Best movies like The Royal Road

A drop-out from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil-rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest.

A love story wrapped in a mystery. Set in Europe before WWII, professor of language and philosophy Dominic Matei is struck by lightning and ages backwards from 70 to 40 in a week, attracting the world and the Nazis. While on the run, the professor meets a young woman who has her own experience with a lightning storm. Not only does Dominic find love again, but her new abilities hold the key to his research.

Part fact and part fiction, Zoot Suit is the film version of Luis Valdez's critically acclaimed play, based on the actual Sleepy Lagoon murder case and the zoot suit riots of 1940s Los Angeles. Henry Reyna is the leader of a group of Mexican-Americans being sent to San Quentin without substantial evidence for the death of a man at Sleepy Lagoon. As part of the defense committee, Alice Bloomfield and George Shearer fight the blatant miscarriage of justice for the freedom of Henry and his friends.

Semi-biographical film based on the experiences of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.

A homeless musician finds meaning in his life when he starts a friendship with dozens of parrots.

The North Star is the story of Benjamin "Big Ben" Jones and Moses Hopkins, two slaves who escaped from a Virginia plantation and made their way to freedom in Buckingham, Pennsylvania in 1849. Big Ben's 6 foot 10 inch size and a record bounty for his safe return make him the focus of every slave hunter on the east coast. Their journey exposes them to danger and cruelty; however it also exposes them to the unexpected kindness of the people involved in the Underground Railroad. These experiences will change Ben and Moses forever. Upon reaching the relative safety of Mt. Gilead Church on Buckingham Mountain, Ben and Moses get to experience life as free men and cross paths with historical figures such as Frederick Douglass, Harriet Tubman, Joshua and Jonathan Fell. Their freedom also allows them to experience heroism, romance and treachery. Written by LuckPig Studios

"Notorious" is the story of Christopher Wallace. Through raw talent and sheer determination, Wallace transforms himself from Brooklyn street hustler (once selling crack to pregnant women) to one of the greatest rappers of all time: The Notorious B.I.G. Follow his meteoric rise to fame and his refusal to succumb to expectations - redefining our notion of "The American Dream."

A heart-stirring meditation on time, memory and mortality, “Of Time and the City” is Terence Davies’ poetic, conflicted ode to his birthplace of Liverpool, England. The visual content of the film consists largely of archival clips of the city from the 1940s to the 1960s, their nostalgic charm darkened by accompanying music and the counterpoint of Davies’ dry, at times dyspeptic, voice-over narration. His voice thickens with emotion as he recalls the delights of juvenile movie-going or the ritual of a holiday trip to New Brighton, across the River Mersey, and hardens with contempt when he turns his gaze on the hoopla surrounding Queen Elizabeth’s coronation in 1953. The film is a powerful evocation of the director's youth in post-war Britain and a reflection on how his home city has changed over the years.

A blending of documentary and experimental narrative strategies, combining stunning 16mm landscape cinematography with a bold, lyrical voice-over to share two San Francisco stories: the history of the Golden Gate Bridge as “suicide landmark,” and the story of a butch dyke in San Francisco searching for love and self-discovery. The Joy of Life is a film about landscapes, both physical and emotional.

Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.

Roy and Bo leave their small town the weekend after graduation for a short road trip to LA. Soon, they find themselves lashing out and leaving a trail of bodies behind them. The violence escalates throughout.

In a futuristic world that has embraced ape slavery, a chimpanzee named Caesar resurfaces after almost twenty years of hiding from the authorities, and prepares for a revolt against humanity.

The Spanish explorer Pizarro captures the Inca god-chief Atahualpa and promises to free him upon the delivery of a hoard of gold. But Pizarro finds himself torn between his desire for conquest and his sense of honor after friendship and respect develops between captive and captor.

Handsomely-mounted historical epic concerns the birth of the Islamic faith and the story of the prophet Mohammed.

Still grieving after the murder of her boyfriend, hairdresser Justice writes poetry to deal with the pain of her loss. Unable to get to Oakland to attend a convention because of her broken-down car, Justice gets a lift with her friend, Iesha and Iesha's postal worker boyfriend, Chicago. Along for the ride is Chicago's co-worker, Lucky, to whom Justice grows close after some initial problems. But is she ready to open her heart again?

Jaime Escalante is a mathematics teacher in a school in a hispanic neighbourhood. Convinced that his students have potential, he adopts unconventional teaching methods to try and turn gang members and no-hopers into some of the country's top algebra and calculus students.

Traces over three generations an immigrant family's trials, tribulations, tragedies, and triumphs. Maria and Jose, the first generation, come to Los Angeles, meet, marry, face deportation all in the 1930s. They establish their family in East L.A., and their children Chucho, Paco, Memo, Irene, Toni, and Jimmy deal with youth culture and the L.A. police in the '50s. As the second generation become adults in the '60s, the focus shifts to Jimmy, his marriage to Isabel (a Salvadorian refugee), their son, and Jimmy's journey to becoming a responsible parent.

After being assigned as study partners, two Chicana high schoolers find a bond that confuses them at times.

From its distinctive neighborhoods to its architectural homes, Los Angeles has been the backdrop to countless movies. In this dazzling work, Andersen takes viewers on a whirlwind tour through the metropolis' real and cinematic history, investigating the myriad stories and legends that have come to define it, and meticulously, judiciously revealing the real city that lives beneath.

Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.

An eccentric East German inventor and defector travels to Los Angeles, California to sell a prototype revolutionary new car that runs on vegetables and produces no pollution, but he runs into one madcap situation after another to find a buyer and financier for mass production.

Nola grew up living on a van with her father, Clint; two nomads against the world. When tragedy strikes, Nola must confront the reality of life on the road alone, learning to own her grief, her past and her new destination.

This film is a compilation, with narration by Steve Allen, of comedies from the old Mack Sennett silent studio. Sennett, himself, appears in a cameo at the end of the film.

Ben Dobbs is a lonely college student who has never had dreams of any kind. This all changes for Ben and he start having a series of sequential and terrifying nightmares that become true in his waking life. As he reaches out for help, he is also expanding the net his nightmare demon is spreading for new victims. Ben’s challenge is to survive this new surrealistic world Beyond Dream’s Door.

Two determined parents fight back against a Los Angeles gang terrorizing the neighborhood after their son is brutally attacked.

A spate of robberies in Southern California schools had an oddly specific target: tubas. In this work of creative nonfiction, d/Deaf first-time feature director Alison O’Daniel presents the impact of these crimes from an unexpected angle. The film unfolds mimicking a game of telephone, where sound’s feeble transmissibility is proven as the story bends and weaves to human interpretation and miscommunication. The result is a stunning contribution to cinematic language. O’Daniel has developed a syntax of deafness that offers a complex, overlaid, surprising new texture, which offers a dimensional experience of deafness and reorients the audience auditorily in an unfamiliar and exhilarating way.

Underwater Dreams, narrated by Michael Peña, is an epic story of how the sons of undocumented Mexican immigrants learned how to build underwater robots. And go up against MIT in the process.

With the help of a talking freeway billboard, a "wacky weatherman" tries to win the heart of an English newspaper reporter, who is struggling to make sense of the strange world of early-90s Los Angeles.

Four children set out on their own after their mother's death to avoid being separated by foster care. Trying to find their Uncle Jack, they encounter adventure and danger. Before the story's touching yet humorous conclusion, they make some serious mistakes... and learn some important lessons.

The film follows a simple structure, and shows the drug-related degradation of five youths (Jake, Tracey, Jessica, Alice, Oreo) during the course of three years. The film depicts drug-related crimes and diseases: prostitution, male prostitution, AIDS, and lethal overdoses.

Double Tide documents the work of a female clam digger in the mudflats of coastal Maine and is filmed on the rare occasion in which low tide occurs twice within daylight hours—once at dawn and once at dusk.

BIRD IN THE SKY is a gritty, poetic tale of a young man’s spiritual struggle on the streets of New York City. Rob has been given a second chance to right the wrongs of his street-wise past; he must perform a miracle to be saved. His fate lies in his love for a young woman, Kay, who is coping with the loss of her child.

A story about talented homeless and formerly homeless fine arts painters in the worst section of Los Angeles known as Skid Row. People will create art no matter how humble the circumstances.

Just before the turn of the Century two young outlaws team up for a historic ride. Based on historical references, the "True Story" of Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

A million years ago in Africa: the last of the ape-humans is on flight from the humans, who killed the rest of his clan. Alone, seeking others of his kind, he traverses steps, deserts and mountains until he reaches the coast. But there are already humans, too.

A fascinating story of the truth behind the legend and history of St Patrick. This special will feature the world reknown voices of two of Ireland's incredible top actors: with narration by Liam Neeson and also Gabriel Byrne supplying the voice of Patrick. The story of the real St. Patrick is a fabulous mix of part adventure tale and part spiritual awakening. His radical ideas were suspect and he attracted the censure of the Church establishment in Roman Britain. Patrick refused to compromise this commitment and soon won the respect and love of the Irish and even the finally the reluctant support of his detractors. He started out as a slave an eventually became a liberator, who learned to forgive and ultimately love his enemies.

A Cinderella story of a young country girl who comes to Hollywood and achieves movie stardom with the help of a publicity man.

The film follows the story of Jamie, a struggling butch lesbian actress who gets cast as a man in a film. The main plot is a romantic comedy between Jamie's male alter-ego, "Male Jamie," and Jill, a heterosexual woman on set. The film's subplots include Jamie's bisexual roommate Lola and her cat actor Howard, Lola's abrasive butch German girlfriend Andi, and Jamie's gay Asian friend David.

A focus on life in a gang, Boulevard Nights portrays the dangers of street violence. Richard Yniguez plays a young Chicano who tries to get out of the gang, but he keeps finding himself drawn back into it.

First shown on TV in 2011, this film is the fascinating story of British Rock Star Gary Numan. From his early meteoric success through mid career crisis and near catastrophe to his renaissance and subsequent evolution into industrial overload. Includes contributions from Trent Reznor, Phil Oakey, Little Boots, Andy McCluskey, Noel Fielding & Martin Mills. This is the story of Reinvention. This DVD edition includes over 45 minutes of extra previously unseen footage. The 45 minutes extra are a mixture of new interviews with Gary and extended footage from sections on the original (longer versions of guest interviews for example), plus scenes that didn't appear on the original at all.

Big Sur is a film adaptation of the Jack Kerouac autobiographical novel of the same name.

Three young people drive to Mexico to scatter their friend's ashes, they are forced to confront their own sense of family, identity and future.

A man combs Los Angeles for his missing daughter, and discovers she belongs to a gang dealing in crack.

She worked hard for the money but he inherited his power. Kevin and Liberty Dallas were living the American Dream. Their journey in life was full of promises, commitments, spiritual guidance and childhood friendships that kept them focused on being the best and having the best. When lust, lies and deceit mingle, Two Wrongs have never made anything right.

The story of Sam Houston, hero of the Texas revolution, statesman, and first president of the Republic of Texas.

This film tells the history of the United States from pre-Revolution through 1939.

The underseaa world is an unseen battleground. Join Dr. Robert Ballard, former naval intelligence officer and discoverer of the RMS Titanic, as he reveals how the race for global domination as eon from the deapest reaches of the ocean. Using rare archival footage and fully animated recreations, this fascinating documentary examines the technology behind Cold War nuclear subs along with other recently declassified defense systems, such as SOSUS, the U.S. Navy's top-secret sound survelliance network. Sea Spies also looks at the key historical developments that influenced twentieth century warfare and features interviews with marine experts as well as high-ranking military officials.

Fresh off the heels of her brand-new album, "Happier Than Ever," this cinematic concert experience features an intimate performance of every song in the album's sequential order – for the first and only time – from the stage of the legendary Hollywood Bowl.

Revolutionaries rise up against the Mexican government in California in 1841 is told through the story of doomed Mexican general Don Francisco Hernandez, who pits his troops against a tenacious team of revolutionaries led by his half brother, Don Michael O'Casey .

When a fiery young couple attempts to rekindle their relationship after three years apart, the highs and lows of their passion leave the pair wondering if nostalgia is enough to keep them together.