Movies Similar to Orson Welles: Shadows & Light

Barbra Streisand: Becoming an Icon 1942–1984(2017)

Barbra Streisand grew up in working class Brooklyn, dreaming of escape from her tough childhood. A stellar student, she resisted the pressure to go to college as her sights were firmly set on Broadway. She was determined to become an actress and landed her first role aged 16, but it was two years later, when she started to sing, that her career took off. Subverting stereotypes and breaking glass ceilings, this programme looks at her rise to stardom and the remarkable achievements of her early career.

John Wayne - America at All Costs(2019)

This is the story of a man who climbed the Hollywood ladder, one rung at a time, until he reached the top and became the most popular American actor of his era.

Miss Americana(2020)

A raw and emotionally revealing look at one of the most iconic artists of our time during a transformational period in her life as she learns to embrace her role not only as a songwriter and performer, but as a woman harnessing the full power of her voice.

Beside Bowie - The Mick Ronson Story(2017)

Beside Bowie: The Mick Ronson Story is a documentary about the life and work of Michael "Mick" Ronson, the guitarist, songwriter, producer and arranger who, in the early part of his career, performed with David Bowie as one of the 'Spiders from Mars'.

Spielberg(2017)

A documentary on the life and career of one of the most influential film directors of all time, Steven Spielberg.

I Am Steve McQueen(2014)

A walk through the incredible personal and artistic history of legendary actor, race car driver and cultural icon Steve McQueen (1930-80).

Altman(2014)

Robert Altman's life and career contained multitudes. This father of American independent cinema left an indelible mark, not merely on the evolution of his art form, but also on the western zeitgeist. With its use of rare interviews, representative film clips, archival images, and musings from his family and most recognizable collaborators, Altman is a dynamic and heartfelt mediation on an artist whose expression, passion and appetite knew few bounds.

Jorge Semprún, la plume au poing(2024)

Edith Piaf: A Passionate Life(2004)

This documentary about legendary French chanteuse Edith Piaf begins at her birth (which was helped along by a cop), travels through her turbulent romantic history, follows her to the pinnacle of her success and reports on her death. Piaf was queen of the torch song, her plaintive wail speaking volumes of the tragedy and joy she'd faced. Hers wasn't exactly, in the words of one of her famous songs, "La Vie En Rose," but it was quite a life.

Jag är sån är: En film om Sten Broman(2011)

The well known host and entertainer, but also an eccentric who enjoyed reveal parts of himself on live TV. Behind Sten Broman's colorful costumes and his comic academic comments, there was a complicated picture hidden.

Tony Curtis: Driven to Stardom(2012)

Tony Curtis, the man who influenced Elvis Presley and James Dean. A sex symbol, a matinee idol, a powerful and magnetic actor, Tony Curtis was the original movie star.

El joven Berlanga(2022)

The early days of the future genius of Spanish cinema Luis García Berlanga, from his birth in Valencia in 1921 to his departure to Madrid in 1947 to become a filmmaker.

Florián Rey: Of Light and Shadow(2022)

The life and professional career of the Spanish filmmaker Florián Rey (1894-1962), a brilliant artist who began his career in silent films and had great commercial success during the Second Republic (1931-1936): a journey to the early days of Spanish cinema.

Ady Steg, un parcours juif, une histoire française(2024)

Kinuyo Tanaka, a Woman We Talk About(2022)

This documentary composed of numerous testimonies and archives, filmed in Japan highlights the extraordinary career of the actress-director Kinuyo Tanaka and her singular ambition to impose a female point of view on cinema, reflecting her own vision of the world.

My Best Fiend(1999)

A film that describes the love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.

Khali, La Nouvelle VOIX du Rap Français ! ( documentaire )(2025)

Being Eddie(2025)

From teen comedian to Hollywood legend, Eddie Murphy revisits his extraordinary showbiz ride with raw honesty and humor.

Tati Express(2015)

Tati Express dives into Jacques Tati's films and how they look at a changing world throughout the 20th century. It shows how modernity impacts human-beings and goes through that amazing body of work at 100 mph.

Sœur Sourire: Who Killed the Voice of God?(2021)

1962. A crystalline voice becomes a planetary tube. A Belgian nun jostles Elvis and the Beatles on the world charts. Her name: Sister Smile. A popstar with the trajectory of a comet who understands her success no more than the double meaning of her words… The harder the fall will be. Even God does not protect sharks' appetites or pretenses of success! Who killed the little voice of God? Here is the tragic story of an innocent voice, of an extraordinary fate, almost of a curse ...