Movies like The Risk of Living (1978)
The best movies like The Risk of Living (1978) are Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life (2009), Powaqqatsi (1988) and Koyaanisqatsi (1983). If The Risk of Living hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDavid Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020)8.4/10 from 478 votes
- NewestA Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough (2026)Released 2026
Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life (2009)
Darwin's great insight – that life has evolved over millions of years by natural selection – has been the cornerstone of all David Attenborough’s natural history series. In this documentary, he takes us on a deeply personal journey which reflects his own life and the way he came to understand Darwin’s theory.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPowaqqatsi (1988)
An exploration of technologically developing nations and the effect the transition to Western-style modernization has had on them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisKoyaanisqatsi (1983)
Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBehind the Planet of the Apes (1998)
Roddy McDowall takes you, film by film, from production meetings to make-up sessions, then right onto the movie set to see the actual filming of the science fiction masterpiece. The most comprehensive history of Planet of the Apes ever created, this fascinating 127-minute documentary explores one of the most imaginative and influential series in movie history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDavid Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020)
The story of life on our planet by the man who has seen more of the natural world than any other. In more than 90 years, Attenborough has visited every continent on the globe, exploring the wild places of our planet and documenting the living world in all its variety and wonder. Addressing the biggest challenges facing life on our planet, the film offers a powerful message of hope for future generations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDancing with the Birds (2019)
Some of the world's most majestic birds display delightfully captivating mating rituals, from flashy dancing to flaunting their colorful feathers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWings of Life (2011)
A beautiful love story in danger. Our future depends on an amazing love story between the flowers and fauna consisting of bees, butterflies, birds and bats, which allow these species to reproduce. Delicate and graceful, the flowers are not content to be the ultimate symbol of beauty. On the contrary, their vibrant colors and their exotic flavors are so many wonders that attract pollinators and drunk with desire. All these animals are involved in a complex dance of seduction on which one third of our crops, a dance without which we could survive ... Pollen presents the unsung heroes of the global food chain. Their fantastic worlds are full of stories, drama and beauty. While a fragile and threatened, essential for the balance of the planet, it should now actively protect ...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Angry Birds Movie (2016)
An island populated entirely by happy, flightless birds or almost entirely. In this paradise, Red, a bird with a temper problem, speedy Chuck, and the volatile Bomb have always been outsiders. But when the island is visited by mysterious green piggies, it’s up to these unlikely outcasts to figure out what the pigs are up to.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRio 2 (2014)
It's a jungle out there for Blu, Jewel and their three kids after they're hurtled from Rio de Janeiro to the wilds of the Amazon. As Blu tries to fit in, he goes beak-to-beak with the vengeful Nigel, and meets the most fearsome adversary of all: his father-in-law.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMadagascar: Escape 2 Africa (2008)
Alex, Marty, and other zoo animals find a way to escape from Madagascar when the penguins reassemble a wrecked airplane. The precariously repaired craft stays airborne just long enough to make it to the African continent. There the New Yorkers encounter members of their own species for the first time. Africa proves to be a wild place, but Alex and company wonder if it is better than their Central Park home.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBaraka (1992)
A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisPandas (2018)
In the mountains of Sichuan, China, a researcher forms a bond with Qian Qian, a panda who is about to experience nature for the first time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisNaqoyqatsi (2002)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough (2026)
Veteran naturalist Sir David Attenborough tells the story of a remarkable group of gorillas, from his first encounter in the '70s to the present day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisIce Age (2002)
Manny the mammoth, Sid the loquacious sloth, and Diego the sabre-toothed tiger go on a comical quest to return a human baby back to his father, across a world on the brink of an ice age.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRio (2011)
Captured by smugglers when he was just a hatchling, a macaw named Blu never learned to fly and lives a happily domesticated life in Minnesota with his human friend, Linda. Blu is thought to be the last of his kind, but when word comes that Jewel, a lone female, lives in Rio de Janeiro, Blu and Linda go to meet her. Animal smugglers kidnap Blu and Jewel, but the pair soon escape and begin a perilous adventure back to freedom -- and Linda.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisReturn to Jurassic Park (2011)
A multi-part documentary about the making of the Jurassic Park trilogy. Each part walks through the making of part of one of the films, including the hurricane during the shooting of the first film, and how advances in CGI for Jurassic Park helped change the world of special effects forever. All interviews for these retrospective documentaries come with comments from Spielberg, Johnston, Neill, Dern, Goldblum, the effects crews, the child actors, and Peter Stormare. This documentary is broken into six parts: Dawn of a New Era (25 min), Making Prehistory (20 min), The Next Step in Evolution (15 min), Finding the Lost World (28 min), Something Survived (16 min), and The Third Adventure (25 min).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWhat the Health (2017)
Filmmaker Kip Andersen uncovers the secret to preventing and even reversing chronic diseases, and he investigates why the nation's leading health organizations doesn't want people to know about it.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKingdom of the Planet of the Apes (2024)
Several generations following Caesar's reign, apes – now the dominant species – live harmoniously while humans have been reduced to living in the shadows. As a new tyrannical ape leader builds his empire, one young ape undertakes a harrowing journey that will cause him to question all he's known about the past and to make choices that will define a future for apes and humans alike.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this
Like The Risk of Living and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Risk of Living?
The closest matches to The Risk of Living are Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life (2009), Powaqqatsi (1988) and Koyaanisqatsi (1983). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Risk of Living?
Start with Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life (2009), the closest match to The Risk of Living.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Risk of Living?
David Attenborough: A Life on Our Planet (2020), rated 8.4/10 by 478 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Risk of Living?
A Gorilla Story: Told by David Attenborough (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Risk of Living?
Yes: Charles Darwin and the Tree of Life (2009), Powaqqatsi (1988) and Koyaanisqatsi (1983).
How are movies similar to The Risk of Living chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Risk of Living, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.