Best movies like The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada
Last updated March 2024
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Plot Summary:
When brash Texas border officer Mike Norton wrongfully kills and buries the friend and ranch hand of Pete Perkins, the latter is reminded of a promise he made to bury his friend, Melquiades Estrada, in his Mexican home town. He kidnaps Norton and exhumes Estrada's corpse, and the odd caravan sets out on horseback for Mexico.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 42000
Genere: Adventure, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Western
Country: France, Mexico, USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: emotional, realistic, intense, atmospheric, thought provoking, rough, serious, road movie, independent film, neo western
Best tv shows and movies like The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005):
Similar in 80%
The Border (1982)
Plot Summary:
A corrupted border agent decides to clean up his act when an impoverished woman's baby is put up for sale on the black market.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 7000
Genere: Crime, Drama
Country: USA
Duration: 108 min
Plot tags: talky, neo noir, atmospheric, rough, serious, realistic, suspenseful, retro, crime drama, cult classic
Similar in 78%
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 87%
Lone Star (1996)
Plot Summary:
When the skeleton of his murdered predecessor is found, Sheriff Sam Deeds unearths many other long-buried secrets in his Texas border town.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 31000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 135 min
Plot tags: neo western, witty, tense, sincere, touching, realistic, philosophical, neo noir, cerebral, independent film
Similar in 83%
In the Valley of Elah (2007)
Plot Summary:
A career officer and his wife work with a police detective to uncover the truth behind their son's disappearance following his return from a tour of duty in Iraq.
IMDB Rating: 7.2
IMDB Votes: 75000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Country: USA
Duration: 121 min
Plot tags: detective, touching, suspense, tense, psychological, heartbreaking, disturbing, political, realistic, political thriller
Similar in 84%
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Plot Summary:
An American bartender and his prostitute girlfriend go on a road trip through the Mexican underworld to collect a $1 million bounty on the head of a dead gigolo.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 21000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller, Western
Country: USA, Mexico
Duration: 112 min
Plot tags: road movie, disturbing, black comedy, cult classic, neo western, depressing, neo noir, dark comedy, tense, bleak
Similar in 76%
The Sons of Katie Elder (1965)
Plot Summary:
The Elder boys return to Clearwater, Texas for their Mother's funeral. John the eldest is a well known gunfighter and trouble follows him wherever he goes. The boys try to get back their ranch from the towns gunsmith who won it from their father in a card game with which he was shortly murdered there after but not before getting through the troubles that come with the Elders name.
IMDB Rating: 7.1
IMDB Votes: 19000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: serious, exciting, rough, suspenseful, suspense, realistic, tense, romantic, road movie, clever
Similar in 82%
Double Jeopardy (1999)
Plot Summary:
A woman framed for her husband's murder suspects he is still alive; as she has already been tried for the crime, she can't be re-prosecuted if she finds and kills him.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 94000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany, Canada
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, psychological thriller, rough, tense, serious, realistic, clever, entertaining, psychological
Similar in 75%
The Missing (2003)
Plot Summary:
When rancher and single mother of two Maggie Gilkeson sees her teenage daughter, Lily, kidnapped by Apache rebels, she reluctantly accepts the help of her estranged father, Samuel, in tracking down the kidnappers. Along the way, the two must learn to reconcile the past and work together if they are going to have any hope of getting Lily back before she is taken over the border and forced to become a prostitute.
IMDB Rating: 6.5
IMDB Votes: 38000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Thriller, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 137 min
Plot tags: suspense, intense, serious, atmospheric, disturbing, suspenseful, scary, dark, period piece, historical drama
Similar in 90%
Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013)
Plot Summary:
The tale of an outlaw who escapes from prison and sets out across the Texas hills to reunite with his wife and the daughter he has never met.
IMDB Rating: 6.4
IMDB Votes: 23000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Romance, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 96 min
Plot tags: tense, bleak, melancholic, heartbreaking, emotional, cult classic, visually stunning, independent film, atmospheric, stylized
Similar in 80%
High Plains Drifter (1973)
Plot Summary:
A gunfighting stranger comes to the small settlement of Lago. After gunning down three gunmen who tried to kill him, the townsfolk decide to hire the Stranger to hold off three outlaws who are on their way.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 63000
Genere: Drama, Mystery, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min
Plot tags: spaghetti western, suspense, suspenseful, atmospheric, disturbing, brutal, rough, serious, black comedy, realistic
Similar in 78%
Lawman (1971)
Plot Summary:
While passing through the town of Bannock, a bunch of drunken cattlemen go overboard with their celebrating and accidentally kill an old man with a stray shot. They return home to Sabbath unaware of his death. Bannock lawman Jered Maddox later arrives there to arrest everyone involved on a charge of murder. Sabbath is run by land baron Vince Bronson, a benevolent despot, who, upon hearing of the death, offers restitution for the incident.
IMDB Rating: 7.0
IMDB Votes: 6000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 99 min
Plot tags: tense, realistic, rough, serious, perverse, gloomy, wild, cult film
Similar in 85%
The Proposition (2005)
Plot Summary:
Set in the Australian outback in the 1880s, the movie follows the series of events following the horrific rape and murder of the Hopkins family, allegedly committed by the infamous Burns brothers gang. Captain Morris Stanley captures Charlie Burns and gives him 9 days to kill his older dangerous psychopathic brother, or else they'll hang his younger mentally slow brother on Christmas Day.
IMDB Rating: 7.3
IMDB Votes: 55000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Western
Country: Australia, UK
Duration: 104 min
Plot tags: disturbing, bleak, atmospheric, serious, harsh, tense, rough, suspenseful, bloody, intense
Similar in 86%
Quigley Down Under (1990)
Plot Summary:
American Matt Quigley answers Australian land baron Elliott Marston's ad for a sharpshooter to kill the dingoes on his property. But when Quigley finds out that Marston's real target is the aborigines, Quigley hits the road. Now, even American expatriate Crazy Cora can't keep Quigley safe in his cat-and-mouse game with the homicidal Marston.
IMDB Rating: 6.9
IMDB Votes: 24000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Romance, Western
Country: Australia, USA, France
Duration: 119 min
Plot tags: suspense, entertaining, exciting, harsh, rough, realistic, serious, period piece, spaghetti western, funny
Similar in 78%
Heaven's Gate (1980)
Plot Summary:
Harvard graduate James Averill (Kris Kristofferson) is the sheriff of prosperous Jackson County, Wyo., when a battle erupts between the area's poverty-stricken immigrants and its wealthy cattle farmers. The politically connected ranch owners fight the immigrants with the help of Nathan Champion (Christopher Walken), a mercenary competing with Averill for the love of local madam Ella Watson (Isabelle Huppert). As the struggle escalates, Averill and Champion begin to question their decisions.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 17000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 219 min
Plot tags: epic, captivating, talky, atmospheric, period piece, serious, realistic, erotic, controversial, stylized
Similar in 88%
True Grit (1969)
Plot Summary:
The murder of her father sends a teenage tomboy, Mattie Ross (Kim Darby), on a mission of "justice", which involves avenging her father's death. She recruits a tough old marshal, "Rooster" Cogburn (John Wayne), because he has "grit", and a reputation of getting the job done. The two are joined by a Texas Ranger, La Boeuf (Glen Campbell), who is looking for the same man (Jeff Corey) for a separate murder in Texas. Their odyssey takes them from Fort Smith, Arkansas, deep into the Indian Territory (present day Oklahoma) to find their man.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 51000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min
Plot tags: stylized, suspense, harsh, exciting, spaghetti western, period piece, action adventure, serious, captivating, realistic
Similar in 79%
Gran Torino (2008)
Plot Summary:
Walt Kowalski is a widower who holds onto his prejudices despite the changes in his Michigan neighborhood and the world around him. Kowalski is a grumpy, tough-minded, unhappy old man who can't get along with either his kids or his neighbors. He is a Korean War veteran whose prize possession is a 1972 Gran Torino he keeps in mint condition. When his neighbor Thao, a young Hmong teenager under pressure from his gang member cousin, tries to steal his Gran Torino, Kowalski sets out to reform the youth. Drawn against his will into the life of Thao's family, Kowalski is soon taking steps to protect them from the gangs that infest their neighborhood.
IMDB Rating: 8.1
IMDB Votes: 804000
Genere: Drama
Country: Germany, USA
Duration: 116 min
Plot tags: serious, emotional, motivational, touching, suspense, thought provoking, harsh, clever, sad, compassionate
Similar in 79%
Lonesome Dove (1989)
Plot Summary:
Lonesome Dove is a Western television miniseries based on Larry McMurtry's Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name. Starring Robert Duvall and Tommy Lee Jones, Lonesome Dove was originally broadcast by CBS on February 5, 1989, drawing a huge viewing audience, earning numerous awards, and reviving both the television western and the miniseries.
IMDB Rating: 8.7
IMDB Votes: 25000
Genere: Adventure, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 384 min
Plot tags: epic, touching, realistic, entertaining, anime, sentimental, captivating, contemplative, soap opera, serious
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 84%
Appaloosa (2008)
Plot Summary:
Two friends hired to police a small town that is suffering under the rule of a rancher find their job complicated by the arrival of a young widow.
IMDB Rating: 6.7
IMDB Votes: 64000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Romance, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min
Plot tags: suspense, harsh, stylized, serious, atmospheric, rough, realistic, epic, period piece, anamorphic
Similar in 88%
Hell or High Water (2016)
Plot Summary:
A divorced dad and his ex-con brother resort to a desperate scheme in order to save their family's farm in West Texas.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 247000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min
Plot tags: neo western, realistic, neo noir, suspense, atmospheric, harsh, suspenseful, tense, independent film, crime drama
Similar in 88%
Wind River (2017)
Plot Summary:
An FBI agent teams with the town's veteran game tracker to investigate a murder that occurred on a Native American reservation.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 274000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller, Western
Country: USA, UK, France
Duration: 107 min
Plot tags: suspense, suspenseful, neo western, neo noir, surprise ending, bleak, sentimental, detective, psychological thriller, atmospheric
Similar in 75%
3:10 to Yuma (2007)
Plot Summary:
In Arizona in the late 1800s, infamous outlaw Ben Wade and his vicious gang of thieves and murderers have plagued the Southern Railroad. When Wade is captured, Civil War veteran Dan Evans, struggling to survive on his drought-plagued ranch, volunteers to deliver him alive to the "3:10 to Yuma", a train that will take the killer to trial.
IMDB Rating: 7.7
IMDB Votes: 327000
Genere: Action, Crime, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: suspense, psychological, tense, dramatic, harsh, intense, brutal, serious, atmospheric, exciting
Similar in 82%
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Plot Summary:
Aging outlaw Pike Bishop (William Holden) prepares to retire after one final robbery. Joined by his gang, which includes Dutch Engstrom (Ernest Borgnine) and brothers Lyle (Warren Oates) and Tector Gorch (Ben Johnson), Bishop discovers the heist is a setup orchestrated in part by his old partner, Deke Thornton (Robert Ryan). As the remaining gang takes refuge in Mexican territory, Thornton trails them, resulting in fierce gunfights with plenty of casualties.
IMDB Rating: 7.9
IMDB Votes: 89000
Genere: Action, Adventure, Drama, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 145 min
Plot tags: controversial, intense, cult classic, brutal, bloody, suspense, disturbing, epic, atmospheric, bleak
Similar in 79%
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 87%
Open Range (2003)
Plot Summary:
A former gunslinger is forced to take up arms again when he and his cattle crew are threatened by a corrupt lawman.
IMDB Rating: 7.4
IMDB Votes: 77000
Genere: Action, Drama, Romance, Western
Country: USA
Duration: 139 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, stylized, intense, realistic, captivating, contemplative, period piece, funny, sexy, epic
Similar in 81%
21 Grams (2003)
Plot Summary:
This is the story of three gentle persons: Paul Rivers an ailing mathematician lovelessly married to an English émigré, Christina Peck, an upper-middle-class suburban housewife, happily married and mother of two little girls, and Jack Jordan, an ex-convict who has found in his Christian faith the strength to raise a family. They will be brought together by a terrible accident that will change their lives. By the final frame, none of them will be the same as they will learn harsh truths about love, faith, courage, desire and guilt, and how chance can change our worlds irretrievably, forever.
IMDB Rating: 7.6
IMDB Votes: 244000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 124 min
Plot tags: mind bending, psychological, emotional, bleak, non-linear, gloomy, depressing, suspense, sincere, sad
Similar in 81%
The Homesman (2014)
Plot Summary:
When three women living on the edge of the American frontier are driven mad by harsh pioneer life, the task of saving them falls to the pious, independent-minded Mary Bee Cuddy. Transporting the women by covered wagon to Iowa, she soon realizes just how daunting the journey will be, and employs a low-life drifter, George Briggs, to join her. The unlikely pair and the three women head east, where a waiting minister and his wife have offered to take the women in. But the group first must traverse the harsh Nebraska Territories marked by stark beauty, psychological peril and constant threat.
IMDB Rating: 6.6
IMDB Votes: 35000
Genere: Drama, Western
Country: France, USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: atmospheric, tense, bleak, realistic, depressing, harsh, emotional, suspense, serious, road movie
Similar in 89%
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 88%
No Country for Old Men (2007)
Plot Summary:
Llewelyn Moss stumbles upon dead bodies, $2 million and a hoard of heroin in a Texas desert, but methodical killer Anton Chigurh comes looking for it, with local sheriff Ed Tom Bell hot on his trail. The roles of prey and predator blur as the violent pursuit of money and justice collide.
IMDB Rating: 8.2
IMDB Votes: 10000000
Genere: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min
Plot tags: neo noir, tense, serious, atmospheric, suspense, bleak, suspenseful, neo western, gloomy, rough
Similar in 79%
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