Best movies like The Day of the Jackal
Last updated March 2024
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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
Best tv shows and movies like The Day of the Jackal (1973):
Similar in 76%
The Passenger (1975)
Plot Summary:
David Locke (Jack Nicholson) is a world-weary American journalist who has been sent to cover a conflict in northern Africa, but he makes little progress with the story. When he discovers the body of a stranger who looks similar to him, Locke assumes the dead man's identity. However, he soon finds out that the man was an arms dealer, leading Locke into dangerous situations. Aided by a beautiful woman (Maria Schneider), Locke attempts to avoid both the police and criminals out to get him.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 26000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Italy, France, Spain
Duration: 126 min
Plot tags: road movie, stylized, cerebral, philosophical, existential, tense, slow cinema, psychedelic, gothic, political
Similar in 80%
The Thirty-Nine Steps (1978)
Plot Summary:
The year is 1914 and Richard Hannay, Mining Engineer who is visiting Britain for a short time before returning to South Africa, is shocked when one of his neighbours, Colonel Scudder, bursts into his rooms one night and tells him a story that Prussian 'sleeper' agents are planning to pre-start World War I by murdering a visiting foreign minister. However, Scudder is murdered and Hannay is framed for the death by the 'sleepers'. Fleeing to Scotland Hannay attempts to clear his name and to stop the agents with the aid of Alex Mackenzie but not only is he is chased by Chief Supt Lomas for Scudder's death but by the agents who is headed by Appleton who has managed to hide himself in a high-placed position in the British Government.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Crime, History, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, stylized, psychological, exciting, tense, political thriller, serious, realistic, independent film, detective
Similar in 77%
Sudden Terror (1970)
Plot Summary:
A boy who cries wolf witnesses a political assassination on the island of Malta. But will anyone other than his granddad believe him?.
IMDB Rating: 6.0
IMDB Votes: 745
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 91 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, independent film, tension, poliziottesco, suspense
Similar in 87%
The Package (1989)
Plot Summary:
Experienced Green Beret sergeant Johnny Gallagher is escorting a prisoner, Airborne Ranger Thomas Boyette, back to the US, but Boyette escapes and Gallagher must risk life and limb to catch him.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: tense, exciting, suspenseful, suspense, intense, serious, realistic, political, detective, crime drama
Similar in 78%
Carlos the Jackal (2010)
Plot Summary:
The story of Venezuelan revolutionary, Ilich Ramirez Sanchez, who founded a worldwide terrorist organization and raided the OPEC headquarters in 1975 before being caught by the French police.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Biography, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, Germany
Duration: 334 min
Plot tags: tense, suspenseful, political, atmospheric, captivating, epic, thought provoking, visually appealing, period piece, mesmerizing
Similar in 82%
Vantage Point (2008)
Plot Summary:
The attempted assassination of the American President is told and re-told from several different perspectives.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 153000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: surprise ending, suspense, exciting, suspenseful, clever, political, non-linear, action packed, political thriller, tense
Similar in 78%
The Fourth Protocol (1987)
Plot Summary:
Plan Aurora, led by Kim Philby is a plan that breaches the top-secret Fourth Protocol and turns the fears that shaped it into a living nightmare. A crack Soviet agent, placed under cover in a quiet English country town, begins to assemble a nuclear bomb, whilst MI5 agent John Preston attempts to prevent it's detonation.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 11000
Genere: Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: suspense, exciting, suspenseful, intense, serious, political, philosophical, political thriller, cult classic, realistic
Similar in 86%
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Plot Summary:
CIA Analyst Jack Ryan is drawn into an illegal war fought by the US government against a Colombian drug cartel.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 106000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 141 min
Plot tags: suspense, political, exciting, suspenseful, rough, serious, political thriller, entertaining, action adventure, anamorphic
Similar in 80%
The American (2010)
Plot Summary:
Dispatched to a small Italian town to await further orders, assassin Jack embarks on a double life that may be more relaxing than is good for him.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 101000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: ambiguous ending, suspense, tense, stylized, atmospheric, sexy, suspenseful, talky, visually appealing, neo noir
Similar in 85%
Z (1969)
Plot Summary:
Repression is the rule of the day in this film that skewers Greek governance of the 1960s. Z, a leftist rabble rouser, is killed in what appears to be a traffic accident. But given the political climate, the death of such a prominent activist raises troubling questions. Though it's too late to save Z's life, a postmortem examination suggests that the ruling party was behind his death. As the facts leak out, those who tell the truth pay the price for their honesty.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: France, Algeria
Duration: 127 min
Plot tags: political, political thriller, tense, bleak, realistic, suspenseful, suspense, intellectual, neo noir, dark
Similar in 87%
The Parallax View (1974)
Plot Summary:
An ambitious reporter, investigating a senator's assassination, realizes witnesses to the shooting are systematically dying and discovers a multi-million dollar corporation which serves as a front for the recruitment of political assassins.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, disturbing, suspenseful, psychological, neo noir, political, intense, political thriller, serious, realistic
Similar in 86%
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 87%
A Prayer for the Dying (1987)
Plot Summary:
Jack Higgins' straightforward thriller about a guilt-ridden IRA bomber forced into "one last job".
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: rough, suspenseful, exciting, serious, realistic, neo noir, political, political thriller, crime drama, surprise ending
Similar in 78%
Nick of Time (1995)
Plot Summary:
Gene Watson is a public accountant who arrives on a train at Union Station in Los Angeles, accompanied by his 6-year-old daughter Lynn. Because of his ordinary looks, he is approached by a pair of sinister people named Smith and Jones.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 45000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, exciting, tense, serious, suspense, realistic, intense, psychological, clever, psychological thriller
Similar in 89%
Sweeney! (1977)
Plot Summary:
The film followed the adventures of DI Regan and DS Carter as they became embroiled in a deadly political scandal. One of the leading members of the government, Charles Baker (Ian Bannen) is about to secure a huge deal with OPEC stabilising the world oil market and boosting Britain's position within it. Baker is the rising star of government, regarded a future prime minister, who is closely controlled by his urbane, manipulative American press secretary Elliot McQueen (Barry Foster). When Regan investigates the mysterious death of a prostitute as a favour to one of his informants, he becomes aware that Baker and McQueen might be involved. A spate of killings follow - which sees Regan take on both the criminals and the hierarchy of the Metropolitan Police and British security services. The outcome of the film was similar to that of the Profumo affair, through with a typical Sweeney bittersweet ending.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: tense, serious, realistic, suspenseful, surprise ending, neo noir, independent film, detective, black comedy, freeze frame
Similar in 76%
Ronin (1998)
Plot Summary:
A briefcase with undisclosed contents – sought by Irish terrorists and the Russian mob – makes its way into criminals' hands. An Irish liaison assembles a squad of mercenaries, or 'ronin', and gives them the thorny task of recovering the case.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 192000
Genere: Action, Crime, Thriller
Country: UK, France, USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: exciting, suspense, suspenseful, neo noir, clever, serious, realistic, stylized, inspirational, twisted
Similar in 83%
The Jackal (1997)
Plot Summary:
Hired by a powerful member of the Russian mafia to avenge an FBI sting that left his brother dead, the perfectionist Jackal proves an elusive target for the men charged with the task of bringing him down: a deputy FBI boss and a former IRA terrorist.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 123000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, UK, France, Germany, Japan
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, serious, realistic, clever, intense, cult classic, action thriller, psychological, political
Similar in 87%
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 76%
The International (2009)
Plot Summary:
An interpol agent and an attorney are determined to bring one of the world's most powerful banks to justice. Uncovering money laundering, arms trading, and conspiracy to destabilize world governments, their investigation takes them from Berlin, Milan, New York and Istanbul. Finding themselves in a chase across the globe, their relentless tenacity puts their own lives at risk.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 99000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany, UK, France
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: clever, exciting, suspenseful, sexy, enigmatic, suspense, intense, tricky, serious, action packed
Similar in 88%
Gorky Park (1983)
Plot Summary:
Police Inspector Renko tries to solve the case of three bodies found in Moscow's Gorky Park but finds his attempts to solve the crime impeded by his superiors. Working on his own, Renko seeks out more information and stumbles across a conspiracy involving the highest levels of the government.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 16000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: detective, political, suspense, tense, bleak, suspenseful, neo noir, political thriller, action thriller, serious
Similar in 84%
The Night Manager (2016)
Plot Summary:
Former British soldier Jonathan Pine navigates the shadowy recesses of Whitehall and Washington where an unholy alliance operates between the intelligence community and the secret arms trade. To infiltrate the inner circle of lethal arms dealer Richard Onslow Roper, Pine must himself become a criminal.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 100000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 358 min
Plot tags: serious, suspense, tense, tricky, realistic, suspenseful, political, neo noir, atmospheric, intellectual
Similar in 80%
The Devil's Own (1997)
Plot Summary:
Frankie McGuire, one of the IRA's deadliest assassins, draws an American family into the crossfire of terrorism. But when he is sent to the U.S. to buy weapons, Frankie is housed with the family of Tom O'Meara, a New York cop who knows nothing about Frankie's real identity. Their surprising friendship, and Tom's growing suspicions, forces Frankie to choose between the promise of peace or a lifetime of murder.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 71000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, exciting, rough, political, suspense, suspenseful, clever, cult classic, action drama
Similar in 82%
Marathon Man (1976)
Plot Summary:
A graduate student and obsessive runner in New York is drawn into a mysterious plot involving his brother, a member of the secretive Division.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 69000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 125 min
Plot tags: psychological, suspense, suspenseful, atmospheric, intense, serious, disturbing, dark, political thriller, grim
Similar in 90%
The Statement (2003)
Plot Summary:
The film is set in France in the 1990s, the French were defeated by the Germans early in World War II, an armistice was signed in 1940 which effectively split France into a German occupied part in the North and a semi-independent part in the south which became known as Vichy France. In reality the Vichy government was a puppet regime controlled by the Germans. Part of the agreement was that the Vichy Government would assist with the 'cleansing' of Jews from France. The Vichy government formed a police force called the Milice, who worked with the Germans.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada, France, UK
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: tense, suspenseful, political, intense, serious, cult classic, bleak, realistic, psychological, brutal
Similar in 83%
Traitor (2008)
Plot Summary:
When straight arrow FBI agent Roy Clayton heads up the investigation into a dangerous international conspiracy, all clues seem to lead back to former U.S. Special Operations officer, Samir Horn.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 59000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: suspense, exciting, suspenseful, tense, entertaining, intense, political, realistic, twisted, psychological thriller
Similar in 88%
In the Line of Fire (1993)
Plot Summary:
Veteran Secret Service agent Frank Horrigan is a man haunted by his failure to save President Kennedy while serving protection detail in Dallas. Thirty years later, a man calling himself "Booth" threatens the life of the current President, forcing Horrigan to come back to protection detail to confront the ghosts from his past.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 112000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, exciting, political, tense, entertaining, intense, serious, political thriller, neo noir
Similar in 76%
Seven Days in May (1964)
Plot Summary:
A U.S. Army general alerts the president of a planned military coup against him.
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min
Plot tags: political thriller, tense, political, black and white, suspense, suspenseful, atmospheric, intense, serious, realistic
Similar in 87%
A Most Wanted Man (2014)
Plot Summary:
A Chechen Muslim illegally immigrates to Hamburg and becomes a person of interest for a covert government team which tracks the movements of potential terrorists.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 79000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, USA, Germany
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: clever, bleak, tense, political, suspense, melancholic, thought provoking, psychological, cerebral, independent film
Similar in 84%
The Ipcress File (1965)
Plot Summary:
This espionage thriller represents a landmark in spy movies introducing the sly, dry intelligence agent Harry Palmer. The story, centers on Palmer's investigation into British Intelligence security. He's soon enmeshed in a world of double-dealing, kidnap and murder and finds a traitor is operating at the heart of the secret service. Will the mysterious 'Ipcress File' reveal who the traitor is?.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, suspenseful, suspense, exciting, tense, enigmatic, clever, realistic, cynical, retro
Similar in 90%
Munich (2005)
Plot Summary:
During the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, eleven Israeli athletes are taken hostage and murdered by a Palestinian terrorist group known as Black September. In retaliation, the Israeli government recruits a group of Mossad agents to track down and execute those responsible for the attack.
IMDB Rating: 7.5
IMDB Votes: 236000
Genere: Action, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada, France
Duration: 164 min
Plot tags: political, suspenseful, intense, tense, suspense, brutal, rough, political thriller, bleak, realistic