Movies like Big City Blues (1981)
The best movies like Big City Blues (1981) are Gotti (1996), Bessie (2015) and The Bravados (1958). If Big City Blues hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Big City Blues
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSong Sung Blue (2025)7.3/10 from 354 votes
- NewestSong Sung Blue (2025)Released 2025
Gotti (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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBessie (2015)
The story of legendary blues performer, Bessie Smith, who rose to fame during the 1920s and '30s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bravados (1958)
Jim Douglass arrives in the small town of Rio Arriba in order to witness the hanging of the four men he believes murdered his wife. When the convicts escape, Jim tracks them into Mexico, determined to see that justice is done. But the farther Jim goes in his quest for vengeance, the more merciless he becomes, losing himself in an unrelenting spiral of hatred and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGet On Up (2014)
A chronicle of James Brown's rise from extreme poverty to become one of the most influential musicians in history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCadillac Records (2008)
The story of sex, violence, race and rock and roll in 1950s Chicago, and the exciting but turbulent lives of some of America's musical legends, including Muddy Waters, Leonard Chess, Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Etta James and Chuck Berry.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sound of Silence (2019)
A successful "house tuner" in New York City, who calibrates the sound in people's homes in order to adjust their moods, meets a client with a problem he can't solve.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisWorth (2021)
Kenneth Feinberg, a powerful D.C. lawyer appointed Special Master of the 9/11 Fund, fights off the cynicism, bureaucracy, and politics associated with administering government funds and, in doing so, discovers what life is worth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAll About Nina (2018)
Nina Geld's passion and talent have made her a rising star in the comedy scene, but she's an emotional mess offstage. When a new professional opportunity coincides with a romantic one, she is forced to confront her own deeply troubled past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisSong Sung Blue (2025)
Based on a true story, two down-on-their-luck musicians form a joyous Neil Diamond tribute band, proving it's never too late to find love and follow your dreams.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bellboy (1960)
Stanley is a bellboy at the Fountainbleau Hotel in Miami Beach, where he performs his duties quietly and without a word to anyone. All he displays are facial expressions and a comedic slapstick style. And anything that can go wrong, does go wrong when Stanley is involved. One day, Jerry Lewis arrives at the hotel and some of the staff notice the striking resemblance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBullitt (1968)
Senator Walter Chalmers is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal's hothead brother Johnny, who is in protective custody in San Francisco under the watch of police lieutenant Frank Bullitt. When a pair of mob hitmen enter the scene, Bullitt follows their trail through a maze of complications and double-crosses. This thriller includes one of the most famous car chases ever filmed.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCar Wash (1976)
This day-in-the-life cult comedy focuses on a group of friends working at Sully Boyar's Car Wash in the Los Angeles ghetto. The team meets dozens of eccentric customers -- including a smooth-talking preacher, a wacky cab driver and an ex-convict -- while cracking politically incorrect jokes to a constant soundtrack of disco and funk. Some of the workers find romance as the day moves along, but most are just happy to get through another shift.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Commitments (1991)
Jimmy Rabbitte, just a thick-ya out of school, gets a brilliant idea: to put a soul band together in Barrytown, his slum home in north Dublin. First he needs musicians and singers: things slowly start to click when he finds three fine-voiced females virtually in his back yard, a lead singer (Deco) at a wedding, and, responding to his ad, an aging trumpet player, Joey "The Lips" Fagan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEl Cantante (2006)
The rise and fall of salsa singer, Héctor Lavoe (1946-1993), as told from the perspective of his wife Puchi, who looks back from 2002.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Joker is Wild (1957)
A Prohibition-era nightclub crooner has his career is cut short when his throat is slashed by a mob boss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Patsy (1964)
Eccentric bellhop Stanley Belt is recruited unexpectedly by the comedy team of a recently deceased entertainer. Stanley struggles to become a song-and-dance man as the team grooms him to become a star. But as the date of a high-stakes appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show grows near, they begin to fear that the only astonishing thing about Stanley is his utter lack of talent.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn Too Deep (1999)
Drug lord Dwayne Gittens rules Cincinnati with an iron fist. No wonder he's known as "God" on the streets. Determined to break Gittens' stranglehold on the city is undercover cop Jeffrey Cole. But as Cole takes on an assumed identity to penetrate Gittens' criminal empire, he makes a disturbing discovery -- he kind of likes being a gangster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCalifornia Suite (1978)
The misadventures of four groups of guests at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Walk (2015)
The story of French high-wire artist Philippe Petit's attempt to cross the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in 1974.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVoyeur (2017)
Legendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Big City Blues?
The closest matches to Big City Blues are Gotti (1996), Bessie (2015) and The Bravados (1958). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Big City Blues?
Start with Gotti (1996), the closest match to Big City Blues.
What is the highest-rated movie like Big City Blues?
Song Sung Blue (2025), rated 7.3/10 by 354 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Big City Blues?
Song Sung Blue (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Big City Blues?
Yes: Gotti (1996), Bessie (2015) and The Bravados (1958).
How are movies similar to Big City Blues chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Big City Blues, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.