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JFK poster

Movies that feel likeJFK (1991)

Follows the investigation into the assassination of President John F. Kennedy led by New Orleans district attorney Jim Garrison.

If you loved JFK, the closest films we have are Munich (2005), The Impossible (2012) and Milk (2008). All three share JFK's contemplative and epic feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Paris Is Burning (1991).

🍅 85% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Oliver Stonecontemplativetenseepic
9 of 12 streaming nowNetflix · HBO Max · Amazon Prime Video

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If JFK hit the spot, these will too

Munich poster
Munich
2005 · dir. Steven Spielberg
🍅 79%★ 7.5drama · history · thrillerPrime Video

Common ground: assassination

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.

The Impossible poster
The Impossible
2012 · dir. J. A. Bayona
🍅 81%★ 7.5drama · thriller · historyNetflix

The same preoccupation in both: a true story

The difference: 21 years apart, and the 2010s show

In December 2004, close-knit family Maria, Henry and their three sons begin their winter vacation in Thailand. But the day after Christmas, the idyllic holiday turns into an incomprehensible nightmare when a terrifying roar rises from the depths of the sea, followed by a wall of black water that devours everything in its path. Though Maria and her family face their darkest hour, unexpected displays of kindness and courage ameliorate their terror.

Milk poster
Milk
2008 · dir. Gus Van Sant
🍅 93%★ 7.5history · drama

The same two preoccupations: politics, and homophobia

The difference: Takes it somewhere less tense than JFK does

The true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man ever elected to public office. In San Francisco in the late 1970s, Harvey Milk becomes an activist for gay rights and inspires others to join him in his fight for equal rights that should be available to all Americans.

Snowden poster
Snowden
2016 · dir. Oliver Stone
🍅 61%★ 7.3drama · history · crimeNetflixStarz

Oliver Stone directing both, with the same fingerprints on each

The difference: Leans harder into crime than JFK does

CIA employee Edward Snowden leaks thousands of classified documents to the press.

Runaway Train poster
Runaway Train
1985 · dir. Andrei Konchalovsky
🍅 84%★ 7.2action · thriller · drama

The same mix in both: stillness, then tension

The difference: Sits closer to action than JFK does

A hardened convict and a younger prisoner escape from a brutal prison in the middle of winter only to find themselves on an out-of-control train with a female railway worker while being pursued by the vengeful head of security.

Paris Is Burning poster
Paris Is Burning
1991 · dir. Jennie Livingston
🍅 99%★ 8.2documentary · historyMax

Both are built on the same subject: homophobia

Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.

Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen poster
Legend of the Fist: The Return of Chen Zhen
2010 · dir. Andrew Lau Wai-Keung
🍅 47%★ 6.2drama · action · historyPrime Video

Both keep coming back to the same thing: assassination

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

The Japanese forces occupy Shanghai and slowly start spreading terror in the city. Chen Zhen, who was presumed dead, returns to fight against the Japanese and put an end to their tyrannical rule.

127 Hours poster
127 Hours
2010 · dir. Danny Boyle
🍅 93%★ 7.5adventure · drama · thriller

One thread runs through both: a true story

The true story of mountain climber Aron Ralston's remarkable adventure to save himself after a fallen boulder crashes on his arm and traps him in an isolated canyon in Utah.

The Perfect Storm poster
The Perfect Storm
2000 · dir. Wolfgang Petersen
★ 6.5drama · adventure · action

Drama built on scale, twice over

In October 1991, a confluence of weather conditions combined to form a killer storm in the North Atlantic. Caught in the storm was the sword-fishing boat Andrea Gail.

The Spy Who Loved Me poster
The Spy Who Loved Me
1977 · dir. Lewis Gilbert
🍅 82%★ 7adventure · action · thrillerPrime Video

Tense thriller, and it commits to that

Russian and British submarines with nuclear missiles on board both vanish from sight without a trace. England and Russia both blame each other as James Bond tries to solve the riddle of the disappearing ships. But the KGB also has an agent on the case.

The Untouchables poster
The Untouchables
1987 · dir. Brian De Palma
🍅 83%★ 7.8crime · history · thrillerParamount+

History with a pulse of scale, in both cases

Elliot Ness, an ambitious prohibition agent, is determined to take down Al Capone. In order to achieve this goal, he forms a group given the nickname “The Untouchables”.

Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India poster
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India
2001 · dir. Ashutosh Gowariker
🍅 95%★ 8.1adventure · drama · history

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

The year is 1893 and India is under British occupation. In a small village, the tyrannical Captain Russell has imposed an unprecedented land tax on its citizens. Outraged, Bhuvan, a rebellious farmer, rallies the villagers to publicly oppose the tax. Russell offers a novel way to settle the dispute: he challenges Bhuvan and his men to a game of cricket, a sport completely foreign to India. If Bhuvan and his men can defeat Russell's team, the tax will be repealed.

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The best-reviewed films that share JFK’s defining feeling.