Movies Like The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young (2014)

The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young is a 2014 documentary, history film from Annika Iltis with a MovieMagicScore of 7.4/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with They Shoot Horses, Don't They? and Free Fall.

Documentary History

They Shoot Horses, Don't They?

1969

In the midst of the Great Depression, manipulative emcee Rocky enlists contestants for a dance marathon offering a $1,500 cash prize. Among them are a failed actress, a middle-aged sailor, a delusional blonde and a pregnant girl.

7.6

MagicScore

Free Fall

2013

A promising career with the police, a baby on the way... Marc's life seems to be right on track. Then he meets fellow policeman Kay and during their regular jogs Marc experiences a never-before-felt sense of ease and effortlessness – and what it means to fall in love with another man.

7.7

MagicScore

When We Were Kings

1996

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

7.6

MagicScore

The Endurance

2000

Documentary on the Shackleton Antartic expedition. A retelling of Sir Ernest Shackleton's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica in and the crew of his vessel 'The Endurance', which was trapped in the ice floes and frigid open ocean of the Antarctic in 1914. Shackleton decided, with many of his crew injured and weak from exposure and starvation, to take a team of his fittest men and attempt to find help. Setting out in appalling conditions with hopelessly inadequate equipment, they endured all weather and terrain and finally reached safety. Persuading a local team of his confidence that the abandoned team would still be alive, he set out again to find them. After almost 2 years trapped on the ice, all members of the crew were finally rescued.

6.9

MagicScore

Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary

1997

Filmmaker S.R. Bindler profiles Texas contestants trying to win a truck by keeping one hand on it longer than everyone else.

7.5

MagicScore

Boston

2017

The history of the Boston Marathon from its humble origins starting with only 15 runners, to the first female runners, through the tragedy in 2013, and ultimately the triumph of 2014.

7.6

MagicScore

Lorena: Light-Footed Woman

2019

A young woman of the Tarahumara, well-known for their extraordinary long distance running abilities, wins ultramarathons seemingly out of nowhere despite running in sandals.

6.7

MagicScore

Dangal

2016

Dangal is an extraordinary true story based on the life of Mahavir Singh and his two daughters, Geeta and Babita Phogat. The film traces the inspirational journey of a father who trains his daughters to become world class wrestlers.

7.9

MagicScore

Bite the Bullet

1975

At the beginning of the 20th century, a newspaper organizes an endurance horse race : 700 miles to run in a few days. 9 adventurers are competing, among them a woman, Miss Jones, a Mexican, an Englishman, a young cow-boy, an old one and two friends, Sam Clayton and Luke Matthews. All those individualists will learn to respect each other.

6.4

MagicScore

#10

12 Feet Deep

2018

Two sisters are trapped under the fiberglass cover of an Olympic sized public pool and must brave the cold and each other to survive the harrowing night.

6.0

MagicScore

#11

Winning

1969

Frank Capua is a rising star on the race circuit who dreams of winning the big one - the Indianapolis 500. But to get there he runs the risk of losing his wife Elora to his rival, Luther Erding, and strains the relationship with his stepson.

5.9

MagicScore

#12

Marathon

2005

Cho-won is an autistic but happy young man who loves to draw zebras and run. His mother wants him to feel normal by accomplishing a feat that no one thought his son could achieve. With the help of a coach in exile, she trains him to become a marathon runner.

7.3

MagicScore

#13

The Robber

2010

A champion marathoner leads a double life as a serial bank robber, sprinting between fixes (and away from police cavalcades) as many as three times a day.

6.5

MagicScore

#14

Run Fatboy Run

2007

Five years after jilting his pregnant fiancée on their wedding day, out-of-shape Dennis decides to run a marathon to win her back.

6.2

MagicScore

#15

Samurai Marathon

2019

When feudal lord Itakura Katsuakira decides to prepare his samurai troops for the onslaught of modernization by having them compete in a marathon, his independent-minded daughter Yuki secretly joins the race.

6.0

MagicScore

#16

Stockholm Marathon

1994

A gardener decides to exact revenge on the men he believes to be responsible for the death of his mentally disturbed wife.

5.0

MagicScore

#17

Office Race

2023

An unambitious office worker goes to great lengths—specifically 26.2 miles—to one up his exercise-obsessed, micromanaging boss.

4.9

MagicScore

#18

Dances with Wolves

1990

Wounded Civil War soldier John Dunbar tries to commit suicide—and becomes a hero instead. As a reward, he's assigned to his dream post, a remote junction on the Western frontier, and soon makes unlikely friends with the local Sioux tribe.

7.8

MagicScore

#19

Wild River

1960

A young bureaucrat for the Tennessee Valley Authority goes to rural Tennessee to oversee the building of a dam. He encounters opposition from the local people, in particular a farmer who objects to his employment (with pay) of local black laborers. Much of the plot revolves around the eviction of a stubborn octogenarian from her home on an island in the river, and the young man's love affair with that woman's widowed granddaughter. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation.

7.2

MagicScore

#20

Where the Heart Is

2000

Novalee Nation is a 17-year-old Tennessee transient who has to grow up in a hurry when she's left pregnant and abandoned by her boyfriend on a roadside, and takes refuge in the friendly aisles of Wal-Mart. Eventually, some eccentric but kindly strangers 'adopt' Novalee and her infant daughter, helping them buck the odds and build a new life.

7.1

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young?

The top films similar to The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young by MovieMagicScore are They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (7.6), Free Fall (7.7), When We Were Kings (7.6). Each shares documentary/history themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young worth watching?

The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young holds a MovieMagicScore of 7.4/10 from 112 viewer ratings, putting it among the better-reviewed titles in its genre.

What kind of movie is The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young?

The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young (2014) is a documentary, history film directed by Annika Iltis, starring Lazarus Lake, Jared Campbell.

Where can I find more recommendations like The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young?

Browse the full ranked list above, or explore more documentary recommendations on MovieMagicScore, where every list is ordered by genuine viewer ratings.

Keep exploring

Movies like They Shoot Horses, Don't They?Movies like Free Fall Movies like When We Were Kings Movies like The Endurance Movies like Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary Movies like Boston

About movies like The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young

This ranked list pairs The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young (2014), a documentary and history film from Annika Iltis, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Lazarus Lake take note). Unlike critic-driven sites, every position here is ordered by MovieMagicScore — a rating built only from real viewers, with no studio marketing or paid placement. Scores update as more people rate, so the list stays current.

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