Movies like Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy (1988)
The best movies like Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy (1988) are The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026), American Factory (2019) and The Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014). If Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedAmerican Factory (2019)7.2/10 from 543 votes
- NewestThe AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)Released 2026
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026)
A father-to-be tries to figure out what is happening with all this AI insanity, and explores the most powerful technology humanity has ever created... and what's at stake if we get it wrong.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisAmerican Factory (2019)
In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a new factory in the husk of an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand blue-collar Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 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 thisBeyond the Mat (1999)
A heartfelt documentary focusing on the day-to-day lives of professional wrestlers, some on the rise, some on the wane, and others fighting for their lives.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDownloaded (2013)
A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisChadwick Boseman: A Tribute for a King (2020)
A tribute to Chadwick Boseman, celebrating his life and legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisZeitgeist: Moving Forward (2011)
A presentation of a case for a needed transition out of the current socioeconomic monetary paradigm which governs the entire world society. This subject matter will transcend the issues of cultural relativism and traditional ideology and move to relate the core, empirical 'life ground' attributes of human and social survival, extrapolating those immutable natural laws into a new sustainable social paradigm called a 'Resource-Based Economy'.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Wrecking Crew (2008)
A celebration of the musical work of a group of session musicians known as "The Wrecking Crew." a band that provided back-up instrumentals to such legendary recording artists as Frank Sinatra, The Beach Boys, and Bing Crosby.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCapitalism: A Love Story (2009)
Michael Moore comes home to the issue he's been examining throughout his career: the disastrous impact of corporate dominance on the everyday lives of Americans (and by default, the rest of the world).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVoyage of Time: The IMAX Experience (2016)
A celebration of the universe, displaying the whole of time, from its start to its final collapse. This film examines all that occurred to prepare the world that stands before us now: science and spirit, birth and death, the grand cosmos and the minute life systems of our planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
An exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Megadeth, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne and W.A.S.P..
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStruggle: The Life and Lost Art of Szukalski (2018)
Artists in LA discover the work of forgotten Polish sculptor Stanislav Szukalski, a mad genius whose true story unfolds chapter by astounding chapter.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrips and Bloods: Made in America (2009)
With a first-person look at the notorious Crips and Bloods, this film examines the conditions that have lead to decades of devastating gang violence among young African Americans growing up in South Los Angeles.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)
Documentary about legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans, based on his famous 1994 autobiography.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTread (2020)
Pushed to his breaking point, a master welder in a small town at the foot of the Rocky Mountains quietly fortifies a bulldozer with 30 tons of concrete and steel and seeks to destroy those he believes have wronged him.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarlan County U.S.A. (1976)
A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Shock Doctrine (2009)
An investigation of "disaster capitalism", based on Naomi Klein's proposition that neo-liberal capitalism feeds on natural disasters, war and terror to establish its dominance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHitman Hart: Wrestling with Shadows (1998)
This documentary follows superstar Bret Hart during his last year in the WWF. The film documents the tensions that resulted in The Montreal Screwjob, one of the most controversial events in the history of professional wrestling, in which Vince McMahon, Shawn Micheals, and others, legitimately conspired behind the scenes to go against the script and remove Bret Hart as champion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAnthropocene: The Human Epoch (2018)
Documentary on psychedelic potash mines, expansive concrete seawalls, mammoth industrial machines, and other examples of humanity’s massive, destructive reengineering of the planet.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Show Must Go On (2019)
The Show Must Go On is a personal journey behind the scenes that confronts the epidemic of mental health issues in the Australian entertainment industry.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Roger & 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: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKöyhät, nöyrät ja häpeämättömät (1999)
Documentary film about four families in Pori, Finland, all struggling with unemployment and poverty.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Working for the Enemy (1997)
Sean McAllister's bleak, extraordinarily intimate film offers an insight into the lives of 35 year old Kevin, who hasn't worked in 18 years, and his 19 year old girlfriend Robbie, who earns 70 pounds a week as a seamstress.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Het bosplan (1978)
The Amsterdamse Bos (Amsterdam Forest), located between Amstelveen and Schiphol, was constructed during the years of economic crisis. In 1934, Amsterdam had 50,000 unemployed residents, who were put to work on the project as part of a government relief scheme. Annette Apon made this short documentary about the creation of the Amsterdamse Bos for the Amsterdams Stadsjournaal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
HF6 - Le film (2008)
A documentary about the unexpected restart of ArcelorMittal’s Blast Furnace 6 in Seraing, Belgium, which Arcelor had shut down in 2005. From a union perspective, the film invites viewers to experience the daily lives of the workers who, for months, lived through the many twists and turns of a story with high stakes for the Liège steel industry and some 10,000 families, filled with anxiety, hope, and emotion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Wayne (2018)
Wayne tells the exhilarating story of 1987 World Motorcycle Grand Prix Champion Wayne Gardner's triumphant, improbable journey from a 5-dollar dirt bike to the international summit of his sport.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
De Sueur & d'Acier (2021)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Matar (2023)
The story of an asylum seeker in England who, when confronted with the hostile immigration system in the UK, is forced to live on the fringes of society and rely on his bike to survive. Based on the lived experience of co-writer Ayman Alhussein.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Over the Years (2015)
Taking the demise of a textile factory in Austria’s Waldviertel region as its starting point, with the antiquated manufacturing plant initially shown in full operation, this film poses the question of what work means for people’s self-image and character. After the factory goes bankrupt and closes, the filmmaker accompanies some of its employees as they continue to make their way, questioning them about their daily routines, the circumstances in which they live, about looking for work or the new jobs they find. One woman’s situation is precarious, but that doesn’t prevent her from bringing up her grandchildren. Another woman works here and there, flexible and resourceful. One man blossoms visibly in his newly unemployed state. Bit by bit, different aspects of their private lives and personal misfortunes emerge.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy?
The closest matches to Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy are The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026), American Factory (2019) and The Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy?
Start with The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026), the closest match to Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy.
What is the highest-rated movie like Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy?
American Factory (2019), rated 7.2/10 by 543 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy?
The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy?
Yes: The AI Doc: Or How I Became an Apocaloptimist (2026), American Factory (2019) and The Battered Bastards of Baseball (2014).
How are movies similar to Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.