Movies like The Old School of Capitalism (2009)
The best movies like The Old School of Capitalism (2009) are Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers (2003), The Shock Doctrine (2009) and Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2019). If The Old School of Capitalism hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedInside Job (2010)7.7/10 from 1,093 votes
- NewestYou Can See Everything (2026)Released 2026
Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers (2003)
Swedish documentary film on consumerism and globalization, created by director Erik Gandini and editor Johan Söderberg. It looks at the arguments for capitalism and technology, such as greater efficiency, more time and less work, and argues that these are not being fulfilled, and they never will be. The film leans towards anarcho-primitivist ideology and argues for "a simple and fulfilling life".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Shock Doctrine (2009)
An investigation of "disaster capitalism", based on Naomi Klein's proposition that neo-liberal capitalism feeds on natural disasters, war and terror to establish its dominance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCapital in the Twenty-First Century (2019)
Film adaptation of French economist Thomas Piketty's ground-breaking global bestseller of the same name: an eye-opening journey through wealth and power.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWeWork: or The Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn (2021)
Explore the rise and fall of one of the biggest corporate flameouts and venture capitalist bubbles in recent years – the story of WeWork, and its hippie-messianic leader Adam Neumann.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMade You Look: A True Story About Fake Art (2020)
A woman walks into a New York gallery with a cache of unknown masterworks. Thus begins a story of art world greed, willfulness and a high-stakes con.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuper Size Me 2: Holy Chicken! (2019)
Muckraking filmmaker Morgan Spurlock reignites his battle with the food industry — this time from behind the register — as he opens his own fast food restaurant.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Corporation (2003)
Since the late 18th century American legal decision that the business corporation organizational model is legally a person, it has become a dominant economic, political and social force around the globe. This film takes an in-depth psychological examination of the organization model through various case studies. What the study illustrates is that in the its behaviour, this type of "person" typically acts like a dangerously destructive psychopath without conscience. Furthermore, we see the profound threat this psychopath has for our world and our future, but also how the people with courage, intelligence and determination can do to stop it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInside Job (2010)
A film that exposes the shocking truth behind the economic crisis of 2008. The global financial meltdown, at a cost of over $20 trillion, resulted in millions of people losing their homes and jobs. Through extensive research and interviews with major financial insiders, politicians and journalists, Inside Job traces the rise of a rogue industry and unveils the corrosive relationships which have corrupted politics, regulation and academia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCapitalism: A Love Story (2009)
Michael Moore comes home to the issue he's been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEnron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican Factory (2019)
In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand blue-collar Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Yes Men Fix the World (2009)
THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD is a screwball true story about two gonzo political activists who, posing as top executives of giant corporations, lie their way into big business conferences and pull off the world's most outrageous pranks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYou Can See Everything (2026)
Thirty-four days before she's sent to prison, notorious Silicon Valley founder Elizabeth Holmes invites a skeptical film crew to document her every move. What begins as an intimate portrait of an enigmatic felon becomes a mind-bending three-year journey into the abyss.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)
A father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity, and explores the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what's at stake if we get it wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarlan County U.S.A. (1976)
A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThis Place Rules (2022)
Acclaimed for his unfiltered reporting and deadpan humor, Andrew Callaghan brings his gonzo style reporting to the undercurrents that led to the January 6 Capitol Riot. As one of the best-known and hardest working journalists of his generation, the 25-year-old ventures on a wild RV journey through America to take the pulse of a divided nation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAs I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTerms and Conditions May Apply (2013)
Have you ever read the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies connected to every website you visit, phone call you make, or app you use? Of course you haven’t. But those agreements allow corporations to do things with your personal information you could never even imagine. This film explores the intent hidden within these ridiculous agreements, and reveals what corporations and governments are legally taking from you and the outrageous consequences that result from clicking “I accept.”
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOprah Winfrey Presents: When They See Us Now (2019)
Oprah Winfrey talks with the exonerated men once known as the Central Park Five, plus the cast and producers who tell their story in "When They See Us."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Queen of Versailles (2012)
With the epic dimensions of a Shakespearean tragedy, The Queen of Versailles follows billionaires Jackie and David’s rags-to-riches story to uncover the innate virtues and flaws of their American dream. We open on the triumphant construction of the biggest house in America, a sprawling, 90,000-square-foot mansion inspired by Versailles. Since a booming time-share business built on the real-estate bubble is financing it, the economic crisis brings progress to a halt and seals the fate of its owners. We witness the impact of this turn of fortune over the next two years in a riveting film fraught with delusion, denial, and self-effacing humor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHow Ikea Plunders the Planet (2024)
Investigative journalists working for Disclose spent over a year investigating the production chain of the furniture giant which generated a 44.6 billion euros revenue in 2022 and attracts over 5 billion visitors to its stores and website every year. From the boreal forests of Sweden to Brazilian plantations and New Zealand coastlines, they uncovered how IKEA intensively exploits wood around the world, fuels the illegal trafficking of this resource and threatens the last precious European forests. Long overlooked, intensive logging is now sparking outrage and anger among citizens in Poland and the Baltic countries, who are increasingly concerned about the fate of their countries' public forest domains and biodiversity loss. In Romania, where IKEA owns 50,000 hectares of forests, activists are risking their lives mobilizing against the timber mafia. This film tells the expansion of a discreet forest predator, grappling with the limits of the planet's resources.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Jinsuk & Me (2012)
I have been pretty satisfied with my life before I got on the bus. When I do in June 2011, my whole life turns upside down. I am just a regular passenger at first. Like other people I was sorry, and felt obliged to help and care for other passengers. Then I begin to film these common heroes with my camera. Those who speak about hope, who provide it and get on the bus, Ms. Kim Jin-suk, and other crane laborers who risk their safety while demonstrating for their rights on high. She, while stationed insecurely on high, begins interacting with the world through Twitter and makes friends. Then I realize I really love her. Will we have her back safely?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Dias de Greve (2009)
The struggle of a small group of blacksmiths trapped between keeping a long going strike with claims for better fees and the necessity of getting back to work when there's no money left for basic necessities.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
A Terra em que Pisar (2019)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
BETWEEN (TBA)
Initially embarking on an unplanned personal filmmaking project, Ilias Boukhemoucha finds himself drawn to the overlooked corners and marginalized communities within Canadian cities.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Flickering Flame (1996)
Documentary following dockers of Liverpool sacked in a labour dispute and their supporters’ group, Women of the Waterfront, as they receive support from around the world and seek solidarity at the TUC conference.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Red Elvis (2007)
A documentary on the late American entertainer Dean Reed, who became a huge star in East Germany after settling there in 1973.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Propaganda Message (1974)
A cartoon film about the whole heterogeneous mixture of Canada and Canadians, and the way the invisible adhesive called federalism makes it all cling together. That the dissenting voices are many is made amply evident, in English and French. But this animated message also shows that Canadians can laugh at themselves and work out their problems objectively.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Freedom of Choice: How the Government Controls What You Consume (TBA)
Life is about choice. What we eat, what we read, who we elect; every day we make choices that determine how we want to live. But what if these choices are just an illusion? In an era where regulations and red tape rule every industry, where lobby groups and big businesses wield more influence than ever before, our daily choices have become increasingly limited. And with all our options so deliberately handpicked, are we really making a choice at all? Freedom From Choice examines the current state of life and personal choice today. Experts from many different fields offer a frank and startling look at the hidden limitations in our daily lives. Focusing on key areas such as food, medicine, finance, and media, Freedom From Choice provides viewers with a glimpse at the myriad of ways their lives are being dictated and tells us who stands to gain.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Ghetto - The Secret Life of the City (1996)
Belgrade in the 1990s seen through the eyes of Goran Čavajda 'Čavke', the late drummer of Serbian rock band "Electric Orgasm". Under dictatorship of Slobodan Milošević, his city became one of the worst places to live in Europe, while the country suffered highest inflation rate in its history, accompanied by mass poverty and political isolation. Documentary follows Čavke walking through the Belgrade streets where total chaos and decline of moral values rule. He finds his only shelter underground, where his friends - musicians and artists - live and work invisibly.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Old School of Capitalism?
The closest matches to The Old School of Capitalism are Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers (2003), The Shock Doctrine (2009) and Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Old School of Capitalism?
Start with Surplus: Terrorized Into Being Consumers (2003), the closest match to The Old School of Capitalism.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Old School of Capitalism?
Inside Job (2010), rated 7.7/10 by 1,093 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Old School of Capitalism?
You Can See Everything (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Old School of Capitalism chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Old School of Capitalism, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.