Movies like A Brief History of Motion Pictures (1998)
The best movies like A Brief History of Motion Pictures (1998) are Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead (2015), Roger & Me (1989) and Tropic Thunder: Rain of Madness (2008). If A Brief History of Motion Pictures hooked you with its comedy and documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSupersonic (2016)7.4/10 from 253 votes
- NewestL'Instinct de Santini (2025)Released 2025
Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead (2015)
A look at the history of the American comedy publication and production company, National Lampoon, from its beginning in the 1970s to 2010, featuring rare and never before seen footage, this is the mind boggling story of The National Lampoon from its subversive and electrifying beginnings, to rebirth as an unlikely Hollywood heavyweight, and beyond. A humour empire like no other, the impact of the magazines irreverent, often shocking, sensibility was nothing short of seismic: this is an institution whose (drunk stoned brilliant) alumni left their fingerprints all over popular culture. Both insanely great and breathtakingly innovative, The National Lampoon created the foundation of modern comic sensibility by setting the bar in comedy impossibly high.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRoger & Me (1989)
A documentary about the closure of General Motors' plant at Flint, Michigan, which resulted in the loss of 30,000 jobs. Details the attempts of filmmaker Michael Moore to get an interview with GM CEO Roger Smith.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTropic Thunder: Rain of Madness (2008)
A behind-the-scenes mockumentary of Tropic Thunder.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWindy City Heat (2003)
A man caught up in the glamor of being a Hollywood celebrity has no idea that the production he's in is a fake.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDeath to 2021 (2021)
This comedic retrospective mixes archival footage and scripted sketches as it revisits all the dread — and occasional delight — that 2021 had to offer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBlue Collar Comedy Tour: The Movie (2003)
The comedic stylings of four sort-of famous funnymen are brought to the big screen courtesy of this 2002 documentary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaking Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)
The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Pie: Revealed (2004)
Documentary about the making of American Pie (1999), American Pie 2 (2001) and American Wedding (2003).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSupersonic (2016)
Supersonic charts the meteoric rise of Oasis from the council estates of Manchester to some of the biggest concerts of all time in just three short years. This palpable, raw and moving film shines a light on one of the most genre and generation-defining British bands that has ever existed and features candid new interviews with Noel and Liam Gallagher, their mother, and members of the band and road crew.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDjango & Django: Sergio Corbucci Unchained (2021)
A tribute to Italian filmmaker Sergio Corbucci (1926-90), presented by American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Amazing Johnathan Documentary (2019)
What begins as a documentary following the final tour of a dying magician - "The Amazing Johnathan" - becomes an unexpected and increasingly bizarre journey as the filmmaker struggles to separate truth from illusion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Called Him Morgan (2016)
Part jazz history, part true-crime tale, Kasper Collin’s new documentary employs extensive archival footage and new interviews to tell the tragic story of the magnificently talented trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who murdered him in a New York bar in 1972.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSouth Park: The 25th Anniversary Concert (2022)
Trey Parker and Matt Stone celebrate South Park's 25th anniversary with a concert in Colorado, featuring Primus and Ween.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisComedy Central Roast of Pamela Anderson (2005)
Comedy Central's best roasters and stand up comedians take a whack at actor/model Pamela Anderson.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCamp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis (2021)
Camp Confidential: America's Secret Nazis, is a documentary short featuring animation that focuses on the story of a top secret POW camp that was classified for over 5 decades. In the midst of WWII, a group of young Jewish refugees are assigned to guard a top secret POW camp near Washington D.C. The Jewish soldiers soon discover that their prisoners are no other than Hitler's top scientists - What starts out as an intelligence mission to gather information from the Nazis, soon gets a shocking twist when the Jewish soldiers are tasked with a very different mission altogether. A mission that would question their moral values - exposing a dark secret from America's past.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKevin Hart: Seriously Funny (2010)
Fresh off the heels of appearing in movies like Superhero Movie and The 40 Year-Old Virgin, fast-talking comedian Kevin Hart stars in his second live stand-up performance in Cleveland, Ohio, where he makes fun of everything and everybody - especially himself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVisions of Light (1992)
Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Original Kings of Comedy (2000)
The house is rockin' and the laughs are rollin' as comedians Steve Harvey (The Steve Harvey Show), D.L. Hughley (The Hughleys), Cedric The Entertainer (The Steve Harvey Show) and Bernie Mac (Life) meet in this riotously comedy summit directed by Spike Lee.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisComedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff (2010)
Time to hassle the Hoff at the rudest, raunchiest television event of the year--The Comedy Central Roast of David Hasselhoff. From running in slo-mo on the beach to inspiring Germany with the power of cheesy pop--it's almost too easy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both comedy & documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWerner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980)
Werner Herzog fulfills a bet he made with his assistant Errol Morris to inspire him to complete his first feature film, "Gates of Heaven".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFarce of the Penguins (2006)
In this spoof of "March of the Penguins," nature footage of penguins near the South Pole gets a soundtrack of human voices. Carl and Jimmy, best friends, walk 70 miles to the mating grounds where the female penguins wait. The huddled masses of females - especially Melissa and Vicki - talk about males, mating, and what might happen this year. Carl, Jimmy, and the other males make the long trek talking about food, fornication and flatulence. Until this year, Carl's sex life has been dismal, but he falls hard for Melissa. She seems to like him. A crisis develops when Jimmy comes upon something soft in the dark. Can friends forgive? Does parenthood await Carl and Melissa?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy & documentary
SnoozefestMovies like thisTrailer Park Boys (1999)
After a psychic predicts his death, a small-time hoodlum named Julian hires a cheap documentary film crew to document the last few days of his mis-spent life. This is the film that pioneered the show of the same name.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe IF Thing (2005)
With 4 weeks and a budget of $5,000, IF Media approached filmmaker Nash Edgerton and Blue-Tongue Films to produce video insert material for the 2005 Lexus Inside Film Awards. Edgerton agreed. But wanted the $5,000 in cash.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Weezer: Security Threat (TBA)
An upcoming movie about the alternative Rock band Weezer.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Capes (2005)
A mockumentary depicting the day to day exploits of Alligator Man and his new sidekick Leaping Lizard.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
One Forty: An Intimate Portrait of the Chnoborov Brothers (2003)
Mockumentary of the films and process of Russian-Canadians Zep and Zudo Chnoborov.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
L'Instinct de Santini (2025)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Reno 911!: It's a Wonderful Heist (2022)
It’s Holiday Season in Reno, and Lieutenant Dangle wishes he’d never been born. With the help of a roller skating “Angel,” he learns how much better the lives of the other deputies would be if he never existed. Will he decide to live on anyway? There’s still Christmas criminals to catch!
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
SnoozefestMovies like thisA Mighty Wind (2003)
Three eclectic, never-quite-famous folk bands come together for the first time in decades following the death of their manager to put on an reunion concert in his honor, at the request of his son.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff (1985)
Gonzo hosts this collection of some of the weirdest moments from The Muppet Show at his trailer home, assisted by Camilia and visited by Kermit The Frog.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both comedy
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like A Brief History of Motion Pictures?
The closest matches to A Brief History of Motion Pictures are Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead (2015), Roger & Me (1989) and Tropic Thunder: Rain of Madness (2008). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after A Brief History of Motion Pictures?
Start with Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead (2015), the closest match to A Brief History of Motion Pictures.
What is the highest-rated movie like A Brief History of Motion Pictures?
Supersonic (2016), rated 7.4/10 by 253 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like A Brief History of Motion Pictures?
L'Instinct de Santini (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like A Brief History of Motion Pictures?
Yes: Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead (2015), Roger & Me (1989) and Tropic Thunder: Rain of Madness (2008).
How are movies similar to A Brief History of Motion Pictures chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside A Brief History of Motion Pictures, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.