Movies like North Faces (1987)
The best movies like North Faces (1987) are The Alpinist (2021), Free Solo (2018) and The Dawn Wall (2017). If North Faces hooked you with its documentary and adventure, these 30 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedThe Dawn Wall (2017)8.0/10 from 378 votes
- NewestThe Bus: A French Football Mutiny (2026)Released 2026
- In FrenchBambi: A Tale of Life in the Woods (2024)Also in French
The Alpinist (2021)
The life of Canadian mountain climber Marc-André Leclerc as he pushes the boundaries of climbing while on an expedition to Patagonia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisFree Solo (2018)
Follow Alex Honnold as he attempts to become the first person to ever free solo climb Yosemite's 3,000 foot high El Capitan wall. With no ropes or safety gear, this would arguably be the greatest feat in rock climbing history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & adventure
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Dawn Wall (2017)
In an unbelievable story of perseverance, free climber Tommy Caldwell and climbing partner Kevin Jorgeson attempt to scale the impossible 3000ft Dawn Wall of El Capitan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & adventure
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisValley Uprising (2014)
In the shady campgrounds of Yosemite valley, climbers carved out a counterculture lifestyle of dumpster-diving and wild parties that clashed with the conservative values of the National Park Service. And up on the walls, generation after generation has pushed the limits of climbing, vying amongst each other for supremacy on Yosemite's cliffs. "Valley Uprising" is the riveting, unforgettable tale of this bold rock climbing tradition in Yosemite National Park: half a century of struggle against the laws of gravity -- and the laws of the land.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMaidentrip (2014)
14-year-old Laura Dekker sets out on a two-year voyage in pursuit of her dream to become the youngest person ever to sail around the world alone.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Art of Flight (2011)
Iconic snowboarder Travis Rice and friends redefine what is possible in the mountains. Experience the highs, as new tricks are landed and new zones opened, alongside the lows, where avalanches, accidents, and wrong-turns strike.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSkyscraper Live (2026)
No ropes. No fear. Free solo legend Alex Honnold risks it all in a high-stakes, live ascent of one of the world's tallest skyscrapers in Taipei, Taiwan.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both adventure & documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisBambi: A Tale of Life in the Woods (2024)
The life of Bambi, a male roe deer, from his birth through childhood, the loss of his mother, the finding of a mate, the lessons he learns from his father, and the experience he gains about the dangers posed by human hunters in the forest.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary & adventure
Popcorn FlickMovies like this14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021)
In 2019, Nepalese mountain climber Nirmal “Nims” Purja set out to do the unthinkable by climbing the world’s fourteen highest summits in less than seven months. (The previous record was eight years). He called the effort “Project Possible 14/7” and saw it as a way to inspire others to strive for greater heights in any pursuit. The film follows his team as they seek to defy naysayers and push the limits of human endurance.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEverest (1998)
An international team of climbers ascends Mt. Everest in the spring of 1996. The film depicts their lengthy preparations for the climb, their trek to the summit, and their successful return to Base Camp. It also shows many of the challenges the group faced, including avalanches, lack of oxygen, treacherous ice walls, and a deadly blizzard.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies like this180° South (2010)
The film follows adventurer Jeff Johnson as he retraces the epic 1968 journey of his heroes Yvon Chouinard and Doug Tompkins to Patagonia.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMeru (2015)
Meru is the electrifying story of three elite American climbers—Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk—bent on achieving the impossible.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRonaldo (2015)
Filmed over 14 months with unprecedented access into the inner circle of the man and the sport, this is the first official and fully authorised film of one of the most celebrated figures in football. For the first time ever, the world gets vividly candid and un-paralleled, behind-closed-doors access to the footballer, father, family-man and friend in this moving & fascinating documentary. Through in-depth conversations, state of the art football footage and never before seen archival footage, the film gives an astonishing insight into the sporting and personal life of triple Ballon D'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo at the peak of his career. From the makers of ‘Senna’ and ‘Amy’, Ronaldo takes audiences on an intimate and revealing journey of what it’s like to live as an iconic athlete in the eye of the storm.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisIcarus (2017)
While investigating the furtive world of illegal doping in sports, director Bryan Fogel connects with renegade Russian scientist Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov—a pillar of his country's "anti-doping" program. Over dozens of Skype calls, urine samples, and badly administered hormone injections, Fogel and Rodchenkov grow closer despite shocking allegations that place Rodchenkov at the center of Russia's state-sponsored Olympic doping program.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisThe Bus: A French Football Mutiny (2026)
This documentary revisits the French football team's controversial 2010 World Cup and the bus strike that sparked global headlines and national outrage.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Popcorn FlickMovies 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 thisLost on Everest (2020)
Reaching 29,029 feet, Mount Everest has long captivated mountaineers of all stripes. But a peak that draws athletes and mountaineers to new heights isn’t without danger — or a dark side. Perhaps the peak’s greatest mystery is the missing body of Andrew “Sandy” Irvine who disappeared alongside George Leigh Mallory in 1924 just 800 vertical feet from the summit. In Lost on Everest, we follow along as a team of elite climbers with new intel on the location of his missing body set out to solve what may be mountaineering’s great mystery. Along with the body, the team hopes to find Irvine’s camera and the footage that could rewrite history.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisMountain (2017)
An epic cinematic and musical collaboration between SHERPA filmmaker Jennifer Peedom and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, that explores humankind's fascination with high places.
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 thisWe Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company (2001)
Over a period of two years, Mark Cowen and his crew travelled to thirty U.S. states and ten European cities, to interview the veterans of Easy Company. The stories told by the veterans themselves, create a history of the Second World War from the point of view of this heroic company of men, made famous in the mini-series Band of Brothers.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers · both documentary
Worth the HypeMovies like thisRock Queen (1998)
Catherine Destivelle has deservedly become the most famous female climber in the world. She rose to prominence with historic climbs, such as the free ascent of the Nameless Tower in Pakistan, and solo winter ascents of the classic north faces of the Matterhorn and the Eiger, climbs that have never been repeated by any woman. She also made history in sport climbing by winning the world championship title. In 1997, this time in Scotland, on the iconic Old Man of Hoy route, opened by Bonington, Patey & Baillie, Martin Belderson crowned Destivelle Queen of the Rock. She was four months pregnant when she made this 137-meter ascent, which was not difficult but on tricky rock.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & adventure
Touching the Void (2003)
The true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous and nearly-fatal mountain climb of 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & adventure
Worth the HypeMovies like thisJoshua Tree: Climb On! Series - Volume I (1999)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & adventure
Bishop: Climb On! Series - Volume II (2000)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & adventure
Las Vegas: Climb On! Series - Volume III (2002)
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & adventure
Asgard Jamming (2009)
Attempt to make the first free climbing of the Mount Asgard.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & documentary
Reel Rock 14 (2019)
In a battle for El Cap’s coveted Nose speed record, rock legends Tommy Caldwell and Alex Honnold go head to head with Yosemite dirtbags Jim Reynolds and Brad Gobright. Highball bouldering ace Nina Williams flexes her guns and tests her nerves well into the no-fall zone. In rural Utah, conservative Mormon coal miners collide with an influx of out-of-town climbers - with surprising results. And two adventurous Brits, Hazel Findlay and Maddy Cope, pursue first ascents in wild and remote Mongolia.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & adventure
Americans on Everest (1965)
"In 1963, Swiss climber Norman Dyhrenfurth began 'a little war against a big mountain.' Leading 19 Americans, 32 Sherpas, and 909 porters carrying 27 tons of gear, Dyhrenfurth spearheaded the highly successful 1963 American Mount Everest Expedition for his adopted country. Jim Whittaker, accompanied by Nawang Gombu Sherpa made the first ascent by the Hillary-Tensing route. On May 22, Tom Hornbein and Willi Unsoeld made the first ascent by the unclimbed West Ridge. They descended by the South Col, making the first traverse of Everest. Orson Welles narrates the spectacular record, and the film includes the first ever filmed images from the summit."
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & adventure
Vertical Sailing Greenland (2011)
A "team of savages," as their boat captain Bob Shepton calls them, comprised of Sean Villanueva O'Driscoll, Olivier Favresse, Nicolas Favresse, and Ben Ditto, set off for Greenland to attempt a first big wall climb. Arriving in Asia by plane, they prepare the sailboat for two months of self-sufficiency. Accompanied by whales, seagulls, and icebergs, they train on various rock faces before beginning their ascent of the seemingly impossible wall. It takes them 11 days to complete the climb, braving bad weather, the rock itself, the wilderness, and three different bivouac sites—all accompanied by music, of course! The return journey is not without its challenges, as they must avoid a cyclone and cross the Atlantic to reach Oben in Scotland.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both adventure & documentary
Cervin 1865, une première tragique (2015)
The first ascent of the Matterhorn was made on July 14, 1865 by Edward Whymper, Francis Douglas, Charles Hudson, Douglas Hadow, Michel Croz and two guides from Zermatt, Peter Taugwalder father and son. Douglas, Hudson, Hadow and Croz are killed on the descent after Hadow slips and drags the other three men down the north face. Whymper and the two Taugwalders, who survive, are later accused of having cut the rope that connected them to the rest of the group so as not to be dragged into the fall, but the ensuing investigation finds no evidence of their guilt and they are acquitted. The Matterhorn is the last great peak in the Alps to be conquered and its ascent marks the end of the golden age of mountaineering. One hundred and fifty years later, a team undertakes the same expedition in order to unravel the mystery.
Why it matches: Similar story and style · both documentary & adventure
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Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like North Faces?
The closest matches to North Faces are The Alpinist (2021), Free Solo (2018) and The Dawn Wall (2017). Below are 27 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after North Faces?
Start with The Alpinist (2021), the closest match to North Faces.
What is the highest-rated movie like North Faces?
The Dawn Wall (2017), rated 8.0/10 by 378 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like North Faces?
The Bus: A French Football Mutiny (2026) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there French movies like North Faces?
Yes: Bambi: A Tale of Life in the Woods (2024), The Bus: A French Football Mutiny (2026) and Vertical Sailing Greenland (2011).
How are movies similar to North Faces chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside North Faces, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.