Movies like The Real Doctor Zhivago (2017)
The best movies like The Real Doctor Zhivago (2017) are Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) and The Untold History Of The United States (2012). If The Real Doctor Zhivago hooked you with its documentary and history, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedDear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)8.1/10 from 621 votes
- NewestBeyond the White (2021)Released 2021
Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018)
The epic life story of Alice Guy-Blaché (1873–1968), a French screenwriter, director and producer, true pioneer of cinema, the first person who made a narrative fiction film; author of hundreds of movies, but banished from history books. Ignored and forgotten. At last remembered.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaking Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)
The history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Untold History Of The United States (2012)
Oliver Stone charts the history of the United States from the Second World War to the present.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 & history
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRonaldo (2015)
Filmed over 14 months with unprecedented access into the inner circle of the man and the sport, this is the first official and fully authorised film of one of the most celebrated figures in football. For the first time ever, the world gets vividly candid and un-paralleled, behind-closed-doors access to the footballer, father, family-man and friend in this moving & fascinating documentary. Through in-depth conversations, state of the art football footage and never before seen archival footage, the film gives an astonishing insight into the sporting and personal life of triple Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo at the peak of his career. From the makers of ‘Senna’ and ‘Amy’, Ronaldo takes audiences on an intimate and revealing journey of what it’s like to live as an iconic athlete in the eye of the storm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Irishman: In Conversation (2019)
Martin Scorsese, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Al Pacino in conversation about The Irishman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCameraperson (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 · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDownloaded (2013)
A documentary that explores the downloading revolution; the kids that created it, the bands and the businesses that were affected by it, and its impact on the world at large.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe September Issue (2009)
A documentary chronicling Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour's preparations for the 2007 fall-fashion issue.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHoward (2018)
Though legendary lyricist Howard Ashman died far too young, his impact on Broadway, movies, and the culture at large were incalculable. Told entirely through rare archival footage and interviews with Ashman’s family, friends, associates, and longtime partner Bill Lauch, Howard is an intimate tribute to a once-in-a-generation talent and a rousing celebration of musical storytelling itself.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHeart of a Dog (2015)
Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJodorowsky's Dune (2013)
In 1974, Chilean-French director Alejandro Jodorowsky embarked on the quixotic project of adapting Frank Herbert's influential novel Dune (1969) for the big screen. After investing two years, and millions of dollars, the gigantic project ended in failure; but the artists Jodorowsky brought together to carry it out continued to work together, and ended up laying the foundations for modern science fiction cinema.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisElstree 1976 (2015)
A documentary about ten very different lives connected by having appeared onscreen wearing masks or helmets in Star Wars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisLove, 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 · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNothing 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 · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisBeyoncé: Life Is But a Dream (2013)
Life Is But a Dream is a HBO documentary about the life of US singer Beyoncé Knowles during the years 2011 and 2012 and on the recording of her fifth album. The film was directed by Beyoncé herself. The film shows Beyoncé from intimate moments of her pregnancy to behind the scenes and rehearsals of the main concerts of that time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAmerican Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince (1978)
Martin Scorsese spends an evening with larger-than-life raconteur Steven Prince—a former drug addict, road manager for Neil Diamond, and actor—as he recounts stories from his colorful life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisRusia: Revolución conservadora (2021)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history
Rich Hall's Red Menace (2019)
2019 marks the 30th year since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the Cold War. Rich Hall examines the relationship between the West and the USSR in his inimitable fashion.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history
Beyond the White (2021)
In Northern Russia, a few dozen people still live in their traditional houses surrounded by water, stone, and sand. Cut off from vital infrastructure, almost forgotten by regional governance, these people have to cope with their everyday struggles.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history
The Russian Revolution (2017)
Starting in 1881 this film shows the personal battle between Lenin's Ulyanov family and the royal Romanovs that eventually led to the Russian revolution.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history
Secrets Shared with a Stranger (1996)
In Russia, in 1907, a rich lenient husband of a loose unfaithful woman is brutally murdered. She and her two lovers are suspects, but what about the stranger she met just before the murder? With no friends left, she and the stranger bond.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
On Putin's Blacklist (2017)
Traces the new Cold War between Russia and the West from the ban on American citizens adopting Russian children to the Kremlin’s anti-LGBTQ campaign, which positions the international marriage equality movement as a national threat.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Andrei Bely: Armenia (2019)
The film is a cinematic interpretation of the travel book “Armenia” by Russian poet Andrei Bely.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
I Have Lived Many Lives (1983)
A portrait of the leading female Bolshevik (and later Worker’s Opposition) revolutionary leader Alexandra Kollontai using her own words.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Red Tent (1969)
Torn by personal guilt, Italian General Umberto Nobile reminisces about his 1928 failed Arctic expedition aboard the airship Italia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisTripping with Zhirinovsky (1995)
A candid, fly-on-the-wall BBC television documentary portrait of Russian Nationalist politician, Vladimir Zhirinovsky. The film shows the leader on a cruise surrounded by two hundred supporters getting plenty of media attention in New York. We are left with the nagging question: to what extent is Zhirinovsky really dangerous? To take that further, to what extent are populist politicians truly dangerous?
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Real Doctor Zhivago?
The closest matches to The Real Doctor Zhivago are Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) and The Untold History Of The United States (2012). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Real Doctor Zhivago?
Start with Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), the closest match to The Real Doctor Zhivago.
What is the highest-rated movie like The Real Doctor Zhivago?
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008), rated 8.1/10 by 621 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Real Doctor Zhivago?
Beyond the White (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Real Doctor Zhivago?
Yes: Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018), Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019) and The Untold History Of The United States (2012).
How are movies similar to The Real Doctor Zhivago chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Real Doctor Zhivago, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.