BEST DOCUMENTARY OSCAR-WINNERS SINCE 1990
by elias_michelg | created - 26 Mar 2011 | updated - 10 Dec 2017 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. American Dream (1990)
PG-13 | 98 min | Documentary
Recounts the 1985-86 strike against the Hormel Foods Corporation in Minnesota after its employees' wages and benefits were cut.
Directors: Barbara Kopple, Cathy Caplan, Thomas Haneke, Lawrence Silk | Stars: Lewie Anderson, R.J. Bergstrom, Ron Bergstrom, Wayne Goodnature
Votes: 1,011 | Gross: $0.27M
2. In the Shadow of the Stars (1991)
Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary
Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, this film is a hilarious and affectionate look at the path to stardom inside the competitive world of opera.
Directors: Allie Light, Irving Saraf | Star: William S. Jones
Votes: 210
3. The Panama Deception (1992)
91 min | Documentary, History, War
A film about the true reasons for the 1989 US invasion of Panama and big media complicity in these activities.
Director: Barbara Trent | Stars: Elizabeth Montgomery, Carlos Cantú, Diviana Ingravallo, Abraham Alvarez
Votes: 1,166 | Gross: $0.31M
4. I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School (1993)
89 min | Documentary
Filmmakers Alan Raymond and Susan Raymond document Philadelphia teachers facing challenges at an inner-city school.
Director: Susan Raymond | Stars: Susan Raymond, Deanna Burney, Clary Jansson
Votes: 228
5. Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision (1994)
105 min | Documentary, Biography
A film about the work of the artist most famous for her monuments such as the Vietnam Memorial Wall and the Civil Rights Fountain Memorial.
Director: Freida Lee Mock | Star: Maya Lin
Votes: 534 | Gross: $0.06M
6. Anne Frank Remembered (1995)
PG | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, War
Tells the story of the Frank family and paints a portrait of their brash and free-spirited daughter Anne, perhaps the world's most famous victim of the Holocaust.
Director: Jon Blair | Stars: Kenneth Branagh, Glenn Close, Isa Baschwitz, Mary Bos
Votes: 1,347 | Gross: $1.31M
7. When We Were Kings (1996)
PG | 88 min | Documentary, Sport
Boxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.
Director: Leon Gast | Stars: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King, James Brown
Votes: 19,127 | Gross: $2.79M
8. The Long Way Home (1997)
Not Rated | 120 min | Documentary, History, War
The story of the post World War II Jewish refugee situation from liberation to the establishment of the modern state of Israel.
Director: Mark Jonathan Harris | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Israel Lau, Livia Shacter, Abraham Klausner
Votes: 1,270
9. The Last Days (1998)
PG-13 | 87 min | Documentary, War
In late 1944, even as they faced imminent defeat, the Nazis expended enormous resources to kill or deport over 425,000 Jews during the "cleansing" of Hungary. This Oscar-winning documentary... See full summary »
Director: James Moll | Stars: Bill Basch, Martin Basch, Randolph Braham, Alice Lok Cahana
Votes: 5,752 | Gross: $0.42M
10. One Day in September (1999)
R | 94 min | Documentary, History, Sport
The Palestinian terrorist group Black September holds Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Michael Douglas, Ankie Spitzer, Jamal Al Gashey, Gerald Seymour
Votes: 6,241 | Gross: $0.16M
11. Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000)
PG | 122 min | Documentary, History, War
The secret smuggling of 9,300 Jewish children out of Nazi Germany in the late 1930s.
Director: Mark Jonathan Harris | Stars: Judi Dench, Lory Cahn, Kurt Fuchel, Eva Hayman
Votes: 1,958 | Gross: $0.37M
12. 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: 4,515
13. Bowling for Columbine (2002)
R | 120 min | Documentary, Crime, Drama
Filmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Manson, Salvador Allende
Votes: 148,705 | Gross: $21.58M
14. The Fog of War (2003)
PG-13 | 107 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The story of America as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense under President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Robert McNamara, John F. Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon
Votes: 25,040 | Gross: $4.20M
15. Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids (2004)
R | 85 min | Documentary, Biography, News
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: 18,002 | Gross: $3.41M
16. March of the Penguins (2005)
G | 80 min | Documentary, Family
In the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family.
Director: Luc Jacquet | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Romane Bohringer, Charles Berling, Jules Sitruk
Votes: 59,934 | Gross: $77.44M
17. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
PG | 96 min | Documentary
Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim follows Al Gore on the lecture circuit, as the former presidential candidate campaigns to raise public awareness of the dangers of global warming and calls for immediate action to curb its destructive effects on the environment.
Director: Davis Guggenheim | Stars: Al Gore, Billy West, George Bush, George W. Bush
Votes: 85,193 | Gross: $23.81M
18. Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)
R | 106 min | Documentary, Crime, History
Alex Gibney exposes the haunting details of the USA's torture and interrogation practices during the War in Afghanistan.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Alex Gibney, Brian Keith Allen, Moazzam Begg, Christopher Beiring
Votes: 16,802 | Gross: $0.27M
19. 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: 58,661 | Gross: $2.96M
20. The Cove (2009)
PG-13 | 92 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Using state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.
Director: Louie Psihoyos | Stars: Richard O'Barry, Louie Psihoyos, Hardy Jones, Michael Illiff
Votes: 51,430 | Gross: $0.87M
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: 78,940 | Gross: $4.31M
22. Undefeated (2011)
PG-13 | 113 min | Documentary, Sport
Chronicles three underprivileged students from inner-city Memphis and their volunteer coach who tries to help them beat the odds on and off the field.
Directors: Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin | Stars: Bill Courtney, O.C. Brown, Montrail 'Money' Brown, Chavis Daniels
Votes: 7,337 | Gross: $0.56M
23. Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
PG-13 | 86 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.
Director: Malik Bendjelloul | Stars: Rodriguez, Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman, Dennis Coffey, Mike Theodore
Votes: 72,878 | Gross: $3.97M
24. Twenty Feet from Stardom (2013)
PG-13 | 91 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Backup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.
Director: Morgan Neville | Stars: Darlene Love, Merry Clayton, Lisa Fischer, Judith Hill
Votes: 13,949 | Gross: $4.95M
25. Citizenfour (2014)
R | 114 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden.
Director: Laura Poitras | Stars: Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, William Binney, Jacob Appelbaum
Votes: 57,960 | Gross: $2.80M
26. Amy (III) (2015)
R | 128 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Archival footage and personal testimonials present an intimate portrait of the life and career of British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse.
Director: Asif Kapadia | Stars: Amy Winehouse, Mitch Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Russell Brand
Votes: 54,980 | Gross: $8.41M
27. O.J.: Made in America (2016)
TV-MA | 467 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.
Director: Ezra Edelman | Stars: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mike Albanese, Muhammad Ali, Marcus Allen
Votes: 21,708
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