“Drama” is the biggest and broadest genre out there, at least as far as movies go. Well, maybe as far as any sort of entertainment or medium is concerned. If something is a drama,it’ll generally tell a serious storywhile focusing on human emotions and interactions. Drama films can be more character-focused than plot-focused, while such movies can also belong to other genres at the same time.
If you go back well into cinema history, you’ll find some of the best movies of all time can be considered dramas (seeCasablanca,Citizen Kane,Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, andTokyo Storyfor just a few examples). Focusing on the last 50 years of cinema history, though, reveals that this genre sure as hell isn’t going anywhere. The following movies were allreleased later than (or during) 1975, and can also count themselves among the best dramatic films ever made.
10’Magnolia' (1999)
Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
WhenMagnoliabegins, it initially feels like too much, and honestly, it doesn’t slow down a great deal as it goes along. It’s more just that you settle into the heightened drama of it all, and get a handle on just how many characters there are, with intrigue coming about because of the way some of their lives cross over. Similarly intriguing, perhaps, is how many narrative threads don’t explicitly cross over here.
At its core,Magnoliaisa long movie that mostly just focuses on a short period of time,showing the personal strugglesof a group of people living in the San Fernando Valley, all before a turn in the final act impacts them all… kind of. It’s a big, broad, and flashy movie, and some might even want to callPaul Thomas Anderson’s direction here overconfident. ButMagnoliahits too hard – and features too many great performances – to not ultimately reward those who give it both their time (a lot of it) and an open mind.
9’An Elephant Sitting Still' (2018)
Directed by Hu Bo
Despite having an exceptionally long runtime,An Elephant Sitting Stillcan’texactly be described as an epic. It’s a little too quiet, intimate, and stripped back to feel like an epic in the traditional sense, but that doesn’t mean it’s unambitious by any means. A little likeMagnolia, it follows numerous ordinary people, with all the struggles here being of an everyday – or maybe even mundane – variety.
An Elephant Sitting Still might well be the most difficult film in this ranking to watch, and it’s also likely the most obscure.
Well, to some extent. Theissues that have to be survived or overcome are quite intense, but they’re the sorts of things that can happen in one’s life without much warning.An Elephant Sitting Stillmight well be the most difficult film in this ranking to watch, and it’s also likely the most obscure, but it’s simply too powerful (in ways that are difficult to describe with mere words) to not mention.
An Elephant Sitting Still
8’All That Jazz' (1979)
Directed by Bob Fosse
Yeah, okay,All That Jazzcould bedescribed as a musical, rather than a drama, but this is one of those cases where a drama film is more than “just” a drama. Also, as far as musicals go, this one doesn’t actually have a ton of people breaking into song all that often,until you get to the final act… but, like, that final act, while having the most musical numbers, is also the heaviest and most emotional stretch of the film.
Essentially,All That Jazzwas a movieBob Fossemade sort of about himself, but not exactly. The main character here has similar stresses, personal problems, and desires to Fosse himself. The director and the lead character herealso share medical issues, with the fate of director/choreographer Joe Gideon eerily mirroringwhat actually happened to Fosseless than a decade afterAll That Jazzcame out.
All That Jazz
7’Amadeus' (1984)
Directed by Miloš Forman
Amadeusis absolutely one ofthe greatest period dramas of all time, crafting a dramatic story around two real-life people:Antonio SalieriandWolfgang Amadeus Mozart. The former recounts his past with the latter as an old man, expressing the complex emotions he had while feeling as though he lived in Mozart’s shadow, longing for – but never attaining – the level of respect he had as a composer.
It’s a grand film that balances feeling epic and personal at the same time, and it’s also tremendously well-acted. The fact thatAmadeusalso has a ton of great music really just feels like icing on an already 10/10 cake, andfew films made before or since have explored themes of jealousy and self-loathing quite as effectively as this one does.
6’Yi Yi' (2000)
Directed by Edward Yang
There are quite a few characters whose lives are explored throughoutYi Yi, with most of them being connected by family. As such, they all come together at the start of the film for a family event, and then another event near the end brings them together once more. In between, many of them are off on their own, and, like with some of the previously mentioned movies, the characters here deal with fairly relatable issues and concerns.
Yi Yiis amovie about loneliness, relationships, life, death, financial struggles…all the really big, broad things, but all of it’s explored in ways that don’t feel preachy, sentimental, or clichéd. It’s a careful and very empathetic film, and the way it stays so captivating despite being nearly three hours long (and fairly slow when it comes to pacing) is truly impressive.
5’Raging Bull' (1980)
Directed by Martin Scorsese
Foras great asJoe PesciandCathy Moriartyare inRaging Bull, this biographical sports drama is, in large part,theRobert De Niroshow. He’d given some amazing performances before 1980, sure, but never had he committed to a single role quite as much as he did here, playingJake LaMottaover numerous years and never holding back for a single second of screen time.
And he had to be ferocious in his acting here, given the kind of person LaMotta was, as both a boxer and a husband/father.Raging Bullis a difficult movie to watch, but it’s an immensely powerful one, and isahigh point within the filmography of Martin Scorsese. Sports films rarely get quite this heavy, and dramatic films rarely refuse to pull punches quite like this one does.
Raging Bull
4’Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters' (1985)
Directed by Paul Schrader
To simply labelMishima: A Life in Four Chaptersa biopic and just that would be misleading, and it would also be doing the movie something of a disservice. Sure, it is about the dramatic life of author/activistYukio Mishima, but it also works as a film that adapts certain things he wrote during his life, and all of it’s presented in a way that sometimes looks heightened or even dreamlike.
It is still a drama, at its core, butfunctions equally well as an art film.Mishima: A Life in Four Chaptersdoesn’t hold back and proves rather disturbing at times, but there’s also a beauty to be found here alongside the difficult subject matter, withthe score, composed byPhilip Glass, also adding immensely to the whole experience.
Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
3’The Shawshank Redemption' (1994)
Directed by Frank Darabont
The prison movie to which pretty much all others are compared,The Shawshank Redemptiondeals with broad human themes and seeks to inspire through its message of hope persevering through difficult times. That might make it sound a little cheesy, but it’s all in the execution, andThe Shawshank Redemptionis pretty much perfectly executed, from the way it’s scored, written, acted, directed, and so on… all the things.
It’s also noteworthy for being based on aStephen Kingstory thatdoesn’t belong to the horror genre, even ifthe prison it takes place inis itself quite a horrific place to be.The Shawshank Redemptionhasheld up immaculately wellin the now 30+ years since its release, and there’s pretty much nothing to suggest it’ll start souringor aging imperfectly any time soon.
The Shawshank Redemption
2’Schindler’s List' (1993)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberghas done a bit of everythingthroughout his filmmaking career,including making mass-appeal blockbusters, coming-of-age films, and even a musical.Schindler’s Listcould well be the greatest thing he ever directed, though, and it’s also one of the most somber films he’s made, given it tells a story that takes place during World War II, with a focus on the horrors of the Holocaust.
Without underplaying the seriousness of the event in question,Schindler’s Listdoes endeavor to find some small amount of hope among the horror, showcasing the numerous livesOskar Schindlermanaged to save through the large personal fortune he’d amassed over the years. There’s an emotional balance here that is, quite miraculously, pulled off, withSchindler’s Listending up as easily one of the most moving films of its decade,or maybe even of all time.
Schindler’s List
1’One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest' (1975)
Almost a decade beforeAmadeus,Miloš Formandirected another drama that’s up there as one of the best of all time:One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest(both movies deservedly won Best Picture at the Oscars, too). This 1975 film takes place in a psychiatric hospital, with the main character being a criminal who fakes insanity, thinking that spending time in such a place will be easier than serving a more traditional prison sentence.
Once there, he starts rebelling, which stirs up the other patients and, thanks to the whole place beingrun by a terrifying head nurse, there are consequences and a good deal of dramatic fallout.One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s NesthasJack Nicholsonat his absolute best(alongside some great supporting actors), and succeeds as just a straightforward drama. It’shard to classify it as anything else, and it’s similarly difficult to find anything flawed here. It’s just an overall absorbing and outstanding film.
