Movies like American Grindhouse (2011)
The best movies like American Grindhouse (2011) are Popcorn Porn: Watching 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno' (2009), A Fuller Life (2013) and Universal Horror (1998). If American Grindhouse hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedHearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)7.9/10 from 445 votes
- NewestYou Don't Nomi (2021)Released 2021
Popcorn Porn: Watching 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno' (2009)
The making of Kevin Smith's film, Zack and Miri Make a Porno.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
A Fuller Life (2013)
Friends and admirers of iconoclastic film director Sam Fuller read from his memoirs in this unconventional documentary directed by Fuller's only child, Samantha.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Universal Horror (1998)
A documentary about the era of classic monster movies that were made at Universal Studios during the 1930s and 1940s.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Making Dazed (2005)
This documentary reunites the cast of the 1993 film "Dazed and Confused", and features behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the film. A decade after the hit comedy's release, director Richard Linklater reunited the cast -- Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, Parker Posey and Adam Goldberg -- to celebrate the ten year anniversary of the film that helped launch their careers. Now you can watch the cast look back on the movie that changed their lives and on the decade that has passed since.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
QT8: The First Eight (2019)
A detailed account of the life and artistic career of legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, from his early days as a video club manager to the scandalous fall in disgrace of producer Harvey Weinstein. A story about how to shoot eight great movies and become an icon of modern pop culture.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBlood & Flesh: The Reel Life & Ghastly Death of Al Adamson (2019)
Brought to life through archival material and the reflections of over 40 colleagues, friends and fans, BLOOD & FLESH is much more than the story of a moviemaking life most unusual. It beautifully captures the worlds of outsider filmmaker communities that existed in California in the ’70s, and the weird ways they intersected with Hollywood mainstream and union indies. On Adamson shoots, regular Orson Welles crew and cinematographers like Gary Graver, Vilmos Szigmond and Lazlo Kovaks worked alongside Bud Cardos — and at one point, Charles Manson! Director David Gregory (founder of Severin Films, director of LOST SOUL: THE DOOMED JOURNEY OF RICHARD STANLEY’S ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU) spent years making this film, speaking to everyone down to the cops who investigated Adamson’s murder, vividly encapsulating both a bold life and tragic demise, with alien conspiracies, go-go dancers and Colonel Sanders coming in along the way. If you’ve got even a passing interest in cinema, you want to see this
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Machete Maidens Unleashed! (2010)
In the final decades of the 20th century, the Philippines was a country where low-budget exploitation-film producers were free to make nearly any kind of movie they wanted, any way they pleased. It was a country with extremely lax labor regulations and a very permissive attitude towards cultural expression. As a result, it became a hotbed for the production of cheapie movies. Their history and the genre itself are detailed in this breezy, nostalgic documentary.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKing Cohen: The Wild World of Filmmaker Larry Cohen (2018)
A feature-length documentary focusing on the acclaimed work and eclectic career of maverick filmmaker Larry Cohen, writer-director of "Black Caesar," "It's Alive," "God Told Me To," "Q," "The Stuff," and many more.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Jodorowsky Constellation (1994)
This documentary depicts the filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky talking about his life, his loves, his career as a filmmaker, graphic novelist, and workshop leader, and his eccentricities including tarot reader and theatrical director during The Panic Movement. Directed by Louis Mouchet, La Constellation Jodorowsky includes a lengthy on-camera interview with Jodorowsky in Spanish with subtitles. Marcel Marceau, Fernando Arrabal, Peter Gabriel, Jean "Moebius" Giraud, and Jean Pierre Vignau make appearances discussing their various projects with the director. In addition to the interview and film clips, Mouchet features some bizarre footage from Jodorowsky’s absurdist plays in which topless women splattered with paint writhe around the stage in a theatrical production meant to represent The Panic Movement, i.e., an artistic expression in which reason cannot fully express the human experience.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
De Palma (2016)
An intimate conversation between filmmakers, chronicling De Palma’s 55-year career, his life, and his filmmaking process, with revealing anecdotes and, of course, a wealth of film clips.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSearching for Debra Winger (2002)
Rosanna Arquette talks to various actresses about the pressures they face as women working in the entertainment industry.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
The Dying of the Light (2015)
Loving documentary about the invisible hand that brings light in the cinema: the projectionist. Momentarily, his booth is at the centre of this film, which primarily looks back on the time when you could still touch film images. "Do pay attention to that man behind the curtain!"
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story (2007)
Chronicles the last great American showman, filmmaker William Castle, a master of ballyhoo who became a brand name in movie horror with his outrageous audience participation gimmicks.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
That's Sexploitation! (2013)
Before the advent of modern-day pornography, a vast and rapidly-paced world of smut peddling was the norm, complete with its own secret history. This documentary reveals the untold story of American cinema's gloriously sordid cinematic past. Starting in the 1920s, expert exploiteer David F. Friedman and Henenlotter navigate us through more than five salacious decades of skin flicks. It's the true story of dirty movies, traced in elegant detail from the bizarre locations where these nudie shorts were screened to the ongoing legal battles fought by their promoters. And of course there are the stories of the innovators themselves, people who often risked their own security and livelihood to make these films, believing in some way that what they were doing wasn't a 'bad' thing - and that it could rake in some dough.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue (2009)
An exploration of the appeal of horror films, with interviews of many legendary directors in the genre.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisIt Came from Hollywood (1982)
Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Gilda Radner and Cheech and Chong present this compilation of classic bad films from the 50's, 60's and 70's. Special features on gorilla pictures, anti-marijuana films and a special tribute to the worst film maker of all-time, Ed Wood.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Going to Pieces: The Rise and Fall of the Slasher Film (2006)
This historical and critical look at slasher films, which includes dozens of clips, begins with Halloween, Friday the 13th, and Prom Night. The films' directors, writers, producers, and special effects creators comment on the films' making and success. During the Reagan years, the films get gorier, budgets get smaller, and their appeal wanes. Then, Nightmare on Elm Street revives the genre. Jump to the late 90s, when Scream brings humor and TV stars into the mix.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisNever Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy (2010)
For decades, Freddy Krueger has slashed his way through the dreams of countless youngsters, scaring up over half a billion dollars at the box office across eight terrifying, spectacular films.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisElectric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)
A documentary about the rise and fall of the Cannon Film Group, the legendary independent film company helmed by Israeli cousins Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkin: A History of Nudity in the Movies (2020)
The definitive documentary on the history of nudity in feature films from the early silent days to the present, studying the changes in morality that led to the use of nudity in films while emphasizing the political, sociological and artistic changes that shaped that history. Skin will also study the gender inequality in presenting nude images in motion pictures and will follow the revolution that has created nude gender equality in feature films today.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEasy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)
The chronicle of the mind-blowing journey that was Hollywood during the seventies; the true and gripping story of the last golden age of American cinema, an exalted celebration of creativity and experimentation; but also of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll: a turbulent and dark tale of ambition, envy, betrayal, hatred and self-destruction.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)
A chronicle of the production problems — including bad weather, actors' health, war near the filming locations, and more — which plagued the filming of Apocalypse Now, increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of Francis Ford Coppola.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisMaking 'Taxi Driver' (1999)
A behind the scenes snapshot of the making of one of the greatest films ever made. Filled with trivia, interviews from cast and crew, and more.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Corman's World (2011)
A chronicle of the long career of American filmmaker Roger Corman, the most tenacious and ingenious low-budget producer and director in the US film industry, a pioneer of independent filmmaking and discoverer of new talent.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBack Issues: The Hustler Magazine Story (2014)
Back Issues is the definitive documentary of porn magazine Hustler, from its nightclub inception as it adapts to pornography in the 21st century. Director Michael Lee Nirenberg's father was was one of the original art directors in the 1970s and 80s. Back Issues is a complete look at the personalities and features that made this the most offensive magazine of all time. The story is told by its publisher as well as the editors, cartoonists, models, attorneys, art directors and cultural figures for the first time ever.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)
Kirby Dick's provocative documentary investigates the secretive and inconsistent process by which the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) rates films, revealing the organization's underhanded efforts to control culture. Dick questions whether certain studios get preferential treatment and exposes the discrepancies in how the MPAA views sex and violence.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisYou Don't Nomi (2021)
Released in 1995, Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls was met by critics and audiences with near universal derision. You Don't Nomi traces the film's redemptive journey from notorious flop to cult classic, and maybe even masterpiece.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
A Decade Under the Influence (2003)
A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisCinemania (2003)
This documentary about the culture of intense cinephilia in New York City reveals the impassioned world of five obsessed movie buffs. These human encyclopedias of cinema see two to five films a day, and from 600 to 2,000 films per year. This is the story of their lives, their memories, their unbending habits and the films they love.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisPorn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy (2001)
Porn Star: The Legend of Ron Jeremy offers audiences a penetrating look inside the world of Ron Jeremy, America's most unlikely sex star and hero to millions. With nearly 25 years in the adult film industry and over 1,600 films to his credit, Ron Jeremy is huge. In his world, Ron reigns supreme-he's made millions of dollars and slept with thousands of beautiful women, and is indisputably the industry's biggest star. And everyone who's anyone knows Ron-a pop icon to millions, he is a beacon of hope for many American male, since he stands as living proof that pretty much anyone can get some. So how did such a classically unhandsome, big and hairy guy ever get to be suchia super stud? In one of the most fascinating and entertaining comedies of the last year, audiences finally get a chance to get inside the life and times of Ron Jeremy, and find out what's really behind the hardest working man in show business.
Why it matches: Fans watch both · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like American Grindhouse?
The closest matches to American Grindhouse are Popcorn Porn: Watching 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno' (2009), A Fuller Life (2013) and Universal Horror (1998). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after American Grindhouse?
People who watched American Grindhouse most often go on to Popcorn Porn: Watching 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno' (2009), A Fuller Life (2013) and Universal Horror (1998).
What is the highest-rated movie like American Grindhouse?
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991), rated 7.9/10 by 445 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like American Grindhouse?
You Don't Nomi (2021) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like American Grindhouse?
Yes: Popcorn Porn: Watching 'Zack and Miri Make a Porno' (2009), A Fuller Life (2013) and Universal Horror (1998).
How are movies similar to American Grindhouse chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside American Grindhouse, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.