Movies like Hidden Sex: Art and Shame (2023)

The Green Book: Guide to Freedom (2019)

In 1936, Victor H. Green (1892-1960) published The Negro Motorist Green Book, a book that was both a travel guide and a survival manual, to help African-Americans navigate safe those regions of the United States where segregation and Jim Crow laws were disgracefully applied.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron (2017)

For the 20th anniversary of "Titanic," James Cameron reopens the file on the disaster.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

Audrey (2020)

An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006)

Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)

The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

Visions of Light (1992)

Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

Django & Django: Sergio Corbucci Unchained (2021)

A tribute to Italian filmmaker Sergio Corbucci (1926-90), presented by American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

Mifune: The Last Samurai (2016)

An account of the life and work of legendary Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-97), the most prominent actor of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

Shoah (1985)

Director Claude Lanzmann spent 11 years on this sprawling documentary about the Holocaust, conducting his own interviews and refusing to use a single frame of archival footage. Dividing Holocaust witnesses into three categories – survivors, bystanders, and perpetrators – Lanzmann presents testimonies from survivors of the Chelmno concentration camp, an Auschwitz escapee, and witnesses of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, as well as a chilling report of gas chambers from an SS officer at Treblinka.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

The Princess (2022)

Decades after her untimely death, Princess Diana continues to evoke mystery, glamour, and the quintessential modern fairy tale gone wrong. As a symbol of both the widening fissures weakening the British monarchy and the destructive machinery of the press, the Princess of Wales navigated an unparalleled rise to fame and the corrosive challenges that came alongside it. Crafted entirely from immersive archival footage and free from the distraction of retrospective voices, this hypnotic and audaciously revealing documentary takes a distinctive formal approach, allowing the story of the People’s Princess to unfold before us like never before.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

Kubrick by Kubrick (2020)

American filmmaker Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999), one of the greatest in history, but also one of the most reserved, gave few interviews throughout his long career, and none of them were filmed. A first-person journey through his life and work, based on a recorded conversation with French film critic Michel Climent.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

The Godfather Family: A Look Inside (1990)

A documentary on the making of the three Godfather films, with interviews and recollections from the film makers and cast. This feature also includes the original screen tests of some of the actors for "The Godfather" film, and some candid moments on the set of "The Godfather: Part III."

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The Making of Star Wars (1977)

Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original Star Wars movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2 which includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Louis Theroux: Twilight of the Porn Stars (2012)

In 1997, Louis Theroux made a documentary about the world of male porn performers in Los Angeles. 15 years later, he returns to find a business struggling with the deluge of free porn on the internet. Louis revisits some of the original programme's contributors as well as meeting the latest crop of porn performers dreaming of porn stardom.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Ronaldo (2015)

Filmed over 14 months with unprecedented access into the inner circle of the man and the sport, this is the first official and fully authorised film of one of the most celebrated figures in football. For the first time ever, the world gets vividly candid and un-paralleled, behind-closed-doors access to the footballer, father, family-man and friend in this moving & fascinating documentary. Through in-depth conversations, state of the art football footage and never before seen archival footage, the film gives an astonishing insight into the sporting and personal life of triple Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo at the peak of his career. From the makers of ‘Senna’ and ‘Amy’, Ronaldo takes audiences on an intimate and revealing journey of what it’s like to live as an iconic athlete in the eye of the storm.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

David Bowie: Five Years (2013)

Featuring a wealth of previously unseen archive, this film looks at how Bowie continually evolved: from Ziggy Stardust to the Soul Star of Young Americans, to the ‘Thin White Duke’. It explores his regeneration in Berlin with the critically acclaimed album Heroes, his triumph with Scary Monsters and his global success with Let’s Dance. With interviews with all his closest collaborators, David Bowie - Five Years presents a unique account of why Bowie has become an ‘icon of our times’.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The Extraordinary Voyage (2011)

An account of the extraordinary life of film pioneer Georges Méliès (1861-1938) and the amazing story of the copy in color of his masterpiece A Trip to the Moon (1902), unexpectedly found in Spain and restored thanks to the heroic efforts of a group of true cinema lovers.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

4 Little Girls (1997)

On September 15, 1963, a bomb destroyed a black church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls who were there for Sunday school. It was a crime that shocked the nation--and a defining moment in the history of the civil-rights movement. Spike Lee re-examines the full story of the bombing, including a revealing interview with former Alabama Governor George Wallace.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

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 · both documentary & history

Cover-Up (2025)

He's devoted his career to uncovering stories the powerful want buried. From My Lai to Abu Ghraib, dig into the life's work of journalist Seymour Hersh.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history

Egon Schiele: Between Love and Hate (2018)

An account of the short life and the astonishing and provocative work of the Austrian painter Egon Schiele (1890-1918), seen through the peculiar point of view and the critic voices of the women who defined the paramount milestones of his existence: Gerti, his sister; Wally, his main model and lover; and Edith, his wife. A brief story of love, hate, betrayal and misfortune.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history

Wuthering Heights: Love, Hate and Vengeance (2022)

In 1847, British writer Emily Brontë (1818-48), perhaps the most enigmatic of the three Brontë sisters, published her novel Wuthering Heights, a dark romance set in the desolation of the moors, a unique work of early Victorian literature that stunned contemporary critics.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history

The Genius of Turner: Painting the Industrial Revolution (2013)

JMW Turner's work is examined in a new light. Beyond his sublime landscapes, Turner painted machines, science, technology and industry. His life spanned the unfolding Industrial Revolution. This programme argues that Turner created a whole new kind of art, by examining nine key works in the light of the scientific and Industrial Revolution. Includes interviews with historian Simon Schama and artist Tracey Emin.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & documentary

Black Is the Color: African-American Artists and Segregation (2016)

Black Is the Color highlights key moments in the history of Black visual art, from Edmonds Lewis’s 1867 sculpture Forever Free, to the work of contemporary artists such as Whitfield Lovell, Kerry James Marshall, Ellen Gallagher, and Jean-Michel Basquiat. Art historians and gallery owners place the works in context, setting them against the larger social contexts of Jim Crow, WWI, the civil rights movement and the racism of the Reagan era, while contemporary artists discuss individual works by their forerunners and their ongoing influence.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history

Sapiens ou la naissance de l’art (2022)

We immerse ourselves in a quest for the origins of Art, among the very first modern humans. The prehistoric works, of incredible richness and diversity, tell a story of beauty and the species. Researchers, including archaeologists, but also art historians, philosophers and contemporary artists, enrich our view of prehistoric art with their different, but also complementary, points of view on the subject.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history

Edvard Munch : Un cri dans la nature (2022)

The Norwegian painter Edvard Munch is the author of a powerful body of work that is rooted in symbolism and expressionism. His most famous painting, "The Scream", painted in 1893, has become the symbol of existential anguish. He obsessively sought to express his most violent emotions in the face of death and love, bringing them together in a great whole, the "Frieze of Life". Nature, in perpetual movement, the bearer of vital momentum, helped him to exalt his anguish of living through its colors and undulating lines.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Tarology: The Art of Tarot (2011)

Tarology follows Enrique through the streets of New York City as he shows us how to see the tarot - not superstitiously, but through the eyes of an artist - and how we are surrounded everyday by both the beauty and the symbolism of this ancient and often misunderstood tradition.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Hinter dem Vorhang: Das Geheimnis Vermeer (2021)

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

De caballos y guitarras (2024)

A musical, and also a reflection on watching, on trying to escape an anthropocentric gaze and also on watching itself in cinema. Featuring mares and horses: Triana, Víctor K, Bambi Sailor, San Special Solano, Buck Red Skin, Onkaia, Cool Boy, the donkey Agostino, the mule Guapa. And also Alfredo Lagos, Raül Refree, María Marín, Pepe Habichuela, Virgina García del Pino, María García Ruiz, Pilar Monsell, María Pérez Sanz.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Olev Subbi. Elu kuues peatükis (2021)

Olev Subbi (1930–2013) was one of the most significant painters of the second half of the 20th century. His art constantly strived for harmony and beauty, reviving lost memories. This documentary reconstructs the environments of his paintings, features interviews with artists and Subbi’s contemporaries, and incorporates archival footage, creating a multilayered perspective on the life and work of this remarkable artist.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary