Movies like The Balad of Mamelouk (1982)
The best movies like The Balad of Mamelouk (1982) are Salomé (2013), Girl in the Box (2016) and I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017). If The Balad of Mamelouk hooked you with its drama, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedMulan: Rise of a Warrior (2009)7.5/10 from 466 votes
- Newest40 Acres (2025)Released 2025
Salomé (2013)
After the lewd and frenetic Dance of the Seven Veils, and with the solemn pledge from the very lips of Herod himself that she could have whatever her heart desires up to half his kingdom, wanton and proud young Salomé comes before her king with an unreasonable demand. Beguiled by John the Baptist, and then scorned for the sake of his god, lascivious Salomé—encouraged by her mother, the vindictive, Herodias—commands that John be executed and his head delivered on a silver platter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl in the Box (2016)
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPinocchio (2009)
The enchanted story of Pinocchio.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Young One (1960)
A jazz musician seeks refuge from a lynch mob on a remote island, where he meets a hostile game warden and the young object of his attentions.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Land (1970)
Set in 1933, the mayor informs the peasants that the share of irrigation of their land will be split equally between them and feudal lord Mahmoud Bey. The peasants send Mohamed Effendi to submit a petition to the government. Mahmoud Bey then proposes a project that would require taking part of the peasants' lands.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like this40 Acres (2025)
Hailey Freeman and her family are the last descendants of African American farmers who settled in rural Canada after the Civil War. In a famine-decimated near future, they now struggle to safeguard their farm, as they make one last stand against a vicious militia hell-bent on taking their 40 Acres.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kill Team (2019)
When Andrew Briggman — a young soldier in the US Army during the invasion of Afghanistan — witnesses the murderous behavior of fellow soldiers, under the direction of a malevolent Sergeant, he faces a moral dilemma. His increasingly-violent platoon becomes suspicious that someone in their ranks has turned on them, and Andrew begins to fear for his safety. A fictionalized dramatization based on a true story.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGigi & Nate (2022)
A young man with a bright future suffers a near-fatal accident and recreates his new life with the help of an unlikely animal friend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWon't Back Down (2012)
Jamie Fitzpatrick and Nona Alberts are two women from opposites sides of the social and economic track, but they have one thing in common: a mission to fix their community's broken school and ensure a bright future for their children. The two women refuse to let any obstacles stand in their way as they battle a bureaucracy that's hopelessly mired in traditional thinking, and they seek to re-energize a faculty that has lost its passion for teaching.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds (1972)
Middle-aged widow Beatrice Hunsdorfer and her daughters Ruth and Matilda are struggling to survive in a society they barely understand. Beatrice dreams of opening an elegant tea room but does not have the wherewithal to achieve her lofty goal. Epileptic Ruth is a rebellious adolescent, while shy but highly intelligent and idealistic Matilda seeks solace in her pets and school projects, including one designed to show how small amounts of radium affect marigolds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRogue Agent (2022)
Conman Robert Freegard poses as an undercover MI5 agent and kidnaps countless victims amidst a high-stakes manhunt, until the woman who fell for him brings him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Call to Spy (2020)
The story of Vera Atkins, a crafty spy recruiter, and two of the first women she selects for Churchill's "secret army": Virginia Hall, a daring American undaunted by a disability and Noor Inayat Khan, a pacifist. These civilian women form an unlikely sisterhood while entangled in dangerous missions to turn the tide of the war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTrue to the Game (2017)
Based on the Terri Woods best selling novel, True to the Game is the love story of Quadir Richards, a charismatic drug lord, and Gena Rollins, a young girl from the projects of Philly. Quadir was able to gain the trust and love of Gena and was on his way out of the game to start a new life with his future bride when tragedy strikes.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisResurrecting the Champ (2007)
Up-and-coming sports reporter rescues a homeless man ("Champ") only to discover that he is, in fact, a boxing legend believed to have passed away. What begins as an opportunity to resurrect Champ's story and escape the shadow of his father's success becomes a personal journey as the ambitious reporter reexamines his own life and his relationship with his family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Call of the Wild (1972)
John Thornton, is a fearless man who's after more than gold; he wants to do what's right. Thornton works for the U.S. mail and is the only person daring and smart enough to figure out how to travel the deadly 600 miles from Skagway to Dawson, Alaska in the icy winter. His incredibly dog Buck is by his side and part of how he survives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAdopt a Highway (2019)
Russ Millings has just been released from prison after serving 21 years for a 3rd strike conviction for possessing an ounce of marijuana. As he tries to adapt to a world he doesn’t recognize – including trying to learn how to use the internet – he finds an abandoned baby in a dumpster behind the fast food restaurant where he works as a dishwasher. Unsure of what to do, and caught between impulses of kindness and panic, Russ soon realizes this could be his chance at redemption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Color of Friendship (2000)
Mahree Bok lives on a farm in South Africa. Her father is a policeman who cannot hide his joy when activist Steve Biko is caught by the South African authorities. Piper Dellums is the daughter of a US congressman from California and who lives in a nice home in Washington DC. When Mahree is chosen to spend a semester at the Dellums' house, she doesn't expect that her host family would be black. Nor do her hosts suspect that she is not a black South African.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Man Who Sold His Skin (2021)
To be able to travel to Europe and find the love of his life, Sam Ali, a Syrian refugee, accepts to have his back tattooed by one of the most sulfurous contemporary artist; becoming that way a precious work of art.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisQueen of Serpents (2003)
Animation without dialogue, set with excerpts from Lithuanian folk songs, which tells a traditional Lithuanian tale in black and white images. After bathing with her two sisters, Egle goes to get dressed and discovers a snake in her clothes. Not caring about her promise, she agrees to marry the snake in exchange for the return of the clothes.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Whom the Gods Wish to Destroy (1966)
Siegfried of Xanten snatches the Nibelung treasure from the king of the underworld and slays the dragon Fafnir, whose blood makes him invulnerable. Siegfried falls in love with Kriemhild, the sister of the Burgundian king. But only if Siegfried helps Gunther marry Brunhild will he be allowed to marry Kriemhild. He fulfills this condition, but the two women bring ruin upon Xanten and Burgundy...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Beowulf & Grendel (2005)
The blood-soaked tale of a Norse warrior's battle against the great and murderous troll, Grendel. Heads will roll. Out of allegiance to the King Hrothgar, the much respected Lord of the Danes, Beowulf leads a troop of warriors across the sea to rid a village of the marauding monster.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisAre We Monsters (2021)
A werewolf conflicted with identity, Maya seeks to understand the two sides of herself- before the consequences become deadly.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Lutung Kasarung (1983)
This legend from West Java is told thus: In heaven, among the gods, Minda's teacher, who later became Lutung Kasarung, was penned by his own mother, Sunan Ambu, for wanting to be a human being and a wife as beautiful as her mother. So he turned into a langur. He will turn into a human again when he later meets a woman who loves him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mulan: Rise of a Warrior (2009)
When barbarian hordes threaten her homeland, the brave and cunning Mulan disguises herself as a male soldier to swell the ranks in her aging father's stead. The warrior's remarkable courage drives her through powerful battle scenes and brutal wartime strategy. Mulan loses dear friends to the enemy's blade as she rises to become one of her country's most valuable leaders — but can she win the war before her secret is exposed?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeetha Rama Kalyanam (1961)
The film depicts the life of Lord Rama from birth to his marriage with Seetha.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Mughal-e-Azam (1960)
In the 16th century, when Prince Salim falls in love with a beautiful courtesan named Anarkali, Emperor Akbar's disapproval leads to a battle between father and son.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisW.S.H.: The Myth of the Urban Myth (1994)
A folklorist researching an 'urban legend' becomes caught up in his task. The film tells its fictional story in documentary style, featuring interviews with real folklore scholars.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Sati Sulochana (1961)
Indrajeet (Sati Sulochana) is a 1961 Telugu-language Hindu Epic film, based on the life of Indrajit from the epic Ramayana. It tells the story of the life and death of Ravan's son, great warrior Meghanadhudu.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Balad of Mamelouk?
The closest matches to The Balad of Mamelouk are Salomé (2013), Girl in the Box (2016) and I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Balad of Mamelouk?
Start with Salomé (2013), the closest match to The Balad of Mamelouk.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Balad of Mamelouk?
Mulan: Rise of a Warrior (2009), rated 7.5/10 by 466 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Balad of Mamelouk?
40 Acres (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Balad of Mamelouk chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Balad of Mamelouk, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.