Best movies like Shanghai
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
An American man returns to a corrupt, Japanese-occupied Shanghai four months before Pearl Harbor and discovers his friend has been killed. While he unravels the mysteries of the death, he falls in love and discovers a much larger secret that his own government is hiding.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: China, USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspenseful, stylized, suspense, neo noir, independent film, serious, realistic, gloomy, surprise ending
Best tv shows and movies like Shanghai (2010):
Similar in 88%
Road to Nowhere (2010)
Plot Summary:
A passionate filmmaker creating a film based upon a true crime casts an unknown mysterious young woman bearing a disturbing resemblance to the femme fatale in the story. Unsuspectingly, he finds himself drawn into a complex web of haunting intrigue: he becomes obsessed with the woman, the crime, her possibly notorious past, and the disturbing complexity between art and truth. From the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina to Verona, Rome, and London, new truths are revealed and clues to other crimes and passions, darker and even more complex, are uncovered.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: tense, suspenseful, atmospheric, serious, neo noir, suspense, surreal, meta, mind bending, realistic
Similar in 76%
Shanghai Triad (1995)
Plot Summary:
A provincial boy related to a Shanghai crime family is recruited by his uncle into cosmopolitan Shanghai in the 1930s to be a servant to a ganglord's mistress.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, History, Romance, Thriller
Country: France, China
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, clever, stylized, crime drama, mind blowing, tense, serious, captivating, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 76%
Bloodline (1979)
Plot Summary:
When her father is murdered, a cosmetics heiress becomes the next target of an unknown killer amid the international jet set.
IMDB Rating: 4.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: West Germany, USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, suspenseful, captivating, independent film, detective, realistic
Similar in 76%
The Wannabe (2015)
Plot Summary:
Based on true events, The Wannabe, a story about Thomas, a man obsessed with Mafia culture during the 1990s in New York City. When Thomas’s failed attempts to fix the trial of infamous mobster John Gotti gets him rejected by the people he idolizes most, he sets off on a drug infused crime spree with his girlfriend and longtime mob groupie, Rose, by brazenly robbing the local Mafia hangouts.
IMDB Rating: 5.1
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense
Similar in 85%
The Morning After (1986)
Plot Summary:
Failed actress Alex Sternbergen wakes up hungover one morning in an apartment she does not recognize, unable to remember the previous evening -- and with a dead body in bed next to her. As she tries to piece together the events of the night, Alex cannot totally rely on friends or her estranged husband, Joaquin, for assistance. Only a single ally, loner ex-policeman Turner Kendall, can help her escape her predicament and find the true killer.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: tense, suspenseful, suspense, atmospheric, neo noir, stylized, enigmatic, noir, serious, realistic
Similar in 81%
The Silent War (2012)
Plot Summary:
An espionage thriller set in the 1950s and adapted from the novel "Year Suan/Plot Against" by May Jia. Tony Leung Chiu Wai plays a blind man who works for a piano tuner. He is recruited for a spy mission because of his exceptional hearing.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong, China
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: serious, suspenseful, tense, realistic, captivating
Similar in 85%
Archangel (2005)
Plot Summary:
Set in contemporary Moscow and the frozen northern town of Archangel, the drama revisits the stark landscape of Communist Russia and takes place over four days in the life of academic Fluke Kelso. His fateful meeting with a former Stalinist bodyguard leads to the uncovering of one of the world's most dangerous and best kept secrets. He is led unwittingly through murder and intrigue towards his own personal "Holy Grail" - Joseph Stalin's secret legacy - a legacy that could change the face of Russian history forever.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, epic, political, sensual, gloomy
Similar in 88%
China Moon (1994)
Plot Summary:
Detective Kyle Bodine falls for Rachel Munro who is trapped in a violent marriage. After shooting her husband, Kyle relucantly agrees to help hide the body, but Kyle's partner is showing an unusual flair for finding clues.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, psychological, suspenseful, serious, atmospheric, surprise ending, detective, slasher, anamorphic
Similar in 88%
Murder on the Home Front (2013)
Plot Summary:
At the height of the London blitz, Dr Lennox Collins, pioneer of the new forensic science, is enlisted by DI Wilkins after prostitute Mary Williams is strangled and a swastika carved on her tongue.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: realistic, stylized, tense, captivating, exciting, suspense, period piece, clever, serious, suspenseful
Similar in 78%
True Blue (2001)
Plot Summary:
Rembrandt Macy (Tom Berenger) is a maverick cop assigned to a case where the primary evidence is a woman's hand found in a pond. Investigators identify the dead, and Macy is lead into a young woman's past. Macy's primary path to understanding the victim is through one of her roommates, Nikki. Through Nikki and others, Macy learns of the victim's shady contacts at City Hall, the involvement of a gang of Asian drug runners, and the sordid affairs of one of the city's bigwigs. As Macy begins to understand how all these crimes fit together, he learns that his new friend Nikki is not an innocent bystander.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 905
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, suspense, intense, neo noir, serious, realistic
Similar in 76%
The Message (2009)
Plot Summary:
1942, Nanjing (Nanking). Following a series of assassination attempts on officials of the Japanese-controlled puppet government, the Japanese spy chief gathers a group of suspects in a mansion house for questioning. A tense game of "cat and mouse" ensues as the Chinese code-breaker attempts to send out a crucial message while protecting his/her own identity.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller, War
Country: China
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: suspense, captivating, realistic, tense, psychological, controversial, serious, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 83%
Able Danger (2008)
Plot Summary:
Tom Flynn, the idealist owner of a left-leaning radical café/bookstore and the quixotic publisher of a hard hitting 911 conspiracy expose, finds himself entangled with a mysterious Eastern European beauty, Kasia, who is on the run from strong hand of a global 911 cover up. In this contemporary take on film noir. When Tom is implicated in the murder of his friend and employee, he is forced to unravel Kasia's complex web of lies. As it turns out, Kasia possesses the smoking gun that proves the identities and methods of the real architects of 911, and Tom Flynn is willing to die to expose the truth. Written by Dave Herman.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 129
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: neo noir, serious, realistic, suspenseful, black and white, independent film, political thriller
Similar in 85%
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 90%
The Good German (2006)
Plot Summary:
An American journalist arrives in Berlin just after the end of World War Two. He becomes involved in a murder mystery surrounding a dead GI who washes up at a lakeside mansion during the Potsdam negotiations between the Allied powers. Soon his investigation connects with his search for his married pre-war German lover.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: black and white, neo noir, atmospheric, suspenseful, serious, realistic, period piece, clever, stylized, political
Similar in 90%
The Night of the Generals (1967)
Plot Summary:
An unusual World War II crime thriller about a Nazi investigation into the murder of a prostitute. Major Grau finds himself focusing on three suspects: the Generals Tanz, Kahlenberg and Seydlitz-Gabler – all three of whom, it seems, are also involved in a plot to kill Hitler.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, War
Country: UK, France
Duration: 148 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, serious, captivating, detective, retro, neo noir, psychological
Similar in 82%
Arabesque (1966)
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
Similar in 78%
Farewell, My Lovely (1975)
Plot Summary:
Los Angeles private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by paroled convict Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend Velma, former seedy nightclub dancer.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: neo noir, detective, tense, serious, suspenseful, atmospheric, realistic, surprise ending, noir, cult classic
Similar in 78%
Brazen (2022)
Plot Summary:
Mystery writer Grace Miller has killer instincts when it comes to motive - and she'll need every bit of expertise to help solve her sister's murder.
IMDB Rating: 4.2
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, suspense, disturbing, detective, crime drama
Similar in 77%
City Hall (1996)
Plot Summary:
The accidental shooting of a boy in New York leads to an investigation by the Deputy Mayor, and unexpectedly far-reaching consequences.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: political, tense, suspense, thought provoking, realistic, talky, neo noir, inspirational, cult classic, serious
Similar in 78%
Night Moves (1975)
Plot Summary:
Private detective and former football player Harry Moseby gets hired on to what seems a standard missing person case, as a former Hollywood actress whose only major roles came thanks to being married to a studio mogul wants Moseby to find and return her daughter. Harry travels to Florida to find her, but he begins to see a connection between the runaway girl, the world of Hollywood stuntmen, and a suspicious mechanic when an unsolved murder comes to light.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, tense, psychological, detective, grim, meditative, serious, suspenseful, surprise ending
Similar in 86%
Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
Plot Summary:
In late 1940s Los Angeles, Easy Rawlins is an unemployed black World War II veteran with few job prospects. At a bar, Easy meets DeWitt Albright, a mysterious white man looking for someone to investigate the disappearance of a missing white woman named Daphne Monet, who he suspects is hiding out in one of the city's black jazz clubs. Strapped for money and facing house payments, Easy takes the job, but soon finds himself in over his head.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: neo noir, detective, dark, atmospheric, clever, stylized, suspense, psychological, political, mysterious
Similar in 88%
Mulholland Falls (1996)
Plot Summary:
In 1950s Los Angeles, a special crime squad of the LAPD investigates the murder of a young woman.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, tense, detective, serious, rough, realistic, suspenseful, hood, thrilling
Similar in 75%
Megachurch Murder (2015)
Plot Summary:
After popular and charismatic megachurch leader Hamilton Spears commits suicide, his teenage daughter Hannah's life goes off the rails. The only thing keeping her together is her new boyfriend, Oliver. When she finds evidence pointing to a church conspiracy and threats toward her father, she is determined to prove that Hamilton's death was murder not suicide. As she gets closer to the truth, she realizes her own mother may be involved in her father's murder...and that the boy she is falling in love with is the son of his killer.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 231
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, psychological, tense, serious, emotional, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 85%
Deceiver (1997)
Plot Summary:
The gruesome death of a prostitute brings suspicion on one of her clients, James Wayland, a brilliant, self-destructive and epileptic heir to a textile fortune. So detectives Braxton and Kennesaw take Wayland in for questioning, thinking they can break the man. But despite his troubles, Wayland is a master of manipulation, and during the interrogation, he begins to turn the tables on the investigators, forcing them to reveal their own sinister sides.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, suspense, psychological, suspenseful, neo noir, clever, talky, twisted, detective, psychological thriller
Similar in 87%
The Caller (2008)
Plot Summary:
Jimmy Stevens, a senior VP at an international energy firm, blows the whistle on his company's deadly and corrupt practices in Latin America. Knowing he will be assassinated for his betrayal, he places an anonymous call securing the services of private detective Frank Turlotte to trail him from a distance.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 92 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, psychological thriller, detective, neo noir
Similar in 79%
The Pelican Brief (1993)
Plot Summary:
Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. One lone law student has stumbled upon the truth. An investigative journalist wants her story. Everybody else wants her dead.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 94000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 141 min
Plot tags: tense, suspense, suspenseful, political thriller, political, clever, exciting, intense, realistic, serious
Similar in 80%
Talaash: The Answer Lies Within (2012)
Plot Summary:
A cop, investigating the mysterious death of a filmstar, meets a sex-worker, while he faces some personal problems psychologically. The mystery connects these people in a way, that ultimately changes their lives.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 44000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: India
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, suspenseful, suspense thriller, psychological thriller, neo noir, suspense, surprise ending, mind bending, psychedelic
Similar in 75%
Enigma (2001)
Plot Summary:
A romantic thriller based around the World War 2 project to crack the codes behind the Enigma machine, used by the Germans to encrypt messages sent to their submarines.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 22000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Romance, Thriller, War
Country: UK, USA, Germany, Netherlands
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: factual, tricky, clever, captivating, suspenseful, serious, realistic, suspense, epic, political thriller
Similar in 84%
Infernal Affairs (2002)
Plot Summary:
Chan Wing Yan, a young police officer, has been sent undercover as a mole in the local mafia. Lau Kin Ming, a young mafia member, infiltrates the police force. Years later, their older counterparts, Chen Wing Yan and Inspector Lau Kin Ming, respectively, race against time to expose the mole within their midst.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 130000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 101 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, suspenseful, tense, neo noir, intense, serious, dramatic, crime drama, realistic
Similar in 80%
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Plot Summary:
Three detectives in the corrupt and brutal L.A. police force of the 1950s use differing methods to uncover a conspiracy behind the shotgun slayings of the patrons at an all-night diner.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 607000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 138 min
Plot tags: neo noir, captivating, tense, noir, suspense, atmospheric, clever, suspenseful, detective, serious