Movies Like Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
If you liked Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession (2004), a history and documentary movie directed by Xan Cassavetes, 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

Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off (2022)
★ 7.7/10Also documentaryA wide-ranging, definitive look at Hawk’s life and iconic career, and his relationship with the sport with which he’s been synonymous for decades, featuring unprecedented access, never-before-seen footage, and…
- 2

QT8: The First Eight (2019)
★ 7.2/10Also documentaryA 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…
- 3

Disclosure (2020)
★ 7.8/10Also documentaryAn investigation of how Hollywood's fabled stories have deeply influenced how Americans feel about transgender people, and how transgender people have been taught to feel about themselves.
- 4

Matangi / Maya / M.I.A. (2018)
★ 7.5/10Also documentaryDrawn from a never before seen cache of personal footage spanning decades, this is an intimate portrait of the Sri Lankan artist and musician who continues to shatter conventions.
- 5

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…
- 6

For Sama (2019)
★ 8.2/10Also documentaryA love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all…
- 7

The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)
★ 6.6/10Also documentaryDocumentary about legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans, based on his famous 1994 autobiography.
- 8

Night Will Fall (2014)
★ 7.6/10Also documentaryWhen Allied forces liberated the Nazi concentration camps in 1944-45, their terrible discoveries were recorded by army and newsreel cameramen, revealing for the first time the full horror of what had happened. Making…
- 9

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
★ 6.8/10Also documentaryAn exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Aerosmith…
- 10

One More Time with Feeling (2016)
★ 7.8/10Also documentaryAndrew Dominik's One More Time With Feeling is a remarkable black and white documentary which chronicles the creation of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds' album Skeleton Tree. Originally a performance based concept, the film…
- 11

Belushi (2020)
★ 7/10Also documentaryUsing previously unheard audiotapes recorded shortly after John Belushi’s death, director R.J. Cutler’s documentary feature examines the too-short life of the once-in-a-generation talent who captured the hearts and…
- 12

One Child Nation (2019)
★ 7.2/10Also documentaryThrough interviews with both victims and instigators, Nanfu Wang, a first-time mother, breaks open decades of silence on a vast, unprecedented social experiment that shaped — and destroyed — countless lives in China.
- 13

Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (2015)
★ 6.6/10Also documentaryWhen Steve Jobs died the world wept. But what accounted for the grief of millions of people who didn’t know him? This evocative film navigates Jobs' path from a small house in the suburbs, to zen temples in Japan, to…
- 14

Hated: GG Allin and The Murder Junkies (1993)
★ 6.6/10Also documentaryAn overview of the life of the most shocking, vile, and notorious of punk rock legends.
- 15

Client 9: The Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer (2010)
★ 6.2/10Also documentaryAn in-depth look at the rapid rise and dramatic fall of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer.
- 16

Zero Days (2016)
★ 7.4/10Also documentaryAlex Gibney explores the phenomenon of Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus discovered in 2010 by international IT experts. Evidently commissioned by the US and Israeli governments, this malware was designed to…
- 17

Squaring the Circle (The Story of Hipgnosis) (2023)
★ 7.4/10Also documentaryIn 1968, art students Storm Thorgerson and Aubrey “Po” Powell made a trippy photo collage for their musician friends Syd, David and Roger. The resulting album and album cover, A Saucerful of Secrets, helped launch two…
- 18

Generation Wealth (2018)
★ 6.4/10Also documentaryOver the past 25 years, Lauren Greenfield's documentary photography and film projects have explored youth culture, gender, body image, and affluence. Underscoring the ever-increasing gap between the haves and the…
- 19

Facing Ali (2009)
★ 7.3/10Also documentaryTen of Muhammad Ali's former rivals pay tribute to the three-time world heavyweight champion.
- 20

Style Wars (1984)
★ 7.5/10Also documentaryTony Silver and Henry Chalfant's PBS documentary tracks the rise and fall of subway graffiti in New York in the late 1970s and early 1980s.