Movies like The Big One (1997)
The best movies like The Big One (1997) are The House I Live In (2012), Michael Moore Hates America (2004) and Blood on the Mountain (2016). If The Big One hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedEarthlings (2005)8.1/10 from 351 votes
- NewestBlood on the Mountain (2016)Released 2016
The House I Live In (2012)
In the past 40 years, the War on Drugs has accounted for 45 million arrests, made America the world's largest jailer, and destroyed impoverished communities at home and abroad. Yet drugs are cheaper, purer, and more available today than ever. Where did we go wrong?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMichael Moore Hates America (2004)
Michael Wilson, like the subject of his film, is trying to get an interview with a multi-millionaire; however, in this case, that millionaire is Michael Moore himself.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Blood on the Mountain (2016)
Documentary focusing on the environmental and economic injustice and corporate control in West Virginia and its rippling effect on all American workers. This film tells the story of a hard-working people who have historically had limited choices and have never benefited fairly from the rich natural resources of their land. The failure to diversify the economy has insured control by outside, unrestricted corporations with the support of politicians kept in their positions by these very same companies.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Food, Inc. (2008)
Documentary filmmaker Robert Kenner examines how mammoth corporations have taken over all aspects of the food chain in the United States, from the farms where our food is grown to the chain restaurants and supermarkets where it's sold. Narrated by author and activist Eric Schlosser, the film features interviews with average Americans about their dietary habits, commentary from food experts like Michael Pollan and unsettling footage shot inside large-scale animal processing plants.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInequality for All (2013)
Based on Reich's 2010 book Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future, the film examines widening income inequality in the United States. U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich tries to raise awareness of the country's widening economic gap. He publicly argued about the issue for decades, and producing a film of his viewpoints was a "final frontier" for him. In addition to being a social issue documentary, Inequality for All is also partially a biopic regarding Reich's early life and his time as Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton's presidency. Warren Buffett and Nick Hanauer, two entrepreneurs and investors in the top 1%, are interviewed in the film, supporting Reich's belief in an economy that benefits all citizens, including those of the middle and lower classes.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPoverty, Inc. (2015)
Poverty, Inc. explores the hidden side of doing good. From disaster relief to TOMs Shoes, from adoptions to agricultural subsidies, Poverty, Inc. follows the butterfly effect of our most well-intentioned efforts and pulls back the curtain on the poverty industrial complex - the multi-billion dollar market of NGOs, multilateral agencies, and for-profit aid contractors. Are we catalyzing development or are we propagating a system in which the poor stay poor while the rich get hipper?
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Super Size Me (2004)
Morgan Spurlock subjects himself to a diet based only on McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days without exercising to try to prove why so many Americans are fat or obese. He submits himself to a complete check-up by three doctors, comparing his weight along the way, resulting in a scary conclusion.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhere to Invade Next (2015)
To understand firsthand what the United States of America can learn from other nations, Michael Moore playfully “invades” some to see what they have to offer.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTapped (2009)
Is access to clean drinking water a basic human right, or a commodity that should be bought and sold like any other article of commerce? Stephanie Soechtig's debut feature is an unflinching examination of the big business of bottled water. From the producers of Who Killed the Electric Car and I.O.U.S.A., this timely documentary is a behind-the-scenes look into the unregulated and unseen world of an industry that aims to privatize and sell back the one resource that ought never to become a commodity: our water. From the plastic production to the ocean in which so many of these bottles end up, this inspiring documentary trails the path of the bottled water industry and the communities which were the unwitting chips on the table. A powerful portrait of the lives affected by the bottled water industry, this revelatory film features those caught at the intersection of big business and the public's right to water.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Yes Men (2003)
A comic, biting and revelatory documentary following a small group of prankster activists as they gain worldwide notoriety for impersonating the World Trade Organization (WTO) on television and at business conferences around the world.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDeath By China (2012)
In 2001, China joined the World Trade Organization with the strong support of a Democratic President and Republican Congress. Before the ink was dry on this free trade agreement, China began flooding U.S. markets with illegally subsidized exports while the big multinational companies that had lobbied heavily for the agreement rapidly accelerated the off shoring of American jobs to China. Today, as a result of the biggest shell game in American history, China has stolen millions of our jobs, corporate profits are soaring, and we now owe over $3 trillion to the world's largest totalitarian nation. This film is about how that happened... and why the best jobs program for America is trade reform with China.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Yes Men Fix the World (2009)
THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD is a screwball true story about two gonzo political activists who, posing as top executives of giant corporations, lie their way into big business conferences and pull off the world's most outrageous pranks.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWe’re Not Broke (2012)
An exposé on how the government has allow U.S. corporations to avoid paying taxes and the growing wave of discontent that it has fostered.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Manufacturing Dissent (2007)
"Michael Moore doesn't like documentaries. That's why he doesn't make them." A documentary that looks to distinguish what's fact, fiction, legend, and otherwise as a camera crew trails Michael Moore as he tours with his film, Fahrenheit 9/11.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe End of Poverty? (2008)
The End of Poverty? asks if the true causes of poverty today stem from a deliberate orchestration since colonial times which has evolved into our modern system whereby wealthy nations exploit the poor. People living and fighting against poverty answer condemning colonialism and its consequences; land grab, exploitation of natural resources, debt, free markets, demand for corporate profits and the evolution of an economic system in in which 25% of the world's population consumes 85% of its wealth. Featuring Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz, authors/activist Susan George, Eric Toussaint, Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and more.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Corporation (2003)
Since the late 18th century American legal decision that the business corporation organizational model is legally a person, it has become a dominant economic, political and social force around the globe. This film takes an in-depth psychological examination of the organization model through various case studies. What the study illustrates is that in the its behaviour, this type of "person" typically acts like a dangerously destructive psychopath without conscience. Furthermore, we see the profound threat this psychopath has for our world and our future, but also how the people with courage, intelligence and determination can do to stop it.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe True Cost (2015)
Film from Andrew Morgan. The True Cost is a documentary film exploring the impact of fashion on people and the planet.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cove (2009)
The Cove tells the amazing true story of how an elite team of individuals, films makers and free divers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate the hidden cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and deadly secret. The shocking discoveries were only the tip of the iceberg.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisManufactured Landscapes (2006)
MANUFACTURED LANDSCAPES is the striking new documentary on the world and work of renowned artist Edward Burtynsky. Internationally acclaimed for his large-scale photographs of “manufactured landscapes”—quarries, recycling yards, factories, mines and dams—Burtynsky creates stunningly beautiful art from civilization’s materials and debris.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFreakonomics (2010)
Some of the world's most innovative documentary filmmakers will explore the hidden side of everything.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEarthlings (2005)
Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIn Debt We Trust: America Before the Bubble Bursts (2007)
Emmy-winning journalist Danny Schechter investigates America's mounting debt crisis in this latest hard-hitting expose. The film reveals the unknown cabal of credit card companies, lobbyists, media conglomerates and the Bush administration itself who have colluded to deregulate the lending industry, ensuring that a culture of credit dependency can flourish. Schechter exposes the hidden financial and political complex that allows the lowest wage earners to indebt themselves so heavily that even house repossessions are commonplace.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
Michael Moore's view on how the Bush administration allegedly used the tragic events on 9/11 to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe World According to Monsanto (2008)
Monsanto is the world leader in genetically modified organisms (GMOs), as well as one of the most controversial corporations in industrial history. This century-old empire has created some of the most toxic products ever sold, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and the herbicide Agent Orange. Based on a painstaking investigation, The World According to Monsanto puts together the pieces of the company’s history, calling on hitherto unpublished documents and numerous first-hand accounts.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBig Men (2014)
For her latest industrial exposé, Rachel Boynton (Our Brand Is Crisis) gained unprecedented access to Africa's oil companies. The result is a gripping account of the costly personal tolls levied when American corporate interests pursue oil in places like Ghana and the Niger River Delta. Executive produced by Steven Shainberg and Brad Pitt, Big Men investigates the caustic blend of ambition, corruption and greed that threatens to exacerbate Africa’s resource curse.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Pimps Up, Ho's Down (2000)
Brent Owens directs this documentary that follows the life of several "professional gentlemen of leisure." Originally aired on HBO America Undercover and was released on DVD with extended footage.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
49 Up (2006)
49 Up is the seventh film in a series of landmark documentaries that began 42 years ago when UK-based Granada's World in Action team, inspired by the Jesuit maxim "Give me the child until he is seven and I will give you the man," interviewed a diverse group of seven-year-old children from all over England, asking them about their lives and their dreams for the future. Michael Apted, a researcher for the original film, has returned to interview the "children" every seven years since, at ages 14, 21, 28, 35, 42 and now again at age 49.In this latest chapter, more life-changing decisions are revealed, more shocking announcements made and more of the original group take part than ever before, speaking out on a variety of subjects including love, marriage, career, class and prejudice.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Union: The Business Behind Getting High (2007)
Filmmaker Adam Scorgie explores the illegal marijuana industry in British Columbia, revealing how the international business is most likely more profitable than it would be if it was lawful in this enlightening documentary. Marijuana growers, law enforcement officials, physicians, politicians, criminologists, economists and celebrities—including comedian Tommy Chong—shed light on this topical subject in a series of compelling interviews.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Big One?
The closest matches to The Big One are The House I Live In (2012), Michael Moore Hates America (2004) and Blood on the Mountain (2016). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Big One?
People who watched The Big One most often go on to The House I Live In (2012), Michael Moore Hates America (2004) and Blood on the Mountain (2016).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Big One?
Earthlings (2005), rated 8.1/10 by 351 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Big One?
Blood on the Mountain (2016) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Big One?
Yes: The House I Live In (2012), Michael Moore Hates America (2004) and Blood on the Mountain (2016).
How are movies similar to The Big One chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Big One, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.