best: film-documentary

by ZeTomes | created - 21 Nov 2010 | updated - 27 Oct 2020 | Public

This list does not refer to documentary series (tv) or purely scientific works. Its titles refer to philosophy and expression, art and quest. Relativity. History.

Some of these choices aren't presented in a standardized format but in a documented testimony mixed style. Like "Vals Im Bashir", "Hadashi no Gen" or "Glen or Glenda". This list inclusively shows the documentation behind the expression but not exclusively searches for a documentary's purism, meaning and accepting that it's impossible to create a 100% neutral work.

Real, without filter, without hollywood agendas, these film documentaries just punched me and taught me. They aren't just "pelicula" they establish a bridge to the spectator; I couldn't be indifferent to them, I had to recycle my paradigms. Life, poetry, learning, open frontiers, brake bounds, destroy prejudice, approach humanity, acquire philosophy, be critical, sceptic, demand your rights, instruct yourself, think and ask!, that's what these documentaries are all about.

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1. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)

Not Rated | 107 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime

90 Metascore

Documentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.

Director: Andrew Jarecki | Stars: Arnold Friedman, Jesse Friedman, David Friedman, Elaine Friedman

Votes: 27,107 | Gross: $3.12M

2. Deliver Us from Evil (2006)

Not Rated | 101 min | Documentary, Crime

86 Metascore

Documentary about Father Oliver O'Grady, a Catholic priest who was relocated to various parishes around the United States during the 1970s in an attempt by the Catholic Church to cover up his rape of dozens of children.

Director: Amy Berg | Stars: Oliver O'Grady, Thomas Doyle, Adam, Jeff Anderson

Votes: 10,825 | Gross: $30.58M

3. Waltz with Bashir (2008)

R | 90 min | Documentary, Animation, Biography

91 Metascore

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: 60,402 | Gross: $2.28M

4. Crumb (1994)

R | 119 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy

93 Metascore

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: 21,589 | Gross: $3.17M

5. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)

Not Rated | 150 min | Documentary, Crime

A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.

Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky | Stars: Tony Brooks, Diana Davis, Terry Wood, Dick Clay

Votes: 18,139

6. Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (2000 TV Movie)

Unrated | 130 min | Documentary, Crime

The case of the West Memphis Three, its questionable circumstances and the parties involved are followed up years later.

Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky | Stars: Damien Wayne Echols, Melissa Byers, Norris Deajon, Tim Sullivan

Votes: 9,647

7. 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: 40,983 | Gross: $1.33M

8. Touching the Void (2003)

R | 106 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama

82 Metascore

The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.

Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Simon Yates, Joe Simpson, Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron

Votes: 38,093 | Gross: $4.59M

9. Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)

PG | 103 min | Documentary

80 Metascore

A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.

Director: Barbara Kopple | Stars: John L. Lewis, Carl Horn, Norman Yarborough, Logan Patterson

Votes: 6,627

10. White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (2007)

Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, History

Using extensive interviews with survivors and archival footage, an examination reveals the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Director: Steven Okazaki | Stars: Harold Agnew, Shuntaro Hida, Kiyoko Imori, Morris Jeppson

Votes: 2,324

11. Kon-Tiki (1950)

Approved | 77 min | Documentary

A documentary about the Kon-Tiki expedition of the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl.

Director: Thor Heyerdahl | Stars: Thor Heyerdahl, Herman Watzinger, Erik Hesselberg, Knut Haugland

Votes: 2,808

12. Lake of Fire (2006)

Unrated | 152 min | Documentary

83 Metascore

A graphic documentary on both sides of the abortion debate.

Director: Tony Kaye | Stars: Noam Chomsky, Bill Baird, Flip Benham, Dallas Blanchard

Votes: 2,735 | Gross: $0.02M

13. No End in Sight (2007)

Not Rated | 102 min | Documentary, War

89 Metascore

A comprehensive look at the Bush Administration's conduct of the Iraq war and its occupation of the country.

Director: Charles Ferguson | Stars: Campbell Scott, Gerald Burke, Ali Fadhil, Omar Fekeiki

Votes: 8,629 | Gross: $1.43M

14. Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids (2004)

R | 85 min | Documentary, Biography, News

78 Metascore

Two documentary filmmakers chronicle their time in Sonagchi, Calcutta and the relationships they developed with children of prostitutes who work the city's notorious red light district.

Directors: Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman | Stars: Kochi, Avijit Halder, Shanti Das, Manik

Votes: 18,003 | Gross: $3.41M

15. Promises (2001)

106 min | Documentary

80 Metascore

Several Jewish and Palestinian children are followed for three years and put in touch with each other, in this alternative look at the Jewish-Palestinian conflict. The three filmmakers ... See full summary »

Directors: B.Z. Goldberg, Justine Shapiro, Carlos Bolado | Stars: Moishe Bar Am, B.Z. Goldberg, Shlomo Green, Sanabel Hassan

Votes: 2,723 | Gross: $0.24M

16. Night and Fog (1956)

TV-14 | 32 min | Documentary, Short, History

The history of Nazi Germany's death camps of the Final Solution and the hellish world of dehumanization and death contained inside.

Director: Alain Resnais | Stars: Michel Bouquet, Reinhard Heydrich, Heinrich Himmler, Adolf Hitler

Votes: 21,456

17. Grizzly Man (2005)

R | 103 min | Documentary, Biography

87 Metascore

A devastating and heart-rending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzly bears in Alaska.

Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Timothy Treadwell, Amie Huguenard, Werner Herzog, Carol Dexter

Votes: 61,869 | Gross: $3.17M

18. Encounters at the End of the World (2007)

G | 99 min | Documentary

80 Metascore

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: 19,249 | Gross: $0.94M

19. Jesus Camp (2006)

PG-13 | 87 min | Documentary

62 Metascore

A documentary on kids who attend a summer camp hoping to become the next Billy Graham.

Directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady | Stars: Mike Papantonio, Lou Engle, Becky Fischer, Ted Haggard

Votes: 28,775 | Gross: $0.90M

20. My Flesh and Blood (2003)

Unrated | 83 min | Documentary

78 Metascore

Documentary following Susan Tom of Fairfield, California and her 11 adopted special needs children.

Director: Jonathan Karsh | Stars: Susan Tom, Anthony Tom, Faith Tom, Joe Tom

Votes: 1,766

21. The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)

Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History

A documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor.

Director: Rob Epstein | Stars: Harvey Fierstein, Harvey Milk, Anne Kronenberg, Tory Hartmann

Votes: 6,574 | Gross: $0.01M

22. Religulous (2008)

R | 101 min | Documentary, Comedy, War

56 Metascore

Bill Maher's take on the current state of world religion.

Director: Larry Charles | Stars: Bill Maher, Tal Bachman, Jonathan Boulden, Steven Burg

Votes: 60,238 | Gross: $13.00M

23. The Atomic Cafe (1982)

Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, History

Disturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.

Directors: Jayne Loader, Kevin Rafferty, Pierce Rafferty | Stars: Paul Tibbets, Harry S. Truman, W.H.P. Blandy, Brien McMahon

Votes: 4,533 | Gross: $0.02M

24. Garbage Warrior (2007)

86 min | Documentary

Garbage Warrior" tells the epic story of maverick architect Michael Reynolds, his crew of renegade house builders from New Mexico and their fight to introduce radically different ways of living.

Director: Oliver Hodge | Stars: Michael Reynolds, Chris Reynolds, Shauna Malloy, Dave DiCicco

Votes: 795

25. Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003)

R | 93 min | Documentary, Crime

71 Metascore

Nick Broomfield's second documentary about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, focusing on her mental state on death row.

Directors: Nick Broomfield, Joan Churchill | Stars: Aileen Wuornos, Nick Broomfield, Terry Humphreys-Slay, Leitha Prather

Votes: 6,948 | Gross: $0.10M

26. Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie (1995 Video)

Not Rated | 92 min | Documentary, History, War

The history of nuclear weapons between 1945 until 1963.

Director: Peter Kuran | Stars: William Shatner, Edward Teller, W.H.P. Blandy, Frank H. Shelton

Votes: 3,620

27. Darwin's Nightmare (2004)

107 min | Documentary

84 Metascore

A documentary on the effect of fishing the Nile perch in Tanzania's Lake Victoria. The predatory fish, which has wiped out the native species, is sold in European supermarkets, while starving Tanzanian families have to make do with the leftovers.

Director: Hubert Sauper | Stars: Elizabeth 'Eliza' Maganga Nsese, Raphael Tukiko Wagara, Dimond Remtulia, Marcus Nyoni

Votes: 5,662 | Gross: $0.20M

28. Africa: Blood and Guts (1966)

R | 122 min | Documentary, Horror

The cruel acts of animal poaching and violence, executions, and tribal slaughtering, all taking place on the African continent.

Directors: Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi | Stars: Sergio Rossi, Gualtiero Jacopetti, Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere

Votes: 1,876

29. Hearts and Minds (1974)

R | 112 min | Documentary, History, War

68 Metascore

A startling and courageous landmark documentary that unflinchingly confronted the United States' involvement in Vietnam at the height of the controversy that surrounded it.

Director: Peter Davis | Stars: Tin Chan, Chau Diem, Ngo Dinh Diem, John Foster Dulles

Votes: 6,106 | Gross: $0.03M

31. Belarmino (1964)

80 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama

Interview with a has-been boxing champion «who could have been great», probing, and soul revealing.

Director: Fernando Lopes | Stars: Belarmino Fragoso, Jean Pierre Gebler, Maria Teresa de Noronha, Bernardo Moreira

Votes: 476

32. Southern Comfort (2001)

Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary

78 Metascore

Southern Comfort documents the final year in the life of Robert Eads, a transgender man. Eads, diagnosed with ovarian cancer, was turned down for treatment by two dozen doctors out of fear ... See full summary »

Director: Kate Davis | Stars: Robert Eads, Lola Cola, Maxwell Scott Anderson, Cas Piotrowski

Votes: 988

33. For the Bible Tells Me So (2007)

Unrated | 95 min | Documentary, Romance

73 Metascore

An exploration of the intersection between religion and homosexuality in the U.S. and how the religious right has used its interpretation of the Bible to stigmatize the gay community.

Director: Daniel G. Karslake | Stars: Imogene Robinson, Victor Robinson, Gene Robinson, Isabella 'Boo' McDaniel

Votes: 4,519 | Gross: $0.31M

34. Children of God: Lost and Found (2007)

TV-MA | 75 min | Documentary

A first-person account of growing up in an evangelical Christian cult.

Director: Noah Thomson | Stars: David Berg, Ricky Rodriguez, Joey Thomson, Noah Thomson

Votes: 438

although the concept of this documentary is excellent its editing is very annoying with systematically stop motioned fade outs as also as its soundtrack.

35. Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006)

86 min | Documentary, History

79 Metascore

Featuring never-before-seen footage, this documentary delivers a startling new look at the Peoples Temple, headed by preacher Jim Jones who, in 1978, led more than 900 members to Guyana, where he orchestrated a mass suicide via tainted punch.

Director: Stanley Nelson | Stars: Rebecca Moore, Janet Shular, Tim Carter, Stanley Clayton

Votes: 5,642

36. Barefoot Gen (1983)

TV-PG | 83 min | Animation, Biography, Drama

A powerful statement against war, Barefoot Gen is a disturbing story about the effect of the atomic bomb on a boy's life and the lives of the Japanese people.

Director: Mori Masaki | Stars: Issei Miyazaki, Catherine Battistone, Yoshie Shimamura, Iona Morris

Votes: 9,206

37. Boy I Am (2006)

72 min | Documentary

While female-to-male transgender visibility has recently exploded in this country, conversations about trans issues in the lesbian community often run into resistance from the many queer ... See full summary »

Directors: Sam Feder, Julie Hollar | Stars: Elizabeth Cline, Lucey Cummins, Judith Halberstam, Imani Henry

Votes: 55

39. Marwencol (2010)

Not Rated | 83 min | Documentary, Biography, Fantasy

82 Metascore

Documentary about Mark Hogancamp. After a vicious attack leaves him brain-damaged and broke, Mark seeks recovery in "Marwencol", a 1/6th scale World War II-era town he creates in his backyard. Inspired the movie Welcome to Marwen (2018)

Director: Jeff Malmberg | Stars: Mark Hogancamp, Emmanuel Nneji, Edda Hogancamp, Tom Neubauer

Votes: 3,705 | Gross: $0.11M

40. Three Tales (2002)

Music

A video opera that profiles three major technological events of the 20th century: the explosion of the Hindenburg, the atomic test at Bikini Atoll, and the cloning of Dolly the sheep.

Director: Beryl Korot | Stars: Richard Dawkins, Kevin Warwick

Votes: 44

41. Glen or Glenda (1953)

PG | 65 min | Drama

A psychiatrist tells the stories of a transvestite (Glen or Glenda) and a pseudohermaphrodite (Alan or Anne).

Director: Edward D. Wood Jr. | Stars: Edward D. Wood Jr., Bela Lugosi, Lyle Talbot, Timothy Farrell

Votes: 9,189

42. Grey Gardens (1975)

PG | 95 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama

83 Metascore

Meet a mother and daughter, high-society dropouts, reclusive cousins of Jackie O., managing to thrive together amid the decay and disorder of their East Hampton, NY, mansion, making for an eerily ramshackle echo of the American Camelot.

Directors: Ellen Hovde, Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Muffie Meyer | Stars: Edith Bouvier Beale, Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale, Brooks Hyers

Votes: 15,280 | Gross: $0.03M

43. The Last Waltz (1978)

PG | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, Music

84 Metascore

A film account and presentation of the final concert of The Band.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robbie Robertson, Muddy Waters, Neil Young, Van Morrison

Votes: 20,150 | Gross: $0.32M

44. The Yes Men (2003)

R | 83 min | Documentary, Comedy

68 Metascore

Anti-corporate activists travel from conference to conference, impersonating member of the World Trade Organization.

Directors: Dan Ollman, Sarah Price, Chris Smith | Stars: Andreas Bichlbauer, Mike Bonanno, Andy Bichlbaum, Michael Moore

Votes: 6,177 | Gross: $0.20M

45. The Yes Men Fix the World (2009)

87 min | Documentary, Comedy

71 Metascore

Troublemaking duo Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, posing as their industrious alter-egos, expose the people profiting from Hurricane Katrina, the faces behind the environmental disaster in Bhopal, and other shocking events.

Directors: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Kurt Engfehr | Stars: Reggie Watts, Mike Bonanno, Andy Bichlbaum, Richard Ebeling

Votes: 5,207 | Gross: $0.19M

46. Chernobyl Heart (2003)

39 min | Documentary, Short

This Academy Award-winning documentary takes a look at children born after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster who have been born with a deteriorated heart condition.

Director: Maryann DeLeo | Stars: William Novick, Adi Roche

Votes: 798

47. Children Underground (2001)

Not Rated | 104 min | Documentary

85 Metascore

A profile of homeless Romanian children who were born victims of the nation's reckless population growth policy during its communist era.

Director: Edet Belzberg | Stars: Cristina Ionescu, Mihai Alexandre Tudose, Violeta 'Macarena' Rosu, Ana Turturica

Votes: 2,452

48. Titicut Follies (1967)

Unrated | 84 min | Documentary

Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.

Director: Frederick Wiseman

Votes: 5,106

49. Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011)

Not Rated | 121 min | Documentary, Crime

85 Metascore

A further followup of the case of the West Memphis Three and the decades long fight to exonerate them that finally gained traction with new DNA evidence.

Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky | Stars: Gary Gitchell, Todd Moore, Dana Moore, Pam Hobbs

Votes: 10,863

50. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

G | 90 min | Documentary, History

86 Metascore

Werner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France and captures the oldest known pictorial creations of humanity.

Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Jean Clottes, Julien Monney, Jean-Michel Geneste

Votes: 17,788 | Gross: $5.23M

51. Buena Vista Social Club (1999)

G | 105 min | Documentary, Music

81 Metascore

Aging Cuban musicians whose talents had been virtually forgotten following Castro's takeover of Cuba, are brought out of retirement by Ry Cooder, who travelled to Havana in order to bring the musicians together, resulting in triumphant performances of extraordinary music, and resurrecting the musicians' careers.

Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, Rubén González, Octavio Calderon

Votes: 20,527 | Gross: $7.00M

52. Into the Abyss (2011)

PG-13 | 107 min | Documentary, Crime, Drama

74 Metascore

Conversations with death row inmate Michael Perry and those affected by his crime serve as an examination of why people - and the state - kill.

Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Richard Lopez, Michael Perry, Damon Hall

Votes: 17,352 | Gross: $0.22M

53. Shoah (1985)

Not Rated | 566 min | Documentary, History, War

99 Metascore

Claude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors.

Director: Claude Lanzmann | Stars: Simon Srebnik, Michael Podchlebnik, Motke Zaïdl, Hanna Zaïdl

Votes: 10,548 | Gross: $0.02M

54. Triumph of the Will (1935)

Not Rated | 110 min | Documentary, History

The infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany.

Director: Leni Riefenstahl | Stars: Adolf Hitler, Hermann Göring, Max Amann, Martin Bormann

Votes: 18,319

55. Das Dritte Reich - In Farbe (1998 TV Movie)

105 min | Documentary, War

Most of what we know about World War II comes from monochromatic images and pictures. But this documentary brings something different: it's a fascinating collage of colored images from that... See full summary »

Director: Michael Kloft | Stars: Ion Antonescu, Martin Bormann, Eva Braun, Winston Churchill

Votes: 286

56. Indie Game: The Movie (2012)

Not Rated | 103 min | Documentary, Drama

73 Metascore

A documentary that follows the journeys of indie game developers as they create games and release those works, and themselves, to the world.

Directors: Lisanne Pajot, James Swirsky | Stars: Jonathan Blow, Brandon Boyer, Renaud Bédard, Anthony Carboni

Votes: 21,442

57. Get Lamp (2010)

78 min | Documentary

With limited sound, simple graphics, and tiny amounts of computing power, the first games on home computers would hardly raise an eyebrow in the modern era of photorealism and surround ... See full summary »

Director: Jason Scott Sadofsky | Stars: Ernest Adams, Scott Adams, Hollywood Anderson, Jim Aspnes

Votes: 1,800

58. In the Shadow of the Moon (2007)

PG | 100 min | Documentary, History

84 Metascore

The crew members of NASA's Apollo missions tell their story in their own words.

Director: David Sington | Stars: Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Eugene Cernan, Mike Collins

Votes: 6,926 | Gross: $1.13M

59. For All Mankind (1989)

Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary, History

79 Metascore

An in-depth look at various NASA moon landing missions, starting with Apollo 8.

Director: Al Reinert | Stars: Jim Lovell, Ken Mattingly, Russell Schweickart, Eugene Cernan

Votes: 6,529 | Gross: $0.77M

60. The Act of Killing (2012)

Not Rated | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime

92 Metascore

A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.

Directors: Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, Christine Cynn | Stars: Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin, Ibrahim Sinik

Votes: 40,804 | Gross: $0.49M

61. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)

PG | 81 min | Documentary

77 Metascore

A documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his renowned Tokyo restaurant, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu.

Director: David Gelb | Stars: Jiro Ono, Yoshikazu Ono, Masuhiro Yamamoto, Daisuke Nakazama

Votes: 38,008 | Gross: $2.55M

62. The Queen of Versailles (2012)

PG | 100 min | Documentary

80 Metascore

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: 13,701 | Gross: $2.40M

63. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)

TV-14 | 106 min | Documentary

73 Metascore

Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all the way to the Vatican.

Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Alex Gibney, Terry Kohut, Gary Smith, Pat Kuehn

Votes: 4,082

64. TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away from Keyboard (2013)

Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary

An intellectual freedoms documentary based around the interpersonal triumphs, and defeats of the three main characters against the largest industry in the known universe. The media industry.

Director: Simon Klose | Stars: Gottfrid Svartholm, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Peter Althin

Votes: 13,931

65. Dust to Dust: The Health Effects of 9/11 (2006 TV Movie)

65 min | Documentary

Five years after 9/11, the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center continue to claim the lives of American citizens. The violent collapse of the buildings released hundreds of thousands... See full summary »

Director: Heidi Dehncke-Fisher | Star: Steve Buscemi

Votes: 54

66. The Imposter (2012)

R | 99 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime

77 Metascore

A documentary centered on a young man in Spain who claims to a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who has been missing for 3 years.

Director: Bart Layton | Stars: Adam O'Brian, Nicholas Barclay, Carey Gibson, Bryan Gibson

Votes: 50,437 | Gross: $0.89M

67. Comic Book Confidential (1988)

Unrated | 90 min | Documentary, History

A survey of the artistic history of the comic book medium and some of the major talents associated with it.

Director: Ron Mann | Stars: Lynda Barry, Charles Burns, Sue Coe, Robert Crumb

Votes: 1,081

68. Secret Origin: The Story of DC Comics (2010 Video)

Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, History

The history of the longstanding American comic book company that launched such legendary superhero characters such as Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman.

Director: Mac Carter | Stars: Ryan Reynolds, Paul Levitz, Gerard Jones, Mark Waid

Votes: 1,329

69. West of Memphis (2012)

R | 147 min | Documentary, Crime

80 Metascore

An examination of a failure of justice in the case against the West Memphis Three.

Director: Amy Berg | Stars: Jason Baldwin, Damien Wayne Echols, Jessie Misskelley, Michael Baden

Votes: 10,953 | Gross: $0.31M

70. A Dog's Life (1962)

Approved | 108 min | Documentary, Horror

A "shockumentary" consisting of a collection of mostly real archive footage displaying mankind at its most depraved and perverse, displaying bizarre rites, cruel behavior and bestial violence.

Directors: Paolo Cavara, Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi | Stars: Stefano Sibaldi, Rossano Brazzi, Yves Klein, Henning Skaarup

Votes: 4,405

71. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)

Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime

82 Metascore

A filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.

Director: Kurt Kuenne | Stars: Kurt Kuenne, Andrew Bagby, David Bagby, Kathleen Bagby

Votes: 40,690 | Gross: $0.02M

72. Mediastan (2013)

Not Rated | 94 min | Documentary

On the road with Wikileaks.

Director: Johannes Wahlström | Stars: Julian Assange, Vladimir Gubanov, Sultanbek Joumagulov, Bill Keller

Votes: 443

73. The War You Don't See (2010)

97 min | Documentary, War

Thought-provoking documentary on war propaganda: how governments manipulate the facts and how most media let them get away with it.

Directors: Alan Lowery, John Pilger | Stars: John Pilger, Stuart Ewen, Melvin Goodman, Dan Rather

Votes: 1,524

74. 9/11: 10 Years Later (2011 TV Movie)

120 min | Documentary

This unprecedented and exclusive insider's account by filmmaker James Hanlon and Gedeon and Jules Naudet of the World TradeCenter attack, which contains the only known footage of the first ... See full summary »

Directors: James Hanlon, Gédéon Naudet, Jules Naudet | Star: Robert De Niro

Votes: 162

75. Press for Truth (2006)

Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary

The story and truth about 9/11

Director: Ray Nowosielski | Stars: Kristen Breitweiser, George W. Bush, Patty Casazza, Dick Cheney

Votes: 615

76. Bonhoeffer (2003)

TV-14 | 93 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Dramatic documentary about the young German pacifist and theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer who resisted the Nazi regime and was hanged two weeks before World War II was over.

Director: Martin Doblmeier | Stars: Klaus Maria Brandauer, Adele Schmidt, Richard Mancini, Martin Doblmeier

Votes: 410 | Gross: $0.16M

77. Empire of Dreams: The Story of the 'Star Wars' Trilogy (2004 Video)

151 min | Documentary, History, Sci-Fi

An in-depth making of documentary about the original Star Wars trilogy, covering the productions of the three films and their impact on popular culture.

Directors: Edith Becker, Kevin Burns | Stars: Robert Clotworthy, Walter Cronkite, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg

Votes: 5,268

78. Edie & Thea: A Very Long Engagement (2009)

Not Rated | 61 min | Documentary, Drama, Romance

After 42 years, feisty and delightful lesbian couple Edie and Thea are finally getting married. From the early '60s to the present day, the tireless community activists persevere through ... See full summary »

Directors: Susan Muska, Gréta Olafsdóttir | Stars: Thea Spyer, Edie Windsor

Votes: 418

79. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

R | 122 min | Documentary, Drama, War

67 Metascore

Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11 and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, George W. Bush, Ben Affleck, Stevie Wonder

Votes: 132,388 | Gross: $119.19M

80. Hitler's Children (2011)

Not Rated | 59 min | Documentary, History

69 Metascore

A look into the lives of the descendants of the top Nazi officials who worked under Hitler's command.

Director: Chanoch Ze'evi | Stars: Bettina Göring, Katrin Himmler, Monika Hertwig, Rainer Höß

Votes: 1,297 | Gross: $0.03M

81. Tsunami: Caught on Camera (2009 TV Movie)

90 min | Documentary

A minute-by-minute account of the Boxing Day 2004 Tsunami told through amateur video footage of people who were there.

Director: Janice Sutherland | Stars: Shonti Breisch, Jai Breisch

Votes: 299

82. The Yes Men Are Revolting (2014)

Unrated | 91 min | Documentary

61 Metascore

Comedy troupe The Yes Men stage phony events and press releases in an effort to bring attention to environmental dangers and corporate greed.

Directors: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Laura Nix | Stars: Mike Bonanno, Andy Bichlbaum, Benadette Chandia Kodili, Albert Mwesigwa

Votes: 792 | Gross: $0.05M

83. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

PG-13 | 79 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport

83 Metascore

Die-hard gamers compete to break world records on classic arcade games.

Director: Seth Gordon | Stars: Steve Wiebe, Billy Mitchell, Mark Alpiger, Adam Wood

Votes: 37,577 | Gross: $0.68M

84. Chasing Ghosts: Beyond the Arcade (2007)

R | 90 min | Documentary

1982's Video Game World Champions share their philosophies on joysticks, groupies and life.

Director: Lincoln Ruchti | Stars: Walter Day, Ben Gold, Steve Sanders, Kent Farries

Votes: 1,443

85. Second Skin (2008)

Unrated | 94 min | Documentary

73 Metascore

An intimate, fascinating look at computer gamers whose lives have been transformed by the emerging, hugely popular genre of computer games.

Director: Juan Carlos Pineiro Escoriaza | Stars: Dan Bustard, Ashley Esqueda, Andrew Monkelban, Nick Yee

Votes: 764

86. The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? (2015)

Not Rated | 104 min | Documentary, Sci-Fi

A documentary about the proposed 1998 Superman Lives feature film that would have starred Nicolas Cage.

Director: Jon Schnepp | Stars: Jon Schnepp, Charlie Oliver, Aaron Blossom, Joey Romero

Votes: 4,705

87. Dark Star: HR Gigers Welt (2014)

Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography

62 Metascore

A look at the life the dark surrealist Swiss artist, H.R.Giger shot a year before his death.

Director: Belinda Sallin | Stars: H.R. Giger, Carmen Maria Giger, Stanislav Grof, Hans H. Kunz

Votes: 1,276

88. Waco: The Rules of Engagement (1997)

Not Rated | 165 min | Documentary, History

A reassessment of the tragedy at Waco that left 76 members of the Branch Davidian religious sect dead.

Director: William Gazecki | Stars: Dan Gifford, Jim Cavanaugh, Dick DeGuerin, Clive Doyle

Votes: 3,731

89. Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017)

TV-MA | 82 min | Documentary, Crime

In this documentary, the murder of Deedee Blanchard by her daughter Gypsy Rose is explored, as well as the circumstances leading up to the event.

Director: Erin Lee Carr | Stars: Jessica Thomas, Jim Arnott, David Blanchard, Dee Dee Blanchard

Votes: 11,898

90. After Hitler (2016 TV Special)

91 min | Documentary, History

What happened in France just after WWII, between 1945 and 1949? An interesting historic documentary looks at the fate of male and female (presumed) collaborators with the Nazis, the use of ... See full summary »

Director: David Korn-Brzoza | Stars: Will Johnson, Vincent Lindon, Georgi Zhukov

Votes: 449

91. Merchants of Doubt (2014)

PG-13 | 96 min | Documentary

70 Metascore

A documentary that looks at pundits-for-hire who present themselves as scientific authorities as they speak about topics like toxic chemicals, pharmaceuticals and climate change.

Director: Robert Kenner | Stars: Frederick Singer, Naomi Oreskes, Jamy Ian Swiss, Sam Roe

Votes: 3,932 | Gross: $0.19M

92. Free Solo (2018)

PG-13 | 100 min | Documentary, Adventure, Sport

83 Metascore

Alex Honnold faces the biggest challenge of his career, climbing El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. He pursues it Free Solo, which means climbing without a rope and alone.

Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi | Stars: Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell, Jimmy Chin, Cheyne Lempe

Votes: 77,353 | Gross: $17.54M

93. Shadows of Liberty (2012)

93 min | Documentary

Examines the new media monopoly by corporations in America versus the public battle for truth and democracy.

Director: Jean-Philippe Tremblay | Stars: Kerry Shale, Amy Goodman, Janine Jackson, Deepa Kumar

Votes: 434

94. Fahrenheit 11/9 (2018)

R | 128 min | Documentary

69 Metascore

Filmmaker Michael Moore examines the current state of American politics, particularly the Donald Trump presidency and gun violence, while highlighting the power of grassroots democratic movements.

Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Jim Acosta, Roger Ailes, Brooke Baldwin, Ashleigh Banfield

Votes: 20,392 | Gross: $6.35M

95. Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)

PG-13 | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, History

85 Metascore

An exploration of the life, lessons, and legacy of iconic children's television host Fred Rogers.

Director: Morgan Neville | Stars: Fred Rogers, Margaret Whitmer, Tom Junod, Joanne Rogers

Votes: 27,114 | Gross: $22.84M

96. Wrinkles the Clown (2019)

Not Rated | 78 min | Documentary, Comedy, Horror

53 Metascore

In Florida, parents can hire Wrinkles the Clown to scare their misbehaving children.

Director: Michael Beach Nichols | Stars: Christopher Barcia, Miguel Bey, Trevor J. Blank, Andrew Caldwell

Votes: 1,618

97. HyperNormalisation (2016)

166 min | Documentary

Adam Curtis explains how, at a time of confusing and inexplicable world events, politicians and the people they represent have retreated in to a damaging over-simplified version of what is happening.

Director: Adam Curtis | Stars: Adam Curtis, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Victor Gotbaum

Votes: 7,370

98. Spaceship Earth (2020)

Not Rated | 113 min | Documentary

73 Metascore

A look at the group of people who built the Biosphere 2, a giant replica of the earth's ecosystem, in 1991.

Director: Matt Wolf | Stars: Kathelin Gray, Marie Harding, William Dempster, John Allen

Votes: 2,149



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