Movies like Lilac (1932)
The best movies like Lilac (1932) are Stavisky... (1974), Flic Story (1975) and Umbrella Coup (1980). If Lilac hooked you with its crime, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Asphalt Jungle (1950)7.5/10 from 561 votes
- NewestBazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchStavisky... (1974)Also in French
Stavisky... (1974)
Biarritz, 1933. Charm and talent assist small-time swindler Serge Alexandre, alias Stavisky, to bribe his way into the centre of French politics. But when his great scam involving millions is exposed, he brings the government to the verge of collapse and the country to the brink of civil war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisFlic Story (1975)
The film story depicts Emile Buisson, following the death of his wife and child, escaping from a psychiatric institution in 1947 and returning to Paris. Buisson, who three years later would become France's public enemy number one, begins a murderous rampage through the French capital.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisUmbrella Coup (1980)
Grégoire Lecomte, the unlucky actor anxious to find a "real job", goes to take a screen test for a role of a killer, but gets to mafiosi by mistake. He takes their don for a producer, and they mistake him for a hitman with whom they had an appointment. Deluded Lecomte signs contract with them. He is supposed to kill gun dealer Otto Krampe at his birthday party in Saint-Tropez by piercing him with a cap of the umbrella with a built-in syringe with potassium cyanide. Lecomte is not aware that it has to be a real murder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Crime is Mine (2023)
In 1930s Paris, Madeleine, a pretty, young, penniless, and talentless actress, is accused of murdering a famous producer. Helped by her best friend, Pauline, a young, unemployed lawyer, she is acquitted on the grounds of self-defense. A new life of fame and success begins, until the truth comes out.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Color of Lies (1999)
In a small Breton town, a 10-year-old girl is found murdered. René, her art teacher, a professional painter, is the last person to have seen her alive. The inspector in charge of the investigation immediately questions him. In this small provincial town where people all know each other and regularly meet at the Bar des Amis, René is increasingly unsettled by the other inhabitants' suspicions and by the inspector's investigation. Children stop coming to him for lessons. His wife, Viviane, a district nurse, protects him and supports him with her love. However, a self-centred media-star writer adds to René's confusion...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisPanic (2000)
Alex is going through a midlife crisis and it has become a very difficult time for him. His marriage is struggling, he's worried about his son, and his job of killing people for his family has become the most stressful part of his life. He seeks the help of a therapist and meets a woman in the waiting room that he connects with.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Night Caller (1975)
A serial-killer frightens Paris by phoning young ladies at night, telling them insults about their lives. Minos, as he calls himself, wants to prevent the world from free women and he targets at first these ones. Commissaire Letellier is given the investigation and he has hard work with the maniac.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHold-up (1985)
Dressed as a clown, the clever rascal Grimm holds up the most secure bank of Montreal and takes 30 hostages. While confusing and ridiculing the police with his strange behavior, he calmly manages to rid the bank of a fortune. But then an unsatisfied companion arouses trouble...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeyond a Reasonable Doubt (1956)
A newspaper publisher, wanting to prove a point about the insufficiency of circumstantial evidence, talks his possible son-in-law Tom into a hoax in an attempt to expose ineptitude of the city's hard-line district attorney. The plan is to have Tom plant clues leading to his arrest for killing a female nightclub dancer. Once Tom is found guilty, he is to reveal the setup and humiliate the DA.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBluebeard (1963)
Paris, France, during the First World War. While thousands of soldiers die every day on the battlefields, Henri Landru, a seemingly respectable furniture dealer, married and father of four children, relentlessly feeds his own sinister factory of death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLast Known Address (1970)
Marceau Léonetti, a competent and energetic officer stops by chance the son of an influential lawyer driving under the influence of alcohol. A few months later, the lawyer falsely accuses Léonetti as being violent and incompetent. As a result Marceau is transferred to a small police station, where he meets young and beautiful Jeanne. Soon they are faced with a tough investigation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWitness in the City (1959)
Industrialist Pierre Verdier kills his mistress Jeanne Ancelin by throwing her off a train. Her husband, Ancelin, decides to take revenge on his wife's murderer, who has been acquitted by justice.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026)
Misanthropic novelist François writes gripping crime stories – “Agatha Christie meets The Scarlet Pimpernel” – but outside of the swashbuckling imaginary world of his Marquis la Rose-novels, life is far from thrilling. His partner Colette, a professor at the Sorbonne and world-renowned expert on Alfred Hitchcock, is tired of watching François sit around their apartment in his pyjamas and yearns for the excitement of the classic films she watches with her students. When Colette begins to suspect their flamboyant actor neighbour of murdering his wife, the couple’s mundane lives are turned upside down – and their stale relationship is jolted back to life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisM (1951)
In the city, someone is murdering children. The police search is so intense, it is disturbing the 'normal' criminals, and the local hoods decide to help find the murderer as quickly as possible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Valachi Papers (1972)
When Joe Valachi has a price put on his head by Don Vito Genovese, he must take desperate steps to protect himself while in prison. An unsuccessful attempt to slit his throat puts him over the edge to break the sacred code of silence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCry of the City (1948)
Petty crook and cop-killer Martin Rome, in bad shape from wounds in the hospital prison ward, still refuses to help slimy lawyer Niles clear his client by confessing to another crime. Police Lt. Candella must check Niles' allegation; a friend of the Rome family, he walks a tightrope between sentiment and cynicism. When Martin fears Candella will implicate his girlfriend Teena, he'll do anything to protect her. How many others will he drag down to disaster with him?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPasha (1968)
Six months before his retirement from the criminal police, inspector Joss finds his colleague Gouvion dead, in a poorly faked suicide attempt. Joss loses his temper, and investigates on his own, which leads him through the bas-fond of Paris...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWinged Creatures (2009)
A psychotic man opens fire in a diner, murdering numerous people before killing himself. The survivors struggle in different ways following this horrendous event: a doctor doubts his own instincts and elects to use an experimental medical procedure on his wife, while a gambler believes he's on a lucky streak. A waitress begins engaging in promiscuous sex, and a young girl whose father is among the dead gains unexpected fame.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
SnoozefestMovies like thisRiot in Cell Block 11 (1954)
A prisoner leads his counterparts in a protest for better living conditions which turns violent and ugly.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both crime
Worth the HypeMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lilac?
The closest matches to Lilac are Stavisky... (1974), Flic Story (1975) and Umbrella Coup (1980). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lilac?
Start with Stavisky... (1974), the closest match to Lilac.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lilac?
The Asphalt Jungle (1950), rated 7.5/10 by 561 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lilac?
Bazaar (Murder in the Building) (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like Lilac?
Yes: Stavisky... (1974), Flic Story (1975) and Umbrella Coup (1980).
How are movies similar to Lilac chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lilac, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.