Highest-Rated Movies about 'Theatre'

Pather Panchali (1955), The Prestige (2006), The Lives of Others (2006), Citizen Kane (1941), To Be or Not to Be (1942), Amadeus (1984), The Red Shoes (1948), Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009) ... Let's take a look at the ranked list of the best Theatre movies.

#1. Pather Panchali (1955)

Storyline: The story of a young boy, Apu, and life in his small Indian village. His parents are quite poor - his father Harihar, a writer and poet, gave away the family's fruit orchard to settle his brother's debts. His sister Durga and an old aunt also still lives with them. His mother Sarbojaya bears the brunt of the family's situation. She scrapes by and sells her personal possessions to put food on the table and has to bear the taunts of her neighbors as Durga is always stealing fruit from their orchard. Things get worse when Harihar disappears for five months and Durga falls ill. Even after Harihar returns, the family is left with few alternatives.

Plot Keywords: village, poverty, family relationships, rural setting, first part, leaving home, despair ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#2. The Prestige (2006)

Storyline: In the end of the nineteenth century, in London, Robert Angier, his beloved wife Julia McCullough, and Alfred Borden are friends and assistants of a magician. When Julia accidentally dies during a performance, Robert blames Alfred for her death, and they become enemies. Both become famous and rival magicians, sabotaging the performance of the other on the stage. When Alfred performs a successful trick, Robert becomes obsessed trying to disclose the secret of his competitor with tragic consequences.

Plot Keywords: rivalry, illusion, obsession, jail cell, double, 19th century, secret ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#3. The Lives of Others (2006)

Storyline: Gerd Wiesler is an officer with the Stasi, the East German secret police. The film begins in 1984 when Wiesler attends a play written by Georg Dreyman, who is considered by many to be the ultimate example of the loyal citizen. Wiesler has a gut feeling that Dreyman can't be as ideal as he seems, and believes surveillance is called for. The Minister of Culture agrees but only later does Wiesler learn that the Minister sees Dreyman as a rival and lusts after his partner Christa-Maria. The more time he spends listening in on them, the more he comes to care about them. The once rigid Stasi officer begins to intervene in their lives, in a positive way, protecting them whenever possible. Eventually, Wiesler's activities catch up to him and while there is no proof of wrongdoing, he finds himself in menial jobs - until the unbelievable happens.

Plot Keywords: spy, political thriller, 1980s, iron curtain, year 1984, berlin wall, murder ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#4. Citizen Kane (1941)

Storyline: A group of reporters are trying to decipher the last word ever spoken by Charles Foster Kane, the millionaire newspaper tycoon: "Rosebud". The film begins with a news reel detailing Kane's life for the masses, and then from there, we are shown flashbacks from Kane's life. As the reporters investigate further, the viewers see a display of a fascinating man's rise to fame, and how he eventually fell off the top of the world.

Plot Keywords: new york, journalist, marriage, new york city, adultery, suicide attempt, newspaper publisher ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#5. To Be or Not to Be (1942)

Storyline: In occupied Poland during WWII, a troupe of ham stage actors (led by Joseph Tura and his wife Maria) match wits with the Nazis. A spy has information which would be very damaging to the Polish resistance and they must prevent it's being delivered to the Germans.

Plot Keywords: screwball comedy, poland, world war two, autograph, backstage, beard, bookstore ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#6. Amadeus (1984)

Storyline: Antonio Salieri believes that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's music is divine and miraculous. He wishes he was himself as good a musician as Mozart so that he can praise the Lord through composing. He began his career as a devout man who believes his success and talent as a composer are God's rewards for his piety. He's also content as the respected, financially well-off, court composer of Austrian Emperor Joseph II. But he's shocked to learn that Mozart is such a vulgar creature, and can't understand why God favored Mozart to be his instrument. Salieri's envy has made him an enemy of God whose greatness was evident in Mozart. He is ready to take revenge against God and Mozart for his own musical mediocrity.

Plot Keywords: composer, 1800s, opera, first person narration, 18th century, partial female nudity, 19th century ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#7. The Red Shoes (1948)

Storyline: Under the authoritarian rule of charismatic ballet impressario Boris Lermontov, his proteges realize the full promise of their talents, but at a price: utter devotion to their art and complete loyalty to Lermontov himself. Under his near-obsessive guidance, young ballerina Victoria Page is poised for superstardom, but earns Lermontov's scorn when she falls in love with Julian Craster, composer of "The Red Shoes," the ballet Lermontov is staging to showcase her talents. Vicky leaves the company and marries Craster, but still finds herself torn between Lermontov's demands and those of her heart.

Plot Keywords: ballet, ballerina, dancer, dance, composer, music conductor, monte carlo ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#8. Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)

Storyline: In Bedridge, Professor Parker Wilson finds an abandoned dog at the train station and takes it home with the intention of returning the animal to its owner. He finds that the dog is an Akita and names it Hachiko. However, nobody claims the dog so his family decides to keep Hachi.

Plot Keywords: dog, japanese, loyalty, waiting, human animal relationship, japan, foreign language adaptation ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#9. The Elephant Man (1980)

Storyline: Joseph "John" Merrick is an intelligent and friendly man, but he is hated by his Victorian-era English society because he is severely deformed. Once he is discovered by a doctor, however, he is saved from his life in a freak show and he is treated like the human being that he really is.

Plot Keywords: psychological torture, hospital, cruelty, isolation, sideshow, dignity, exploitation ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#10. Fitzcarraldo (1982)

Storyline: Fitzcarraldo is an obsessed opera lover who wants to build an opera in the jungle. To accomplish this he first has to make a fortune in the rubber business, and his cunning plan involves hauling an enormous river boat across a small mountain with aid from the local Indians.

Plot Keywords: based on true story, obsession, south america, new german cinema, jungle, opera, rainforest ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#11. Departures (2008)

Storyline: Daigo Kobayashi is a devoted cellist in an orchestra that has just been dissolved and now finds himself without a job. Daigo decides to move back to his old hometown with his wife to look for work and start over. He answers a classified ad entitled "Departures" thinking it is an advertisement for a travel agency only to discover that the job is actually for a "Nokanshi" or "encoffineer," a funeral professional who prepares deceased bodies for burial and entry into the next life. While his wife and others despise the job, Daigo takes a certain pride in his work and begins to perfect the art of "Nokanshi," acting as a gentle gatekeeper between life and death, between the departed and the family of the departed. The film follows his profound and sometimes comical journey with death as he uncovers the wonder, joy and meaning of life and living.

Plot Keywords: cellist, mini skirt, miniskirt, short skirt, father son relationship, funeral, japanese girl ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#12. Limelight (1952)

Storyline: Chaplin's final American film tells the story of a fading music hall comedian's effort to help a despondent ballet dancer learn both to walk and feel confident about life again. The highlight of the film is the classic duet with Chaplin's only real artistic film comedy rival, Buster Keaton.—Kenneth Chisholm <kchishol@execulink.com>

Plot Keywords: music hall, 1910s, london england, recovering alcoholic, older man younger woman relationship, vaudeville, clown ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#13. Greed (1924)

Storyline: John McTeague was a simple slow man who became a dentist after working at the Big Dipper Gold Mine. He is now being hunted in Death Valley by his ex-best friend Marcus and the law. His lot was cast the day that he meet his future wife Trina in his office. She was with Marcus and she bought a lottery ticket. Well Mac fell for her and Marcus stepped aside. When Mac and Trina married, she won the Lottery for $5000 and became obsessive about the money in gold. Marcus is steamed as he stepped aside and now she is rich so he has the law shut down Mac as he has no official schooling for his dentistry. Trina fearful that they will take her gold away sells everything and takes all Mac earns when he is working. She adds to her stash of gold as they both live as paupers. When Mac has no job and no money, he leaves and Trina moves. Driven to desperation at being poor and hungry he finds Trina and demands the gold.—Tony Fontana <tony.fontana@spacebbs.com>

Plot Keywords: storm, picnic, obsession, love triangle, player piano, boardwalk, street life ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#14. La La Land (2016)

Storyline: Aspiring actress serves lattes to movie stars in between auditions and jazz musician Sebastian scrapes by playing cocktail-party gigs in dingy bars. But as success mounts, they are faced with decisions that fray the fragile fabric of their love affair, and the dreams they worked so hard to maintain in each other threaten to rip them apart.

Plot Keywords: los angeles california, jazz musician, movie set, bigger dreams, musician, aspiring actress, pianist ...

Movie Details Click Here!

#15. Black Swan (2010)

Storyline: Nina (Portman) is a ballerina in a New York City ballet company whose life, like all those in her profession, is completely consumed with dance. She lives with her obsessive former ballerina mother Erica (Hershey) who exerts a suffocating control over her. When artistic director Thomas Leroy (Cassel) decides to replace prima ballerina Beth MacIntyre (Ryder) for the opening production of their new season, Swan Lake, Nina is his first choice. But Nina has competition: a new dancer, Lily (Kunis), who impresses Leroy as well. Swan Lake requires a dancer who can play both the White Swan with innocence and grace, and the Black Swan, who represents guile and sensuality. Nina fits the White Swan role perfectly but Lily is the personification of the Black Swan. As the two young dancers expand their rivalry into a twisted friendship, Nina begins to get more in touch with her dark side - a recklessness that threatens to destroy her.

Plot Keywords: ballerina, ballet, sex scene, lesbian kiss, masturbation, female masturbation, madness ...

Movie Details Click Here!