Best movies like Cocaine Cowboys
Last updated March 2024
Looking for movies like Cocaine Cowboys? Use your familiarity to lead others towards movies and tv series you've watched that they may enjoy too. Help expand the group of people recommending videos to one another. We value your input!
Plot Summary:
Destn (Tom Sullivan) is the leader of a rock band on the brink of super-stardom. Until now they have juggled their music career with cocaine smuggling. The musicians, and their manager Raf (Jack Palance), wish to sever ties with organized-crime, leave the drug world behind and concentrate on music. However they are coerced into doing one last job for the Mob. They lose the $2 million of cocaine, and find themselves marked men unless they can fulfill their obligations.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 445
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags: independent film
Best tv shows and movies like Cocaine Cowboys (1979):
Similar in 83%
Stone Cold Killers (2004)
Plot Summary:
Four drug dealers with completely different backgrounds band together to become the most feared force in the business.
IMDB Rating: 3.6
IMDB Votes: 26
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 81%
Delta Fox (1979)
Plot Summary:
Woman is kidnaped by hitman who discovers that he is the target of another hitman.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 88
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sexy, independent film
Similar in 82%
White Hot (1988)
Plot Summary:
A young man, short of money, is persuaided into looking after the business of a local drug dealer for a week or two. Up until then, the guy had been an honest and clean of drugs, but when he spends his days surrounded by riches and drugs, he cannot resist... and neither can his addict wife. Written by Rob Hartill.
IMDB Rating: 4.3
IMDB Votes: 171
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 83%
Fast Money (1981)
Plot Summary:
Three buddies after 'Fast Money' try flying drugs into the U.S. from Mexico. When they meet with unexpected dangers, the trip turns turbulent.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 17
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
Bella Bettien (2002)
Plot Summary:
The gripping story of the Dutch Bettien Martens, based on true facts. After making an incredible career in the international narcotics world during 1984-1992, Bettien was arrested at Piazza Navona in Rome as one of the targets of the International Police Operation "Green Ice". Bettien decided to cooperate with the police and because of her testimonies, many precious arrests were made. As of then, Bettien became a "Pentita" and now is a guest of the "Witness Protection Program".
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 310
Genere: Drama, Crime
Country: Netherlands
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: tense, unusual plot structure, captivating, suspenseful
Similar in 80%
Devil's Dandruff (2022)
Plot Summary:
When you grow up poor on the streets of London you have 2 choices. Stay poor or get Rich. We follow the True Story of the rise of a petty drug dealer to his eventual involvement in some of the most notorious and infamous real life Robberies and Gangland Executions and Drug Deals of recent times. Seduced by the underworld, glamour, girls, danger our hero is soon over his head and fighting for his life in a world filled with violence and where so many pay the ultimate price. The Devils Dandruff shows an unflinching look at the London underworld where crime does not pay and no one ends up a winner.
IMDB Rating:
IMDB Votes:
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration:
Plot tags:
Similar in 79%
And Then You Die (1987)
Plot Summary:
A drug deal must deal with the mafia, Hells Angels, and police who want to arrest him. -- WorldCat.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 86
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: neo noir, independent film, detective
Similar in 86%
Right to Kill? (1985)
Plot Summary:
Based on true story of teens Richard and Deborah Jahnke charged in Wyoming for the killing of their abusive father.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 266
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
Victim of Love: The Shannon Mohr Story (1993)
Plot Summary:
When a woman dies in a supposed accident, her parents suspect their son-in-law of foul play. When the police begin to agree, the murder suspect vanishes.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 172
Genere: Biography, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
Bad to the Bone (1997)
Plot Summary:
A bad girl uses her brother to kill her lover.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 392
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: ridiculous
Similar in 90%
Waters Rising (2006)
Plot Summary:
Two Hurricane Katrina evacuees from the Desire Projects in New Orleans who both end up in Houston after the storm. The storm twists the fates of these two men. The first, Jay Dee, was a feared and powerful crime boss who is humbled when he loses everything and winds up as a lowly clerk at a retail chain store. The second, Shawn, an underachieving poor kid from the neighborhood gets a fresh start and becomes a writer/novelist.
IMDB Rating: 3.3
IMDB Votes: 127
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: rough, suspense, suspenseful, independent film, disaster movie
Similar in 87%
Boulevard Nights (1979)
Plot Summary:
A focus on life in a gang, Boulevard Nights portrays the dangers of street violence. Richard Yniguez plays a young Chicano who tries to get out of the gang, but he keeps finding himself drawn back into it.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 740
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: hood, hispanic, crime drama, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, disturbing, biting, suspense
Similar in 75%
Heaven Knows What (2014)
Plot Summary:
A young heroin addict roams the streets of New York to panhandle and get her next fix, while her unstable boyfriend drifts in and out of her life at random.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: France, USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: psychological, captivating, suspenseful, thrilling, erotic, retro, social, controversial, cynical, art house
Similar in 88%
Winter of Frozen Dreams (2009)
Plot Summary:
Barbara Hoffman is a University of Wisconsin science student. She is a part-time employee at a local massage parlor. She is also a killer. Now all Detective Lulling has to do is prove it.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 895
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, serious, realistic, christmas horror, suspense, mind bending, suspenseful, detective, independent film
Similar in 77%
The Preppie Connection (2015)
Plot Summary:
A student at a private school uses his connections to establish a drug trafficking network.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: Puerto Rico, USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, psychological, suspense
Similar in 75%
Honor Thy Father and Mother: The True Story of the Menendez Murders (1994)
Plot Summary:
TV movie based on the novel "Blood Brothers," about the murder of Jose Menéndez and his wife Kitty by their sons, Erik and Lyle.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 165
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 80%
Who Killed JonBenét? (2016)
Plot Summary:
The disturbing true story of JonBenet Ramsey, the six-year-old beauty queen whose murder in her Colorado home remains unsolved.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 375
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 88%
Murder: By Reason of Insanity (1985)
Plot Summary:
A crime drama dircted by Anthony Page.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 149
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 88%
River's Edge (1986)
Plot Summary:
A group of high school friends discover that they are in the presence of a killer. One of them, Samson, has murdered his girlfriend Jamie. He brags to his friends about killing her, and when they discover he is telling the truth, their reactions vary.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: disturbing, independent film, dark, grim, creepy, cult classic, controversial, psychological, bleak, retro
Similar in 88%
At Close Range (1986)
Plot Summary:
Based upon the true story of Bruce Johnston Sr., his son, and his brothers; together, they constituted one of suburban Philadelphia's most notorious crime families during the 1970's. Their criminal activities ranged from burglary, theft... and ultimately, murder.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: neo noir, disturbing, tense, bleak, realistic, entertaining, cynical, crime drama, independent film, rough
Similar in 86%
Honor Thy Father (1973)
Plot Summary:
Joseph Bologna stars as Bill Bonanno in this made-for-television adaptation of the controversial bestseller from Gay Talese, chronicling the rise of New York's infamous Bonanno organized crime family. When his father disappears in 1964 and Bill is compelled to take over the "empire," other mafiosi attempt to take what's theirs. Brenda Vaccaro and Richard S. Castellano fill out the impressive cast of this gripping crime tale.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 181
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, cynical, semi documentary
Similar in 83%
White Boy Rick (2018)
Plot Summary:
The story of teenager, Richard Wershe Jr., who became an undercover informant for the police during the 1980s and was ultimately arrested for drug-trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: suspense, hood, disturbing, retro, rough, neo noir, sad, independent film, non fiction, anamorphic
Similar in 80%
Happy Face Murders (1999)
Plot Summary:
An eccentric older woman (Ann-Margret) implicates her brutal & controlling lover in the murder of a young retarded girl. Absorbed with "Murder She Wrote" and "Matlock", she creates details of the murder from clues she picks up from the detectives (Marg Helgenberger, Henry Thomas) on the case. Implicating herself and sentenced to jail, she then recants her testimony. But no one believes her until clues surface from the real killer that he is still out there, has killed before, and will kill again. He signs his messages with Happy Faces.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 392
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 89%
The Todd Killings (1971)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of '60s thrill-killer Charles Schmidt ("The Pied Piper of Tucson"), Skipper Todd (Robert F. Lyons) is a charismatic 23-year old who charms his way into the lives of high school kids in a small California town. Girls find him attractive and are only too willing to accompany him to a nearby desert area to be his "girl for the night." Not all of them return, however. Featuring Richard Thomas as his loyal hanger-on and a colorful assortment of familiar actors in vivid character roles including Barbara Bel Geddes, Gloria Grahame, Edward Asner, Fay Spain, James Broderick and Michael Conrad.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 404
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: slasher, splatter, independent film
Similar in 87%
Witness to the Mob (1998)
Plot Summary:
Sammy 'The Bull' Gravano was mafiosi. He started out as a soldier, but his talent for murder, including the slayings of his best friends, his wife's brother and his own boss, Paul Castellano, saw him rise to under-boss in the Gambino crime family. However, betrayals within the family saw him break the code of silence and became the highest ranking member of the mob to turn into a rat - 'a rat in a suit,- assisting the government to finally put away the Teflon Don, John Gotti.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: cult classic, tense, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
Loving Pablo (2017)
Plot Summary:
The film chronicles the rise and fall of the world's most feared drug lord Pablo Escobar and his volatile love affair with Colombia's most famous journalist Virginia Vallejo throughout a reign of terror that tore a country apart.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: Spain, Bulgaria
Duration: 123 min
Plot tags: factual, serious, exciting, rough, brutal, crime drama, independent film
Similar in 90%
Lord of War (2005)
Plot Summary:
Yuri Orlov is a globetrotting arms dealer and, through some of the deadliest war zones, he struggles to stay one step ahead of a relentless Interpol agent, his business rivals and even some of his customers who include many of the world's most notorious dictators. Finally, he must also face his own conscience.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 332000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA, Germany, France, Zambia, Italy, Denmark, UK
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: suspense, clever, realistic, thought provoking, dark comedy, factual, entertaining, cerebral, cynical, spiritual
Similar in 83%
The Queen of Hollywood Blvd (2017)
Plot Summary:
On her 60th birthday, the proud owner of a Los Angeles strip club, finds herself in hot water over a twenty-five year old debt to the mob, leading her on a downward spiral of violence and revenge through the underbelly of Los Angeles.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 300
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 78%
Scarface (1983)
Plot Summary:
After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.
IMDB Rating: 8.3
IMDB Votes: 896000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 170 min
Plot tags: serious, exciting, rough, cult classic, suspense, brutal, harsh, psychological, suspenseful, hood
Similar in 88%
Narcos: Mexico (2018)
Plot Summary:
See the rise of the Guadalajara Cartel as an American DEA agent learns the danger of targeting narcos in 1980s Mexico.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 91000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 50 min
Plot tags: suspense, atmospheric, captivating, exciting, intense, crime drama, tense, erotic, inspirational, intellectual