Movies like The China Syndrome

If you like "The China Syndrome" you are looking for suspense, tension and suspenseful movies about / with reporter, conspiracy, investigation, power plant, radiation, politics and journalism themes of Drama and Thriller genre shot in USA.
Find your next favorite and similar movies in two steps: 1. Identify all themes of interest from this film (block below). 2. Look for them in the presented list.
The China Syndrome (1979)
 7.4
 36K
The China Syndrome (1979)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 122 min.
Story: A modern nightmare nearly becomes reality in this tension-filled story about an "incident" at a nuclear power plant. Jane Fonda stars as Kimberly Wells, an ambitious TV reporter covering a story on energy sources, who is present at the nuclear plant when a startling accident occurs that nearly causes the meltdown of the reactor. A newsreel cameraman accompanying Wells (Michael Douglas) captures the incident on film but the television station won't air the footage. Though the plant's corporate heads are quick to deny the possibility of any real danger, Jack Godell (Jack Lemmon), the plant's veteran engineer, discovers faulty equipment at the plant. Attempting to tell others about his findings, an attempt is made on his life. In desperation, he forcibly takes control of the power plant and invites the media to hear his ceremony. But the corporation is determined to stop him in a taut and shocking climax!
Style: suspense, tension, suspenseful, tense, political, psychological, serious, captivating, realistic, neo noir ...
Plot: reporter, conspiracy, investigation, power plant, radiation, politics, journalism, nuclear power, whistleblower, disaster, murder, corruption, nuclear, media, nuclear power plant, earthquake, car chase, fear, moral dilemma, cameraman, cover up, investigative reporter, assassination, race against time, female reporter ...
Time: 70s, 20th century, year 1979
Place: california, usa, los angeles, southern california, pennsylvania, american

Movie in categories

Most similar movies to The China Syndrome

The list contains related movies ordered by similarity. Recommendation engine sorted out suspense, suspenseful, serious and tense films with plots about corruption, runaway, greed, conspiracy, dialogue, investigation and secrets mostly in Drama, Thriller and Mystery genres. Some movies like The China Syndrome: The Parallax View (1974), Capricorn One (1978), Coma (1978), Silkwood (1983), All the President's Men (1976). The matching attributes are highlighted in bold.
The Parallax View (1974)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 102 min.
Story: An ambitious reporter, investigating a senator's assassination, realizes witnesses to the shooting are systematically dying and discovers a multi-million dollar corporation which serves as a front for the recruitment of political assassins.
Style: suspenseful, psychological, neo noir, political, intense ...
Plot: politics, conspiracy, reporter, corruption, political conspiracy, journalism, murder, investigation, undercover, paranoia, assassin, media ...
Time: 70s, year 1974, 20th century
Place: seattle, los angeles, washington state, usa, latin america
Similarity:
100%
 6.8
 27K
Capricorn One (1978)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, UK
Duration: 123 min.
Story: In order to protect the reputation of the American space program, a team of scientists stages a phony Mars landing. Willingly participating in the deception are a trio of well-meaning astronauts, who become liabilities when their space capsule is ...
Style: tense, suspenseful, serious, suspense, psychotronic ...
Plot: conspiracy, astronaut, conspiracy theory, nasa, spacecraft, paranoia, mars, whistleblower, investigative reporter, survival, desert, chase ...
Time: 70s, 20th century, year 1978, future
Place: houston texas, texas, arizona, usa
Similarity:
100%
 6.9
 23K
Coma (1978)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story: A young woman doctor discovers something sinister going on in her hospital. Relatively healthy patients are having 'complications' during simple operations and ending up in comas. The patients are then shipped off to an institute that ...
Style: suspense, suspenseful, psychological, neo noir, creepy ...
Plot: conspiracy, amateur detective, transplant, medical, investigation, coma, hospital, serial killer, hired killer, black market, danger, twists and turns ...
Time: 20th century, 70s
Place: boston, usa, massachusetts
Similarity:
100%
 7.1
 24K
Silkwood (1983)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 131 min.
Story: The story of Karen Silkwood, a metallurgy worker at a plutonium processing plant who was purposefully contaminated, psychologically tortured and possibly murdered to prevent her from exposing blatant worker safety violations at the plant.
Style: sad, touching, serious, disturbing, bleak ...
Audience: girls' night
Plot: whistleblower, working class, conspiracy, nuclear power plant, fighting the system, workplace, labor union, radiation, women, environmental, radioactivity, environment ...
Time: 80s, 20th century, year 1983, 70s, year 1974
Place: oklahoma, usa, washington d.c., california
Similarity:
100%
Movie in collections
All the President's Men (1976)
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 138 min.
Story: In the run-up to the 1972 elections, Washington Post reporter Bob Woodward covers what seems to be a minor break-in at the Democratic Party National headquarters. He is surprised to find top lawyers already on the defense case, and the discovery of ...
Style: political thriller, political, cerebral, realistic, serious ...
Audience: family outing
Plot: journalism, newspaper, political conspiracy, politics, conspiracy, political corruption, investigation, american politics, white house, investigative journalism, whistleblower, president ...
Time: 70s, 20th century, year 1973, year 1972, year 1976
Place: washington d.c., usa, north america, miami, florida
Similarity:
100%
The Boys from Brazil (1978)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 125 min.
Story: Nazi hunter Ezra Lieberman discovers a sinister and bizarre plot to rekindle the Third Reich.
Style: tense, suspense, suspenseful, disturbing, intense ...
Plot: nazi, nazi hunter, conspiracy, chase, neo nazi, insanity, world war two, nazi war criminal, genetic engineering, obsession, clone, against humanity ...
Time: 20th century, 70s, year 1978
Place: paraguay, middle east, south america, latin america, usa ...
Similarity:
100%
The Pelican Brief (1993)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 141 min.
Story: Two Supreme Court Justices have been assassinated. One lone law student has stumbled upon the truth. An investigative journalist wants her story. Everybody else wants her dead.
Style: political, suspense, suspenseful, tense, political thriller ...
Audience: chick flick, girls' night
Plot: political conspiracy, politics, investigation, conspiracy, conspiracy theory, lawyer, spy, political corruption, corruption, secret service, fbi, surveillance ...
Time: 90s, future, 20th century
Place: washington d.c., new orleans, southern usa, new york
Similarity:
100%
 8.1
 28K
Fail Safe (1964)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story: Because of a technical defect an American bomber team mistakenly orders the destruction of Moscow. The President of the United States has but little time to prevent an atomic catastrophe from occurring. Director Sidney Lumet gives an atmospheric ...
Style: tense, political, political thriller, realistic, bleak ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: cold war, nuclear holocaust, nuclear war, politics, nuclear threat, u.s. air force, military, nuclear explosion, atomic bomb, bomber, nightmare, nuclear bomb ...
Time: 20th century, 60s, year 1967
Place: russia, new york, washington d.c., usa, moscow russia ...
Similarity:
100%
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 7.8
 191K
The Insider (1999)
Genre: Biography, Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 157 min.
Story: Tells the true story of a 60 Minutes television series exposé of the tobacco industry, as seen through the eyes of a real tobacco executive, Jeffrey Wigand
Style: cerebral, political, sexy, suspense, clever ...
Plot: journalism, whistleblower, courtroom, politics, corruption, reporter, corporate crime, journalist, conspiracy, terrorist, tobacco, lawyer ...
Time: 90s, 20th century, year 1999
Place: new york, washington d.c., kentucky, south carolina, mississippi ...
Similarity:
100%
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 126 min.
Story: The Manchurian Candidate is a political thriller from American director John Frankenheimer. An American soldier is brainwashed into being a killer for the communist Russians during the Korean War.
Style: political thriller, psychological, political, suspenseful, suspense ...
Audience: date night
Plot: conspiracy, cold war, political conspiracy, brainwashing, assassin, manipulation, nightmare, senator, cold war era, communism, korean war, election ...
Time: 1950s, 20th century, year 1962, 50s, year 1952
Place: new york, north korea, china, washington d.c., korea ...
Similarity:
100%
Seven Days in May (1964)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 118 min.
Story: A U.S. Army general alerts the president of a planned military coup against him.
Style: political thriller, tense, political, black and white, suspense ...
Plot: cold war, conspiracy, politics, u.s. air force, white house, terrorism, president, coup d'etat, u.s. president, betrayal, mistress, espionage ...
Time: 60s, 20th century, future, 70s
Place: austin texas, russia, texas, spain, america ...
Similarity:
100%
 7.1
 160K
Margin Call (2011)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 107 min.
Story: A thriller that revolves around the key people at an investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the financial crisis.
Style: clever, realistic, captivating, serious, political ...
Plot: stock market, financial crisis, wall street, businessman, finance, greed, stock market crash, corporation, corporate america, investments, bankruptcy, marketing ...
Time: year 2011, 2000s, year 2008, 2010s, 70s ...
Place: new york, manhattan new york city, brooklyn new york city, usa, california
Similarity:
100%
Kill the Messenger (2014)
Genre: Biography, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 112 min.
Story: A reporter becomes the target of a vicious smear campaign that drives him to the point of suicide after he exposes the CIA's role in arming Contra rebels in Nicaragua and importing cocaine into California. Based on the true story of journalist ...
Style: political, clever, suspenseful, captivating, disturbing ...
Audience: family friendly
Plot: journalism, reporter, journalist, conspiracy, u.s. government, investigative journalism, politics, drug smuggling, investigative reporter, media manipulation, media, cia ...
Time: 80s, year 2014, 70s, 90s, 20th century ...
Place: latin america, california, los angeles, nicaragua, usa ...
Similarity:
100%
 6.3
 22K
Mad City (1997)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 115 min.
Story: A misguided museum guard who loses his job and then tries to get it back at gunpoint is thrown into the fierce world of ratings-driven TV gone mad.
Style: intense, talky, realistic, suspenseful, tense ...
Plot: hostage, journalism, politics, media, journalist, kidnapper kidnapped relationship, investigation, society, injustice, workplace intrigue, reporter, manipulation ...
Time: 90s
Similarity:
100%
 6.2
 58K
Disclosure (1994)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 128 min.
Story: A computer specialist is sued for sexual harassment by a former lover turned boss who initiated the act forcefully, which threatens both his career and his personal life.
Style: sexy, suspenseful, psychosexual thriller, sexual, intense ...
Audience: girls' night, adult
Plot: sexual harassment, obsession, manipulation, femme fatale, lawyer, conspiracy, oral sex, lust, false accusation, sex, workplace, race against time ...
Time: 90s, 20th century
Place: seattle, washington state, san francisco
Similarity:
50%
 8.0
 181K
JFK (1991)
Genre: Drama, History, Thriller
Country: USA, France
Duration: 189 min.
Story: New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison discovers there's more to the Kennedy assassination than the official story.
Style: tense, political thriller, controversial, political, disturbing ...
Plot: investigation, assassination, kennedy assassination, president, political conspiracy, conspiracy theory, legal, politics, cia, assassination of president, cold war era, courtroom ...
Time: 20th century, 60s, 90s, year 1991, year 1963
Place: america, washington d.c., north america, midwest, chile ...
Similarity:
37%
The Concorde... Airport '79 (1979)
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story: The last of the 'Airport' series again stars George Kennedy as aviation disaster-prone Joe Patroni, this time having to contend with nuclear missiles, the French Air Force and the threat of the plane splitting in two over the Alps!
Style: psychological, cult classic, fast, serious, bleak ...
Audience: teens, boys' night
Plot: disaster, aviation, airport, airplane, natural disaster, air disaster, arms dealer, survival, terrorism, murder, airplane accident, missile ...
Time: 70s, year 1979, 80s
Place: europe, france, alps, washington d.c., paris france ...
Similarity:
36%
 7.8
 661K
Nightcrawler (2014)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 117 min.
Story: When Lou Bloom, desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story. Aiding him in his effort is Nina, a TV-news veteran.
Style: neo noir, psychological, disturbing, suspense, atmospheric ...
Audience: adult
Plot: character study, sociopath, journalism, obsession, cynicism, psychopath, manipulation, morality, journalist, violence, deception, ethics ...
Time: year 2014, 2010s, near future, 21st century
Place: los angeles, california, usa, venice beach california, america ...
Similarity:
36%
Movie in collections
 7.5
 229K
Traffic (2000)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Germany
Duration: 147 min.
Story: An exploration of the United States of America's war on drugs from multiple perspectives. For the new head of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, the war becomes personal when he discovers his well-educated daughter is abusing cocaine ...
Style: suspense, political, realistic, thought provoking, anthology ...
Plot: drug traffic, organized crime, drug abuse, drug dealer, drug lord, addiction, drug addiction, drug cartel, drug, war on drugs, politics, corruption ...
Time: year 2000, y2k, 20th century, 90s, 2000s
Place: mexico, latin america, california, ohio, los angeles ...
Similarity:
36%
The Odessa File (1974)
Genre: Drama, Thriller
Country: UK, West Germany
Duration: 130 min.
Story: After reading the diary of an elderly Jewish man who committed suicide, freelance journalist Peter Miller begins to investigate the alleged sighting of a former SS-Captain who commanded a concentration camp during World War II. Miller eventually ...
Style: political thriller, tense, atmospheric, suspenseful, political ...
Plot: investigation, world war two, war, nazi, mossad, espionage, war crime, war criminal, holocaust, israeli, nazi hunter, journalism ...
Time: 20th century, year 1963, year 1964, post world war two, 60s ...
Place: germany, hamburg germany, israel, west germany, europe ...
Similarity:
36%
 4.9
 28K
Blacklight (2022)
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Australia, China
Duration: 104 min.
Story: Travis Block is a shadowy Government agent who specializes in removing operatives whose covers have been exposed. He then has to uncover a deadly conspiracy within his own ranks that reaches the highest echelons of power.
Style: suspense, tense, disturbing, suspenseful, captivating ...
Plot: hitman, fbi, one against many, blackmail, federal bureau of investigation, conspiracy, spy, secret service, abuse of power, political conspiracy, federal agent, gunfight ...
Time: future, 2020s
Place: usa, washington d.c.
Similarity:
36%
Absence of Malice (1981)
Genre: Drama, Romance, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 116 min.
Story: A prosecutor leaks a false story that liquor warehouse owner Michael Gallagher is involved in the murder of a union head, and as newspaper reporter Megan Carter picks up the story and attempts to find the real truth, Gallagher's life begins to ...
Style: thought provoking, suspense, talky, realistic, serious ...
Plot: journalism, legal, writers, murder, politics, investigation, courtroom, court, lawyer, manipulation, media, newspaper reporter ...
Time: 80s, 20th century, year 1981, 70s
Place: usa, miami, florida
Similarity:
35%
 5.6
 6K
A Dark Truth (2012)
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Country: Canada
Duration: 106 min.
Story: In the jungles of Ecuador, blood taints the waters. A multinational conglomerate's unholy alliance with a bloodthirsty military regime has resulted in a massacre. Only the rebel Francisco Franco and his determined wife Mia can prove the truth. ...
Style: serious, suspenseful, realistic, exciting, action packed ...
Plot: cia, corruption, corporate crime, danger, life is a bitch, uncover truth, state affairs, injustice, dishonesty, legal, testimony, spy ...
Time: year 2012, 2010s, 21st century
Place: usa, ecuador, south america, latin america, toronto ontario canada
Similarity:
35%
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The Conversation (1974)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 113 min.
Story: Surveillance expert Harry Caul is hired by a mysterious client's brusque aide to tail a young couple. Tracking the pair through San Francisco's Union Square, Caul and his associate Stan manage to record a cryptic conversation between them. ...
Style: neo noir, psychological thriller, psychological, cerebral, political thriller ...
Plot: surveillance, paranoia, character study, spy, conspiracy, loner, losing-it hero, loneliness, obsession, wiretap, murder, hotel ...
Time: 20th century, year 1974, 70s
Place: bay area, usa, san francisco
Similarity:
50%
Edge of Darkness (2010)
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: UK, USA
Duration: 117 min.
Story: As a seasoned homicide detective, Thomas Craven has seen the bleakest side of humanity. But nothing prepares him for the toughest investigation of his life: the search for his only daughter Emma's killer. Now, he is on a personal mission to ...
Style: tense, brutal, suspenseful, political thriller, exciting ...
Audience: girls' night
Plot: vengeance, revenge, violence, uncover truth, father daughter relationship, vigilantism, fighting the system, investigation, corruption, riddles and clues, political corruption, conspiracy ...
Time: 2000s, year 2010, 2010s, 21st century
Place: boston, massachusetts, usa
Similarity:
35%
 8.1
 374K
Chinatown (1974)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 130 min.
Story: Private eye Jake Gittes lives off of the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-World War II Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double ...
Style: neo noir, detective, atmospheric, cult classic, clever ...
Audience: date night
Plot: private detective, corruption, femme fatale, investigation, police, whodunit, murder, twists and turns, conspiracy, murder mystery, father daughter incest, domestic violence ...
Time: 20th century, year 1937, 1930s, year 1974
Place: los angeles, california, usa, eastern europe, pacific ocean ...
Similarity:
35%
Internal Affairs (1990)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA, Canada
Duration: 115 min.
Story: Keen young Raymold Avila joins the Internal Affairs Department of the Los Angeles police. He and partner Amy Wallace are soon looking closely at the activities of cop Dennis Peck whose financial holdings start to suggest something shady. Indeed Peck ...
Style: neo noir, clever, detective, erotic, suspenseful ...
Plot: police corruption, internal affairs, corrupt cop, investigation, corruption, police officer, police investigation, abusive husband, sociopath, betrayal, murder, obsession ...
Time: 20th century, 80s, 90s, 70s
Place: los angeles, usa
Similarity:
35%
Don't Say a Word (2001)
Genre: Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Country: USA, Australia, Switzerland, Canada
Duration: 113 min.
Story: When the daughter of a psychiatrist is kidnapped, he's horrified to discover that the abductors' demand is that he break through to a post traumatic stress disorder suffering young woman who knows a secret..
Style: suspense, tense, psychological, psychological thriller, rough ...
Audience: girls' night
Plot: psychiatrist, kidnapping, bank robbery, killer, haunted by the past, murder, torture, manipulation, stalking, mind game, doctor patient relationship, spy ...
Time: 90s, 2000s, year 1991, year 2001
Place: new york, brooklyn new york city, usa, empire state building manhattan new york city, manhattan new york city
Similarity:
35%
 6.3
 47K
Nick of Time (1995)
Genre: Action, Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 89 min.
Story: Gene Watson is a public accountant who arrives on a train at Union Station in Los Angeles, accompanied by his 6-year-old daughter Lynn. Because of his ordinary looks, he is approached by a pair of sinister people named Smith and Jones.
Style: exciting, serious, realistic, clever, suspense ...
Plot: assassination, conspiracy, conspiracy theory, accountant, twists and turns, politics, kidnapping, race against time, hostage, assassination plot, child in peril, murder ...
Time: 90s, year 1995
Place: los angeles, california, usa
Similarity:
35%
 7.0
 114K
Cop Land (1997)
Genre: Crime, Drama, Thriller
Country: USA
Duration: 105 min.
Story: Freddy Heflin is the sheriff of a place everyone calls “Cop Land” — a small and seemingly peaceful town populated by the big city police officers he’s long admired. Yet something ugly is taking place behind the town’s peaceful facade. And ...
Style: suspenseful, neo noir, sexy, intense, talky ...
Audience: boys' night
Plot: mafia, corruption, nypd, dirty cop, police, police corruption, internal affairs, sheriff, organized crime, justice, investigation, corrupt cop ...
Time: 90s, 20th century
Place: new jersey, new york, usa, manhattan new york city, california ...
Similarity:
35%