Movies like Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004)
The best movies like Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004) are I Called Him Morgan (2016), Disclosure (2020) and Night Will Fall (2014). If Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession hooked you with its history and documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFor Sama (2019)8.2/10 from 323 votes
- NewestMilli Vanilli (2023)Released 2023
I Called Him Morgan (2016)
Part jazz history, part true-crime tale, Kasper Collin’s new documentary employs extensive archival footage and new interviews to tell the tragic story of the magnificently talented trumpeter Lee Morgan and his common-law wife Helen, who murdered him in a New York bar in 1972.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDisclosure (2020)
An investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNight Will Fall (2014)
When Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making use of British, Soviet and American footage, the Ministry of Information’s Sidney Bernstein (later founder of Granada Television) aimed to create a documentary that would provide lasting, undeniable evidence of the Nazis’ unspeakable crimes. He commissioned a wealth of British talent, including editor Stewart McAllister, writer and future cabinet minister Richard Crossman – and, as treatment advisor, his friend Alfred Hitchcock. Yet, despite initial support from the British and US Governments, the film was shelved, and only now, 70 years on, has it been restored and completed by Imperial War Museums under its original title "German Concentration Camps Factual Survey".
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRoom 237 (2012)
A subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation and dramatic reenactments.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)
Documentary about legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans, based on his famous 1994 autobiography.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFor Sama (2019)
A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisRobin Williams: Come Inside My Mind (2018)
A funny, intimate and heartbreaking portrait of one of the world’s most beloved and inventive comedians, Robin Williams, told largely through his own words. Celebrates what he brought to comedy and to the culture at large, from the wild days of late-1970s L.A. to his death in 2014.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisBelushi (2020)
Using previously unheard audiotapes recorded shortly after John Belushi’s death, director R.J. Cutler’s documentary feature examines the too-short life of the once-in-a-generation talent who captured the hearts and funny bones of devoted audiences.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCrumb (1995)
This movie chronicles the life and times of R. Crumb. Robert Crumb is the cartoonist/artist who drew Keep On Truckin', Fritz the Cat, and played a major pioneering role in the genesis of underground comix. Through interviews with his mother, two brothers, wife, ex-wife and ex-girlfriends, as well as selections from his vast quantity of graphic art, we are treated to a darkly comic ride through one man's subconscious mind.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMilli Vanilli (2023)
The story of Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan, who became fast friends during their youth in Germany. With Rob coming from a broken home and Fabrice having left an abusive household, they shared a similar upbringing, as well as a future goal: to become famous superstars. In a few short years, their dreams came true. Rob and Fab, better known as Milli Vanilli, became the world's most popular pop duo in 1990 and won the GRAMMY for Best New Artist. However, their ascension to success came with a devastating price that ultimately led to their infamous undoing.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisStyle Wars (1984)
Tony Silver and Henry Chalfant's PBS documentary tracks the rise and fall of subway graffiti in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOne Child Nation (2019)
Through interviews with both victims and instigators, Nanfu Wang, a first-time mother, breaks open decades of silence on a vast, unprecedented social experiment that shaped — and destroyed — countless lives in China.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisClient 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010)
An in-depth look at the rapid rise and dramatic fall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFacing Ali (2009)
Ten of Muhammad Ali's former rivals pay tribute to the three-time world heavyweight champion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSteve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (2015)
When Steve Jobs died the world wept. But what accounted for the grief of millions of people who didn’t know him? This evocative film navigates Jobs' path from a small house in the suburbs, to zen temples in Japan, to the CEO's office of the world's richest company, exploring how Jobs’ life and work shaped our relationship with the computer. The Man in the Machine is a provocative and sometimes startling re-evaluation of the legacy of an icon.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisStop at Nothing: The Lance Armstrong Story (2014)
A portrait of the man behind the greatest fraud in sporting history. Lance Armstrong enriched himself by cheating his fans, his sport and the truth. But the former friends whose lives and careers he destroyed would finally bring him down.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisZero Days (2016)
Alex Gibney explores the phenomenon of Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus discovered in 2010 by international IT experts. Evidently commissioned by the US and Israeli governments, this malware was designed to specifically sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the complex computer worm ended up not only infecting its intended target but also spreading uncontrollably.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Cave (2019)
Deep beneath the surface in the Syrian province of Ghouta, a group of female doctors have established an underground field hospital. Under the supervision of paediatrician Dr. Amani and her staff of doctors and nurses, hope is restored for some of the thousands of children and civilian victims of the ruthless Syrian civil war.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDig! (2004)
A documentary on the once promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. The friendship between respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor, escalated into bitter rivalry as the Dandy Warhols garnered major international success while the Brian Jonestown Massacre imploded in a haze of drugs.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWoodstock: Three Days That Defined a Generation (2019)
50 years after the legendary fest, Barak Goodman’s electric retelling of Woodstock, from the point of view of those who were on the ground, evokes the freedom, passion, community, and joy the three-day music festival created.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe 1936 Olympic Games (2016)
On the 1st August 1936, 100,000 spectators watched as Hitler and the Olympic delegates arrived at the Olympic opening ceremony in Berlin. The Olympic flags hung cheerfully side-by-side banners bearing the Nazi swastika. With the help of specialists and images from Léni Riefenstahl’s 1938 film, ‘Olympia’, we see what really went on behind the scenes and investigate the secret negotiations and compromises made by the International Olympic Committee to bring the Olympics to Berlin.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history
Thomas Hardy: Fate, Exclusion and Tragedy (2021)
A portrait of the British writer Thomas Hardy (1840-1928), who, although he had radical instincts, hated hypocrisy, was of great poetic brilliance, had a tragic perception of life and a calm outward appearance, was at heart a man of seething and somber darkness.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history
Verstörung - und eine Art von Poesie. Die Filmlegende Bernhard Wicki (2007)
Documentary about film director and actor Bernhard Wicki.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history
Sissi: The Fateful Years of an Empress (1957)
After a wonderful time in Hungary Sissi falls extremely ill and must retreat to a Mediterranean climate to rest. The young empress’ mother takes her from Austria to recover in Madeira.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGrbavica: The Land of My Dreams (2006)
A woman and her daughter struggle to make their way through the aftermath of the Balkan war.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisGrizzly Man (2005)
Follows the story of "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in his attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDust Radio: A Film About Chris Whitley (2017)
A look at the work, life and eventual death of singer-songwriter Chris Whitley, whose many albums (on both major and indy labels) received universally good reviews, earning him a fan base among top tier musicians and journalists; though never bringing sustained mainstream success.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Antonio Gades, la ética de la danza (2007)
Documentary that reconstructs the professional life of the dancer through the thread of his own voice. A work that travels to the fundamental landscapes of the personal history of Gades with unpublished documents and the testimony of those who shared with him many pages of the book of his life and the history of Spanish dance in recent decades.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Leonardo da Vinci (1952)
This documentary tells the story of the brilliant Italian polymath, artist, sculptor, painter, poet, musician, writer, philosopher, scientist, botanist, geologist, cartographer, mathematician, anatomist, paleontologist, architect, urban planner, engineer, and inventor. The legacy of the brilliant Leonardo (1452-1519) to the world came in many forms: in the breathtaking beauty of The Last Supper and The Mona Lisa; in his rich collection of engravings; and in his notes on original thoughts on astronomy, biology, and physiology.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Raul Brandão was a Great Writer... (2012)
This film is an attempt to disclose if Raul Brandão has left any trace, in Nespereira, Gumarães.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession?
The closest matches to Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession are I Called Him Morgan (2016), Disclosure (2020) and Night Will Fall (2014). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession?
Start with I Called Him Morgan (2016), the closest match to Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession.
What is the highest-rated movie like Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession?
For Sama (2019), rated 8.2/10 by 323 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession?
Milli Vanilli (2023) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession?
Yes: I Called Him Morgan (2016), Disclosure (2020) and Night Will Fall (2014).
How are movies similar to Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.