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Movies: Best "great depression" Movies


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98 movies found (page 1/4):

King Kong(2005)

PG-13
| 3h 7min | Adventure, Drama, Action
3.4/5 (with 3,520 votes)

In 1933 New York, an overly ambitious movie producer coerces his cast and hired ship crew to travel to mysterious Skull Island, where they encounter Kong, a giant ape who is immediately smitten with the leading lady.

The Green Mile(1999)

R
| 3h 9min | Fantasy, Drama, Crime
4.3/5 (with 8,075 votes)

A supernatural tale set on death row in a Southern prison, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the cell block's head guard, Paul Edgecomb, recognizes Coffey's miraculous gift, he tries desperately to help stave off the condemned man's execution.

It's a Wonderful Life(1946)

PG
| 2h 10min | Drama, Kids & Family, Fantasy
4.1/5 (with 1,950 votes)

A holiday favourite for generations... George Bailey has spent his entire life giving to the people of Bedford Falls. All that prevents rich skinflint Mr. Potter from taking over the entire town is George's modest building and loan company. But on Christmas Eve the business's $8,000 is lost and George's troubles begin.

King Kong(1933)

NR
| 1h 44min | Adventure, Fantasy, Horror
3.8/5 (with 618 votes)

Adventurous filmmaker, Carl Denham, sets out to produce a motion picture unlike anything the world has seen before. Alongside his leading lady Ann Darrow and his first mate Jack Driscoll, they arrive on an island and discover a legendary creature said to be neither beast nor man. Denham captures the monster to displayed on Broadway as Kong, the eighth wonder of the world.

The Wind Rises(2013)

PG-13
| 2h 6min | Drama, Animation, War, Romance / Love
3.9/5 (with 1,289 votes)

A lifelong love of flight inspires Japanese aviation engineer Jiro Horikoshi, whose storied career includes the creation of the A-6M World War II fighter plane.

Directed by Hayao Miyazaki

Road to Perdition(2002)

R
| 1h 57min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
3.7/5 (with 1,574 votes)

Mike Sullivan works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney. Sullivan views Rooney as a father figure, however after his son is witness to a killing, Mike Sullivan finds himself on the run in attempt to save the life of his son and at the same time looking for revenge on those who wronged him.

Lawless(2012)

R
| 1h 55min | Crime, Drama, Western
3.5/5 (with 1,399 votes)

In 1931, the Bondurant brothers of Franklin County, Virginia, run a multipurpose backwoods establishment that hides their true business — bootlegging. Middle brother Forrest is the brain of the operation; older Howard is the brawn, and younger Jack, the lookout. Though the local police have taken bribes and left the brothers alone, a violent war erupts when a sadistic lawman from Chicago arrives and tries to shut down the Bondurants operation.

Water for Elephants(2011)

PG-13
| 2h 2min | Drama, Romance / Love
3.5/5 (with 1,204 votes)

In this captivating Depression-era melodrama, impetuous veterinary student Jacob Jankowski joins a celebrated circus as an animal caretaker but faces a wrenching dilemma when he's transfixed by angelic married performer Marlena.

Modern Times(1936)

G
| 1h 27min | Comedy, Drama
4.2/5 (with 1,636 votes)

The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.

Hard Times(1975)

PG
| 1h 33min | Drama
3.4/5 (with 83 votes)

In the depression, Chaney, a strong silent streetfighter, joins with Speed, a promoter of no-holds-barred street boxing bouts. They go to New Orleans where Speed borrows money to set up fights for Chaney, but Speed gambles away any winnings.

The Grapes of Wrath(1940)

NR
| 2h 9min | Drama
3.9/5 (with 400 votes)

Tom Joad returns to his home after a jail sentence to find his family kicked out of their farm due to foreclosure. He catches up with them on his Uncle’s farm, and joins them the next day as they head for California and a new life... Hopefully.

The Legend of Bagger Vance(2000)

PG-13
| 2h 6min | Drama, Fantasy
3.3/5 (with 385 votes)

World War I has left golfer Rannulph Junuh a poker-playing alcoholic, his perfect swing gone. Now, however, he needs to get it back to play in a tournament to save the financially ravaged golf course of a long-ago sweetheart. Help arrives in the form of mysterious caddy Bagger Vance.

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Seabiscuit(2003)

PG-13
| 2h 21min | Drama, History
3.5/5 (with 357 votes)

True story of the undersized Depression-era racehorse whose victories lifted not only the spirits of the team behind it but also those of their nation.

Of Mice and Men(1992)

PG-13
| 1h 50min | Drama
3.6/5 (with 263 votes)

Two drifters, one a gentle but slow giant, try to make money working the fields during the Depression so they can fulfill their dreams.

Monsieur Verdoux(1947)

2h 4min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
3.9/5 (with 183 votes)

The film is about an unemployed banker, Henri Verdoux, and his sociopathic methods of attaining income. While being both loyal and competent in his work, Verdoux has been laid-off. To make money for his wife and child, he marries wealthy widows and then murders them. His crime spree eventually works against him when two particular widows break his normal routine.

Places in the Heart(1984)

PG
| 1h 51min | Drama
3.6/5 (with 60 votes)

In 1930s Texas, a widow and her family fight to save their home by harvesting cotton.

Paper Moon(1973)

PG
| 1h 42min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
3.9/5 (with 303 votes)

During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl—who may or may not be his daughter—and the two forge an unlikely partnership.

Emperor of the North(1973)

PG
| 1h 58min | Adventure, Drama, Action, Thriller
3.4/5 (with 49 votes)

Hobos encounter a sadistic railway conductor that will not let anyone "ride the rails" for free.

The Roaring Twenties(1939)

1h 44min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
3.7/5 (with 104 votes)

After World War I, Armistice Lloyd Hart goes back to practice law, former saloon keeper George Hally turns to bootlegging, and out-of-work Eddie Bartlett becomes a cab driver. Eddie builds a fleet of cabs through delivery of bootleg liquor and hires Lloyd as his lawyer. George becomes Eddie's partner and the rackets flourish until love and rivalry interfere.

The Purple Rose of Cairo(1985)

PG
| 1h 22min | Fantasy, Comedy, Romance / Love
3.7/5 (with 434 votes)

Cecilia is a waitress in New Jersey, living a dreary life during the Great Depression. Her only escape from her mundane reality is the movie theatre. After losing her job, Cecilia goes to see 'The Purple Rose of Cairo' in hopes of raising her spirits, where she watches dashing archaeologist Tom Baxter time and again.

Zelig(1983)

PG
| 1h 19min | Comedy
3.7/5 (with 372 votes)

Fictional documentary about the life of human chameleon Leonard Zelig, a man who becomes a celebrity in the 1920s due to his ability to look and act like whoever is around him. Clever editing places Zelig in real newsreel footage of Woodrow Wilson, Babe Ruth, and others.

Directed by Woody Allen - With Mia Farrow, Woody Allen, Susan Sontag, Saul Bellow, Bruno Bettelheim, Josephine Baker, ...

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?(1969)

PG
| 2h | Drama
3.9/5 (with 127 votes)

In the midst of the Great Depression, manipulative emcee Rocky enlists contestants for a dance marathon offering a $1,500 cash prize. Among them are a failed actress, a middle-aged sailor, a delusional blonde and a pregnant girl.

Honkytonk Man(1982)

PG
| 2h 2min | Drama, Comedy
3.2/5 (with 69 votes)

During the Great Depression, a young boy leaves his family's Oklahoma farm to travel with his country musician uncle who is trying out for the Grand Ole Opry.

Ask the Dust(2006)

R
| 1h 57min | Romance / Love, Drama
2.7/5 (with 61 votes)

Mexican beauty Camilla hopes to rise above her station by marrying a wealthy American. That is complicated by meeting Arturo Bandini, a first-generation Italian hoping to land a writing career and a blue-eyed blonde on his arm.

The Journey of Natty Gann(1985)

PG
| 1h 41min | Adventure, Kids & Family, Drama
3.5/5 (with 55 votes)

America is in the depths of the Great Depression. Families drift apart when faraway jobs beckon. A courageous young girl confronts overwhelming odds when she embarks on a cross-country search for her father. During her odyssey, she forms a close bond with two diverse traveling companions: a magnificent, protective wolf, and a hardened drifter.

Sullivan's Travels(1941)

NR
| 1h 31min | Adventure, Comedy, Romance / Love
3.8/5 (with 185 votes)

Successful movie director John L. Sullivan, convinced he won't be able to film his ambitious masterpiece until he has suffered, dons a hobo disguise and sets off on a journey, aiming to "know trouble" first-hand. When all he finds is a train ride back to Hollywood and a beautiful blonde companion, he redoubles his efforts, managing to land himself in more trouble than he bargained for when he loses his memory and ends up a prisoner on a chain gang.

Gold Diggers of 1933(1933)

NR
| 1h 37min | Comedy, Drama
3.6/5 (with 52 votes)

Things get tough for Carol and her showgirl pals, Trixie and Polly, when the Great Depression kicks in and all the Broadway shows close down. Wealthy songwriter Brad saves the day by funding a new Depression-themed musical for the girls to star in, but when his stuffy high-society brother finds out and threatens to disown Brad, Carol and her gold-digging friends scheme to keep the show going, hooking a couple of millionaires along the way.

King of the Hill(1993)

1h 43min | Drama, History
3.5/5 (with 64 votes)

Based on the Depression-era bildungsroman memoir of writer A. E. Hotchner, the film follows the story of a boy struggling to survive on his own in a hotel in St. Louis after his mother is committed to a sanatorium with tuberculosis. His father, a German immigrant and traveling salesman working for the Hamilton Watch Company, is off on long trips from which the boy cannot be certain he will return.

The Funeral(1996)

R
| 1h 39min | Crime, Drama
3.4/5 (with 69 votes)

The story concerns the funeral of one of three brothers in a family of gangsters that lived in New York in 1930s. Details of the past of the brothers and their families are shown through a series of flashbacks.

Brighton Beach Memoirs(1986)

PG-13
| 1h 48min | Comedy, Drama, Romance / Love
3.3/5 (with 23 votes)

Eugene, a young teenage Jewish boy, recalls his memoirs of his time as an adolescent youth. He lives with his parents, his aunt, two cousins, and his brother, Stanley, whom he looks up to and admires. He goes through the hardships of puberty, sexual fantasy, and living the life of a poor boy in a crowded house.

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