Best movies like Imitation of Life

A unique, carefully handpicked, selection of the best movies like Imitation of Life Starring Douglas Sirk, Hilde Jary, and more. If you liked Imitation of Life then you may also like: Week-End with Father, Never Say Goodbye, Rams, All That Heaven Allows, Battle Hymn and many more popular movies featured on this list. You can further filter the list even more or get a random selection from the list of similar movies, to make your selection even easier.

Portrait of filmmaker Douglas Sirk.

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Never Say Goodbye

In present-day U.S., Dr. Michael Parker, a prominent surgeon, unexpectedly runs into his German-born wife whom he thought was dead. Victor, an artist and his "dead" wife's now boyfriend, berates Dr. Parker for "killing" her. The bulk of the story flashes back to Austria during World War II as we learn how Dr. Parker met and married his wife, and the one mistake that may have cost him his family.

Rams

RAMS is a documentary portrait of legendary designer Dieter Rams by filmmaker Gary Hustwit. For over fifty years, Rams has left an indelible mark on the field of product design with his iconic work at Braun and Vitsoe, and his influence on Apple. So at 86 years old, why does he now regret being a designer? RAMS is a design documentary, but it’s also a rumination on consumerism, materialism, and sustainability. Dieter's philosophy is about more than just design, it’s about a way to live. The film also features an original score by pioneering musician Brian Eno.

All That Heaven Allows

Two different social classes collide when Cary Scott, a wealthy upper-class widow, falls in love with her much younger and down-to-earth gardener, prompting disapproval and criticism from her children and country club friends.

Battle Hymn

Battle Hymn was inspired by the true story of American minister Dean Hess, played here with rare sensitivity by Rock Hudson. A bomber pilot during World War II, Hess inadvertently releases a bomb which destroys a German orphanage. Tortured by guilt, Hess relocates in Korea after the war to offer his services as a missionary. Combining the best elements of Christianity and Eastern spiritualism, Hess establishes a large home for orphans. The preacher's efforts are threatened when the Korean "police action" breaks out in 1950.

Burden of Dreams

The Amazon rain forest, 1979. The crew of Fitzcarraldo (1982), a film directed by German director Werner Herzog, soon finds itself with problems related to casting, tribal struggles and accidents, among many other setbacks; but nothing compared to dragging a huge steamboat up a mountain, while Herzog embraces the path of a certain madness to make his vision come true.

De Palma

An intimate conversation between filmmakers, chronicling De Palma’s 55-year career, his life, and his filmmaking process, with revealing anecdotes and, of course, a wealth of film clips.

Thunder on the Hill

Sister Mary presides over a convent where a convicted murderess, who is being escorted to Death Row, is stranded by bad weather. She is slowly becoming convinced that Valerie is innocent so Sister Mary sets about to clear the girl and bring the real killer to justice.

Magnificent Obsession

When churlish, spoiled rich man Bob Merrick foolishly wrecks his speedboat, the rescue team resuscitates him with equipment therefore unavailable to aid a local hero, Dr. Wayne Phillips, who dies as a result. Phillips had helped many people, and when Merrick learns of the doctor's way of life-- That is, to selflessly give of himself and his finances, in secret-- Bob attempts it in a ham-handed way. From then on, the lives of Helen Phillips and Bob Merrick intersect, first in tragedy, then in love.

A Scandal in Paris

A smooth-talking French thief wangles his way into an important position as prefect of police.

Summer Storm

It's a tale of power and passions when a Russian siren, who wants the finer things in life, sinks her hooks into a judge, a decadent aristocrat and an estate superintendent, with surprising results.

Has Anybody Seen My Gal?

When a 1920s millionaire tests the fiber of his Vermont family, a young lady and her boyfriend feel the repercussions.

Take Me to Town

Saloon entertainer Vermilion O'Toole and her former partner in crime Newt Cole escape from a train ride to prison and hide out in logging town Timberline. Meanwhile, the three sons of widower Will Hall come to town in search of a wife for their dad. Vermilion needs to lay low to escape the marshal, so she accepts the boys' offer to visit pioneer community Pine Grove. Once there, she annoys local Mrs. Grundys but eventually starts to fit in.

Fell in Love with a Girl

A film about longstanding relationships, family, and the deep consequences of falling in love. While exploring themes of love in music, poetry and art, the filmmaker reflects on his life and the journeys on which love has taken him. Now, a new journey will test him again, an intercontinental exodus to keep his family together. A real and intimate portrait about the complexity of love.

The Tarnished Angels

In the 1930s, once-great World War I pilot Roger Shumann performs as a daredevil barnstorming pilot at aerial stunt shows while his wife, LaVerne, works as a parachutist. When newspaper reporter Burke Devlin arrives to do a story on the Shumanns’ act, he quickly falls in love with the beautiful--and neglected--LaVerne.

Interlude

A young woman touring Germany is caught between a married symphony conductor and a doctor from back home.

Final Accord

A famous violinist enlists in a music school in order to woo one of the students.

Captain Lightfoot

A boggy swashbuckler of Irish freedom-fighter Michael Martin. In 1815, Michael Martin, member of an Irish revolutionary society, turns highwayman to support it, and soon becomes an outlaw. In Dublin, he meets famous rebel "Captain Thunderbolt" and becomes his second-in-command, under the name "Lightfoot."

On the Other Side

The oldest Quebecois Benedictine convent open its gates to a documentary filmmaker for the first time. Observed up close, life behind its walls is busier than one would expect. About twenty cloistered nuns, most of them over 70, share their daily life with diligence and humor. A contemplative portrait of a community of sisterhood and solidarity emerges, punctuated by prayer, work and games evenings.

Mystery Submarine

Posing as an ex-German medical officer, a U. S. Navy Intelligence Officer sets out to rescue a kidnapped scientist, and sink a Nazi submarine, hiding off the coast of South America.

John Ford: The Man Who Invented America

Over a 50-year career and more than a hundred movies, filmmaker John Ford (1894-1973) forged the legend of the Far West. By giving a face to the underprivileged, from humble cowboys to persecuted minorities, he revealed like no one else the great social divisions that existed and still exist in the United States. More than four decades after his death, what remains of his legacy and humanistic values in the memory of those who love his work?

Fred Baker - filmmaker

The house he lived In: A conversation with Fred Baker (1932-2011) filmmaker , director , screenwriter , film producer, actor and jazz musician. A shining example of America's bohemian underground that has been around since the days of Walt Whitman. A sensualist. His favorite topics are sex, art, food and politics. To the rhythm of New York and Lenny Bruce.

Asog

This unique narrative incorporating documentary elements follows Rey, a 40-year-old non-binary teacher and typhoon survivor, on a roadtrip to fame. With surreal comedy and social portrait realism, filmmaker Seán‌ Devlin explores climate change, LGBTQ+ issues, and the impact of colonialism on contemporary Philippines.

The Lady Pays Off

The naive Evelyn Warren, elected school teacher of the year by Time Magazine, goes to Las Vegas, where she loses a lot of money. In order to pay her debts, casino manager Matt Braddock asks her to take care of his sad little daughter Diana.

No Room for the Groom

Alvah, a young GI who happens to own a vineyard, elopes to Las Vegas with Lee, his housekeeper's daughter. But Alvah's chicken pox postpone the wedding night. The rest revolves around more delays to the consummation, caused by Lee's manipulative Mama and the flock of mostly obnoxious relatives with whom she's filled the house.

Delphine Seyrig, portrait d'une comète

Delphine Seyrig, an extraordinary woman and actress, died on October 15, 1990. From "Last Year at Marienbad" by Alain Resnais to "India Song" by Marguerite Duras, she played in 34 films for cinema, 13 films for television and 33 plays. Jacqueline Veuve, filmmaker and friend of Delphine Seyrig, wanted to break the silence that has fallen on her memory by making a documentary that traces with emotion and subjectivity the life of the mythical actress, the fierce feminist but also the simple friend.

Portraits From Ground Zero

On 9/11, photo-journalist & filmmaker, Andrea Booher, was designated by Mayor Guliani as one of the only two photographers allowed unlimited, 24 hour access. She was assigned to the Urban Search & Rescue teams, whose only mission was to find survivors.

The Other Kids

Director Chris Brown creates a hybrid of fiction and non-fiction in which he collaborates with real high school seniors to tell their personal stories. The result is a portrait of six teens on the threshold of adulthood and how each is dealing with his or her impending future.

Portrait of a Showgirl

The story of three Las Vegas showgirls, each at a different stage in her career.

The First Legion

A Catholic priest fights against his colleagues' immediate acceptance of an ambiguous “miracle”.

Meet Me at the Fair

In 1904, Doc Tilbee, medicine show huckster and champion tall-tale teller, gives a ride to a young boy escaped from an orphanage, where bad conditions (the result of political graft) are being investigated by new appointee Zerelda Wing, who doesn't know that her fiancée is one of the politicians responsible. Tad wants to stay with his new friend Doc, who is attracted to Zerelda, to the discomfiture of his old flame Clara...all amid nostalgic musical numbers.

Taza, Son of Cochise

Three years after the end of the Apache wars, peacemaking chief Cochise dies. His elder son Taza shares his ideas, but brother Naiche yearns for war...and for Taza's betrothed, Oona. Naiche loses no time in starting trouble which, thanks to a bigoted cavalry officer, ends with the proud Chiricahua Apaches on a reservation, where they are soon joined by the captured renegade Geronimo, who is all it takes to light the firecracker's fuse...

Close Up

A Belgian filmmaker is under suspicion of having committed a brutal killing-spree in a New York bar.

The Moretti House

Three young filmmakers set out on a quest to shoot an investigative documentary about an old upstate New York mansion that has been vacant since 1929.

Rock Hudson: All That Heaven Allowed

This timely exploration of Hollywood and LGBTQ+ identity examines the life of legendary actor Rock Hudson, from his public "ladies' man" persona to his private life as a gay man.

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