Movies like Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii (2013)
The best movies like Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii (2013) are Into the Inferno (2016), Pompeii: Secrets of the Dead (2019) and Our Planet: Behind the Scenes (2019). If Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBuena Vista Social Club (1999)7.5/10 from 394 votes
- NewestShaka: A Story of Aloha (2024)Released 2024
Into the Inferno (2016)
With stunning views of eruptions and lava flows, Werner Herzog captures the raw power of volcanoes and their ties to indigenous spiritual practices.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPompeii: Secrets of the Dead (2019)
Forensic experts scan Pompeii’s victims to investigate why they didn’t escape the eruption.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOur Planet: Behind the Scenes (2019)
Years spent recording footage of creatures from every corner of the globe is bound to produce a bit of drama. Here's a behind-the-scenes look.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020)
A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMore Brains! A Return to the Living Dead (2011)
Retrospective documentary about the making of the horror cult classic "The Return of the Living Dead."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisEnd of the Century: The Story of the Ramones (2003)
A years-in-the-making documentary on the legendary punk band the Ramones. Through a mixture of archival footage, archival and new interviews with all members of the band's various lineups, and new interviews with a number of their contemporaries, the film traces the peaks and valleys the band experienced over the course of its 20-plus year career before disbanding in 1995.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisFantastic Fungi (2019)
A vivid journey into the mysterious subterranean world of mycelium and its fruit— the mushroom. A story that begins 3.5 billion years ago, fungi makes the soil that supports life, connecting vast systems of roots from plants and trees all over the planet, like an underground Internet. Through the eyes of renowned mycologist Paul Stamets, professor of forest ecology Suzanne Simard, best selling author Michael Pollan, food naturalist Eugenia Bone and others, we experience the power, beauty and complexity of the fungi kingdom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe September Issue (2009)
A documentary chronicling Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour's preparations for the 2007 fall-fashion issue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Soldier's Story: The Journey of American Sniper (2015)
Join director Clint Eastwood and his creative team, along with Bradley Cooper and Sienna Miller, as they overcome enormous creative and logistic obstacles to make a film that brings the truth of Navy SEAL Chris Kyle's story to the screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
SnoozefestMovies like thisJonas Brothers: The Concert Experience (2009)
Grab a backstage pass to the Jonas Brothers' motion picture debut! Kevin, Joe and Nick are "Burning Up" the stage and inviting you inside their personal world for the adventure of a lifetime. This colossal movie event launches the world's hottest band straight into your living room – and includes guest appearances by chart-topping artists Demi Lovato and Taylor Swift! Secure your VIP pass to a once-in-a-lifetime experience with the Jonas Brothers. Get ready to hang out with this multitalented trio, and take an intimate look at what their lives are like offstage and behind the scenes. It's the music-filled movie event perfect for the whole family!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006)
Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEmbrace the Panda: Making Turning Red (2022)
A feature length documentary about the all-women team at the helm of Pixar's original feature, Turning Red. With unprecedented behind-the-scenes access to Director Domee Shi and her core leadership crew, this story shines a light on the powerful professional and personal journeys that brought this incredibly comical, utterly relatable, and deeply heartfelt story to the screen.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this180° South (2010)
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (1988)
Marcel Ophuls' riveting film details the heinous legacy of the Gestapo head dubbed "The Butcher of Lyon." Responsible for over 4,000 deaths in occupied France during World War II, Barbie would escape—with U.S. help—to South America in 1951, where he lived until a global manhunt led to his 1983 arrest and subsequent trial.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGuillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema (2022)
With mesmerizing footage and time lapses of animators at work, this behind-the-scenes special captures the artistry of a unique tale years in the making.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Captains (2011)
The Captains is a feature-length documentary film written and directed by William Shatner. The film follows Shatner as he interviews the other actors who have portrayed starship captains in the Star Trek franchise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBuena Vista Social Club (1999)
In this fascinating Oscar-nominated documentary, American guitarist Ry Cooder brings together a group of legendary Cuban folk musicians (some in their 90s) to record a Grammy-winning CD in their native city of Havana. The result is a spectacular compilation of concert footage from the group's gigs in Amsterdam and New York City's famed Carnegie Hall, with director Wim Wenders capturing not only the music -- but also the musicians' life stories.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 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 thisUnderwater Iceland (1997)
Marko Röhr's film crew takes the viewer to Europe's last unexplored area: Iceland's unique underwater world. We explore the geysers of boiling waters and the crystal clear lakes off the coast of Iceland. We dive under the icebergs, into the tears between the continental plates and into the deep caves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Shaka: A Story of Aloha (2024)
A documentary on the origin, meanings and uses of the gesture. The shaka sign is reputed to be over a century old, but its origins are the stuff of myths and legends. It turns out that kupuna (Hawaiian elders) have kept the story secret for almost a century. Why? They didn't want it told incorrectly or commercialized. But given advancing age and a world in need, they decided it was time to share the story.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Pidgin: The Voice of Hawai'i (2009)
What if you are made to feel ashamed when you speak your "mother tongue" or ridiculed because of your accent? "Pidgin: The Voice of Hawai'i" addresses these questions through its lively examination of Pidgin - the language spoken by over half of Hawai'i's people.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Out of State (2017)
Out of State is the unlikely story of native Hawaiians men discovering their native culture as prisoners in the desert of Arizona, 3,000 miles, and across the ocean, from their island home.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Visions in the Dark: The Life of Pinky Thompson (2017)
Pinky Thompson grew up in Hawaii during a time when one was punished for being Native Hawaiian. After almost losing his life in the battlefields of Normandy in World War II, Pinky brought his fierce energy to the arena of social service whre he championed a health care system, created invaluable educational programs and strengthened the pride of Native Hawaiians. Pinky fostered new methods of policy collaboration and community testimony. He elevated a new generation of Hawaiian leaders to represent the vibrant cultural identity and value system of the Hawaiian people.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Four of Moana (1959)
Documentary focused on underwater shootings and hawaiian dances.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Encounters at the End of the World (2008)
Acclaimed filmmaker Werner Herzog travels to Antarctica, where he finds a desolate, beautiful landscape, largely untouched by human hands, and a group of truly unique people who risk their lives to study it. Centered at McMurdo Station, the United States' largest Antarctic research center, Herzog explores the minds of the scientists willing to abandon civilization and endure volatile conditions to learn more about the continent's wildlife and awe-inspiring natural wonders.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWorld's Biggest Great White? (2019)
Three great whites are spotted in the waters off Oahu, but another one could be lurking just below the surface.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Villi Knudsen's Iceland (1992)
Features volcano watches in Iceland from 1984-91, showing the country's highlands, Askja, Kverkjoll, Herdubreidarlindir, Sprengisandur, and Jokulsa Canyon. Presents Landmannalaugur and the popular trek from this Myvatn, Skaftafell, and glacier bursts from the Grimsvotn and Graenalon lakes. Depicts scenes of winter traveling in Iceland, Reykjavik, the Blue lagoon, Geysir hot spring, the site of Parliament in Thingvellir, and Kulusuk on the east coast of greenland. Includes the earthquake sequence that shook the island in September 1986 and sequences from the volcanic eruptions at Mount Hekla (1947-48, 1970, 1980-81, and 1991), Surtsey (1963-67) Heimaey Island (1973), Lake Myvatn (1975-84) and Grimsvotn Lake (1983).
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Shifting Courts (TBA)
In the coastal village of Amed, Bali, life moves to a rhythm set by the sea and the volcano. However, an unexpected change is taking shape on the courts: the global rise of pickleball. "Shifting Courts" is an observational documentary short that explores how this sport has become a silent bridge between the local community and the outside world, capturing an intimate look at Balinese identity in the face of globalization and international tourism.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii?
The closest matches to Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii are Into the Inferno (2016), Pompeii: Secrets of the Dead (2019) and Our Planet: Behind the Scenes (2019). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii?
Start with Into the Inferno (2016), the closest match to Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii?
Buena Vista Social Club (1999), rated 7.5/10 by 394 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii?
Shaka: A Story of Aloha (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii?
Yes: Into the Inferno (2016), Pompeii: Secrets of the Dead (2019) and Our Planet: Behind the Scenes (2019).
How are movies similar to Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lava Land - Glowing Hawaii, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.