Movies like 1917, The Train from Hell (2019)
The best movies like 1917, The Train from Hell (2019) are They Shall Not Grow Old (2018), Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018) and Night and Fog (1956). If 1917, The Train from Hell 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 ratedNight and Fog (1956)8.3/10 from 596 votes
- NewestShipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchNight and Fog (1956)Also in French
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of Armistice Day, and the end of the war.
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 thisNight and Fog (1956)
Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler's concentration camps.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
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 thisThe Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896)
A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both history & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCover-Up (2025)
He's devoted his career to uncovering stories the powerful want buried. From My Lai to Abu Ghraib, dig into the life's work of journalist Seymour Hersh.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisThe Soviet Story (2008)
“The Soviet Story” is a story of an Allied power, which helped the Nazis to fight Jews and which slaughtered its own people on an industrial scale. Assisted by the West, this power triumphed on May 9th, 1945. Its crimes were made taboo, and the complete story of Europe’s most murderous regime has never been told. Until now...
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & history
Worth the HypeMovies 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 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 thisDirected by John Ford (1971)
A documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisVoyeur (2017)
Legendary journalist Gay Talese unmasks a motel owner who spied on his guests for decades. But his bombshell story soon becomes a scandal of its own.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
SnoozefestMovies like thisAs 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 · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisWhy We Fight: Prelude to War (1942)
Prelude to War was the first film of Frank Capra's Why We Fight propaganda film series, commissioned by the Pentagon and George C. Marshall. It was made to convince American troops of the necessity of combating the Axis Powers during World War II. This film examines the differences between democratic and fascist states.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNo Half Measures: Creating the Final Season of Breaking Bad (2013)
A documentary about the making of season five of the acclaimed AMC series Breaking Bad.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisShipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea (2026)
Never-before-seen footage and survivor accounts trace the 2012 shipwreck of a luxury cruise and the disaster that ensued, in this immersive documentary.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSidney (2022)
This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFather Soldier Son (2020)
When Sgt. First Class Brian Eisch is critically wounded in Afghanistan, it sets him and his sons on a journey of love, loss, redemption and legacy.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Battle of San Pietro (1945)
This documentary movie is about the battle of San Pietro, a small village in Italy. Over 1,100 US soldiers were killed while trying to take this location, that blocked the way for the Allied forces from the Germans. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2005.
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
Three Days in August 1914 (2013)
Documentary on the atrocities the germans committed at the start of WW I in Dinant.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Complete History of America's Railroads (2010)
No matter what your age you'll love watching this impressive and comprehensive story of the development of railroading in America. Rail enthusiasts as well as history buffs, teachers and home schoolers, plus kids of all ages will appreciate this magnificent rail adventure covering live action historic operating railroads, rare photos of drawings and valuable memorabilia, and live action re-enactments. Featuring spectacular cinematography and an inspiring musical score, this Award-Winning four part DVD covers over one-hundred years of railroading evolution.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Berliner Stadtbahnbilder (1982)
Documentation on the Berlin S-Bahn, which threatened to fall into oblivion as a result of the division of the city.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Newspaper Train (1942)
The story of how newspapers were distributed during the Blitz, stressing the importance of an accurate and objective press on the home front.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Inlandsbanan: De som tog tåget (1991)
A journey along the Inland Line (*Inlandsbanan*) from Mora to Gällivare—taking place during the line’s final summer (1991), just as passenger services are set to be discontinued. We witness the consequences of this closure—a reality that several Swedish members of parliament struggle to grasp when given the chance to weigh in on the termination of a highly valued railway line.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Bluebeard (1963)
Paris, France, during the First World War. While thousands of soldiers die every day on the battlefields, Henri Landru, a seemingly respectable furniture dealer, married and father of four children, relentlessly feeds his own sinister factory of death.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFort Saganne (1984)
In 1911, a willful and determined man from peasant stock named Charles Saganne enlists in the military and is assigned to the Sahara Desert under the aristocratic Colonel Dubreuilh.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both history
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Railwayman's Word (1953)
A documentary about the hard work of railwaymen transporting coke from Tarnowskie Góry to Szczecin Iron works.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 1917, The Train from Hell?
The closest matches to 1917, The Train from Hell are They Shall Not Grow Old (2018), Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018) and Night and Fog (1956). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 1917, The Train from Hell?
Start with They Shall Not Grow Old (2018), the closest match to 1917, The Train from Hell.
What is the highest-rated movie like 1917, The Train from Hell?
Night and Fog (1956), rated 8.3/10 by 596 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 1917, The Train from Hell?
Shipwrecked: Nightmare at Sea (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like 1917, The Train from Hell?
Yes: Night and Fog (1956), The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896) and Charcot: Secret Poles (2016).
How are movies similar to 1917, The Train from Hell chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 1917, The Train from Hell, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.