Movies like 21 Up (1977)
The best movies like 21 Up (1977) are 7 Plus Seven (1970), 35 Up (1991) and 42 Up (1999). If 21 Up hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedSelena Gomez: My Mind & Me (2022)8.4/10 from 623 votes
- NewestCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)Released 2025
- Same series7 Plus Seven (1970)The Up
7 Plus Seven (1970)
After a 7 year wait, director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born children from Seven Up! The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Same series: The Up · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this35 Up (1991)
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Same series: The Up · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this42 Up (1999)
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Same series: The Up · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this56 Up (2012)
When a cross-section of seven-year-olds were interviewed for 7 Up in 1964 it was immediately evident that their social backgrounds influenced their attitudes towards life. While the upper class children were confident and self-assured, those from middle and working class backgrounds were resigned to a challenging life of hard work. This premise was put to the test every seven years when the same group were interviewed about the progression of their lives. 49 years in the making, the changes that occurred to the original 14 make for fascinating television and are in many ways the stories of all our lives. From success and disappointment, marriage and childbirth, to poverty and illness, nearly every facet of life has been captured on film. Now, at the age of 56, the group are once more brought together and, with the benefit of hindsight, assess whether their lives have been ruled by circumstance or self-determination.
Why it matches: Same series: The Up · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this63 Up (2019)
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Same series: The Up · 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: Same series: The Up · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this28 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: Same series: The Up · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeventeen (1983)
In their final year at Muncie's Southside High School, a group of seniors hurtles toward maturity with a combination of joy, despair, and an aggravated sense of urgency. They are also learning a great deal about life, both in and out of school, and not what school officials think they are teaching.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Devil's Playground (2002)
The Devil's Playground is a fascinating and moving documentary about a little-known aspect of Amish life. Amish are not permitted to join the church until their late teens, and have to do so of their own volition. The film explores Rumspringa, wherein young Amish are given the opportunity to explore the "English" way of life.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Advanced Style (2014)
Advanced Style examines the lives of seven unique New Yorkers whose eclectic personal style and vital spirit have guided their approach to aging. Based on Ari Seth Cohen’s famed blog of the same name, this film paints intimate and colorful portraits of independent, stylish women aged 62 to 95 who are challenging conventional ideas about beauty, aging, and Western’s culture’s increasing obsession with youth.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
TV Junkie (2006)
Rick Kirkham was a reporter for Inside Edition who appeared on a segment called "Inside Adventure". From the age of 14, he filmed more than 3,000 hours of a video diary; this included footage during his tenure on Inside Edition during which he was addicted to crack cocaine.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Elephant in the Living Room (2010)
A film about the controversial world of exotic animal ownership within the suburbs of the United States. "The Elephant in the Living Room" offers an unprecedented glimpse into the fascinating subculture of trading and raising the most deadly and exotic animals in the world as common household pets.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Rich Hill (2014)
If you ever find yourself traveling down Interstate 49 through Missouri, try not to blink—you may miss Rich Hill, population 1,396. Rich Hill is easy to overlook, but its inhabitants are as woven into the fabric of America as those living in any small town in the country. This movie intimately chronicles the turbulent lives of three boys living in said Midwestern town and the fragile family bonds that sustain them.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMy Crasy Life (1992)
Jean-Pierre Gorin’s gripping and unique film about a Samoan street gang in Long Beach, California, is, like other works by the filmmaker, a probing look at a closed community with its own rules, rituals, and language. Part observational documentary, part fiction invisibly scripted and shaped by the director, My Crasy Life, which won a special jury prize at Sundance, is an enthralling and intensely focused contemplation of violence and dislocation.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)
Kirby Dick's provocative documentary investigates the secretive and inconsistent process by which the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rates films, revealing the organization's underhanded efforts to control culture. Dick questions whether certain studios get preferential treatment and exposes the discrepancies in how the MPAA views sex and violence.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOut-Takes from the Life of a Happy Man (2012)
An autobiographical diary film assembled from unused footage shot between 1960 and 2000, interwoven with reflections, music, and glimpses of family, friends, city life, and travel. Mekas transforms these fragments into a poetic celebration of memory, happiness, and the passing of time.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Seven Up! (1985)
A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.
Why it matches: Same series: The Up · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Gleaners and I: Two Years Later (2002)
Agnès Varda’s follow-up to her acclaimed documentary THE GLEANERS AND I takes us deeper into the world of those who find purpose and beauty in the refuse of society, revisiting many of the original film’s subjects.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Grown-Ups (2017)
A group of friends with Down Syndrome have been attending the same school for 40 years, and they are tired of being treated like children, they are grown-ups and want to live as such.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Scared Straight! (1978)
The filmed depiction of a program where convicts tell troubled kids about the horrors of prison life. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2007.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
A documentary on Al Gore's campaign to make the issue of global warming a recognized problem worldwide.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Lovely Month of May (1963)
Candid interviews of ordinary people on the meaning of happiness, an often amorphous and inarticulable notion that evokes more basic and fundamentally egalitarian ideals of self-betterment, prosperity, tolerance, economic opportunity, and freedom.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Man Who Would Be Polka King (2009)
A polka kingdom crumbles in this documentary tracing the rise and fall of dubious duple meter master Jan Lewan. A Grammy-nominated polka superstar who defected from Poland to the West in the 1970s, Lewan created a musical empire that made him an internationally-recognized figure. When scandal erupted and Lewan's shady dealings were revealed, fans couldn't believe that their hero had committed one of the largest polka-related financial crimes in history.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Secret Life of Cats (2014)
It is believed that cats are just indifferent and egotistic; but they are more complex, interesting and even cuter than is commonly imagined. The astonishing process by which a newborn kitten becomes a fully grown cat reveals the amazing and true secret life of cats.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Summers of It - Chapter Two: It Ends (2019)
This documentary focuses on the actors and their journey over two summers to create the remake to the original IT, by Stephen King. The documentary originally released as bonus material, bundled with IT: Chapter Two.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAs I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
A compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSelena Gomez: My Mind & Me (2022)
After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisShawn Mendes: In Wonder (2020)
A portrait of singer-songwriter Shawn Mendes' life, chronicling the past few years of his rise and journey.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 21 Up?
The closest matches to 21 Up are 7 Plus Seven (1970), 35 Up (1991) and 42 Up (1999). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 21 Up?
People who watched 21 Up most often go on to Seventeen (1983), Devil's Playground (2002) and Advanced Style (2014).
What is the highest-rated movie like 21 Up?
Selena Gomez: My Mind & Me (2022), rated 8.4/10 by 623 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 21 Up?
Come See Me in the Good Light (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Is 21 Up part of a series?
Yes. It belongs to The Up, which includes 7 Plus Seven (1970), 35 Up (1991), 42 Up (1999) and 56 Up (2012).
Are there English movies like 21 Up?
Yes: 7 Plus Seven (1970), 35 Up (1991) and 42 Up (1999).
How are movies similar to 21 Up chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 21 Up, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.