Movies like Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial (1999)
The best movies like Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial (1999) are Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022), My Mom Jayne (2025) and 4 Little Girls (1997). If Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial
Quick picks
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
Avatar: 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 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 this4 Little Girls (1997)
On September 15, 1963, a bomb destroyed a black church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls who were there for Sunday school. It was a crime that shocked the nation--and a defining moment in the history of the civil-rights movement. Spike Lee re-examines the full story of the bombing, including a revealing interview with former Alabama Governor George Wallace.
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 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 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 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 thisNo Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad (2013)
A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisSidney (2022)
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all way to the Vatican.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDangerous Days: Making Blade Runner (2007)
The definitive 3½-hour documentary about the troubled creation and enduring legacy of the science fiction classic 'Blade Runner', culled from 80 interviews and hours of never-before-seen outtakes and lost footage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisS4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026)
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 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 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 thisLouis Theroux: Twilight of the Porn Stars (2012)
In 1997, Louis Theroux made a documentary about the world of male porn performers in Los Angeles. 15 years later, he returns to find a business struggling with the deluge of free porn on the internet. Louis revisits some of the original programme's contributors as well as meeting the latest crop of porn performers dreaming of porn stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Making of 'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' (1991)
Documentary of the making of the sequel to the popular Schwarzenegger film, The Terminator.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarvel Studios Assembled: The Making of Hawkeye (2022)
Join the likes of Jeremy Renner, Hailee Steinfeld, Florence Pugh, and Vincent D’Onofrio as they reveal how Marvel Studios’ “Hawkeye” was conceived and created. Witness firsthand what it took to pull off the show’s pulse-pounding action set pieces, and discover how iconic characters from the pages of Marvel Comics such as Kate Bishop were adapted and brought to life for the six-episode series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Class of ‘92 (2013)
A detailing of the rise to prominence and global sporting superstardom of six supremely talented young Manchester United football players (David Beckham, Nicky Butt, Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Phil and Gary Neville). The film covers the period 1992-1999, culminating in Manchester United's European Cup triumph.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSmoke Traders (2012)
Smoke Traders is an inside look at the world of the Mohawk tobacco trade.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Nicotine - A Drug with a Future (2020)
The number of smokers in Europe is declining, yet the tobacco industry is still making considerable profits. Electronic innovations such as e-cigarettes and tobacco heaters play a significant role in this. Both are said to be far less harmful than conventional cigarettes. But is the aromatic steam really not a danger to our health?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Archiveras del Humo (2023)
In addition to making cigarettes, Lupe, Asun, Susi, Marivi, Clara, Pili and Maite lived, shared, learned, fought and celebrated many things in the warehouses that now house the Tabakalera cultural project. The cigarette makers called the factory “Smoke University” for all that they learnt within its walls. This documentary shows a (physical and vital) tour of the spaces of Tabakalera together with a critical dialogue between the past and the present of the building, which relies on previously collected and selected materials from the smoke archive, and the testimonies of a group of women who worked together.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Circle (1967)
Produced in 1967, this black and white film is an inmate's view of Daytop, a drug treatment centre on Staten Island, New York, where addicts learn to get along without drugs. Uncompromising, often brutal group therapy sessions are designed to shake loose the excuses a victim makes for himself. The people and situations shown are authentic; only one actor was employed. The results obtained at Daytop are regarded by some psychiatrists as a breakthrough.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Yellow Tobacco from Quebec (1951)
History of yellow tobacco cultivation in the regions of Joliette, Berthier and Trois-Rivières. The documentary describes the care and work required for this crop and pays tribute to the producers whose efforts have made it possible to introduce and maintain this highly specialized industrial crop in Quebec.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Lynchburg at War (TBA)
Lynchburg at War is a documentary film following the events of the Civil War in Lynchburg, Virginia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Back-breaking Leaf (1959)
Here is a graphic picture of the tobacco harvest in southwestern Ontario. At the end of July, transient field workers move in for a brief bonanza when the plant is ripe. The tobacco harvesters call it "the back-breaking leaf."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
You Don't Know Nicotine (2020)
Amidst radical changes in nicotine use globally, one filmmaker's journey through the confusion & fear leads to a startling discovery about Earth's most hated stimulant. Society may be changed forever.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Tobacco Conspiracy: The Backroom Deals of a Deadly Industry (2011)
This French-Canadian co-production goes behind the scenes of the huge tobacco industry, whose economic power has been expanding for five decades at the expense of public health. A gripping investigation covering three continents, Nadia Collot's film exposes the vast conspiracy of a criminally negligent industry that conquers new markets through corruption and manipulation. To confront the tobacco cartel, anti-smoking groups are organizing and scoring points, but the fight remains fierce. With ist diverse viewpoints, shocking interviews and riveting images, The Tobacco Conspiracy deftly defines the issues in a complex situation where private interests and the public good collide. Enlightening and engrossing, this documentary is a hard-hitting critique of an industry gone mad.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial?
The closest matches to Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial are Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022), My Mom Jayne (2025) and 4 Little Girls (1997). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial?
Start with Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022), the closest match to Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial.
What is the newest movie like Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial?
Yes: Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022), My Mom Jayne (2025) and 4 Little Girls (1997).
How are movies similar to Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Smoke and Mirrors: A History of Denial, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.