Movies like The Day After Trinity (1980)
The best movies like The Day After Trinity (1980) are Fat Man and Little Boy (1989), The Bomb (2015) and The Atomic Cafe (1982). If The Day After Trinity 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 ratedOppenheimer (2023)8.0/10 from 12,877 votes
- NewestRiefenstahl (2024)Released 2024
Fat Man and Little Boy (1989)
Assigned to oversee the development of the atomic bomb, Gen. Leslie Groves is a stern military man determined to have the project go according to plan. He selects J. Robert Oppenheimer as the key scientist on the top-secret operation, but the two men clash fiercely on a number of issues. Despite their frequent conflicts, Groves and Oppenheimer ultimately push ahead with two bomb designs — the bigger "Fat Man" and the more streamlined "Little Boy."
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Bomb (2015)
Using masterfully restored footage from recently declassified images, The Bomb tells a powerful story of the most destructive invention in human history. From the earliest testing stages to its use as the ultimate chess piece in global politics, the program outlines how America developed the bomb, how it changed the world and how it continues to loom large in our lives. The show also includes interviews with prominent historians and government insiders, along with men and women who helped build the weapon piece by piece.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
The Atomic Cafe (1982)
A disturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTrinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie (1995)
"Trinity and Beyond" is an unsettling yet visually fascinating documentary presenting the history of nuclear weapons development and testing between 1945-1963. Narrated by William Shatner and featuring an original score performed by the Moscow Symphony Orchestra, this award-winning documentary reveals previously unreleased and classified government footage from several countries.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTo End All War: Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb (2023)
Explore how one man's relentless drive and invention of the atomic bomb changed the nature of war forever, led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and unleashed mass hysteria.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Battle of Chernobyl (2007)
On April 26, 1986, a 1,000 feet high flame rises into the sky of the Ukraine. The fourth reactor of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant just exploded. A battle begins in which 500,000 men are engaged throughout the Soviet Union to "liquidate" the radioactivity, build the "sarcophagus" of the damaged reactor and save the world from a second explosion that would have destroyed half of Europe. Become a reference film, this documentary combines testimonials and unseen footage, tells for the first time the Battle of Chernobyl.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Trials of J. Robert Oppenheimer (2008)
J. Robert Oppenheimer was a national hero, the brilliant scientist who during WWII led the scientific team that created the atomic bomb. But after the bomb brought the war to an end, in spite of his renown and his enormous achievement, America turned on him - humiliated and cast him aside. The question the film asks is, "Why?"
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Oppenheimer: The Real Story (2023)
J. Robert Oppenheimer, a physics professor known for creating the atomic bomb during WWII. He witnessed the first atomic bomb detonation in New Mexico in 1945. This film examines Oppenheimer's life, from his early years to his involvement with nuclear physics and his later advocacy for nuclear weapons controls, with interviews and insights from those who knew him and impacted by his legacy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Oppenheimer (2023)
The story of J. Robert Oppenheimer's role in the development of the atomic bomb during World War II.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Saturn V Story (2014)
In 1961, no one believed President Kennedy’s pledge to put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. To win the race to space, the USA needed to create a multi-billion dollar space program. Using stunning NASA footage, this inspirational film tells the story of the colossal challenges NASA faced to fulfill Kennedy's pledge. With the accolade of flying 24 men safely to the moon, Saturn V is considered one of mankind's greatest technological achievements. This is the story of the most powerful machine ever built, and the men and women who believed it could fly.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
American Coup (2010)
AMERICAN COUP tells the story of the first coup ever carried out by the CIA - Iran, 1953. Explores the blowback from this seminal event, as well as the coup's lingering effects on the present US-Iranian relationship. Includes a segment on the 1979 Iranian Hostage Crisis and its relation to the 1953 coup. Concludes with a section on the recent Iranian presidential election. Contains interviews with noted Middle East experts and historians and prominent public figures such as Stephen Kinzer (author, All The Shah's Men), Prof. Ervand Abrahamian, Trita Parsi, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Ted Koppel and Rep. Ron Paul of Texas. With Iranian cinematography by James Longley.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history & documentary
Fallout (2013)
During the 1940s, Nevil Shute had a steady job as an engineer in the British military but in his spare time, he wrote novels that were being well-received. Once the war was over, Shute choose to move to Australia and focus on writing, soon becoming an internationally acclaimed novelist. His novel On The Beach, particularly hit a chord with the international community, depicting the impact of global nuclear destruction. This documentary studies Shute's career and the adaptation of his most famous novel into a feature film in Melbourne, as his predictions of a post-Hiroshima world seem to be foreboding in their accuracy.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
Black Rain (1989)
Shigematsu Shizuma, who lives with his family in a village near Fukuyama, was in Hiroshima with his wife and niece just after the devastating atomic bombing, a tragedy that cruelly took the lives of thousands of people and forever marked the harsh existence of the survivors.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHiroshima (2005)
The documentary recounts the world's first nuclear attack and examines the alarming repercussions. Covering a three-week period from the Trinity test to the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the program chronicles America's political gamble and the planning for the momentous event. Archival film, dramatizations, and special effects feature what occurred aboard the Enola Gay (the aircraft that dropped the bomb) and inside the exploding bomb.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHitler: A Career (1977)
A keen chronicle of the unlikely rise to power of Adolf Hitler (1889-1945) and a dissection of the Third Reich (1933-1945), but also an analysis of mass psychology and how the desperate crowd can be deceived and shepherded to the slaughterhouse.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIn the Shadow of the Moon (2007)
Archival material from the original NASA film footage – much of it seen for the first time – plus interviews with the surviving astronauts, including Jim Lovell, Dave Scott, John Young, Gene Cernan, Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Edgar Mitchell, Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFor All Mankind (1989)
A testament to NASA's Apollo program of the 1960s and '70s. Composed of actual NASA footage of the missions and astronaut interviews, the documentary offers the viewpoint of the individuals who braved the remarkable journey to the moon and back.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe KGB, the Computer and Me (1990)
In 1986, astronomer turned computer scientist Clifford Stoll had just started working on a computer system at the Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory when he noticed a 75-cent discrepancy between the charges printed by two accounting programs responsible for charging people for machine use. Intrigued, he deduced that the system was being hacked, and he determined to find the culprit. This is the re-enactment of how he tracked down KGB cracker Markus Hess through the Ethernet to Hannover, Germany.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Brooklyn Bridge (1981)
Today it's a symbol of strength and vitality. 135 years ago, it was a source of controversy. This documentary examines the great problems and ingenious solutions that marked the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. From conception to construction, it traces the bridge's transformation from a spectacular feat of heroic engineering to an honored symbol in American culture.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
Countdown to Zero (2010)
Although the Cold War is behind us, the threat of nuclear disaster remains very real. Director Lucy Walker discusses the invention of the atomic bomb and brings the story into the present day, examining the possibility of nuclear calamity under the categories of "Madness," "Accident" and "Miscalculation." With narration by Gary Oldman, the film includes a hypothetical sequence of a nuclear explosion in New York City's Times Square, timed to coincide with the New Year's Eve countdown.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Unknown Known (2013)
Former United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld discusses his career in Washington D.C. from his days as a congressman in the early 1960s to planning the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisHiroshima and Nagasaki: 75 Years Later (2020)
Hiroshima and Nagasaki: 75 Years Later is told entirely from the first-person perspective of leaders, physicists, soldiers and survivors.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
Riefenstahl (2024)
Explores Leni Riefenstahl's artistic legacy and her complex ties to the Nazi regime, juxtaposing her self-portrayal with evidence suggesting awareness of the regime's atrocities.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDay One (1989)
Hungarian physicist Leo Szilard leaves Europe, eventually arriving in the United States. With the help of Einstein, he persuades the government to build an atomic bomb. The project is given to no-nonsense Gen. Leslie Groves who selects physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer to head the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico, where the bomb is built. As World War II draws to a close, Szilard has second thoughts about atomic weapons, and policy makers debate how and when to use the bomb.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both history
Britain's Greatest Codebreaker (2012)
Alan Turing is the genius British mathematician who was instrumental in breaking the German naval Enigma Code during World War II, arguably saving millions of lives. Turing's achievements went unrecognised during his lifetime. Instead he ended up being treated as a common criminal, for being homosexual at a time when homosexual acts were a crime. In 1952, he was convicted of 'gross indecency' with another man and was forced to undergo so-called 'organo-therapy' - chemical castration. Two years later, he killed himself with cyanide, aged just 41. Alan Turing was driven to a terrible despair and early death by the nation he'd done so much to save.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary & history
Making 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 thisApollo: Missions to the Moon (2019)
National Geographic's riveting effort recounts all 12 crewed missions using only archival footage, photos and audio.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
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 & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBe 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 this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like The Day After Trinity?
The closest matches to The Day After Trinity are Fat Man and Little Boy (1989), The Bomb (2015) and The Atomic Cafe (1982). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after The Day After Trinity?
People who watched The Day After Trinity most often go on to Fat Man and Little Boy (1989), The Bomb (2015) and The Atomic Cafe (1982).
What is the highest-rated movie like The Day After Trinity?
Oppenheimer (2023), rated 8.0/10 by 12,877 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like The Day After Trinity?
Riefenstahl (2024) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like The Day After Trinity?
Yes: Fat Man and Little Boy (1989), The Bomb (2015) and The Atomic Cafe (1982).
How are movies similar to The Day After Trinity chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside The Day After Trinity, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.