Top 250 Movies Like The Ideal City

24 City chronicles the dramatic closing of a once-prosperous state-owned factory in Chengdu, southwest China and its conversion into a sprawling luxury apartment complex. Three generations, eight characters : old workers, factory executives and yuppies, their stories melt into the History of China.

A single mother's life is thrown into turmoil after her struggling, rarely-seen younger brother returns to town.

Anthony Stowe is a dirty cop who is hooked on heroin—and everyone hates him. After a serious accident, he is placed into an induced coma, but emerges from it a better person who wants to put things right.

The lives and loves behind the scenes at the racetrack are detailed in this thoroughbred soap opera. An ambitious young trainer, Joel Tarrant (Ty Hardin), enters into an illicit affair with the stable owner's wealthy wife, hot-to-trot Laura Rubio (Suzanne Pleshette), in the hope that someday he'll have enough dough to buy his own horses and stable.

Having finally secured her first assignment from her family's demolition business, Sam Walczak (Mischa Barton) is sent to supervise the destruction of an apartment house, only to discover a group of tenants still living in the condemned building. One such tenant, Jimmy (Cameron Bright), tells Sam an urban legend about a serial murderer who used to live in the building and entomb his victims in the walls. What's worse, the dead are believed to still harass the residents to this day.

Searching for the lost world of Atlantis, Prof. Aitken, his son Charles and Greg Collinson are betrayed by the crew of their expedition's ship, attracted by the fabulous treasures of Atlantis. The diving bell disabled, a deep sea monster attacks the boat. They are all dragged to the bottom of the sea where they meet the inhabitants of the lost continent, an advanced alien race that makes sailors their slaves.

As two warring media moguls grapple for ownership of a coveted professional football team, they use the newspapers, magazines and television stations they own to destroy each other's reputations.

When Edward Creighton leads the construction of the Western Union to unite East with West, he hires a Western reformed outlaw and a tenderfoot Eastern surveyor.

Mabel Longhetti, desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick. Increasingly unstable, especially in the company of others, she craves happiness, but her extremely volatile behavior convinces Nick that she poses a danger to their family and decides to commit her to an institution for six months. Alone with a trio of kids to raise on his own, he awaits her return, which holds more than a few surprises.

The Wrecker is a flinty-eyed demolition engineer named Regan (Jack Holt). While he's off on another assignment, Regan's wife Mary (Genevieve Tobin) and supposed best friend Cummings (Sidney Blackmer) engage in some heavy petting. About to wash his hands of his faithless wife and his back-stabbing chum, our hero is compelled to save both their lives when they're pinned under the wreckage of a collapsed schoolhouse. George E. Stones supplies some good-natured ethnic humor as Regan's junk-dealer pal Shapiro.

After moving from Calcutta to New York, members of the Ganguli family maintain a delicate balancing act between honoring the traditions of their native India and blending into American culture. Although parents Ashoke and Ashima are proud of the sacrifices they make to give their children opportunities, their son Gogol strives to forge his own identity without forgetting his heritage.

When veteran anchorman Howard Beale is forced to retire his 25-year post because of his age, he announces to viewers that he will kill himself during his farewell broadcast. Network executives rethink their decision when his fanatical tirade results in a spike in ratings.

A depressed white-collar worker tries hypnotherapy, only to find himself in a perpetual state of devil-may-care bliss that prompts him to start living by his own rules, and hatch a hapless attempt to embezzle money from his soul-killing employers.

The friendship of two working stiff railroad engineers is put to the test when one falls for the other’s wife.

Dennis, owner of a rubber plantation in Cochinchina, is involved with Vantine, who left Saigon to evade the police. When his new surveyor arrives along with his refined wife Dennis is quickly infatuated by her.

A construction foreman conducts his workers like a symphony orchestra as they build a skyscraper to Franz Liszt's "Hungarian Rhapsody No. 2."

The story of Steve Jobs' ascension from college dropout into one of the most revered creative entrepreneurs of the 20th century.

Jonathan is a young man with a strange condition that only his brother understands. But when he begins to yearn for a different life, their unique bond becomes increasingly tested.

An heir of a vast fortune is deeply in debt because he spends faster than his very generous trust fund allows. There is a battle of wills between his selfish spendthrift was and the money manager which is is forced/tricked into appointing.

Just before the Civil War (but after the South has seceded), Southern saboteurs try to prevent railroad construction from crossing Kansas to the frontier; army captain Nelson is sent out to oppose them. As the tracks push westward, Nelson must contend with increasingly violent sabotage, while trying to romance the foreman's pretty daughter Barbara.

While his wife, Catherine, is finalizing their divorce, serial philanderer Andre invites his latest conquest, Catherine’s best friend, Patricia, over for dinner. Over the course of the evening, Andre shares his entire romantic history since first coming to London as a young man, including his liaisons with his former boss, a marriage-minded young girl and a kindhearted Frenchwoman.

Paula Consodine comes to Los Angeles in search of her missing sister. Newspaperman Mark Sitko, investigating on Paula's behalf, discovers that the sister is dead, a supposed suicide. The whole thing seems a bit fishy to Sitko, and indeed it is: the girl's death was engineered by a black-market adoption racket, headed by one DeCola.

A computer programmer's dream job at a hot Portland-based firm turns nightmarish when he discovers his boss has a secret and ruthless means of dispatching anti-trust problems.

A searing look at a day in the life of an assistant to a powerful executive. As Jane follows her daily routine, she grows increasingly aware of the insidious abuse that threatens every aspect of her position.

Adaptation of the classic Herman Melville short story. The narrator, an elderly Manhattan lawyer with a very comfortable business helping wealthy men deal with mortgages, deeds, and bonds, relates the story of the strangest man he has ever known.

A young professional woman (Simpson) unwittingly becomes the pawn of two business executives in their bid to oust the head of a mega-conglomerate.

Al Fountain, a middle-aged electrical engineer, is on the verge of a mid-life crisis, when he decides to take his time coming home from a business trip, rents a car, and heads out looking for a lake he remembers from his childhood. But his wandering takes him into the life of Kid, a free-spirited young man who helps Al escape from the routine of everyday life and find freedom to enjoy himself.

Jimmy Stevens, a senior VP at an international energy firm, blows the whistle on his company's deadly and corrupt practices in Latin America. Knowing he will be assassinated for his betrayal, he places an anonymous call securing the services of private detective Frank Turlotte to trail him from a distance.

A surveyor for the Canadian Pacific Railroad must fight fur trappers who oppose the building of the railroad by stirring up Indian rebellion.

Rival gangs seek out millions of dollars hidden inside a luxury condominium that's scheduled to be demolished, but first they have to deal with the demolition prep crewman who found the loot first.

When Katherine (Alexandra Paul) finds out her father's company is about to close the paper mill they own in her hometown in rural Pennsylvania, she comes up with a plan to save it. Needing the approval of the city council, she goes back and runs into someone from her past: Jane (Cynthia Preston). Years ago, in high school, Katherine dated Jane's twin brother Sean, who subsequently committed suicid

When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.

Construction workers in World War II in the Pacific are needed to build military sites, but the work is dangerous and they doubt the ability of the Navy to protect them. After a series of attacks by the Japanese, something new is tried, Construction Battalions (CBs=Seabees). The new CBs have to both build and be ready to fight.

Gangster and cop killer Jack Martin is on the run from the law, and hides out in a small town. Low on funds, he engineers a clever bank robbery that yields him a big bundle. Now he has not only the cops and the FBI after him, but also the local crime boss, who's outraged that an outsider can pull off a heist like that in his territory and not cut him in on it.

Monsieur Feydeau has writer's block, and he needs a new play. But he takes an opportunity to observe the upper class of 1900 Paris - Monsieur Boniface with a domineering wife, and the next-door neglectful husband Henri with a beautiful but ignored wife, Marcelle. Henri traces architectural anomalies (most ghost sounds are drains) and plans a night at the Hotel Paradiso, but this hotel is the assignation spot of Marcelle and Boniface. One wife, two husbands, a nephew, and the perky Boniface maid, all at this 'by the hour' hotel and consummation of the affair is, to say the least, severely compromised (not the least by a police raid). All of this is under Feydeau's eye, and his play is the 'success fou' of the next season.

Mr. Dithers leaves Dagwood in charge of the office for a short period. Poor old Dagwood manages to gum things up when he falls for a confidence scam engineered by the duplicitous Toby Clifton. He even finds himself in a compromising position that seriously endangers his future connubial happiness with his wife Blondie. Once again, it's up to Blondie to straighten out the mess.

Time-lapse photography showing the one month-long demolition of the Star Theatre in New York.

A computer specialist is sued for sexual harassment by a former lover turned boss who initiated the act forcefully, which threatens both his career and his personal life.

Named after the World War II-era program, the plot revolves around a gifted high school student who decides to construct a nuclear bomb for a national science fair. The film's underlying theme involves the Cold War of the 1980s when government secrecy and mutually assured destruction were key political and military issues.

A pair of men try to perform the dangerous "triple" in their trapeze act. Problems arise when the duo is made into a trio following the addition of a sexy female performer.

An inventor of a secret process suddenly finds himself alone as both his friends and the corporation he works for turn against him.

Determined to learn about her boyfriend's past relationships, Stacy -- who works for a talk show -- becomes a bona fide snoop. With her colleague, Barb, Stacy gets the names of Derek's ex-lovers and interviews them, supposedly for an upcoming show. But what she learns only adds to her confusion, and her plans begin to unravel when she befriends one of the women.

When famous DJ Alan Partridge’s radio station is taken over by a new media conglomerate, it sets in motion a chain of events which see Alan having to work with the police to defuse a potentially violent siege.

Andy, a successful marketing guy quits his job, gets a new job at a research facility, makes a powerful enemy who makes him volunteer for a nearly impossible project: The $99 PC. The only available guys at the lab, three sociopaths, together they compile a revolutionary PC for $99, then they become the victims of a venture capitalist and Andy's old foe, can he find a way to overcome the problems?

A slacker hatches a million-dollar idea. But, in order to see it through, he has to learn to trust his attractive corporate counterpart. Based on Max Barry's novel.

Set in Limoges, the movie tells the story of "good son" Franck (Jalil Lespert), who returns to his hometown to do a trainee managerial internship in the Human Resources department of the factory where his anxious, taciturn father has worked for 23 years.

An idealistic young employee at the U.N. investigates the grizzly murder of his predecessor – and uncovers a vast global conspiracy that may involve his own boss.

An Arab oil organization devises a plan to wreck the world economy in order to cause anarchy and chaos.

Respected liberal Senator Joe Tynan is asked to to lead the opposition to a Supreme Court appointment. It means losing an old friend and fudging principles to make the necessary deals, as well as further straining his already part-time family life. But it could be a big boost to his career, so he takes it on. Helping him prepare the case is pretty southern researcher Karen Traynor, and their developing relationship further complicates and compromises his life.

Efforts to build a transcontinental railroad are resisted by crooks and Indians on the warpath. A 12-chapter movie serial.

Niccolo "Mac" Vitelli is the eldest of three brothers in 1950s Queens. Mac is a construction builder, a trade he learned from his late father, and helps put his brothers on the job. When they can no longer take working for Polowski, who does shoddy work and is abusive to his staff, Mac and his brothers set up their own company. Together, Vitelli Brothers Construction builds houses with pride and care. But Mac turns out to be an overbearing workaholic, with obsessive concern about the quality of their work and incredible attention to detail. His intensity and driven ambition precludes a happy family life and begins to drive his brothers away.

A Polish contractor, Nowak, leads a group of workmen to London so they can provide cheap labor for a government official based there. Nowak has to manage the project and the men as they encounter the tempations of the West and loneliness and separation from their families. Nowak is the only one of the group who speaks English, and he uses this as a tool over his team. When the unrest in Poland leads to a military takeover, Nowak is faced with a much more difficult situation than he expected.

On a volcanic island near the kingdom of Hetvia rules Count Dakkar, a benevolent leader and scientist who has eliminated class distinction among the island's inhabitants. Dakkar, his daughter Sonia and her fiance, engineer Nicolai Roget have designed a submarine which Roget pilots on its initial voyage just before the island is overrun by Baron Falon, despotic ruler of Hetvia. Falon sets out after Roget in a second submarine and the two craft, diving to the ocean's floor, discover a strange land populated by dragons, giant squid and an eerie undiscovered humanoid race.

Mike Catton was once a world-renowned construction foreman (at least in the construction world), but an accident left him with a serious fear of heights. Unable to climb the big skyscrapers while under construction, he retired and became a truck driver. But when an old friend needs him to help put up a building, and when the old friend gets harassed and threatened by an Evil Corporate Type, he comes out of retirement and assembles the creme de la creme of the construction world. Together, they race against time to finish the building while the Evil Corporate Type tries to stop them.

Ferdinand de Lesseps, disappointed in love, is sent as a junior diplomat to the Isthmus of Suez, and realizes it's just the place for a canal.

A train operator's obsession with being on time leads to tragedy for his family.

A no-nonsense engineer is hired to oversee construction of the Whitney Tunnel, a project that has been plagued by a series of mysterious--and often fatal--accidents.

True story of Norman Bethune, a medical doctor who fought for justice in China during Mao's rise to power.

A shy California farm girl falls head-over-heels in love with Barry Burnett, a fugitive from a chain gang building a road through the wilderness.

Director Allan Dwan’s excellent use of New York locations enlivens a rags-to-riches tale that fully exploits star George O’Brien’s championship boxing prowess.

World-famous architect Louis Kahn (Exeter Library, Salk Institute, Bangladeshi Capitol Building) had two illegitimate children with two different women outside of his marriage. Son Nathaniel always hoped that someday his father would come and live with him and his mother, but Kahn never left his wife. Instead, Kahn was found dead in a men's room in Penn Station when Nathaniel was only 11.

After his divorced wife dies, Jim Burke takes their son who she had been raising and he hasn't seen in many years. Jim Burke is a tough, hard-nosed construction boss on engineering projects, and he is looking forward to molding Little Jim into his own image. Jim Burke is more than a little bit dismayed and a whole lot disgusted when Little Jim arrives and it doesn't take Big Jim long to figure out that Little Jim...ain't nothing but a sissy. Little Jim is fond of practicing on his violin and reading and studying. What's a poor father to do?

Gunner and Bucker are friends who work as riveters. Whenever Bucker gets the urge to marry, which is often, Gunner will hit on his girl to see if she is true or not. So far, Gunner hasn't failed. But one night, while Gunner is in jail, Bucker meets Mary, a tough dame with a line. He falls for her, and she falls for his money. But Mary is already a gal pal of Gunner, and no two know about the third one. The trouble starts when the triangle is revealed too late.

Mine owner William Sharon keeps having his gold shipments held up by a gang of bandits. Sharon hires banker Charles Crocker, who happens to have connections in the Central Pacific Railroad, to build a spur line from Virginia City to Carson City, so that the gold can be shipped by railroad. Silent Jeff Kincaid is the railroad engineer. However there is opposition to the railroad, chiefly from another mine owner, Big Jack Davis.

What if you had only five days to figure out... everything.

A campy chronicle of the lusts and loves of the men and women who work on a low-rent TV show called, "The Love Judge."

Today it's a symbol of strength and vitality. 135 years ago, it was a source of controversy. This documentary examines the great problems and ingenious solutions that marked the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. From conception to construction, it traces the bridge's transformation from a spectacular feat of heroic engineering to an honored symbol in American culture.

Persuasive viewpoints of over 1,700 architects and engineers who believe the unsettling theory that scientific forensic evidence points to explosive controlled demolition of the three World Trade Center skyscrapers on September 11, 2001.

George Storm is a reputable construction engineer but his life changes the moment a bandit trio holds up the company payroll car. And that is because the daring holdup is successful because the gang leader, Tom Farrow, is an exact-double for Storm.

A busy travel writer goes glamping at a state park with her best friend and finds herself falling in love with one of the park rangers.

A spirited artist with a mysterious bucket list gets a commission to paint a mural on a new hospital wing in a charming community. When she finds herself falling for the handsome architect designing the addition, she must decide if she can trust him with her list, and the painful memory behind it, or if he’ll break her heart and prove that it’s better to be alone than to be close to someone who will leave.

Lucky Christmas is the story of Holly Ceroni, a single mom trying to get back on her feet, but who is crushed to learn her winning lottery ticket is in the glove compartment of her recently stolen car. Mike Ronowski, the construction worker behind Holly's missing property, goes along with a master plan to befriend Holly and coerce her into giving him half of her winnings. Mike unexpectedly falls in love with Holly and learns there are more important things in life than quick money in time for the holidays.

Jim Vesser and his team of railroading men try to build a rail line through a mountain pass, while a group of less scrupulous construction workers sabotages the entire operation in the hopes that they can get their tracks laid first and get the money from the railroad.

Three airline hostesses combine their work crossing the Atlantic with searching for a rich handsome man to marry.

Summoned by an Indian princess, Tarzan travels to India where hundreds of wild elephants are in danger. A company is building a hydroelectric dam and the contractors have only a few weeks to finish the job. The building of the dam will flood the valley surrounded by mountains. There is one pass through which the elephant herd can escape but that is being closed. Tarzan comes up against an old nemesis, Bryce, the chief engineer. Bryce undertook a similar dam project in Africa and had a penchant for shooting elephants. It's up to Tarzan to organize the move before Bryce manages to close the pass.

Dr Gerald Bull was a genius at designing and building superguns (very large long range guns capable of shooting at ranges more than 100 miles). When an operational plan by the CIA to export sanctioned arms to apartheid-South Africa through him was exposed, the CIA denied all knowledge and he went to jail. He was later released, and moved to Belgium to start a subsidiary, of which a major project was to help Saddam Hussein build a new supergun capable of firing over 500 miles.

A returning Korean War vet becomes embroiled in a fight over possession of a tungsten mine.

The story of a bunch of hard-drinking steeplejacks.

Jim Glover is an engineer in charge of constructing a railroad to the sea. He gives the company president Gage a tour of the area of land coveted for its use as a short cut that can save hours on the journey. After the officials visit a recently constructed dam, the train makes a stop in a dull town, and Gage's daughter Laura throws a charity bazaar to combat the boredom. Jim puts together a mock-holdup that saves the event from financial ruin, endearing Laura to him. Later, an accident traps three workers in a cave, and Jim is called away to rescue the victims.

A man with a perspective like no other on the planet. The leading structural engineer of the World Trade Center oversees its construction, haunted by its fall ever since. A guru in high-rise design. Driven by his values as a pacifist and activist and the woman engineer who emboldened, expanded and ultimately saved the man she loved. About fulfillment, fragility, and a fighting spirit.

A man's enthusiastic penis starts talking to him, getting him into awkward situations and convincing everyone he tells that he's completely insane.

A middle aged, middle class, former music industry executive with a stay-at-home wife and son toils away at a supermarket chain. When a new high energy boss enters the company, she increases his fortunes and responsibilities while also creating tension in both his professional and personal life.

When construction on Main Street threatens to put the town's shops out of business, mayor Alex Foster decides to throw a Christmas market to boost sales. To do it though, she'll have to convince the reclusive Darcy Hawkins to host it at his family's old mill, bringing up old family feuds and sparking romance in the process.

Vicki Meredith, an American ballet student in Paris, falls in love with Randall Williams, another American studying architecture in Paree, and they set up some light housekeeping together until she learns that Randall has forgotten to mention that he has a wife back in the USA. This miffs Vicki to the point where she ups and heads for South America where she meets and falls in love with Philip Fletcher, a construction engineer from America. But he hustles off to build Boulder Dam. They meet again in New York City and discover their separation has made their love even stronger. Then, Randall and his wife show up and sophistication rears its ugly head.

BBlondie opens a bakery in her home to help fill the family cookie jar. Her tasty cookies become so popular that a cookie magnate makes her an offer that is difficult to refuse. Unfortunately, this creates all kinds of problems for the Bumsteads.

The collaboration between architects, scientists, archaeologists and engineers in their efforts to restore Notre Dame.

Architectural historian Jon Cannon goes in search of the clues that shed light on how our medieval forebears were able to build the wonders of their world.

The glories of Ancient Rome are explored in ROMAN CITY, based on David Macaulay's acclaimed book. This animated and live-action video recounts life in Verbonia, a fictional city in Gaul. A well-planned town with all modern conveniences, it is threatened by conflict between conquerors and conquered. Macaulay also visits Pompeii, Herculaneum, Ostia, Nimes, Orange, and Rome, to view actual Roman architecture and engineering greatness.

Architect I.M. Pei speaks about his famous works, such as the addition to the Louvre in Paris, the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., and the Meyerson Symphony Center in Dallas, Texas. Footage of these projects shows both interiors and exteriors. Various other experts comment on the impact and importance of Pei's work.

"Clean Lines, Open Spaces: A View of Mid-Century Modern Architecture" focuses on the construction boom in the United States after World War II. Sometimes considered cold and unattractive, mid-century modern designs were a by-product of post-war optimism and reflected a nation's dedication to building a new future. This new architecture used modern materials such as reinforced concrete, glass and steel and was defined by clean lines, simple shapes and unornamented facades.

The Richardson Olmsted Campus, a former psychiatric center and National Historic Landmark, is seeing new life as it undergoes restoration and adaptation to a modern use.

Sir John Betjeman visits and explains the architecture of various churches in the Diocese of Norwich. Among those visited: Sandringham church on the Queen's private estate, the Holy House of Our Lady of Walsingham and Norwich Cathedral.

East Berlin, shortly after the construction of the Berlin Wall. Kurt Schröder and his family dig a tunnel to escape to West Berlin as they struggle to overcome the obstacles blocking their underground path to freedom.

In 1999, a British mine clearance engineer working for the Taliban government in Afghanistan must flee the country when he becomes embroiled in a deadly game of intrigue and betrayal.

A waitress falls for a wealthy young man but has to fight his mother to find happiness.

A dedicated young doctor places his patients above everyone else in his life. Unfortunately, his social register fianceé can't accept the fact that he considers an appointment in the operating room more important than attending a cocktail party. He soon drifts into an affair with a pretty nurse who shares his passion for healing.

An oil engineer surrounded by foul play helps an heiress bring in a well.

A greedy businessman tries to block the building of a new railroad in his area.

In the near future, when communications go offline at a remote nuclear power plant isolated in the desert, a young safety inspector, Abby Dixon, is forced to fly out to bring them back online. Once inside the facility, mysterious clues and strange behaviors cause Abby to have doubts about the sanity, and perhaps identities, of the two employees onsite.

Interior designer trying to save her home renovation show needs to apply her successful, upscale "fixer upper" home renovation strategy to her blue collar carpenter by making the sweet but disheveled guy her next fixer upper project.