Movies like Ella Fitzgerald Swings (1965)
The best movies like Ella Fitzgerald Swings (1965) are Love Me or Leave Me (1955), John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky (2018) and Born to Be Blue (2015). If Ella Fitzgerald Swings hooked you with its music, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedGhosts (1997)8.1/10 from 305 votes
- NewestBeing Hipp – First Lady of European Jazz (2026)Released 2026
Love Me or Leave Me (1955)
A fictionalized account of the career of jazz singer Ruth Etting and her tempestuous marriage to gangster Marty Snyder, who helped propel her to stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJohn & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky (2018)
Film telling the untold story of John Lennon's 1971 album Imagine, exploring the creative collaboration between Lennon and Yoko Ono and featuring interviews and never-seen-before footage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBorn to Be Blue (2015)
Jazz legend Chet Baker finds love and redemption when he stars in a movie about his own troubled life to mount a comeback.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKeith Richards: Under the Influence (2015)
A portrait of Keith Richards that takes us on a journey to discover the genesis of his sound as a songwriter, guitarist and performer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBee Gees: One Night Only (1998)
The brothers Gibb perform their greatest hits from the 60's, 70's, 80's and 90's including many songs written for and made hits by other artists but never recorded by the Bee Gees themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like this'Round Midnight (1986)
Inside the Blue Note nightclub one night in 1959 Paris, an aged, ailing jazzman coaxes an eloquent wail from his tenor sax. Outside, a young Parisian too broke to buy a glass of wine strains to hear those notes. Soon they will form a friendship that sparks a final burst of genius.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Glenn Miller Story (1954)
A vibrant tribute to one of America's legendary bandleaders, charting Glenn Miller's rise from obscurity and poverty to fame and wealth in the early 1940s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisToo Late Blues (1961)
Ghost is an ideological musician and leader of a jazz band who would rather play his blues in the park to the birds than compromise himself. His peripatetic performances lead him to cross paths with a singer, while his masculinity is thrown into question following a violent brawl.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Big Store (1941)
A detective is hired to protect the life of a singer, who has recently inherited a department store, from the store's crooked manager.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium (2023)
Filmed at LA's SoFi Stadium, The Weeknd brings down the house – and your living room – in this epic concert event.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wrecking Crew (2008)
A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew." a band that provided back-up instrumentals to such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, and Bing Crosby.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSweet and Lowdown (1999)
In the 1930s, jazz guitarist Emmet Ray idolizes Django Reinhardt, faces gangsters and falls in love with a mute woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Waltz (1978)
Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, and other rock legends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Song Is Born (1948)
The story of seven scholars in search of an expert to teach them about swing music. They seem to have found the perfect candidate in winsome nightclub singer Honey Swanson. But Honey's gangster boyfriend doesn't want to give her up.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Called Him Morgan (2016)
Part jazz history, part true-crime tale, Kasper Collin’s new documentary employs extensive archival footage and new interviews to tell the tragic story of the magnificently talented trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who murdered him in a New York bar in 1972.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisQuincy (2018)
An intimate look into the life of icon Quincy Jones. A unique force in music and popular culture for 70 years, Jones has transcended racial and cultural boundaries; his story is inextricably woven into the fabric of America. Jones came to prominence in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before working on pop music and film scores. He moved easily between musical genres, producing major pop hits of the early 1960s and serving as an arranger and conductor for several collaborations in the same time period.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisParis Blues (1961)
During the 1960s, two American jazz musicians living in Paris meet and fall in love with two American tourist girls and must decide between music and love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSoul Men (2008)
Two former backup soul singers, Louis and Floyd, have not spoken to each other in 20 years, and reluctantly agree to travel across the country together to a reunion concert to honor their recently-deceased lead singer. Cleo, a beautiful young woman who is believed to be Floyd's daughter, accompanies them as a new singer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMake Your Move (2013)
A pair of star-crossed dancers in New York find themselves at the center of a bitter rivalry between their brothers' underground dance clubs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
SnoozefestMovies like thisGhosts (1997)
In the town of Normal Valley, an eccentric magician named Maestro entertains the local children every day in his spooky mansion. One stormy night, the town's mayor leads a group of angry citizens to the mansion in an attempt to run Maestro out of town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisLady Sings the Blues (1972)
Chronicles the rise and fall of legendary blues singer Billie Holiday, beginning with her traumatic youth. The story depicts her early attempts at a singing career and her eventual rise to stardom, as well as her difficult relationship with Louis McKay, her boyfriend and manager. Casting a shadow over even Holiday's brightest moments is the vocalist's severe drug addiction, which threatens to end both her career and her life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeing Hipp – First Lady of European Jazz (2026)
Jutta Hipp defied the odds and made it to the heart of the male-dominated jazz scene in 1950s New York.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Untitled Dinah Washington Biopic (TBA)
Chronicles a pivotal two-week period in London at the height of Dinah Washington’s career, following the international success of her 1959 Grammy-winning crossover hit 'What a Difference a Day Made'.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Blues in the Night (1941)
A struggling band find themselves attached to a fugitive and drawn into a series of old feuds and love affairs, as they try to stay together and find musical success.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Hoosier Holiday (1943)
During World War II three brothers go to enlist in the Air Force, but since they're farmers they're told they're needed at home more than in the service. Determined to join up, they enlist the aid of a pretty young girl whose father is head of the local draft board.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
JazzTown (2021)
Denver’s iconic and Grammy Award-winning musicians reveal the secrets of their success and longevity in the music business while warning the young lions to whom they pass the torch to stay relevant in a marketplace both treacherous and brutal. The majestic Rocky Mountains tower over a bustling metropolis filled with steamy and romantic nightclubs where jazz flourishes on stage. JazzTown features never seen before live concert footage on historic stages that have now crumbled due to economic stresses of the Covid Pandemic. ~ Dianne Reeves, 5-time Grammy Award winner for Best Jazz Vocalist ~ US Senator John Hickenlooper (former jazz club owner) ~ Ron Miles (Colorado Music Hall of Fame, Joshua Redman, Bill Frisell, Ginger Baker) ~ Charlie Hunter (Snarky Puppy, Christian McBride, Stanton Moore) ~ Art Lande (Mark Isham, Gary Peacock) ~ Ayo Awosika (Session Singer on Soundtracks to: Wakanda Forever, Nope, Dune, The Lion King ... tours with Miley Cyrus,) and many more.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Kamasi Washington Live At The Apollo Theater (2020)
Tenor saxophonist, composer and producer Kamasi Washington and his band perform a special show at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater for the theatre's 85th year anniversary. Washington explores Harlem's rich musical and cultural history and the city's influence on his generation of artists.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Keeping Time (2023)
A meditation on what it means to maintain continuity with the past — told through the kaleidoscopic journey of a young drummer who must learn how to guide a multi-generational band into the future after being named their new bandleader.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Seeds of Success - Alvin Queen (2017)
Alvin Queen is one of the best jazz drummers of all time. A child prodigy, he played with the greatest masters (Oscar Peterson, Dizzy Gillespie, Dexter Gordon, Pharaoh Sanders... ) He is also a very nice person who has a lot of wisdom to transmit. He shows it beautifully in this first episode of "Seeds of Success".
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Blue Note - A Story of Modern Jazz (1997)
"It must schwing!" was the motto of Alfred Lion and Francis Wolff, two German Jewish immigrants who in 1939 set up Blue Note Records, the jazz label that was home to such greats as Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Art Blakey, Dexter Gordon and Sonny Rollins. Blue Note, the most successful movie ever made about jazz, is a testimony to the passion and vision of these two men and certainly swings like the propulsive sounds that made their label so famous.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Ella Fitzgerald Swings?
The closest matches to Ella Fitzgerald Swings are Love Me or Leave Me (1955), John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky (2018) and Born to Be Blue (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Ella Fitzgerald Swings?
Start with Love Me or Leave Me (1955), the closest match to Ella Fitzgerald Swings.
What is the highest-rated movie like Ella Fitzgerald Swings?
Ghosts (1997), rated 8.1/10 by 305 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Ella Fitzgerald Swings?
Being Hipp – First Lady of European Jazz (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Ella Fitzgerald Swings?
Yes: Love Me or Leave Me (1955), John & Yoko: Above Us Only Sky (2018) and Born to Be Blue (2015).
How are movies similar to Ella Fitzgerald Swings chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Ella Fitzgerald Swings, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.