Movies like 1973 (2006)
The best movies like 1973 (2006) are 21 Up (1977), 35 Up (1991) and My Mom Jayne (2025). If 1973 hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
21 Up (1977)
After another 7 year wait, director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born children from Seven Up! and 7 Plus Seven. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Absolute CinemaMovies 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Decade Under the Influence (2003)
A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.
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 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: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeduced and Abandoned (2013)
SEDUCED AND ABANDONED combines acting legend Alec Baldwin with director James Toback as they lead us on a troublesome and often hilarious journey of raising financing for their next feature film. Moving from director to financier to star actor, the two players provide us with a unique look behind the curtain at the world's biggest and most glamourous film festival, shining a light on the bitter-sweet relationship filmmakers have with Cannes and the film business. Featuring insights from directors Martin Scorsese, 'Bernando Bertolucci' and Roman Polanski; actors Ryan Gosling and Jessica Chastain and a host of film distribution luminaries.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMcQueen (2018)
Alexander McQueen's rags-to-riches story is a modern-day fairy tale, laced with the gothic. Mirroring the savage beauty, boldness and vivacity of his design, this documentary is an intimate revelation of McQueen's own world, both tortured and inspired, which celebrates a radical and mesmerizing genius of profound influence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014)
Hollywood veteran Bing Russell creates the only independent baseball team in the country—alarming the baseball establishment and sparking the meteoric rise of the 1970s Portland Mavericks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAbove Majestic (2018)
A look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Curse of the Dragon (1993)
A 1993 documentary film about Bruce Lee. The film includes interviews from some of his fellow students and opponents who worked alongside him in his movies.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDirected by John Ford (1971)
A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.
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 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 thisThe Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me (2023)
From the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEvil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTo Kill a Tiger (2023)
Ranjit, a farmer in India, takes on the fight of his life when he demands justice for his 13-year-old daughter, the victim of a brutal gang rape. His decision to support his daughter is virtually unheard of, and his journey unprecedented.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeven Moments (2008)
Is the story of women that were guerrilleras in Uruguay at the beginning of the 70's. Under an intimate focus, the film shows the moments of decision and the personal crossroads that it involve. The documentary search the experience and the look of common individuals in exceptional situations and goes to the bottom of the load of tensions, fears, contradictions and personal costs that those labor instants of the History have.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Pulque Song (2003)
Portrait of daily life and its inhabitants at the pulquería “La Pirata”. A homage to all those who drink pulque, to ranchera music, to the “barrio” and to pulque.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Tales from the Inside (2004)
Tales from the Inside Women inmates of Puente Grande Federal Prison in the state of Jalisco give testimonies of their lives and convey the emotional experience of their confinement. Speaking from their own experience, they reflect upon the human condition, survival, and the concept of freedom.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Wild Gang (2006)
José Alfredo Jiménez is a cab driver. His friend Reinaldo Cruz (a fascinating, most endearing, one-of-a-kind character) is a shoeshiner. Both live on the outskirts of Mexico City and share a dream: participating in the “jaripeos”, this is, in those rodeos where bulls are ridden. The experience they have in these matters is non-existent and, nevertheless, they challenge some scary pros.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Tiniest Place (2011)
Years after the Salvadoran military destroyed the village of Cinquera in that country’s civil war, survivors have returned to rebuild their community. Soulful, beautifully rendered, this amazing debut is an evocative testament to place, memory and the power of life to rebound from tragedy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Hidden Memory (2014)
We follow the filmmaker's struggle to reconstruct a period of her life when she lost her memory.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Shakespeare and Victor Hugo's Intimacies (2009)
Documentary about a lodging house, owned by Rosa Carbajal, at the corner of Shakespare and Víctor Hugo streets.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Bath of Life (2019)
Immersive documentary which takes us n an intimate journey to the inner life of public baths through the voices of three characters: Felipe, the main clerk since 1984; Juana, a street sweeper in Mexico City's downtown; and Jose, a frequent client of more than forty years. Bath of Life becomes a confessionary for those who gather around the same place: the sauna.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Benny (2015)
Benny is a man who has decided to live alone in a one-bedroom place, alone with his memory, where time fades away. A free spirit and a passionate musician, his life was filled with excesses, but Benny believes that music is philosophy, and that thought makes him leave everything to become the man he wants to be, without any regard for the consequences of his autonomy.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Good Christian (2016)
In 1979 José Efraín Ríos Montt became a reborn Christian. He was offering a sermon when a group of soldiers burst into his Christian school, and asked him to lead a military coup in 1982. Francisco Chavez Raymundo and his sister were small children when Rios' political actions annihilated their community. In March, 2013 the lives of Francisco Chavez and Rios Montt converge in the same space. Rios is called upon to testify before Guatemalan justice and is confronted by a group of Mayan Ixiles, orphans and widows of the war, Francisco is one of them.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Like 1973 and something else?
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 1973?
The closest matches to 1973 are 21 Up (1977), 35 Up (1991) and My Mom Jayne (2025). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 1973?
Start with 21 Up (1977), the closest match to 1973.
What is the newest movie like 1973?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like 1973?
Yes: 21 Up (1977), 35 Up (1991) and My Mom Jayne (2025).
How are movies similar to 1973 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 1973, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.