Movies like Cosmic Ray (1962)
The best movies like Cosmic Ray (1962) are Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted (1990), Moonwalker (1988) and Ghosts (1997). If Cosmic Ray hooked you with its music and history, 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 404 votes
- NewestOasis: Don't Look Back in Anger (2026)Released 2026
Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted (1990)
After her boyfriend ends their relationship, the dreamself of a heartbroken woman floats through the air over an industrial wasteland singing ballads of love.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMoonwalker (1988)
This fantastical movie inspired by the music of Michael Jackson features imaginative interpretations of hit tracks from the iconic 1987 album “Bad”.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGhosts (1997)
In the town of Normal Valley, an eccentric magician named Maestro entertains the local children every day in his spooky mansion. One stormy night, the town's mayor leads a group of angry citizens to the mansion in an attempt to run Maestro out of town.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisApple Music Live: Lady Gaga MAYHEM Requiem (2026)
For Apple Music Live, Gaga presents MAYHEM Requiem, a celebration and musical reimagining of MAYHEM.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCaptain EO (1986)
Captain EO and his crew journey to a dark, mechanical world to deliver a gift to the tyrannical Supreme Leader, using the power of music and dance to transform her realm from darkness into light.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisKeith Richards: Under the Influence (2015)
A portrait of Keith Richards that takes us on a journey to discover the genesis of his sound as a songwriter, guitarist and performer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
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 music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJustin Bieber's Believe (2013)
A backstage and on-stage look at Justin Bieber during his rise to super stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMetallica: Through the Never (2013)
Trip, a young roadie for Metallica, is sent on an urgent mission during the band's show. But what seems like a simple assignment turns into a surreal adventure.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisZappa (2020)
With the help of more than 10,000 dedicated Zappa fans, this is the long-awaited definitive documentary project of Alex Winter documenting the life and career of enigmatic groundbreaking rock star Frank Zappa. Alex also utilizes in this picture thousands of hours of painstakingly digitized videos, photos, audio, writing, and everything in between from Zappa's private archives. These chronicles have never been brought to a public audience before, until now.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 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 music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Weeknd: Live at SoFi Stadium (2023)
Filmed at LA's SoFi Stadium, The Weeknd brings down the house – and your living room – in this epic concert event.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTaylor Swift: Reputation Stadium Tour (2018)
Taylor Swift takes the stage in Dallas for the Reputation Stadium Tour and celebrates a monumental night of music, memories and visual magic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisPiece by Piece (2024)
A unique cinematic experience that invites audiences on a vibrant journey through the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams. Told through the lens of LEGO® animation, turn up the volume on your imagination and witness the evolution of one of music's most innovative minds.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Velvet Underground (2021)
Experience the iconic rock band's legacy in the first major documentary to tell their story. Directed with the era’s avant-garde spirit by Todd Haynes, this kaleidoscopic oral history combines exclusive interviews with dazzling archival footage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMichael Jackson's This Is It (2009)
A compilation of interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage of Michael Jackson as he prepared for his series of sold-out shows in London.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
Worth the HypeMovies 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 music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAnima (2019)
In a short musical film directed by Paul Thomas Anderson, Thom Yorke of Radiohead stars in a mind-bending visual piece. Best played loud.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both music
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 music
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSuperstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1987)
The final 17 years of American singer and musician Karen Carpenter, performed almost entirely by modified Barbie dolls.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoda Viva Roda Brasil (2019)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music & history
Frozen Jumper (2021)
"Frozen Jumper" begins in hit-and-run style with a pulsating textural noise. Flickering, nearly rectangular patterns join on the image plane, at first in black-and-white, bringing to mind the sprocket holes in celluloid film and, not least due to the lack of geometric precision, giving the impression of a pre-digital origin. As the soundtrack rattles on in a minimalistic way, the pattern’s twitchy dance is submerged in various warm hues such as yellow, pink, light green and light blue, which in a different rhythm and to a more agreeable music could be perceived as the signature of slightly retro psychedelia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Transmissions (2021)
Circuit bent gain controller run into a CRT TV
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Frank Zappa – Summer '82: When Zappa Came to Sicily (2014)
In the feature documentary, Summer 82 – When Zappa Came to Sicily, filmmaker and Zappa fan Salvo Cuccia tells the behind-the-scenes story of Frank Zappa's star-crossed concert in Palermo, Sicily, the wrap-up to a European tour that ended in public disturbances and police intervention. Cuccia had a ticket to the concert but never made it. Thirty years later, collaborating with Zappa's family, he re-creates the events through a combination of rare concert and backstage footage; photographs; anecdotes from family, band members, and concertgoers; and insights from Zappa biographer and friend Massimo Bassoli. The story is also a personal one, as Cuccia interweaves the story of Zappa's trip to Sicily with his own memories from that summer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Cremaster 5 (1997)
CREMASTER 5 is a five-act opera (sung in Hungarian) set in late-ninteenth century Budapest. The last film in the series, it represents the moment when the testicles are finally released and sexual differentiation is fully attained. The lamenting tone of the opera suggests that Barney invisions this as a moment of tragedy and loss. The primary character is the Queen of Chain (played by Ursula Andress). Barney, himself, plays three characters who appear in the mind of the Queen: her Diva, Magician, and Giant. The Magician is a stand-in for Harry Houdini, who was born in Budapest in 1874 and appears as a recurring character in the Cremaster cycle.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Mirror (1975)
A dying man in his forties recalls his childhood, his mother, the war and personal moments that tell of and juxtapose pivotal moments in Soviet history with daily life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAn Evening with Frank Zappa During Which... The Torture Never Stops (2008)
A "thing" created by Frank Zappa from two concerts filmed live at the Palladium, New York City, on Halloween 1981. With Ray White, Steve Vai, Bobby Martin, Tommy Mars, Ed Mann, Scott Thunes & Chad Wackerman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
When I Looked at Myself from Above (2017)
The film takes us through the working day of protagonists, factory workers. Their basic working tool is their body, ready to execute strenuous manual tasks. Day after day the same story, the same faces, the same spaces, the same tasks. Feeling confined, they seek a sheet anchor, a way out, an escape. They venture into the unknown, dance, drift and float in the air.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
We Could All Do With a Little Back & Forth As Far As It Concerns the To & Fro of Everywhere Each of Us Go (2017)
(Some of us) Still run down the same [mental&emotional] streets we revered/reproached/replaced as children.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both music
Like Cosmic Ray and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Cosmic Ray?
The closest matches to Cosmic Ray are Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted (1990), Moonwalker (1988) and Ghosts (1997). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Cosmic Ray?
Start with Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted (1990), the closest match to Cosmic Ray.
What is the highest-rated movie like Cosmic Ray?
Stop Making Sense (1984), rated 8.4/10 by 404 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Cosmic Ray?
Oasis: Don't Look Back in Anger (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Cosmic Ray?
Yes: Industrial Symphony No. 1: The Dream of the Brokenhearted (1990), Moonwalker (1988) and Ghosts (1997).
How are movies similar to Cosmic Ray chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Cosmic Ray, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.