Movies like First Ascent - Kunyang Chhish East (2014)

14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021)

In 2019, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja set out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. (The previous record was eight years). He called the effort “Project Possible 14/7” and saw it as a way to inspire others to strive for greater heights in any pursuit. The film follows his team as they seek to defy naysayers and push the limits of human endurance.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The Wildest Dream (2010)

Uses astonishing visuals to tell the intersecting stories of George Mallory, the first man to attempt a summit of Mount Everest, and Conrad Anker, the mountaineer who finds Mallory's frozen remains 75 years later.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Meru (2015)

Meru is the electrifying story of three elite American climbers—Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk—bent on achieving the impossible.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

My 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

Everest (1998)

An international team of climbers ascends Mt. Everest in the spring of 1996. The film depicts their lengthy preparations for the climb, their trek to the summit, and their successful return to Base Camp. It also shows many of the challenges the group faced, including avalanches, lack of oxygen, treacherous ice walls, and a deadly blizzard.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The Art of Flight (2011)

Iconic snowboarder Travis Rice and friends redefine what is possible in the mountains. Experience the highs, as new tricks are landed and new zones opened, alongside the lows, where avalanches, accidents, and wrong-turns strike.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Avatar: Creating the World of Pandora (2010)

The Making-of James Cameron's Avatar. It shows interesting parts of the work on the set.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Come 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

180° South (2010)

The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The Dawn Wall (2017)

In an unbelievable story of perseverance, free climber Tommy Caldwell and climbing partner Kevin Jorgeson attempt to scale the impossible 3000ft Dawn Wall of El Capitan.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The Alpinist (2021)

The life of Canadian mountain climber Marc-André Leclerc as he pushes the boundaries of climbing while on an expedition to Patagonia.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Mountain (2017)

An epic cinematic and musical collaboration between SHERPA filmmaker Jennifer Peedom and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, that explores humankind's fascination with high places.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

28 Up (1985)

Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

The Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020)

A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

35 Up (1991)

Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

Our 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 · both documentary

The Eagle Huntress (2016)

Follow Aisholpan, a 13-year-old girl, as she trains to become the first female in twelve generations of her Kazakh family to become an eagle hunter, and rise to the pinnacle of a tradition that has been typically been handed down from father to son for centuries.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

56 Up (2012)

When a cross-section of seven-year-olds were interviewed for 7 Up in 1964 it was immediately evident that their social backgrounds influenced their attitudes towards life. While the upper class children were confident and self-assured, those from middle and working class backgrounds were resigned to a challenging life of hard work. This premise was put to the test every seven years when the same group were interviewed about the progression of their lives. 49 years in the making, the changes that occurred to the original 14 make for fascinating television and are in many ways the stories of all our lives. From success and disappointment, marriage and childbirth, to poverty and illness, nearly every facet of life has been captured on film. Now, at the age of 56, the group are once more brought together and, with the benefit of hindsight, assess whether their lives have been ruled by circumstance or self-determination.

Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary

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 · both documentary

The 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

Freja's Back (2024)

Early in the alpine season of 2024, all-round climber Freja Shannon suffers a serious fall on the North Face of Les Droites in the French Alps, resulting in a broken back. Despite a grim prognosis, Freja fights her way back with surprising speed—first on her feet, then on the rock. Joined by her climbing partner Ariane Moreau, Freja attempts to ascend Ave Ceasar, a pristine 7c trad route on the spectacular Petit Clocher du Portalet (2,623 m) in the Swiss Alps.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Cervin 1865, une première tragique (2015)

The first ascent of the Matterhorn was made on July 14, 1865 by Edward Whymper, Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz and two guides from Zermatt, Peter Taugwalder father and son. Douglas, Hudson, Hadow and Croz are killed on the descent after Hadow slips and drags the other three men down the north face. Whymper and the two Taugwalders, who survive, are later accused of having cut the rope that connected them to the rest of the group so as not to be dragged into the fall, but the ensuing investigation finds no evidence of their guilt and they are acquitted. The Matterhorn is the last great peak in the Alps to be conquered and its ascent marks the end of the golden age of mountaineering. One hundred and fifty years later, a team undertakes the same expedition in order to unravel the mystery.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Dans les pas du Groupe (2019)

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Montagnes De Rêve: Le Mont-Blanc (1999)

The ascent of Mont Blanc takes two days. First, you have to climb the Aiguille du Goûter, at the summit of which, at 3,817 meters, clings the Goûter refuge, a small metal box where you spend the night. The climb is 1,500 meters long, including some of the most technical sections. 2:00 a.m. The alarm rings, and Carole Dechantre and Jean-Paul Lemercier begin their ascent of the Dôme du Goûter by the light of their headlamps. With the first rays of sunlight, the Arête des Bosses is illuminated. Already, the surrounding mountains seem smaller. One last effort, and they finally reach the summit of Mont Blanc, the roof of the Alps, at 4,810 meters.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Anatomy of a First (1966)

In February 1966, Pierre Mazeaud and Lucien Berardini traveled to the Atakor massif, in the Hoggar mountain range of the Sahara in southern Algeria. There, they attempted a challenging first ascent: the Takouba spur, one of the peaks adjacent to Garet El Djenoun, a legendary mountain in the Hoggar massif, first climbed by Roger Frison-Roche and Raymond Coche in 1935. The documentary, superbly filmed by Jacques Ertaud, won the Grand Prize at the Trento International Mountain Film Festival in 1966.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Expédition Khumbu-Khola : André Payraud, le nageur de l'Everest (2000)

André Payraud, a pioneer and specialist in torrents and raging rivers, is nicknamed "the highest swimmer in the world." In October 1999, after the great monsoon, he swam down the Khumbu-Khola, a torrent that originates at 4,807 meters at the foot of Mount Everest, over five days. Furthermore, André Payraud wanted to connect with the people and culture of Nepal.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Hoggar Expedition 79 (1979)

TSR documentary on the 1979 expedition to Algeria in the Atakor massif (Hoggar desert), organized by Geneva mountaineer Michel Vaucher and Jean-Blaise Fellay. The climbers make a dozen ascents including the famous summit of Adaouda (which means "finger" in Tamasheq, the Tuareg dialect), by several routes. Then a new route on the peaks of the southern Tezoulegs. They discover the volcanic geological characteristics of the Atakor massif and meet the nomadic inhabitants of the region, the Tuaregs, who are increasingly settling in the town of Tamanrasset.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

André Payraud, le nageur de l'impossible (1999)

André Payraud, born in 1948 in Passy, ​​Haute-Savoie, nicknamed "the swimmer of the impossible," is a major figure in French whitewater swimming, known by the nickname "Dédé the Carpet." He is renowned for his daring descents of large mountain rivers and for having helped popularize the sport from the 1980s onward. His achievements include swimming down the Mont Blanc torrent in 1980, the first in a long series of filmed feats: swimming Everest in 1982; the Ganges in 1985; the Colorado; Annapurna; the Jordan River—no river can stop Dédé in his quest for adventure. For his whitewater exploits, André Payraud was made a Knight of the National Order of Merit and received the Silver Medal for Youth and Sports. Alongside his exploits around the world, Dédé set up the first rafting company in Haute-Savoie in 1982, in Domancy, Session Raft, Aventures Payraud mont-Blanc..

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

Torrent du Mont Blanc à la nage (1982)

A documentary about André Payraud's descent of the Mont Blanc torrent by swimming down it. "I've always had a thirst for adventure. At 19, I was in a diving club and I loved Jacques Martin's show, 'Incroyable mais vrai' (Incredible but True). I dreamed of participating in this hit program." After careful consideration, André Payraud had the idea of ​​the century, an idea that would attract media attention: to descend the Grands-Montets glacier on his stomach, wearing a full wetsuit (mask, snorkel, fins, and neoprene suit). A crazy idea that drew a flood of press coverage. The film, "Swimming Down the Mont Blanc Torrent," directed by Didier Lafond, was broadcast twice on France 2 and even won an award.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary

As Long As We Love Her (1957)

Lucien Berardini and Edmond Denis are two mountaineers who took part in the French expedition to Aconcagua (Andes Mountains) in 1954. Both suffered severe frostbite to their fingers and toes, and three years later, they set out to climb the Aiguille du Géant, a legendary route in the Mont Blanc massif. The camera closely follows the efforts of the roped party, an example of strength and self-sacrifice, until their victorious arrival at the summit.

Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary