Best movies like A Way Out of the Wilderness

Urge to Build is a 1981 American short documentary film directed by Roland Hallé about individuals building their own homes. They share the experience and the different phases of construction, providing a background for more human issues: stress, confidence, and control of one's own life. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

At the Academy Awards ceremony, Bugs Bunny tries to convince the audience that he deserves the Oscar. Opens with live action scenes of Hollywood.

With Babies and Banners: Story of the Women's Emergency Brigade is a 1979 documentary film directed by Lorraine Gray about the General Motors sit-down strike in 1936–1937 that focuses uniquely on the role of women using archival footage and interviews. It provides an inside look at women's roles in the strike. The film was one of the first to put together archival footage with contemporary interviews of participants and helped spur a series of films on left and labor history in the US utilizing this technique. The film was also important in helping bring into view the history of American women being active in the public sphere, particularly in union and labor actions. The film was, further, ground breaking because it was produced and directed by women. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

The Wolf Men [also known as Wolves and the Wolf Men) is a 1969 documentary film produced by Irwin Rosten. It was produced for the GE Monogram documentary series on NBC. The film follows naturalists as they fight to save rapidly vanishing species of wolves. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Never Give Up: The 20th Century Odyssey of Herbert Zipper is a 1995 short documentary film about Herbert Zipper. It was written, directed, and produced by Terry Sanders, with Freida Lee Mock co-producing. The extraordinary story of Vienna born musician and conductor Herbert Zipper who survived Dachau, Buchenwald, and a Japanese concentration camp to become one of the great music educators of the world, continuing at 92 to bring music to the inner city schools of America. In Dachau, Zipper organized secret concerts using makeshift instruments. He learned the lesson that music and the arts are essential to the very existence of life. For the last half of the 20th century, Zipper has pioneered in bringing professional orchestras into America's inner city schools. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short at the 68th Academy Awards in 1996.

The Numbers Start with the River is a 1971 American short documentary film about small-town life in Iowa. Produced by Donald Wrye for the United States Information Agency, it was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Operation Vittles is a 1948 American short documentary film about the Berlin Airlift, from the initial closure of the city in 1948 through 1949. It explains how, what, and why that supported the city. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

An amoral lowlife accidentally stumbles into an acting career that sets him on a trajectory to Hollywood stardom. But everyone on whom he steps on the way to the top remembers when he is nominated for an Oscar and he runs a dirty campaign in an attempt to win.

Other Voices is a 1970 documentary film directed by David H. Sawyer. The film follows Dr. Albert Honig, one of the most controversial Doctors of his era, as he demonstrates various techniques he has employed in his treatment of comatose, catatonic, schizophrenic, and autistic patients. It also follows a handful of patients living in a rural setting in Doylestown, Pennsylvania during their daily activities and during treatment sessions with Dr. Honig. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Overture is a 1958 Canadian short documentary film directed by Gian Luigi Polidoro. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short. The film depicts the peacekeeping efforts of the United Nations, set against the music of Beethoven's Egmont Overture, performed by the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra.

Rebel in Paradise is a 1960 American documentary film on the artist Paul Gauguin produced by Robert D. Fraser, a San Francisco real estate developer. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Remember Me is a 1979 American short documentary film produced by Dick Young, that was filmed in the US, the Middle East and Asia. The film depicts the youthful exuberance of children from many nations in contrasted with the squalor, hardship, and unfulfilled potential of their lives. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

This film shows the growth of cooperatives in the Maritime provinces and how they brought new life and hope to poverty-stricken fishermen. The Rising Tide is a 1949 Canadian short documentary film directed by Jean Palardy. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Centres on Canadian animator Ryan Larkin, who in later years lived on skid row in Montreal following a history of drug and alcohol abuse.

Jenny is a Good Thing is a 1969 American short documentary film about children and poverty, directed by Joan Horvath. Produced by Project Head Start, it shows the importance of good nutrition for underprivileged nursery school children. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Jet Carrier is a 1954 American short documentary film produced by Otto Lang as a CinemaScope Special. It was nominated for two Academy Awards - one for Best Documentary Short, and the other for Best Two-Reel Short. It was filmed aboard the aircraft carrier USS Yorktown.

Journey into Self is a 1968 documentary film introduced by Stanley Kramer, and produced and directed by Bill McGaw. The film portrays a 16-hour group-therapy session for eight well-adjusted people who had never met before. The session was led by psychologists Carl Rogers and Richard Farson. The participants included a cashier, a theology student, a teacher, a principal, a housewife, and three businessmen. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 1968.

Baptism of Fire is a 1943 American documentary, meant to be an Army training film starring Elisha Cook Jr. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Cowboy is a 1966 American short documentary film directed by Michael Ahnemann and produced by Ahnemann and Gary Schlosser. At a ranch in Tehachapi, California, a husband and father lives the life of a modern cowboy. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

The End of the Road (also known as Alaska: The End of the Road) is a 1976 British short documentary film directed by John Armstrong. The film is about British Petroleum's Alaska operations, including the construction of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

High Schools is a 1984 American documentary film produced and directed by Charles Guggenheim. It is based on Ernest L. Boyer's book, High School, and was filmed on location in seven American high schools. The film was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Point of View is a 1965 American short documentary film. The film is about cigarette smoking and health, designed to give young people a wholly new way of looking at cigarette smoking and its health hazards. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Short.

Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock 'n' roller, Rodriguez. The film won Best Documentary at the 85th Academy Awards.

A Hollywood writer becomes embroiled while investigating into the lives of five fictitious actresses all nominated for the Academy Award for best actress.

A British colonial policeman in Africa, circa 1900, pursues a band of escaped killers across territory so wild, it lies just "one step to hell."

A documentary celebrating Lee Miller, a model turned photographer turned war reporter who defied anyone who tried to pin her down, put her on a pedestal or pigeonhole her in any way. The film's director, Teresa Griffiths, and editor, Clare Guillon, won the 2021 British Academy Television Craft Awards for Factual programs.

A tribute to producer Irving Thalberg.

In the Summer of 1963, Flint, Michigan is home to the Watsons, a close knit family. When 15 year-old Byron’s antics go over the top, his parents realize enough is enough and they decide the family needs a dose of Grandma Sands' no nonsense approach in Birmingham, Alabama. So the Watsons load up their 1948 Plymouth Brown Bomber and head South. When they finally make it to Birmingham, they meet Grandma Sands and her friend, Mr. Robert and discover that life is very different there than in Flint. During that historic summer, the Watsons find themselves caught up in something far bigger than Byron’s antics; something that will change their lives and country forever.

The Really Big Family is a 1966 American documentary film directed by Alexander Grasshoff about the Dukes family of Seattle, who had 18 children. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Alaska Wilderness Lake is a 1971 American documentary film produced by Alan Landsburg. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. The film is based on the book Red Salmon, Brown Bear by Theodore J. Walker.

Against Wind and Tide: A Cuban Odyssey is a 1981 American documentary film about the Mariel boatlift, which was first broadcast on PBS the week of June 1, 1981. Written by John Brousek, the film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Journey to the Outer Limits is a 1973 American documentary film directed by Alexander Grasshoff. The fillm is a National Geographic documentary about students in the Outward Bound program as they confront themselves while training to climb the Santa Rosa Peak in the Peruvian Andes. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Fighting for Our Lives is a 1975 documentary film produced and directed by Glen Pearcy. The film documents the striking of California grape workers from Coachella to Fresno as they negotiate for a United Farm Workers (UFW) contract in 1973. The film also depicts their non-violent struggle against police brutality on the picket lines. It was nominated for the 1976 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.

Chronicles the life and art of Henri Matisse (1869-1954), the French painter whose innovative style and use of color changed the face of 20th-century art. An Essay on Matisse was nominated for an Academy Award in the documentary short category. It was originally broadcast on PBS.

A behind-the-scenes look at the preparations for the live broadcast of the 69th Annual Academy Awards ceremony.