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Movies that feel like Giant (1956)

If you loved Giant, the closest films we have are Shane (1953), Hang 'em High (1968) and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon (1949). All three share Giant's contemplative and gritty feel, which is what we rank on before quality. 10 of the 12 picks below are included with a subscription right now on HBO Max, Paramount Plus Premium and Criterion Channel and others, checked against today's data.

Wealthy rancher Bick Benedict and dirt-poor cowboy Jett Rink both woo Leslie Lynnton, a beautiful young woman from Maryland who is new to Texas. She marries Benedict, but she is shocked by the racial bigotry of the White Texans against the local people of Mexican descent. Rink discovers oil on a small plot of land, and while he uses his vast, new wealth to buy all the land surrounding the Benedict ranch, the Benedict's disagreement over prejudice fuels conflict that runs across generations.

πŸ… 86% Rotten Tomatoesβ˜… 7.6 IMDb β†—TMDB β†—dir. George Stevenscontemplativegritty

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If Giant hit the spot, these will too

Shane poster
Shane
1953 Β· dir. George Stevens
πŸ… 97%β˜… 7.6drama Β· western

The same hand behind both of them: George Stevens

A weary gunfighter attempts to settle down with a homestead family, but a smouldering settler and rancher conflict forces him to act.

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Hang 'em High poster
Hang 'em High
1968 Β· dir. Ted Post
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7western Β· drama

One thread runs through both: judge

Marshall Jed Cooper survives a hanging, vowing revenge on the lynch mob that left him dangling. To carry out his oath for vengeance, he returns to his former job as a lawman. Before long, he's caught up with the nine men on his hit list and starts dispensing his own brand of Wild West justice.

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She Wore a Yellow Ribbon poster
She Wore a Yellow Ribbon
1949 Β· dir. John Ford
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.2drama Β· western

Both land stillness and grit at once

On the eve of retirement, Captain Nathan Brittles takes out a last patrol to stop an impending massive Indian attack. Encumbered by women who must be evacuated, Brittles finds his mission imperiled.

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The Wrong Man poster
The Wrong Man
1956 Β· dir. Alfred Hitchcock
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.4crime Β· drama

Both lean on stillness more than on drama

The difference: Leans harder into crime than Giant does

In 1953, an innocent man named Christopher Emmanuel "Manny" Balestrero is arrested after being mistaken for an armed robber.

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The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance poster
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
1962 Β· dir. John Ford
πŸ… 95%β˜… 8.1western

Both are working the same pair: funeral, ranch

The difference: Not nearly as contemplative as Giant

Questions arise when Senator Stoddard attends the funeral of a local man named Tom Doniphon in a small Western town. Flashing back, we learn Doniphon saved Stoddard, then a lawyer, when he was roughed up by a crew of outlaws terrorizing the town, led by Liberty Valance. As the territory's safety hung in the balance, Doniphon and Stoddard, two of the only people standing up to him, proved to be very important, but different, foes to Valance.

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Pickpocket poster
Pickpocket
1959 Β· dir. Robert Bresson
πŸ… 93%β˜… 7.5crime Β· drama

Western built on grit, twice over

Michel takes up pickpocketing on a lark and is arrested soon after. His mother dies shortly after his release, and despite the objections of his only friend, Jacques, and his mother's neighbor Jeanne, Michel teams up with a couple of petty thieves in order to improve his craft. With a police inspector keeping an eye on him, Michel also tries to get a straight job, but the temptation to steal is hard to resist.

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Bonnie and Clyde poster
Bonnie and Clyde
1967 Β· dir. Arthur Penn
πŸ… 91%β˜… 7.7crime Β· drama

Both are built on the same subject: texas

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.

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Blue Collar poster
Blue Collar
1978 Β· dir. Paul Schrader
πŸ… 96%β˜… 7.5drama Β· crime

Contemplative drama in both cases

The difference: 22 years apart, and the 1970s show

Fed up with mistreatment at the hands of both management and union brass, and coupled with financial hardships on each man's end, three auto assembly line workers hatch a plan to rob a safe at union headquarters.

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The Searchers poster
The Searchers
1956 Β· dir. John Ford
πŸ… 87%β˜… 7.8western

Both keep coming back to the same thing: texas

As a Civil War veteran spends years searching for a young niece captured by Indians, his motivation becomes increasingly questionable.

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Straight Time poster
Straight Time
1978 Β· dir. Ulu Grosbard
πŸ… 82%β˜… 7.4crime Β· drama

Gritty western, and it commits to that

After being released on parole, a burglar attempts to go straight, get a regular job, and just go by the rules. He soon finds himself back in jail at the hands of a power-hungry parole officer.

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The Public Enemy poster
The Public Enemy
1931 Β· dir. William A. Wellman
πŸ… 100%β˜… 7.6crime Β· drama

Drama in the same key

Two young Chicago hoodlums, Tom Powers and Matt Doyle, rise up from their poverty-stricken slum life to become petty thieves, bootleggers and cold-blooded killers. But with street notoriety and newfound wealth, the duo feels the heat from the cops and rival gangsters both. Despite his ruthless criminal reputation, Tom tries to remain connected to his family, however, gang warfare and the need for revenge eventually pull him away.

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Pixote poster
Pixote
1980 Β· dir. HΓ©ctor Babenco
πŸ… 94%β˜… 7.9crime Β· drama

Both are drama through and through

10-year-old Pixote endures torture, degradation, and corruption at a local youth detention center where two of its members are murdered by policemen who frame Lilica, a 17-year-old trans hustler. Pixote helps Lilica and three other boys escape and they start to make their living by a life of crime which only escalates to more violence and death.

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In the mood for more contemplative?

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The best-reviewed films that share Giant’s defining feeling.