Movies like The Marva Collins Story (1981)
The best movies like The Marva Collins Story (1981) are The Rosa Parks Story (2002), The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017) and All the Way (2016). If The Marva Collins Story hooked you with its drama and tv movie, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRichard Jewell (2019)7.4/10 from 2,844 votes
- NewestGummadi Narsaiah (2024)Released 2024
The Rosa Parks Story (2002)
A seamstress recalls events leading to her act of peaceful defiance that prompted the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)
An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll the Way (2016)
Lyndon B. Johnson's amazing 11-month journey from taking office after JFK's assassination, through the fight to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act and his own presidential campaign, culminating on the night LBJ is actually elected to the office – no longer the 'accidental President.'
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOslo (2021)
The true story of negotiations between implacable enemies — the secret back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics of a small but committed group of Israelis, Palestinians and one Norwegian couple that led to the 1993 Oslo Peace Accords.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Sir, with Love II (1996)
After thirty years teaching in London, Mark Thackeray retires and returns to Chicago. There, however, the challenge of teaching kids in an inner city school proves to be too much to resist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Dinner with Hervé (2018)
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRichard Jewell (2019)
Richard Jewell thinks quick, works fast, and saves hundreds, perhaps thousands, of lives after a domestic terrorist plants several pipe bombs and they explode during a concert, only to be falsely suspected of the crime by sloppy FBI work and sensational media coverage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCadillac Records (2008)
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl (2012)
Director Alfred Hitchcock is revered as one of the greatest creative minds in the history of cinema. Known for his psychological thrillers, Hitchcock’s leading ladies were cool, beautiful and preferably blonde. One such actress was Tippi Hedren, an unknown fashion model given her big break when Hitchcock’s wife saw her on a TV commercial. Brought to Universal Studios, Hedren was shocked when the director, at the peak of his career, quickly cast her to star in his next feature, 1963’s The Birds. Little did Hedren know that as ambitious and terrifying as the production would be to shoot, the most daunting aspect of the film ended up coming from behind the camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Audrey Hepburn Story (2000)
The film spans from Hepburn's early childhood to the 1950s which details her life as a Dutch ballerina, coming to grips with her parents' divorce, and enduring life in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands during World War II. She then settles in the U.S. where she succeeds in making it big as a movie actress, in such movies as Breakfast at Tiffany's.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAaliyah: The Princess of R&B (2014)
The story of R&B singer and actress Aaliyah; namely, the highs and lows of her career, her romantic pursuits, and the events leading up to her death in 2001 at the age of 22.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Current War (2018)
Electricity titans Thomas Edison and George Westinghouse compete to create a sustainable system and market it to the American people.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDalíland (2022)
In 1973, a young gallery assistant goes on a wild adventure behind the scenes as he helps aging genius Salvador Dali prepare for a big show in New York.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCocaine Godmother (2017)
At the age of 17, Griselda Blanco, made her way to the U.S. with a fake passport with her first husband Carlos. Living in Queens with her three sons, Griselda became enticed by the money the drug world offered, and quickly became embroiled with local drug runners. Griselda masterminded the use of beautiful women, the elderly and children as the mules and created false-bottom suitcases to smuggle cocaine from Colombia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Color of Rain (2014)
After cancer claims Matt Kell's life on Christmas Day 2005, his widow, Gina and two young boys are left to cope with the pain of his loss while their close church community gathers around them for support.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus (2006)
In 1958 New York Diane Arbus is a housewife and mother who works as an assistant to her husband, a photographer employed by her wealthy parents. Respectable though her life is, she cannot help but feel uncomfortable in her privileged world. One night, a new neighbor catches Diane's eye, and the enigmatic man inspires her to set forth on the path to discovering her own artistry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCheaters (2000)
In the fall of 1994, a teacher at Chicago's run-down Steinmetz High conspires with the school's academic decathlon team to cheat on an academic competition.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll Eyez on Me (2017)
All Eyez on Me chronicles the life and legacy of Tupac Shakur, including his rise to superstardom as a hip-hop artist, actor, poet and activist, as well as his imprisonment and prolific, controversial time at Death Row Records. Against insurmountable odds, Tupac rose to become a cultural icon whose career and persona both continue to grow long after his passing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPrizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022)
At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTuesdays with Morrie (1999)
A journalist finds himself questioning his own life when his best friend, a dying man, offers him some very powerful wisdom and advice for coping in relationships, careers and society.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLes Misérables (1978)
In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMae West (1982)
Biography of the curvaceous and sharp-witted actress who scandalized Broadway and Hollywood in the 1920s-30s with her frank approach to sex.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Amelia Earhart (1976)
Biography follows the life of famed woman pilot Amelia Earhart, including her marriage to a famous publisher and her disappearance during a flight in 1937.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Danton (1983)
Danton and Robespierre were close friends and fought together in the French Revolution, but by 1793 Robespierre was France's ruler, determined to wipe out opposition with a series of mass executions that became known as the Reign of Terror. Danton, well known as a spokesman of the people, had been living in relative solitude in the French countryside, but he returned to Paris to challenge Robespierre's violent rule and call for the people to demand their rights. Robespierre, however, could not accept such a challenge, even from a friend and colleague, and he blocked out a plan for the capture and execution of Danton and his allies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVan Gogh (1991)
After leaving the asylum, Vincent van Gogh settles in the home of Doctor Gachet, where he keeps painting amidst the torments of his failing mental health. He begins an affair with his host’s daughter, however, she soon realizes that he doesn’t love her and that his heart beats only for art.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGummadi Narsaiah (2024)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Judgment Night (1993)
Four young friends, while taking a shortcut en route to a local boxing match, witness a brutal murder which leaves them running for their lives.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHaywire (1980)
Based on the autobiography of Brooke Hayward, daughter of famous Broadway producer Leland Hayward and actress Margaret Sullavan, who grows up in the glamorous, cruel and emotionally unstable world of her parents.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Desert Dancer (2014)
Inspirational true story of Iranian dancer Afshin Ghaffarian, who risked his life for his dream to become a dancer despite a nationwide dancing ban.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSexo en el plató (2007)
How are the sex scenes filmed? What tricks are used to fake the desire? How do the interpreters prepare and feel? Spanish actors and directors talk about the most intimate side of acting, about the tricks and work methods when narrating exposed sex. In Spain the general rule is that there are no rules. Each film, each interpreter, faces it in very different ways.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Marva Collins Story?
The closest matches to The Marva Collins Story are The Rosa Parks Story (2002), The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017) and All the Way (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Marva Collins Story?
Start with The Rosa Parks Story (2002), the closest match to The Marva Collins Story.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Marva Collins Story?
Richard Jewell (2019), rated 7.4/10 by 2,844 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Marva Collins Story?
Gummadi Narsaiah (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Marva Collins Story?
Yes: The Rosa Parks Story (2002), The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017) and All the Way (2016).
How are movies similar to The Marva Collins Story chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Marva Collins Story, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.