Best movies like The Rider
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
Once a rising star of the rodeo circuit, and a gifted horse trainer, young cowboy Brady is warned that his riding days are over, after a horse crushed his skull at a rodeo. Back home on the Pine Ridge Reservation, with little desire or alternatives for a different way of life, Brady’s sense of inadequacy mounts as he is unable to ride or rodeo – the essentials of being a cowboy. In an attempt to regain control of his own fate, Brady undertakes a search for new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 20000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: exciting, inspirational, touching, captivating, suspenseful, indie film, rough, motivational, dark, sad
Best tv shows and movies like The Rider (2017):
Similar in 80%
Little Woods (2018)
Plot Summary:
For years, Ollie has illicitly helped the struggling residents of her North Dakota oil boomtown access Canadian health care and medication. When the authorities catch on, she plans to abandon her crusade, only to be dragged in even deeper after a desperate plea for help from her sister.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: captivating, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing
Similar in 79%
My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys (1991)
Plot Summary:
Scott Glenn is H.D., a champion rodeo rider whose career is ruined after being gored by a bull. He returns home to discover things have drastically changed -- the family farm has been abandoned, his old girlfriend Julie (Kate Capshaw) is a now a widowed mother, and his sister Cheryl (Tess Harper) has put his father (Ben Johnson) in a nursing home. H.D. rescues his father from the home and returns him to the ranch. But when H.D. leaves the farm to visit Julie, his father seeks out Cheryl. Cheryl retaliates by threatening to return her father to the nursing home and sell the ranch. At this point, H.D. takes notice of rodeo contest which would give him $100,000 if he can ride four bulls for a total of 32 seconds. H.D. bonds with his father as he gruelingly prepares for a return to the rodeo to win the contest and buy the ranch. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 701
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 106 min
Plot tags: independent film, touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 79%
J W Coop (1971)
Plot Summary:
After losing eight years to prison, cowboy J. W. Coop is released to return to life as a professional rodeo cowboy in the 60's. Determined to make up for the lost 'prime' years of his career, he doggedly goes forward, and learns that not only has the business of rodeo changed during his incarceration but society as a whole has made dramatic changes as well.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 574
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 88%
The Mustang (2019)
Plot Summary:
While participating in a rehabilitation program training wild mustangs, a convict at first struggles to connect with the horses and his fellow inmates, but he learns to confront his violent past as he soothes an especially feisty horse.
IMDB Rating: 6.8
IMDB Votes: 14000
Genere: Drama
Country: France, Belgium
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: realistic, exciting, social, heartbreaking, sentimental, sad
Similar in 77%
'Doc' (1971)
Plot Summary:
A revisionist western, "Doc" is Frank Perry's attempt to accurately portray the lives and persons of Doc Holliday, Wyatt Earp, and the now-legendary events that took place in the town of Tombstone, starring Stacy Keach, Faye Dunaway and Harris Yulin.
IMDB Rating: 6.2
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, captivating, realistic, suspense, wild
Similar in 81%
Miss Juneteenth (2020)
Plot Summary:
Turquoise, a former beauty queen turned hardworking single mother, prepares her rebellious teenage daughter for the “Miss Juneteenth” pageant, hoping to keep her from repeating the same mistakes in life that she did.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 2000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: sincere, touching, serious, captivating, realistic, aesthetic, black cinema
Similar in 83%
Nomadland (2020)
Plot Summary:
A woman in her sixties embarks on a journey through the American West after losing everything in the Great Recession, living as a van-dwelling modern-day nomad.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 177000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: road movie, serious, sincere, captivating, social, sad, realistic, funny, inspirational, philosophical
Similar in 79%
The Hi-Lo Country (1998)
Plot Summary:
An intimate story of the enduring bond of friendship between two hard-living men, set against a sweeping backdrop: the American West, post-World War II, in its twilight. Pete and Big Boy are masters of the prairie, but ultimately face trickier terrain: the human heart.
IMDB Rating: 6.1
IMDB Votes: 5000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Western
Country: UK, Germany, USA
Duration: 114 min
Plot tags: realistic, stylized, sexy, serious, suspenseful, funny, romantic, offbeat, romantic drama, epic
Similar in 81%
First Cow (2019)
Plot Summary:
A taciturn loner and skilled cook has traveled west and joined a group of fur trappers in Oregon Territory, though he only finds true connection with a Chinese immigrant also seeking his fortune; soon the two collaborate on a successful business, although its longevity is reliant upon the clandestine participation of a nearby wealthy landowner’s prized milking cow.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, stylized, realistic, contemplative, independent film, costume drama
Similar in 85%
The Hired Hand (1971)
Plot Summary:
Harry Collings returns home to his farm after drifting with his friend, Arch. His wife, who had given up on him, reluctantly allows him to stay, and soon believes that all will be well again. But then Harry has to make a difficult decision regarding his loyalties and priorities.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, serious, realistic, gloomy, vintage
Similar in 78%
Ride the High Country (1962)
Plot Summary:
An ex-lawman is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 15000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: spaghetti western, sentimental, realistic, retro, cult classic, aesthetic, serious, captivating, tense, atmospheric
Similar in 75%
Lonely Are the Brave (1962)
Plot Summary:
A fiercely independent cowboy arranges to have himself locked up in jail in order to then escape with an old friend who has been sentenced to the penitentiary.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 10000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: black and white, existential, retro, tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, surprise ending, neo western, road movie
Similar in 78%
Two Rode Together (1961)
Plot Summary:
Two tough westerners bring home a group of settlers who have spent years as Comanche hostages.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, cynical, suspenseful, retro, spaghetti western, vintage, wild
Similar in 84%
Junior Bonner (1972)
Plot Summary:
McQueen is Junior Bonner, an aging rodeo champ who returns to his home town to participate in the annual rodeo. He finds his family estranged, does what he can to help, and then moves on ... after some good rodeo riding and a few brawls.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 100 min
Plot tags: sentimental, funny, cult classic, independent film, neo western, psychological, touching, serious, realistic, gloomy
Similar in 80%
When the Legends Die (1972)
Plot Summary:
An elderly rodeo rider becomes mentor to a young man attempting to make his own name in the business.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 547
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: touching, serious, realistic
Similar in 77%
The Horse Whisperer (1998)
Plot Summary:
Based on the novel by the same name from Nicholas Evans, the talented Robert Redford presents this meditative family drama set in the country side. Redford not only directs but also stars in the roll of a cowboy with a magical talent for healing.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 43000
Genere: Drama, Romance, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 169 min
Plot tags: sentimental, touching, emotional, melancholic, light, serious, realistic, romantic, retro, offbeat
Similar in 76%
Damsel (2018)
Plot Summary:
The Wild West, circa 1870. Samuel Alabaster, an affluent pioneer, ventures across the American frontier to marry the love of his life, Penelope. As his group traverses the west, the once-simple journey grows treacherous, blurring the lines between hero, villain and damsel.
IMDB Rating: 5.6
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Comedy, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min
Plot tags: exciting, tense, captivating, suspense, absurd, period piece, anamorphic, black comedy, dark comedy
Similar in 86%
Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee (2007)
Plot Summary:
Beginning just after the bloody Sioux victory over General Custer at Little Big Horn, the story is told through two unique perspectives: Charles Eastman, a young, white-educated Sioux doctor held up as living proof of the alleged success of assimilation, and Sitting Bull the proud Lakota chief whose tribe won the American Indians’ last major victory at Little Big Horn.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Drama, History, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 133 min
Plot tags: rough, serious, emotional, exciting, sincere, realistic, political, historical drama, anthropological, epic
Similar in 88%
The Ballad of Lefty Brown (2017)
Plot Summary:
Aging sidekick Lefty Brown has ridden with Eddie Johnson his entire life. But when a rustler kills Eddie, Lefty is forced from his partner’s shadow and must confront the ugly realities of frontier justice.
IMDB Rating: 6.3
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Action, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 111 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, exciting, tense, surprise ending, enigmatic, captivating, disturbing, period piece, visual
Similar in 81%
Ambush at Dark Canyon (2012)
Plot Summary:
U.S. Marshall Duke Donovan is imprisoned, accused of being an accomplice in a bank robbery. After discovering that his partner is planning to kill his wife, he must escape prison in time to save his wife and clear his name.
IMDB Rating: 4.9
IMDB Votes: 509
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 90 min
Plot tags: suspenseful, tense, captivating, suspense, exciting, rough, serious, realistic, crying
Similar in 82%
The Stalking Moon (1968)
Plot Summary:
When an army scout retires to a farm in New Mexico he takes pity on a white woman and her half-breed son recently rescued from indians, and invites them to join him. He does this even knowing the child's father is a feared and murderous Apache and that sooner or later a showdown is almost inevitable.`.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 3000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 109 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, serious, suspenseful, realistic, retro, spaghetti western, independent film, suspense, wild
Similar in 84%
Songs My Brothers Taught Me (2015)
Plot Summary:
This complex portrait of modern-day life on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation explores the bond between a brother and his younger sister, who find themselves on separate paths to rediscovering the meaning of home.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 4000
Genere: Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 98 min
Plot tags: serious, realistic, touching, emotional, thought provoking, social, contemplative, gloomy, independent film
Similar in 79%
The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky (1995)
Plot Summary:
A young ranger in the Montana wilderness discovers the great forces of nature while learning the importance of honor, trust and integrity. Legendary veteran ranger Bill Bell educates the young man and guides him toward manhood. The year is 1919-a time when being a ranger meant more than operating expensive equipment. Forest fires were fought with guts and courage, not chemicals and airplanes. Bill Bell was the toughest ranger in an elite crew of very rugged men. A figure of heroic proportions, he was generally feared and respected by all. It was even rumored that he had at one time killed a sheep farmer, which only fueled his already enormous reputation. The young ranger does everything to remain in the good graces of Bill Bell, the senior ranger he idolizes. Their tentative rapport grows into a friendship through a hilarious and heroic rite of passage in which the younger ranger meets the test-and the woman of his dreams.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 629
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 94 min
Plot tags: sincere, serious, realistic, exciting, tense, captivating
Similar in 75%
Hud (1963)
Plot Summary:
Hud Bannon is a ruthless young man who tarnishes everything and everyone he touches. Hud represents the perfect embodiment of alienated youth, out for kicks with no regard for the consequences. There is bitter conflict between the callous Hud and his stern and highly principled father, Homer. Hud's nephew Lon admires Hud's cheating ways, though he soon becomes too aware of Hud's reckless amorality to bear him anymore. In the world of the takers and the taken, Hud is a winner. He's a cheat, but, he explains, "I always say the law was meant to be interpreted in a lenient manner.".
IMDB Rating: 7.8
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: emotional, atmospheric, realistic, black and white, thought provoking, neo western, cynical, tense, suspense, retro
Similar in 81%
Dances with Wolves (1990)
Plot Summary:
Wounded Civil War soldier, John Dunbar tries to commit suicide – and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.
IMDB Rating: 8.0
IMDB Votes: 285000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Western
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 181 min
Plot tags: scenic, touching, breathtaking, sentimental, epic, sincere, emotional, period piece, inspirational, melancholic
Similar in 89%
Unforgiven (1992)
Plot Summary:
William Munny is a retired, once-ruthless killer turned gentle widower and hog farmer. To help support his two motherless children, he accepts one last bounty-hunter mission to find the men who brutalized a prostitute. Joined by his former partner and a cocky greenhorn, he takes on a corrupt sheriff.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 430000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min
Plot tags: bleak, tense, suspenseful, realistic, suspense, harsh, rough, captivating, epic, spaghetti western
Similar in 83%
Death Rides a Horse (1967)
Plot Summary:
Death Rides a Horse (aka Da uomo a uomo, or As Man to Man) is a 1967 spaghetti western directed by Giulio Petroni, written by Luciano Vincenzoni, and starring Lee Van Cleef and John Phillip Law. Bill Meceita, a boy whose family was murdered in front of him by a gang, sets out 15 years later to exact revenge. On his journey, he finds himself continually sparring and occasionally cooperating with Ryan, a gunfighter on his own quest for vengeance, who knows more than he says about Bill's tragedy. The film has lapsed into public domain.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 9000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: Italy, USA
Duration: 120 min
Plot tags: spaghetti western, rough, realistic, exciting, tense, serious, grindhouse, euro western, epic, disturbing
Similar in 85%
True Grit (2010)
Plot Summary:
Following the murder of her father by hired hand Tom Chaney, 14-year-old farm girl Mattie Ross sets out to capture the killer. To aid her, she hires the toughest U.S. Marshal she can find, a man with "true grit," Reuben J. "Rooster" Cogburn. Mattie insists on accompanying Cogburn, whose drinking, sloth, and generally reprobate character do not augment her faith in him. Against his wishes, she joins him in his trek into the Indian Nations in search of Chaney. They are joined by Texas Ranger LaBoeuf, who wants Chaney for his own purposes. The unlikely trio find danger and adventure on the journey, and each has his or her "grit" tested.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 353000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 110 min
Plot tags: tense, suspense, atmospheric, rough, suspenseful, scenic, visually appealing, serious, captivating, dark
Similar in 79%
Hostiles (2017)
Plot Summary:
A legendary Native American-hating Army captain nearing retirement in 1892 is given one last assignment: to escort a Cheyenne chief and his family through dangerous territory back to his Montana reservation.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 93000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 134 min
Plot tags: tense, rough, suspense, psychological, captivating, motivational, heartbreaking, serious, tear jerker, spaghetti western
Similar in 75%
Django Unchained (2012)
Plot Summary:
With the help of a German bounty hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner.
IMDB Rating: 8.5
IMDB Votes: 17000000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 165 min
Plot tags: suspense, talky, cult classic, brutal, captivating, epic, rough, serious, witty, bloody