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Movies like The Detroit Films (Reel #4) (1985)

The best movies like The Detroit Films (Reel #4) (1985) are As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), Cuba and the Cameraman (2017) and 8 Mile (2002). If The Detroit Films (Reel #4) hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. As 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

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  2. Cuba and the Cameraman (2017)

    This revealing portrait of Cuba follows the lives of Fidel Castro and three Cuban families affected by his policies over the last four decades.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  3. 8 Mile (2002)

    For Jimmy Smith, Jr., life is a daily fight just to keep hope alive. Feeding his dreams in Detroit's vibrant music scene, Jimmy wages an extraordinary personal struggle to find his own voice - and earn a place in a world where rhymes rule, legends are born and every moment… is another chance.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  4. Maniac (2012)

    As he helps a young artist with her upcoming exhibition, the owner of a mannequin shop's deadly, suppressed desires come to the surface.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  5. Cameraperson (2016)

    As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  6. Sin City (2005)

    Welcome to Sin City. This town beckons to the tough, the corrupt, the brokenhearted. Some call it dark… Hard-boiled. Then there are those who call it home — Crooked cops, sexy dames, desperate vigilantes. Some are seeking revenge, others lust after redemption, and then there are those hoping for a little of both. A universe of unlikely and reluctant heroes still trying to do the right thing in a city that refuses to care.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  7. Naqoyqatsi (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 this
  8. Brick Mansions (2014)

    In a dystopian Detroit, grand houses that once housed the wealthy are now homes of the city's most-dangerous criminals. Surrounding the area is a giant wall to keep the rest of Detroit safe. For undercover cop Damien Collier, every day is a battle against corruption as he struggles to bring his father's killer, Tremaine, to justice. Meanwhile, Damien and an ex-con named Lino work together to save the city from a plot to destroy it.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

  9. I Am Heath Ledger (2017)

    The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

    Dito Montiel, a successful author, receives a call from his long-suffering mother, asking him to return home and visit his ailing father. Dito recalls his childhood growing up in a violent neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., with friends Antonio, Giuseppe, Nerf and Mike.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Finding Vivian Maier (2014)

    Vivian Maier's photos were seemingly destined for obscurity, lost among the clutter of the countless objects she'd collected throughout her life. Instead these images have shaken the world of street photography and irrevocably changed the life of the man who brought them to the public eye. This film brings to life the interesting turns and travails of the improbable saga of John Maloof's discovery of Vivian Maier, unravelling this mysterious tale through her documentary films, photographs, odd collections and personal accounts from the people that knew her. What started as a blog to show her work quickly became a viral sensation in the photography world. Photos destined for the trash heap now line gallery exhibitions, a forthcoming book and this documentary film.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  12. Eyes of Laura Mars (1978)

    A famous fashion photographer develops a disturbing ability to see through the eyes of a serial killer.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

  13. Halloween: 25 Years of Terror (2006)

    Follow the evolution of the 'Halloween' movies over the past twenty-five years. It examines why the films are so popular and revisits many of the original locations used in the films - seeing the effects on the local community. For the first time, cast, crew, critics and fans join together in the ultimate 'Halloween' retrospective.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  14. The Hate U Give (2018)

    Raised in a poverty-stricken slum, a 16-year-old girl named Starr now attends a suburban prep school. After she witnesses a police officer shoot her unarmed best friend, she's torn between her two very different worlds as she tries to speak her truth.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  15. Love, Marilyn (2013)

    Using the book 'Fragments', which collects Marilyn Monroe's poems, notes and letters, and with participation from the Arthur Miller and Truman Capote estates who have contributed more material, each of the actresses will embody the legend at various stages in her life.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  16. Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon (2006)

    The next great psycho horror slasher has given a documentary crew exclusive access to his life as he plans his reign of terror over the sleepy town of Glen Echo, all the while deconstructing the conventions and archetypes of the horror genre for them.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Sherman's March (1986)

    Documentarian Ross McElwee originally set out to make a travelogue of sorts tracing General William T. Sherman's infamous scorched-earth march through the Confederacy in the latter stages of the Civil War. Instead, haunted by a recent breakup with a girlfriend, McElwee ends up documenting his progress -- or lack thereof -- in starting a new relationship. His journey then becomes one of self-reflection and self-discovery rather than a historical/sociological exploration.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. Everybody’s Everything (2019)

    The story of artist Lil Peep from his birth in Long Island and meteoric rise as a genre blending pop star & style icon, to his death due to an accidental opioid overdose in Arizona at just 21 years of age.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this
  19. Nightmare Cinema (2018)

    A series of down-on-their-luck individuals enter the decrepit and spine-chilling Rialto theater, only to have their deepest and darkest fears brought to life on the silver screen by The Projectionist – a mysterious, ghostly figure who holds the nightmarish futures of all who attend his screenings.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

  20. 9/11 (2002)

    An on-the-scene documentary following the events of September 11, 2001 from an insider's view, through the lens of two French filmmakers who simply set out to make a movie about a rookie NYC fireman and ended up filming the tragic event that changed our lives forever.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Absolute CinemaMovies like this

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like The Detroit Films (Reel #4)?

The closest matches to The Detroit Films (Reel #4) are As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), Cuba and the Cameraman (2017) and 8 Mile (2002). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after The Detroit Films (Reel #4)?

Start with As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), the closest match to The Detroit Films (Reel #4).

What is the highest-rated movie like The Detroit Films (Reel #4)?

Everybody’s Everything (2019), rated 8.4/10 by 311 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like The Detroit Films (Reel #4)?

Everybody’s Everything (2019) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like The Detroit Films (Reel #4)?

Yes: As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000), Cuba and the Cameraman (2017) and 8 Mile (2002).

How are movies similar to The Detroit Films (Reel #4) chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Detroit Films (Reel #4), then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.

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