Movies Like While They Watched
If you liked While They Watched (2015), a documentary and history movie directed by Jake J. Smith, 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
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.
- 2
The Mole: Undercover in North Korea (2020)
★ 7.1/10Also documentaryA 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.
- 3
Fuck (2006)
★ 6.4/10Also documentaryA documentary on the expletive's origin, why it offends some people so deeply, and what can be gained from its use.
- 4
Room 237 (2012)
★ 6.1/10Also documentaryA subjective documentary that explores various theories about hidden meanings in Stanley Kubrick's classic film The Shining. Five very different points of view are illuminated through voice over, film clips, animation…
- 5
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.
- 6
Visions of Light (1992)
★ 7/10Also documentary and historyCameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes…
- 7
The Soviet Story (2008)
★ 7.3/10Also documentary and history“The Soviet Story” is a story of an Allied power, which helped the Nazis to fight Jews and which slaughtered its own people on an industrial scale. Assisted by the West, this power triumphed on May 9th, 1945. Its…
- 8
The Age of Stupid (2009)
★ 6.6/10Also documentary and historyPete Postlethwaite stars as a man living alone in the devastated future world of 2055, looking at old footage from 2008 and asking: why didn’t we stop climate change when we had the chance?
- 9
Directed by John Ford (1971)
★ 7/10Also documentaryA documentary about the life and films of director John Ford.
- 10
Cover-Up (2025)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary and historyHe's devoted his career to uncovering stories the powerful want buried. From My Lai to Abu Ghraib, dig into the life's work of journalist Seymour Hersh.
- 11
As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)
★ 7.8/10Also documentaryA compilation of over 30 years of private home movie footage shot by Lithuanian-American avant-garde director Jonas Mekas, assembled by Mekas "purely by chance", without concern for chronological order.
- 12
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.
- 13
Avatar: The Deep Dive - A Special Edition of 20/20 (2022)
★ 7.2/10Also documentaryAn inside look at one of the most anticipated movie sequels ever with James Cameron and cast.
- 14
Naqoyqatsi (2002)
★ 6.2/10Also documentaryA visual montage portrait of our contemporary world dominated by globalized technology and violence.
- 15
Beyond Utopia (2023)
★ 7.7/10Also documentary and historyA courageous pastor uses his underground network to rescue and aid North Korean families as they risk their lives to embrace freedom.
- 16
Come See Me in the Good Light (2025)
★ 7.1/10Also documentaryIn 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.
- 17
The Mystery of D.B. Cooper (2020)
★ 6.3/10Also documentary and historyThis documentary brings to life the stories of four people believed by their family and friends to be “DB Cooper,” a man who hijacked a 727 flying out of Seattle and jumped from the plane over the wilds of Washington…
- 18
Above Majestic (2018)
★ 7.4/10Also documentaryA look at the origins, history and conspiracies behind the "Majestic 12", a clandestine group of military and corporate figureheads charged with reverse-engineering extraterrestrial technology.
- 19
A Toxic Love Story (2026)
★ 6.4/10Also documentaryA string of threatening emails escalates into a revenge plot involving a newly married US marshal and his ex-girlfriend.
- 20
Anna Nicole Smith: You Don't Know Me (2023)
★ 6.1/10Also documentaryFrom the heights of her modeling fame to her tragic death, this documentary reveals Anna Nicole Smith through the eyes of the people closest to her.