Movies Like Crisis at Central High

If you liked Crisis at Central High (1981), a drama and history movie directed by Lamont Johnson, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.

1
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks (2017)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and history
An African-American woman becomes an unwitting pioneer for medical breakthroughs when her cells are used to create the first immortal human cell line in the early 1950s.
2
The Rosa Parks Story (2002)
★ 7/10Also drama and history
A seamstress recalls events leading to her act of peaceful defiance that prompted the 1955 bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.
3
All the Way (2016)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and history
Lyndon B. Johnson's amazing 11-month journey from taking office after JFK's assassination, through the fight to pass the 1964 Civil Rights Act and his own presidential campaign, culminating on the night LBJ is actually…
4
Confirmation (2016)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and history
Judge Clarence Thomas' nomination to the United States' Supreme Court is called into question when former colleague, Anita Hill, testifies that he had sexually harassed her.
5
Girl in the Box (2016)
★ 6.7/10Also drama and tv movie
The true story of 20-year-old Colleen Stan, a hitchhiking woman abducted by a young couple and held captive for seven years, during which time she's tortured and forced to live as a slave to her captors.
6
Mary (2024)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and history
A miraculous conception. A merciless king. A murderous pursuit. Mary's journey to give birth to Jesus unfolds in this biblical coming-of-age epic.
7
Prizefighter: The Life of Jem Belcher (2022)
★ 6.2/10Also history and drama
At the turn of the 19th century, Pugilism was the sport of kings and a gifted young boxer fought his way to becoming champion of England.
8
Cheaters (2000)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and tv movie
In the fall of 1994, a teacher at Chicago's run-down Steinmetz High conspires with the school's academic decathlon team to cheat on an academic competition.
9
Mansfield Park (2007)
★ 6.1/10Also drama and tv movie
Fanny Price is sent to live with her wealthy relatives, the Bertrams, where she is treated poorly by most except her cousin Edmund. Her life is complicated by the arrival of the worldly Mary and Henry Crawford
10
Rebound: The Legend of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (1996)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and tv movie
A dramatization of the life of Earl 'The Goat' Manigault (Don Cheadle), with a lot of factual based occurrences. A reformed junkie returns from prison to clean up his act and devote the rest of his life to the young…
11
Iron Jawed Angels (2004)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and tv movie
Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.
12
The Miniaturist (2017)
★ 7.1/10Also history and drama
A woman moves to live with her new husband in 17th century Amsterdam, but soon discovers that not everything is what it seems.
13
Outlaws - For Greater Glory (2012)
★ 7/10Also history and drama
A chronicle of the Cristeros War (1926-1929), which was touched off by a rebellion against the Mexican government's attempt to secularize the country.
14
I Am Elizabeth Smart (2017)
★ 6.8/10Also drama and tv movie
The story of Elizabeth Smart's kidnapping and captivity, as told from her perspective.
15
Truth & Treason (2025)
★ 8.1/10Also history and drama
In 1941 Nazi Germany, 16-year-old Helmuth Hübener begins questioning the regime after learning the truth about the war and seeing his Jewish friend persecuted. With two friends, he secretly listens to banned foreign…
16
Firebrand (2024)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and history
Katherine Parr, the sixth wife of King Henry VIII, is named regent while the tyrant battles abroad. When the king returns, increasingly ill and paranoid, Katherine finds herself fighting for her own survival.
17
Oslo (2021)
★ 6.6/10Also tv movie and drama
The true story of negotiations between implacable enemies — the secret back-channel talks, unlikely friendships and quiet heroics of a small but committed group of Israelis, Palestinians and one Norwegian couple that…
18
My Dinner with Hervé (2018)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and tv movie
An unlikely friendship evolves over one wild night in LA between a struggling journalist and actor Hervé Villechaize, the world's most famous gun-toting dwarf, resulting in life-changing consequences for both.
19
Against the Wall (1994)
★ 6.2/10Also drama and history
In 1971, a warden at Attica Penitentiary is caught up in a hostage crisis when inmates take over the prison to demand better living conditions.
20
The Miracle Worker (2000)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and tv movie
Devoted teacher Anne Sullivan leads deaf, blind and mute Helen Keller out of solitude and helps integrate her into the world.