Movies Like Judas and the Black Messiah

If you liked Judas and the Black Messiah (2021), a drama and history movie directed by Shaka King, 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 Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)
★ 7.7/10Also drama and history
What was supposed to be a peaceful protest turned into a violent clash with the police. What followed was one of the most notorious trials in history.
2
Panther (1995)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and history
In this sprawling, fictionalized history of the Black Panthers, 1960s Oakland becomes a war zone as the Panthers battle for the right to exist.
3
BlacKkKlansman (2018)
★ 7.5/10Also drama and history
Colorado Springs, late 1970s. Ron Stallworth, an African American police officer, and Flip Zimmerman, his Jewish colleague, run an undercover operation to infiltrate the Ku Klux Klan.
4
By Any Means (2026)
★ 6.6/10Also history and drama
In 1960s Mississippi, a young Black FBI agent is forced to partner with a notorious mafia hitman to investigate a wave of brutal civil rights murders.
5
Detroit (2017)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and history
A police raid in Detroit in 1967 results in one of the largest citizens' uprisings in the history of the United States.
6
Escape from Pretoria (2020)
★ 7.2/10Also drama and history
South Africa, 1978. Tim Jenkin and Stephen Lee, two white political activists from the African National Congress imprisoned by the apartheid regime, put a plan in motion to escape from the infamous Pretoria Prison.
7
The Man with the Iron Heart (2017)
★ 6.5/10Also history
With the Third Reich at its peak in 1942, the Czech resistance in London plans the most ambitious military operation of WWII – Anthropoid. Two young recruits are sent to Prague to assassinate the most ruthless Nazi…
8
Nickel Boys (2024)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and history
Chronicles the powerful friendship between two young Black teenagers navigating the harrowing trials of reform school together in Florida.
9
The Negotiator (1998)
★ 7.1/10Also drama
The police try to arrest expert hostage negotiator Danny Roman, who insists he's being framed for his partner's murder in what he believes is an elaborate conspiracy. Thinking there's evidence in the Internal Affairs…
10
Capone (1975)
★ 5.9/10Also drama
Young Al Capone catches the eye of Johnny Torrio, a criminal visiting New York from Chicago. Torrio invites Capone to move to Illinois to help run his Prohibition-era alcohol sales operation. Capone rises through the…
11
The Untouchables (1987)
★ 7.8/10Also history
Elliot Ness, an ambitious prohibition agent, is determined to take down Al Capone. In order to achieve this goal, he forms a group given the nickname “The Untouchables”.
12
Motherless Brooklyn (2019)
★ 6.7/10Also drama
New York City, 1957. Lionel Essrog, a private detective living with Tourette syndrome, tries to solve the murder of his mentor and best friend, armed only with vague clues and the strength of his obsessive mind.
13
City Hall (1996)
★ 6/10Also drama
The accidental shooting of a boy in New York City leads to an investigation by the Deputy Mayor, and unexpectedly far-reaching consequences.
14
The Killing of Kenneth Chamberlain (2021)
★ 7.3/10Also drama
Based on the true story of the events that led to the death of Kenneth Chamberlain Sr., an elderly African American veteran with bipolar disorder, who was killed during a conflict with police officers who were…
15
Blood Work (2002)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Still recovering from a heart transplant, a retired FBI profiler returns to service when his own blood analysis offers clues to the identity of a serial killer.
16
The Alto Knights (2025)
★ 6.2/10Also drama
Two of New York's most notorious organized crime bosses, Frank Costello and Vito Genovese, vie for control of the city's streets. Once the best of friends, petty jealousies and a series of betrayals place them on a…
17
Driven (2019)
★ 6.2/10Also history
FBI informant Jim Hoffman lures troubled automobile magnate John DeLorean to an undercover sting for cocaine trafficking.
18
LBJ (2017)
★ 6.4/10Also drama and history
The story of U.S. President Lyndon Baines Johnson from his young days in West Texas to the White House.
19
My Friend Dahmer (2017)
★ 6.5/10Also history and drama
Jeffrey Dahmer struggles with a difficult family life as a young boy. During his teenage years he slowly transforms, edging closer to the serial killer he was to become.
20
Hangmen Also Die! (1943)
★ 6.9/10Also drama
During the Nazi occupation of Czechoslovakia, surgeon Dr. Franticek Svoboda, a Czech patriot, assassinates the brutal "Hangman of Europe", Reichsprotektor Reinhard Heydrich, and is wounded in the process. In his…