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Movies like Video Self-Portrait (1971)

The best movies like Video Self-Portrait (1971) are Visions of Light (1992), Making 'The Shining' (1980) and Video Games: The Movie (2014). If Video Self-Portrait hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.

Quick picks

  1. Visions of Light (1992)

    Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  2. Making 'The Shining' (1980)

    Directed and edited by Stanley Kubrick's daughter Vivian Kubrick, this film offers a look behind the scenes during the making of The Shining.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  3. Video Games: The Movie (2014)

    From executive producer Zach Braff and director Jeremy Snead, "Video Games: The Movie" is an epic feature length documentary chronicling the meteoric rise of video games from nerd niche to multi-billion dollar industry. Narrated by Sean Astin and featuring in-depth interviews with the godfathers who started it all, the icons of game design, and the geek gurus who are leading us into the future, "Video Games: The Movie" is a celebration of gaming from Atari to Xbox and an eye-opening look at what lies ahead.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  4. Nothing Like a Dame (2018)

    BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  5. 78/52 (2017)

    The most famous murder scene in movie history comprises 78 camera settings and 52 cuts: the shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho. 78/52 tells the story of the man behind the curtain and his greatest obsession.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  6. The Pixar Story (2007)

    A look at the first years of Pixar Animation Studios - from the success of "Toy Story" and Pixar's promotion of talented people, to the building of its East Bay campus, the company's relationship with Disney, and its remarkable initial string of eight hits. The contributions of John Lasseter, Ed Catmull and Steve Jobs are profiled. The decline of two-dimensional animation is chronicled as three-dimensional animation rises. Hard work and creativity seem to share the screen in equal proportions.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  7. 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
  8. Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022)

    This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

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  9. The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin (2014)

    A documentary about the development and spread of the virtual currency called Bitcoin.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  10. Be My Cat: A Film for Anne (2015)

    An aspiring Romanian filmmaker goes to horrific extremes to convince Hollywood actress Anne Hathaway to star in his film.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  11. Very Nice, Very Nice (1961)

    Arthur Lipsett's first film is an avant-garde blend of photography and sound. It looks behind the business-as-usual face we put on life and shows anxieties we want to forget. It is made of dozens of pictures that seem familiar, with fragments of speech heard in passing and, between times, a voice saying, "Very nice, very nice." The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Live Action Short Film.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  12. Indie Game: The Movie (2012)

    Follows the dramatic journeys of video game developers as they create and release their games to the world. It's about making video games, but at its core, it's about the creative process, and exposing yourself through your work.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  13. 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

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  14. Iron Jawed Angels (2004)

    Defiant young activists take the women's suffrage movement by storm, putting their lives at risk to help American women win the right to vote.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  15. Chronos (1985)

    Carefully picked scenes of nature and civilization are viewed at high speed using time-lapse cinematography in an effort to demonstrate the history of various regions.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  16. The Laurel-Hardy Murder Case (1930)

    The boys think their days of fishing to feed themselves have come to an end, when Stan's rich uncle Ebenezer dies leaving a large estate. But they soon learn that Ebenezer was murdered and all the relatives, including Stan, are suspects.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  17. Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968)

    In Manhattan's Central Park, a film crew directed by William Greaves is shooting a screen test with various pairs of actors. It's a confrontation between a couple: he demands to know what's wrong, she challenges his sexual orientation. Cameras shoot the exchange, and another camera records Greaves and his crew. Sometimes we watch the crew discussing this scene, its language, and the process of making a movie. Is there such a thing as natural language? Are all things related to sex? The camera records distractions - a woman rides horseback past them; a garrulous homeless vet who sleeps in the park chats them up. What's the nature of making a movie?

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this
  18. Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (2012)

    There’s only one person who so accurately personifies movie magic in the history of film, and that man is special effects maestro Ray Harryhausen. Focusing on the man behind the landmark effects on films like Clash Of The Titans, One Million Years B.C., Jason And The Argonauts and many more, this in-depth film features interviews with the great man himself, and with an array of animators and directors influenced by his work including Guillermo del Toro, Peter Jackson, Nick Park, Terry Gilliam, James Cameron and Steven Spielberg. The film also features unseen footage of tests and experiments recently uncovered.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  19. The Wrong Trousers (1993)

    Wallace rents out Gromit's former bedroom to a penguin, who takes up an interest in the techno trousers created by Wallace. However, Gromit later learns that the penguin is a wanted criminal.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Worth the HypeMovies like this
  20. Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies (2020)

    The definitive documentary on the history of nudity in feature films from the early silent days to the present, studying the changes in morality that led to the use of nudity in films while emphasizing the political, sociological and artistic changes that shaped that history. Skin will also study the gender inequality in presenting nude images in motion pictures and will follow the revolution that has created nude gender equality in feature films today.

    Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers

    Popcorn FlickMovies like this

Like Video Self-Portrait and something else?

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Frequently asked questions

What are the best movies like Video Self-Portrait?

The closest matches to Video Self-Portrait are Visions of Light (1992), Making 'The Shining' (1980) and Video Games: The Movie (2014). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.

What should I watch after Video Self-Portrait?

Start with Visions of Light (1992), the closest match to Video Self-Portrait.

What is the highest-rated movie like Video Self-Portrait?

The Wrong Trousers (1993), rated 7.8/10 by 1,225 TMDB users.

What is the newest movie like Video Self-Portrait?

Obi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022) is the most recent release on this list.

Are there English movies like Video Self-Portrait?

Yes: Visions of Light (1992), Making 'The Shining' (1980) and Video Games: The Movie (2014).

How are movies similar to Video Self-Portrait chosen?

First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Video Self-Portrait, 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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