6 Best Alan Bates Movies

By Vlad Zakh · March 2, 2026

Alan Bates brought a thoughtful, sensitive intensity to British film and became one of the most respected leading men of his generation. Women in Love has two sisters pursuing very different relationships in postwar England, Far from the Madding Crowd has a farm inheritor drawing three suitors, and Gosford Park has a murder at a country house shooting party. The Go-Between, Zorba the Greek and A Kind of Loving round out his list.

Gosford Park (2001)

TMDB ★ 7.2

A country-house shooting party's murder exposes the class divide between guests and servants.

Directed by Robert Altman · 2h 17m · Rated R

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

The Go-Between (1971)

TMDB ★ 7.3

Alan Bates appears as a young boy unwittingly carries messages between two secret lovers during one fateful English summer.

Directed by Joseph Losey · 1h 56m · Rated PG

Where to watch

Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Women in Love (1969)

TMDB ★ 7.1

Two sisters pursue very different romances with a pair of close friends in industrial England.

Directed by Ken Russell · 2h 11m · Rated R

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)

TMDB ★ 7.1

An independent woman's inheritance of a farm draws the attention of three very different suitors.

Directed by John Schlesinger · 2h 46m

Where to watch

Stream: Broadway HD Amazon Channel · Rent or buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Zorba the Greek (1964)

TMDB ★ 7.7

Alan Bates plays a reserved English writer whose life is transformed by his boisterous, life-embracing Greek companion.

Directed by Mihalis Kakogiannis · 2h 22m · Rated NR

Where to watch

Rent: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Fandango At Home · Buy: Amazon Video, Apple TV Store

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

A Kind of Loving (1962)

TMDB ★ 7.0

A young couple's hasty marriage after an unplanned pregnancy buckles under money and family pressure.

Directed by John Schlesinger · 1h 52m

Where to watch

Stream: Shout! Factory Amazon Channel

▶ Trailer Letterboxd

Streaming availability data from JustWatch, via TMDB. Availability changes often, so check the service before you plan a movie night.

Vlad Zakh

Founder, Movieix

Founder of Movieix. He started the site because most recommendation pages felt like noise. Here, lists are sorted by who's in the film, where it's from and what mood you're in tonight.

6 Best Alan Bates Movies

Gosford Park (2001)

The Go-Between (1971)

Women in Love (1969)

Far from the Madding Crowd (1967)

Zorba the Greek (1964)

A Kind of Loving (1962)

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