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Movies like The World According to Irving (2012)

The best movies like The World According to Irving (2012) are Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011), The Eyes of Orson Welles (2018) and I Am Heath Ledger (2017). If The World According to Irving hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011)

    An intense portrait of the iconic filmmaker, writer, actor, comedian and musician Woody Allen: his life, family and friends; his writing and directing habits, and his relationship with performers.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  2. The Eyes of Orson Welles (2018)

    A poetic journey into the visual world of the legendary filmmaker and actor Orson Welles (1915-85) that reveals a new portrait of a unique genius, both of his life and of his monumental work: through his own eyes, drawn by his own hand, painted with his own brush.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  3. I Am Heath Ledger (2017)

    The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  4. John Candy: I Like Me (2025)

    Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  5. Whitney (2018)

    Examines the life and career of singer Whitney Houston. Features never-before-seen archival footage, exclusive recordings, rare performances and interviews with the people who knew her best.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  6. Salinger (2013)

    An in-depth investigation into the private world of the American writer J. D. Salinger (1919-2010), who lived most of his life behind the impenetrable wall of a self-imposed seclusion: how his dramatic experiences during World War II influenced his life and work, his relationships with very young women, his obsessive writing methods, his many literary secrets.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  7. Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017)

    Literary icon Joan Didion reflects on her remarkable career and personal struggles in this intimate documentary directed by her nephew, Griffin Dunne.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  8. Anselm (2023)

    This unique cinematic experience dives deep into an artist’s work and reveals his life path, inspiration, and creative process. It explores his fascination with myth and history. Past and present are interwoven to diffuse the line between film and painting, allowing the audience to be completely immersed in the remarkable world of one of the greatest contemporary artists, Anselm Kiefer. Wim Wenders shot this unique portrait over the course of two years in stunning 3D.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

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  9. For the Love of Spock (2016)

    The life of Mr. Spock, as well as that of Leonard Nimoy, the actor who played him for almost fifty years, written and directed by his son: Adam.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. I Am Ali (2014)

    Unprecedented access to Muhammad Ali's personal archive of "audio journals" as well as interviews and testimonials from his inner circle of family and friends are used to tell the legend's life story.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Made 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

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  12. Spielberg (2017)

    A documentary on the life and career of one of the most influential film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. Jodorowsky's Dune (2013)

    In 1974, Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky embarked on the quixotic project of adapting Frank Herbert's influential novel Dune (1969) for the big screen. After investing two years, and millions of dollars, the gigantic project ended in failure; but the artists Jodorowsky brought together to carry it out continued to work together, and ended up laying the foundations for modern science fiction cinema.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  14. Naqoyqatsi (2002)

    A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Selena y Los Dinos: A Family's Legacy (2025)

    Never-before-seen footage and intimate interviews celebrate the life and legacy of iconic Mexican American singer Selena Quintanilla and her family band.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  16. The Pigeon Tunnel (2023)

    Academy Award winner Errol Morris pulls back the curtain on the storied life and career of David Cornwell, the former spy known to the literary world as John le Carré.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Miss Americana (2020)

    A raw and emotionally revealing look at one of the most iconic artists of our time during a transformational period in her life as she learns to embrace her role not only as a songwriter and performer, but as a woman harnessing the full power of her voice.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  18. Love, Marilyn (2013)

    Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  19. EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (2026)

    Long-lost footage from Elvis Presley's legendary Las Vegas residency in the 1970s woven together with rare 16mm footage from Elvis on Tour, and 8mm from the Graceland archive, plus recordings of Elvis telling "his side of the story" rediscovered during Baz Luhrmann's research for his 2022 film, Elvis.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  20. No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (2005)

    A chronicle of Bob Dylan's strange evolution between 1961 and 1966 from folk singer to protest singer to "voice of a generation" to rock star.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  21. De reparto: retrato de un actor (2009)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  22. Orson Welles y Goya (2008)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  23. Invisible Nation (2006)

    A documentary about vivid punk and alternative rock scene of Subotica, the northernmost Serbian city, through the periods of communism, tyranny of the 1990s regime, and economic transition at the beginning of XXI century. Seen through the eyes of its witnesses, these musicians and creative artists deliberately refused the imposed way of behavior, hence staying "invisible" to everyday people.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  24. Sexo en el plató (2007)

    How are the sex scenes filmed? What tricks are used to fake the desire? How do the interpreters prepare and feel? Spanish actors and directors talk about the most intimate side of acting, about the tricks and work methods when narrating exposed sex. In Spain the general rule is that there are no rules. Each film, each interpreter, faces it in very different ways.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  25. Històries de Bruguera (2012)

    The history of Bruguera, the most important comic publisher in Spain between the 1940s and the 1980s. How the characters created by great writers and pencilers became Spanish archetypes and how their strips persist nowadays as a portrait of Spain and its people. The daily life of the creators and the founding family, the Brugueras. The world in which hundreds of vivid colorful paper beings lived and still live, in the memory of millions, in the smile of everyone.

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  26. Albert Camus, la tragédie du bonheur (1999)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  27. Dame veneno (2007)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  28. Los 5 Faust de F. W. Murnau (2002)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  29. Gonzalo Suárez: Sam Peckinpah, director salvaje (2011)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

  30. The Cinema According to Dalí (2010)

    Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Like The World According to Irving and something else?

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The World According to Irving?

The closest matches to The World According to Irving are Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011), The Eyes of Orson Welles (2018) and I Am Heath Ledger (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The World According to Irving?

Start with Woody Allen: A Documentary (2011), the closest match to The World According to Irving.

What is the highest-rated movie like The World According to Irving?

Jodorowsky's Dune (2013), rated 7.8/10 by 789 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The World According to Irving?

EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert (2026) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there German movies like The World According to Irving?

Yes: Anselm (2023).

How are movies similar to The World According to Irving chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The World According to Irving, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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