Movies like Cavalli: Eliogabalo (2016)
The best movies like Cavalli: Eliogabalo (2016) are Vincere (2009), Munich - The Edge of War (2021) and Duse (2025). If Cavalli: Eliogabalo 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 ratedMunich - The Edge of War (2021)6.9/10 from 698 votes
- NewestGiant (2026)Released 2026
- In ItalianVincere (2009)Also in Italian
Vincere (2009)
The story of the descent into madness of Mussolini's secret first wife, Ida Dasler, who was seduced by his passion and vigor but blind to the fascist dictator's many flaws.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMunich - The Edge of War (2021)
At the tense 1938 Munich Conference, former friends who now work for opposing governments become reluctant spies racing to expose a Nazi secret.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDuse (2025)
In the years between WWI and the rise of Fascism, legendary thespian Eleonora Duse shocks everyone by getting back onstage at over 60 years of age. Struggling with the brutality of historical events unfolding and clinging to the possibility of utopia, she makes her art a revolutionary act, even at the cost of sacrificing health and affection—facing her final journey aware she could give up life itself, but not her own true nature.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRadium Girls (2020)
Young women toiling in a factory are exposed to hazardous material which takes a disastrous toll on their health.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Flowers of St. Francis (1950)
In a series of simple and joyous vignettes, director Roberto Rossellini and co-writer Federico Fellini lovingly convey the universal teachings of the People’s Saint: humility, compassion, faith, and sacrifice. Gorgeously photographed to evoke the medieval paintings of Saint Francis’s time, and cast with monks from the Nocera Inferiore Monastery, The Flowers of St. Francis is a timeless and moving portrait of the search for spiritual enlightenment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisFuori (2025)
Rome. The 1980s. After the magnum opus The Art of Joy she has been working on for a decade is rejected by the Italian publishing world, writer Goliarda Sapienza commits a desperate theft that costs her her reputation and social position. Incarcerated in Italy’s largest female prison, she finds herself living alongside thieves, junkies, sex workers and revolutionaries. After her release, she continues to meet with these women and over the course of a sweltering summer, a life-changing relationship flowers – a relationship that will reawaken her the desire to live and to write.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mattei Affair (1972)
Enrico Mattei helped change Italy’s future, first as freedom-fighter against the Nazis, then as an investor in methane gas through a public company, A.G.I.P., and ultimately as the head of ENI, a state body formed for the development of oil resources. On October 27, 1962, he died when his private airplane crashed during a flight to Milan. Officially, it is declared an accident, but many journalists explore other plausible reasons for Mattei's untimely death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAdventures of a Mathematician (2021)
The warmhearted story of Polish immigrant and mathematician Stan Ulam, who moved to the U.S. in the 1930s. Stan deals with the difficult losses of family and friends all while helping to create the hydrogen bomb and the first computer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJulia (1977)
At the behest of an old and dear friend, playwright Lillian Hellman undertakes a dangerous mission to smuggle funds into Nazi Germany.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBrother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)
In his delirium from his return from war, Francesco Bernardone goes back in his memories to the days when he lived for parties and carnal pleasures. He slowly recovers, but after the illness he is no longer the Francesco that everybody knew. Instead of spending hours in taverns, he meditates on the beauty of God's creatures, soon renouncing his riches and his family with plans to rebuild an abandoned church and his life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEsterno Notte - Prima Parte (2022)
The 1978 kidnapping and assassination of former Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro by Red Brigades terrorists.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGiant (2026)
Follows Prince Naseem Hamed from his humble beginnings on the tough working-class streets of Sheffield and his discovery by Ingle, himself a steel industry worker turned boxing trainer. Their unlikely partnership, Naz’s unorthodox style, cocky persona, and sheer dominance in the ring propelled them to the top of boxing’s elite and unprecedented levels of global superstardom, all in the face of the rampant Islamophobia and racism of ’80s and 90’s Britain.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOranges and Sunshine (2010)
The story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, who uncovers one of the most significant social scandals in recent times – the forced migration of children from the United Kingdom to Australia and other Commonwealth countries. Almost singlehandedly, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPanther (1995)
In this sprawling, fictionalized history of the Black Panthers, 1960s Oakland becomes a war zone as the Panthers battle for the right to exist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKarol: The Pope, The Man (2006)
This highly acclaimed feature film on Pope John Paul II was filmed on location in Italy and Poland. Focusing on the papacy of John Paul and the tremendous impact he had on the Church and the world, Karol: The Pope, The Man stars actor Piotr Adamczyk in a deeply moving portrayal of the beloved pontiff. It is the powerful true story of a charismatic spiritual leader who helped bring down Communism, renewed the life of the Church, greatly impacted youth worldwide with love for Christ, and a Pope who reached out to other religions and world leaders with a message of peace and love. Also stars Raoul Bova (Saint Francis), Michele Placido (Padre Pio: Between Heaven and Earth) and Adriana Asti as Mother Teresa. The beautiful film score is by legendary film composer Ennio Morricone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSin (2019)
The life of Michelangelo Buonarroti.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisKarol: A Man Who Became Pope (2005)
The life of the pope John-Paul II, from his youth as a writer, actor, and athlete in war-torn occupied Poland to his election as Pope at the age of 58.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Tales of Hoffmann (1951)
A melancholy poet reflects on three women he loved and lost in the past: a mechanical performing doll, a Venetian courtesan, and the consumptive daughter of a celebrated composer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBattle of the Year (2013)
A down-on-his-luck coach is hired to prepare a team of the best American dancers for an international tournament that attracts all the best crews from around the world, but the Americans haven't won in fifteen years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPhantom (2004)
Takarazuka Revue's Phantom based on the play by Maury Yeston and Arthur Kopit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
Bedřich Smetana: Libuše (1983)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Farinelli (1994)
The life and career of Italian opera singer Farinelli, considered one of the greatest castrato singers of all time.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOpéra National de Paris: Castor et Pollux by Jean-Philippe Rameau (2025)
A return to its roots for Castor et Pollux, Jean-Philippe Rameau’s lyric tragedy first performed in 1737 at the Académie royale and inspired by the mythological episode of the Gemini. Rarely performed in its original version – the score was reworked by Rameau himself in 1754 –, this daring work plays on contrasts and expressiveness, as in the famous “Tristes apprêts”. The aria is sung by Télaïre mourning the death of her fiancé Castor, killed in battle, before his twin brother Pollux descends into the Underworld to ask his father, Jupiter, to bring him back to life. While this opera celebrates brotherly love, its prologue poses an essential question for director Peter Sellars: how do you stop a war and its attendant hatred and resentment?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Aida - Arena di Verona (2013)
The grand scale and magnificent acoustics of the Roman arena in Verona are ideally suited to the pageantry of Verdi's Egyptian opera, presented here in a staging that is true to the original 1913 production, framed by obelisks and sphinxes and filled with chorus and dancers. Chinese soprano Hui He has won international acclaim for her portrayal of the eponymous slave girl whose forbidden love for the war hero Radamés (Marco Berti, the experienced Verdi tenor) brings death to them both.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Carmen (1984)
In the early 19th century, in Seville and the surrounding area, Carmen seduces the sergeant Don José, who deserts the army to be with her. But the beautiful gypsy falls in love with the bullfighter Escamillo, much to Don José’s despair.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Amahl and the Night Visitors (1951)
The historic, original, live airing of what would become an annual Christmas tradition throughout the 1950s, this opera tells the story of Amahl, a crippled shepherd boy, and his destitute mother, who provide temporary shelter to three men who are following a star to the newly-born Christ child.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Aria (1987)
Ten short pieces directed by ten different directors, including Ken Russell, Jean-Luc Godard, Robert Altman, Bruce Beresford, and Nicolas Roeg. Each short uses an aria as soundtrack/sound, and is an interpretation of the particular aria.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Secret Lives of Dentists (2002)
An introspective dentist's suspicions about his wife's infidelity stresses his mental well being and family life to the breaking point.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Puccini's Madama Butterfly (1974)
Mirella Freni, Placido Domingo, Christa Ludwig, and Robert Kerns star in this Jean-Pierre Ponnelle-directed version of the Puccini opera, with Herbert von Karajan conducting the Vienna Philharmonic. Madama Butterfly is a staple of the standard operatic repertoire for companies around the world, ranking 7th in the Operabase list of the most-performed operas worldwide.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cavalli: Eliogabalo?
The closest matches to Cavalli: Eliogabalo are Vincere (2009), Munich - The Edge of War (2021) and Duse (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cavalli: Eliogabalo?
Start with Vincere (2009), the closest match to Cavalli: Eliogabalo.
What is the highest-rated movie like Cavalli: Eliogabalo?
Munich - The Edge of War (2021), rated 6.9/10 by 698 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cavalli: Eliogabalo?
Giant (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there Italian movies like Cavalli: Eliogabalo?
Yes: Vincere (2009), Duse (2025) and The Flowers of St. Francis (1950).
How are movies similar to Cavalli: Eliogabalo chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cavalli: Eliogabalo, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.