Movies Like The Man Who Defied Beijing

If you liked The Man Who Defied Beijing (2019), a documentary and history movie directed by Pierre Haski, 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
Cover-Up (2025)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary and history
He'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.
2
Kubrick by Kubrick (2020)
★ 7.3/10Also documentary and history
American filmmaker Stanley Kubrick (1928–1999), one of the greatest in history, but also one of the most reserved, gave few interviews throughout his long career, and none of them were filmed. A first-person journey…
3
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022)
★ 7.2/10Also documentary
The life of internationally renowned artist and activist Nan Goldin is told through her slideshows, intimate interviews, ground-breaking photography, and rare footage of her personal fight to hold the Sackler family…
4
Mifune: The Last Samurai (2016)
★ 7/10Also documentary and history
An account of the life and work of legendary Japanese actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-97), the most prominent actor of the Golden Age of Japanese cinema.
5
Cameraperson (2016)
★ 6.7/10Also documentary
As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What…
6
Bruce Lee, the Legend (1984)
★ 7.9/10Also documentary
The Official Golden Harvest tribute to the Master of the Martial Arts Film, Bruce Lee.
7
Citizenfour (2014)
★ 7.7/10Also documentary
In June 2013, Laura Poitras and reporter Glenn Greenwald flew to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden. She brought her camera with her.
8
Audrey (2020)
★ 7.1/10Also documentary and history
An unprecedented and intimate look at the life, work and enduring legacy of British actress Audrey Hepburn (1929-1993).
9
Love, Antosha (2019)
★ 7.4/10Also documentary
From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family…
10
Bettie Page Reveals All (2013)
★ 6.8/10Also documentary
The world's greatest pin-up model and cult icon, Bettie Page, recounts the true story of how her free expression overcame government witch-hunts to help launch America's sexual revolution. When she saw the film The…
11
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012)
★ 7.1/10Also documentary
An account of the many tribulations that Chinese artist Ai Weiwei, known for his subversive art and political activism, endured between 2008 and 2011, from his rise to world fame via the Internet to his highly…
12
Everybody’s Everything (2019)
★ 8.4/10Also documentary
The story of artist Lil Peep from his birth in Long Island and meteoric rise as a genre blending pop star & style icon, to his death due to an accidental opioid overdose in Arizona at just 21 years of age.
13
The Lovely Month of May (1963)
★ 8/10Also documentary
Candid interviews of ordinary people on the meaning of happiness, an often amorphous and inarticulable notion that evokes more basic and fundamentally egalitarian ideals of self-betterment, prosperity, tolerance…
14
Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008)
★ 6.4/10Also documentary
Examines the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary director Roman Polanski's sudden flight from the United States.
15
Django & Django: Sergio Corbucci Unchained (2021)
★ 6.9/10Also documentary and history
A tribute to Italian filmmaker Sergio Corbucci (1926-90), presented by American filmmaker Quentin Tarantino.
16
Daguerréotypes (1978)
★ 7.3/10Also documentary
An intimate portrait of the small shops and shopkeepers of the Rue Daguerre in Paris, a picturesque street that has been the filmmaker’s home for more than 50 years.
17
John Candy: I Like Me (2025)
★ 7.9/10Also documentary
Those who knew iconic funnyman John Candy best share his story, in their own words, through never-before-seen archival footage, imagery, and interviews.
18
Jane Fonda in Five Acts (2018)
★ 7.1/10Also documentary
Girl next door, activist, so-called traitor, fitness tycoon, Oscar winner: Jane Fonda has lived a life of controversy, tragedy and transformation – and she's done it all in the public eye. An intimate look at one…
19
Roman Polanski: A Film Memoir (2012)
★ 6.5/10Also documentary
An interview with film director Roman Polanski conducted during his period of house arrest, discussing his life and work.
20
I Am Heath Ledger (2017)
★ 7.4/10Also documentary
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.