Movies Like 1939-1940: A Strange Defeat
If you liked 1939-1940: A Strange Defeat (2026), a documentary and history movie directed by Antoine Vitkine, here are 20 movies with a similar feel, based on TMDB's recommendations. Each one links to its cast, trailer and where it's streaming.
- 1
Shoah (1985)
★ 8.2/10Also documentary and historyDirector Claude Lanzmann spent 11 years on this sprawling documentary about the Holocaust, conducting his own interviews and refusing to use a single frame of archival footage. Dividing Holocaust witnesses into three…
- 2
WWII From Space (2012)
★ 7.4/10Also documentary and historyWWII from Space delivers World War II in a way you've never experienced it before. This HISTORY special uses an all-seeing CGI eye that offers a satellite view of the conflict, allowing you to experience it in a way…
- 3
Why We Fight: Prelude to War (1942)
★ 6.4/10Also documentary and warPrelude 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…
- 4
2000 Meters to Andriivka (2025)
★ 8.1/10Also documentary and warAmid the failing counteroffensive, a journalist follows a Ukrainian platoon on their mission to traverse one mile of heavily fortified forest and liberate a strategic village from Russian occupation. But the farther…
- 5
The Bloody Hundredth (2024)
★ 7.2/10Also war and documentaryMeet the real-life airmen who inspired Masters of the Air as they share the harrowing and transformative events of the 100th Bomb Group.
- 6
Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)
★ 6.9/10Also documentary and historyThe history of cinematic sound, told by legendary sound designers and visionary filmmakers.
- 7
The Extraordinary Voyage (2011)
★ 7.7/10Also documentary and historyAn account of the extraordinary life of film pioneer Georges Méliès (1861-1938) and the amazing story of the copy in color of his masterpiece A Trip to the Moon (1902), unexpectedly found in Spain and restored thanks…
- 8
The Atomic Cafe (1982)
★ 7.3/10Also documentary and historyA disturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.
- 9
Audrey (2020)
★ 7.1/10Also documentary and historyAn unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
- 10
Lumière! (2016)
★ 7.8/10Also documentary and historyA collection of restored prints from the Lumière Brothers.
- 11
9/11: Inside the President's War Room (2021)
★ 6.9/10Also documentary and historyExperience the events of September 11, 2001 through the eyes of President Bush and his closest advisors as they personally detail the crucial hours and key decisions from that historic day.
- 12
The War Room (1993)
★ 6.8/10Also documentary and historyA behind-the-scenes documentary about the Clinton for President campaign, focusing on the adventures of spin doctors James Carville and George Stephanopoulos.
- 13
Red Army (2015)
★ 7.4/10Also documentary and historyA documentary highlighting the Soviet Union's legendary and enigmatic hockey training culture and world-dominating team through the eyes of the team's Captain Slava Fetisov, following his shift from hockey star and…
- 14
Titanic: 20 Years Later with James Cameron (2017)
★ 6.6/10Also documentary and historyFor the 20th anniversary of "Titanic," James Cameron reopens the file on the disaster.
- 15
To End All War: Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb (2023)
★ 7.7/10Also documentary and historyExplore how one man's relentless drive and invention of the atomic bomb changed the nature of war forever, led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and unleashed mass hysteria.
- 16
Zeitgeist: The Movie (2007)
★ 7/10Also documentary and historyA documentary examining possible historical and modern conspiracies surrounding Christianity, the 9/11 terrorist attacks, and the Federal Reserve bank.
- 17
The Unknown Known (2013)
★ 6.8/10Also documentary and historyFormer United States Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld discusses his career in Washington D.C. from his days as a congressman in the early 1960s to planning the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
- 18
Five Broken Cameras (2011)
★ 7.5/10Also war and documentaryFive broken cameras – and each one has a powerful tale to tell. Embedded in the bullet-ridden remains of digital technology is the story of Emad Burnat, a farmer from the Palestinian village of Bil’in, which famously…
- 19
The Untold History Of The United States (2012)
★ 8.2/10Also documentary and historyOliver Stone charts the history of the United States from the Second World War to the present.
- 20
Apollo: Missions to the Moon (2019)
★ 7.3/10Also documentary and historyNational Geographic's riveting effort recounts all 12 crewed missions using only archival footage, photos and audio.