Good Documentaries
In no order, the films listed here all share two traits: they're all documentaries, and they are good to excellent. Some are hilarious. Many are quite moving but all are informative, entertaining and fascinating.
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24 titles
- DirectorDavid MorrisJacqui MorrisStarsHarold EvansRalph NaderMichael SheenBefore the Internet. Before Social Media. Before Breaking News. The victims of Thalidomide had to rely on something even more extraordinary to fight their corner: Investigative Journalism. This is the story of how Harold Evans fought and won the battle of his and many other lives.
- DirectorMichèle HozerStarsGary TaubesRobert LustigCraig WilcoxHow the food industry sugar-coated science, sweetened the food supply, and seduced a planet, one spoonful at a time.
- DirectorLiz GarbusStarsNina SimoneLisa Simone KellyRoger NupieA documentary about the life and legend Nina Simone, an American singer, pianist, and civil rights activist labeled the "High Priestess of Soul."
- DirectorJoel Allen SchroederStarsBerkeley BreathedJef MallettStephan PastisA documentary about the impact of the newspaper comic strip "Calvin and Hobbes," created by Bill Watterson.
- DirectorBenjamin StatlerStarsDaniel RoebuckSarah ScottAugust EmersonTom Grant, a private investigator once hired by Courtney Love, reveals his take on the death of Kurt Cobain.
- DirectorPeter D. HutchisonKelly NyksJared P. ScottStarsNoam ChomskyAlan GreenspanMalcolm XRenowned academic and author Noam Chomsky elucidates 10 principles of concentration of wealth and power that have led to unprecedented inequality and the hollowing out of the American middle class.
- DirectorRyan McGarryStarsDanny ChengAndrew EadsJamie EngA notorious trauma bay in an inner-city E.R. earns its keep as the 'hurt locker of medicine' as new, idealistic and adrenaline-seeking doctors train in an environment akin to a war zone. When the hospital moves to a swank new building, the rush fades and bureaucracy gridlocks the state-of-the-art facility, and the doctors are faced with the unexpected realities of life and death in a safety-net health-care system on the brink of overload.
- DirectorIan RoumainStarsJayne AtkinsonPaget BrewsterL. Scott CaldwellActresses talk about their personal lives and dealing with a balance between family responsibilities and being a professional actor.
- DirectorIlinca CalugareanuStarsIrina Margareta NistorTeodor ZamfirMircea CojocaruIn the oppressive 1980s communist Romania, the smuggled VHS tapes of banned Hollywood films become an inspirational ray of hope. A hybrid feature about the magic of film and the power it has to change lives.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsPaul HaggisJason BegheSpanky TaylorA documentary looking at the inner-workings of the Church of Scientology.
- DirectorDavid SingtonStarsHerbert A. FuchsSammy SilverwatchNick YarrisA convicted murderer who has spent 23 years on Death Row tells his story.
- DirectorBeth HarringtonStarsChet AtkinsLorrie BennettJohn R. BrinkleyThe Winding Stream is a 90-minute High Definition music history documentary-in-progress that tells the story of the American roots music dynasty, the Carters and the Cashes. Starting with the Original Carter Family (A.P., Sara, Maybelle), the film traces the ebb and flow of their influence, the transformation of that act into the Carter Sisters, the marital alliance with legend Johnny Cash and the efforts of present-day family to keep this legacy alive. No one has yet pulled together all the elements of this family saga in one documentary. The goal of The Winding Stream is to honor this multi-generational family where it stands -- at the headwaters of American roots music.
- DirectorAmy BergStarsCat PowerJanis JoplinKarleen BennettMusician Cat Power narrates this documentary on Janis Joplin's evolution into a star from letters that Joplin wrote over the years to her friends, family, and collaborators.
- DirectorLawrence ShapiroStarsCharlie AdlerPamela AdlonCarlos AlazraquiSeveral voice actors discuss their art and their careers.
- DirectorAlex FeganStarsLiam AherneWillie AherneBobby BlackwellThe tradition of the Irish pub. Speaking to pub owners all over Ireland, Alex Fegan gets into the heart of what makes "the Irish pub" the institution that it is.
- DirectorBrendan MertensStarsChace AmbroseWilliam AthertonDan AykroydA look at the intense fandom for the media franchise, Ghostbusters (1984)
- 20141h 37mNot Rated7.5 (4.4K)DirectorDavid GregoryStarsRichard StanleyKier-La JanisseMichael GingoldA behind the scenes chronicle of how clash of vision, bad creative decisions, lack of interest and really bad weather plagued the disastrous production of the infamous The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996).
- DirectorAdam NimoyStarsChris PineKarl UrbanZoe SaldanaAn examination of the enduring appeal of Leonard Nimoy and his portrayal of Spock in Star Trek (1966).
- DirectorRon DavisStarsHarry DeLeyerHarriet DeLeyerAndre DeLeyerThe story of immigrant Harry DeLeyer and the plow horse he rescued from slaughter.
- DirectorCosmo Feilding-MellenStarsTim ScullyNick SandAlice EinhornThe story of Nicholas Sand and Tim Scully, the unlikely duo at the heart of 1960s American drug counter-culture.
- DirectorMorgan NevilleStarsFred RogersMargaret WhitmerTom JunodAn exploration of the life, lessons, and legacy of iconic children's television host Fred Rogers.
- DirectorRachel LearsStarsAlexandria Ocasio-CortezCori BushJoe CrowleyA look at the people involved with various political campaigns during the 2018 U.S. congressional election.
- DirectorKarim AmerJehane NoujaimStarsBrittany KaiserDavid CarrollPaul-Olivier DehayeThe Cambridge Analytica scandal is examined through the roles of several affected persons.
- StarsJeff SharletJames CromwellDoug HamptonAn enigmatic Christian group known as The Family wields enormous influence in Washington, DC, in pursuit of its global ambitions.