which have left people on the wrong side of the river.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: spaghetti western, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film
Similar in 89%
Cry Blood, Apache (1970)
Plot Summary:
Telling the story of his early life in flashback, a former prospector (Joel McCrea, with flashback sequences featuring son Jody) explains his brutal massacre of a tribe of Indians. The only survivor (Marie Gahua) agrees to lead him to a secret gold mine.
IMDB Rating: 3.4
IMDB Votes: 677
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 82 min
Plot tags: grindhouse, independent film, rough, serious, realistic, spaghetti western, cult film
Similar in 86%
Nevada Smith (1966)
Plot Summary:
Nevada Smith is the young son of an Indian mother and white father. When his father is killed by three men over gold, Nevada sets out to find them and kill them. The boy is taken in by a gun merchant. The gun merchant shows him how to shoot and to shoot on time and correct.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: stylized, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, retro, gloomy, brutal, enigmatic
Similar in 80%
Triumphs of a Man Called Horse (1983)
Plot Summary:
Shunka Wakan (Richard Harris), formerly Lord John, helps his Dakota son (Michael Beck) defend their tribe against gold rushers.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 696
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: Spain, Mexico, Canada, USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: independent film, exciting, tense, atmospheric, rough, serious, realistic, saga, spaghetti western
Similar in 79%
True Grit (1969)
Plot Summary:
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy, Mattie Ross (Kim Darby), on a mission of "justice", which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, "Rooster" Cogburn (John Wayne), because he has "grit", and a reputation of getting the job done. The two are joined by a Texas Ranger, La Boeuf (Glen Campbell), who is looking for the same man (Jeff Corey) for a separate murder in Texas. Their odyssey takes them from Fort Smith, Arkansas, deep into the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) to find their man.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 51000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: stylized, suspense, harsh, exciting, spaghetti western, period piece, action adventure, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 86%
The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky (1995)
Plot Summary:
A young ranger in the Montana wilderness discovers the great forces of nature while learning the importance of honor, trust and integrity. Legendary veteran ranger Bill Bell educates the young man and guides him toward manhood. The year is 1919-a time when being a ranger meant more than operating expensive equipment. Forest fires were fought with guts and courage, not chemicals and airplanes. Bill Bell was the toughest ranger in an elite crew of very rugged men. A figure of heroic proportions, he was generally feared and respected by all. It was even rumored that he had at one time killed a sheep farmer, which only fueled his already enormous reputation. The young ranger does everything to remain in the good graces of Bill Bell, the senior ranger he idolizes. Their tentative rapport grows into a friendship through a hilarious and heroic rite of passage in which the younger ranger meets the test-and the woman of his dreams.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 629
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, exciting, tense, captivating