Movies like Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake (2007)
The best movies like Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake (2007) are Alone in the Wilderness (2004), Dawson City: Frozen Time (2017) and Salinger (2013). If Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedNight and Fog (1956)8.3/10 from 596 votes
- NewestBillie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026)Released 2026
Alone in the Wilderness (2004)
Dick Proenneke retired at age 50 in 1967 and decided to build his own cabin in the wilderness at the base of the Aleutian Peninsula, in what is now Lake Clark National Park. Using color footage he shot himself, Proenneke traces how he came to this remote area, selected a homestead site and built his log cabin completely by himself. The documentary covers his first year in-country, showing his day-to-day activities and the passing of the seasons as he sought to scratch out a living alone in the wilderness.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisDawson City: Frozen Time (2017)
The true history of a collection of some 500 films dating from 1910s to 1920s, which were lost for over 50 years until being discovered buried in a sub-arctic swimming pool deep in the Yukon Territory, in Dawson City, located about 350 miles south of the Arctic Circle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisSalinger (2013)
An in-depth investigation into the private world of the American writer J. D. Salinger (1919-2010), who lived most of his life behind the impenetrable wall of a self-imposed seclusion: how his dramatic experiences during World War II influenced his life and work, his relationships with very young women, his obsessive writing methods, his many literary secrets.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStories We Tell (2012)
Canadian actress and filmmaker Sarah Polley investigates certain secrets related to her mother, interviewing a group of family members and friends whose reliability varies depending on their implication in the events, which are remembered in different ways; so a trail of questions remains to be answered, because memory is always changing and the discovery of truth often depends on who is telling the tale.
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 thisThe Endurance (2000)
Documentary on the Shackleton Antartic expedition. A retelling of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica in and the crew of his vessel 'The Endurance', which was trapped in the ice floes and frigid open ocean of the Antarctic in 1914. Shackleton decided, with many of his crew injured and weak from exposure and starvation, to take a team of his fittest men and attempt to find help. Setting out in appalling conditions with hopelessly inadequate equipment, they endured all weather and terrain and finally reached safety. Persuading a local team of his confidence that the abandoned team would still be alive, he set out again to find them. After almost 2 years trapped on the ice, all members of the crew were finally rescued.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBillie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026)
Captured during Billie Eilish's sold-out world tour, a concert experience from one of the most celebrated and successful artists of her generation, presented in immersive 3D.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 this40 Years of Rocky: The Birth of a Classic (2020)
Sylvester Stallone and John G. Avildsen narrate behind-the-scenes footage from the making of "Rocky" to mark the film's 40th anniversary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWe Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company (2001)
Over a period of two years, Mark Cowen and his crew travelled to thirty U.S. states and ten European cities, to interview the veterans of Easy Company. The stories told by the veterans themselves, create a history of the Second World War from the point of view of this heroic company of men, made famous in the mini-series Band of Brothers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Greatest Night in Pop (2024)
On a January night in 1985, music's biggest stars gathered to record "We Are the World." This documentary goes behind the scenes of the historic event.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Captains (2011)
The Captains is a feature-length documentary film written and directed by William Shatner. The film follows Shatner as he interviews the other actors who have portrayed starship captains in the Star Trek franchise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisWhy We Fight: Prelude to War (1942)
Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this180° 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Who: The Kids Are Alright (1979)
Through concert performances and interviews, this film offers us a comprehensive look at the British pioneer rock group, The Who. It captures their zany craziness and outrageous antics from the initial formation of the group in 1964 to 1978. It notably features the band's last performance with long-term drummer Keith Moon, filmed at Shepperton Studios in May 1978, three months before his death.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRed Army (2015)
A documentary highlighting the Soviet Union's legendary and enigmatic hockey training culture and world-dominating team through the eyes of the team's Captain Slava Fetisov, following his shift from hockey star and celebrated national hero to political enemy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTitanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron (2017)
For the 20th anniversary of "Titanic," James Cameron reopens the file on the disaster.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHarry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts (2022)
An enchanting making-of story told through all-new in-depth interviews and cast conversations, inviting fans on a magical first-person journey through one of the most beloved film franchises of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this14 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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Death of Hitler: The Story of a State Secret (2017)
On April 30, 1945, while the Russian Army surrounded Berlin, Hitler committed suicide in his bunker. His body was discovered a few days later by the Soviets. He would be positively identified after a top secret inquest in which Hitler's personal dentist would play a central role. And yet, at the same time, Stalin publicly declared that his army was unable to find the Führer's body, choosing to let the wildest rumors develop and going so far as to accuse some of his Allies of having aided the monster's probable escape. What secrets were hidden behind this dissimulation? What happened then to the two ladies involved in the identification of Hitler’s body?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Łódź Ghetto (1989)
The Polish city of Łódź was under Nazi occupation for nearly the entirety of WWII. The segregation of the Jewish population into the ghetto, and the subsequent horrors are vividly chronicled via newsreels and photographs. The narration is taken almost entirely from journals and diaries of those who lived–and died–through the course of the occupation, with the number of different narrators diminishing as the film progresses, symbolic of the death of each narrator.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Night and Fog (1956)
Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRouen, naissance d'une cité (1939)
The destruction of the city and its architectural heritage during the Allied bombing of the Second World War.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Westray (2001)
In this feature documentary, filmmaker Paul Cowan offers an innovative, moving account of the Westray coal mine disaster that killed 26 men in Nova Scotia on May 9, 1992. The film focuses on the lives of three widows and three miners lucky enough not to be underground that day when the methane and coal dust ignited. But their lives were torn apart by the events. Meet some of the working men, who felt they had no option but to stay on at Westray. And wives, who heard the rumours, saw their men sometimes bloodied from accidents and stood by them, hoping it would all turn out all right. This is a film about working people everywhere whose lives are often entrusted to companies that violate the most fundamental rules of safety and decency in the name of profit.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Ghettos in the Holocaust (2023)
The gruesome story of the Jewish ghettos during the Nazi occupation of Eastern Europe in the dark days of World War II, based on the records written by their inhabitants, who bear witness to the human tragedy of the Shoah; but also to an indomitable will to live.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
EXPO 67 Mission Impossible (2017)
This documentary let us to relive the challenge of the men behind the 1967 Universal Exposition in Montréal, Canada. By searching trough 80,000 archival documents at the national Archives, they managed to bring light on one of the biggest logistical and political challenges that were faced by organizers during the "Révolution Tranquille" in the Québec sixties. Includes the accounts of the Chief of Advertising Yves Jasmin, and businessman Philippe de Gaspé Beaubien.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Nowhere Land (2015)
Documentary about filmmaker Bonnie Ammaaq's memories of life on Baffin Island, where her family moved for eleven years during her childhood from the hamlet of Igloolik to return to the traditional Inuit way of life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler (2008)
Explores the path of hitler from insignificance, to World domination, and demonstrates the delusions he had that lead to massive deaths during the War.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Siegen oder sterben (1976)
The impact of new documents from the international conflict that shook the world is enormous. Never-before-seen footage has emerged for the first time from previously secret archives. The murderous encirclement battles in Russia, the Battle of Britain, and the heroic deeds of countless lone fighters in Potsdam complete the circle of horror, from the Polish campaign to the harrowing images of refugee treks in the winter of 1944/45.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Like Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake?
The closest matches to Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake are Alone in the Wilderness (2004), Dawson City: Frozen Time (2017) and Salinger (2013). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake?
Start with Alone in the Wilderness (2004), the closest match to Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake.
What is the highest-rated movie like Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake?
Night and Fog (1956), rated 8.3/10 by 596 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake?
Billie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake?
Yes: Alone in the Wilderness (2004), Dawson City: Frozen Time (2017) and Salinger (2013).
How are movies similar to Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Willard: The Hermit of Gully Lake, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.