Movies like Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald (1995)
The best movies like Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald (1995) are Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron (2017), Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006) and Alone in the Wilderness (2004). If Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald 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 ratedGhosts of the Abyss (2003)6.8/10 from 240 votes
- NewestBlack Waters: The Sea Empress Disaster (2026)Released 2026
Titanic: 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 thisJonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006)
Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAlone 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 & history
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Green Book: Guide to Freedom (2019)
In 1936, Victor H. Green (1892-1960) published The Negro Motorist Green Book, a book that was both a travel guide and a survival manual, to help African-Americans navigate safe those regions of the United States where segregation and Jim Crow laws were disgracefully applied.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisAudrey (2020)
An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Godfather Family: A Look Inside (1990)
A documentary on the making of the three Godfather films, with interviews and recollections from the film makers and cast. This feature also includes the original screen tests of some of the actors for "The Godfather" film, and some candid moments on the set of "The Godfather: Part III."
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisTitanic: The Digital Resurrection (2025)
Using cutting-edge scanning technology and state-of-the-art CGI, a team of experts creates the first high-resolution 3D digital twin of the Titanic wreck. Through a groundbreaking immersive investigation, they uncover the ship’s final moments, shedding light on the acts of heroism and cowardice aboard—and revealing the true story behind the sinking of the “unsinkable” ship.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisInterstellar: Nolan's Odyssey (2014)
A look behind the lens of Christopher Nolan's space epic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLouis Theroux: Louis and the Nazis (2003)
Louis Theroux travels to California to meet the man dubbed "the most dangerous racist in America"; Tom Metzger. Louis meets him, his family and his publicity manager as well as following him to skinhead rallies and on a visit to Mexico.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this4 Little Girls (1997)
On September 15, 1963, a bomb destroyed a black church in Birmingham, Alabama, killing four young girls who were there for Sunday school. It was a crime that shocked the nation--and a defining moment in the history of the civil-rights movement. Spike Lee re-examines the full story of the bombing, including a revealing interview with former Alabama Governor George Wallace.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaking The Witcher (2020)
Journey into the extraordinary world of "The Witcher" — from casting the roles to Jaskier's catchy song — in this behind-the-scenes look at the series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLouis Theroux: Twilight of the Porn Stars (2012)
In 1997, Louis Theroux made a documentary about the world of male porn performers in Los Angeles. 15 years later, he returns to find a business struggling with the deluge of free porn on the internet. Louis revisits some of the original programme's contributors as well as meeting the latest crop of porn performers dreaming of porn stardom.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020)
This documentary brings to life the stories of four people believed by their family and friends to be “DB Cooper,” a man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle and jumped from the plane over the wilds of Washington State with a parachute and $200,000, never to be heard from again.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDavid Bowie: Five Years (2013)
Featuring a wealth of previously unseen archive, this film looks at how Bowie continually evolved: from Ziggy Stardust to the Soul Star of Young Americans, to the ‘Thin White Duke’. It explores his regeneration in Berlin with the critically acclaimed album Heroes, his triumph with Scary Monsters and his global success with Let’s Dance. With interviews with all his closest collaborators, David Bowie - Five Years presents a unique account of why Bowie has become an ‘icon of our times’.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMarvel Studios: Assembling a Universe (2014)
A look at the story behind Marvel Studios and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, featuring interviews and behind-the-scenes footage from all of the Marvel films, the Marvel One-Shots and "Marvel's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D."!
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVisions 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 · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Making of Star Wars (1977)
Learn the incredible behind-the-scenes story of how the original Star Wars movie was brought to the big screen in this fascinating documentary hosted by C-3PO and R2-D2 which includes interviews with George Lucas and appearances by Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnlocking Sherlock (2014)
Explore how writers Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss created the hit television sensation. Take a personal voyage through the versions of Holmes that have served as inspirations for the new series - the original stories, their factual origins, hundreds of film adaptations - to arrive at their thoroughly modern Sherlock. Moffat and Gatiss explain the challenges they encountered adapting the original adventures of the iconic super-sleuth. Go behind the scenes on the set of the hit television series, including interviews with actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Martin Freeman and Lara Pulver, who talk about the reinvention of their fictional characters.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies 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 thisChaos on the Bridge (2014)
Canadian acting legend William Shatner takes viewers inside the creation of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the bold attempt in 1986 to recreate the success of the original television series, in which Shatner played Captain James T. Kirk.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisCharcot: Secret Poles (2016)
The adventures and exploits of Jean-Baptiste Charcot (1867-1936), an intrepid scientist and explorer who laid the foundations of modern oceanography.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history
Dreadnought Destruction: Sinking the German High Seas Fleet (2020)
The sinking of the German fleet interned at Scapa-Flow (Orkney Islands), June 21, 1919. We know that one of the stipulations of the armistice signed with Germany on November 11, 1918 was that that power's surface warships were to be "immediately decommissioned and interned in neutral or Allied ports, and remain there under the supervision of the Allies and the United States, guard detachments only being maintained on board". In fact, all the ships designated by the Allies - 11 battleships, 5 battlecruisers, 7 light cruisers and 50 destroyers - had, a few days after the armistice, been assembled in Scapa-Flow Bay, in the center of the Orkney archipelago, i.e. north of Scotland, and had remained there ever since, under the supervision of the English naval authorities, but under the effective authority of German Admiral von Reuter.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history
The Unsinkable Titanic (2008)
On April 10, 1912, the RMS Titanic embarked on its maiden voyage, sailing from Southampton, England, to New York City. One of the largest and most luxurious passenger liners at the time, the Titanic was also equipped with watertight compartments, which led many to consider the ship unsinkable; an anonymous deckhand famously claimed that “God himself could not sink this ship.” On April 14, however, the ship struck an iceberg, and early the next day it sank. Some 1,500 people perished.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & history
The White Dawn (1974)
In 1896, three survivors of a whaling ship-wreck in the Canadian Arctic are saved and adopted by an Eskimo tribe but frictions arise when the three start misbehaving.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Monster Ark (2008)
Archaeologist Nicholas Zavaterro and his student find an antique vase with an inscription that points to where Noah's Ark is hidden. They decide to go looking, but things get out of control when they encounter opposing forces, including a monster named Tama.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The New Swiss Family Robinson (1998)
When Angelino Jack Robinson gets a new job in Australia, he decides to take his sissy wife Ann, brave sons Shane and Todd and wining daughter Elisabeth 'Lizzy' by sailing yacht from Hong Kong to Syndney. The gun he gets thrown in by Sheldon Blake proves disabled, and for a sinister reason: near Borneo, Blake's men turn up to capture them. The family escapes but loses the yacht on a reef. They build a cool camp on an island. But the pirates keep coming back, and the boys discover why: he hid a treasure in the yacht. Shane is also discovered and captured in more then one way by French plane wreck survivor Françoise, who later teams up with the family.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
The Last Survivors (1975)
When a passenger ship sinks, a ship's officer must decide which passengers in an overcrowded lifeboat must be sacrificed so the rest can survive an approaching typhoon.
Why it matches: Similar story and style
Ghosts at Sea: Paranormal Shipwrecks and Curses (2014)
Pirates and Sailors have fought many battles at sea but many who lost didn't go quietly into the murky depths. This killer collection of Ghostly Sea Hauntings will curl your toes and shiver your timbers with real ghost tales from the depths of the Paranormal.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Black Waters: The Sea Empress Disaster (2026)
The story of the 1996 Sea Empress oil spill off the Pembrokeshire coast, and how communities mobilised to respond to the disaster and protect their coastline.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Ghosts of the Abyss (2003)
With a team of the world's foremost historic and marine experts as well as friend Bill Paxton, James Cameron embarks on an unscripted adventure back to the wreck of the Titanic where nearly 1,500 souls lost their lives almost a century ago.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald?
The closest matches to Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald are Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron (2017), Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006) and Alone in the Wilderness (2004). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald?
Start with Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron (2017), the closest match to Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald.
What is the highest-rated movie like Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald?
Ghosts of the Abyss (2003), rated 6.8/10 by 240 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald?
Black Waters: The Sea Empress Disaster (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald?
Yes: Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron (2017), Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006) and Alone in the Wilderness (2004).
How are movies similar to Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Shipwreck: The Mystery of the Edmund Fitzgerald, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.