Best movies like The American Friend
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Tom Ripley, who deals in forged art, suggests a picture framer he knows would make a good hit man.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 18000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: West Germany, France
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspenseful, atmospheric, bleak, talky, serious, captivating, disturbing, rough, realistic
Best tv shows and movies like The American Friend (1977):
Similar in 81%
Last Known Address (1970)
Plot Summary:
Marceau Léonetti (Lino Ventura), a competent and energetic officer stops by chance the son of an influential lawyer driving under the influence of alcohol. A few months later, the lawyer falsely accuses Léonetti as being violent and incompetent. As a result Marceau is transferred to a small police station, where he meets young and beautiful Jeanne (Marlène Jobert). Soon they are faced with a tough investigation.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: neo noir, detective, crime drama, tense, rough, bleak, serious, realistic, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 82%
Backyard (2009)
Plot Summary:
An astonishing fictional account of the unending series of murders of young women in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico, which began in 1996. Most of the victims are low-paid laborers who have been drawn to the town by the possibility of work at American-owned factories. In the film Mexican police officer Blanca Bravo is sent to Cuidad Juarez to investigate and comes to learn realities of these women's lives, as well as the truth about a police force and local power structure embodied by entrepreneur Mickey Santos that has ceased to care.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Mexico
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: serious, rough, psychological, bleak, suspenseful, disturbing, crime drama, twisted, scary, tense
Similar in 82%
High and Low (1963)
Plot Summary:
An executive of a shoe company becomes a victim of extortion when his chauffeur's son is kidnapped and held for ransom.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 51000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: Japan
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, suspense, captivating, bleak, black and white, tense, atmospheric, neo noir, breathtaking, intense
Similar in 80%
In the Electric Mist (2009)
Plot Summary:
Lt. Dave Robicheaux, a detective in New Iberia, Louisiana, is trying to link the murder of a local hooker to New Orleans mobster Julie (Baby Feet) Balboni, who is co-producer of a Civil War film. At the same time, after Elrod Sykes, the star of the film, reports finding another corpse in the Atchafalaya Swamp near the movie set, Robicheaux starts another investigation, believing the corpse to be the remains of a black man who he saw being murdered 35 years before.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France, USA
Duration: 117 min
Plot tags: psychological, atmospheric, detective, rough, suspenseful, scary, southern gothic, lyrical, gothic, neo noir
Similar in 88%
Meeting Evil (2012)
Plot Summary:
Follows disillusioned young family man John as a mysterious stranger, Richie takes him on a murder-fueled ride that transforms the weak-willed John into a desperate hero willing to go to any length to protect his family.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 13000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, serious, enigmatic, suspense, psychological thriller, neo noir, mystic, twisted, realistic, independent film
Similar in 76%
The Second Wind (2007)
Plot Summary:
Gu, a famous gangster, has just escaped from jail. All french police is after him. Before leaving the country with Manouche, the woman he loves, Gu needs a final job to get some money. The job works, but a police's scheming makes Gu appear as a traitor to his own accomplices. Gu will do whatever it takes to clean his honor.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 155 min
Plot tags: rough, realistic, serious, suspenseful, tense, suspense, sexy, neo noir, crime drama
Similar in 78%
Max & Jeremie (1992)
Plot Summary:
Even among bombers and murderers, there is a social ladder, a hierarchy to climb. Jeremie is a mere bomber who blows up people and places for mobsters in Paris. He may not look it, scruffy lad that he is, but he is a sensitive fellow, and he feels his lowly status keenly. If only he could graduate to the ranks of hitmen, who are honored in his world, perhaps then he would feel more like somebody. He finally gets his chance when he receives instructions to kill the eminent hitman Max, who knows too much to be left alive. Instead of planning a cool and distant hit, Jeremie gets to know his quarry personally and thereby gets entangled in a mass of conflicting allegiances. Max has one more assignment and has asked Jeremie to help him with it. The hero-worshipping boy can't bring himself to knock of this classy guy. However, just having such an inept apprentice as Jeremie around is enormously dangerous for the soon-to-be-retired killer.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 797
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized
Similar in 78%
A Kiss Before Dying (1991)
Plot Summary:
Infatuated with the idea of becoming rich, college student Jonathan Corliss secretly dates Dorothy Carlsson to gain the approval of her wealthy father. When Dorothy tells Jonathan that she is pregnant and that her father will deny her inheritance if he finds out, Jonathan murders her, but he stages her death as a suicide. As Jonathan works his way onto Mr. Carlsson's payroll, Dorothy's twin sister, Ellen, investigates the apparent suicide.
IMDB Rating: 5.7
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: neo noir, scary, serious, realistic, suspenseful, stylized, psychosexual thriller, noir, suspense, cult classic
Similar in 82%
He Died with His Eyes Open (1985)
Plot Summary:
On Ne Meurt Que Deux Fois, a French murder mystery based upon a novel of the same name, is an unusual, involving film with excellent performances by its entire cast. Police Inspector Staniland (Michel Serrault) is investigating the death of a pianist. While conducting his investigation and looking through the victim's apartment, he meets Barbara (Charlotte Rampling), the mistress of the murder victim. Barbara confesses to the crime, but Staniland, based on his observations and experience, does not believe her. He then sets out to find the truth, with surprising results. Both Serrault and Rampling are outstanding in this well-directed, well-paced film. On Ne Meurt Que Deux Fois was also released as He Died With His Eyes Open and won the Jury Prize at the 1985 Montreal World Film Festival.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 730
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: France
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: neo noir, mind bending, serious, suspenseful, bleak, realistic, detective, gloomy, sexual, sexy
Similar in 80%
The Prophet's Game (2000)
Plot Summary:
The Prophet has arrived in the ultimate playing ground... Los Angeles. It has taken an innocent childhood game and twisted it into a deadly match of wits, where the only prize is survival. Moving from city to city, The Prophet lures unsuspecting contestants into solving the riddles it supplies. If the contestants are wrong, somebody dies... somebody famous.
IMDB Rating: 4.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, disturbing, psychological, bleak, realistic, suspense, serious
Similar in 79%
Best Seller (1987)
Plot Summary:
Hit man Cleve approaches writer/cop Dennis about a story for his next book: How Cleve made a living, working for one of the most powerful politicians in the country. To get the story right, they travel around the country to gather statements and evidence, while strong forces use any means they can to keep the story untold.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, psychological, suspense, tense, captivating, realistic, neo noir, offbeat, detective, independent film
Similar in 90%
The Prodigy (2005)
Plot Summary:
"The Prodigy" tells the story of small-time enforcer Truman Fisher's vicious conflict with a sadistic assassin who has chosen the unwilling Truman to be his successor. The assassin, who goes by the alias Rains and whose exploits have become the source of legend among Truman's underworld colleagues, drives Truman, through the pressure of constant violence and grief, to understand his own capacity for both bloodshed and compassion. Ultimately this reveals to Truman that he as with all of us, must find our place in this world or as Rains would say "our place in this grand design." This action begins quickly as Truman meets with a turncoat from a rival gang. This tense showdown erupts quickly into mayhem, when Rains makes his unexpected entrance. In the wake of the ensuing bloodbath, Truman is forced to reevaluate his own role in the small, violent world he inhabits, suddenly aware that there are larger powers at work which he does not understand.
IMDB Rating: 5.3
IMDB Votes: 921
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: exciting, rough, suspenseful, suspense, independent film, serious, realistic, surprise ending
Similar in 89%
The Killers (1964)
Plot Summary:
A hit man and his partner try to find out why their latest victim, a former race-car driver, did not try to get away.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 93 min
Plot tags: neo noir, noir, clever, suspenseful, stylized, grindhouse, black and white, esoteric, crime drama, crime thriller
Similar in 75%
The Long Goodbye (1973)
Plot Summary:
Detective Philip Marlowe tries to help a friend who is accused of murdering his wife.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 36000
Genere: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: neo noir, detective, noir, dark, atmospheric, witty, cynical, stylized, funny, inspirational
Similar in 75%
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
Plot Summary:
A proud strip club owner is forced to come to terms with himself as a man, when his gambling addiction gets him in hot water with the mob, who offer him only one alternative.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: neo noir, noir, art house, independent film, atmospheric, cerebral, tense, cynical, crime drama, crime thriller
Similar in 85%
The Outfit (1973)
Plot Summary:
A two-bit criminal takes on the Mafia to avenge his brother's death. Earl Macklin is a small time criminal who is released from prison after an unsuccessful bank robbery only to discover that a pair of gunmen killed his brother.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 103 min
Plot tags: neo noir, serious, realistic, exciting, suspense, retro, grindhouse, hood, cult classic, crime thriller
Similar in 77%
Cruising (1980)
Plot Summary:
A serial killer brutally slays and dismembers several gay men in New York's S/M and leather districts. The young police officer Steve Burns is sent undercover onto the streets as decoy for the murderer. Working almost completely isolated from his department, he has to learn and practice the complex rules and signals of this little society.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 27000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: West Germany, USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: disturbing, suspenseful, psychological, detective, sexual, erotic, sexy, cult classic, intense, slasher
Similar in 89%
Blow Out (1981)
Plot Summary:
Jack Terry is a master sound recordist who works on grade-B horror movies. Late one evening, he is recording sounds for use in his movies when he hears something unexpected through his sound equipment and records it. Curiosity gets the better of him when the media become involved, and he begins to unravel the pieces of a nefarious conspiracy. As he struggles to survive against his shadowy enemies and expose the truth, he does not know whom he can trust.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 61000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspenseful, suspense, disturbing, atmospheric, intense, political thriller, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 89%
Le Samurai (1967)
Plot Summary:
Hitman Jef Costello is a perfectionist who always carefully plans his murders and who never gets caught.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 56000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, Italy
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: neo noir, atmospheric, tense, suspenseful, bleak, suspense, visual, meditative, witty, art house
Similar in 83%
Blue Velvet (1986)
Plot Summary:
The discovery of a severed human ear found in a field leads a young man on an investigation related to a beautiful, mysterious nightclub singer and a group of criminals who have kidnapped her child.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 212000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: neo noir, surreal, dark, detective, cerebral, disturbing, postmodern, controversial, erotic, atmospheric
Similar in 89%
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011)
Plot Summary:
In the rural area around the Anatolian town of Keskin, the local prosecutor, police commissar, and doctor lead a search for a victim of a murder to whom a suspect named Kenan and his mentally challenged brother confessed. However, the search is proving more difficult than expected as Kenan is fuzzy as to the body's exact location. As the group continues looking, its members can't help but chat among themselves about both trivia and their deepest concerns in an investigation that is proving more trying than any of them expected.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 49000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: Turkey, Bosnia and Herzegovina
Duration: 157 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, meditative, art house, slow cinema, disturbing, suspense, surreal, lyrical, realistic, tense
Similar in 77%
The Rosary Murders (1987)
Plot Summary:
A killer of Detroit clergy confesses to a priest (Donald Sutherland), who turns sleuth because he cannot tell the police.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: disturbing, atmospheric, bleak, serious, neo noir, suspense, independent film, tense, rough, realistic
Similar in 88%
Red Rock West (1993)
Plot Summary:
When a promised job for Texan Michael fails to materialise in Wyoming, Mike is mistaken by Wayne to be the hitman he hired to kill his unfaithful wife, Suzanne. Mike takes full advantage of the situation, collects the money and runs. During his getaway, things go wrong, and soon get worse when he runs into the real hitman, Lyle.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspenseful, sexy, atmospheric, road movie, suspense, rough, independent film, black comedy, clever
Similar in 83%
The Day of the Jackal (1973)
Plot Summary:
An international assassin known as ‘The Jackal’ is employed by disgruntled French generals to kill President Charles de Gaulle, with a dedicated gendarme on the assassin's trail.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 44000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, France
Duration: 143 min
Plot tags: political thriller, exciting, suspenseful, political, atmospheric, talky, intense, rough, serious, suspense
Similar in 84%
Mean Streets (1973)
Plot Summary:
A small-time hood must choose from among love, friendship and the chance to rise within the mob.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 117000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, atmospheric, realistic, bleak, independent film, serious, rough, suspenseful, dark
Similar in 77%
Carlito's Way (1993)
Plot Summary:
A Puerto-Rican ex-con, just released from prison, pledges to stay away from drugs and violence despite the pressure around him and lead on to a better life outside of NYC.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 229000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 144 min
Plot tags: neo noir, suspense, atmospheric, suspenseful, tense, melancholic, intense, rough, bleak, serious
Similar in 85%
Kiss the Girls (1997)
Plot Summary:
Forensic psychologist Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers that the psychopath may not be working alone.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 80000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: detective, suspense, twist ending, suspenseful, tense, serious, psychological thriller, surprise ending, disturbing, intense
Similar in 82%
Zodiac (2007)
Plot Summary:
The true story of the investigation of the "Zodiac Killer", a serial killer who terrified the San Francisco Bay Area, taunting police with his ciphers and letters. The case becomes an obsession for four men as their lives and careers are built and destroyed by the endless trail of clues.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 584000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 157 min
Plot tags: suspense, atmospheric, tense, neo noir, stylized, twist ending, suspenseful, psychological, rough, detective
Similar in 79%
The Bone Collector (1999)
Plot Summary:
Rookie cop, Amelia Donaghy reluctantly teams with Lincoln Rhyme – formerly the department's top homicide detective but now paralyzed as a result of a spinal injury – to catch a grisly serial killer dubbed 'The Bone Collector'. The murderer's special signature is to leave tantalizing clues based on the grim remains of his crimes.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 182000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: suspense, psychological thriller, suspenseful, tense, psychological, detective, surprise ending, clever, neo noir, bad ending
Similar in 82%
The Long Good Friday (1980)
Plot Summary:
In the late 1970s, Cockney crime boss Harold Shand, a gangster trying to become a legitimate property mogul, has big plans to get the American Mafia to bankroll his transformation of a derelict area of London into the possible venue for a future Olympic Games. However, a series of bombings targets his empire on the very weekend the Americans are in town. Shand is convinced there is a traitor in his organization, and sets out to eliminate the rat in typically ruthless fashion.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, atmospheric, harsh, serious, captivating, realistic, clever, bleak, stylized