Movies Like Once Upon a Time in Tehran

If you liked Once Upon a Time in Tehran (1999), a history and crime movie directed by Ali Hatami, 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
House of Bamboo (1955)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
Eddie Kenner is given a special assignment by the Army to get the inside story on Sandy Dawson, a former GI who has formed a gang of fellow servicemen and Japanese locals.
2
Outlaws - For Greater Glory (2012)
★ 7/10Also history
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.
3
Plunder Road (1957)
★ 6.9/10Also crime
A spectacular heist starts to unravel as the crooks take it on the lam.
4
Accident Man (2018)
★ 6.3/10Also crime
Mike Fallon, the Accident Man, is a stone cold killer. When a loved one is murdered by his own crew, Fallon is forced to avenge the one person who actually meant something to him.
5
The Secrets We Keep (2020)
★ 6/10Also history
In post-World War II America, a woman, rebuilding her life in the suburbs with her husband, kidnaps her neighbor and seeks vengeance for the heinous war crimes she believes he committed against her.
6
In Too Deep (1999)
★ 6.4/10Also crime
Drug lord Dwayne Gittens rules Cincinnati with an iron fist. No wonder he's known as "God" on the streets. Determined to break Gittens' stranglehold on the city is undercover cop Jeffrey Cole. But as Cole takes on an…
7
Convict (2014)
★ 6.5/10Also crime
Set in the dark and old Parramatta prison built by the original convicts our lead character Ray a war veteran finds himself serving 18 months for manslaughter after defending his fiance. He soon realizes that the…
8
The Substitute (1996)
★ 7/10Also crime
When an inner-city Miami schoolteacher gets her knee broken after standing up to the school's gang leader, her mercenary combat specialist boyfriend goes undercover as a substitute teacher to take down the punk. Soon…
9
Thick as Thieves (1999)
★ 6/10Also crime
Two master thieves go at odds with one another as one sets the other up for a crime. The first, a suave pro who does his job and then hides in his own privacy, listening to old jazz records and caring for his ailing…
10
Fast Charlie (2023)
★ 6.3/10Also crime
When his aging mob boss is whacked, Charlie Swift, a loyal friend and hired gun, will stop at nothing to destroy the upcoming crew that took him out.
11
The Most Hated Woman in America (2017)
★ 6.2/10Also crime
The true story of Madalyn Murray O'Hair -- iconoclast, opportunist, and outspoken atheist -- from her controversial rise to her untimely demise.
12
Belly (1998)
★ 6.3/10Also crime
Tommy Bundy and Sincere are best friends as well as infamous and ruthless criminals and shot-callers in the hood. Respected by many but feared by all. As the police are closing in on them and new players are looking…
13
Trap House (2025)
★ 6.6/10Also crime
An undercover DEA agent and his partner embark on a game of cat and mouse with an audacious, and surprising group of thieves – their own rebellious teenagers, who have begun robbing from a dangerous cartel, using their…
14
Blue Story (2019)
★ 7.3/10Also crime
Blue Story is a tragic tale of a friendship between Timmy and Marco, two young boys from opposing postcodes. Timmy, a shy, smart, naive and timid young boy from Deptford, goes to school in Peckham where he strikes up a…
15
No Retreat, No Surrender 3: Blood Brothers (1990)
★ 6.8/10Also crime
Two feuding brothers of differing political views, one a policeman, the other a martial artist, join forces to avenge the death of their father, a retired agent who was brutally murdered by the mafia.
16
The Protector (1985)
★ 5.9/10Also crime
Billy Wong is a New York City cop whose partner is gunned down during a robbery. Billy and his new partner, Danny Garoni, are working security at a fashion show when a wealthy man's daughter, Laura Shapiro, is…
17
The Virtuoso (2021)
★ 5.9/10Also crime
Danger, deception and murder descend upon a sleepy town when a professional assassin accepts a new assignment from his enigmatic boss.
18
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
★ 7.5/10Also crime
Recently paroled from prison, legendary burglar "Doc" Riedenschneider, with funding from Alonzo Emmerich, a crooked lawyer, gathers a small group of veteran criminals together in the Midwest for a big jewel heist.
19
How to Rob a Bank (2007)
★ 5.8/10Also crime
Caught in the middle of a bank robbery, a slacker and a bank employee become the ones who arbitrate the intense situation.
20
Siberian Education (2013)
★ 6.8/10Also crime
The story of a gang of children growing up in a community of banished criminals, in a forgotten corner of the former Soviet Union. This community rejects the world outside. The only law it obeys… is its own. Against…