20 best movies like Wonders of the Universe (2011)

The story of a century: a decades-long second World War leaves plague and anarchy, then a rational state rebuilds civilization and attempts space travel.

The story of the extraordinary life of eminent scientist, Steven Hawking. As he goes through school, and despite being diagnosed with ALS, Hawking develops revolutionary theories about time, black holes, and the origin of the universe.

The six-member crew of the International Space Station is tasked with studying a sample from Mars that may be the first proof of extra-terrestrial life, which proves more intelligent than ever expected.

An astonishing journey revealing the awesome power of the natural world. Over the course of one single day, we track the sun from the highest mountains to the remotest islands to exotic jungles.

In one single, epic camera move we journey from Earth's surface to the outermost reaches of the universe on a grand tour of the cosmos, to explore newborn stars, distant planets, black holes and beyond.

Discover the meteoric rise of Elon Musk, the man who is transforming the way we think about travel technology through electric cars, the Hyperloop, and revolutionary ideas on how we live through artificial intelligence and colonizing Mars.

Archival material from the original NASA film footage – much of it seen for the first time – plus interviews with the surviving astronauts, including Jim Lovell, Dave Scott, John Young, Gene Cernan, Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Edgar Mitchell, Charlie Duke and Harrison Schmitt.

On a bleak future Earth, a soldier endures a radical genetic transformation to save humanity. But his wife fears he's becoming more creature than man.

Some 220 miles above Earth lies the International Space Station, a one-of-a-kind outer space laboratory that 16 nations came together to build. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this extraordinary structure in this spectacular IMAX film. Viewers will blast off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center and the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Russia for this incredible journey -- IMAX's first-ever space film. Tom Cruise narrates.

Interstellar chronicles the adventures of a group of explorers who make use of a newly discovered wormhole to surpass the limitations on human space travel and conquer the vast distances involved in an interstellar voyage.

An astronomer becomes obsessed with searching the cosmos for signs of life beyond Earth which leads to a shocking discovery.

From the team behind Man on Wire comes the story of Nim, the chimpanzee who in the 1970s became the focus of a landmark experiment which aimed to show that an ape could learn to communicate with language if raised and nurtured like a human child. Following Nim's extraordinary journey through human society, and the enduring impact he makes on the people he meets along the way, the film is an unflinching and unsentimental biography of an animal we tried to make human. What we learn about his true nature - and indeed our own - is comic, revealing and profoundly unsettling.

Senna's remarkable story, charting his physical and spiritual achievments on the track and off, his quest for perfection, and the mythical status he has since attained, is the subject of Senna, a documentary feature that spans the racing legend's years as an F1 driver, from his opening season in 1984 to his untimely death a decade later.

During a manned mission to Mars, Astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead after a fierce storm and left behind by his crew. But Watney has survived and finds himself stranded and alone on the hostile planet. With only meager supplies, he must draw upon his ingenuity, wit and spirit to subsist and find a way to signal to Earth that he is alive.

Professor Jim Al-Khalili investigates the important concepts of energy and information.

A real time recreation of Yuri Gagarin's pioneering first orbit, shot entirely in space from on board the International Space Station. The film combines this new footage with Gagarin's original mission audio and a new musical score by composer Philip Sheppard.

A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don't apply.

In this one-off documentary, Space Dive tells the behind-the-scenes story of Felix Baumgartner's historic, record-breaking freefall from the edge of space to Earth. The world watched with bated breath when Felix became the first person to freefall through the sound barrier on 15 October 2012, after jumping from 128,100ft (24 miles) from the edge of space.

After the disappearance of her scientist father, three peculiar beings send Meg, her brother, and her friend to space in order to find him.

Tipped as the most exciting British magician to emerge in decades, Dynamo: Magician Impossible is the story of an ordinary boy from Bradford living an extraordinary life. The series sees the 28-year-old travelling the globe as the unassuming anti-hero who just happens to astound everyone he meets, whether it's an international footballer or Hollywood actor. Throughout the series, Dynamo: Magician Impossible will take viewers on his magical journey before stunning them with incredible, headline-grabbing stunts beyond the realms of possibility.

Through the power of IMAX® 3D, Hubble 3D will enable movie-goers to journey through distant galaxies to explore the grandeur and mysteries of our celestial surroundings, and accompany space-walking astronauts as they attempt the most difficult and important tasks in NASA’s history. The film will offer an inspiring and unique look into the Hubble Space Telescope’s legacy and highlight its profound impact on the way we view the universe and ourselves. Narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio, Hubble 3D reunites the Space Station 3D filmmaking team, led by Producer/Director Toni Myers. James Neihouse, Director of Photography, also doubles as the Astronaut crew trainer. Judy Carroll is Associate Producer, and Graeme Ferguson, Co-founder of IMAX and pioneer Producer of many IMAX space films, is Executive Producer. Hubble 3D is an IMAX and Warner Bros. Pictures production, in cooperation with National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).

Banksy is a graffiti artist with a global reputation whose work can be seen on walls from post-hurricane New Orleans to the separation barrier on the Palestinian West Bank. Fiercely guarding his anonymity to avoid prosecution, Banksy has so far resisted all attempts to be captured on film. Exit Through the Gift Shop tells the incredible true story of how an eccentric French shop keeper turned documentary maker attempted to locate and befriend Banksy, only to have the artist turn the camera back on its owner.

Professor Stephen Hawking challenges a selection of volunteers to think like the greatest geniuses in history and solve some of humanity's most enduring questions.

Pina is a feature-length dance film in 3D with the ensemble of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, featuring the unique and inspiring art of the great German choreographer, who died in the summer of 2009.

Werner Herzog and volcanologist Clive Oppenheimer embark upon a global journey exploring some of the world's most mythical volcanoes in Indonesia, Ethiopia, Iceland and North Korea. Speaking with scientists and indigenous peoples alike, they seek to understand the complex and deeply rooted relationship between mankind and one of nature's greatest wonders.

Taking place after alien crafts land around the world, an expert linguist is recruited by the military to determine whether they come in peace or are a threat.

'The Weight of Chains 2' is a documentary film largely dealing with the effects of the Washington Consensus economic doctrine on the newly established former Yugoslav republics, but also with neoliberalism as an economic concept. Through interviews with Noam Chomsky, Oliver Stone and many others, the author, Serbian-Canadian Boris Malagurski, attempts to analyze why so many people in the Balkans are disappointed with the systems imposed after the fall of socialism and how capitalism could be improved. Looking at the examples of Ecuador and Iceland, the film tries to uncover alternatives to the prevailing orthodoxies of Western economic dictates and help developing nations find their own way to shape their economies and their countries.

After 23 years on Death Row a convicted murderer petitions the court asking to be executed, but as his story unfolds, it becomes clear that nothing is what it seems.

Seven Ages of Starlight takes us on a journey through the life of stars Stars are at the heart of all life. Humans and all other life forms on our planet - from bacteria in the top of our atmosphere to the creatures in the darkest depths of our oceans - depend on our very own star, the sun. Much of the matter that makes up the known universe comes from stars and is put into motion by their enormous gravity. Even our planet and our bodies are made from stardust forged in the thermonuclear furnace of brightly burning stars.

The most ambitious project ever conceived on the Internet: Google's master plan to scan every book in the world and the people trying to stop them. Google says they are building a library for mankind, but some say they also have other intentions.

A particle physicist grieving over the loss of her husband in a car crash uses a revolutionary machine to bring him back, with dire consequences for her family.

Documents the writing, recording and performing of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds’ sixteenth studio album, Skeleton Tree.