Best movies like The Curse of Steptoe
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
In the early 1960s aspiring stage actor Harry H. Corbett jumps at the chance to play junk-dealer Harold Steptoe in a television comedy show 'Steptoe and Son'. However, the show's success proves to be a poisoned chalice for him, type-casting him and thwarting his stage ambitions. Wilfrid Brambell, the actor playing his father, is marginalized in a different way. He is a gay man in an England where homosexuality is still illegal.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 337
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 67 min
Plot tags: sitcom
Best tv shows and movies like The Curse of Steptoe (2008):
Similar in 79%
The Sun Assassinated (2003)
Plot Summary:
The poet Jean Sénac is also a radio presenter. A Pied-noir, he opted to stay in Algeria after the country achieved independence in 1962. Ten years later he is monitored by the police of the present regime. His poems have a large public following and his radio show is a great success, especially with the young. The poet allies himself with two students, aspiring playwrights Hamid and Belkacem, to fight for the freedom and culture of Algerian youth.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 160
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: France, Algeria, Belgium, Tunisia
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 88%
Frankie Howerd: Rather You Than Me (2008)
Plot Summary:
Candid and poignant drama about the comedian Frankie Howerd and the relationship with his long-term, long-suffering manager, and gay partner, Dennis Heymer. Despite his overtly camp persona, Howerd kept his companionship with Heymer under wraps for 35 years, until his death in 1992. Yet through career disaster, social stigma, illegality, numerous infidelities and Howerd's own deep-seated issues about his homosexuality, their love endured.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 167
Genere: Biography
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 88%
The O.J. Simpson Story (1995)
Plot Summary:
Dramatizes some of the more tawdry events in the relationship between O.J. Simpson and his wife, Nicole Brown, up to and including his arrest for Brown's murder.
IMDB Rating: 4.4
IMDB Votes: 248
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
Naked Rose (2013)
Plot Summary:
Among the millions of victims of the Nazi madness during the Second World War, Pierre Seel was charged with homosexuality and imprisoned in the Schirmeck concentration camp. He survived this terrifying experience of torture and humiliation, and after the war he married, had three children, and tried to live a normal life. In 1982, however, he came to terms with his past and his true nature and decided to publicly reveal what he and thousands of other homosexuals branded with the Pink Triangle had undergone during the Nazi regime. Il Rosa Nudo (Naked Rose), inspired by the true story of Pierre Seel, depicts in a theatrical and evocative way the Homocaust, focusing on the scientific theories of SS Physician Carl Peter Værnet for the treatment of homosexuality, which paved the way for the Nazi persecution of gay men.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 25
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 70 min
Plot tags: semi documentary, queer cinema
Similar in 85%
Closing Numbers (1993)
Plot Summary:
Keith, Anna and their son Peter are a close, loving family living in a smart suburban street of a provincial city. Anna is a typical middle-class housewife, filling her day with good works, until one day, when she finds a note that leads to a shattering discovery - her husband has been having an affair. Anna's intense shock at finding out Keith's secret is compounded when she arranges to meet his lover. When Steve arrives at the meeting place, Anna is forced to accept the fact that Keith has been leading a double life for the length of their marriage. Steve stresses the risk of AIDS and urges Anna to have an AIDS test. To show her what it can be like to live with the disease, he introduces her to Jim, who needs 24-hour care and has developed a realistic attitude towards his own death. When Keith leaves home suddenly, Anna is forced to tell her son about the threat of HIV, but Peter turns violently against her and runs away.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 143
Genere: Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: independent film
Similar in 85%
Lord of the Ants (2022)
Plot Summary:
Based on true events of the late 60s in Italy, poet, playwright and myrmecologist Aldo Braibanti is prosecuted and sentenced to prison for the love he shares with his barely-of-age pupil and friend, Ettore. Amidst a chorus of voices of accusers, supporters and a largely hypocritical public, a single committed journalist takes on the task of piecing together the truth, between secrecy and desire, facing suspicion and censorship in the process.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Italy
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: gay cinema
Similar in 79%
Trudeau (2002)
Plot Summary:
This docu-drama spans fifteen turbulent years in the political and personal life of Pierre Elliott Trudeau, one of the most enigmatic and polarizing Prime Ministers in Canadian history. The film explores the many facets of his character and his vision for his country which has both inspired and frustrated Canadians.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 435
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Canada
Duration: 208 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 86%
Shirley (2011)
Plot Summary:
Shirley is the youngest of eight children from a mixed race marriage. By the time she is a toddler the family have moved to the all white area of Splott and by the time she is 12 Shirley has discovered she has an extraordinary voice and can earn money singing in pubs around the docks after her father if jailed for sexual crimes. As a young teenager she begins singing and dancing in 'coloured review shows'. But it is a chance meeting with struggling agent Mike Sullivan that changes her life forever. He promises to make her a star, but has no idea of the personal sacrifice that will mean for the teenaged Shirley.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 201
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 60 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic
Similar in 81%
Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995)
Plot Summary:
After serving in the military for more than twenty years, including a tour of duty in Vietnam, Colonel Margarethe Cammermeyer (Glenn Close) had seen her share of battles. But nothing could prepare her for the fight ahead: an intensely personal struggle against the U.S. Army when she becomes the highest ranking officer ever to be discharged for being a lesbian. With the support of her partner Diane (Judy Davis), Cammermeyer undertakes an against-all-odds battle against the Army's policy. But to do so, she must risk everything – her career, her privacy and even the love of her family.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: cult classic, sincere, uplifting, thought provoking, touching, serious, realistic, disturbing, contemplative, crying
Similar in 84%
Bruce Lee and I (1976)
Plot Summary:
A movie on the life of the renowned Bruce Lee, especially his relationship with his mistress.
IMDB Rating: 3.5
IMDB Votes: 181
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Hong Kong
Duration: 87 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 90%
Then Barbara Met Alan (2022)
Plot Summary:
The untold disability civil-rights love story of two cabaret performers, Barbara and Alan, who met at a gig, fell in love, and became the driving force behind an unprecedented campaign of direct action that ultimately led to the passing of the 1995 Disability Discrimination Act.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 244
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 67 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 85%
Jeremiah Terminator LeRoy (2018)
Plot Summary:
A young woman named Savannah Knoop spends six years pretending to be a transgender writer named JT Leroy, the made-up literary persona of her sister-in-law.
IMDB Rating: 5.4
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, Canada, USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: tense, captivating, disturbing, queer cinema
Similar in 87%
The White Crow (2018)
Plot Summary:
Director Ralph Fiennes captures the raw physicality and brilliance of Rudolf Nureyev, whose escape to the West stunned the world at the height of the Cold War. With his magnetic presence, Nureyev emerged as ballet’s most famous star, a wild and beautiful dancer limited by the world of 1950s Leningrad. His flirtation with Western artists and ideas led him into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse with the KGB.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, France, Serbia
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, captivating, disturbing, retro, social, non-linear, queer cinema
Similar in 90%
The Duo (1997)
Plot Summary:
A fictionalized account of the lives of 1980s Tamil Nadu political icons M. G. Ramachandran and M. Karunanidhi, continuing the tryst between Tamil cinema and Dravidian politics.
IMDB Rating: 8.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: India
Duration: 140 min
Plot tags: political
Similar in 76%
Enfant Terrible (2020)
Plot Summary:
When 22-year-old Rainer Werner Fassbinder storms the stage of a small, progressive theatre in Munich 1967, and seizes the production without further ado, nobody suspects this brazen young rebel to become one of the most important post-war German filmmakers. Despite early setbacks, many of his films breakout at the most renowned films festivals and polarise audience, critics and filmmakers alike. His radical views and self-exploitation, as well as his longing for love, have made him one of the most fascinating film directors of this time.
IMDB Rating: 5.9
IMDB Votes: 1000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: Germany
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, unusual plot structure, captivating, contemplative, queer cinema
Similar in 79%
Against the Law (2017)
Plot Summary:
The film tells the story of Peter Wildeblood, a thoughtful and private gay journalist whose affair with a handsome serviceman he met in Piccadilly – during the time homosexuality was a crime – turned Queen's evidence against him in one of the most explosive court cases of the 1950s - the infamous Montagu Trial.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 752
Genere: Biography, Drama, History, Romance
Country: UK
Duration: 84 min
Plot tags: psychological, tense, sentimental, romantic, sexy, touching, suspenseful, semi documentary, queer cinema
Similar in 78%
Rock Hudson (1990)
Plot Summary:
Biography of actor Rock Hudson focuses on his struggle with his homosexuality. Based on the book by his ex-wife, Phyllis Gates, and on the court records from the civil suit brought by his former lover, Marc Christian.
IMDB Rating: 5.8
IMDB Votes: 216
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags:
Similar in 82%
Growing Up Brady (2000)
Plot Summary:
A tell-all story of what happened behind the scenes of the 70s hit TV series "The Brady Bunch." Based on the book written by Barry Williams, the actor who played Greg Brady.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 704
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sitcom, sentimental, humorous, semi serious, touching, realistic, sexual, sexy
Similar in 89%
An Englishman in New York (2009)
Plot Summary:
Biographical drama based on the last 20 years of Crisp's life. The literary figure and gay iconoclast emigrated to New York in 1981 and lived there until his death. The film observes Crisp in both his public and private lives, from his seemingly cavalier response to the outbreak of AIDS to his tender relationship with his friend Patrick Angus and his own response to growing old.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: sincere, realistic, touching, humorous, witty, semi serious, queer cinema, flamboyance, iconic
Similar in 83%
The Happy Prince (2018)
Plot Summary:
THE HAPPY PRINCE tells the story of the last days of Oscar Wilde. This great man of letters, once one of the most famous authors in England, is now a superstar on the skids. As Oscar lies on his death bed, the past comes flooding back to him, transporting him to other times and places.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK, Belgium, Italy, Germany
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: touching, suspenseful, depressing, captivating, suspense, melancholic, sad, art film, costume drama, fairy tale
Similar in 79%
Being the Ricardos (2021)
Plot Summary:
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz face a crisis that could end their careers and another that could end their marriage.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 44000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 131 min
Plot tags: satirical, historical drama, independent film
Similar in 80%
Risen (2010)
Plot Summary:
As one of the rising talents of amateur boxing, Howard Winstone, a young Welsh boy from Merthyr Tydfil, was fast making a name for himself with his knock out right hand. A long professional fighting career surely beckoned? Then disaster strikes. An industrial accident results in Winstone losing three fingers on his right hand. Through sheer determination, and despite only being able to make a fist with one hand, Winstone develops a dynamic new style and begins boxing his way back up the amateur ranks eventually turning pro. Supported by his family and guided by new trainer, Eddie Thomas, Winstone becomes the Champion of Britain and then Europe. Now, with the hopes of an entire nation on his shoulders, he is stood poised to challenge for the crown of Featherweight Champion of the World.
IMDB Rating: 5.2
IMDB Votes: 221
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: uplifting, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 87%
Prick Up Your Ears (1987)
Plot Summary:
Stephen Frears directs this biographical drama focusing on controversial British playwright Joe Orton, revealed in flashback after his murder by lover Kenneth Halliwell. Born in 1933 in Leicester, in the English Midlands, John 'Joe' Orton moves to London in 1951, to study at RADA, and enjoys an openly gay relationship with Halliwell in their famous Islington flat in the 1960s. However, when Orton achieves spectacular success with such plays as 'What the Butler Saw' and 'Loot', Halliwell begins to feel alienated and the pair's future looks increasingly uncertain.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: independent film, witty, dark comedy, black comedy, period piece, tense, clever, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 79%
Best (2000)
Plot Summary:
The life story of former Manchester United football legend, George Best.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 837
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: realistic, serious, captivating, emotional
Similar in 76%
Margot (2009)
Plot Summary:
At the age of forty Dame Margot Fonteyn is considered to be past her best as a prima ballerina and Ninette de Valois is reducing her roles at the Royal Ballet. Then the exciting young Russian dancer Rudolf Nureyev, a recent defector to the West, comes into her life and her bed and revitalizes her career. Frederick Aashton creates a new ballet for them and they become the golden couple of the ballet world. However, Margot is married to Roberto 'Tito' Arias, a Panamanian politician of dubious repute who is not sympathetic to her calling and is probably faithless. When he is shot and paralyzed for life Margot must carry on dancing well into her sixties in order to pay for his costly treatment though she still collaborates with Rudolf in the occasional ballet.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 291
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 85 min
Plot tags: serious, captivating, realistic, stylized
Similar in 88%
Snapshots (2018)
Plot Summary:
Rose spends her days fishing near the beautiful lake house she’s called home for 50 years. She’s not getting any younger and her daughter Patti worries about Rose being all alone, but the stubborn matriarch will not sell. There are memories here that she doesn’t want to leave. These come flooding back one weekend during a visit from Patti and granddaughter Allison, when a long-forgotten roll of film reminds Rose of the summer she met and fell in love with the bold and beautiful Louise.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 95 min
Plot tags: psychological, sincere, touching, unusual plot structure, tense, independent film, queer cinema
Similar in 82%
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 79%
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 82%
Manjhi: The Mountain Man (2015)
Plot Summary:
Dashrath Manjhi was a poor man from the lowest of the low castes, living in a remote village cut off from the world by a rocky mountain range. Life for him was a daily struggle for survival. He loved his wife, Phaguniya, beyond belief. One day, while climbing the mountain to bring him food, his wife slipped, fell and died. Overwhelmed by grief, Dashrath decided to carve out a path through the mountain, so that no one else would suffer his fate. For 22 years, all by himself, with just a hammer and a chisel, he hammered away at the rocks, till the path was carved out from the mountain.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: India
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: inspirational, realistic, psychological, captivating, poignant, art film, avant garde
Similar in 89%
Breaking the Code (1996)
Plot Summary:
A biography of the English mathematician Alan Turing, who was one of the inventors of the digital computer and one of the key figures in the breaking of the Enigma code, used by the Germans to send secret orders to their U-boats in World War II. Turing was also a homosexual in Britain at a time when this was illegal, besides being a security risk.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 668
Genere: Biography, Drama
Country: UK
Duration: 75 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, captivating, realistic, contemplative