Movies like The Sign of the Cross (1932)
The best movies like The Sign of the Cross (1932) are Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), The Robe (1953) and Cleopatra (1934). If The Sign of the Cross hooked you with its drama and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBen-Hur (1959)7.9/10 from 3,343 votes
- NewestGladiator II (2024)Released 2024
Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954)
The story picks up at the point where "The Robe" ends, following the martyrdom of Diana and Marcellus. Christ's robe is conveyed to Peter for safe-keeping, but the emperor Caligula wants it back to benefit from its powers. Marcellus' former slave Demetrius seeks to prevent this, and catches the eye of Messalina, wife to Caligula's uncle Claudius. Messalina tempts Demetrius, he winds up fighting in the arena, and wavers in his faith.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Robe (1953)
Drunk and disillusioned Roman, Marcellus Gallio, wins Jesus' robe in a dice game after the crucifixion. Marcellus has never been a man of faith like his slave, Demetrius, but when Demetrius escapes with the robe, Marcellus experiences disturbing visions and feels guilty for his actions. Convinced that destroying the robe will cure him, Marcellus sets out to find Demetrius — and discovers his Christian faith along the way.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCleopatra (1934)
The queen of Egypt barges the Nile and flirts with Mark Antony and Julius Caesar.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisQuo Vadis (1951)
After fierce Roman commander Marcus Vinicius becomes infatuated with beautiful Christian hostage Lygia, he begins to question the tyrannical leadership of the despotic emperor Nero.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisQuo Vadis (2001)
Ancient Rome, during the time of Emperor Nero. Vinicius, a young patrician, falls in love with the beautiful Lygia, the daughter of a Barbarian commander who was killed in battle, and wants her for his concubine. For Lygia, a Christian, being a pagan's concubine is a severe sin and disgrace. However, when Vinicius is wounded, Lygia cares for him, and starts to reciprocate his feelings. Vinicius, in return, becomes interested in Christian learning and asks Apostle Peter to teach him. In the meantime, Emperor Nero accuses Christians of having started a great fire in Rome. He encourages the imprisonment, torture and murder of his Christian subjects.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisPaul, Apostle of Christ (2018)
Luke risks his life to visit Paul in a Roman prison, where the apostle awaits execution under Nero. As Paul reflects on his past and the Christian community faces persecution, Luke resolves to record the story of the early church.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Fall of the Roman Empire (1964)
In the year 180 A.D. Germanic tribes are about to invade the Roman empire from the north. In the midst of this crisis ailing emperor Marcus Aurelius has to make a decision about his successor between his son Commodus, who is obsessed by power, and the loyal general Gaius Livius.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCromwell (1970)
Disgusted with the policies of King Charles I, Oliver Cromwell plans to take his family to the New World. But on the eve of their departure, Cromwell is drawn into the tangled web of religion and politics that will result in the English Civil War.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCleopatra (1963)
Determined to hold on to the throne, Cleopatra seduces the Roman emperor Julius Caesar. When Caesar is murdered, she redirects her attentions to his general, Marc Antony, who vows to take power—but Caesar’s successor has other plans.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBen-Hur (1959)
In ancient Judea, a Jewish aristocrat opposing Roman occupation of his homeland reunites with his childhood friend, now a Roman commander — setting in motion a saga of betrayal, adventure, tragedy, revenge, and faith.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAntony and Cleopatra (1972)
Adaptation of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, a historical drama that attempts to bring an epic visual style to the Bard's original stage play. The story concerns Marc Antony's attempts to rule Rome while maintaining a relationship with the queen of Egypt (Hildegarde Neil), which began while Antony was still married. Now he is being forced to marry the sister of his Roman co-leader, and soon the conflict leads to war.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Saint Joan (1957)
In 1456, French King Charles VII recalls the story of how he met the 17-year-old peasant girl Joan of Arc, entrusted her with the command of the French Army, and ultimately burned her at the stake as a heretic.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Spartacus (1960)
The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in rebellion. As the rebels move from town to town, their numbers swell as escaped slaves join their ranks. Under the leadership of Spartacus, they make their way to southern Italy, where they will cross the sea and return to their homes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHannibal (1959)
A Carthaginian general attempts to cross the Alps with an army of elephants in order to conquer Rome.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisKing of Kings (1961)
Who is Jesus, and why does he impact all he meets? He is respected and reviled, emulated and accused, beloved, betrayed, and finally crucified. Yet that terrible fate would not be the end of the story.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRisen (2016)
Clavius, a powerful Roman military tribune, and his aide, Lucius, are tasked with solving the mystery of what happened to Jesus in the weeks following the crucifixion, in order to disprove the rumors of a risen Messiah and prevent an uprising in Jerusalem.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBarabbas (1961)
Epic account of the thief Barabbas, who was pardoned for his crimes and spared crucifixion when Pilate offered the Israelites a choice to pardon Barabbas or Jesus. Struggling with his spirituality, Barabbas goes through many ordeals leading him to the gladiatorial arena, where he tries to win his freedom and confront his inner demons, ultimately becoming a follower of the man who was crucified in his place.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJulius Caesar (1953)
The growing ambition of Julius Caesar is a source of major concern to his close friend Brutus. Cassius persuades him to participate in his plot to assassinate Caesar but both have sorely underestimated Mark Antony.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Ten Commandments (1956)
Escaping death, a Hebrew infant is raised in a royal household to become a prince. Upon discovery of his true heritage, Moses embarks on a personal quest to reclaim his destiny as the leader and liberator of the Hebrew people.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Greatest Story Ever Told (1965)
From his birth in Bethlehem to his death and eventual resurrection, the life of Jesus Christ is given the all-star treatment in this epic retelling. Major aspects of Christ's life are touched upon, including the execution of all the newborn males in Egypt by King Herod; Christ's baptism by John the Baptist; and the betrayal by Judas after the Last Supper that eventually leads to Christ's crucifixion and miraculous return.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLuther (2003)
During the early 16th century, idealistic German monk Martin Luther, disgusted by the materialism in the church, begins the dialogue that will lead to the Protestant Reformation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Egyptian (1954)
In eighteenth-dynasty Egypt, Sinuhe, a poor orphan, becomes a brilliant physician and with his friend Horemheb is appointed to the service of the new Pharoah. Sinuhe's personal triumphs and tragedies are played against the larger canvas of the turbulent events of the 18th dynasty. As Sinuhe is drawn into court intrigues he learns the answers to the questions he has sought since his birth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRasputin and the Empress (1932)
The story of corrupt, power-hungry, manipulative Grigori Rasputin's influence on members of the Russian Imperial family and others, and what resulted.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Gladiator II (2024)
Years after witnessing the death of the revered hero Maximus at the hands of his uncle, Lucius is forced to enter the Colosseum after his home is conquered by the tyrannical Emperors who now lead Rome with an iron fist. With rage in his heart and the future of the Empire at stake, Lucius must look to his past to find strength and honor to return the glory of Rome to its people.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisApostle Peter and the Last Supper (2013)
The film portrays Saint Peter reflecting on his time with Jesus and his fellow Apostles during his final imprisonment in Rome. In particular, Peter attempts to convert one of his jailers, Martinian, by relating the life, teachings, and sacrifice of Jesus.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & drama
Land of the Pharaohs (1955)
A captured architect designs an ingenious plan to ensure the impregnability of the tomb of a self-absorbed Pharaoh, obsessed with the security of his next life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSolomon and Sheba (1959)
Near death, King David has a vision that his poet son, Solomon, should succeed him, rather than hot-headed Adonijah. Furious, Adonijah departs the court, swearing he will become king. Other rulers are concerned that Solomon's benevolent rule and interest in monotheism will threaten their tyrannical, polytheistic kingdoms. The Queen of Sheba makes an agreement with the Egyptian pharaoh to corrupt Solomon for their mutual benefit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJulius Caesar (1970)
All-star cast glamorizes this lavish 1970 remake of the classic William Shakespeare play, which portrays the assassination of Julius Caesar on the Ides of March, and the resulting war between the faction led by the assassins and the faction led by Mark Anthony.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Book of Daniel (2013)
Taken into slavery after the fall of Jerusalem in 605 B.C., Daniel is forced to serve the most powerful king in the world, King Nebuchadnezzar. Faced with imminent death, Daniel proves himself a trusted Advisor and is placed among the king's wise men. Threatened by death at every turn Daniel never ceases to serve the king until he is forced to choose between serving the king or honoring God. With his life at stake, Daniel has nothing but his faith to stand between him and the lions' den.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Last Rifleman (2023)
A WWII veteran escapes his care home in Northern Ireland and embarks on an arduous but inspirational journey to France to attend the 75th anniversary of the D-Day landings, finding the courage to face the ghosts of his past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Sign of the Cross?
The closest matches to The Sign of the Cross are Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), The Robe (1953) and Cleopatra (1934). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Sign of the Cross?
People who watched The Sign of the Cross most often go on to Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), The Robe (1953) and Cleopatra (1934).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Sign of the Cross?
Ben-Hur (1959), rated 7.9/10 by 3,343 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Sign of the Cross?
Gladiator II (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Sign of the Cross?
Yes: Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), The Robe (1953) and Cleopatra (1934).
How are movies similar to The Sign of the Cross chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Sign of the Cross, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.