Movies like The Year Of Punk (1978)
The best movies like The Year Of Punk (1978) are The Sparks Brothers (2021), The Filth and the Fury (2000) and The Decline of Western Civilization (1981). If The Year Of Punk hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStop Making Sense (1984)8.4/10 from 407 votes
- NewestOasis: Don't Look Back in Anger (2026)Released 2026
The Sparks Brothers (2021)
Take a musical odyssey through five weird and wonderful decades with brothers Ron & Russell Mael, celebrating the inspiring legacy of Sparks: your favorite band’s favorite band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Filth and the Fury (2000)
Julien Temple's second documentary profiling punk rock pioneers the Sex Pistols is an enlightening, entertaining trip back to a time when the punk movement was just discovering itself. Featuring archival footage, never-before-seen performances, rehearsals, and recording sessions as well as interviews with group members who lived to tell the tale--including the one and only John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
The Los Angeles punk music scene circa 1980 is the focus of this film. With Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline, Circle Jerks, Fear, Germs, and X.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStop Making Sense (1984)
A concert film documenting Talking Heads at the height of their popularity, on tour for their 1983 album "Speaking in Tongues." The band takes the stage one by one and is joined by a cadre of guest musicians for a career-spanning and cinematic performance that features creative choreography and visuals.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
An exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Megadeth, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne and W.A.S.P..
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisColdplay: A Head Full of Dreams (2018)
An in-depth and intimate portrait of Coldplay's spectacular rise from the backrooms of Camden pubs to selling out stadiums across the planet. At the heart of the story is the band's unshakeable brotherhood which has endured through many highs and lows.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Decline of Western Civilization Part III (1998)
A musical study of Los Angeles in the late 90s, where homeless teens roam the streets and profess to live a punk lifestyle of music, drugs, and flouting authority.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Direction: This Is Us (2013)
"One Direction: This Is Us" is a captivating and intimate all-access look at life on the road for the global music phenomenon. Weaved with stunning live concert footage, this inspiring feature film tells the remarkable story of Niall, Zayn, Liam, Harry and Louis' meteoric rise to fame, from their humble hometown beginnings and competing on the X-Factor, to conquering the world and performing at London’s famed O2 Arena. Hear it from the boys themselves and see through their own eyes what it's really like to be One Direction.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014)
Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country—alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnder the Helmet: The Legacy of Boba Fett (2021)
A special celebrating the origins and legacy of Star Wars' legendary bounty hunter, Boba Fett.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJoe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (2007)
As the front man of the Clash from 1977 onwards, Joe Strummer changed people's lives forever. Four years after his death, his influence reaches out around the world, more strongly now than ever before. In "The Future Is Unwritten", from British film director Julien Temple, Joe Strummer is revealed not just as a legend or musician, but as a true communicator of our times. Drawing on both a shared punk history and the close personal friendship which developed over the last years of Joe's life, Julien Temple's film is a celebration of Joe Strummer - before, during and after the Clash.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOasis: Don't Look Back in Anger (2026)
Experience the meteoric rise of Oasis through rare footage and untold stories as the band reunites for Oasis Live '25, chronicling their journey from Manchester streets to global rock stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJoy Division (2009)
A chronological account of the influential late 1970s English rock band.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican Hardcore (2006)
Inspired by Steven Blush's book "American Hardcore: A tribal history" Paul Rachman's feature documentary debut is a chronicle of the underground hardcore punk years from 1979 to 1986. Interviews and rare live footage from artists such as Black Flag, Bad Brains, Minor Threat, SS Decontrol and the Dead Kennedys.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPulp: a Film About Life, Death & Supermarkets (2014)
Pulp found fame on the world stage in the 1990s with anthems including ‘Common People’ and ‘Disco 2000’. 25 years (and 10 million album sales) later, they return to Sheffield for their last UK concert. In addition to performing, band members share their thoughts on fame, love, mortality — and car maintenance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDaft Punk Unchained (2015)
Daft Punk Unchained is the first film about the pop culture phenomenon that is Daft Punk, the duo with 12 million albums sold worldwide and seven Grammy Awards. Throughout their career Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo have always resisted compromise and the established codes of show business. They have remained determined to maintain control of every link in the chain of their creative process. In the era of globalisation and social networks, they rarely speak in public and neither do they show their faces on TV. This documentary explores this unprecedented cultural revolution revealing a duo of artists on a permanent quest for creativity, independence and freedom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Beach Boys (2024)
A celebration of the legendary band that revolutionized pop music, and the iconic, harmonious sound they created that personified the California dream, captivating fans for generations and generations to come.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGirl Model (2011)
A documentary on the modeling industry's 'supply chain' between Siberia, Japan, and the U.S., told through the experiences of the scouts, agencies, and a 13-year-old model.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Last Waltz (1978)
Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, and other rock legends.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrass: The Sound of Free Speech (The Story of Reality Asylum) (2023)
The film dives into 1970's Britain; the birth of punk and the formation of Crass, with an in-depth look at their art, music and ethos.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
I Really Get Into It: The Underage Architects of Sioux Falls Punk (2020)
Largely ignored and left to their own devices, a group of unassuming teenagers in late 80s and early 90s Sioux Falls, South Dakota created their own culture, community, and economy. And when they moved out into the world at large, they brought what they learned along with them. I Really Get Into It: The Underage Architects of Sioux Falls Punk is a story about the tenacity and ingenuity of youth, finding and following your convictions, and how the kids you least expect often make the most noise. Shot on location in eight cities and assembled from dozens of hours of archival video and hundreds of photos, the documentary features interviews with Larry Livermore (Lookout. Records), Ian MacKaye (Fugazi), Mike Park (Skankin' Pickle), Rebecca Hanten (Cadillac Blindside), Terry Taylor (Hammerlord), and dozens of current and former members of the Sioux Falls all ages music scene.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Napalm - the sound of the industrial city (2013)
Directed by journalist Ricardo Alexandre, the documentary tells the story of the Napalm nightclub, responsible for the new wave and post-punk generation in Sao Paulo. Mixing live shows, cutting-edge DJing and videos in its "modern" internal television system, the venue quickly became a meeting point for young people who shaped the grayer side of Brazilian rock in the 80s.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Soviet Hippies (2017)
The hippie movement that captivated hundreds of thousands of young people in the West had a profound impact on the other side of the Iron Curtain. Within the Soviet system, a colorful crowd of artists, musicians, freaks, vagabonds and other long-haired drop-outs created their own system, which connected those who believed in peace, love, and freedom for their bodies and souls. More than 40 years later, a group of eccentric hippies from Estonia take a road trip to Moscow where the hippies still gather annually on the 1st of June for celebration that is related to the tragic event in 1971, when thousands of Soviet hippies were arrested by the KGB. The journey through time and dimensions goes deep into the psychedelic underground world in which these people strived for freedom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Kim Kardashian Theory (2024)
Kim Kardashian is the embodiment of our times. She's a total social figure. To analyze her is to talk about ourselves, our relationship with social networks, capitalism and aesthetic standards. Through the eyes of journalists Nesrine Slaoui and Guillaume Erner, this film proposes a theory in the zeitgeist, crossed by questions of race and gender. Journalist and sociologist Guillaume Erner wonders why Kim Kardashian is the most followed woman in the world on social networks "when she does nothing". With the help of journalist and director Nesrine Slaoui, he paints a portrait of this "total social character", who is famous because of... her fame. Fashion icon, star of a never-ending reality TV family saga, savvy businesswoman, future lawyer and activist outraged by the state of American prisons, the beautiful Kim, who is said to be tempted by a political destiny, is in fact not idle at all...
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
In France with Madonna (2022)
France is at the heart of Madonna's life. She is inspired by French culture and its values and has surrounded herself with French artists for many years. To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Queen of Pop's career, this film revisits the close and unique bond between Madonna and France and features testimonials from close collaborators and French friends who have helped create her unique artistic universe: Maripol, Jean Paul Gaultier, Julien d'Ys, Nicolas Huchard, and Marion Motin. Today's artists such as Florence Foresti, Leïla Slimani, Victor Weinsanto and HollySiz talk about the influence of this emancipating figure, which extends far beyond music.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Infinite Colours (2024)
This feature-length docu-poem shines a well deserved light on the factory workers and their processes at Stone Island’s headquarters located in Ravarino, Italy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Outlawed: A Punk Rock Uprising in the Basque Country (2021)
A sonic journey through Basque punk rock and the turbulent past that defined its sound, chronicling the rise of the gaztetxe movement.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Quel numéro ? - What number ? ou le travail automatisé (1985)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Flower Power Ost - Die Blumenkinder des Sozialismus (TBA)
There was also flower power under socialism. From the late 1960s to the late 1980s, hippies from East Berlin, Warsaw, Prague and Budapest dreamed of conquering a world that was actually closed to them. They wore long hair, beards and parkas, squatted houses, lived in communes, listened to blues and rock 'n' roll - music was their philosophy and world view. The documentary looks back at the flower children of the East, for whom Woodstock was further away than the moon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Like The Year Of Punk and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Year Of Punk?
The closest matches to The Year Of Punk are The Sparks Brothers (2021), The Filth and the Fury (2000) and The Decline of Western Civilization (1981). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Year Of Punk?
Start with The Sparks Brothers (2021), the closest match to The Year Of Punk.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Year Of Punk?
Stop Making Sense (1984), rated 8.4/10 by 407 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Year Of Punk?
Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Year Of Punk?
Yes: The Sparks Brothers (2021), The Filth and the Fury (2000) and The Decline of Western Civilization (1981).
How are movies similar to The Year Of Punk chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Year Of Punk, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.