Movies like Heat of Desire (1981)
The best movies like Heat of Desire (1981) are Intimacy (2001), The Man from Elysian Fields (2001) and Bird People (2014). If Heat of Desire hooked you with its drama and romance, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedLast Year at Marienbad (1961)7.4/10 from 564 votes
- NewestPure Air of the Mountain: For All and None (2023)Released 2023
- In FrenchBird People (2014)Also in French
Intimacy (2001)
Failed musician Jay abandoned his family and now earns a living as head bartender in a trendy London pub. Every Wednesday afternoon, a woman comes to his house for graphic, almost wordless, sex. One day, Jay follows her and learns about her. This eventually disrupts their relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man from Elysian Fields (2001)
A failed novelist's inability to pay the bills strains relations with his wife and leads him to work at an escort service, where he becomes entwined with a wealthy woman whose husband is a successful writer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisBird People (2014)
An overstressed American businessman and a French chambermaid make a connection at an airport hotel in Paris.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisThird Person (2014)
An acclaimed novelist struggles to write an analysis of love in one of three stories, each set in a different city, that detail the beginning, middle and end of a relationship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisWhite Wedding (1989)
A philosophy professor has an illicit affair with one of his students, a bright yet troubled girl who lives alone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlind (2017)
A novelist is blinded in a car crash that killed his wife and several years later rediscovers his passion for life and writing when he embarks on an affair with the neglected wife of an indicted businessman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLes Dames du bois de Boulogne (1945)
A love story that follows the maneuverings of a society lady as she connives to initiate a scandalous affair between her aristocratic ex-lover and a prostitute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDangerous Liaisons (1988)
In 18th century France, Marquise de Merteuil asks her ex-lover Vicomte de Valmont to seduce the future wife of another ex-lover of hers in return for one last night with her. Yet things don’t go as planned.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDangerous Liaisons (2022)
The innocent Célène might be falling in love with popular surfer Tristan at her new school. But she has no idea that, in actuality, she’s the object of a cruel bet between Tristan and Instagram influencer Vanessa.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisGoodbye Again (1961)
Middle-aged businesswoman Paula Tessier rejects the advances of her client's amusing 25-year-old son, Philip Van der Besh, but reconsiders when her longtime philandering partner begins yet another casual affair with a younger woman. She soon learns that May-December romances with older women are frowned upon in society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLes Biches (1968)
A bored bisexual millionaire picks up a young destitute street artist and whisks her away to her villa in Saint Tropez. They meet a dashing local architect and both fall for him, setting in motion a ménage à trois of deception and betrayal.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Little Thief (1988)
In a small town in post-WWII France, 16-year-old Janine tries to improve her conditions by any means necessary. Three people—Michel, a married lover; Raoul, a fellow thief; Mauricette, a photographer she meets in prison—will help her learn from her mistakes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGood Luck to You, Leo Grande (2022)
Nancy Stokes, a retired schoolteacher, is pretty sure she has never had good sex. Now that her husband has died, she is determined to take a tour of sexual vistas that until now she has only imagined. She even has a plan; it involves an anonymous hotel room, and a sex worker who calls himself Leo Grande.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both romance & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLast Year at Marienbad (1961)
At a weekend gathering, a man tells a woman that they had spent time there together a year prior. But, the woman has no recollection whatsoever and is convinced that he is simply fabricating the encounter. The more he speaks about their activities the previous year however, the more compelling he becomes. The question remains however – did they meet previously or not?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLady J (2018)
When a romance between a widow and a notorious libertine takes an unexpected turn, Mademoiselle de Joncquières becomes instrumental to one lover’s plans for revenge.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Delinquent Season (2018)
In Dublin, two couples (Jim and Danielle; Yvonne and Chris) are seemingly living in marital bliss. However, when Chris's behaviour begins to change, Yvonne seeks solace in the arms of Jim, and before long they are in the midst of an affair. When a life-changing secret is later revealed, all four are forced to re-evaluate their lives, their marriages, and their friendships - but can anything be salvaged from the wreckage?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUnfaithful (2002)
A New York suburban couple's marriage goes dangerously awry when the wife indulges in an adulterous fling.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Woman Next Door (1981)
Two ex-lovers wind up living next door to each other with their respective spouses. Forbidden passions ensue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnthony Zimmer (2005)
François, an ordinary Joe, falls hard for the sublimely beautiful woman who has just picked him up on the train and invited him to spend the weekend with her on the Riviera. But when the lady disappears the next morning and the police drag him in for questioning, François discovers he's been set up to pass for her notorious outlaw husband on the run, Anthony Zimmer. Even though he's been lied to and manipulated, François' life is changed forever and he's ready to give anything - maybe even his life - to hold this mysterious beauty in his arms again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisValmont (1989)
Set in Baroque France, a scheming widow and her lover make a bet regarding the corruption of a recently married woman. The lover, Valmont, bets that he can seduce her, even though she is an honorable woman. If he wins, he can have his lover to do as he will. However, in the process of seducing the married woman, Valmont falls in love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCloud 9 (2008)
A romantic drama about a woman who enters into an affair after 30 years of marriage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Friends with Money (2006)
As she reaches her mid-thirties and quits her lucrative job, singleton Olivia finds herself unsure about her future and her relationships with her successful and wealthy friends. She begins to envy the security of her richer friends and, although their lives may seem easier, Olivia's friends have their problems too: screenwriters Christine and Patrick are unable to collaborate on their latest project, Jane and Aaron have lost the romance in their relationship, and Franny and Matt have difficulties handling the demands of parenthood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisBathed in Light (2017)
Two teenage couples are spending a weekend together in a house by the sea. When new feelings develop, the dynamic quickly changes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Summer Things (2002)
Two couple of friends, one very rich, the other almost homeless, decide to go on Holiday. Julie, a single mother, joins them too. Once at seaside, it starts a complicate love cross among them that will involve also a transsexual, a jealous brother, a Latin Lover and another nervous stressed couple. Not to mention about the daughter of one of them that is secretly in Chicago with one of her father's employees... At the end of the summer, all of them will join the same party...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
SnoozefestMovies like thisMen Call It Love (1931)
Pre-code melodrama about high society marriage and fidelity.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both romance & drama
Italian for Beginners (2000)
Several lonely hearts in a semi-provincial suburb of a town in Denmark use a beginner's course in Italian as the platform to meet the romance of their lives. The film, which unspools the connections and family drama shared between the students, complies with several aesthetic principles of Dogme 95 movement.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMatch Point (2005)
Chris, a former tennis pro, takes a job as an instructor and befriends his wealthy young student, Tom. After being introduced to his family, Chris is soon engaged to Tom's sister, Chloe. Despite the professional and financial advantages that this relationship affords him, Chris becomes obsessed with Tom's fiancee, American actress Nola.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Brand New Kitchen (2019)
Peter is a successful kitchen contractor with a seemingly idyllic family. But when his long-lost high school sweetheart, Annalyn, calls him to remodel her kitchen, it starts a chain reaction of temptation and revelation that threatens to destroy both their marriages. Does Annalyn really want a brand new kitchen, or is it a different husband she’s angling for? As things spiral out of control, what will they choose the second time around?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Pure Air of the Mountain: For All and None (2023)
In the heart of the mountain, an elusive and invisible observer witnesses an infamous spectacle. His voice comments on the sequence of events in the words of Nietzsche. In this splendid mountain landscape, a couple appears. Spenta, the man, and Angra, the woman, climb a steep peak. They wear similar clothes, their resemblance is amazing, their relationship is strange. To outsmart boredom Angra drags Spenta, initially unenthusiastic, into a game that he eventually gives in. From the top, the couple watches a marathon event that takes place in the valley. Angra, who is looking for an object of entertainment, has her sights set on a woman running through the crowd. Possessed, she courted the unknown and obtained her favors. She then manages to drag Spenta into her game. In this game, there will be no winner.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
Fire (1997)
In a barren, arranged marriage to an amateur swami who seeks enlightenment through celibacy, Radha's life takes an irresistible turn when her beautiful young sister-in-law seeks to free herself from the confines of her own loveless marriage.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & romance
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Heat of Desire?
The closest matches to Heat of Desire are Intimacy (2001), The Man from Elysian Fields (2001) and Bird People (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Heat of Desire?
Start with Intimacy (2001), the closest match to Heat of Desire.
What is the highest-rated movie like Heat of Desire?
Last Year at Marienbad (1961), rated 7.4/10 by 564 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Heat of Desire?
Pure Air of the Mountain: For All and None (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Heat of Desire?
Yes: Bird People (2014), White Wedding (1989) and Les Dames du bois de Boulogne (1945).
How are movies similar to Heat of Desire chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Heat of Desire, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.