Documentaries worth watching...
by kevinmbarry | created - 10 Jun 2011 | updated - 26 Jul 2011 | PublicDocumentaries - A good documentary can challenge you, present a new perspective, or simply present the facts... The films in this List achieve that... So if you've got 90 Minutes and an inquiring nature, consider one of these films...
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1. A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (2006 Video)
Not Rated | 84 min | Documentary
A theatrical documentary on the planet's dwindling oil resources.
Directors: Basil Gelpke, Raymond McCormack, Reto Caduff | Stars: Wade Adams, Abdul Samad Al-Awadi, Fadhil J. Al-Chalabi, Roscoe Bartlett
Votes: 1,999
2. American Teen (2008)
PG-13 | 95 min | Documentary
A documentary on seniors at a high school in a small Indiana town and their various cliques.
Director: Nanette Burstein | Stars: Hannah Bailey, Jake Tusing, Megan Krizmanich, Colin Clemens
Votes: 4,229 | Gross: $0.94M
3. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
Not Rated | 107 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
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: 27,139 | Gross: $3.12M
4. Control Room (2004)
Not Rated | 84 min | Documentary
A documentary on perception of the United States's war with Iraq, with an emphasis on Al Jazeera's coverage.
Director: Jehane Noujaim | Stars: Samir Khader, Josh Rushing, George W. Bush, Hassan Ibrahim
Votes: 5,265 | Gross: $2.59M
5. Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987 TV Movie)
PG-13 | 84 min | Documentary, History, War
Feature-length documentary film featuring real-life letters written by American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines during the Vietnam War to their families and friends back home.
Director: Bill Couturié | Stars: Tom Berenger, Ellen Burstyn, J. Kenneth Campbell, Richard Chaves
Votes: 1,963
6. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
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: 40,738 | Gross: $0.02M
7. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
R | 110 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: John Beard, Tim Belden, Barbara Boxer, George W. Bush
Votes: 20,116
8. 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: 19,258 | Gross: $0.94M
9. 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: 68,834 | Gross: $3.29M
10. Food, Inc. (2008)
PG | 94 min | Documentary, News
An unflattering look inside America's corporate controlled food industry.
Director: Robert Kenner | Stars: Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, Richard Lobb, Vince Edwards
Votes: 52,227 | Gross: $4.42M
11. Freakonomics (2010)
PG-13 | 85 min | Documentary
A collection of documentaries that explores the hidden side of human nature through the use of the science of economics.
Directors: Heidi Ewing, Alex Gibney, Seth Gordon, Rachel Grady, Eugene Jarecki, Morgan Spurlock | Stars: James Ransone, Tempestt Bledsoe, Morgan Spurlock, Melvin Van Peebles
Votes: 7,740 | Gross: $0.10M
12. GasLand (2010)
Not Rated | 107 min | Documentary
An exploration of the fracking petroleum extraction industry and the serious environmental consequences involved.
Director: Josh Fox | Stars: Josh Fox, Dick Cheney, Pete Seeger, Richard Nixon
Votes: 11,105 | Gross: $0.03M
13. Hearts and Minds (1974)
R | 112 min | Documentary, History, War
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: 6,113 | Gross: $0.03M
14. 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: 78,993 | Gross: $4.31M
15. I.O.U.S.A. (2008)
PG | 85 min | Documentary
Few are aware that America may be on the brink of a financial meltdown. I.O.U.S.A. explores the country's shocking current fiscal condition and ways to avoid a national economic disaster.
Director: Patrick Creadon | Stars: Robert Bixby, Humphrey Bogart, Warren Buffett, George Bush
Votes: 1,945 | Gross: $0.82M
16. Man on Wire (2008)
PG-13 | 94 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century".
Director: James Marsh | Stars: Philippe Petit, Jean François Heckel, Jean-Louis Blondeau, Annie Allix
Votes: 58,684 | Gross: $2.96M
17. Marwencol (2010)
Not Rated | 83 min | Documentary, Biography, Fantasy
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
18. Maxed Out (2006)
Unrated | 90 min | Documentary
When Hurricane Katrina ravaged America's Gulf Coast, it laid bare an uncomfortable reality-America is not only far from the world's wealthiest nation; it is crumbling beneath a staggering ... See full summary »
Director: James D. Scurlock | Stars: Beth Naef, Mike Hudson, Louis C.K., Catherine Brown
Votes: 2,240 | Gross: $0.06M
19. Murder on a Sunday Morning (2001)
Not Rated | 111 min | Documentary, Crime
Oscar-winning documentary that documents a murder trial in which a 15-year-old African-American is wrongfully accused of a 2000 murder in Jacksonville, Florida.
Director: Jean-Xavier de Lestrade | Stars: Ann Finnell, Patrick McGuinness, James Williams, Michael Glover
Votes: 4,518
20. No End in Sight (2007)
Not Rated | 102 min | Documentary, War
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: 8,631 | Gross: $1.43M
21. Occupation 101 (2006)
90 min | Documentary
A thought-provoking and powerful documentary film on the current and historical root causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and U.S. political involvement.
Directors: Abdallah Omeish, Sufyan Omeish | Stars: James Akins, Arik Ascherman, Bishop Barltlett Jr., Phyllis Bennis
Votes: 1,908
22. Page One (2011)
R | 92 min | Documentary
Unprecedented access to the New York Times newsroom yields a complex view of the transformation of a media landscape fraught with both peril and opportunity.
Director: Andrew Rossi | Stars: David Carr, Sarah Ellison, Larry Ingrassia, Dennis Crowley
Votes: 3,448 | Gross: $1.07M
23. 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: 18,154
24. Religulous (2008)
R | 101 min | Documentary, Comedy, War
Bill Maher's take on the current state of world religion.
Director: Larry Charles | Stars: Bill Maher, Tal Bachman, Jonathan Boulden, Steven Burg
Votes: 60,252 | Gross: $13.00M
25. Sir! No Sir! (2005)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary, History, War
NO! SIR! tells an almost entirely forgotten story of the military men and women who forced the U.S. government to end the Vietnam War
Director: David Zeiger | Stars: Michael Alaimo, Edward Asner, Joe Bangert, Tom Bernard
Votes: 838 | Gross: $0.11M
26. Spellbound (2002)
G | 97 min | Documentary, Comedy, Thriller
Spellbound follows eight teenagers on their quest to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee.
Director: Jeffrey Blitz | Stars: Angela Arenivar, Ubaldo Arenivar, Jorge Arenivar, Scott McGarraugh
Votes: 12,460 | Gross: $5.73M
27. The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (2009)
Not Rated | 92 min | Documentary
An exploration of the life and work of Dr. Daniel Ellsberg, former Marine and military strategist, who was responsible for the publication of secret government documents that revealed the truth behind America's involvement in Vietnam.
Directors: Judith Ehrlich, Rick Goldsmith | Stars: Peter Arnett, Ben Bagdikian, Ann Beeson, John Dean
Votes: 2,421 | Gross: $0.45M
28. The Real Dirt on Farmer John (2005)
Not Rated | 82 min | Documentary
The epic tale of a maverick Midwestern farmer. Castigated as a pariah in his community, Farmer John bravely transforms his farm amidst a failing economy, vicious rumors, and arson. He ... See full summary »
Director: Taggart Siegel | Stars: John Peterson, Anna Nielsen, John Edwards, Lester Peterson
Votes: 647 | Gross: $0.01M
29. The Union: The Business Behind Getting High (2007)
104 min | Documentary
BC's illegal marijuana trade industry has evolved into a business giant, dubbed by some involved as 'The Union', Commanding upwards of $7 billion Canadian annually. With up to 85% of 'BC ... See full summary »
Director: Brett Harvey | Stars: Adam Scorgie, Chris Bennett, Steve Bloom, Renee Bojee
Votes: 7,833
30. The War on Democracy (2007)
Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary
Venezuela, Guatemala, Cuba, Chile, Salvador, Bolivia: people's struggle for democracy versus US imperialism in Latin America since the 1950s, backing coups and supporting dictatorships.
Directors: Chris Martin, John Pilger, Sean Crotty | Stars: John Pilger, Philip Agee, Salvador Allende, George Bush
Votes: 2,527
31. Touching the Void (2003)
R | 106 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama
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: 38,112 | Gross: $4.59M
32. 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
33. 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: 2,325
34. Winter Soldier (1972)
Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary, History, War
For three days in 1971, former US soldiers who were in Vietnam testify in Detroit about their war experiences. Nearly 30 speak, describing atrocities personally committed or witnessed, ... See full summary »
Director: Winterfilm Collective | Stars: Rusty Sachs, Joe Bangert, Scott Shimabukuro, Kenneth Campbell
Votes: 1,081
35. Zeitgeist (2007 Video)
Not Rated | 118 min | Documentary, History
Mythology and belief in society today, presenting uncommon perspectives of common cultural issues.
Director: Peter Joseph | Stars: Chogyam Trungpa, Jordan Maxwell, George Carlin, Bill Hicks
Votes: 50,374
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