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Witness for the Prosecution poster

Movies that feel likeWitness for the Prosecution (1957)

An ailing barrister is thrust back into the courtroom in what becomes one of the most unusual and eventful murder cases of the lawyer's career when he finds himself defending a man being tried for the murder of a socialite.

If you loved Witness for the Prosecution, the closest films we have are Anatomy of a Murder (1959), In the Heat of the Night (1967) and Rashomon (1950). All three share Witness for the Prosecution's contemplative and twisty feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is After Dark, My Sweet (1990).

πŸ… 100% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 8.4 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. Billy Wildercontemplativetwistygritty
8 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max Β· Amazon Prime Video Β· History Vault

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If Witness for the Prosecution hit the spot, these will too

Anatomy of a Murder poster
Anatomy of a Murder
1959 Β· dir. Otto Preminger
πŸ… 100%β˜… 8crime Β· drama Β· mysteryPrime Video

Common ground in both: trial and lawyer

Semi-retired Michigan lawyer Paul Biegler takes the case of Army Lt. Manion, who murdered a local innkeeper after his wife claimed that he raped her. Over the course of an extensive trial, Biegler parries with District Attorney Lodwick and out-of-town prosecutor Claude Dancer to set his client free, but his case rests on the victim's mysterious business partner, who's hiding a dark secret.

In the Heat of the Night poster
In the Heat of the Night
1967 Β· dir. Norman Jewison
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.9crime Β· drama Β· mystery

Both are built on the same subject: murder

African-American Philadelphia police detective Virgil Tibbs is arrested on suspicion of murder by Bill Gillespie, the racist police chief of tiny Sparta, Mississippi. After Tibbs proves not only his own innocence but that of another man, he joins forces with Gillespie to track down the real killer. Their investigation takes them through every social level of the town, with Tibbs making enemies as well as unlikely friends as he hunts for the truth.

Rashomon poster
Rashomon
1950 Β· dir. Akira Kurosawa
πŸ… 98%β˜… 8.1crime Β· drama Β· mysteryMax

Contemplative where it counts, twisty underneath

Four people recount different versions of the story of a man's murder and the rape of his wife.

And Then There Were None poster
And Then There Were None
1945 Β· dir. RenΓ© Clair
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.3crime Β· drama Β· mysteryPrime Video

Gritty drama, and it commits to that

Ten strangers are summoned to a remote island and while they are waiting for the mysterious host to appear, a recording levels serious accusations at each of the guests. Soon they start being murdered, one by one. As the survivors try to keep their wits, they reach a disturbing conclusion: one of them must be the killer.

The Third Murder poster
The Third Murder
2017 Β· dir. Hirokazu Kore-eda
πŸ… 87%β˜… 6.7drama Β· mystery Β· crime

The same preoccupation in both: courtroom

The difference: Made in the 2010s, in a different era of the craft

A lawyer tasked with defending a robbery-and-murder suspect begins developing doubts about what truly happened.

High Plains Drifter poster
High Plains Drifter
1973 Β· dir. Clint Eastwood
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.4western Β· drama Β· mystery

Contemplative mystery in both cases

The difference: Leans further into western

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.

Mother poster
Mother
2009 Β· dir. Bong Joon Ho
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.7crime Β· drama Β· mystery

One thread runs through both: murder

A mother lives quietly with her son. One day, a girl is brutally killed, and the boy is charged with the murder. Now, it's his mother's mission to prove him innocent.

Brick poster
Brick
2006 Β· dir. Rian Johnson
πŸ… 79%β˜… 7.1drama Β· mystery Β· crime

Both lean on twists more than on crime

A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.

After Dark, My Sweet poster
After Dark, My Sweet
1990 Β· dir. James Foley
πŸ… 80%β˜… 6.5crime Β· drama Β· mysteryStarz

Drama built on grit, twice over

Three desperados try to kidnap a wealthy child in hope of turning their lives around.

12 poster
12
2007 Β· dir. Nikita Mikhalkov
πŸ… 76%β˜… 7.5crime Β· drama Β· mystery

Mystery with a pulse of stillness, in both cases

A loose remake of β€œ12 Angry Men”, β€œ12” is set in contemporary Moscow where 12 very different men must unanimously decide the fate of a young Chechen accused of murdering his step-father, a Russian army officer. Consigned to a makeshift jury room in a school gymnasium, one by one each man takes center stage to confront, connect, and confess while the accused awaits a verdict and revisits his heartbreaking journey through war in flashbacks.

The White Ribbon poster
The White Ribbon
2009 Β· dir. Michael Haneke
πŸ… 85%β˜… 7.8drama Β· mystery

Crime built on twists, twice over

An aged tailor recalls his life as the schoolteacher of a small village in Northern Germany that was struck by a series of strange events in the year leading up to WWI.

The Imposter poster
The Imposter
2012 Β· dir. Bart Layton
πŸ… 95%β˜… 7.4documentary Β· mystery Β· crimePrime Video

Mystery with a pulse of grit, in both cases

In 1994, a 13-year-old boy disappeared without a trace from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three-and-a-half years later, he is found alive in a village in southern Spain with a horrifying story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems.

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The best-reviewed films that share Witness for the Prosecution’s defining feeling.