Best movies like Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Tensions rise when the trailblazing Mother of the Blues and her band gather at a Chicago recording studio in 1927. Adapted from August Wilson's play.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 57000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: rough, uplifting, serious, suspense, costume drama, deep, visual, cult classic, tension, crying
Best tv shows and movies like Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (2020):
Similar in 79%
Patti Cake$ (2017)
Plot Summary:
Straight out of Jersey comes Patricia Dombrowski, a.k.a. Killa P, a.k.a. Patti Cake$, an aspiring rapper fighting through a world of strip malls and strip clubs on an unlikely quest for glory.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: sincere, captivating, disturbing, exciting, social, sad, independent film, crying, interesting
Similar in 86%
Sylvie's Love (2020)
Plot Summary:
When a young woman meets an aspiring saxophonist in her father’s record shop in 1950s Harlem, their love ignites a sweeping romance that transcends changing times, geography, and professional success.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Drama, Music, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: romantic, captivating, emotional, entertaining, period drama
Similar in 85%
A Man Called Adam (1966)
Plot Summary:
A famous jazz trumpeter finds himself unable to cope with the problems of everyday life.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 659
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: independent film, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 88%
The United States vs. Billie Holiday (2021)
Plot Summary:
The Federal Bureau of Narcotics launches an undercover sting operation against jazz singer Billie Holiday.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: tense, thought provoking, captivating, suspense, retro, political, anamorphic, independent film, interesting
Similar in 76%
The High Note (2020)
Plot Summary:
Set in the dazzling world of the LA music scene comes the story of Grace Davis, a superstar whose talent, and ego, have reached unbelievable heights. Maggie is Grace’s overworked personal assistant who’s stuck running errands, but still aspires to her childhood dream of becoming a music producer. When Grace’s manager presents her with a choice that could alter the course of her career, Maggie and Grace come up with a plan that could change their lives forever.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, Music, Romance
Country: UK, USA, China
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: light, sweet, touching, sentimental
Similar in 78%
Hearts Beat Loud (2018)
Plot Summary:
In the hip Brooklyn neighborhood of Red Hook, single dad and record store owner Frank is preparing to send his hard-working daughter Sam off to college while being forced to close his vintage shop. Hoping to stay connected through their shared musical passions, Frank urges Sam to turn their weekly jam sessions into a father-daughter live act. After their first song becomes an internet breakout, the two embark on a journey of love, growing up and musical discovery.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 12000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 97 min
Plot tags: feel good, light, sincere, touching, indie film, queer cinema, weird
Similar in 84%
Vox Lux (2018)
Plot Summary:
In 1999, teenage sisters Celeste and Eleanor survive a seismic, violent tragedy. The sisters compose and perform a song about their experience, making something lovely and cathartic out of a catastrophe - while also catapulting Celeste to stardom. By 2017, Celeste is a mother to a teenage daughter of her own and is struggling to navigate a career fraught with scandals when another act of terrifying violence demands her attention.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: exciting, inspirational, rough, thought provoking, suspense, philosophical, political, cult classic, visually stunning, freeze frame
Similar in 85%
Wild Rose (2018)
Plot Summary:
A young Scottish singer, Rose-Lynn Harlan, dreams of making it as a country artist in Nashville after being released from prison.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: UK, USA, Canada
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: sincere, thought provoking, humorous, captivating, disturbing, feel good, social, stylized, crying, freeze frame
Similar in 79%
The Cat and the Moon (2019)
Plot Summary:
Nick comes to New York to temporarily live with a jazz musician friend of his late father's named Cal while his mom is in rehab. During his time in the city, he befriends a group of kids who show him what New York has to offer.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 569
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: captivating, psychological, unusual plot structure, suspense, melancholic, contemplative
Similar in 81%
Young Soul Rebels (1991)
Plot Summary:
Young Soul Rebels is a 1991 film by Isaac Julien which examines the interaction between youth cultural movements in Britain. Skinheads, Punks & Soulboys along with the political and cultural tensions between them. The film received the critics prize at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 600
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: UK, France, Germany, Spain
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, crying, independent film, queer cinema, black cinema
Similar in 87%
Low Down (2014)
Plot Summary:
The daughter of jazz pianist Joe Albany witnesses her beloved father's struggle -- and failure -- to kick his heroin habit.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, psychological, historical drama, aesthetic, touching, independent film, crying, freeze frame
Similar in 90%
Times Square (1980)
Plot Summary:
Two ill-matched teenage girls form a punk band and soon have New York by its ears.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: cult classic, independent film, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, cynical, queer cinema, rockumentary, eighties
Similar in 90%
Dreamgirls (2006)
Plot Summary:
Three young women – Deena Jones, Effie White and Lorrell Robinson – dream of becoming pop stars and they get their wish when they're chosen to be backup singers for the legendary James 'Thunder' Early.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 76000
Genere: Drama, Music, Musical
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: stylized, emotional, lyrical, melancholic, sentimental, visually appealing, inspirational, uplifting, hood, serious
Similar in 75%
Inside Llewyn Davis (2013)
Plot Summary:
In Greenwich Village in the early 1960s, gifted but volatile folk musician Llewyn Davis struggles with money, relationships, and his uncertain future following the suicide of his singing partner.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 161000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA, UK, France
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: depressing, atmospheric, bleak, meditative, clever, independent film, melancholic, harsh, lyrical, contemplative
Similar in 84%
Respect (2021)
Plot Summary:
The rise of Aretha Franklin’s career from a child singing in her father’s church’s choir to her international superstardom.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: captivating, uplifting, factual, emotional, disturbing, period piece, deep, anamorphic, historical drama, touching
Similar in 84%
Mo' Better Blues (1990)
Plot Summary:
Opens with Bleek as a child learning to play the trumpet, his friends want him to come out and play but mother insists he finish his lessons. Bleek grows into adulthood and forms his own band - The Bleek Gilliam Quartet. The story of Bleek's and Shadow's friendly rivalry on stage which spills into their professional relationship and threatens to tear apart the quartet.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Drama, Music, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, psychological, serious, clever, stylized, hood, sentimental, romantic drama, controversial, cult classic
Similar in 75%
Fences (2016)
Plot Summary:
In 1950s Pittsburgh, a frustrated African-American father struggles with the constraints of poverty, racism, and his own inner demons as he tries to raise a family.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 116000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: emotional, depressing, talky, stylized, motivational, cult classic, exciting, sentimental, inspirational, sincere
Similar in 85%
Bessie (2015)
Plot Summary:
The story of legendary blues performer, Bessie Smith, who rose to fame during the 1920s and '30s.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, emotional, factual, historical drama, gloomy, queer cinema, black cinema
Similar in 81%
Lady Sings the Blues (1972)
Plot Summary:
Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday. Her late childhood, stint as a prostitute, early tours, marriages and drug addiction are featured.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: realistic, retro, intellectual, sentimental, touching, serious, gloomy, sexy, brutal, feel good
Similar in 87%
Ray (2004)
Plot Summary:
Born on a sharecropping plantation in Northern Florida, Ray Charles went blind at seven. Inspired by a fiercely independent mom who insisted he make his own way, He found his calling and his gift behind a piano keyboard. Touring across the Southern musical circuit, the soulful singer gained a reputation and then exploded with worldwide fame when he pioneered couping gospel and country together.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 155000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 152 min
Plot tags: inspirational, touching, sincere, emotional, captivating, sentimental, dramatic, psychological, motivational, romantic
Similar in 87%
What's Love Got to Do with It (1993)
Plot Summary:
A film about the singer Tina Turner and how she rose to stardom with her abusive husband Ike Turner and how she gained the courage to break free.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: inspirational, sincere, intense, serious, emotional, touching, intellectual, hood, captivating, realistic
Similar in 77%
Get on Up (2014)
Plot Summary:
A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: heartbreaking, emotional, talky, captivating, realistic, sentimental, intellectual, feel good, surreal, period piece
Similar in 81%
Cadillac Records (2008)
Plot Summary:
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: realistic, inspirational, talky, stylized, intense, sincere, sentimental, serious, captivating, social
Similar in 77%
Songcatcher (2000)
Plot Summary:
After being denied a promotion at the university where she teaches, Doctor Lily Penleric, a brilliant musicologist, impulsively visits her sister, who runs a struggling rural school in Appalachia. There she stumbles upon the discovery of her life - a treasure trove of ancient Scots-Irish ballads, songs that have been handed down from generation to generation, preserved intact by the seclusion of the mountains. With the goal of securing her promotion, Lily ventures into the most isolated areas of the mountains to collect the songs and finds herself increasingly enchanted.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, lyrical, sincere, emotional, independent film, realistic, gothic, serious, inspirational
Similar in 89%
8 Mile (2002)
Plot Summary:
The setting is Detroit in 1995. The city is divided by 8 Mile, a road that splits the town in half along racial lines. A young white rapper, Jimmy "B-Rabbit" Smith Jr. summons strength within himself to cross over these arbitrary boundaries to fulfill his dream of success in hip hop. With his pal Future and the three one third in place, all he has to do is not choke.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 314000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: inspirational, hood, serious, realistic, harsh, feel good, lyrical, stylized, captivating, tense
Similar in 84%
Hustle & Flow (2005)
Plot Summary:
With help from his friends, a Memphis pimp in a mid-life crisis attempts to become a successful hip-hop emcee.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 43000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: touching, bleak, realistic, hood, emotional, intense, sincere, rough, uplifting, serious
Similar in 79%
Lackawanna Blues (2005)
Plot Summary:
In a story fueled by rhythm and blues, a young boy's life is shaped by love and the stories of a cast of characters in the boarding house where he lives in 1960s Lackawanna, New York.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic, sincere, sentimental, captivating, crying, hispanic, entertaining
Similar in 86%
Sound of Metal (2019)
Plot Summary:
Metal drummer Ruben begins to lose his hearing. When a doctor tells him his condition will worsen, he thinks his career and life is over. His girlfriend Lou checks the former addict into a rehab for the deaf hoping it will prevent a relapse and help him adapt to his new life. After being welcomed and accepted just as he is, Ruben must choose between his new normal and the life he once knew.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 145000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, disturbing, tense, captivating, melancholic, realistic, philosophical, touching, offbeat, serious
Similar in 85%
54 (1998)
Plot Summary:
Shane, a Jersey boy with big dreams, crosses the river in hopes of finding a more exciting life at Studio 54. When Steve Rubell, the mastermind behind the infamous disco, plucks Shane from the sea of faces clamoring to get inside his club, Shane not only gets his foot in the door, but lands a coveted job behind the bar – and a front-row seat at the most legendary party on the planet.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 34000
Genere: Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, sexy, serious, realistic, sexual, erotic, psychedelic, art house, deep, cult classic
Similar in 82%
The Cotton Club (1984)
Plot Summary:
The story of the people that frequented Harlem's famous nightclubs, 'The Cotton Club', and those that ran it.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Music
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: intense, atmospheric, captivating, realistic, entertaining, period piece, visually stunning, stylized, neo noir, cult classic