Movies like Sahara Vertical (1986)

Free Solo (2018)

Follow Alex Honnold as he attempts to become the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite's 3,000 foot high El Capitan wall. With no ropes or safety gear, this would arguably be the greatest feat in rock climbing history.

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

The Dawn Wall (2017)

In an unbelievable story of perseverance, free climber Tommy Caldwell and climbing partner Kevin Jorgeson attempt to scale the impossible 3000ft Dawn Wall of El Capitan.

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

Valley Uprising (2014)

In the shady campgrounds of Yosemite valley, climbers carved out a counterculture lifestyle of dumpster-diving and wild parties that clashed with the conservative values of the National Park Service. And up on the walls, generation after generation has pushed the limits of climbing, vying amongst each other for supremacy on Yosemite's cliffs. "Valley Uprising" is the riveting, unforgettable tale of this bold rock climbing tradition in Yosemite National Park: half a century of struggle against the laws of gravity -- and the laws of the land.

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

Explorer: The Last Tepui (2022)

This documentary starring climber Alex Honnold and famous biologist Bruce Means document their expedition to the South American sky islands in search of new species and discoveries. Follows elite climber Alex Honnold and a world-class climbing team led by National Geographic Explorer and climber Mark Synnott on a grueling mission deep in the Amazon jungle as they attempt a first-ascent climb up a 1000 foot sheer cliff.

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

The Alpinist (2021)

The life of Canadian mountain climber Marc-André Leclerc as he pushes the boundaries of climbing while on an expedition to Patagonia.

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

Race to the Summit (2023)

Fearless alpine climbers Ueli Steck and Dani Arnold enter into a death-defying rivalry to set speed records on the Swiss Alps' great north faces.

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

Skyscraper Live (2026)

No ropes. No fear. Free solo legend Alex Honnold risks it all in a high-stakes, live ascent of one of the world's tallest skyscrapers in Taipei, Taiwan.

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

African Cats (2011)

African Cats captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the savanna. The story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a once banished lion.

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

The Eagle Huntress (2016)

Follow Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, and rise to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been typically been handed down from father to son for centuries.

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

Elephant (2020)

Disneynature’s Elephant follows African elephant Shani and her spirited son Jomo as their herd make an epic journey hundreds of miles across the vast Kalahari Desert. Led by their great matriarch, Gaia, the family faces brutal heat, dwindling resources and persistent predators, as they follow in their ancestors’ footsteps on a quest to reach a lush, green paradise.

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

The Art of Flight (2011)

Iconic snowboarder Travis Rice and friends redefine what is possible in the mountains. Experience the highs, as new tricks are landed and new zones opened, alongside the lows, where avalanches, accidents, and wrong-turns strike.

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

14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021)

In 2019, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja set out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. (The previous record was eight years). He called the effort “Project Possible 14/7” and saw it as a way to inspire others to strive for greater heights in any pursuit. The film follows his team as they seek to defy naysayers and push the limits of human endurance.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Fata Morgana (1972)

Shot under extreme conditions and inspired by Mayan creation theory, the film contemplates the illusion of reality and the possibility of capturing for the camera something which is not there. It is about the mirages of nature—and the nature of mirage.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Surviving Paradise: A Family Tale (2022)

In this wildlife drama, a worsening dry season in the Kalahari Desert leaves prides, packs and herds to rely on the power of family to survive.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Meru (2015)

Meru is the electrifying story of three elite American climbers—Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk—bent on achieving the impossible.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Everest (1998)

An international team of climbers ascends Mt. Everest in the spring of 1996. The film depicts their lengthy preparations for the climb, their trek to the summit, and their successful return to Base Camp. It also shows many of the challenges the group faced, including avalanches, lack of oxygen, treacherous ice walls, and a deadly blizzard.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

180° South (2010)

The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Secrets of the Saqqara Tomb (2020)

This documentary follows a team of local archaeologists excavating never before explored passageways, shafts, and tombs, piecing together the secrets of Egypt’s most significant find in almost 50 years in Saqqara.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Mountain (2017)

An epic cinematic and musical collaboration between SHERPA filmmaker Jennifer Peedom and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, that explores humankind's fascination with high places.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

28 Up (1985)

Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Blindsight (2006)

Six blind Tibetan teenagers climb the Lhakpa-Ri peak of Mount Everest, led by seven-summit blind mountain-climber Erik Weihenmayer.

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

Rock Queen (1998)

Catherine Destivelle has deservedly become the most famous female climber in the world. She rose to prominence with historic climbs, such as the free ascent of the Nameless Tower in Pakistan, and solo winter ascents of the classic north faces of the Matterhorn and the Eiger, climbs that have never been repeated by any woman. She also made history in sport climbing by winning the world championship title. In 1997, this time in Scotland, on the iconic Old Man of Hoy route, opened by Bonington, Patey & Baillie, Martin Belderson crowned Destivelle Queen of the Rock. She was four months pregnant when she made this 137-meter ascent, which was not difficult but on tricky rock.

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

Aventure à Bleau (1980)

Adventure in Bleau is a documentary about bouldering that takes place in Fontainebleau. Directed by Jean-Paul Janssen in 1980 and produced by Antenne 2, it is part of the series "Les Carnets de l'Aventure" and broadcast on the same television channel. It features different generations of the finest free climbing artists of the time: Patrick Edlinger, Catherine Destivelle, Lucien Bérardini, Jean Pierre Bouvier, and Bertrand Roche 'Zébulon'.

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

Dibona, The Alpine highline project (2017)

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

From Shade to Light (2022)

Dive into the mind of French mountaineer Charles Dubouloz as he achieves Rolling Stones (5.10 A3, or M8, 1100m) a rarely repeated route on the fabled north face of the Grandes Jorasses above Chamonix, France. He spent six days with five bivouacs on the wall, pressing on through strong winds and low temperatures of -30°C (-22°F), sustaining some frostbites to achieve one of the most acclaimed winter solo ascent in the Alps. « I'm scared, I quiver, I'm cold...but I have this intense drive to set foot on the summit. »

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

Queen of Atlantis (1932)

Two young officers, Saint-Avit and Morhange, get lost in the desert and find themselves prisoners of the beautiful Antinéa, queen of the city of Atlantis. Saint-Avit, blinded by his love for her, obeys her when she orders him to kill his comrade... With L’Atlantide, Pabst offers a psychoanalytic reading of Benoit’s novel, with a dominant female figure who enslaves her lovers before destroying them. The film’s fantasy dimension is disturbing, L’Atlantide bathes in a humid nightmare atmosphere, between the desperate search for a missing friend and the apparitions of an underworld lost in the desert. A long, discursive flashback suggests the Parisian origins of Antinéa, born from the marriage between Clémentine, a pretty, light-thighed French Cancan dancer, and an Arab prince seduced during a theatrical performance. But again, it's impossible to know whether these are the ramblings of an old alcoholic or the strange truth.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure

How Much I Love You (1985)

Beginning with a promotional reel encouraging farming investments in Algeria and ending with the secret 1950s nuclear tests that France conducted using Algerian prisoners, How Much I Love You appropriates archival footage produced by the French colonial powers in Algeria. Meddour’s approach is disarmingly simple and yet awe-inspiring—his caustic undoing of colonial discourse is underscored by a liberating release of humor.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Stones and Flies: Richard Long in the Sahara (1988)

In the fall of 1987, Philippe Haas accompanied the sculptor Richard Long to the Algerian Sahara and filmed him tracing with his feet, or constructing with desert stones, simple geometric figures (straight lines, circles, spirals). In counterpoint to the images, Richard Long explains his approach. Since 1967, Richard Long (1945, Bristol), who belongs to the land art movement, has traveled the world on foot and installed, in places often inaccessible to the public, stones, sticks and driftwood found in situ. His ephemeral works are reproduced through photography. He thus made walking an art, and land art an aspiration of modern man for solitude in nature.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Rainier: The Mountain (1999)

In this retrospective tribute, acclaimed filmmaker Jean Walkinshaw hails the 100th anniversary of Mount Rainier National Park in Washington by talking to those who know it best: the scientists, naturalists, mountain climbers and artists whose lives have been touched by the peak's far-reaching shadow. The result is a harmonious blend of archival material and high-definition footage celebrating an icon of the Pacific Northwest.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

The Words Women Spoke One Day (2024)

1962, at the end of the Algerian War, Algerian independence activists are released from Rennes prison. For one night, filmmaker Yann Le Masson films them. They tell him their vision for the future of Algeria and the place women must occupy in the new society to be built. Fifty years later, with the soundtrack missing, Raphaël Pillosio sets out to find these women. Two deaf people set about lip-reading the women filmed by Yann Le Masson, revealing snatches of sentences, words cut short by the camera's shifts. An investigative film in which the few activists still alive discover their old testimonies and tell us their silent story. The reconstruction of the lost soundtrack will remain in suspense; no happy ending will come to absorb the absence, to cancel the ferocious operation of time. An essay film about cinema that depicts their disappearance, and forever keeps them alive.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary