Movies like Dean (1991)
The best movies like Dean (1991) are City Lights (1931), The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939) and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970). If Dean hooked you, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedCity Lights (1931)8.2/10 from 2,588 votes
- NewestBalhae Blurred in Rain (2026)Released 2026
- In JapaneseThe Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939)Also in Japanese
City Lights (1931)
A tramp falls in love with a beautiful blind flower girl. His on-and-off friendship with a wealthy man allows him to be the girl's benefactor and suitor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939)
In late 19th-century Tokyo, Kikunosuke Onoue, the adopted son of a legendary actor, himself an actor specializing in female roles, discovers that the praise he receives is only due to his status as his father's heir. Devastated, he turns to Otoku, a servant of his family, for comfort, and they fall in love. Kikunosuke becomes determined to leave home and develop as an actor on his own merits, and Otoku faithfully joins him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOn a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970)
Daisy Gamble, an unusual woman who hears phones before they ring, and does wonders with her flowers, wants to quit smoking to please her fiancé, Warren. She goes to a doctor of hypnosis to do it. But once she's under, her doctor finds out that she can regress into past lives and different personalities, and he finds himself falling in love with one of them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRadiance (2017)
The story follows the social intercourse between a cameraman, Masaya, with a visual impairment, and Misako who disconnects from the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAt First Sight (1999)
A blind man has an operation to regain his sight at the urging of his girlfriend and must deal with the changes to his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJust Before I Go (2015)
Ted Morgan has been treading water for most of his life. After his wife leaves him, Ted realizes he has nothing left to live for. Summoning the courage for one last act, Ted decides to go home and face the people he feels are responsible for creating the shell of a person he has become. But life is tricky. The more determined Ted is to confront his demons, to get closure, and to withdraw from his family, the more Ted is yanked into the chaos of their lives. So, when Ted Morgan decides to kill himself, he finds a reason to live.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDean (2016)
A comedy about loss, grief, and the redemptive power of love. Dean is a NY illustrator who falls hard for an LA woman while trying to prevent his father from selling the family home in the wake of his mother's death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisBreathe (2017)
Based on the true story of Robin, a handsome, brilliant and adventurous man whose life takes a dramatic turn when polio leaves him paralyzed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStardust Memories (1980)
While attending a retrospect of his work, a filmmaker recalls his life and his loves: the inspirations for his films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSightless (2020)
After an attack renders her blind, Ellen withdraws from the world to recover. But soon she plunges into paranoia, unable to convince anyone that her assailant has returned to terrorize her by hiding in plain sight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrapeze (1956)
A pair of men try to perform the dangerous "triple" in their trapeze act. Problems arise when the duo is made into a trio following the addition of a sexy female performer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Girl in the Book (2015)
The story of a young writer's transformation when her past invades her present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Black Book (2023)
After his son is wrongly accused of kidnapping, a deacon who has just lost his wife takes matters into his own hands and fights a crooked police gang to clear him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThrow Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets (1971)
An experimental, psychedelic odyssey through Japanese subculture experienced via the eyes of a disillusioned young man, who must contend with intense familial dysfunction, psychosexual alienation, and existentialist malaise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Little Shop of Horrors (1960)
Seymour works in a skid row florist shop and is in love with his beautiful co-worker, Audrey. He creates a new plant that not only talks but cannot survive without human flesh and blood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Night at the Roxbury (1998)
Despite being well into adulthood, brothers Doug and Steve Butabi still live at home and work in the flower shop owned by their dad. They exist only to hit on women at discos, though they're routinely unsuccessful until a chance run-in with Richard Grieco gets them inside the swank Roxbury club. Mistaken for high rollers, they meet their dream women, Vivica and Cambi, and resolve to open a club of their own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTime Is Up (2021)
Vivien, an accomplished student with a passion for physics, and Roy, a troubled young man, are involved in an accident that forces them to reclaim their lives one minute at the time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBed of Roses (1996)
The seeds of love are planted when Lisa, a high-powered investment banker, receives flowers from a secret admirer. But when his fairy-tale fantasies clash with her workaholic ways, they soon find out that sometimes, it's harder than it seems for love to conquer all.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSomewhere in Time (1980)
Young writer Richard Collier is met on the opening night of his first play by an old lady who begs him to "Come back to me". Mystified, he tries to find out about her, and learns that she is a famous stage actress from the early twentieth century. Becoming more and more obsessed with her, by self-hypnosis he manages to travel back in time—where he meets her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTokyo Decadence (1992)
A submissive hooker goes about her trade, suffering abuse at the hands of Japanese salarymen and Yakuza types. She's unhappy about her work, and is apparently trying to find some sort of appeasement for the fact that her lover has married.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEmbraced by the Seas of Calista (2015)
Set on the fictional Mediterranean island of Callista on the eve of the outbreak of the French Revolution, the play depicts the struggles of a young officer who is torn between love, friendship, and his love for his homeland.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Oath of the Midnight Sun - Gustav III: A Battle by a Proud King (2015)
In the midst of Sweden's rise to power, King Gustav III was the "darling of the rococo" who brought to flower the gorgeous Nordic culture. Set in the turbulent 18th century Europe, where power and intrigue swirled around him, this musical depicts his love, friendship, and courageous battle for his beliefs on a grand scale, involving a variety of characters.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Rose of Versailles -Fersen and Marie Antoinette- (2014)
Based on the manga The Rose of Versailles by Ikeda Riyoko.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Lupin the Third: Search for the Queen's Necklace! (2015)
Musical by the Takarazuka Revue. In modern day France, an exhibition is being held at the Palace of Versailles of the "Necklace of Marie Antoinette". The necklace had been used in a fraud case that marked a chapter in French history and later went missing. It has been reproduced using real diamonds. Fujiko has sneaked into Versailles, as has the gang of Lupin, Goemon, and Jigen - all with the intention of getting their hands on the necklace, which is valued at over 3 billion yen in today's money. But they bump into Inspector Zenigata. Lupin is the one who manages to foil Zenigata and grab the necklace. Yet the instant he lays hands on it, everyone is enveloped in a mysterious light. When they regain consciousness, they notice they have gone through a time slip to 1785, before the French Revolution when Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette were around.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Elisabeth (1997)
Takarazuka Revue Star Troupe 1996-1997 production of the Viennese musical 'Elisabeth'
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Phoenix Wright 2 -The Truth Reborn, Again… (2009)
A continuation of Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney, which ran from February to March of this year at Bow Hall and Nippon Seinenkan. Based on the game "Phoenix Wright" which is highly popular with women — the story of a passionate lawyer who solves difficult cases, set in America. Phoenix Wright has proved the innocence of his lover, who was suspected of murdering a senator, and won back her love. As he must wait for her return, he goes back to his hometown in California. One day, a young girl comes to see him. She wants him to represent her mother, who is suspected of being involved in a certain incident. In California, a new turnabout drama for Phoenix Wright begins...
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Balhae Blurred in Rain (2026)
Based on the life of Dae Inseon, the last king of Balhae.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Revue Starlight: Rondo Rondo Rondo (2020)
The franchise centers on "Starlight," a dance and dance troupe beloved the world over. Karen and Hikari promised each other when they were little that one day they would perform together on that stage. Time passes and now they are both 16 years old. Karen is very excited about the dance lessons she takes every day, keeping her promise close to her heart. Hikari changed schools and now lives far away from Karen. But the gears of fate bring them together again, destined to meet again. The two, along with other hopefuls, will compete in a mysterious audition to become part of this great company.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Phantom (2004)
Takarazuka Revue's Phantom based on the play by Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Masquerade Hotel (2020)
Nitta Kousuke, a police inspector in the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Force, is on the trail of a serial killer who leaves clues to the location of his next crime on his victims. Nitta uses the clues to discover that the Hotel Cortesia will be the site of the next killing, and goes undercover as a front desk clerk to help him unmask the killer. Yamagishi Naomi is the front desk clerk in charge of training him, and the two butt heads at every instance. Will they be able to unmask the killer before he strikes again?
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Dean?
The closest matches to Dean are City Lights (1931), The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939) and On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (1970). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Dean?
Start with City Lights (1931), the closest match to Dean.
What is the highest-rated movie like Dean?
City Lights (1931), rated 8.2/10 by 2,588 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Dean?
Balhae Blurred in Rain (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Japanese movies like Dean?
Yes: The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (1939), Radiance (2017) and Throw Away Your Books, Rally in the Streets (1971).
How are movies similar to Dean chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Dean, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.