Skip to content

Movies like Iron & Butterfly (2009)

The best movies like Iron & Butterfly (2009) are Seduced and Abandoned (2013), Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968) and Capturing Avatar (2010). If Iron & Butterfly hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Seduced and Abandoned (2013)

    SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968)

    In Manhattan's Central Park, a film crew directed by William Greaves is shooting a screen test with various pairs of actors. It's a confrontation between a couple: he demands to know what's wrong, she challenges his sexual orientation. Cameras shoot the exchange, and another camera records Greaves and his crew. Sometimes we watch the crew discussing this scene, its language, and the process of making a movie. Is there such a thing as natural language? Are all things related to sex? The camera records distractions - a woman rides horseback past them; a garrulous homeless vet who sleeps in the park chats them up. What's the nature of making a movie?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. Capturing Avatar (2010)

    Capturing Avatar is a feature length behind-the-scenes documentary about the making of Avatar. It uses footage from the film's development, as well as stock footage from as far back as the production of Titanic in 1995. Also included are numerous interviews with cast, artists, and other crew members. The documentary was released as a bonus feature on the extended collector's edition of Avatar.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  4. Quay (2015)

    In 2015, Christopher Nolan curated a selection of short films by the surrealist animators the Quay Brothers to be distributed as a touring 35mm presentation. The three films—"In Absentia" (2000), "The Comb" (1991) and "Street of Crocodiles" (1986)—were accompanied by this brief portrait of the brothers at work in their London studio.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. Hotel Desire (2011)

    Antonia is a single mother who works as a hotel maid in Berlin. A normal hot summer day takes a dramatic turn when she crosses paths with a particular guest of the hotel, famous blind portrait painter Julius Pass.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. Bergman Island (2021)

    An English-German filmmaking couple retreat to Fårö for the summer to each write screenplays for their upcoming films in an act of pilgrimage to the place that inspired Ingmar Bergman. As the summer and their screenplays advance, the lines between reality and fiction start to blur against the backdrop of the Island's wild landscape.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. Game of Thrones: The Last Watch (2019)

    For a year, acclaimed British filmmaker Jeanie Finlay was embedded on the set of the hit HBO series “Game of Thrones,” chronicling the creation of the show’s most ambitious and complicated season. Debuting one week after the series 8 finale, GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH delves deep into the mud and blood to reveal the tears and triumphs involved in the challenge of bringing the fantasy world of Westeros to life in the very real studios, fields and car-parks of Northern Ireland. Made with unprecedented access, GAME OF THRONES: THE LAST WATCH is an up-close and personal portrait from the trenches of production, following the crew and the cast as they contend with extreme weather, punishing deadlines and an ever-excited fandom hungry for spoilers. Much more than a “making of” documentary, this is a funny, heartbreaking story, told with wit and intimacy, about the bittersweet pleasures of what it means to create a world – and then have to say goodbye to it.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  8. Maggie Simpson in "The Longest Daycare" (2012)

    Maggie must navigate an eventful first day in daycare. At the Ayn Rand School for Tots, Maggie is diagnosed with average intelligence. Barred from the gifted children, she longs to escape from her glue-guzzling classmates. But when a lonely caterpillar befriends her, she makes it her mission to save it from a ruthless butterfly smashing toddler.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  9. The Duke of Burgundy (2015)

    Day in and day out, lovers Cynthia and Evelyn enact an elaborate sadomasochistic fantasy as mistress and maid. But as their ritual of domination and submission begins to turn stale, Cynthia yearns for something more conventional, while Evelyn tries to push their taboos even further.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  10. Alice in the Cities (1974)

    German journalist Philip Winter has a case of writer’s block when trying to write an article about the United States. He decides to return to Germany, and while trying to book a flight, encounters a German woman and her nine year old daughter Alice doing the same. The three become friends (almost out of necessity) and while the mother asks Winter to mind Alice temporarily, it quickly becomes apparent that Alice will be his responsibility for longer than he expected.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  11. The Curious Birth of Benjamin Button (2009)

    A documentary about the making of David Fincher's 2008 film THE CURIOUS CASE OF BENJAMIN BUTTON. Virtually every element in the evolution of the Fincher's film is documented here, from the project's attachment to numerous other directors during the 1990s, to its shoot in 2006 and 2007 in New Orleans, to its complex, CGI-intensive postproduction process.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. Embrace the Panda: Making Turning Red (2022)

    A feature length documentary about the all-women team at the helm of Pixar's original feature, Turning Red. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Director Domee Shi and her core leadership crew, this story shines a light on the powerful professional and personal journeys that brought this incredibly comical, utterly relatable, and deeply heartfelt story to the screen.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  13. In the Soup (1992)

    An aspiring young filmmaker gets involved with an eccentric gangster for the financing of his first film.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)

    As his life comes to its end, famous Hollywood director Orson Welles puts it all on the line at the chance for renewed success with the film The Other Side of the Wind.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  15. Beware of a Holy Whore (1971)

    Film director Jeff and his lead actor are taking their time getting to set. In their absence, the crew lack a purposeful way to spend their time waiting, so they drink heavily. However, as booze is downed and frustration sets in, morale hits rock bottom.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. The State of Things (1982)

    On location in Portugal, a film crew runs out of film while making their own version of Roger Corman's The Day the World Ended (1956). The producer is nowhere to be found and director Munro attempts to find him in hopes of being able to finish the film.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema (2022)

    With mesmerizing footage and time lapses of animators at work, this behind-the-scenes special captures the artistry of a unique tale years in the making.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)

    Documentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. Tangled Ever After (2012)

    The kingdom is in a festive mood as everyone gathers for the royal wedding of Rapunzel and Flynn. However, when Pascal and Maximus, as flower chameleon and ring bearer, respectively, lose the gold bands, a frenzied search and recovery mission gets underway. As the desperate duo tries to find the rings before anyone discovers that they’re missing, they leave behind a trail of comical chaos that includes flying lanterns, a flock of doves, a wine barrel barricade and a very sticky finale. Will Maximus and Pascal save the day and make it to the church in time? And will they ever get Flynn’s nose right?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  20. The Director and the Jedi (2018)

    An intimate documentary delving into Rian Johnson's process as he comes in as a director new to the Star Wars universe.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this

Like Iron & Butterfly and something else?

Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Iron & Butterfly?

The closest matches to Iron & Butterfly are Seduced and Abandoned (2013), Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968) and Capturing Avatar (2010). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Iron & Butterfly?

Start with Seduced and Abandoned (2013), the closest match to Iron & Butterfly.

What is the highest-rated movie like Iron & Butterfly?

Alice in the Cities (1974), rated 7.7/10 by 369 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Iron & Butterfly?

Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema (2022) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there German movies like Iron & Butterfly?

Yes: Hotel Desire (2011), Alice in the Cities (1974) and Beware of a Holy Whore (1971).

How are movies similar to Iron & Butterfly chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Iron & Butterfly, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

↑ ↓ to move · Enter to open · Full search page