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Cool Hand Luke poster

Movies that feel likeCool Hand Luke (1967)

When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.

If you loved Cool Hand Luke, the closest films we have are Lilya 4-ever (2002), Charley Varrick (1973) and Thief (1981). All three share Cool Hand Luke's contemplative and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Places in the Heart (1984).

🍅 100% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Stuart Rosenbergcontemplativegrittymelancholy
10 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Criterion Channel

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See it on the Mood Map

If Cool Hand Luke hit the spot, these will too

Lilya 4-ever poster
Lilya 4-ever
2002 · dir. Lukas Moodysson
🍅 84%★ 7.8drama · crime

The same preoccupation in both: escape

The difference: 35 years apart, and the 2000s show

In a struggling post-Soviet community, Lilya a teenage girl is abandoned when her mother moves to the United States with her boyfriend. Facing neglect and poverty, she meets Andrei, who offers her a job in Sweden, giving her hope for a better life — and a journey that will change everything.

Charley Varrick poster
Charley Varrick
1973 · dir. Don Siegel
🍅 82%★ 7.5crime · thriller · drama

Both land stillness and grit at once

The difference: Sits closer to thriller than Cool Hand Luke does

Charley Varrick robs a bank in a small town with his friends, but instead of obtaining a small amount of money, they discover they stole a very large amount of money belonging to the mob. Charley must now come up with a plan to not only evade the police but the mob as well.

Thief poster
Thief
1981 · dir. Michael Mann
🍅 80%★ 7.4crime · thriller · dramaPrime Video

Both keep coming back to the same thing: grief

Frank is an expert professional safecracker, specialized in high-profile diamond heists. He plans to use his ill-gotten income to retire from crime and build a nice life for himself complete with a home, wife and kids. To accelerate the process, he signs on with a top gangster for a big score.

The Celebration poster
The Celebration
1998 · dir. Thomas Vinterberg
🍅 91%★ 8drama

Drama built on melancholy, twice over

The family of a wealthy businessman gather to celebrate his 60th birthday. During the course of the party, his eldest son presents a speech that reveals a devastating secret that turns the night into a battle of truth and denial.

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father poster
🍅 94%★ 8.5documentary · crimePrime Video

One thread runs through both: grief

In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.

Short Term 12 poster
Short Term 12
2013 · dir. Destin Daniel Cretton
🍅 98%★ 7.9dramaPrime Video

Both lean on stillness more than on crime

Grace, a compassionate young supervisor at a foster care facility, helps at-risk teens. But when a new charge dredges up memories of her own troubled past, Grace's tough exterior begins eroding.

Cat on a Hot Tin Roof poster
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof
1958 · dir. Richard Brooks
🍅 97%★ 7.9drama

Common ground: mortality

The difference: Easier on the grit than Cool Hand Luke

An alcoholic ex-football player drinks his days away, having failed to come to terms with his sexuality and his real feelings for his football buddy who died after an ambiguous accident. His wife is crucified by her desperation to make him desire her: but he resists the affections of his wife. His reunion with his father—who is dying of cancer—jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.

Winter Light poster
Winter Light
1963 · dir. Ingmar Bergman
🍅 77%★ 8drama

Drama with a pulse of melancholy, in both cases

A Swedish pastor fails a loving woman, a suicidal fisherman and God.

Autumn Sonata poster
Autumn Sonata
1978 · dir. Ingmar Bergman
🍅 85%★ 8.1dramaMax

Contemplative crime, and it commits to that

After a seven-year absence, Charlotte Andergast travels to Sweden to reunite with her daughter Eva. The pair have a troubled relationship: Charlotte sacrificed the responsibilities of motherhood for a career as a classical pianist. Over an emotional night, the pair reopen the wounds of the past. Charlotte gets another shock when she finds out that her mentally impaired daughter, Helena, is out of the asylum and living with Eva.

8½ poster
8½
1963 · dir. Federico Fellini
🍅 97%★ 8dramaMax

Both are built on the same subject: mortality

Guido Anselmi, a film director, finds himself creatively barren at the peak of his career. Urged by his doctors to rest, Anselmi heads for a luxurious resort, but a sorry group gathers—his producer, staff, actors, wife, mistress, and relatives—each one begging him to get on with the show. In retreat from their dependency, he fantasizes about past women and dreams of his childhood.

Elevator to the Gallows poster
Elevator to the Gallows
1958 · dir. Louis Malle
🍅 93%★ 7.9crime · drama · thrillerMax

Gritty drama in both cases

A self-assured businessman murders his employer, husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.

Places in the Heart poster
Places in the Heart
1984 · dir. Robert Benton
🍅 90%★ 7.4drama

Melancholy crime in both cases

In 1935 rural Texas, recently widowed Edna Spaulding struggles to survive with two small children, a farm to run, and very little money in the bank - not to mention a deadly tornado and the unwelcome presence of the Ku Klux Klan. Edna is aided by her beautician sister, Margaret; a blind boarder, Mr. Will; and a would-be thief, Moze, who decides to teach Edna how to plant and harvest cotton.

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The best-reviewed films that share Cool Hand Luke’s defining feeling.