Movies Like Circus of Books (2019)

Circus of Books is a 2019 documentary, history film from Rachel Mason with a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10. Here are 20 similar films, ranked by real viewer ratings — starting with Milk and Stonewall.

Documentary History

Milk

2008

The true story of Harvey Milk, the first openly gay man ever elected to public office. In San Francisco in the late 1970s, Harvey Milk becomes an activist for gay rights and inspires others to join him in his fight for equal rights that should be available to all Americans.

7.2

MagicScore

Stonewall

2015

Kicked out by his parents, a gay teenager leaves small-town Indiana for New York's Greenwich Village, where growing discrimination against the gay community leads to riots on June 28, 1969.

6.0

MagicScore

Going Down in La-La Land

2011

A fresh face comes to Hollywood to act in movies but only the gay porn studios are eager to provide him with work.

5.7

MagicScore

Hustler White

1996

Reminiscent of Sunset Boulevard, the action is transposed from the silver screen's old backlots to contemporary male prostitution and the pornographic industry.

5.2

MagicScore

The Times of Harvey Milk

1984

Harvey Milk was an outspoken human rights activist and one of the first openly gay U.S. politicians elected to public office; even after his assassination in 1978, he continues to inspire disenfranchised people around the world.

7.2

MagicScore

Gay Sex in the 70s

2005

A chronicle of gay culture in New York during the post-Stonewall, pre-AIDs era. Thirteen men and one woman look back at gay life and sex in Manhattan and Fire Island - from Stonewall (June, 1969) to the first reporting on AIDS (June, 1981). They describe the rapid move from repression to celebration, from the removal of shame to joy, the on-going search for "someone," the freedom before AIDS, the friendships, and brotherhood.

6.0

MagicScore

Welcome to Chechnya

2020

This searing investigative work shadows a group of activists risking unimaginable peril to confront the ongoing anti-LGBTQ program raging in the repressive and closed Russian republic. Unfettered access and a remarkable approach to protecting anonymity exposes this under-reported atrocity–and an extraordinary group of people confronting evil.

6.8

MagicScore

How to Survive a Plague

2012

A story of two coalitions – ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) – whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition. Despite having no scientific training, these self-made activists infiltrated the pharmaceutical industry and helped identify promising new drugs, moving them from experimental trials to patients in record time.

6.8

MagicScore

Dance of the Forty One

2020

Mexico City, November 1901. The police raid a private home where a secret party is being held. Among those attending is the son-in-law of President Porfirio Díaz.

7.8

MagicScore

#10

The Trials of Oscar Wilde

1960

England, 1890s. The brutal and embittered Marquis of Queensberry, who believes that his youngest son, Bosie, has an inappropriate relationship with the famous Irish writer Oscar Wilde, maintains an ongoing feud with the latter in order to ruin his reputation and cause his fall from grace.

6.3

MagicScore

#11

Wedding Wars

2006

In the midst of organizing his brother Ben's wedding, Shel, a gay party planner, decides to go on strike for equal rights when he learns that Ben is behind a political speech against gay marriage.

5.4

MagicScore

#12

Oy Vey! My Son Is Gay!

2010

Nelson and Angelo, a gay couple, decide to come out to their parents. However, when they do so, their parents find it difficult to cope with the news.

4.9

MagicScore

#13

I'm a Porn Star: Gay 4 Pay

2016

Welcome to the curious, surprising and always outspoken world of straight men who go Gay4Pay. Curiously, there is a disproportionate percentage of men working in gay porn who identify as straight. Why would a straight man do gay porn? What motivates him to try this or make a career of it? Why is there such keen interest and debate into the sexuality and personal lives of these men? And what does it say about us, the viewer that so much of gay porn is dominated by images of straight men?

6.9

MagicScore

#14

I'm a Porn Star

2013

I'm a Porn Star follows the lives of guys in the neighborhood who are likely a lot more famous than you - at least on the Internet. There are an estimated 370 million pornographic websites on-line. Porn is now a thirteen BILLION dollar business. So who's doing all this moonlighting? Turns out -- probably some people you know.

5.8

MagicScore

#15

Love on the Run

1979

Antoine is now 30, working as a proofreader and getting divorced from his wife. It's the first "no-fault" divorce in France and a media circus erupts, dredging up Antoine's past. Indecisive about his new love with a store clerk, he impulsively takes off with an old flame.

7.0

MagicScore

#16

Tom of Finland

2017

Touko Laaksonen, a decorated officer, returns home after a harrowing and heroic experience serving his country in World War II, but life in Finland during peacetime proves equally distressing. He finds peace-time Helsinki rampant with persecution of the homosexual and men around him even being pressured to marry women and have children. Touko finds refuge in his liberating art, specialising in homoerotic drawings of muscular men, free of inhibitions. His work – made famous by his signature ‘Tom of Finland’ – became the emblem of a generation of men and fanned the flames of a gay revolution.

6.6

MagicScore

#17

Beautiful Beings

2022

A teenage boy, raised by a mother who considers herself psychic, takes a bullied kid into his group of violent misfits. As the group’s troubles escalate toward life-threatening situations, an inner voice awakens in the boy and, with the help of his mother and his new friend, he manages to find his own path.

7.1

MagicScore

#18

Young Hunter

2020

Ezequiel, a sixteen-year-old gay teenager in his sexual awakening, meets a boy of twenty-one. They quickly start a relationship and the situation unravels unexpectedly.

6.3

MagicScore

#19

Slash

2016

Freshman Neil's Vanguard stories are all he cares about...until he meets the older Julia, who pushes him to put his own fan fic online. When the website's moderator takes a special interest in Neil's work, it opens up a whole new universe.

5.8

MagicScore

#20

The Fluffer

2001

Self-effacing, boyish Sean moves to LA to pursue a career in movies but finds it tougher than he imagined. He stumbles onto porn star Johnny Rebel - a handsome, muscled dream of men and women alike - who awakens Sean’s deep obsession.

5.8

MagicScore

Frequently asked

What are the best movies like Circus of Books?

The top films similar to Circus of Books by MovieMagicScore are Milk (7.2), Stonewall (6.0), Going Down in La-La Land (5.7). Each shares documentary/history themes and is ranked by real viewer ratings, not critics or studios.

Is Circus of Books worth watching?

Circus of Books holds a MovieMagicScore of 6.9/10 from 99 viewer ratings.

What kind of movie is Circus of Books?

Circus of Books (2019) is a documentary, history film directed by Rachel Mason, starring Rachel Mason, Josh Mason, Larry Flynt.

Where can I find more recommendations like Circus of Books?

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 Milk Movies like Stonewall Movies like Going Down in La-La Land Movies like Hustler White Movies like The Times of Harvey Milk Movies like Gay Sex in the 70s

About movies like Circus of Books

This ranked list pairs Circus of Books (2019), a documentary and history film from Rachel Mason, with similar titles by genre, theme and cast overlap (fans of Rachel Mason 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.

← Back to Circus of Books