Movies like Gangster Wars (1981)
The best movies like Gangster Wars (1981) are Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004), Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022) and Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy (2011). If Gangster Wars hooked you with its crime and drama, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedRay Donovan: The Movie (2022)6.8/10 from 242 votes
- NewestBarron's Cove (2025)Released 2025
Redemption: 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 thisRay Donovan: The Movie (2022)
A showdown decades in the making brings the Donovan family legacy full circle. As the events that made Ray who he is today finally come to light, the Donovans find themselves drawn back to Boston to face the past. Each of them struggles to overcome their violent upbringing, but destiny dies hard, and only their fierce love for each other keeps them in the fight.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy (2011)
Based on the events surrounding the murder of British student Meredith Kercher. Hayden Panettiere (Heroes) and Marcia Gay Harden (Academy Award winner for Pollock) star in the Lifetime Original Movie Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy based on the international headline-grabbing story of the now infamous American exchange student accused by Italian authorities of brutally killing her roommate. Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy poses the question of whether Knox (Panettiere), the Seattle honors student accused of murdering her college roommate Meredith Kercher (Amanda Fernando Stevens) in 2007 with her boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito (Paolo Romio) and acquaintance Rudy Guede (Djirbi Kebe), actually committed the crime or was herself a victim.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: Reunited and It Feels So Deadly (2020)
Aurora's high school reunion turns deadly when a body is found in the hotel pool. Aurora and her Real Murders Club help investigate which classmate was most likely to kill.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGotti (1996)
John Gotti, the head of a small New York mafia crew breaks a few of the old family rules. He rises to become the head of the Gambino family and the most well-known mafia boss in America. Life is good, but suspicion creeps in, and greed, rule-breaking and his high public profile all threaten to topple him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisScum (1977)
Carlin is a new reform school inmate with a reputation as a hard case. The authorities encourage gang leader Pongo to humble Carlin, but Carlin overtakes Pongo as Daddy of the ward. The guards institute a reign of terror and neglect, with Carlin emerging as an unlikely leader.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Elizabeth Smart Story (2003)
Based on the true story of the kidnapping of teenager Elizabeth Smart,in June 2002, by two people in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisJesse Stone: Lost in Paradise (2015)
Police Chief Jesse Stone now presides over the quiet, seaside village of Paradise, Massachusetts. When the facts don't add up in a brutal Boston-area murder case, Jesse opens an investigation filled with surprises, unlikely suspects and grave danger. Though it's widely believed the murder was committed by an incarcerated serial killer, Jesse suspects another killer is at large and is hell-bent on bringing him to justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReal Murders: An Aurora Teagarden Mystery (2015)
Aurora finds a member of her crime buff group, the Real Murders Club, killed in a manner that eerily resembles the crime the club was about to discuss. As other brutal "copycat" killings follow, Aurora will have to uncover the person behind the terrifying game.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Marple: The Mirror Crack'd from Side to Side (1992)
A town busybody is poisoned at a busy reception in the home of famous film star Marina Gregg. The poisoned drink seemed intended for Marina, but Miss Marple is not so sure. She sets out to discover the true identity of the killer before he or she can strike again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Firm (1989)
A seemingly respectable estate agent leads a double life as the head of a vicious, well-organised gang of football hooligans. When 'The Firm' decide to confront a rival gang, it ends in tragedy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiss Marple: The Murder at the Vicarage (1986)
Faced with two false confessions and numerous suspects after a despised civil magistrate is found shot in the local vicarage, Detective Inspector Slack reluctantly accepts help from Miss Marple.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWitness Protection (1999)
Would you be willing to walk away from everyone and everything you've ever known in exchange for your safety? This is the question facing career criminal Bobby "Bats" Batton (Tom Sizemore); on the outs with the mob and facing prosecution for a number of serious crimes, Batton is offered a deal by the FBI in which he will be given immunity in exchange for testifying against his former partners. However, Batton will have to join the Federal Witness Protection Program, which means that he, his wife, and his children will never again see their friends and family.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
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 thisMiss Marple: They Do It with Mirrors (1992)
At the insistence of Ruth Van Rydock, an old schoolfriend who is convinced that there is something wrong, Miss Marple agrees to visit 'Stonygates', the country house of Ruth's sister.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisState Property (2002)
A Philadelphia gang member becomes a drug kingpin and starts a feud with vicious rivals in his quest for the American Dream.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGarage Sale Mystery (2013)
Jennifer Shannon can always find a diamond in the rough, when it comes to garage sales, that is. Whether it's a new antique to sell at her consignment shop, an Atari game for her son or a piece of furniture for her handy husband Jason to refurbish, she has made a career out of her treasure hunting prowess. When a string of burglaries hits her town, Jennifer's keen eye for detail and her natural problem solving instincts even help her see the connection between these burglaries and local garage sales! Jennifer works with Detective Adam Iverson to investigate her theory that the perpetrators of the burglaries are fellow garage sale regulars. The case escalates to dangerous levels when Jennifer discovers the dead body of her friend. Even though the deceased's husband, Ben Douglas, finds nothing missing in their house, and the police label the death as accidental, Jennifer suspects that the death may be related to the burglaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAurora Teagarden Mysteries: How to Con A Con (2021)
When Aida Teagarden's real estate client is found murdered, her sleuthing daughter Aurora sets out with her fiancé Nick and the Real Murders Club to solve the murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBarron's Cove (2025)
When his young son is viciously murdered by a classmate, a grieving father with a history of violence kidnaps the child responsible, igniting a frenzied manhunt fueled by a powerful politician -- the father of the kidnapped boy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Gangster Wars?
The closest matches to Gangster Wars are Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004), Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022) and Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy (2011). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Gangster Wars?
Start with Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004), the closest match to Gangster Wars.
What is the highest-rated movie like Gangster Wars?
Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022), rated 6.8/10 by 242 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Gangster Wars?
Barron's Cove (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Gangster Wars?
Yes: Redemption: The Stan Tookie Williams Story (2004), Ray Donovan: The Movie (2022) and Amanda Knox: Murder on Trial in Italy (2011).
How are movies similar to Gangster Wars chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Gangster Wars, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.