Movies like Chariots of Fire (1981)
The best movies like Chariots of Fire (1981) are Eddie the Eagle (2016), Seabiscuit (2003) and Race (2016). If Chariots of Fire 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 ratedThe Godfather (1972)8.7/10 from 23,971 votes
- NewestMary (2024)Released 2024
Eddie the Eagle (2016)
The feel-good story of Michael 'Eddie' Edwards, an unlikely but courageous British ski-jumper who never stopped believing in himself—even as an entire nation was counting him out. With the help of a rebellious and charismatic coach, Eddie takes on the establishment and wins the hearts of sports fans around the world by making an improbable and historic showing at the 1988 Calgary Winter Olympics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeabiscuit (2003)
True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRace (2016)
Based on the story of Jesse Owens, the athlete whose quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler's vision of Aryan supremacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCabrini (2024)
Italian immigrant Francesca Cabrini arrives in 1889 New York City and is greeted by disease, crime, and impoverished children. Cabrini sets off on a daring mission to convince the hostile mayor to secure housing and healthcare for society's most vulnerable. With broken English and poor health, Cabrini uses her entrepreneurial mind to build an empire of hope unlike anything the world had ever seen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYoung Woman and the Sea (2024)
This is the extraordinary true story of Trudy Ederle, the first woman to successfully swim the English Channel. Through the steadfast support of her older sister and supportive trainers, she overcame adversity and the animosity of a patriarchal society to rise through the ranks of the Olympic swimming team and complete the 21-mile trek from France to England.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisShirley (2024)
Shirley Chisholm makes a trailblazing run for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination after becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRudy (1993)
Rudy grew up in a steel mill town where most people ended up working, but wanted to play football at Notre Dame instead. There were only a couple of problems. His grades were a little low, his athletic skills were poor, and he was only half the size of the other players. But he had the drive and the spirit of 5 people and has set his sights upon joining the team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMary (2024)
A miraculous conception. A merciless king. A murderous pursuit. Mary's journey to give birth to Jesus unfolds in this biblical coming-of-age epic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Boy in the Woods (2023)
The remarkable true-life survival story of a Jewish boy hiding and being hunted in the forests of Nazi-occupied Eastern Europe, based on Maxwell Smart's memoir.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
Against all the odds, a thirteen year old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisWe Are Marshall (2006)
When a plane crash claims the lives of members of the Marshall University football team and some of its fans, the team's new coach and his surviving players try to keep the football program alive.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRob Roy (1995)
In the highlands of Scotland in the 1700s, Rob Roy tries to lead his small town to a better future, by borrowing money from the local nobility to buy cattle to herd to market. When the money is stolen, Rob is forced into a Robin Hood lifestyle to defend his family and honour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMiracle (2004)
When college coach Herb Brooks is hired to helm the 1980 U.S. men's Olympic hockey team, he brings a unique and brash style to the ice. After assembling a team of hot-headed college all-stars, who are humiliated in an early match, Brooks unites his squad against a common foe: the heavily-favored Soviet team.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSix Minutes to Midnight (2020)
Summer 1939. Influential families in Nazi Germany have sent their daughters to a finishing school in an English seaside town to learn the language and be ambassadors for a future looking National Socialist. A teacher there sees what is coming and is trying to raise the alarm. But the authorities believe he is the problem.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOvercomer (2019)
After reluctantly agreeing to coach cross-country, high school basketball Coach John Harrison helps the least likely runner attempt the impossible in the biggest race of the year.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Girl Who Believes in Miracles (2021)
When Sara hears a preacher say faith can move mountains, she starts praying. Suddenly people in her town are mysteriously healed! But fame soon takes its toll – can Sara’s family save her before it’s too late?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJOY (2024)
A young nurse, a visionary scientist and an innovative surgeon face opposition from the church, state, media and medical establishment, in their pursuit of the world’s first ‘test tube baby’, Louise Joy Brown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFast Girls (2012)
A street smart runner develops an intense rivalry with an equally ambitious wealthy young athlete.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJourney to Bethlehem (2023)
A young woman carrying an unimaginable responsibility. A young man torn between love and honor. A jealous king who will stop at nothing to keep his crown.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGod's Not Dead (2014)
After he refuses to disavow his faith, a devout Christian student must prove the existence of God or else his college philosophy professor will fail him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Conscience (2021)
Petrograd, Soviet Union, 1920s. Boris Letush, devastated by a personal tragedy, feels the need to put his conscience and his principles before the demands of the cruel system he serves, where law and justice are systematically ignored.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama & history
Braveheart (1995)
Enraged at the slaughter of Murron, his new bride and childhood love, Scottish warrior William Wallace slays a platoon of the local English lord's soldiers. This leads the village to revolt and, eventually, the entire country to rise up against English rule.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRun Lola Run (1998)
Lola receives a phone call from her boyfriend Manni. He lost 100,000 DM in a subway train that belongs to a very bad guy. She has 20 minutes to raise this amount and meet Manni. Otherwise, he will rob a store to get the money. Three different alternatives may happen depending on some minor event along Lola's run.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMatch Point (2005)
Chris, a former tennis pro, takes a job as an instructor and befriends his wealthy young student, Tom. After being introduced to his family, Chris is soon engaged to Tom's sister, Chloe. Despite the professional and financial advantages that this relationship affords him, Chris becomes obsessed with Tom's fiancee, American actress Nola.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGladiator (2000)
After the death of Emperor Marcus Aurelius, his devious son takes power and demotes Maximus, one of Rome's most capable generals who Marcus preferred. Eventually, Maximus is forced to become a gladiator and battle to the death against other men for the amusement of paying audiences.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAbduction of Innocence (1996)
Teenager, Clare Steves, is kidnapped by an old boyfriend, Eddie Spencer, who demands $250,000. The ransom is paid and Clare is released, but when the kidnapers are caught, they claim that the whole scheme was Clare's idea as a way to punish her father. She denies it and is put on trial.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Muriel's Wedding (1994)
Socially awkward Muriel Heslop wants nothing more than to get married. Unfortunately, due to her oppressive politician father, Muriel has never even been on a date. Ostracized by her more socially adept friends, Muriel runs into fellow outcast Rhonda Epinstalk, and the two move from their small Australian town to the big city of Sydney, where Muriel changes her name and begins the arduous task of redesigning her life to match her fantasies.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisYoung Adam (2003)
A young drifter working on a river barge disrupts his employers' lives while hiding the fact that he knows more about a dead woman found in the river than he admits.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
SnoozefestMovies like thisThe Godfather (1972)
Spanning the years 1945 to 1955, a chronicle of the fictional Italian-American Corleone crime family. When organized crime family patriarch, Vito Corleone barely survives an attempt on his life, his youngest son, Michael steps in to take care of the would-be killers, launching a campaign of bloody revenge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Godfather Part II (1974)
In the continuing saga of the Corleone crime family, a young Vito Corleone grows up in Sicily and in 1910s New York. In the 1950s, Michael Corleone attempts to expand the family business into Las Vegas, Hollywood and Cuba.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both drama
Absolute CinemaMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Chariots of Fire?
The closest matches to Chariots of Fire are Eddie the Eagle (2016), Seabiscuit (2003) and Race (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Chariots of Fire?
Start with Eddie the Eagle (2016), the closest match to Chariots of Fire.
What is the highest-rated movie like Chariots of Fire?
The Godfather (1972), rated 8.7/10 by 23,971 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Chariots of Fire?
Mary (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Chariots of Fire?
Yes: Eddie the Eagle (2016), Seabiscuit (2003) and Race (2016).
How are movies similar to Chariots of Fire chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Chariots of Fire, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.