10 Movies To Watch if You Love ‘Landman’

Taylor Sheridan‘s latest series Landman is a dive into the occupation of a landman, an individual employed by an oil company who interacts and negotiates with landowners for several purposes, mostly to acquire leases and rights for exploring minerals (mostly oil) on their land. The landman of the show is Tommy Norris, played by Billy Bob Thornton, and he’s the one who interacts with the public in the name of his director, Monty Miller, played by Jon Hamm.

The series focuses on Tommy’s family a bit, too, but it’s mostly about the day-to-day life of a landman and the troubles that can come up with his occupation, from oil rigs to legal issues. Since Landman‘s first season ended with an explosive episode, fans might want to see more of something similar before season two arrives. Fortunately, besides other Taylor Sheridan shows, there are movies set in arid Texas, or where characters are digging for oil, and even those that show Billy Bob Thornton in his best roles.

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10

‘Boom Town’ (1940)

Starring Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy

A beautiful and dramatic story of the American Dream, Boom Town represents two oil well explorers and friends who go from broke drillers to oil magnates within a span of ten years. Clark Gable portrays Big John McMasters, whose oil well exploration becomes successful after moving to New York; Spencer Tracy portrays Square John Sand, the less successful man of the two, who loses his oil business in South America. The two break up their friendship over a woman (Claudette Colbert), and decide each other’s fates with the flip of a coin.

Boom Town shows the instability and malevolence of the oil industry, even in the 1940s, before it was exploited to impossible heights. Gable and Tracy portray their characters brilliantly, and the movie is a true Western drama at heart, blending it with some romance, comedy, and adventure. Fans of Landman will surely enjoy this star-studded throwback to the Golden Age of Hollywood, and may even be surprised by how much the idea of the American Dream hasn’t changed since then.

Watch on Prime Video

9

‘Beirut’ aka ‘The Negotiator’ (2018)

Starring Jon Hamm and Rosamund Pike

Whoever watched Landman knows what happens to Jon Hamm’s character at the end of season one; since Hamm has been a common lead in numerous TV series, from Mad Men to Fargo, it’s rare to see him in any kind of feature film. There is one movie that fares similar to Landman in some ways, and it’s Beirut, also known as The Negotiator (primarily in the UK). In it, Hamm portrays CIA negotiator and former US diplomat Mason Skiles.

The movie is set in 1982, and Skiles must return to Beirut after ten years and a personal tragedy experienced there to negotiate the freedom of an old friend. While it may not be fully Landman-coded – there’s no oil exploration or burning Texas sun – fans who enjoy seeing Jon Hamm in these serious, heroic roles will enjoy Beirut for what it is. Beirut is one of Hamm’s best roles, but it’s also entertaining and captivating.

Watch on Netflix

8

‘Local Hero’ (1983)

Starring Burt Lancaster, Peter Riegert, and Peter Capaldi

Local Hero is a British dark comedy, which is the polar opposite of Landman, but hear me out. It follows American oil company employee, Mac MacIntyre (Peter Riegert), sent to a village in the west coast of Scotland, where he is instructed to buy out the entire village, so his company can set up an oil refinery there. Mac’s role is to displace an entire livelihood of innocent Scottish residents, and he was chosen merely because his surname, MacIntyre, sounds kind of Scottish (Mac’s actually kind of Hungarian).

The ruthlessness of the oil industry is best shown through those instructing Mac, specifically his wealthy and eccentric oil tycoon boss, Felix Happer (Burt Lancaster). Though Mac has hardened his outer shell to become resilient to human interactions and only think in terms of sales, the villagers soften him up the longer he stays there. Though Local Hero has a happy ending, many real-life villages that have suffered similar consequences haven’t; it’s still a great, underrated comedy to enjoy after Landman. It also has an iconic soundtrack.

Watch on Plex

7

‘How to Blow Up a Pipeline’ (2023)

Starring Ariela Barer, Lukas Gage, and Jake Weary

Well, How to Blow Up a Pipeline isn’t exactly the same as Landman, but it’s all about the oil industry and its many evils; it’s also set in West Texas. While Tommy Norris explains to his boss’ lawyer Rebecca how wind energy turbines cost and exploit a lot more land than oil does, the environmental activists in How to Blow Up a Pipeline organize an attack on the oil pipeline from a refinery that causes massive pollution and illnesses. The lead is Xochitl (Ariela Barer), whose mother dies from the pollution increased by a heat wave.

Xochitl, her friend Theo, and several of their friends embark on a mission to blow up bombs along a newly built oil pipeline in West Texas. One of the people in the group is Dwayne (Jake Weary), a Texas native and blue-collar worker whose land was possessed by the oil refinery the group wishes to target. Dwayne is a great example of how some (if not all) oil companies use eminent domain to snatch and forcefully claim private land; the rest of the group symbolizes regular people whose anger, fear, and frustrations toward the state of the world lead to potentially dangerous, but justice-fueled decisions.

Watch on Hulu

6

‘No Country for Old Men’ (2007)

Starring Josh Brolin, Tommy Lee Jones, and Javier Bardem

No Country for Old Men is, like Landman, set in West Texas. However, the movie, written and directed by the Coen brothers, is set in the 1980s and was based on a Cormac McCarthy novel. The story follows Josh Brolin as Llewelyn Moss, a Vietnam War veteran who finds a case full of money at a crime scene after a drug deal gone wrong. The police officer on the case is Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones), while Moss is being pursued by a psychopathic killer, Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem).

This movie is thrilling and deals with topics like faith and fate, as well as morality; all three of the characters become those who chase and are chased after at certain moments. In many ways, besides it being set in West Texas, Landman also often questions who is the chaser and who is being chased; with Tommy Norris seeking out land for his boss’ oil exploits, he’s found at the mercy of a dangerous Mexican cartel – he no longer chases after the land; someone else is now after him. This is an interesting parallel, but No Country for Old Men is just a great movie all around, too.

5

‘Syriana’ (2005)

Starring George Clooney and Matt Damon

Syriana screenwriter and creator Stephen Gaghan investigated the matters his movie covers personally; he dedicated himself fully to writing a spy thriller revolving around the malice of the oil tycoons, as well as the actions their agents and their agents’ agents follow to protect them. George Clooney portrays Bob Barnes, inspired by a real-life CIA agent Robert Baer, whose novel See No Evil inspired Gaghan to write the movie. Matt Damon steps into the role of energy analyst Bryan Woodman in a parallel storyline, who becomes intertwined with the Emir’s son and oil tycoon, Prince Nasir (Alexander Siddig).

Though Landman doesn’t depict the tycoon side of the oil industry, these stories can’t be separated completely. While Landman gives attention to those who physically dedicate their lives to the oil industry, from the landman to the rig workers, Syriana focuses on the administrative negotiations that happen behind it, emphasizing how little the bigwigs care about the very people maintaining their oil rigs. Syriana is also exciting and it brought George Clooney the Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 2006.

4

‘There Will Be Blood’ (2007)

Starring Daniel Day Lewis and Paul Dano

The Western drama epic There Will Be Blood shows the ultimate search for oil and wealth, similarly to Boom Town, but with a lot more grit and teeth. It shows the silver prospector Daniel Plainview, played by Daniel Day Lewis, as he goes from digging and peddling silver to becoming an oil tycoon. The story spans nearly three decades of Plainview’s search and conviction, showing just how much greed and the desire for power and success can trump anything else in a human being. Paul Dano joins him in portraying twin brothers Paul and Eli Sunday.

While There Will Be Blood is marginally more serious than Landman, which has funny moments and Billy Bob Thornton’s brilliant comedic timing, the search for power is their biggest common ground. Oil was valuable at the start of the 20th century and continues to be so in the first quarter of the 21st. The biggest power moves in Landman are depicted through Jon Hamm’s Mitch and his behavior; he is constantly on the verge of a heart attack, yet his mind and ambition never stop (until they finally stop him).

3

‘One False Move’ (1991)

Starring Billy Bob Thornton and Bill Paxton

One False Move was co-written by Landman‘s leading star, Billy Bob Thornton, and he stars in it, too, right beside the late Bill Paxton. No, One False Move doesn’t have much to do with oil or tycoons or rigs, but it’s a Thornton “original”, and his fans will love going from Landman to this slick police procedural. Dale “Hurricane” Dixon (Bill Paxton), the police chief of Star City, Arkansas, gets a tip off that a trio of ruthless criminals is headed his way. Excited to get some action in the town where he knows everyone, Dale prepares for a fight.

What Dale doesn’t expect is encountering a woman from his past, someone who might just lure him to his death. Billy Bob Thornton portrays one of the three criminals, Ray. Thornton has done some directing and screenwriting of his own, but One False Move stands out as one of his best. It’s a great show of talent for Thornton, and Roger Ebert even mentioned that the director, Carl Franklin, had a good start because of an “extraordinary screenplay.”

2

‘Giant’ (1956)

Starring Rock Hudson, James Dean, and Elizabeth Taylor

Another classic epic drama, Giant, finds its way into the ranks of movies that give the same vibe as the series Landman. However, Giant is much more prominent, not to say it’s giant compared to Landman, which reflects on modern oil companies and problems. Giant doesn’t just focus on oil – the sprawling epic shows an entire rise of a cattle rancher turned oil man, and it stars Rock Hudson as Bick Benedict, the rancher, Elizabeth Taylor as his wife Leslie, and James Dean in his final movie as the ranch worker Jett.

Bick Benedict and Leslie meet in Maryland and return, married, to Bick’s Texas ranch. Jett works for Bick and his older sister Luz, and after Luz dies, Jett inherits her part of the Benedict estate. While Jett decides to dig for oil, Bick wishes to keep his cattle ranch intact; Giant continues to follow Jett’s incredible success as an oil man and Bick’s undying wish to have a family that will continue his ranching legacy. Giant is kind of like Yellowstone and Landman combined, so Taylor Sheridan fans will surely love this emotional epic.

1

‘Hell or High Water’ (2016)

Starring Chris Pine and Jeff Bridges

One of Taylor Sheridan’s best projects, and a movie often placed among the best modern Westerns of the past 20 years, Hell or High Water is the perfect watch after Landman. It’s set in Texas, and it’s an amazingly exciting and relentless story about revenge. Chris Pine and Ben Foster play brothers Toby and Tanner; the brothers lose their mother to illness and the Texas Midland Bank put their ranch under a reverse mortgage after it. To exact revenge on the banking machine, Toby and Tanner devise a brilliant plan of action to rob several Texas Midland Banks and ensure they have enough money to avoid foreclosure.

Toby and Tanner are, in the meantime, pursued by experienced police officers Marcus Hamilton and Alberto Parker (Jeff Bridges and Gil Birmingham, respectively), and their perfect plan has a lot of unpredictable variables, including the two officers on their tail. Hell or High Water immediately introduces Toby and Tanner’s plan as futile; as great as it sounds, their motivation for revenge can’t defeat the machinery that runs the entire country. This movie will surely move and entertain fans of Landman or Taylor Sheridan.

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