Movies like CBGB (2013)
The best movies like CBGB (2013) are Suburbia (1984), Rude Boy (1980) and The Other F Word (2011). If CBGB hooked you with its drama and music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAlmost Famous (2000)7.5/10 from 3,292 votes
- NewestAmerican Satan (2017)Released 2017
Suburbia (1984)
When household tensions and a sense of worthlessness overcome Evan, he finds escape when he clings with the orphans of a throw-away society. The runaways hold on to each other like a family until a tragedy tears them apart.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRude Boy (1980)
Rude Boy is a semi-documentary, part character study, part 'rockumentary', featuring a British punk band, The Clash. The script includes the story of a fictional fan juxtposed with actual public events of the day, including political demonstrations and Clash concerts.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
The Other F Word (2011)
What happens when a generation's ultimate anti-authoritarians — punk rockers — become society's ultimate authorities — dads? With a large chorus of punk rock's leading men — Blink-182's Mark Hoppus, Red Hot Chili Peppers' Flea, Rise Against's Tim McIlrath — The Other F Word follows Jim Lindberg, 20-year veteran of skate punk band, Pennywise, on his hysterical and moving journey from belting his band's anthem, "Fuck Authority", to embracing his ultimately pivotal authoritarian role in mid-life, fatherhood.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90) (2015)
"Salad Days: A Decade of Punk in Washington, DC (1980-90)" examines the early DIY punk scene in the Nation's Capital. It was a decade when seminal bands like Bad Brains, Minor Threat, Government Issue, Scream, Void, Faith, Rites of Spring, Marginal Man, Fugazi, and others released their own records and booked their own shows-without major record label constraints or mainstream media scrutiny. Contextually, it was a cultural watershed that predated the alternative music explosion of the 1990s (and the industry's subsequent implosion). Thirty years later, DC's original DIY punk spirit serves as a reminder of the hopefulness of youth, the power of community and the strength of conviction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
Filmage: The Story of Descendents/All (2013)
Long before Green Day and Blink 182 inflicted punk-rock's puncture wound on the map of mainstream music, the Descendents were at home concocting the perfect mix of pop, angst, love, and coffee. FILMAGE: The Story of DESCENDENTS/ALL follows drummer/square-peg Bill Stevenson and his 'caffeinated retardedness' as he pushes his rotating door of bandmates to 'achieve ALL,' his philosophy of going for greatness at all costs. Stevenson is a force to be reckoned with--not even grapefruit-sized brain tumors can keep him down.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
We Are the Best! (2013)
Three girls in 1980s Stockholm decide to form a punk band—despite not having any instruments, and being told by everyone that punk is dead.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHard Core Logo (1996)
Bruce Macdonald follows punk bank Hard Core Logo on a harrowing last-gasp reunion tour throughout Western Canada. As magnetic lead-singer Joe Dick holds the whole magilla together through sheer force of will, all the tensions and pitfalls of life on the road come bubbling to the surface.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
An exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Megadeth, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne and W.A.S.P..
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBomb City (2017)
An ongoing feud between punk rockers and a more affluent clique in a small Texas town leads to a hate crime.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Filth and the Fury (2000)
Julien Temple's second documentary profiling punk rock pioneers the Sex Pistols is an enlightening, entertaining trip back to a time when the punk movement was just discovering itself. Featuring archival footage, never-before-seen performances, rehearsals, and recording sessions as well as interviews with group members who lived to tell the tale--including the one and only John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten).
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat We Do Is Secret (2007)
The true-life story of Darby Crash, who became an L.A. punk icon with his band The Germs. Along with Lorna Doom, Pat Smear, and Don Bolles, Darby Crash completely transformed the L.A. punk scene, while sacrificing everyone he loved, his career, and ultimately his life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
SLC Punk (1998)
Two former geeks become 1980s punks, then party and go to concerts while deciding what to do with their lives.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fearless Freaks (2005)
Equal parts punk and psychedelia, the Flaming Lips emerged from Oklahoma City as one of the most bracing bands of the late 1980s. The Fearless Freaks documents their rise from Butthole Surfers-imitating noisemakers to grand poobahs of orchestral pop masterpieces. Filmmaker Bradley Beesely had the good fortune of living in the same neighborhood as lead Lip Wayne Coyne, who quickly enlisted his buddy to document his band's many concerts and assorted exploits. The early footage is a riot, with tragic hair styles on proud display as the boys attempt to cover up their lack of natural talent with sheer volume. During one show, they even have a friend bring a motorcycle on stage, which is then miked for sound and revved throughout the performance, clearing the club with toxic levels of carbon monoxide. Great punk rock stuff. Interspersed among the live bits are interviews with the band's family and friends, revealing the often tragic circumstances of their childhoods and early career.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
Whatever Happened to Harold Smith? (2000)
It's 1976, and Vinny is a confused teenager who can't decide whether he is a disco king or a proto punk rocker.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
Sid and Nancy (1986)
January 1978. After their success in England, the punk rock band Sex Pistols venture out on their tour of the southern United States. Temperamental bassist Sid Vicious is forced by his band mates to travel without his troubled girlfriend, Nancy Spungen, who will meet him in New York. When the band breaks up and Sid begins his solo career in a hostile city, the turbulent couple definitely falls into the depths of drug addiction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like this24 Hour Party People (2002)
Manchester, 1976. Tony Wilson is an ambitious but frustrated local TV news reporter looking for a way to make his mark. After witnessing a life-changing concert by a band known as the Sex Pistols, he persuades his station to televise one of their performances, and soon Manchester's punk groups are clamoring for him to manage them. Riding the wave of a musical revolution, Wilson and his friends create the legendary Factory Records label and The Hacienda club.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGood Vibrations (2012)
The story of music legend Terri Hooley, a key figure in Belfast's punk rock scene. Hooley founded the Good Vibrations store from which a record label sprung, representing bands such as The Undertones, Rudi and The Outcasts.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAlmost Famous (2000)
In 1973, a precocious 15-year-old aspiring rock journalist lands a dream assignment from Rolling Stone to tour with a rising rock band, embarking on a coming-of-age journey as he discovers the exhilarating and heartbreaking realities behind rock stardom.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGimme Danger (2016)
No other band in rock'n'roll history has rivaled The Stooges' combination of heavy primal throb, spiked psychedelia, blues-a-billy grind, complete with succinct angst-ridden lyrics, and a snarling, preening leopard of a frontman who somehow embodies Nijinsky, Bruce Lee, Harpo Marx, and Arthur Rimbaud all rolled into one. There is no precedent for The Stooges, while those inspired by them are now legion. The film will present the context of their emergence musically, culturally, politically, historically, and relate their adventures and misadventures while charting their inspirations and the reasons behind their initial commercial challenges, as well as their long-lasting legacy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisControl (2007)
The story of Joy Division’s lead singer Ian Curtis, from his schoolboy days in 1973 to his suicide on the eve of the band's first American tour in 1980.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Runaways (2010)
Joan Jett and Cherie Currie, two rebellious teenagers from Southern California, become the frontwomen for The Runaways -- the now-legendary group that paved the way for future generations of female rockers. Under the Svengali-like influence of impresario Kim Fowley, the band becomes a huge success.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Perfect Age of Rock 'n' Roll (2011)
In this film, childhood friends come face to face with the demons of rock and roll (lust, drugs, and passion) on a cross-country road trip that compels them to face their past, present, and future. Rocker Spyder, whose debut album was a huge hit saw his follow-on album bomb, causing him to retreat to his small hometown and give up. Seven years later, 27-year-old Spyder reconnects with his long-lost best friend and writer of his debut album Eric, son of a late great punk rock guitar legend, who has long settled into the sedate life of a suburban middle school music teacher. The reunion forces the two to recall their youthful ambitions and re-examine the choices they've made.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
Velvet Goldmine (1998)
Almost a decade since larger-than-life glam-rock enigma Brian Slade disappeared from public eye, an investigative journalist is on assignment to uncover the truth behind his former idol.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Commitments (1991)
Jimmy Rabbitte, just a thick-ya out of school, gets a brilliant idea: to put a soul band together in Barrytown, his slum home in north Dublin. First he needs musicians and singers: things slowly start to click when he finds three fine-voiced females virtually in his back yard, a lead singer (Deco) at a wedding, and, responding to his ad, an aging trumpet player, Joey "The Lips" Fagan.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPump Up the Volume (1990)
Mark Hunter, a lonely high school student, uses his shortwave radio to moonlight as the popular pirate DJ "Hard Harry." When his show gets blamed for a teen committing suicide, the students clash with high school faculty and the authorities.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both music & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDear Wendy (2005)
In a blue-collar American town, a group of teens bands together to form the Dandies, a gang of gunslingers led by Dick Dandelion. Following a code of strict pacifism at odds with the fact that they all carry guns, the group eventually lets in Sebastian, the grandson of Dick's childhood nanny, Clarabelle, who fears the other gangs in the area. Dick and company try to protect Clarabelle, but events transpire that push the gang past posturing.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisBackbeat (1994)
Chronicles the early days of The Beatles in Hamburg, Germany. The film focuses primarily on the relationship between Stuart Sutcliffe, John Lennon, and Sutcliffe's girlfriend Astrid Kirchherr.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEden (2014)
Paul, a teenager in the underground scene of early-nineties Paris, forms a DJ collective with his friends and together they plunge into the nightlife of sex, drugs, and endless music.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
SnoozefestMovies like thisAmerican Satan (2017)
A young rock band, half from England and half from the US, drop out of college and move to the Sunset Strip to chase their dreams.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & music
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like CBGB?
The closest matches to CBGB are Suburbia (1984), Rude Boy (1980) and The Other F Word (2011). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after CBGB?
People who watched CBGB most often go on to Suburbia (1984), Rude Boy (1980) and The Other F Word (2011).
What is the highest-rated movie like CBGB?
Almost Famous (2000), rated 7.5/10 by 3,292 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like CBGB?
American Satan (2017) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like CBGB?
Yes: Suburbia (1984), Rude Boy (1980) and The Other F Word (2011).
How are movies similar to CBGB chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside CBGB, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.