Best movies like Star 80
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Paul Snider is a narcissistic, small time hustler who fancies himself a ladies man. His life changes when he meets Dorothy Stratten working behind the counter of a Dairy Queen.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 8000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: disturbing, stylized, serious, suspenseful, realistic, depressing, thought provoking, neo noir, cynical, gloomy
Best tv shows and movies like Star 80 (1983):
Similar in 83%
Death of a Centerfold: The Dorothy Stratten Story (1981)
Plot Summary:
The life and death of the "Playboy" centerfold model/actress Dorothy Stratten.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 667
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 81%
Hell (1994)
Plot Summary:
Paul, an irritable and stressed-out hotel manager, begins to gradually develop paranoid delusions about his wife's infidelity.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: disturbing, suspense, psychological, psychological thriller, slasher, serious, realistic, suspenseful, gloomy, sexual
Similar in 89%
Dance with a Stranger (1985)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of Ruth Ellis, the last woman hanged in Britain, Mike Newell's Dance With a Stranger (1985) concentrates on Ellis's (Richardson) short-lived relationship with motor-racing driver David Blakely (Rupert Everett).
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: disturbing, independent film, neo noir, psychological, touching, serious, realistic, reflective, tense, light
Similar in 83%
Suburban Madness (2004)
Plot Summary:
Based on the real story of Clara Harris, the Houston, Texas dentist who made headlines in July 2002 when she killed her adulterous husband by repeatedly running over him with her car.
IMDB Rating: 4.7
IMDB Votes: 317
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, disturbing, psychological
Similar in 85%
The Kreutzer Sonata (2008)
Plot Summary:
A film by Bernard Rose, based on the novel by Leo Tolstoy with music by Ludwig Van Beethoven. Edgar Hudson meets Abby, a concert pianist, at a dinner party. Abby is involved with someone else but that doesn't stop the two from acting upon their strong attraction to one another. They start to sneak around but it's not long before they realize they should be together. Soon after Abby breaks up with her boyfriend, she becomes pregnant with Edgar's child - something that was not planned.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 392
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: erotic, sexy, serious, captivating, suspenseful, rough, bleak, realistic, sexual, psychological thriller
Similar in 82%
Murderous Maids (2000)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of two chambermaids (the Papin sisters) of 1930s France who murdered their employer and her daughter. Christine Papin (Sylvie Testud), and Léa Papin (Julie-Marie Parmentier) are sisters with an already troubled past. Madame Lancelin takes them into her home and employs the girls as maids. Christine sees in Madame Lancelin an ideal mother figure — in spite of her severity. But their wretched background — an indifferent mother and drunken abusive father — casts a shadow over the girls and over time their ill-fated situation darkens. The sisters withdraw into themselves and finish by committing the worst — killing Madame Lancelin and her daughter after six years of service, on the 2 February 1933 in Le Mans.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: France
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: serious, disturbing, realistic, suspense, exciting, captivating, independent film, queer cinema, weird
Similar in 77%
Burton and Taylor (2013)
Plot Summary:
TV drama based on Richard Burton's diaries, about his last performance in 1983 with ex-wife Elizabeth Taylor. They meet after several years and he agrees to her suggestion that they star in a stage revival on Broadway of Noel Coward's comedy 'Private Lives', although Elizabeth Taylor has never before performed on stage. Burton soon regrets his agreement, however, when her pill-popping and lack of discipline causes problems already during the rehearsals. The play opens to a critical trashing, but is popular with audiences because they just want to see Taylor. After a two month troubled run, the curtain comes down and Taylor tells Burton she has always loved him and still does. A year later he is dead.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 83 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, stylized, cult classic, historical drama, crying
Similar in 85%
The Jayne Mansfield Story (1980)
Plot Summary:
The gaudy rise and dizzy fall of the last great Hollywood blonde bombshell: Jayne Mansfield.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 956
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sentimental, uplifting, touching, serious, captivating, emotional, realistic, gloomy, psychotronic, nostalgic
Similar in 82%
Chapter 27 (2007)
Plot Summary:
The movie takes place in the three days leading up to Lennon's murder and is intended to be an exploration of Chapman's psyche, without putting substantial emphasis on the murder. The title "Chapter 27" suggests a continuation of J.D. Salinger's novel The Catcher in the Rye, which has 26 chapters, and which Chapman was carrying when he shot Lennon. Chapman was obsessed with the book, to the point.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, History
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, psychological, suspenseful, disturbing, psychological thriller, emotional, creepy, cult classic, historical drama
Similar in 87%
The Burning Bed (1984)
Plot Summary:
An abused battered wife has had enough of husband beating up on her. Everywhere she turns for help, there's not much anyone will do. After he rapes her one night, she sets the bed on fire with him in it asleep.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: disturbing, psychological, non fiction, crime drama, thought provoking, serious, realistic, suspenseful
Similar in 87%
Poor Little Rich Girl: The Barbara Hutton Story (1987)
Plot Summary:
The true story of one of the richest women in America - heiress to the Woolworth fortune. She had vast wealth and seven husbands, but never found lasting love.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 482
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 282 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic
Similar in 87%
Marie Krøyer (2012)
Plot Summary:
Marie Krøyer is hailed as “the most beautiful woman in Europe” and leads a happy marriage life with her husband the great Danish painter P.S. Krøyer and an adorable daughter. However, not everything in her world is as perfect as it seems, and Marie’s life is crumbling as her dreams of a beloved wife, good mother and successful artist are unfulfilled. After hospitalizing her mentally ill husband Marie leaves for vacation, and in search for peace and comfort she finds herself falling in love with the young composer Hugo Alfven. Once again, internationally acclaimed Bille August exhibits the weaknesses of human beings in comparison to the ruthless nature. The grandeur scenery of deserted Scandinavian oceans speaks in volumes for the protagonists living in silence despite their lives being full of pains.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Denmark, Sweden
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: captivating, emotional, stylized, costume drama, serious, realistic, gloomy, tragic, period drama
Similar in 82%
RKO 281 (1999)
Plot Summary:
A film about the making of Citizen Kane. Orson Welles produces his greatest film, Citizen Kane, despite the opposition of the film's de facto subject, William Randolph Hearst.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 86 min
Plot tags: talky, historical drama, sentimental, atmospheric, clever, serious, realistic, stylized, tense, light
Similar in 80%
My Week with Marilyn (2011)
Plot Summary:
Sir Laurence Olivier is making a movie in London. Young Colin Clark, an eager film student, wants to be involved and he navigates himself a job on the set. When film star Marilyn Monroe arrives for the start of shooting, all of London is excited to see the blonde bombshell, while Olivier is struggling to meet her many demands and acting ineptness, and Colin is intrigued by her. Colin's intrigue is met when Marilyn invites him into her inner world where she struggles with her fame, her beauty and her desire to be a great actress.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 89000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sentimental, period piece, romantic, melancholic, factual, touching, historical drama, smart, cute, informative
Similar in 89%
I Shot Andy Warhol (1996)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of Valerie Solanas who was a 1960s radical preaching hatred toward men in her "Scum" manifesto. She wrote a screenplay for a film that she wanted Andy Warhol to produce, but he continued to ignore her. So she shot him. This is Valerie's story.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: independent film, clever, disturbing, philosophical, surreal, art film, grim, edutainment, tense, offbeat
Similar in 76%
Mommie Dearest (1981)
Plot Summary:
In this biographical film, glamorous yet lonely star Joan Crawford takes in two orphans, and at first their unconventional family seems happy. But after Joan's attempts at romantic fulfillment go sour and she is fired from her contract with MGM studios, her callous and abusive behavior towards her daughter Christina becomes even more pronounced. Christina leaves home and takes her first acting role, only to find her mother's presence still overshadowing her.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 129 min
Plot tags: disturbing, controversial, factual, talky, intense, psychological, tense, serious, rough, emotional
Similar in 76%
Norma Jean & Marilyn (1996)
Plot Summary:
This film follows Norma Jean from her simple, ambitious youth to her sex star pinnacle and back down. She moves from lover to lover in order to further her career. She finds fame but never happiness, only knowing seduction but not love.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: psychological, touching, serious, realistic, disturbing, contemplative, gloomy, iconic
Similar in 85%
Rated X (2000)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of Jim and Artie Mitchell, two brothers who entered the porn industry in the early 60's. After creating such legendary porn films as "Behind the Green Door" and "Inside Marily Chambers", they later became addicted to drugs and began a downward spiral leading to bankruptcy and murder.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: sexy, psychological, intense, tense, cynical, rough, serious, realistic, surprise ending, independent film
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 90%
Raising Jeffrey Dahmer (2006)
Plot Summary:
Based on the true story of the mass murderer Jeffrey Dahmer, the events within the family behind, and leading up to, his capture.
IMDB Rating: 3.9
IMDB Votes: 465
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: thought provoking, serious, tense, realistic, disturbing, suspense, non-linear, queer cinema
Similar in 80%
Quills (2000)
Plot Summary:
A nobleman with a literary flair, the Marquis de Sade lives in a madhouse where a beautiful laundry maid smuggles his erotic stories to a printer, defying orders from the asylum's resident priest. The titillating passages whip all of France into a sexual frenzy, until a fiercely conservative doctor tries to put an end to the fun.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 56000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, Germany, UK
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: erotic, period piece, realistic, sexual, sexy, serious, intellectual, dramatic, sensual, melancholic
Similar in 87%
The Notorious Bettie Page (2005)
Plot Summary:
Bettie Page grew up in a conservative religious family in Tennessee and became a photo model sensation in 1950s New York. Bettie's legendary pin-up photos made her the target of a Senate investigation into pornography, and transformed her into an erotic icon who continues to enthrall fans to this day.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: erotic, melancholic, factual, black and white, bleak, stylized, artsy, frightening, sentimental, touching
Similar in 86%
Gia (1998)
Plot Summary:
Gia Carangi travels to New York City with dreams of becoming a fashion model. Within minutes of arriving, she meets Wilhelmina Cooper, a wise and high-powered agent who takes Gia under her wing. With Cooper's help and her own natural instincts, Gia quickly shoots to the top of the modeling world. When Cooper dies of lung cancer, however, Gia turns to drugs – and both she and her career begin to spiral out of control.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 49000
Genere: Biography, Drama, Romance
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: psychological, melancholic, erotic, sexy, rough, sad, serious, touching, bleak, thought provoking
Similar in 75%
Lovelace (2013)
Plot Summary:
Story of Linda Lovelace, who is used and abused by the porn industry at the behest of her coercive husband, before taking control of her life.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: sexual, stylized, erotic, sexy, emotional, entertaining, intense, sincere, captivating, teen
Similar in 79%
Henry & June (1990)
Plot Summary:
While traveling in Paris, author Henry Miller and his wife, June, meet Anais Nin, and sexual sparks fly as Nin starts an affair with the openly bisexual June. When June is forced to return to the U.S., she gives Nin her blessing to sleep with her husband. Then, when June returns to France, an unexpected, and sometimes contentious, threesome forms.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, France
Duration: 136 min
Plot tags: sexy, sensual, controversial, erotic, melancholic, atmospheric, stylized, serious, realistic, intellectual
Similar in 90%
Last Call (2002)
Plot Summary:
Renowned writer F. Scott Fitzgerald is living the last months of his life with his youthful secretary, confidant, and protégé who later wrote a memoir of their time together.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 963
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Canada, USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: clever, serious, emotional, realistic, contemplative, gloomy, spiritual, masterpiece
Similar in 83%
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)
Plot Summary:
Dorothy Parker remembers the heyday of the Algonquin Round Table, a circle of friends whose barbed wit, like hers, was fueled by alcohol and flirted with despair.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: intellectual, clever, witty, talky, heartbreaking, serious, captivating, realistic, cynical, independent film
Similar in 85%
Whitney (2015)
Plot Summary:
Chronicles Whitney Houston's rise to fame and turbulent relationship with husband Bobby Brown.
IMDB Rating: 5.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 88 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, touching, serious, sincere, entertaining
Similar in 89%
Pollock (2000)
Plot Summary:
In August of 1949, Life Magazine ran a banner headline that begged the question: "Jackson Pollock: Is he the greatest living painter in the United States?" The film is a look back into the life of an extraordinary man, a man who has fittingly been called "an artist dedicated to concealment, a celebrity who nobody knew." As he struggled with self-doubt, engaging in a lonely tug-of-war between needing to express himself and wanting to shut the world out, Pollock began a downward spiral.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 29000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: emotional, intellectual, atmospheric, depressing, breathtaking, art film, sincere, inspirational, dark, neurotic
Similar in 77%
Auto Focus (2002)
Plot Summary:
A successful TV star during the 1960s, former "Hogan's Heroes" actor Bob Crane projects a wholesome family-man image, but this front masks his persona as a sex addict who records and photographs his many encounters with women, often with the help of his seedy friend, John Henry Carpenter. This biographical drama reveals how Crane's double life takes its toll on him and his family, and ultimately contributes to his death.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: sexy, factual, talky, intense, serious, captivating, depressing, disturbing, controversial, psychological