Movies like 40 Under 40 (2013)
The best movies like 40 Under 40 (2013) are The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019), Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema (2022) and IMAX Hubble (2010). If 40 Under 40 hooked you with its documentary, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedI Am Heath Ledger (2017)7.4/10 from 233 votes
- NewestMy Mom Jayne (2025)Released 2025
The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019)
Go behind the scenes with stars, puppeteers and creators as they bring Jim Henson's magical world of Thra back to life in a sweeping fantasy series.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisGuillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema (2022)
With mesmerizing footage and time lapses of animators at work, this behind-the-scenes special captures the artistry of a unique tale years in the making.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIMAX Hubble (2010)
An IMAX 3D camera chronicles the effort of 7 astronauts aboard the Space Shuttle Atlantis to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisSpider-Man: All Roads Lead to No Way Home (2022)
JB Smoove and Martin Starr host a celebration of 20 years of "Spider-Man" movies, from the Sam Raimi trilogy to Marc Webb's movies and the trio from Jon Watts.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisI Am Heath Ledger (2017)
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisDavid Lynch: The Art Life (2017)
An intimate journey through the formative years of David Lynch's life. From his idyllic upbringing in small town America to the dark streets of Philadelphia, we follow Lynch as he traces the events that have helped to shape one of cinema's most enigmatic directors.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBeyond Infinity: Buzz and the Journey to Lightyear (2022)
Explore the evolution of Buzz Lightyear from toy to human in the making of Pixar’s Lightyear. Dive into the origin and cultural impact of everyone’s favorite Space Ranger, the art of designing a new “human Buzz,” and the challenges faced by the Lightyear crew along the way.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHeart of a Dog (2015)
Musician and performance artist Laurie Anderson reflects on the deaths of her husband Lou Reed, her mother and her beloved dog.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisThe Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020)
A real-life undercover thriller about two ordinary men who embark on an outrageously dangerous ten-year mission to penetrate the world's most secretive and brutal dictatorship: North Korea.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIris (2014)
IRIS pairs legendary 87-year-old documentarian Albert Maysles with Iris Apfel, the quick-witted, flamboyantly dressed 93-year-old style maven who has had an outsized presence on the New York fashion scene for decades. More than a fashion film, the documentary is a story about creativity and how, even in Iris’ dotage, a soaring free spirit continues to inspire. IRIS portrays a singular woman whose enthusiasm for fashion, art and people are life’s sustenance and reminds us that dressing, and indeed life, is nothing but an experiment.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisHarry Potter: A History Of Magic (2017)
A thrilling journey through legends, belief and folklore, this film goes behind the scenes with the British Library as they search to tell that story through objects in their collection, in an ambitious new exhibition: Harry Potter: A History Of Magic. J.K. Rowling, who is lending unseen manuscripts, drawings and drafts from her private archives (which will sit alongside treasures from the British Library, as well as original drafts and drawings from Jim Kay) talks about some of the personal items she has lent to the exhibition and gives new insight into her writing, looking at some of the objects from the exhibition that have fired her imagination.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMy Mom Jayne (2025)
Through deeply personal interviews with her siblings and an examination of the photographs, letters, and belongings left behind, Mariska assembles a new portrait of her mother Jayne Mansfield, an extraordinary and complex woman.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisA LEGO Brickumentary (2014)
A look at the global culture and appeal of the LEGO building-block toys.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
SnoozefestMovies like thisNothing Like a Dame (2018)
BBC Arena's documentary on the Dames of British Theatre and film featuring Maggie Smith, Eileen Atkins, Judi Dench and Joan Plowright on screen together for the first time as they reminisce over a long summer weekend in a house Joan once shared with Sir Laurence Olivier.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisA Love Song for Latasha (2019)
A dreamlike conversation with the past and the present, reimagining Latasha Harlins' story by excavating intimate memories shared by those who loved her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisObjectified (2009)
A feature-length documentary about our complex relationship with manufactured objects and, by extension, the people who design them.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies 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 thisScotty and the Secret History of Hollywood (2018)
A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisKa Ho‘ina: Going Home (2014)
Ka Hoʻina documents members of Hui Mālama I Nā Kūpuna O Hawaiʻi Nei's final repatriation of over 140 sets of iwi kupuna and provides an intimate look into the legacy forged by these committed and passionate few, ensuring that Hawaiians will mālama or care for kupuna for generations to come.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Religulous (2008)
Commentator-comic Bill Maher plays devil's advocate with religion as he talks to believers about their faith. Traveling around the world, Maher examines the tenets of Christianity, Judaism and Islam and raises questions about homosexuality, proof of Christ's existence, Jewish Sabbath laws, violent Muslim extremists.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Sun and Richard Lippold (1966)
Documentary examining the work of sculptor Richard Lippold, particular his sculpture of the sun at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Leninland (2013)
At the peak of Perestroika, in 1987, in the village of Gorki, where Lenin spent his last years, after a long construction, the last and most grandiose museum of the Leader was opened. Soon after the opening, the ideology changed, and the flow of pilgrims gradually dried up. Despite this, the museum still works and the management is looking for ways to attract visitors. Faithful to the Lenin keepers of the museum as they can resist the onset of commercialization. The film tells about the modern life of this amazing museum-reserve and its employees.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Another Man’s Treasure (TBA)
One man's hat is another man's treasure when it comes to the importance and significance of saving items of historic value.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Where (2022)
The ninth opus of his Walker Films series, which was shot at Centre Pompidou.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Where We Goin?: The Power of Place (2025)
Devin Boss is on a quest. And he wants you to join him as he explores this simple question: Where We Goin? A millennial Black filmmaker and artist raised in the heart of the whitest city in America, Portland, OR, Boss ventures out to uncover the deeper truths that have shaped not just his city — but his very identity. Boss invites us all along for the ride as he explores the work of Black creatives, cultural stewards and changemakers - past and present - snatching the narratives back, about community resilience and innovation as he examines his roots, to dream of what’s next for him, and all the future ancestors.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
Stone and bag (2024)
The film delves into the work processes of an archaeological team from the Aranzadi Science Society at the San Adrián Tunnel site. Interspersing this observation with archival materials, the film explores the relationships between archaeology and museography, as well as the different ways in which these two practices produce the displacement of objects.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like 40 Under 40?
The closest matches to 40 Under 40 are The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019), Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema (2022) and IMAX Hubble (2010). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after 40 Under 40?
Start with The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019), the closest match to 40 Under 40.
What is the highest-rated movie like 40 Under 40?
I Am Heath Ledger (2017), rated 7.4/10 by 233 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like 40 Under 40?
My Mom Jayne (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like 40 Under 40?
Yes: The Crystal Calls - Making The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance (2019), Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio: Handcarved Cinema (2022) and IMAX Hubble (2010).
How are movies similar to 40 Under 40 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside 40 Under 40, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.