Movies like The Crucible (1996)
The best movies like The Crucible (1996) are A Man for All Seasons (1966), Silence (2016) and Day of Wrath (1943). If The Crucible hooked you with its drama and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDay of Wrath (1943)8.0/10 from 262 votes
- NewestCaravaggio's Shadow (2022)Released 2022
A Man for All Seasons (1966)
A depiction of the conflict between King Henry VIII of England and his Lord Chancellor, Sir Thomas More, who refuses to swear the Oath of Supremacy declaring Henry Supreme Head of the Church in England.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSilence (2016)
In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDay of Wrath (1943)
In a Danish village in the early 1600s, a young woman named Anne, whose mother was thought to be a witch, develops sympathy toward an old woman, Marte, who is accused of witchcraft. The intervention of Anne's older but kindly husband, Pastor Absalon saved her mother -- but now, urged on by his overbearing mother, he refuses to help Marte. When Absalon's son returns home and is attracted to Anne, it's a matter of time before her family destiny catches up with her.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Devils (1971)
In 1634 France, charismatic Father Urbain Grandier becomes the target of sexually depraved Sister Jeanne's accusations of witchcraft, which corrupt officials of church and state are all too happy to exploit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBecket (1964)
Thomas Becket, Henry II's longtime advisor, finds his friendship with the debauched king corroding when he is unwillingly appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury in an attempt to gain absolute loyalty from the Church.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFanny Lye Deliver'd (2019)
On an isolated English farm in 1657, Fanny lives a quiet life with her oppressive husband John and their young son. One day their life is rocked with the arrival of young couple Thomas and Rebecca who claim to have been robbed and need a place to stay. But are these strangers really who they say they are?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSaint Joan (1957)
In 1456, French King Charles VII recalls the story of how he met the 17-year-old peasant girl Joan of Arc, entrusted her with the command of the French Army, and ultimately burned her at the stake as a heretic.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
The New World (2005)
A drama about explorer John Smith and the clash between Native Americans and English settlers in the 17th century.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAgnes of God (1985)
When a dead newborn is found, wrapped in bloody sheets, in the bedroom wastebasket of a young novice, psychiatrist Martha Livingston is called in to determine if the seemingly innocent novice, who knows nothing of sex or birth, is competent enough to stand trial for the murder of the baby.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWitchhammer (1970)
In the 1600s, an overzealous clergy hauls innocent women in front of tribunals, forces them to confess to imaginary witchery, and engages in brutal torture and persecution of their subjects.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSilence (1971)
In 17th-century Japan, two Portuguese Jesuit priests seek their mentor, who is rumoured to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWitchfinder General (1968)
England, 1645. The cruel civil war between Royalists and Parliamentarians that is ravaging the country causes an era of chaos and legal arbitrariness that allows unscrupulous men to profit by exploiting the absurd superstitions of the peasants; like Matthew Hopkins, a monster disguised as a man who wanders from town to town offering his services as a witch hunter.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGoya's Ghosts (2006)
Painter Francisco Goya becomes involved with the Spanish Inquisition after his muse, Inés, is arrested by the church for heresy. Her family turns to him, hoping that his connection with fanatical Inquisitor Lorenzo, whom he is painting, can secure her release.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisQuills (2000)
In early 19th-century France, the Marquis de Sade is confined to an asylum where his forbidden writings continue to circulate beyond its walls. As the authorities tighten control, a clash unfolds between the Marquis’ unyielding imagination, the reformist ideals of the Abbé in charge, and the repressive measures of a doctor sent to silence him. Desire, power, and censorship collide in a battle over freedom of expression.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Robe (1991)
Missionary Father LaForgue travels to the New World in hopes of converting Algonquin Indians to Catholicism. Accepted, though warily, by the Indians, LaForgue travels with the Indians using his strict Catholic rules and ideals to try and impose his religion.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLuther (2003)
During the early 16th century, idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlack Death (2010)
As the plague decimates medieval Europe, rumours circulate of a village immune from the plague. There is talk of a necromancer who leads the village and is able to raise the dead. A fearsome knight joined by a cohort of soldiers and a young monk are charged by the church to investigate. Their journey is filled with danger, but it's upon entering the village that their true horror begins.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Countess (2009)
Kingdom of Hungary, 17th century. As she gets older, powerful Countess Erzsébet Báthory (1560-1614), blinded by the passion that she feels for a younger man, succumbs to the mad delusion that blood will keep her young and beautiful forever.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Scarlet Letter (1995)
Set in puritanical Boston in the mid 1600s, the story of seamstress Hester Prynne, who is outcast after she becomes pregnant by a respected reverend. She refuses to divulge the name of the father, is "convicted" of adultery and forced to wear a scarlet "A" until an Indian attack unites the Puritans and leads to a reevaluation of their laws and morals.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Magdalene Sisters (2002)
Three young Irish women struggle to maintain their spirits while they endure dehumanizing abuse as inmates of a Magdalene Sisters Asylum.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCaravaggio's Shadow (2022)
The Catholic Church secretly investigates Caravaggio as the Pope weighs whether to grant him clemency for killing a rival.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMartin Luther (1953)
A biopic of Martin Luther, covering his life between 1505 and 1530, and the birth of the Protestant Reformation movement.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
The Baby of Mâcon (1993)
In 17th-century Tuscany, a church play is performed for the benefit of young aristocrat Cosimo. In the play, a grotesque old woman gives birth to a beautiful baby boy. The child's older sister is quick to exploit the situation, selling blessings from the baby, and even claiming she's the true mother by virgin birth. However, when she attempts to seduce the bishop's son, the Church exacts a terrible revenge.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
A classic of the silent age, this film tells the story of the doomed but ultimately canonized 15th-century teenage warrior. On trial for claiming she'd spoken to God, Jeanne d'Arc is subjected to inhumane treatment and scare tactics at the hands of church court officials. Initially bullied into changing her story, Jeanne eventually opts for what she sees as the truth. Her punishment, a famously brutal execution, earns her perpetual martyrdom.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisStealing Heaven (1988)
Abelard, a famous teacher of philosophy at the cathedral school of Notre Dame, falls in love with one of his students, Héloïse d'Argenteuil. A sixteen-year old girl raised in a convent, Héloïse has an intellectual curiosity and rebels against the status of women in 12th century Europe. When others begin to suspect their relationship, Heloise's uncle Fulbert and the bishop of Paris work together to put a stop to it. Héloïse becomes pregnant with Abelard's child, and they are married in secret. Abelard struggles for acting against the will of God, yet is unable to escape his love for Heloise.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
The Name of the Rose (1986)
14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young novice arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, William must rise up against the Church's authority and fight the shadowy conspiracy of monastery monks using only his intelligence; which is considerable.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Madness of King George (1994)
Aging King George III of England is exhibiting signs of madness, a problem little understood in 1788. As the monarch alternates between bouts of confusion and near-violent outbursts of temper, his hapless doctors attempt the ineffectual cures of the day. Meanwhile, Queen Charlotte and Prime Minister William Pitt the Younger attempt to prevent the king's political enemies, led by the Prince of Wales, from usurping the throne.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Pit and the Pendulum (1991)
Set during the height of Spanish Inquisition. The beautiful and kind-hearted Maria is arrested as a witch when she inadvertently cries out in horror at the public whipping of a child. As Maria’s husband Antonio tries to save her, Torquemada, the Grand Inquisitor, determines to punish Maria with torture for the desire she inflames in him. Loosely based on Edgar Allen Poe's classic short story.
Why it matches: Fans watch both
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Mission (1986)
When a Spanish Jesuit goes into the South American wilderness to build a mission in the hope of converting the Indians of the region, a slave hunter is converted and joins his mission. When Spain sells the colony to Portugal, they are forced to defend all they have built against the Portuguese aggressors.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlack Narcissus (1947)
A group of Anglican nuns, led by Sister Clodagh, are sent to a mountain in the Himalayas. The climate in the region is hostile and the nuns are housed in an odd old palace. They work to establish a school and a hospital, but slowly their focus shifts. Sister Ruth falls for a government worker, Mr. Dean, and begins to question her vow of celibacy. As Sister Ruth obsesses over Mr. Dean, Sister Clodagh becomes immersed in her own memories of love.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Crucible?
The closest matches to The Crucible are A Man for All Seasons (1966), Silence (2016) and Day of Wrath (1943). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Crucible?
People who watched The Crucible most often go on to A Man for All Seasons (1966), Silence (2016) and Day of Wrath (1943).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Crucible?
Day of Wrath (1943), rated 8.0/10 by 262 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Crucible?
Caravaggio's Shadow (2022) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Crucible?
Yes: A Man for All Seasons (1966), Silence (2016) and The Devils (1971).
How are movies similar to The Crucible chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Crucible, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.