Movies like Let the Fire Burn (2013)
The best movies like Let the Fire Burn (2013) are 77 Minutes (2016), 40 Years a Prisoner (2020) and Peace Officer (2015). If Let the Fire Burn hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedJesus Camp (2006)7.0/10 from 395 votes
- NewestThe Smell of Money (2023)Released 2023
77 Minutes (2016)
A documentary by Charlie Minn about the McDonalds Massacre from 1984, when a man walked into a McDonald's restaurant in San Diego armed with guns and shot 40 men, women, and children. It took law enforcement 77 minutes to end the siege. This documentary focuses on the victims of the attack and its effects.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
40 Years a Prisoner (2020)
A chronicle of the controversial 1978 Philadelphia police raid on the radical back-to-nature group MOVE and the aftermath that led to a son’s decades-long fight to free his parents. Through eyewitness accounts and archival footage of the escalating tension that resulted in the controversial confrontation between police and MOVE members, the film illuminates the story of a city grappling with racial tension and police brutality with alarming topicality and modern-day relevance.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Peace Officer (2015)
Peace Officer is a documentary about the increasingly militarized state of American police as told through the story of Dub Lawrence, a former sheriff who established his rural state's first SWAT team only to see that same unit kill his son-in-law in a controversial standoff 30 years later. Driven by an obsessed sense of mission, Dub uses his own investigation skills to uncover the truth in this and other recent officer-involved shootings in his community, while tackling larger questions about the changing face of peace officers nationwide.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Little Hope Was Arson (2013)
January 2010: In the buckle of the Bible Belt, 10 churches burn to the ground in just over a month igniting the largest criminal investigation in East Texas history. No stone is left unturned and even Satan himself is considered a suspect in this gripping investigation of a community terrorized from the inside-out. Families are torn apart and communities of faith struggle with forgiveness and justice in this incredible true story.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Central Park Five (2012)
In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem were arrested and later convicted of raping a white woman in New York City's Central Park. They spent between 6 and 13 years in prison before a serial rapist confessed that he alone had committed the crime, leading to their convictions being overturned. Set against a backdrop of a decaying city beset by violence and racial tension, this is the story of that horrific crime, the rush to judgment by the police, a media clamoring for sensational stories and an outraged public, and the five lives upended by this miscarriage of justice.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBring Your Own Brigade (2021)
An investigation into our landscape's hidden fire stories and on-the-ground experiences of firefighters and residents struggling through deadly fires.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Valentine Road (2013)
On February 12, 2008, in Oxnard, California, eighth-grade student Brandon McInerney shot his classmate Larry King twice in the back of the head during first period. When Larry died two days later, his murder shocked the nation. Was this a hate crime, one perpetrated by a budding neo-Nazi whose masculinity was threatened by an effeminate gay kid who may have had a crush on him? Or was there even more to it?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Hold Your Fire (2021)
In 1973, four young African-American men stealing guns for self-defense in Brooklyn were cornered by the NYPD. A violent gun battle killed a police officer, beginning the longest hostage siege in NYPD history. The NYPD’s 130-year-old policy was to deliver an ultimatum, then respond with deadly force. Could visionary police psychologist Harvey Schlossberg convince his superiors to do the unthinkable – negotiate with “criminals” – and save twelve hostages from an impending bloodbath? In never-before-seen film and gripping interviews with survivors, HOLD YOUR FIRE uncovers what really happened in this landmark event with the potential to revolutionize American policing.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Burn (2012)
A character-driven, action-packed documentary about Detroit, told through the eyes of the Detroit firefighters, the men and women charged with the thankless task of saving a city that many have written off as dead.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Newburgh Sting (2014)
Just 60 miles north of New York City sits the poverty-stricken town of Newburgh, where, in 2009, four men were arrested for a plan to bomb two Jewish centers in the Bronx. But their leader, a suspicious Pakistani businessman planted by the government as an informant, led these men straight into the hands of the authorities. With endless footage gathered from hidden cameras, directors David Heilbroner and Kate Davis investigate just what homegrown terrorism truly means in this shocking and galvanizing exposé.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Waco: The Rules of Engagement (1997)
In one of the most tragic face-offs in the history of law enforcement, the deadly debacle at Waco pitted the Branch Davidian sect against the FBI in an all-out war. This documentary makes the most of footage and recordings to examine how the events that led to the tragedy of April 19, 1993, unfolded, and how the FBI's unrelenting approach made what was already a bad situation much worse.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this9/11 (2002)
An on-the-scene documentary following the events of September 11, 2001 from an insider's view, through the lens of two French filmmakers who simply set out to make a movie about a rookie NYC fireman and ended up filming the tragic event that changed our lives forever.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAmerican Tragedy (2019)
Sue Klebold attempts to reconcile how the son she affectionately referred to as "Sunshine Boy" became a school shooter. "If love could have stopped Columbine," she says, "Columbine would never have happened."
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Smell of Money (2023)
A century after her grandfather claimed his freedom from slavery, Elsie Herring and her community fight for the right to clean air, water, and the life they were promised. The Smell of Money is the true story of everyday people versus corporate titans in a battle with life-or-death consequences.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Seven Five (2015)
Meet the dirtiest cop in NYC history. Michael Dowd stole money and dealt drugs while patrolling the streets of '80s Brooklyn.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCopwatch (2017)
The true story of We Copwatch, an organization whose mission is to film police activity as a non-violent form of protest and deterrent to police brutality. Around the country, a network of regular people take up cameras to bear witness to police actions and hold law enforcement to accountability.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Interrupters (2011)
The Interrupters tells the moving and surprising stories of three Violence Interrupters — former gang members who try to protect their Chicago communities from the violence they once caused.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDomestic Violence (2001)
A look at how the Tampa, Florida police respond to domestic violence calls and the work of The Spring, the principal shelter for women and children. Police sequences include response, intervention, and attempted resolution of these calls. At the shelter are intake interviews, individual counseling sessions, anger management training, group therapy, staff meetings, conversations among clients and between clients and staff, and school activities, therapy, and counseling for children at the shelter.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Law and Order (1969)
A survey of the wide range of work police are asked to perform: enforcing the law, maintaining order, and providing general social services. The depicted incidents illustrate how training, community expectations, socio-economic status of the subject, the threat of violence, and discretion affect police behavior.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Detroit Under S.T.R.E.S.S. (2018)
In 1971, the Detroit Police Department begins operating one of the most controversial decoy police units ever created, after one year of operating, Detroit becomes the city with the highest police-civilian fatal shootings as well as the city with the highest police officer deaths.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Unforgotten: Twenty-Five Years After Willowbrook (1997)
It was a nightmare that shocked not only New York, but all of America. The public outcry about the Willowbrook State School for people with developmental disabilities resulted from Geraldo Rivera's expose on WABC after he had entered Willowbrook with a film crew in 1972, using a stolen key.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
9/11: The Falling Man (2006)
An examination of an image - a falling man from the North Tower, frozen in mid air - circulated by the press immediately after the September 11 attacks, the public's reaction, and why it was later deemed un-newsworthy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Palme (2012)
Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was openly shot to death on a February evening 1986 on the streets of Stockholm. In one night, the country of Sweden was transfigured. “Palme” is about his life, his time, and about the Sweden he had created. About a man who altered history.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Jesus Camp (2006)
A documentary on kids who attend a summer camp hoping to become the next Billy Graham.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEagles of Death Metal: Nos Amis (Our Friends) (2017)
The November 13, 2015 terrorist attack in Paris claimed 130 lives around the city -- 89 of them at the Eagles of Death Metal’s Bataclan Theatre concert. The American rock band recount their experiences before and after the tragic events.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The U.S. vs. John Lennon (2006)
A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisElstree 1976 (2015)
A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeing James Bond (2021)
Daniel Craig candidly reflects on his 15 year adventure as James Bond. Including never-before-seen archival footage from Casino Royale to the upcoming 25th film No Time To Die, Craig shares his personal memories in conversation with 007 producers, Michael G Wilson and Barbara Broccoli.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHalloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006)
Follow the evolution of the 'Halloween' movies over the past twenty-five years. It examines why the films are so popular and revisits many of the original locations used in the films - seeing the effects on the local community. For the first time, cast, crew, critics and fans join together in the ultimate 'Halloween' retrospective.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Let the Fire Burn?
The closest matches to Let the Fire Burn are 77 Minutes (2016), 40 Years a Prisoner (2020) and Peace Officer (2015). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Let the Fire Burn?
People who watched Let the Fire Burn most often go on to 77 Minutes (2016), 40 Years a Prisoner (2020) and Peace Officer (2015).
What is the highest-rated movie like Let the Fire Burn?
Jesus Camp (2006), rated 7.0/10 by 395 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Let the Fire Burn?
The Smell of Money (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Let the Fire Burn?
Yes: 77 Minutes (2016), 40 Years a Prisoner (2020) and Peace Officer (2015).
How are movies similar to Let the Fire Burn chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Let the Fire Burn, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.