Movies like This Was the Time (1970)
The best movies like This Was the Time (1970) are Dawson City: Frozen Time (2017), In the Realms of the Unreal (2004) and Baraka (1992). If This Was the Time hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedBaraka (1992)8.2/10 from 733 votes
- NewestA Toxic Love Story (2026)Released 2026
Dawson City: Frozen Time (2017)
The true history of a collection of some 500 films dating from 1910s to 1920s, which were lost for over 50 years until being discovered buried in a sub-arctic swimming pool deep in the Yukon Territory, in Dawson City, located about 350 miles south of the Arctic Circle.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIn the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
In the Realms of the Unreal is a documentary about the reclusive Chicago-based artist Henry Darger. Henry Darger was so reclusive that when he died his neighbors were surprised to find a 15,145-page manuscript along with hundreds of paintings depicting The Story of the Vivian Girls, in What is Known as the Realms of the Unreal, of the Glodeco-Angelinnian War Storm, Cased by the Child Slave Rebellion.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBaraka (1992)
A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisFuck (2006)
A documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
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
Worth the HypeMovies like thisNaqoyqatsi (2002)
A visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne of Us (2017)
Penetrating the insular world of New York's Hasidic community, focusing on three individuals driven to break away despite threats of retaliation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisS4: The Bob Lazar Story (2026)
Over 35 years after Bob Lazar's revelations, this documentary exposes secrets of a facility the government still denies. Featuring Lazar's testimony, recreations, and new evidence, it reopens a case that continues to spark global curiosity
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEvil Influencer: The Jodi Hildebrandt Story (2025)
Unravel the case of Utah therapist Jodi Hildebrandt, whose child abuse arrest with parenting YouTuber Ruby Franke exposed a twisted tale of manipulation.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKoyaanisqatsi (1983)
Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA Toxic Love Story (2026)
A string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisCome See Me in the Good Light (2025)
In an intimate and joyful story of love in the face of loss, celebrated poets Andrea Gibson and Megan Falley find strength—and unexpected hilarity—in what might be their final year together.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this35 Up (1991)
Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBillie Eilish - Hit Me Hard and Soft: The Tour (Live in 3D) (2026)
Captured during Billie Eilish's sold-out world tour, a concert experience from one of the most celebrated and successful artists of her generation, presented in immersive 3D.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisEx Libris: The New York Public Library (2017)
A documentary about how a dominant cultural and demographic institution both sustains their traditional activities and adapts to the digital revolution.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMysteries of the Terracotta Warriors (2024)
Thousands of terracotta warriors guarded the first Chinese emperor's tomb. This is their story, told through archeological evidence and reenactments.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisDavid Byrne's American Utopia (2020)
A filmed version of David Byrne's Broadway show, a unifying musical celebration that inspires audiences to connect to each other and to the global community.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like this28 Up (1985)
Just two years away from turning 30, participants in Michael Apted's documentary series are facing serious questions of identity and purpose, wondering whether they've found their place in the world.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisOrgasm Inc: The Story of OneTaste (2022)
A sexual wellness company gains fame and followers, then members come forward with shocking allegations.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisOne Heart: One Spirit (2017)
An Aboriginal Australian and Native American documentary narrated by award-winning actor Jack Thompson, One Heart-One Spirit tells the story of Kenneth Little Hawk, an elder Micmac/Mohawk performing artist, meeting the oldest surviving culture on the planet: the 40,000 year old Yolngu nation located in northern Australia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
The Water Dwellers (1963)
This short documentary introduces us to a town where no one pays rent: Simoom Sound in central British Columbia, where loggers live on sturdy river craft. Every week there are visitors: the general storekeeper, the flying postman and most importantly, the forest ranger, who is ever alert to the threat of fire.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Nomoto: A BC Tragedy (2022)
The injustice of the Japanese internment is explored through the story of Kyuichi Nomoto, one of the first Japanese Canadians to graduate from UBC, who suffered a breakdown deep in the BC Interior.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Land der Bitterkeit und des Stolzes (1982)
A polemic against Werner Herzog and the making of "Fitzcarraldo", exploring the question of the filmmaker's ethical and moral responsibility.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Button Blanket (2009)
This short impressionist documentary looks at the creation of a Button Blanket by integrating the performance of a traditional dance with the art of the West Coast Heiltsuk Nation.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Wandering Spirit Survival School (1978)
Wandering Spirit School, organized by concerned parents, broke with tradition by introducing subjects that are of particular relevance to its pupils. Traditional Indigenous stories, traditions, languages and crafts balance the program of academic subjects required by the Ontario Ministry of Education. The experience of the children at Wandering Spirit is contrasted with the very different life experienced by their parents, educated in the old residential schools.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
LaDonna Harris: Indian 101 (2014)
A documentary film about Comanche activist LaDonna Harris, who led an extensive life of Native political and social activism, and is now passing on her traditional cultural and leadership values to a new generation of emerging Indigenous leaders.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Nowhere Land (2015)
Documentary about filmmaker Bonnie Ammaaq's memories of life on Baffin Island, where her family moved for eleven years during her childhood from the hamlet of Igloolik to return to the traditional Inuit way of life.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Beyond Being Silenced: Gyaa Isdlaa (2022)
Filmmaker Charles Wilkinson gives viewers an immersive look at that potlatch, a jubilant gathering that finds the members of many Haida clans celebrating the revitalization of their cultural traditions as caretakers of the land.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Gyaangee: Beyond Being Silenced (2023)
Famed Haida artist Robert Davidson carves his latest monumental totem pole and gives a rare insight into the deeper meanings of North Coast Indigenous art works.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like This Was the Time?
The closest matches to This Was the Time are Dawson City: Frozen Time (2017), In the Realms of the Unreal (2004) and Baraka (1992). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after This Was the Time?
Start with Dawson City: Frozen Time (2017), the closest match to This Was the Time.
What is the highest-rated movie like This Was the Time?
Baraka (1992), rated 8.2/10 by 733 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like This Was the Time?
A Toxic Love Story (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like This Was the Time?
Yes: Dawson City: Frozen Time (2017), In the Realms of the Unreal (2004) and Baraka (1992).
How are movies similar to This Was the Time chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside This Was the Time, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.