Before the Flood
Leonardo DiCaprio surveys climate damage across the planet while pressing political leaders and the public to confront fossil-fuel dependence before irreversible loss.
Overview
A powerful exploration of climate change and its global impact, narrated by a passionate advocate.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- urgent
- sobering
- educational
- environmental awareness viewing
- classroom discussion
What critics said
Critics broadly found the documentary sincere, accessible, comprehensive, and urgently persuasive, especially when it focused on communities experiencing climate change directly.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Leonardo DiCaprio travels from melting glaciers to Indonesian forests and vulnerable island nations to document climate impacts.
DiCaprio’s status as an actor and United Nations Messenger of Peace anchors the film’s public-facing campaign.
The film emphasizes impending environmental disaster, fossil-fuel dependence, and the shrinking time available for action.
Glaciers, tropical forests, Arctic wildlife, and island environments provide expansive imagery alongside environmental loss.
Films like Before the Flood, and why
An Inconvenient Truth
Global environmental documentary with an urgent climate-change message, celebrity advocacy, and firsthand ecological observation.
The 11th Hour
Issue-driven environmental documentary combining scientific explanation, political critique, and an accessible call to action.
A Life on Our Planet
Visually expansive climate documentary focused on planetary systems, environmental damage, and public awareness.
Movie Details
- Director
- Fisher Stevens
- Release Date
- 2016-10-21
- Runtime
- 93 min
- Rating
- 7.7 / 10 (832)
Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprio
- Bill Clinton
- John Kerry
- Barack Obama
- Elon Musk
- Pope Francis
- Ban Ki-moon
- Alejandro G. Iñárritu
- Michael Brune
- Marc Mageau
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Disney Plus
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Before the Flood about?
- Leonardo DiCaprio surveys climate damage across the planet while pressing political leaders and the public to confront fossil-fuel dependence before irreversible loss.
- What is Before the Flood like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Before the Flood as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Before the Flood violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Before the Flood.
- What did critics think of Before the Flood?
- Critics broadly found the documentary sincere, accessible, comprehensive, and urgently persuasive, especially when it focused on communities experiencing climate change directly.
- Which films are like Before the Flood?
- Films with a similar feel include An Inconvenient Truth, The 11th Hour, and A Life on Our Planet.
- How long is Before the Flood?
- Before the Flood runs 93 minutes.
- Where can I watch Before the Flood?
- In United States, Before the Flood streams on Disney Plus.
