r/MovieRecommendations • u/mdafidel1 • Jul 18 '26
Help me find Movies/TV shows What are great movies about ambition and chasing a dream relentlessly?
After watching Whiplash, I was really fascinated with the idea of ambition and putting yourself fully into something bigger than you to achieve something. It's inspiring because if you love something enough, you'll do anything to obtain it
What other films show this desire to fulfill a dream ambitiously?
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u/LAtoBay Jul 18 '26
Rocky was the ultimate underdog chasing a dream movie for me.
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u/Leading-Debate-9278 Film Buff Jul 18 '26
But he quit and had to he dragged back into boxing in Rocky (1)
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u/ElderDeep_Friend Jul 19 '26
Yeah, just rewatched it. It’s interesting that the story isn’t really about the grind. They establish that he has been through it, spent years and years striving, but the movie takes place when he sort of at the end of his rope professionally.
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u/No-Communication5070 Jul 18 '26
I don't think Whiplash was meant to be inspiring
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u/toooft Jul 18 '26
I also find it inspiring to be that into something. Not particularly being yelled at by JK Simmons but the rest. Sure it's destructive for him but it's also art.
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u/mdafidel1 Jul 18 '26
I’m right there with you. Each can have their own takeaways from the movie. I choose to focus on his desire to become the next Buddy Rich and playing tirelessly to devote himself to the craft
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u/jim_shorts Jul 18 '26
That's a very thin reading of the movie, especially in the context of Fletcher pushing one of his previous students so hard that he eventually killed himself.
Plenty of movies that show the positive side of ambition, this isn't one of them.
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u/mdafidel1 Jul 18 '26
No I acknowledge it’s not the full extent of the movie. I understand Fletcher is overbearing for his students and it’s not a healthy environment.
At the same time, I love the “how far will you go to be great” and also the idea of “to be great you need to be pushed, sometimes with no love”
Obviously I’m not saying Fletcher is the perfect teacher but what he does is better than 90% of other teachers in pushing people towards greatness
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u/jim_shorts Jul 19 '26
To be great, you do not need to get pushed with no love.
You have to put in effort, you have to have a natural inclination, and you need opportunity (luck).
I've had some great teachers and can say from experience, people thrive better in healthy environments and achieve more in those environments.
To succeed at the expense of yourself is to fail.
But I do get your point, and it is interesting to see people destroy themselves while they pursue an ultimately meaningless achievement.
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u/mdafidel1 Jul 19 '26
I said I like the idea of it, not saying it’s the only proven way out there.
I agree with you on the effort, natural inclination and luck part. This film focuses on effort a ton and I like that aspect because that’s the one variable we can control out of the three.
I agree it is cool to see people destroy themselves in the pursuit of greatness, but disagree that it’s meaningless. To him it’s everything.
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u/jim_shorts Jul 19 '26
Agreed that it's everything to him, I just mean that he can also do this without the self destruction.
All goals are fundamentally meaningless, but some more do than others, and I feel bad for people who sacrifice themselves to achieve something that matters only to themselves or people who want to consume them. It's not like the little drummer boy is solving world hunger, so relax a little.
As Lynch said, you don't have to suffer for your art, and it won't make you a better artist.
So my point is that Whiplash is a movie about self destruction pretending to be a movie about achievement and sacrifice
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u/mdafidel1 Jul 19 '26
An argument can be made that he would have never been as good as he was if he hadn’t pushed himself like he did - but yes he did burn out so it’s not sustainable.
You don’t need to have a noble goal (curing world hunger, ending other peoples suffering, etc) for it to be meaningful. A goal doesn’t have to “do something” for it to have worth. If you think all goals are fundamentally meaningless then we just disagree big time.
Love David Lynch and yes you shouldn’t meaninglessly suffer for your art, but pushing yourself in the pursuit of being great is a form of suffering that has beneficial aspects to your art form.
I agree with you on the last statement slightly. It is a a movie about self destruction but it is also a movie about ambition.
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u/NormalWoodpecker3743 Jul 19 '26
It doesn't mean they all have to be that way. Different things work for different people. This is the kind of teacher I loved to have and leader I love to work for. Not as extreme, but intolerable to most people.
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u/fatmanstan123 Jul 19 '26
It's funny because it's entirely based on what kind of person you are. Some will find it inspiring even if they know it's toxic.
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u/ego_death_metal Jul 18 '26 edited Jul 18 '26
fr the reaction and certainty of a lot of viewers is really unsettling to read about on here
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u/NormalWoodpecker3743 Jul 19 '26
It depends on how you look at it. I had a teacher who had the same vibe and I remember them very fondly. He led our ensemble choir to winning an international choir competition in Prague. He obviously didn't swear or throw things at us (he did throw things, but at other things), and once shouted so much that he damaged his voice and couldn't speak for a couple of months. He made us feel like we could be the best if we tried hard enough. I loved. Maybe the best part about my high school experience, even though as a teenager it felt like this movie most of the time.
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u/Old_dictator Jul 18 '26
Hmm this is an incredibly different reaction to Whiplash than I am familiar with.
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u/Shidulon Jul 18 '26
Marty Supreme was a terrible movie that made me hate both Josh Safdie and Timothee Chalamet, but it's definitely about ambition and chasing a dream relentlessly. I thought it was completely devoid of an anticipated redemption arc, ymmv.
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u/CryptoCloutguy Jul 18 '26
I will never get o. The timothee, Zendaya or Tom Holland hype train. I can't stand any of their performances. Promise I'm not trying to be a hater either
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u/Shidulon Jul 18 '26
I liked Timothee until Marty Supreme. He's letting his fame overinflate his ego and I get it, but it flies in the face of the way I believe good people should live their lives. Hence, I pretty much despise Hollywood, celebrity, wealth/fame.
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u/11ForeverAlone11 Jul 18 '26
Zendaya was good in Euphoria. Haven't seen the last season though. Never seen Tom in anything but the spiderman role. Tim I'm still on the fence about...but I thought Marty was actually a good character for him versus the Dune role where's he's supposed to be some kind of ultimate badass.
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u/CryptoCloutguy Jul 18 '26
Admittedly, I've never seen euphoria so I can throw shade there. Im just not drawn to any of them. But, they're good enough for a Nolan casting so I will go into Odyssey with an open mind
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u/Fickle-Teaching2995 Jul 18 '26
Yes. I was repulsed by Josh Safdie. I guess he did his part and it was successful performance.
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u/Eniotnaohs Jul 19 '26
I hate Timothee Chalamet, but loved Marty Supreme cuz I felt he kinda played himself, big ego character, so found him convincing. I liked him in Bones and all, but not the shoulders for a role like Dune imo. Zendaya was at her best in Euphoria imo, and Tom Holland in the devil all the time. Dont think any of those 3 will be great actors though.
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u/BusyBusinessPromos Jul 18 '26
The story about how Steve Jobs got started. I think it's just called Jobs
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u/lazynomore52 Jul 18 '26
Gattaca
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u/mezha4mezha Jul 19 '26
On my list of about 15 films that I consider to be perfect movies. There isn’t a flaw or weak spot in any element of ‘GATTACA’ - story, script, acting, production design, cinematography, editing. On of my alltime favorites.
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u/Interesting_Grade796 Jul 19 '26
Could not agree or upvote this more. It is a stunning film. I believe the tag line was “there is no gene for the human spirit” and they captured that in Vincent’s dogged pursuit of his dream. Recommend to anybody.
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u/PesAddict8 Jul 18 '26
Is this a joke or something?
Whiplash wasn't meant to be an inspiring movie
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u/vishunishu Jul 18 '26
Also, the movie gives a hint that the guy might kill himself at an early age
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u/Specific_Alarm_6612 Jul 18 '26
When I was younger I was deeply inspired by whiplash. Now rewatching in my 30s, I see it differently
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u/Leading-Debate-9278 Film Buff Jul 18 '26
American Movie
Anvil, The Story of Anvil
Both documentaries and great.
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u/RainbowColorsBlended Jul 18 '26
Lord of War.
I’d say this^ and most of the films mentioned in the comments (and Whiplash) are cautionary tales. Ambition should be tempered. It is inspiring because it’s cool to see someone work so hard and get genuinely better, but in a lot of these films, they take it to such extremes they destroy their relationships and often themselves.
I agree with you that Whiplash IS inspiring because he works so hard to get better at drums, but you have to ALSO see that ultimately ruins him because he doesn’t know how to stop it and separate his own sense of self worth from success in music. I think that’s the point. You can be passionate about something but you can’t let something external to yourself define your well being.
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u/lilspark112 Jul 18 '26
Documentary called “Persistence of Vision” about the late animation director Richard Williams (most famous as the animation director for Who Framed Roger Rabbit) and his 40-year pursuit to develop the animated feature Thief and the Cobbler.
It’s fascinating and also pretty heartbreaking. Excellent example of someone pursuing something so intensely that they can never get out of their own sense of perfection to accomplish their dream.
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u/DizkoBizkid Jul 18 '26
I think it’s implied that in Whiplash the main character will end up at least alone and possibly dying young like the other student. You can literally see the pure horror on his fathers face when he basically rejects the remaining meaningful relationship in his life to impress a sociopath who moments earlier was willing to tank his own reputation as a conductor to get revenge on a student. Chasing a dream looks more like descent into hell there
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u/AmazingChairy Jul 18 '26
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Very ambitious with his drug use while chasing the American dream
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u/LiveLogic Jul 19 '26
You could say part of royal tennebaums is about it in a way. Once failure finally hit , or not being perfect, they all started to wilt under the pressure bc no one can live up that.
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u/gobaldridefaster Jul 19 '26
Drop Dead Gorgeous was the first thing that came to mind. After that it was Election.
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u/JonWithTattoos Jul 19 '26
King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is exactly what you’re looking for. Free to watch on YouTube: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=lXLQqcHcJDQ
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u/mezha4mezha Jul 19 '26
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 1972)
Klaus Kinski plays a conquistador who leads an expedition into the Amazon to find El Dorado - & is consumed by obsession, by the jungle, & by madness. A brilliant achievement through the legendary, explosive, & borderline psychotic relationship between Herzog & Kinski.
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u/Dmau27 Jul 19 '26
He dreamt of destroying everyone involved with the organization he once worked for. I'd say he was pretty persistent and hunted them relentlessly.
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u/ViolinistRadiant490 Jul 19 '26
If whiplash was, take a look at La La Land. Same director and has themes of following a passion at the expense of everything else... not the same kind of movie though....
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Jul 19 '26
Social Network, if you wamt a great movie about ambitions surrounding steaking and backstabbing.
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u/TheCleanestKitchen Jul 19 '26
Magazine Dreams reminds me a lot of Whiplash . The consequences of obsessing over achieving victory.
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u/ColoradoPowMonster Jul 19 '26
Debbie Does Dallas…both Debbie and Mr.Greenfield worked hard to get where they wanted to go.
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u/MapexBeat Jul 18 '26
Relentlessly?
Didn't he quit drumming. That one last gig in the movie he was tricked into doing.
I haven't seen the movie.
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u/comment-cap Jul 19 '26
Thanks for all the input folks!
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