Movies like Masterpiece: Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns (2013)
The best movies like Masterpiece: Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns (2013) are The Untold History Of The United States (2012), Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) and The Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020). If Masterpiece: Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns hooked you with its documentary and history, 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
The Untold History Of The United States (2012)
Oliver Stone charts the history of the United States from the Second World War to the present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMaking Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)
The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020)
This documentary brings to life the stories of four people believed by their family and friends to be “DB Cooper,” a man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle and jumped from the plane over the wilds of Washington State with a parachute and $200,000, never to be heard from again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Princess (2022)
Decades after her untimely death, Princess Diana continues to evoke mystery, glamour, and the quintessential modern fairy tale gone wrong. As a symbol of both the widening fissures weakening the British monarchy and the destructive machinery of the press, the Princess of Wales navigated an unparalleled rise to fame and the corrosive challenges that came alongside it. Crafted entirely from immersive archival footage and free from the distraction of retrospective voices, this hypnotic and audaciously revealing documentary takes a distinctive formal approach, allowing the story of the People’s Princess to unfold before us like never before.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like this9/11: Inside the President's War Room (2021)
Experience the events of September 11, 2001 through the eyes of President Bush and his closest advisors as they personally detail the crucial hours and key decisions from that historic day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVisions of Light (1992)
Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLos Angeles Plays Itself (2004)
From its distinctive neighborhoods to its architectural homes, Los Angeles has been the backdrop to countless movies. In this dazzling work, Andersen takes viewers on a whirlwind tour through the metropolis' real and cinematic history, investigating the myriad stories and legends that have come to define it, and meticulously, judiciously revealing the real city that lives beneath.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Soviet Story (2008)
“The Soviet Story” is a story of an Allied power, which helped the Nazis to fight Jews and which slaughtered its own people on an industrial scale. Assisted by the West, this power triumphed on May 9th, 1945. Its crimes were made taboo, and the complete story of Europe’s most murderous regime has never been told. Until now...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCover-Up (2025)
He's devoted his career to uncovering stories the powerful want buried. From My Lai to Abu Ghraib, dig into the life's work of journalist Seymour Hersh.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarmontown (2014)
A comedic, brutally honest documentary following self-destructive TV writer Dan Harmon as he takes his live podcast on a national tour.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVoyeur (2017)
Legendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
SnoozefestMovies 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 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 thisAvatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
An inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisNecessary Evil: Super-Villains of DC Comics (2013)
A documentary detailing the epic Rogues' Gallery of DC Comics from The Joker and Lex Luthor, Sinestro, Darkseid and more, this documentary will explore the Super Villains of DC Comics.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDrew: The Man Behind the Poster (2013)
A documentary on legendary movie-poster artist Drew Struzan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCharlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (2003)
Brilliant, long in-the-works story of the life and art of the world's greatest comedian and the cinema's first genius, Charlie Chaplin. Produced, written and directed by renowned film critic Richard Schickel.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFuck (2006)
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisLes Damnés de la Commune (2021)
Exclusively created with period engravings, this animated feature explores the Franco-Prussian War of 1870 and the ensuing Paris Commune revolution in 1871.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history & documentary
Tangles (2026)
A young woman is forced to return to the conservative small town where her bizarre family lives to take care of her mother, having to deal with the cruel reality of her mom's Alzheimer disease and become the daughter they need.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Coming SoonMovies like thisKorean Souls (TBA)
Joy is about to put her baby up for adoption. At the moment when this decision becomes irreversible, she discovers Approved for Adoption, Jung's autobiographical film, who is a Korean adoptee. Their encounter turns their lives upside down and uncovers the scandalous practice of illegal adoptions in South Korea.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Buñuel en el laberinto de las tortugas (2015)
Spain, 1932. Spanish filmmaker Luis Buñuel travels to the region of Las Hurdes, in Extremadura, where he shoots his third film, a very critical and later controversial documentary about the living conditions of the poor peasants, abandoned and forgotten by the national authorities.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Will Eisner: Profissão Cartunista (1999)
Documentary that explores the long and remarkable career of Will Eisner, a pioneering cartoonist whose work continues to have an impact on pop culture around the world. Includes interviews with Ann Eisner, Art Spiegelman, Bill Sienkiewicz, Denis Kitchen, Jerry Robinson, Angeli, Maurício de Souza, Ziraldo, Jano, François Schuiten and many other artists.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
My Father's Secrets (2022)
Brussels, Belgium, 1959. Michel and Charly Kichka, two Jewish brothers, enjoy a happy childhood with their parents and their two sisters. Henri, their discreet and usually silent father, does not speak at all about his past, so they imagine that as a young man he was an adventurer, a pirate or a treasure hunter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Fumetti Verticali - Dall'edicola alla rete (2019)
Documentary on the changes that social medias have brought on the Italian comic books scene.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Buñuel in the Labyrinth of the Turtles (2019)
Paris, 1930. Luis Buñuel is penniless after the scandal surrounding the release of his last movie. Sculptor Ramón Acín, a good friend, buys a lottery ticket and promises Buñuel that he will pay for his next movie if he wins the prize.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSuperman Now (2011)
Writer Grant Morrison and artist Frank Quitely take over the Superman stories to refocus and revitalize them, centered on a more relaxed and reflective Superman.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Winnipeg, Seeds of Hope (2026)
At the end of the Spanish Civil War, almost half a million people moved by fear of reprisals to France. A hundred thousand of them were children. The French Government overflowed by the human avalanche, put them in improvised refugee camps. Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, former consul in Spain before the war, convinced the President of Chile to save more than two thousand refugees. The film tells the story of Julia, a little girl that escapes Barcelona with his father, a young widower. They embarked on the Winnipeg, a ship chartered by Neruda. That saved them from a dark future in Europe. Now, she is “a daughter of Neruda”, as the descendants of the 2,200 refugees call themselves.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Masterpiece: Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns?
The closest matches to Masterpiece: Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns are The Untold History Of The United States (2012), Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) and The Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Masterpiece: Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns?
Start with The Untold History Of The United States (2012), the closest match to Masterpiece: Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns.
What is the newest movie like Masterpiece: Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Masterpiece: Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns?
Yes: The Untold History Of The United States (2012), Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) and The Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020).
How are movies similar to Masterpiece: Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Masterpiece: Frank Miller's The Dark Knight Returns, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.