Movies like The Rebel Surgeon (2017)
The best movies like The Rebel Surgeon (2017) are David Bowie: Five Years (2013), 4 Little Girls (1997) and The Godfather Family: A Look Inside (1990). If The Rebel Surgeon hooked you with its documentary and tv movie, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedStutz (2022)7.5/10 from 228 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
David Bowie: Five Years (2013)
Featuring a wealth of previously unseen archive, this film looks at how Bowie continually evolved: from Ziggy Stardust to the Soul Star of Young Americans, to the ‘Thin White Duke’. It explores his regeneration in Berlin with the critically acclaimed album Heroes, his triumph with Scary Monsters and his global success with Let’s Dance. With interviews with all his closest collaborators, David Bowie - Five Years presents a unique account of why Bowie has become an ‘icon of our times’.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Godfather Family: A Look Inside (1990)
A documentary on the making of the three Godfather films, with interviews and recollections from the film makers and cast. This feature also includes the original screen tests of some of the actors for "The Godfather" film, and some candid moments on the set of "The Godfather: Part III."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSeven Up! (1985)
A group of British children aged 7 from widely ranging backgrounds are interviewed about a range of subjects. The filmmakers plan to re-interview them at 7 year intervals to track how their lives and attitudes change as they age.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisDeliver Us from Evil (2006)
Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Victims' stories and a disturbing interview with O'Grady offer a view into the troubled mind of the spiritual leader who moved from parish to parish gaining trust ... all the while betraying so many.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFather Soldier Son (2020)
When Sgt. First Class Brian Eisch is critically wounded in Afghanistan, it sets him and his sons on a journey of love, loss, redemption and legacy.
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 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 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 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 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 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 thisOur Father (2022)
After a woman's at-home DNA test reveals multiple half-siblings, she discovers a shocking scheme involving donor sperm and a popular fertility doctor.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDavid Byrne's American Utopia (2020)
A filmed version of David Byrne's Broadway show, a unifying musical celebration that inspires audiences to connect to each other and to the global community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisExtremis (2016)
A purely observational non-fiction film that takes viewers into the ethically murky world of end-of-life decision making in a public hospital.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStutz (2022)
In candid conversations with actor Jonah Hill, leading psychiatrist Phil Stutz explores his early life experiences and unique, visual model of therapy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 Man Who Lost His Face (2011)
51-year-old Jose Mestre from Lisbon, Portugal has endured a massive tumor on his face for the past 35 years. After it has grown up to 15 pounds, a generous benefactor pays for the 13 hour surgery to remove it.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Emma Wants to Live (2016)
This is a Dutch documentary about the last weeks of life in a Portuguese clinic for Emma Caris, a 18 year old girl who had been suffering anorexia nervosa since she was 16 years old.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Stranger Inside (2016)
A woman and her husband become the target of their fertility doctor.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Operation T4: A Doctor Among the Nazis (2016)
A reckoning of Nazi Germany’s planned execution of its own citizens with physical and mental disabilities whom they deemed useless to their society.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Dirty War on the NHS (2019)
John Pilger unearths the hidden agenda behind the NHS crisis.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Léčení spály (1950)
A document on a new method of treating scarlet fever with penicillin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Citadel (1960)
The good doctor is on trial before the British Medical Association Council, if he is found guilty, he will no longer be allowed to practice medicine. The story unfolds through flashbacks which depict his career and his subsequent downfall.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Gonorrhea (1943)
Diagnosis of gonorrhea should be done by clinical and laboratory investigation. The physician and patients are shown in the physician's office and examining room. The patients remove their clothing, and the physician takes samples from the end of the penis and makes thin smear slides from them. The techniques for stripping gonococci from male and female patients with chronic gonorrhea are shown in drawings and live footage. The physician is shown getting and preparing a urine sample for laboratory testing for the presence of gonococci, including using a hand-cranked centrifuge. The material is packaged to be sent away for laboratory diagnosis by gram stain and culture.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
My Dead Body (2022)
The extraordinary moving story of Toni Crews, a young mum with a rare terminal cancer who charted her illness online before donating her body for medical research and public dissection.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Voices from the Shadows (TBA)
‘Voices from the Shadows’ shows the brave and sometimes heartrending stories of five ME patients and their carers, along with input from Dr Nigel Speight, Prof Leonard Jason and Prof Malcolm Hooper. These were filmed and edited between 2009 and 2011, by the brother and mother of an ME patient in the UK. It shows the devastating consequences that occur when patients are disbelieved and the illness is misunderstood. Severe and lasting relapse occurs when patients are given inappropriate psychological or behavioural management: management that ignores the severe amplification of symptoms that can be caused by increased physical or mental activity or exposure to stimuli, and by further infections. A belief in behavioural and psychological causes, particularly when ME becomes very severe and chronic, following mismanagement, is still taught to medical students and healthcare professionals in the UK. As a consequence, situations similar to those shown in the film continue to occur.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Rebel Surgeon?
The closest matches to The Rebel Surgeon are David Bowie: Five Years (2013), 4 Little Girls (1997) and The Godfather Family: A Look Inside (1990). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Rebel Surgeon?
Start with David Bowie: Five Years (2013), the closest match to The Rebel Surgeon.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Rebel Surgeon?
Stutz (2022), rated 7.5/10 by 228 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Rebel Surgeon?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
How are movies similar to The Rebel Surgeon chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Rebel Surgeon, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.