Crime Documentaries
by stefanbackes | created - 19 Dec 2012 | updated - 10 Apr 2017 | Public- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. The Killing of America (1981)
R | 90 min | Documentary, Crime
A documentary of the decline of America. It features footage (most exclusive to this film) from race riots to serial killers and much, much more.
Director: Sheldon Renan | Stars: Chuck Riley, Ed Dorris, Thomas Noguchi, Sirhan Sirhan
Votes: 2,361
2. 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: 6,239 | Gross: $0.16M
3. Cocaine Cowboys 2 (2008)
Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary, Crime, History
The sequel follows cocaine dealer Charles Crosby beginning in 1991 on the inner-city streets of Oakland, California. The story of Griselda Blanco is presented in greater depth.
Director: Billy Corben | Stars: Nelson Andreu, Jorge Ayala, Griselda Blanco, Sam Burstyn
Votes: 3,123
4. 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: 9,633
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: 18,118
6. Cocaine Cowboys (2006)
R | 118 min | Documentary, Crime, History
The story of how Miami became the cocaine capital of the United States in the early 1980's and the police officers who turned the tide on crime.
Director: Billy Corben | Stars: Jon Roberts, Al Sunshine, Sam Burstyn, Mickey Munday
Votes: 14,088 | Gross: $0.15M
7. 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: 148,665 | Gross: $21.58M
8. Until the Light Takes Us (2008)
Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary, Music
Interviews and news footage explore the rise of black metal music in Norway in the 1990s, including artists who were involved in suicide, murder and arson.
Directors: Aaron Aites, Audrey Ewell | Stars: Fenriz, Varg Vikernes, Euronymous, Hellhammer
Votes: 6,680 | Gross: $0.12M
9. Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (2011)
Not Rated | 121 min | Documentary, Crime
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: 10,853
10. 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: 27,073 | Gross: $3.12M
11. Ghosts of Cité Soleil (2006)
85 min | Documentary, Action, Drama
Documents the violent lives of gang leaders in Haiti's worst slum, focusing on two brothers loyal to then-President Aristide.
Directors: Asger Leth, Milos Loncarevic | Stars: Winson '2Pac' Jean, Wyclef Jean, James 'Bily' Petit Frère, Éleonore 'Lele' Senlis
Votes: 1,909 | Gross: $0.05M
12. Crips and Bloods: Made in America (2008)
Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary, Crime
With a first-person look at the notorious Crips and Bloods, this film examines the conditions that have lead to decades of devastating gang violence among young African Americans growing up in South Los Angeles.
Director: Stacy Peralta | Stars: Jim Brown, Tony Muhammad, Kershaun Scott, Forest Whitaker
Votes: 2,910 | Gross: $0.07M
13. American Pimp (1999)
R | 87 min | Documentary
Street pimps, all of them African-American, discuss their lives and work: getting started, being flamboyant, pimping in various U.S. cities, bringing a woman into their group, taking a ... See full summary »
Directors: Albert Hughes, Allen Hughes | Stars: John S. Dickson, Antonio Fargas, Heidi Fleiss, L. Hammond
Votes: 2,368 | Gross: $0.29M
14. Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (2006)
86 min | Documentary, History
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: 5,638
15. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
Not Rated | 101 min | Documentary, Crime
A film that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas County, Texas.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Randall Adams, David Harris, Gus Rose, Jackie Johnson
Votes: 25,874 | Gross: $1.21M
16. Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003)
R | 93 min | Documentary, Crime
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: 6,944 | Gross: $0.10M
17. Biggie & Tupac (2002)
R | 108 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Documentary on the deaths of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls and the East Coast/West Coast, hip-hop/rap rivalry that culminated in late 1996 and early 1997.
Director: Nick Broomfield | Stars: The Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur, Nick Broomfield, Russell Poole
Votes: 5,009 | Gross: $0.09M
18. The Imposter (2012)
R | 99 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
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: 50,383 | Gross: $0.89M
19. Unraveled (III) (2011)
Not Rated | 84 min | Documentary
A documentary on Marc Dreier, the once-prominent Manhattan attorney who was arrested for orchestrating a massive fraud scheme that netted over 700 million dollars from hedge funds.
Directors: Marc H. Simon, Bobby Leigh | Stars: Marc Dreier, Bobby Leigh
Votes: 403
20. The Deceiver (2008)
85 min | Documentary, Adventure, Biography
The film follows the tracks of a master fraudster, impersonator and Ponzi schemer who, among other exploits, coached the Hungarian ladies' swimming team to success at international ... See full summary »
Directors: Åsa Blanck, Johan Palmgren | Star: György Zemplényi
Votes: 129
21. Quebrando o Tabu (2011)
PG-13 | 80 min | Documentary
Documentary uncovering the failure of the UN sanctioned war on drugs.
Directors: Fernando Grostein Andrade, Cosmo Feilding-Mellen | Stars: Fran Boyd Andrews, Brenda Blom, Fernando Henrique Cardoso, Jimmy Carter
Votes: 1,027
22. Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired (2008)
Unrated | 99 min | Documentary, Crime
Examines the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary filmmaker Roman Polanski's sudden flight from the United States.
Director: Marina Zenovich | Stars: Andrew Braunsberg, Richard Brenneman, Douglas Dalton, Marilyn Beck
Votes: 5,202 | Gross: $0.06M
23. The Interrupters (2011)
Unrated | 125 min | Documentary, Crime
A year in the life of a city grappling with urban violence.
Director: Steve James | Stars: Tio Hardiman, Ameena Matthews, Toya Batey, Cobe Williams
Votes: 3,616 | Gross: $0.28M
24. Into the Abyss (2011)
PG-13 | 107 min | Documentary, Crime, Drama
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: 17,338 | Gross: $0.22M
25. American Drug War: The Last White Hope (2006)
Not Rated | 120 min | Documentary, Crime
With commentary from soldiers on both sides of the conflict, filmmaker Kevin Booth's incisive documentary wades into the murky waters of the American war on drugs, the longest and costliest war in U.S. history.
Director: Kevin Booth | Stars: Joe Arpaio, Jello Biafra, Osama bin Laden, Jeff Blackburn
Votes: 1,643
26. The Trials of Darryl Hunt (2006)
PG-13 | 106 min | Documentary, Crime
"The Trials of Darryl Hunt" is a feature documentary about a brutal rape/murder case and a wrongly convicted man, Darryl Hunt, who spent nearly twenty years in prison for a crime he did not... See full summary »
Directors: Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg | Stars: Evelyn Jefferson, Fred Flagler, John Reeves, Mary Anne Sheboy
Votes: 1,081 | Gross: $0.00M
27. Brother's Keeper (1992)
R | 104 min | Documentary, Crime, Mystery
This compelling documentary details the strange-but-true murder trial of Delbert Ward, accused of the mercy killing of his brother in rural upstate NY. This real-life murder mystery won the Audience Award at Sundance.
Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky | Stars: Delbert Ward, Roscoe Ward, Lyman Ward, Walt Geisler
Votes: 4,276 | Gross: $1.31M
28. Locked Up Abroad (2007– )
TV-14 | 90 min | Documentary, Drama
Survivors share their stories and experience of survival abroad.
Stars: Natalie Dunne, Max Wrottesley, Manuel Villasenor, Jerry Murillo
Votes: 2,229
29. How to Make Money Selling Drugs (2012)
Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary, Crime
Ten easy steps show you how to make money from drugs, featuring a series of interviews with drug dealers, prison employees, and lobbyists arguing for tougher drug laws.
Director: Matthew Cooke | Stars: 'Freeway' Ricky Ross, Susan Sarandon, David Simon, 50 Cent
Votes: 6,819 | Gross: $1.50M
30. At Night I Fly (2011)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary
In At Night I Fly: Images from New Folsom, inmates at one of California's most maximum security prisons let us see their world. This world is less about dangerous drama and more, as one of ... See full summary »
Director: Michel Wenzer | Stars: Jim Carlson, Spoon Jackson, Rick Misener, Charles Owens
Votes: 380
31. Hacking Democracy (2006)
82 min | Documentary
The film the voting machine corporations don't want you to see. HACKING DEMOCRACY follows investigator/grandmother, Bev Harris, and her citizen-activists as they set out to uncover how ... See full summary »
Directors: Simon Ardizzone, Russell Michaels | Stars: James Naughton, Bev Harris, Deanie Lowe, Harri Hursti
Votes: 1,353
32. El Sicario, Room 164 (2010)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary, Crime
The story of a hitman for the drug cartels in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Director: Gianfranco Rosi
Votes: 1,019
33. Narco Cultura (2013)
R | 103 min | Documentary, Crime
Narco Cultura (Spanish, English subtitles) takes viewers behind the scenes of narcocorridos, the most explosive and violent music subculture in America.
Director: Shaul Schwarz
Votes: 2,499 | Gross: $0.14M
34. Bus 174 (2002)
R | 122 min | Documentary, Crime
On June 12, 2000, a young man with a gun took the passengers aboard Bus 174 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hostage. This documentary examines the event itself, the resulting media frenzy, the police response, and the perpetrator's background.
Directors: José Padilha, Felipe Lacerda | Stars: Sandro do Nascimento, Rodrigo Pimentel, Luiz Eduardo Soares, Anonymous
Votes: 8,607 | Gross: $0.22M
35. The Condemned (2013)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary, Crime
In the heart of Russia, in a forest larger than Germany, where winter temperatures drop to -40 degrees, 7 hours from the nearest city, lies a prison like no other. Home to 260 men, responsible for nearly 800 murders.
Director: Nick Read | Stars: Timur Temirov, Vlada Temirova
Votes: 373
36. Drug Lord: The Legend of Shorty (2014)
TV-MA | 90 min | Documentary, News
A documentary that chronicles the hunt for the notorious Mexican drug lord El Chapo.
Director: Angus MacQueen | Star: Federico Louhau
Votes: 400
37. The Notorious Mr. Bout (2014)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary
When he was arrested in 2008 in Thailand as a result of a U.S. government sting operation, the career of internationally known arms smuggler Viktor Bout came to a decisive end. Veiled by ... See full summary »
Directors: Tony Gerber, Maxim Pozdorovkin | Stars: Sergei Bout, Wim Brown, Alla Vladimirovna But, Viktor Anatol'yevich But
Votes: 418
38. Cropsey (2009)
Not Rated | 84 min | Documentary, Crime, Horror
Realizing that the urban legend of their youth has actually come true, two filmmakers delve into the mystery surrounding five missing children and the real-life boogeyman linked to their disappearances.
Directors: Barbara Brancaccio, Joshua Zeman | Stars: Joshua Zeman, Barbara Brancaccio, Bill Ellis, Dorothy D'Eletto
Votes: 9,165 | Gross: $0.05M
39. West of Memphis (2012)
R | 147 min | Documentary, Crime
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: 10,941 | Gross: $0.31M
40. Killing for Love (2016)
Unrated | 130 min | Documentary, Crime
The gruesome murders of Nancy and Derek Haysom in 1985 were an international media sensation. The Haysoms were wealthy, respected members of Virginia society, and the murder conviction of ... See full summary »
Directors: Marcus Vetter, Karin Steinberger | Stars: Imogen Poots, Daniel Brühl, Jens Söring, Chuck Reid
Votes: 1,698
Tell Your Friends