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Scarface poster

Movies that feel likeScarface (1983)

After getting a green card in exchange for assassinating a Cuban government official, Tony Montana stakes a claim on the drug trade in Miami. Viciously murdering anyone who stands in his way, Tony eventually becomes the biggest drug lord in the state, controlling nearly all the cocaine that comes through Miami. But increased pressure from the police, wars with Colombian drug cartels and his own drug-fueled paranoia serve to fuel the flames of his eventual downfall.

If you loved Scarface, the closest films we have are Batman Begins (2005), Léon: The Professional (1994) and Cool Hand Luke (1967). All three share Scarface's gritty and contemplative feel, which is what we rank on before quality.

Seen the big three already? The under-the-radar pick below is Charley Varrick (1973).

🍅 77% Rotten Tomatoes★ 8.3 IMDb ↗TMDB ↗dir. Brian De Palmakineticgrittycontemplativemelancholy
8 of 12 streaming nowHBO Max · Amazon Prime Video · Criterion Channel

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If Scarface hit the spot, these will too

Batman Begins poster
Batman Begins
2005 · dir. Christopher Nolan
🍅 85%★ 8.2drama · crime · actionMax

Grief-forged reinvention set loose in a city rotten to the core

The difference: Moral where Tony is monstrous — restraint instead of appetite

Driven by tragedy, billionaire Bruce Wayne dedicates his life to uncovering and defeating the corruption that plagues his home, Gotham City. Unable to work within the system, he instead creates a new identity, a symbol of fear for the criminal underworld - The Batman.

Léon: The Professional poster
Léon: The Professional
1994 · dir. Luc Besson
🍅 76%★ 8.5crime · drama · action

Street-level crime with a strange tenderness underneath the violence

The difference: Small and intimate — one apartment's worth of world, not an empire

Léon, the top hit man in New York, has earned a rep as an effective "cleaner". But when his next-door neighbors are wiped out by a loose-cannon DEA agent, he becomes the unwilling custodian of 12-year-old Mathilda. Before long, Mathilda's thoughts turn to revenge, and she considers following in Léon's footsteps.

Cool Hand Luke poster
Cool Hand Luke
1967 · dir. Stuart Rosenberg
🍅 100%★ 8drama · crime

A defiant man the system tries and fails to break

The difference: A prison farm, not a penthouse — rebellion without riches

When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or the yard's resident heavy, Dragline, who ends up admiring the new guy's unbreakable will. Luke's bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison's dreaded solitary confinement cell, "the box," make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers.

Lethal Weapon 2 poster
Lethal Weapon 2
1989 · dir. Richard Donner
🍅 82%★ 7.3action · thriller · crime

Loud, violent 1980s pulp with a grudge burning underneath it

The difference: Buddy-comedy warmth and clean good guys — no descent to watch

Riggs and Murtaugh are on the trail of South African diplomats using their immunity to engage in criminal activities.

Thief poster
Thief
1981 · dir. Michael Mann
🍅 80%★ 7.4crime · thriller · dramaPrime Video

A professional's dream of a clean life the underworld won't allow

The difference: Cool restraint over excess — one score, not an empire

Frank is an expert professional safecracker, specialized in high-profile diamond heists. He plans to use his ill-gotten income to retire from crime and build a nice life for himself complete with a home, wife and kids. To accelerate the process, he signs on with a top gangster for a big score.

Lilya 4-ever poster
Lilya 4-ever
2002 · dir. Lukas Moodysson
🍅 84%★ 7.8drama · crime

Gritty and contemplative in the same breath

The difference: Takes it somewhere less kinetic than Scarface does

In a struggling post-Soviet community, Lilya a teenage girl is abandoned when her mother moves to the United States with her boyfriend. Facing neglect and poverty, she meets Andrei, who offers her a job in Sweden, giving her hope for a better life — and a journey that will change everything.

The Celebration poster
The Celebration
1998 · dir. Thomas Vinterberg
🍅 91%★ 8drama

Melancholy drama in both cases

The family of a wealthy businessman gather to celebrate his 60th birthday. During the course of the party, his eldest son presents a speech that reveals a devastating secret that turns the night into a battle of truth and denial.

Heat poster
Heat
1995 · dir. Michael Mann
🍅 84%★ 8.3crime · drama · action

Professionals at the top of a criminal game, and the cost of staying there

The difference: Cool, disciplined and procedural — no operatic self-destruction

Obsessive master thief Neil McCauley leads a top-notch crew on various daring heists throughout Los Angeles while determined detective Vincent Hanna pursues him without rest. Each man recognizes and respects the ability and the dedication of the other even though they are aware their cat-and-mouse game may end in violence.

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father poster
🍅 94%★ 8.5documentary · crimePrime Video

One thread runs through both: grief

The difference: Sits closer to documentary than Scarface does

In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.

Charley Varrick poster
Charley Varrick
1973 · dir. Don Siegel
🍅 82%★ 7.5crime · thriller · drama

Both keep coming back to the same thing: mafia

Charley Varrick robs a bank in a small town with his friends, but instead of obtaining a small amount of money, they discover they stole a very large amount of money belonging to the mob. Charley must now come up with a plan to not only evade the police but the mob as well.

Brother poster
Brother
1997 · dir. Aleksei Balabanov
🍅 100%★ 7.8crime · drama · action

Common ground: gangster

Danila goes to his successful brother, Victor, in Petersburg to start a new life. Unknown to Danila, Victor is a contract killer, but is in hiding after asking for too much money to assassinate a Chechen mob boss. To avoid exposure, Victor convinces Danila to kill the boss instead.

Death Wish poster
Death Wish
2018 · dir. Eli Roth
🍅 18%★ 6.3action · crime · thriller

Action with a pulse of momentum, in both cases

The difference: The critics' underdog of the pair

A mild-mannered father is transformed into a killing machine after his family is torn apart by a violent act.

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