Movies like Esther and the King (1960)

Land of the Pharaohs (1955)

A captured architect designs an ingenious plan to ensure the impregnability of the tomb of a self-absorbed Pharaoh, obsessed with the security of his next life.

Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama

Solomon and Sheba (1959)

Near death, King David has a vision that his poet son, Solomon, should succeed him, rather than hot-headed Adonijah. Furious, Adonijah departs the court, swearing he will become king. Other rulers are concerned that Solomon's benevolent rule and interest in monotheism will threaten their tyrannical, polytheistic kingdoms. The Queen of Sheba makes an agreement with the Egyptian pharaoh to corrupt Solomon for their mutual benefit.

Why it matches: Fans watch both

One Night with the King (2006)

In Biblical times, a girl disguises her Jewish origins when the Persian king comes looking for a new bride among his subjects.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)

Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Skin (2009)

Based on the true story of a black girl who was born to two white Afrikaner parents in South Africa during the apartheid era.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Mary (2024)

A miraculous conception. A merciless king. A murderous pursuit. Mary's journey to give birth to Jesus unfolds in this biblical coming-of-age epic.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Fast Girls (2012)

A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Won't Back Down (2012)

Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Tyson's Run (2022)

When fifteen-year-old Tyson attends public school for the first time, his life is changed forever. While helping his father clean up after the football team, Tyson befriends champion marathon runner Aklilu. Never letting his autism hold him back, Tyson becomes determined to run his first marathon in hopes of winning his father's approval. With the help of an unlikely friend and his parents, Tyson learns that with faith in yourself and the courage to take the first step, anything is possible.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Gigi & Nate (2022)

A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

The River (1984)

Tom and Mae Garvey are a Tennessee farming couple battling violent floods to save their land. In addition to natural disasters, the Garveys fight to stop a selfish land developer and a local corporation from foreclosing on their farm. While Mae stays at home to care for their children and tend to the crops, Tom finds work as a scab at a steel mill to preserve his family's property.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Resurrecting the Champ (2007)

Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Sky (2016)

A woman embarks on a journey alone across the United States after fleeing from her violent husband.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

The Color of Friendship (2000)

Mahree Bok lives on a farm in South Africa. Her father is a policeman who cannot hide his joy when activist Steve Biko is caught by the South African authorities. Piper Dellums is the daughter of a US congressman from California and who lives in a nice home in Washington DC. When Mahree is chosen to spend a semester at the Dellums' house, she doesn't expect that her host family would be black. Nor do her hosts suspect that she is not a black South African.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Mr. Turner (2014)

Eccentric British painter J.M.W. Turner lives his last 25 years with gusto and secretly becomes involved with a seaside landlady, while his faithful housekeeper bears an unrequited love for him.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Adopt a Highway (2019)

Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

The Pumpkin Eater (1964)

Jo, the mother of seven children, divorces her second husband in order to marry Jake, a successful but promiscuous screenwriter. Though they are physically and emotionally compatible, they are slowly torn apart.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Third Star (2010)

James and his three closest lifelong friends go on an ill-advised trip to the stunning coastal area of Barafundle Bay in West Wales. What follows is a touching and comical adventure dealing with friendship, heroism and love.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Winged Creatures (2009)

A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

Blue Chips (1994)

Pete Bell, a college basketball coach is under a lot of pressure. His team isn't winning and he cannot attract new players. The stars of the future are secretly being paid by boosters. This practice is forbidden in the college game, but Pete is desperate and has pressures from all around.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

A Call to Spy (2020)

The story of Vera Atkins, a crafty spy recruiter, and two of the first women she selects for Churchill's "secret army": Virginia Hall, a daring American undaunted by a disability and Noor Inayat Khan, a pacifist. These civilian women form an unlikely sisterhood while entangled in dangerous missions to turn the tide of the war.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama

The 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 · both drama

Caligula (1979)

After the death of the paranoid emperor Tiberius, Caligula, his heir, seizes power and plunges the empire into a bloody spiral of madness and depravity.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

The Colossus of Rhodes (1961)

While on holiday in Rhodes, Athenian war hero Darios becomes involved in two different plots to overthrow the tyrannical king, one from Rhodian patriots and the other from sinister Phoenician agents.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Rome Against Rome (1964)

A fantastic yarn about a plot to conquer the world with an army of zombies!

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Frine cortigiana d'Oriente (1953)

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Héliogabale (2024)

222 A.D. During yet another decadent party, Emperor Heliogabalus recalls his former lover Zotikos from prison. He becomes a witness to the narcissistic cult of Heliogabalus, in the midst of the destructive madness that will lead to his downfall.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Warriors of Heaven and Earth (2003)

A Chinese emissary is sent to the Gobi desert to execute a renegade soldier. When a caravan transporting a Buddhist monk and a valuable treasure is threatened by thieves, however, the two warriors might unite to protect the travelers.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

Barabbas (1961)

Epic account of the thief Barabbas, who was pardoned for his crimes and spared crucifixion when Pilate offered the Israelites a choice to pardon Barabbas or Jesus. Struggling with his spirituality, Barabbas goes through many ordeals leading him to the gladiatorial arena, where he tries to win his freedom and confront his inner demons, ultimately becoming a follower of the man who was crucified in his place.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama

The Fall of Rome (1963)

After the death of Emperor Constantine in Rome, the persecutions of the Christians threaten the centurion Marco forced to become a gladiator.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama