50 best drama movies

by Dimitris_69 | created - 10 Jun 2011 | updated - 05 Sep 2013 | Public

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1. I Am Sam (2001)

PG-13 | 132 min | Drama

28 Metascore

An intellectually disabled man fights for custody of his 7-year-old daughter and in the process teaches his cold-hearted lawyer the value of love and family.

Director: Jessie Nelson | Stars: Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning, Dianne Wiest

Votes: 155,304 | Gross: $40.31M

2. The Green Mile (1999)

R | 189 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy

61 Metascore

A tale set on death row, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the lead guard, Paul Edgecombe, recognizes John's gift, he tries to help stave off the condemned man's execution.

Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt

Votes: 1,407,198 | Gross: $136.80M

3. Good Will Hunting (1997)

R | 126 min | Drama, Romance

71 Metascore

Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.

Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård

Votes: 1,067,823 | Gross: $138.43M

4. Scent of a Woman (1992)

R | 156 min | Drama

57 Metascore

A prep school student needing money agrees to "babysit" a blind man, but the job is not at all what he anticipated.

Director: Martin Brest | Stars: Al Pacino, Chris O'Donnell, James Rebhorn, Gabrielle Anwar

Votes: 328,759 | Gross: $63.90M

5. John Q (2002)

PG-13 | 116 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

30 Metascore

John Quincy Archibald takes a hospital emergency room hostage when his insurance won't cover his son's heart transplant.

Director: Nick Cassavetes | Stars: Denzel Washington, Robert Duvall, Gabriela Oltean, Kimberly Elise

Votes: 143,677 | Gross: $71.76M

6. American History X (1998)

R | 119 min | Crime, Drama

62 Metascore

Living a life marked by violence, neo-Nazi Derek finally goes to prison after killing two black youths. Upon his release, Derek vows to change; he hopes to prevent his brother, Danny, who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps.

Director: Tony Kaye | Stars: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Jennifer Lien

Votes: 1,186,150 | Gross: $6.72M

7. Million Dollar Baby (2004)

PG-13 | 132 min | Drama, Sport

86 Metascore

Frankie, an ill-tempered old coach, reluctantly agrees to train aspiring boxer Maggie. Impressed with her determination and talent, he helps her become the best and the two soon form a close bond.

Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Jay Baruchel

Votes: 721,698 | Gross: $100.49M

8. The Wrestler (2008)

R | 109 min | Drama, Sport

80 Metascore

A faded professional wrestler must retire, but finds his quest for a new life outside the ring a dispiriting struggle.

Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Marisa Tomei, Evan Rachel Wood, Mark Margolis

Votes: 319,920 | Gross: $26.24M

9. Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

G | 93 min | Biography, Drama, Family

Professor Wilson discovers a lost Akita puppy on his way home. Despite objections from his wife, Hachi endears himself to the family and grows to be Parker's loyal companion. As their bond grows deeper, a beautiful relationship unfolds.

Director: Lasse Hallström | Stars: Richard Gere, Joan Allen, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Sarah Roemer

Votes: 311,332

10. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

PG-13 | 117 min | Biography, Drama

64 Metascore

A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career

Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Jaden Smith, Brian Howe

Votes: 560,692 | Gross: $163.57M

11. Reign Over Me (2007)

R | 124 min | Drama

61 Metascore

A man who lost his family in the September 11 attack on New York City runs into his old college roommate. Rekindling the friendship is the one thing that appears able to help the man recover from his grief.

Director: Mike Binder | Stars: Adam Sandler, Don Cheadle, Jada Pinkett Smith, Liv Tyler

Votes: 99,606 | Gross: $19.66M

12. The Intouchables (2011)

R | 112 min | Comedy, Drama

57 Metascore

After he becomes a quadriplegic from a paragliding accident, an aristocrat hires a young man from the projects to be his caregiver.

Directors: Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano | Stars: François Cluzet, Omar Sy, Anne Le Ny, Audrey Fleurot

Votes: 929,322 | Gross: $13.18M

13. Personal Effects (2009)

R | 111 min | Drama, Romance

A 24 y.o. wrestler/McJobroni man meets a mom 20+ years older at group therapy for family of murder victims (sister and husband). He helps her deaf teenage son. She invites him to weddings. They await convictions on the murder trials.

Director: David Hollander | Stars: Michelle Pfeiffer, Ashton Kutcher, Kathy Bates, Spencer Hudson

Votes: 9,173

14. A Beautiful Mind (2001)

PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, Mystery

72 Metascore

A mathematical genius, John Nash made an astonishing discovery early in his career and stood on the brink of international acclaim. But the handsome and arrogant Nash soon found himself on a harrowing journey of self-discovery.

Director: Ron Howard | Stars: Russell Crowe, Ed Harris, Jennifer Connelly, Christopher Plummer

Votes: 986,892 | Gross: $170.74M

15. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

R | 133 min | Drama

84 Metascore

In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.

Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco

Votes: 1,072,262 | Gross: $112.00M

16. Forrest Gump (1994)

PG-13 | 142 min | Drama, Romance

82 Metascore

The history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.

Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field

Votes: 2,256,653 | Gross: $330.25M

17. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

R | 142 min | Drama

82 Metascore

Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.

Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler

Votes: 2,888,337 | Gross: $28.34M

18. The Deer Hunter (1978)

R | 183 min | Drama, War

90 Metascore

An in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.

Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale, John Savage

Votes: 362,171 | Gross: $48.98M

19. Jacknife (1989)

R | 102 min | Drama

Two Vietnam vets search for the strength to face up to their horrific war experiences, but their friendship begins to splinter when one becomes romantically involved with the other's sister.

Director: David Hugh Jones | Stars: Robert De Niro, Kathy Baker, Ed Harris, Sloane Shelton

Votes: 6,501 | Gross: $2.05M

20. The Outsiders (1983)

PG | 91 min | Crime, Drama

45 Metascore

In a small Oklahoma town in 1964, the rivalry between two gangs, the poor Greasers and the rich Socs, heats up when one gang member accidentally kills a member of the other.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: C. Thomas Howell, Matt Dillon, Ralph Macchio, Patrick Swayze

Votes: 97,525 | Gross: $25.60M

21. Rumble Fish (1983)

R | 94 min | Crime, Drama, Romance

63 Metascore

Absent-minded street thug Rusty James struggles to live up to his legendary older brother's reputation, and longs for the days of gang warfare.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Matt Dillon, Mickey Rourke, Diane Lane, Dennis Hopper

Votes: 37,677 | Gross: $2.49M

22. A Perfect World (1993)

PG-13 | 138 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

71 Metascore

A kidnapped boy strikes up a friendship with his captor, an escaped convict on the run from the law, while the search for him continues.

Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Kevin Costner, Clint Eastwood, Laura Dern, T.J. Lowther

Votes: 86,922 | Gross: $31.16M

23. Gran Torino (2008)

R | 116 min | Drama

73 Metascore

After a Hmong teenager tries to steal his prized 1972 Gran Torino, a disgruntled, prejudiced Korean War veteran seeks to redeem both the boy and himself.

Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Christopher Carley, Ahney Her

Votes: 814,929 | Gross: $148.10M

24. What Doesn't Kill You (2008)

R | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

71 Metascore

Two childhood friends from South Boston turn to crime as a way to get by, ultimately causing a strain in their personal lives and their friendship.

Director: Brian Goodman | Stars: Ethan Hawke, Mark Ruffalo, Brian Goodman, Amanda Peet

Votes: 13,228

25. Flight (I) (2012)

R | 138 min | Drama, Thriller

76 Metascore

Troubling questions arise after airline pilot Whip Whitaker makes a miracle landing after a mid-air catastrophe.

Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Denzel Washington, Nadine Velazquez, Don Cheadle, John Goodman

Votes: 376,154 | Gross: $93.77M

26. 21 Grams (2003)

R | 124 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

70 Metascore

A freak accident brings together a critically ill mathematician, a grieving mother, and a born-again ex-con.

Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston

Votes: 245,852 | Gross: $16.29M

27. Things We Lost in the Fire (2007)

R | 118 min | Drama

63 Metascore

A recent widow invites her husband's troubled best friend to live with her and her two children. As he gradually turns his life around, he helps the family cope and confront their loss.

Director: Susanne Bier | Stars: Halle Berry, Benicio Del Toro, Alison Lohman, David Duchovny

Votes: 29,777 | Gross: $3.29M

28. Men of Honor (2000)

R | 129 min | Biography, Drama

56 Metascore

The story of Carl Brashear, the first African-American U.S. Navy Diver, and the man who trained him.

Director: George Tillman Jr. | Stars: Cuba Gooding Jr., Robert De Niro, Charlize Theron, Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor

Votes: 125,133 | Gross: $48.82M

29. Born on the Fourth of July (1989)

R | 145 min | Biography, Drama, War

75 Metascore

The biography of Ron Kovic. Paralyzed in the Vietnam war, he becomes an anti-war and pro-human rights political activist after feeling betrayed by the country for which he fought.

Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Tom Cruise, Bryan Larkin, Raymond J. Barry, Caroline Kava

Votes: 115,930 | Gross: $70.00M

30. In the Name of the Father (1993)

R | 133 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

84 Metascore

An Irish man's coerced confession to an I.R.A. bombing he did not commit results in the imprisonment of his father as well. Meanwhile, a British lawyer fights to clear their names and free them.

Director: Jim Sheridan | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Pete Postlethwaite, Alison Crosbie, Philip King

Votes: 187,097 | Gross: $25.01M

31. Billy Elliot (2000)

R | 110 min | Drama, Music

74 Metascore

A talented young boy becomes torn between his unexpected love of dance and the disintegration of his family.

Director: Stephen Daldry | Stars: Jamie Bell, Julie Walters, Jean Heywood, Jamie Draven

Votes: 142,797 | Gross: $22.00M

32. American Beauty (1999)

R | 122 min | Drama

84 Metascore

A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.

Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley

Votes: 1,210,893 | Gross: $130.10M

33. Girl, Interrupted (1999)

R | 127 min | Biography, Drama

51 Metascore

A directionless teenager, Susanna, is rushed to Claymoore, a mental institution, after a supposed suicide attempt. There, she befriends a group of troubled women who deeply influence her life.

Director: James Mangold | Stars: Winona Ryder, Angelina Jolie, Clea DuVall, Brittany Murphy

Votes: 211,290 | Gross: $28.87M

34. Philadelphia (1993)

PG-13 | 125 min | Drama

66 Metascore

When a man with HIV is fired by his law firm because of his condition, he hires a homophobic small time lawyer as the only willing advocate for a wrongful dismissal suit.

Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington, Roberta Maxwell, Buzz Kilman

Votes: 258,058 | Gross: $77.32M

35. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

PG-13 | 166 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance

70 Metascore

Tells the story of Benjamin Button, a man who starts aging backwards with consequences.

Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt, Cate Blanchett, Tilda Swinton, Julia Ormond

Votes: 695,639 | Gross: $127.51M

36. The Sunset Limited (2011 TV Movie)

TV-MA | 91 min | Drama

Through a chance encounter, two men of opposing ideologies deliberate spiritual, philosophical, and profound matters in a New York City apartment.

Director: Tommy Lee Jones | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Tommy Lee Jones

Votes: 31,836

37. Seven Pounds (2008)

PG-13 | 123 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

36 Metascore

A man with a fateful secret embarks on an extraordinary journey of redemption by forever changing the lives of seven strangers.

Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith, Rosario Dawson, Woody Harrelson, Michael Ealy

Votes: 315,193 | Gross: $69.95M

38. Evil (2003)

Not Rated | 113 min | Drama

61 Metascore

A teenage boy expelled from school for fighting arrives at a boarding school where the systematic bullying of younger students is encouraged as a means to maintain discipline, and decides to fight back.

Director: Mikael Håfström | Stars: Andreas Wilson, Henrik Lundström, Gustaf Skarsgård, Linda Zilliacus

Votes: 42,072 | Gross: $0.02M

39. Antwone Fisher (2002)

PG-13 | 120 min | Biography, Drama

62 Metascore

Antwone Fisher, a young navy man, is forced to see a psychiatrist after a violent outburst against a fellow crewman. During the course of treatment a painful past is revealed and a new hope begins.

Director: Denzel Washington | Stars: Denzel Washington, Derek Luke, Joy Bryant, Malcolm David Kelley

Votes: 38,423 | Gross: $21.08M

40. The Door in the Floor (2004)

R | 111 min | Comedy, Drama

67 Metascore

A writer's young assistant becomes both pawn and catalyst in his boss's disintegrating household.

Director: Tod Williams | Stars: Jeff Bridges, Kim Basinger, Jon Foster, Elle Fanning

Votes: 16,190 | Gross: $3.84M

41. Crash (I) (2004)

R | 112 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

66 Metascore

Los Angeles citizens with vastly separate lives collide in interweaving stories of race, loss and redemption.

Director: Paul Haggis | Stars: Don Cheadle, Sandra Bullock, Thandiwe Newton, Karina Arroyave

Votes: 449,003 | Gross: $54.58M

42. 28 Days (2000)

PG-13 | 103 min | Comedy, Drama

46 Metascore

A big-city newspaper columnist is forced to enter a drug and alcohol rehab center after ruining her sister's wedding and crashing a stolen limousine.

Director: Betty Thomas | Stars: Sandra Bullock, Viggo Mortensen, Dominic West, Elizabeth Perkins

Votes: 54,418 | Gross: $37.17M

43. Solitary Man (2009)

R | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

69 Metascore

A car magnate watches his personal and professional life hit the skids because of his business and romantic indiscretions.

Directors: Brian Koppelman, David Levien | Stars: Michael Douglas, Susan Sarandon, Jesse Eisenberg, Danny DeVito

Votes: 17,114 | Gross: $4.36M

44. The Blind Side (2009)

PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport

53 Metascore

The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.

Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Jae Head

Votes: 360,454 | Gross: $255.96M

45. Remember the Titans (2000)

PG | 113 min | Biography, Drama, Sport

48 Metascore

In 1971 Virginia high school football was everything to the people of Alexandria. But when the school board was forced to integrate an all-black school with an all-white one, the very foundation of football's tradition was put to the test.

Director: Boaz Yakin | Stars: Denzel Washington, Will Patton, Wood Harris, Ryan Hurst

Votes: 231,906 | Gross: $115.65M

46. Coach Carter (2005)

PG-13 | 136 min | Biography, Drama, Sport

57 Metascore

Controversy surrounds high school basketball coach Ken Carter after he benches his entire team for breaking their academic contract with him.

Director: Thomas Carter | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, Rick Gonzalez, Robert Ri'chard, Rob Brown

Votes: 171,988 | Gross: $67.26M

47. A Better Life (2011)

PG-13 | 98 min | Drama, Romance

64 Metascore

A gardener in East L.A. struggles to keep his son away from gangs and immigration agents while trying to give his son the opportunities he never had.

Director: Chris Weitz | Stars: Demián Bichir, José Julián, Eddie 'Piolin' Sotelo, Joaquín Cosio

Votes: 16,537 | Gross: $1.76M

48. Sister (2012)

Unrated | 97 min | Crime, Drama

81 Metascore

A drama set at a Swiss ski resort and centered on a boy who supports his sister by stealing from wealthy guests.

Director: Ursula Meier | Stars: Léa Seydoux, Kacey Mottet Klein, Martin Compston, Gillian Anderson

Votes: 7,210

49. Funny People (2009)

R | 146 min | Comedy, Drama

60 Metascore

When seasoned comedian George Simmons learns of his terminal, inoperable health condition, his desire to form a genuine friendship causes him to take a relatively green performer under his wing as his opening act.

Director: Judd Apatow | Stars: Adam Sandler, Seth Rogen, Leslie Mann, Eric Bana

Votes: 123,621 | Gross: $51.86M

50. People Like Us (2012)

PG-13 | 114 min | Comedy, Drama

49 Metascore

While settling his recently deceased father's estate, a salesman discovers he has a sister whom he never knew about, leading both siblings to re-examine their perceptions about family and life choices.

Director: Alex Kurtzman | Stars: Chris Pine, Elizabeth Banks, Michelle Pfeiffer, Olivia Wilde

Votes: 44,162 | Gross: $12.41M



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