Movies like The Survival of Dana (1979)
The best movies like The Survival of Dana (1979) are The Brotherhood of Justice (1986), Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004) and I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017). If The Survival of Dana 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 ratedBound by Honor (1993)8.2/10 from 1,673 votes
- NewestAbducted by My Teacher: The Elizabeth Thomas Story (2023)Released 2023
The Brotherhood of Justice (1986)
High-school students start a vigilante group in their neighbourhood but, as their power increases, they become more abusive and dangerous.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRedemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004)
Redemption tells the story of Stan "Tookie" Williams, founder of the Crips L.A. street gang. Story follows his fall into gang-banging, his prison term, and his work writing children's novels encouraging peace and anti-violence resolutions which earned him multiple Nobel Peace Prize nominations. After exhausting all forms of appeal, Tookie was executed by lethal injection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)
The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Assault (2014)
After a cheerleader is sexually assaulted by the high school football team, she must overcome her shame and use the evidence gathered from the subsequent social media firestorm to piece together the night that she can't remember in her fight for justice. Based on the true story of the Steubenville, Ohio rape case.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Substitute 2: School's Out (1998)
When teacher Randall Thomasson is killed during a carjacking, an unexpected visitor shows up at his funeral - his estranged brother, Karl Thomasson. An ex-Green Beret turned mercenary, Karl signs on as a new substitute teacher in order to investigate Randall's murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHomeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story (2003)
Based on a true story. Liz Murray is a young girl who is taken care of by her loving, but drug-addicted parents. Liz becomes homeless at 15 and after a tragedy comes upon her, she begins her work to finish high school.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBrick (2006)
A teenage loner pushes his way into the underworld of a high school crime ring to investigate the disappearance of his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWalker, Texas Ranger: Trial by Fire (2005)
Walker investigates a murder connected with a missing government weapon. In addition, he tries to track down a teen on the run from a crime syndicate.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Substitute (1996)
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon he discovers a conspiracy of criminals at work, and must reassemble his team from his last jungle raid to stop them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Sister's Secret (2018)
Twin sisters secretly swap places on their thirtieth birthday. The harmless prank becomes a nightmare when one of them is murdered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHello Sister, Goodbye Life (2006)
A college student must take care of her 7-year-old half sister after the death of their parents.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuburbicon (2017)
In the quiet family town of Suburbicon during the 1950s, the best and worst of humanity is hilariously reflected through the deeds of seemingly ordinary people. When a home invasion turns deadly, a picture-perfect family turns to blackmail, revenge and murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisCyberbully (2015)
A chilling real-time thriller featuring a teenager, Casey, battling with an anonymous cyber-stalker.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFarewell, My Lovely (1975)
Private eye Philip Marlowe is hired by ex-con Moose Malloy to find his girlfriend, a former lounge dancer. While also investigating the murder of a client and the theft of a jade necklace, Marlowe becomes entangled with seductress Helen Grayle and discovers a web of dark secrets that are better left hidden.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThree on a Match (1932)
Although Vivian Revere is seemingly the most successful of a trio of reunited schoolmates, she throws it away by descending into a life of debauchery and drugs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBound by Honor (1993)
Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz, and their bi-racial cousin Miklo. It opens in 1972, as the three are members of an East L.A. gang known as the "Vatos Locos", and the story focuses on how a violent crime and the influence of narcotics alter their lives. Miklo is incarcerated and sent to San Quentin, where he makes a "home" for himself. Cruz becomes an exceptional artist, but a heroin addiction overcomes him with tragic results. Paco becomes a cop and an enemy to his "carnal", Miklo.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAbducted by My Teacher: The Elizabeth Thomas Story (2023)
The story of Elizabeth Thomas, a 15-year-old high school student who was groomed and abducted by teacher Tad Cummins.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBelly (1998)
Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking for a come up, will their reign last?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere the Day Takes You (1992)
King is a young man, but he's already a veteran of life on the streets of Los Angeles. The de facto leader of a group of teenage runaways, King acts as a mentor to troubled kids such as gay hustler Little J and junkie Greg. When Heather, a beautiful girl from Chicago, starts hanging out with King and his crew, it changes the dynamic of the gang. However, it seems as though nothing will alter their dangerous lifestyle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe United States of Leland (2003)
A withdrawn young man, Leland Fitzgerald is imprisoned for the murder of a mentally disabled boy, who also happened to be the brother of his girlfriend, Becky. As the community struggles to deal with the killing, Pearl Madison, a teacher at the prison, decides to write about Leland's case. Meanwhile, others affected by the murder, including Becky and her sister, Julie, must contend with their own problems.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDirty (2005)
Two gangbangers turned cops try and cover up a scandal within the LAPD.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisSet It Off (1996)
Four inner-city Black women, determined to end their constant struggle, decide to live by one rule — get what you want or die trying. So the four women take back their lives and take out some banks in the process.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMenace II Society (1993)
A young street hustler attempts to escape the rigors and temptations of the ghetto in a quest for a better life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInternal Affairs (1990)
Keen young Raymold Avila joins the Internal Affairs Department of the Los Angeles police. He and partner Amy Wallace are soon looking closely at the activities of cop Dennis Peck whose financial holdings start to suggest something shady. Indeed Peck is involved in any number of dubious or downright criminal activities. He is also devious, a womaniser, and a clever manipulator, and he starts to turn his attention on Avila.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Walk to Remember (2002)
When the popular, restless Landon Carter is forced to participate in the school drama production, he falls in love with Jamie Sullivan, the daughter of the town's minister. Jamie has a "to-do" list for her life, as well as a very big secret she must keep from Landon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlmost Home (2019)
A teenage girl flees abuse at home to join a strong but troubled young woman that’s been living on the streets. She joins a de facto family of other homeless youth struggling to survive on the streets of Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
White Men Can't Jump (1992)
Two street basketball hustlers try to con each other, then team up for a bigger score.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBringing Down the House (2003)
Uptight lawyer Peter Sanderson wants to dive back into dating after his divorce and has a hard time meeting the right women. He tries online dating and lucks out when he starts chatting with a fellow lawyer. The two agree to meet in the flesh, but the woman he meets — an escaped African-American convict named Charlene — is not what he expected. Peter is freaked out, but Charlene tries to convince him to take her case and prove her innocence. Along the way, she wreaks havoc on his middle-class life as he gets a lesson in learning to lighten up.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisKiss the Girls (1997)
Forensic psychologist and detective Alex Cross travels to North Carolina and teams with escaped kidnap victim Kate McTiernan to hunt down "Casanova," a serial killer who abducts strong-willed women and forces them to submit to his demands. The trail leads to Los Angeles, where the duo discovers that the psychopath may not be working alone.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Survival of Dana?
The closest matches to The Survival of Dana are The Brotherhood of Justice (1986), Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004) and I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Survival of Dana?
Start with The Brotherhood of Justice (1986), the closest match to The Survival of Dana.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Survival of Dana?
Bound by Honor (1993), rated 8.2/10 by 1,673 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Survival of Dana?
Abducted by My Teacher: The Elizabeth Thomas Story (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Survival of Dana?
Yes: The Brotherhood of Justice (1986), Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004) and I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017).
How are movies similar to The Survival of Dana chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Survival of Dana, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.