Great documentaries I've watch
by juanude | created - 10 Feb 2014 | updated - 18 Jan 2023 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Pulling John (2009)
Not Rated | 73 min | Documentary, Sport
John Brzenk is troubled by when to call it quits; should he retire when he is on top or wait until someone takes his title. After twenty-five solid years of total world domination, John ... See full summary »
Directors: Vassiliki Khonsari, Sevan Matossian | Stars: John Brzenk, Alexy Voevoda, Travis Bagent, Marcio Barboza
Votes: 872
2. Nanook of the North (1922)
Passed | 78 min | Documentary
In this silent predecessor to the modern documentary, film-maker Robert J. Flaherty spends one year following the lives of Nanook and his family, Inuits living in the Arctic Circle.
Director: Robert J. Flaherty | Stars: Allakariallak, Alice Nevalinga, Cunayou, Allegoo
Votes: 13,458
3. Senna (2010)
PG-13 | 106 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
A documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34.
Director: Asif Kapadia | Stars: Ayrton Senna, Reginaldo Leme, John Bisignano, Neyde Senna
Votes: 75,864 | Gross: $1.61M
4. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)
R | 172 min | Drama
The telling of an Inuit legend of an evil spirit causing strife in the community and one warrior's endurance and battle of its menace.
Director: Zacharias Kunuk | Stars: Natar Ungalaaq, Sylvia Ivalu, Peter-Henry Arnatsiaq, Lucy Tulugarjuk
Votes: 6,861 | Gross: $3.79M
5. Alone in the Wilderness (2004 TV Movie)
57 min | Documentary
In 1968, one man films his attempt to build a cabin and live in the Alaskan wilderness. He goes weeks or months at a time without human contact.
Director: Dick Proenneke | Stars: Dick Proenneke, Bob Swerer Jr., Wendy Ishii, Pamela Guest
Votes: 4,020
6. Let's Get Lost (1988)
Not Rated | 120 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Documentary on the life of jazz trumpeter and drug addict Chet Baker. Fascinating series of interviews with friends, family, associates and lovers, interspersed with film from Baker's earlier life and some modern-day performances.
Director: Bruce Weber | Stars: Chet Baker, Carol Baker, Vera Baker, Paul Baker
Votes: 2,209
7. Between the Folds (2008)
G | 56 min | Documentary
Depicts a cast of fine artists and eccentric scientists (from MIT and NASA) who have devoted their lives to the unlikely medium of modern origami. Through their determination to reinterpret... See full summary »
Director: Vanessa Gould | Stars: Erik D. Demaine, Martin L. Demaine, Vincent Floderer, Miri Golan
Votes: 877
8. The Queen of Versailles (2012)
PG | 100 min | Documentary
A documentary that follows a billionaire couple as they begin construction on a mansion inspired by Versailles. During the next two years, their empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis.
Director: Lauren Greenfield | Stars: Jaqueline Siegel, David Siegel, Lorraine Barrett, June Downs
Votes: 13,704 | Gross: $2.40M
9. On Any Sunday (1971)
G | 96 min | Documentary, Sport
Documentary on motorcycle racing featuring stars of the sport, including film star Steve McQueen, a racer in his own right.
Director: Bruce Brown | Stars: Steve McQueen, Dave Aldana, Mark Brelsford, Bruce Brown
Votes: 1,545
10. The Last Trapper (2004)
94 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama
A trapper and his wife brave the harsh Yukon climate, trecherous landscape and dangerous wildlife in an attempt to live a life of solitude.
Director: Nicolas Vanier | Stars: Norman Winther, May Loo, Alex Van Bibber, Ken Bolton
Votes: 1,801
11. Planet Earth (2006)
TV-PG | 49 min | Documentary, Family
A documentary series on the wildlife found on Earth. Each episode covers a different habitat: deserts, mountains, deep oceans, shallow seas, forests, caves, polar regions, fresh water, plains and jungles. Narrated by David Attenborough.
Stars: Sigourney Weaver, David Attenborough, Nikolay Drozdov, Thomas Anguti Johnston
Votes: 220,356
12. Oceans (2008)
G | 84 min | Documentary
An ecological drama/documentary, filmed throughout the globe. Part thriller, part meditation on the vanishing wonders of the sub-aquatic world.
Directors: Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud | Stars: Pierce Brosnan, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Jacques Perrin, Rie Miyazawa
Votes: 10,075 | Gross: $19.42M
13. China Heavyweight (2012)
Not Rated | 94 min | Documentary, Sport
A documentary on rural teenagers in southwestern China who are recruited as their country's next Olympic hopefuls, with a focus on the coach Qi Moxiang.
Director: Yung Chang | Stars: Moxiang Qi, Yunfei Miao, Zongli He, Ye Xinchun
Votes: 362 | Gross: $0.01M
14. Crumb (1994)
R | 119 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
An intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.
Director: Terry Zwigoff | Stars: Robert Crumb, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Charles Crumb, Maxon Crumb
Votes: 21,599 | Gross: $3.17M
15. War Photographer (2001)
96 min | Documentary, War
Documentary about war photographer James Nachtwey, considered by many the greatest war photographer ever.
Director: Christian Frei | Stars: James Nachtwey, Christiane Amanpour, Hans-Hermann Klare, Christiane Breustedt
Votes: 4,304
16. To Be and to Have (2002)
Not Rated | 104 min | Documentary, Family
A documentary portrait of a one-room school in rural France, where the students (ranging in age from 4 to 11) are educated by a single dedicated teacher.
Director: Nicolas Philibert | Stars: Georges Lopez, Alizé, Axel Thouvenin, Guillaume
Votes: 8,419 | Gross: $0.78M
17. Baraka (1992)
Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary
A collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life and religion.
Director: Ron Fricke | Star: Patrick Disanto
Votes: 40,999 | Gross: $1.33M
18. Encounters at the End of the World (2007)
G | 99 min | Documentary
Film-maker Werner Herzog travels to the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, looking to capture the continent's beauty and investigate the characters living there.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Scott Rowland, Stefan Pashov, Doug MacAyeal
Votes: 19,259 | Gross: $0.94M
19. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
R | 87 min | Documentary, Comedy, Crime
Following the style of some of the world's most prolific street artists, an amateur filmmaker makes a foray into the art world.
Director: Banksy | Stars: Banksy, Mr. Brainwash, Space Invader, Debora Guetta
Votes: 68,835 | Gross: $3.29M
20. Waltz with Bashir (2008)
R | 90 min | Documentary, Animation, Biography
An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
Director: Ari Folman | Stars: Ari Folman, Ron Ben-Yishai, Ronny Dayag, Ori Sivan
Votes: 60,419 | Gross: $2.28M
21. Inside Job (2010)
PG-13 | 109 min | Documentary, Crime
Takes a closer look at what brought about the 2008 financial meltdown.
Director: Charles Ferguson | Stars: Matt Damon, Gylfi Zoega, Andri Snær Magnason, Sigridur Benediktsdottir
Votes: 78,994 | Gross: $4.31M
22. Blackfish (2013)
PG-13 | 83 min | Documentary
A documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales.
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite | Stars: Tilikum, Dave Duffus, Samantha Berg, Dean Gomersall
Votes: 72,472 | Gross: $2.07M
23.
The Untold History of the United States (2012–2013)
Episode:
Chapter 10: Bush & Obama - Age of Terror
(2013)
TV-MA | 58 min | Documentary, History, War
Homeland Security, in Iraq, Afghanistan, and a worldwide global Security State. The cannibalization of the U.S. economy continues. Barack Obama and the destiny of the American Empire. Directed and narrated by Oliver Stone .
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: George W. Bush, Chris Cox, Daniel Hagen, Barack Obama
Votes: 248
24. United Skates (2018)
TV-14 | 89 min | Documentary
America's roller rinks are bastions of regional African-American culture, music and dance.
Directors: Tina Brown, Dyana Winkler | Stars: Salt-N-Pepa, Reggie Premier Brown, Coolio, Vin Rock
Votes: 657
25. The Game Changers (2018)
86 min | Documentary, Sport
A UFC fighter's world is turned upside down when he discovers an elite group of world-renowned athletes and scientists who prove that everything he had been taught about protein was a lie.
Director: Louie Psihoyos | Stars: James Wilks, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Patrik Baboumian, Dotsie Bausch
Votes: 21,845 | Gross: $0.74M
26. My Octopus Teacher (2020)
TV-G | 85 min | Documentary, Drama
A filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world.
Directors: Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed | Stars: Craig Foster, Tom Foster
Votes: 63,876
27. Todo sobre el asado (2016)
85 min | Documentary
A trip to the depths of Argentina. Roasting is a meal and a ritual. It is primitive and contemporary, wild and refined, an art and a science. The asado with greater originality the essential features of national identity.
Directors: Mariano Cohn, Gastón Duprat | Stars: Oscar Bopp, Luis Caporossi, Vicente Cohn, Mónica Cragnolini
Votes: 622
28. Ask Dr. Ruth (2019)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, Biography
Charting the incredible life of Dr. Ruth Westheimer, a Holocaust survivor who became America's most famous sex therapist.
Director: Ryan White | Stars: Ruth Westheimer, Pierre Lehu, Cliff Rubin, John Lollos
Votes: 1,099 | Gross: $0.30M
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