Movies like Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971)
The best movies like Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song (1971) are The Substitute (1996), The Rookie (1990) and The Corruptor (1999). If Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song hooked you with its action and crime, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Shawshank Redemption (1994)8.7/10 from 31,829 votes
- NewestMexicali (2026)Released 2026
The 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 action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Rookie (1990)
Veteran cop Nick Pulovski is used to playing musical partners; many of the partners he's had in the past have died on the job, and often as a result of Nick's risky tactics. But the rookie who's been assigned to help Nick bust a carjacking ring is almost as hotheaded as he is … and when Nick gets kidnapped, his newbie partner is his only hope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Corruptor (1999)
Danny is a young cop partnered with Nick, a seasoned but ethically tainted veteran. As the two try to stop a gang war in Chinatown, Danny relies on Nick but grows increasingly uncomfortable with the way Nick gets things done.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Way of the Gun (2000)
Two criminal drifters without sympathy get more than they bargained for after kidnapping and holding for ransom the surrogate mother of a powerful and shady man.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath Wish II (1982)
Paul Kersey is again a vigilante trying to find five punks who murdered his housekeeper and daughter in Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Born Losers (1967)
A biker gang incites a reign of terror in a California coastal town that culminates in four teenage girls being raped. Vietnam veteran Billy Jack has had enough, however, and takes on the depraved bikers single-handedly. He rescues young Vicky Barrington from their clutches, but then has to contend with not only the thugs, but also the ineffectual and racist local lawmen, who have it out for the half-Native American Billy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVice Squad (1982)
An unlikely Hollywood hooker helps a detective set a trap for a mutilator pimp.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisExtreme Prejudice (1987)
Lean, mean Texas Ranger Jack Benteen locks horns with a former friend, Cash Bailey, now a ruthless drug kingpin. Though they're on opposite sides of the law, they share a love interest in the sensual Sarita. When a crew of rogue soldiers descends upon the border town for an off-the-books mission, all roads lead to a bloody, to-the-death showdown, as loyalties shift and the lines between good and evil are blurred.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFoxy Brown (1974)
A voluptuous black woman takes a job as a high-class prostitute in order to get revenge on the mobsters who murdered her boyfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCoffy (1973)
After her younger sister gets involved in drugs and is severely injured by contaminated heroin, a nurse sets out on a mission of vengeance and vigilante justice, killing drug dealers, pimps, and mobsters who cross her path.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSwitchblade Sisters (1975)
The leader of an inner city girl gang is challenged when a new girl moves into the neighborhood.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTraining Day (2001)
On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer, a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAl Capone (1959)
In this unusually accurate biography, small-time hood Al Capone comes to Chicago at the dawn of Prohibition to be the bodyguard of racketeer Johnny Torrio. Capone's rise in Chicago gangdom is followed through murder, extortion, and political fraud. He becomes head of Chicago's biggest "business," but moves inexorably toward his downfall and ignominious end.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCrimes of Passion (1984)
Fashion designer Joanna Crane leads a double life. By night she is China Blue, a prostitute who's attracted the attention of a sexually frustrated private detective, and a psychopathic priest in possession of a murderous sex toy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuper Fly (1972)
Priest, a New York City drug kingpin, devises a scheme to get out of the business and retire with a big payday, but his plans are complicated when a street dealer rats him out to the police.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRisqué (2025)
Fired from a strip club, a vengeful dancer masterminds a high-stakes heist with fellow strippers to take down the corrupt boss and the men who underestimate them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHobo with a Shotgun (2011)
A vigilante homeless man pulls into a new city and finds himself trapped in urban chaos, a city where crime rules and where the city's crime boss reigns. Seeing an urban landscape filled with armed robbers, corrupt cops, abused prostitutes and even a pedophile Santa, the Hobo goes about bringing justice to the city the best way he knows how - with a 20-gauge shotgun. Mayhem ensues when he tries to make things better for the future generation. Street justice will indeed prevail.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & action
SnoozefestMovies like thisEl Gringo (2012)
A man crossing into Mexico with a satchel of $2,000,000—and a bloody past—finds himself under sudden attack in the sleepy town of El Fronteras.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & action
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMexicali (2026)
A former special forces contractor is forced out of retirement as an avocado farmer in Mexico when local gangsters try to force him and his family off their farm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both action & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTrue Confessions (1981)
A cop clashes with his priest brother while investigating the brutal murder of a young prostitute.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShaft (1971)
Cool Black private eye John Shaft is hired by a crime lord to find and retrieve his kidnapped daughter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShaft's Big Score! (1972)
John Shaft is back as the lady-loved black detective cop on the search for the murderer of a client.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKlute (1971)
A high-priced call girl is forced to depend on a reluctant private eye when she is stalked by a psychopath.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both thriller & crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisShaft in Africa (1973)
Detective John Shaft travels incognito to Ethiopia, then France, to bust a human trafficking ring.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & thriller
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBonnie and Clyde (1967)
In the 1930s, bored waitress Bonnie Parker falls in love with an ex-con named Clyde Barrow, and together they start a violent crime spree throughout the country, stealing cars and robbing banks.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both crime & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDrugstore Cowboy (1989)
Portland, Oregon, 1971. Bob Hughes is the charismatic leader of a peculiar quartet, formed by his wife, Dianne, and another couple, Rick and Nadine, who skillfully steal from drugstores and hospital medicine cabinets in order to appease their insatiable need for drugs. But neither fun nor luck last forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBreathless (1960)
A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Imprisoned in the 1940s for the double murder of his wife and her lover, upstanding banker Andy Dufresne begins a new life at the Shawshank prison, where he puts his accounting skills to work for an amoral warden. During his long stretch in prison, Dufresne comes to be admired by the other inmates -- including an older prisoner named Red -- for his integrity and unquenchable sense of hope.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & crime
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBarton Fink (1991)
A renowned New York playwright is enticed to California to write for the movies and discovers the hellish truth of Hollywood.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & thriller
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeverly Hills Cop III (1994)
When his boss is killed, Detroit cop Axel Foley finds evidence that the murderer had ties to a California amusement park called Wonder World. Returning to sunny Beverly Hills once more, Foley reunites with Detective Billy Rosewood to solve the case. Along with Billy's new partner, Detective Jon Flint, they discover that Wonder World is being used as a front for a massive counterfeiting ring.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both action & crime
SnoozefestMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song?
The closest matches to Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song are The Substitute (1996), The Rookie (1990) and The Corruptor (1999). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song?
Start with The Substitute (1996), the closest match to Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song.
What is the highest-rated movie like Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song?
The Shawshank Redemption (1994), rated 8.7/10 by 31,829 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song?
Mexicali (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song?
Yes: The Substitute (1996), The Rookie (1990) and The Corruptor (1999).
How are movies similar to Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.