Movies like Topaz (1969)
The best movies like Topaz (1969) are Eye of the Needle (1981), Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997) and The Courier (2020). If Topaz hooked you with its drama and thriller, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Wages of Fear (1953)8.0/10 from 1,153 votes
- NewestThe Amateur (2025)Released 2025
Eye of the Needle (1981)
Great Britain, 1944, during World War II. Relentlessly pursued by several MI5 agents, Henry Faber the Needle, a ruthless German spy in possession of vital information about D-Day, takes refuge on Storm Island, an inhospitable, sparsely inhabited island off the coast of northern Scotland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSmilla's Sense of Snow (1997)
Smilla Jaspersen attempts to understand the death of a small boy who falls from the roof of her apartment building. Suspecting wrongdoing, Smilla uncovers a trail of clues leading towards a secretive corporation that has made several mysterious expeditions to Greenland.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Courier (2020)
Cold War spy Greville Wynne and his Russian source try to put an end to the Cuban Missile Crisis.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Falcon and the Snowman (1985)
The true story of a disillusioned military contractor employee and his drug pusher childhood friend who became walk-in spies for the Soviet Union.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJack Ryan: Shadow Recruit (2014)
Jack Ryan, as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBridge of Spies (2015)
During the Cold War, the Soviet Union captures U.S. pilot Francis Gary Powers after shooting down his U-2 spy plane. Sentenced to 10 years in prison, Powers' only hope is New York lawyer James Donovan, recruited by a CIA operative to negotiate his release. Donovan boards a plane to Berlin, hoping to win the young man's freedom through a prisoner exchange. If all goes well, the Russians would get Rudolf Abel, the convicted spy who Donovan defended in court.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Bourne is brought out of hiding once again by reporter Simon Ross who is trying to unveil Operation Blackbriar, an upgrade to Project Treadstone, in a series of newspaper columns. Information from the reporter stirs a new set of memories, and Bourne must finally uncover his dark past while dodging The Company's best efforts to eradicate him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sum of All Fears (2002)
When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia among American CIA officials, so CIA director Bill Cabot recruits a young analyst to supply insight and advice on the situation. Then the unthinkable happens: a nuclear bomb explodes in a U.S. city, and America is quick to blame the Russians.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFail Safe (2000)
Cold War tensions climb to a fever pitch when a U.S. bomber is accidentally ordered to drop a nuclear warhead on Moscow.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bourne Supremacy (2004)
A CIA operation to purchase classified Russian documents is blown by a rival agent, who then shows up in the sleepy seaside village where Bourne and Marie have been living. The pair run for their lives and Bourne, who promised retaliation should anyone from his former life attempt contact, is forced to once again take up his life as a trained assassin to survive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe House on Carroll Street (1988)
A reporter, fired after refusing to give names to a 1951 House Un-American Activities Committee, takes a part-time job as companion to an old lady. While working she overhears a noisy argument in the neighboring house, being conducted largely in German and involving her HUAC prosecutor. She begins to investigate, enlisting the help of the FBI Agent initially detailed to surveil her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Quiller Memorandum (1966)
After two British Secret Intelligence Service agents are murdered at the hands of a cryptic neo-Nazi group known as Phoenix, the suave agent Quiller is sent to Berlin to investigate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Amateur (2025)
After his life is turned upside down when his wife is killed in a London terrorist attack, a brilliant but introverted CIA decoder takes matters into his own hands when his supervisors refuse to take action.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bourne Identity (2002)
Wounded to the brink of death and suffering from amnesia, Jason Bourne is rescued at sea by a fisherman. With nothing to go on but a Swiss bank account number, he starts to reconstruct his life, but finds that many people he encounters want him dead. However, Bourne realizes that he has the combat and mental skills of a world-class spy—but who does he work for?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mask of Dimitrios (1944)
A mystery writer is intrigued by the tale of notorious criminal Dimitrios Makropolous, whose dead body was found washed up on the shore in Istanbul. He decides to follow the career of Dimitrios around Europe, in order to learn more about the man. Along the way he is joined by the mysterious Mr. Peters, who has his own motivation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInheritance (2025)
When Maya learns her father Sam was once a spy, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an international conspiracy. As she seeks answers, Maya herself becomes a target and must quickly learn the skills of her father.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
SnoozefestMovies like thisTenet (2020)
Armed with only one word - Tenet - and fighting for the survival of the entire world, the Protagonist journeys through a twilight world of international espionage on a mission that will unfold in something beyond real time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisChief of Station (2024)
After learning that the death of his wife was not an accident, a former CIA Station Chief is forced back into the espionage underworld, teaming up with an adversary to unravel a conspiracy that challenges everything he thought he knew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Hunt for Red October (1990)
A new technologically-superior Soviet nuclear sub, the Red October, is heading for the U.S. coast under the command of Captain Marko Ramius. The American government thinks Ramius is planning to attack. Lone CIA analyst Jack Ryan has a different idea: he thinks Ramius is planning to defect, but he has only a few hours to find him and prove it - because the entire Russian naval and air commands are trying to find Ramius, too. The hunt is on!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMunich - The Edge of War (2021)
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnder Your Bed (2019)
Naoto was ignored by other people. During his school days, Chihiro was the first person who called his name. Naoto dreams of seeing her again and tries to find her. Finally, after 11 years, he locates her, but she is a totally different person now. Naoto becomes obsessed with her. Naoto sneaks into her house and stays under her bed.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Jackie Brown (1997)
Jackie Brown is a flight attendant who gets caught in the middle of smuggling cash into the country for her gunrunner boss. When the cops try to use Jackie to get to her boss, she hatches a plan — with help from a bail bondsman — to keep the money for herself.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 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: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wages of Fear (1953)
In a run-down South American town, four men are paid to drive trucks loaded with nitroglycerin into the jungle through to the oil field. Friendships are tested and rivalries develop as they embark upon the perilous journey.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBlade Runner (1982)
In the smog-choked dystopian Los Angeles of 2019, blade runner Rick Deckard is called out of retirement to terminate a quartet of replicants who have escaped to Earth seeking their creator for a way to extend their short life spans.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Godfather Part III (1990)
In the midst of trying to legitimize his business dealings in 1979 New York and Italy, aging mafia don, Michael Corleone seeks forgiveness for his sins while taking a young protege under his wing.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Killing (1956)
Career criminal Johnny Clay recruits a sharpshooter, a crooked police officer, a bartender and a betting teller named George, among others, for one last job before he goes straight and gets married. But when George tells his restless wife about the scheme to steal millions from the racetrack where he works, she hatches a plot of her own.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Interpreter (2005)
After Silvia Broome, an interpreter at United Nations headquarters, overhears plans of an assassination, an American Secret Service agent is sent to investigate.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSin City: A Dame to Kill For (2014)
Some of Sin City's most hard-boiled citizens cross paths with a few of its more reviled inhabitants.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisParadise Found (2003)
Paradise Found is a biography about the painter Paul Gauguin. Focusing on his personal conflict between citizen life and his family life and the art scene in Frane. In an incredible imagery montage Gauguin manages to make a successful living in the South Pacific, while being in opposition to France.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Like Topaz and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Topaz?
The closest matches to Topaz are Eye of the Needle (1981), Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997) and The Courier (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Topaz?
Start with Eye of the Needle (1981), the closest match to Topaz.
What is the highest-rated movie like Topaz?
The Wages of Fear (1953), rated 8.0/10 by 1,153 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Topaz?
The Amateur (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Topaz?
Yes: Eye of the Needle (1981), Smilla's Sense of Snow (1997) and The Courier (2020).
How are movies similar to Topaz chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Topaz, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.