Must See Documentaries
by CasaK2 | created - 04 Nov 2018 | updated - 24 Aug 2019 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. My Best Fiend (1999)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography
The love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Eva Mattes
Votes: 12,190 | Gross: $0.10M
2. Grizzly Man (2005)
R | 103 min | Documentary, Biography
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: 61,865 | Gross: $3.17M
3. Beautiful People (1974)
G | 92 min | Comedy, Documentary
Hilarious documentary on the wildlife of the Namib Desert.
Director: Jamie Uys | Star: Paddy O'Byrne
Votes: 4,155
4. The Civil War (1990)
TV-14 | 76 min | Documentary, History, War
A comprehensive survey of the American Civil War.
Stars: David McCullough, Sam Waterston, Julie Harris, Jason Robards
Votes: 18,453
5. In Search of Ozu (2018)
46 min | Documentary
In this documentary, filmmaker Daniel Raim delves into Yasujiro Ozu's remarkable late work, in which the master made the leap from black and white to color. In his stirring tribute to the ... See full summary »
Director: Daniel Raim | Stars: Hideyuki Nagai, Kazuhiro Odashima, Hidenori Okada, Shizuo Yamanouchi
Votes: 86
6. They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)
TV-MA | 98 min | Documentary, Biography
In the final fifteen years of the life of legendary director Orson Welles, he pins his Hollywood comeback hopes on a film, The Other Side of the Wind (2018), in itself a film about an aging film director trying to finish his last great movie.
Director: Morgan Neville | Stars: Alan Cumming, Peter Bogdanovich, Oja Kodar, Orson Welles
Votes: 5,438
7. Filmworker (2017)
Not Rated | 94 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentary about how English actor Leon Vitali came to work as an assistant to American filmmaker Stanley Kubrick for over 30 years.
Director: Tony Zierra | Stars: Leon Vitali, Ryan O'Neal, Brian Capron, Mike Alfreds
Votes: 3,500 | Gross: $0.10M
8. The Act of Killing (2012)
Not Rated | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
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: 40,801 | Gross: $0.49M
9. The Look of Silence (2014)
PG-13 | 103 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A family that survived the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer | Stars: Adi Rukun, M.Y. Basrun, Volker Hanisch, Amir Hasan
Votes: 13,877 | Gross: $0.11M
10. American Movie (1999)
R | 107 min | Documentary, Comedy
Documentary about an aspiring filmmaker's attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.
Director: Chris Smith | Stars: Mark Borchardt, Mike Schank, Tom Schimmels, Monica Borchardt
Votes: 19,331 | Gross: $1.16M
11. Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
Not Rated | 68 min | Documentary
A man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.
Director: Dziga Vertov | Stars: Mikhail Kaufman, Elizaveta Svilova
Votes: 27,970
12. Sans Soleil (1983)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, Drama
A woman narrates the contemplative writings of a seasoned world traveler, focusing on contemporary Japan.
Director: Chris Marker | Stars: Amilcar Cabral, Florence Delay, Arielle Dombasle, Riyoko Ikeda
Votes: 12,127 | Gross: $0.03M
13. The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl (1993)
183 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary about the life and work of Leni Riefenstahl, a German film director most notorious for making the most effective propaganda films for the Nazis.
Director: Ray Müller | Stars: Leni Riefenstahl, Marlene Dietrich, Arnold Fanck, Walter Frentz
Votes: 3,052 | Gross: $0.45M
14. My Winnipeg (2007)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama
Fact, fantasy and memory are woven seamlessly together in this portrait of film-maker Guy Maddin's home town of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Director: Guy Maddin | Stars: Darcy Fehr, Ann Savage, Louis Negin, Amy Stewart
Votes: 5,628 | Gross: $0.16M
15. Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations (1938)
Not Rated | 111 min | Documentary, Sport
The document of the 1936 Olympics at Berlin.
Director: Leni Riefenstahl | Stars: David Albritton, Arvo Askola, Jack Beresford, Erwin Blask
Votes: 5,239
16. Olympia Part Two: Festival of Beauty (1938)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Sport
The document of the 1936 Olympics at Berlin, orchestrated as Nazi propaganda.
Director: Leni Riefenstahl | Stars: Sheigo Arai, Jack Beresford, Ralf Berzsenyi, Ferenc Csík
Votes: 4,325
17. 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: 18,318
18. 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: 40,974 | Gross: $1.33M
19.
American Masters (1985– )
Episode:
No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
(2005)
Not Rated | 208 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A chronicle of Bob Dylan's strange evolution between 1961 and 1966 from folk singer to protest singer to "voice of a generation" to rock star.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Bob Dylan, B.J. Rolfzen, Dick Kangas, Liam Clancy
Votes: 12,106
20. Woodstock (1970)
R | 184 min | Documentary, History, Music
Oscar-winning musical chronicle that brilliantly captures the three-day rock concert and celebration of peace and love that became a capstone for the Sixties.
Director: Michael Wadleigh | Stars: Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Roger Daltrey, Joe Cocker
Votes: 18,458 | Gross: $50.00M
21. Gimme Shelter (1970)
GP | 91 min | Documentary, Music, Thriller
When three hundred thousand members of the Love Generation collided with a few dozen Hells Angels at San Francisco's Altamont Speedway, the bloody slash that transformed a decade's dreams into disillusionment was immortalized on this film.
Directors: Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin | Stars: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Charlie Watts
Votes: 12,882 | Gross: $0.25M
22. Life Itself (2014)
R | 121 min | Documentary, Biography
The life and career of the renowned film critic and social commentator, Roger Ebert.
Director: Steve James | Stars: Roger Ebert, Chaz Ebert, Gene Siskel, Martin Scorsese
Votes: 16,250 | Gross: $0.81M
23. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
PG-13 | 79 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
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: 37,573 | Gross: $0.68M
24. Our Nixon (2013)
Not Rated | 84 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Never before seen Super 8 home movies filmed by Richard Nixon's closest aides - and convicted Watergate conspirators - offer a surprising and intimate new look into his Presidency.
Director: Penny Lane | Stars: Richard Nixon, H.R. Haldeman, John Ehrlichman, Dwight Chapin
Votes: 662 | Gross: $0.02M
25. Ecstasy of Order: The Tetris Masters (2011)
Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary
A documentary that captures the greatest world record Tetris players as they prepare for the Classic Tetris World Championship. From the days of Thor Aackerlund and his historic victory at ... See full summary »
Director: Adam Cornelius | Stars: Thor Aackerlund, Dain Anderson, Sebastian Blanco, Matt Buco
Votes: 1,597
27. Tokyo-Ga (1985)
92 min | Documentary
Moved by the work of director Yasujirô Ozu, Wim Wenders travels to Japan in search of the Tokyo seen in Ozu's films.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Chishû Ryû, Werner Herzog, Yûharu Atsuta, Chris Marker
Votes: 3,303
28. Hal (2018)
90 min | Documentary, Biography
Hal Ashby's obsessive genius led to an unprecedented string of Oscar®-winning classics, including Harold and Maude (1971), Shampoo and Being There. But as contemporaries Francis Ford Coppola... See full summary »
Director: Amy Scott | Stars: Hal Ashby, Norman Jewison, Haskell Wexler, Louis Gossett Jr.
Votes: 682 | Gross: $0.05M
29. The Silent World (1956)
86 min | Documentary, Adventure
A documentary about the undersea explorers and how they penetrate into the underwater world.
Directors: Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Louis Malle | Stars: Frédéric Dumas, Albert Falco, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, François Saout
Votes: 1,815
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