Movies Like Roots: The Gift

If you liked Roots: The Gift (1988), a drama and history movie directed by Kevin Hooks, 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
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.
3
Spartacus (1960)
★ 7.5/10Also history and drama
The rebellious Thracian Spartacus, born and raised a slave, is sold to Gladiator trainer Batiatus. After weeks of being trained to kill for the arena, Spartacus turns on his owners and leads the other slaves in…
4
Uprising (2001)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and tv movie
In the Warsaw ghetto in 1943, Jews rise against the Nazis.
5
Gandhi (1982)
★ 7.6/10Also drama and history
In the early years of the 20th century, Mohandas K. Gandhi, a British-trained lawyer, forsakes all worldly possessions to take up the cause of Indian independence. Faced with armed resistance from the British…
6
The Way Back (2010)
★ 7/10Also drama and history
A small band of multicultural convicts stages a daring escape from a WWII-era Siberian gulag, and embarks on a treacherous journey across five countries in a desperate race for freedom and survival.
7
Shirley (2024)
★ 6.6/10Also history and drama
Shirley Chisholm makes a trailblazing run for the 1972 Democratic presidential nomination after becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress.
8
TalhotBlond (2012)
★ 6.3/10Also drama and tv movie
Thomas Montgomery, a married father of two young daughters, gets seduced by the world of online gambling and chat rooms where a virtual romance and sexual obsession ultimately leads to the murder of an innocent man.
9
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
★ 7.4/10Also drama and history
Fletcher Christian successfully leads a revolt against the ruthless Captain Bligh on the HMS Bounty. However, Bligh returns one year later, hell bent on revenge.
10
Worth (2021)
★ 6.7/10Also history and drama
Kenneth Feinberg, a powerful D.C. lawyer appointed Special Master of the 9/11 Fund, fights off the cynicism, bureaucracy, and politics associated with administering government funds and, in doing so, discovers what…
11
A United Kingdom (2016)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and history
The inspiring true story of Seretse Khama, the King of Bechuanaland (modern Botswana), and Ruth Williams, the London office worker he married in 1948 in the face of fierce opposition from their families and the British…
12
The Scarlet and the Black (1983)
★ 7.1/10Also drama and history
Fr. Hugh O'Flaherty is a Vatican official in 1943-45 who has been hiding downed pilots, escaped prisoners of war, and Italian resistance families. His activities become so large that the Nazis decide to assassinate him…
13
A Call to Spy (2020)
★ 6.8/10Also history and drama
The story of Vera Atkins, a crafty spy recruiter, and two of the first women she selects for Churchill's "secret army": Virginia Hall, a daring American undaunted by a disability and Noor Inayat Khan, a pacifist. These…
14
The Finest Hours (2016)
★ 6.6/10Also drama and history
The Coast Guard makes a daring rescue attempt off the coast of Cape Cod after a pair of oil tankers are destroyed during a blizzard in 1952.
15
Harriet (2019)
★ 7.3/10Also drama and history
The extraordinary tale of Harriet Tubman's escape from slavery and transformation into one of America's greatest heroes. Her courage, ingenuity and tenacity freed hundreds of slaves and changed the course of history.
16
The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind (2019)
★ 7.9/10Also drama and history
Against all the odds, a thirteen year old boy in Malawi invents an unconventional way to save his family and village from famine.
17
Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
★ 6.9/10Also drama and history
A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.
18
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.
19
Bonhoeffer: Pastor. Spy. Assassin (2024)
★ 6.7/10Also history and drama
As the world teeters on the brink of annihilation, Dietrich Bonhoeffer joins a deadly plot to assassinate Hitler, risking his faith and fate to save millions of Jews from genocide.
20
Rosewood (1997)
★ 6.5/10Also drama and history
Spurred by a white woman's lie, vigilantes destroy a black Florida town and slay inhabitants in 1923.