feelsalike.comSign in
A Streetcar Named Desire poster

Movies that feel likeA Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

A disturbed, aging Southern belle moves in with her sister for solace β€” but being face-to-face with her brutish brother-in-law accelerates her downward spiral.

If you loved A Streetcar Named Desire, the closest films we have are The Roaring Twenties (1939), Sabotage (1936) and Rope (1948). All three share A Streetcar Named Desire's contemplative and tense feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Across 110th Street (1972).

πŸ… 97% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.9 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Elia Kazancontemplativetensegritty
7 of 12 streaming nowNetflix Β· HBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video

Can't choose? Answer three questions and get one movie for tonight.

Stream it:HBO Max β†—
See it on the Mood Map

When is A Streetcar Named Desire streaming? β†’

If A Streetcar Named Desire hit the spot, these will too

The Roaring Twenties poster
The Roaring Twenties
1939 Β· dir. Raoul Walsh
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.9crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Contemplative and tense in the same breath

The difference: Sits closer to crime than A Streetcar Named Desire does

After World War I, Armistice Lloyd Hart goes back to practice law, former saloon keeper George Hally turns to bootlegging, and out-of-work Eddie Bartlett becomes a cab driver. Eddie builds a fleet of cabs through delivery of bootleg liquor and hires Lloyd as his lawyer. George becomes Eddie's partner and the rackets flourish until love and rivalry interfere.

Sabotage poster
Sabotage
1936 Β· dir. Alfred Hitchcock
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7drama Β· thriller Β· crimeMax

Common ground: black and white

Karl Anton Verloc and his wife own a small cinema in a quiet London suburb where they live seemingly happily. But Mrs. Verloc does not know that her husband has a secret that will affect their relationship and threaten her teenage brother's life.

Rope poster
Rope
1948 Β· dir. Alfred Hitchcock
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.9thriller Β· crime Β· drama

Gritty drama, and it commits to that

Two young men attempt to prove they committed the perfect murder by hosting a dinner party for the family of a classmate they just strangled to death.

Caliber 9 poster
Caliber 9
1972 Β· dir. Fernando Di Leo
β˜… 7.4crime Β· thriller

Thriller built on tension, twice over

The difference: Easier on the stillness than A Streetcar Named Desire

Just out of prison, ex-con Ugo Piazza meets his former employer, a psychopathic gangster Rocco who enjoys sick violence and torture. Both the gangsters and the police believe Ugo has hidden $300,000 that should have gone to an American drug syndicate boss.

Blackmail poster
Blackmail
1929 Β· dir. Alfred Hitchcock
πŸ… 88%β˜… 6.9drama Β· thriller Β· crimePrime Video

Both are built on the same subject: black and white

The difference: 22 years apart, and the 1920s show

London, 1929. Frank Webber, a very busy Scotland Yard detective, seems to be more interested in his work than in Alice White, his girlfriend. Feeling herself ignored, Alice agrees to go out with an elegant and well-mannered artist who invites her to visit his fancy apartment.

Rififi poster
Rififi
1955 Β· dir. Jules Dassin
πŸ… 92%β˜… 8.1crime Β· thriller Β· drama

Drama with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.

The Friends of Eddie Coyle poster
The Friends of Eddie Coyle
1973 Β· dir. Peter Yates
πŸ… 98%β˜… 7.4crime Β· drama Β· thriller

Gritty thriller in both cases

An aging hood is about to go back to prison. Hoping to escape his fate, he supplies information on stolen guns to the feds, while simultaneously supplying arms to his bank robbing chums.

Across 110th Street poster
Across 110th Street
1972 Β· dir. Barry Shear
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7crime Β· drama Β· thrillerPrime Video

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

In a daring robbery, some $300,000 is taken from the Italian mob. Several mafiosi are killed, as are two policemen. Lt. Pope and Capt. Mattelli are two New York City cops trying to break the case. Three small-time criminals are on the run with the money. Will the mafia catch them first, or will the police?

The Experiment poster
The Experiment
2001 Β· dir. Oliver Hirschbiegel
πŸ… 72%β˜… 7.7drama Β· thriller

The same preoccupation in both: rape

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

20 volunteers agree to take part in a seemingly well-paid experiment advertised by the university. It is supposed to be about aggressive behavior in an artificial prison situation. A journalist senses a story behind the ad and smuggles himself in among the test subjects. They are randomly divided into prisoners and guards. What seems like a game at the beginning soon turns into bloody seriousness.

The Killing poster
The Killing
1956 Β· dir. Stanley Kubrick
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.9crime Β· thriller Β· dramaPrime Video

From the 1950s, and it lands the same way

Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.

The Silence poster
The Silence
2010 Β· dir. Baran bo Odar
πŸ… 87%β˜… 6.9crime Β· thriller Β· drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: rape

13-year-old Sinikka vanishes on a hot summer night. Her bicycle is found in the exact place where a girl was killed 23 years ago. The dramatic present forces those involved in the original case to face their past.

Shoplifters poster
Shoplifters
2018 Β· dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda
πŸ… 99%β˜… 7.9drama Β· crime Β· thrillerNetflixPrime Video

Common ground in both: family relationships and thoughtful

In the outskirts of Tokyo, a poor but close-knit group living on the fringes of society survives through shoplifting and odd jobs. When Osamu and his son take in a neglected young girl, their already fragile existence begins to unravel. As the family grows attached to her, buried secrets surface, forcing them to confront the true meaning of love, belonging, and what makes a family.

In the mood for more contemplative?

all contemplative movies β†’

The best-reviewed films that share A Streetcar Named Desire’s defining feeling.