My favorite documentaries.
by Hans_erlend | created - 01 Jul 2020 | updated - 12 Dec 2021 | PublicDocumentaries
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1. Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, Music
A collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology.
Director: Godfrey Reggio | Stars: Edward Asner, Pat Benatar, Jerry Brown, Johnny Carson
Votes: 41,517 | Gross: $1.72M
2. Sing Me a Song (2019)
100 min | Documentary
As the Internet finally arrives in tiny Bhutan, documentarian Thomas Balmès is there to witness its transformative impact on a young Buddhist monk whose initial trepidation gives way to profound engagement with the technology.
Director: Thomas Balmès | Stars: Peyangki, Ugyen
Votes: 176
3. Crumb (1994)
R | 119 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
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: 21,602 | Gross: $3.17M
4. 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: 12,137 | Gross: $0.03M
5. Vernon, Florida (1981)
Not Rated | 55 min | Documentary
A documentary on the eccentric residents of Vernon, Florida.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Albert Bitterling, Roscoe Collins, George Harris, Joe Payne
Votes: 3,588
6. Megacities (1998)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary
A look at the people who live precariously, but with an unusual level of resourcefulness and imagination, in four gigantic urban agglomerations: Mumbai, New York City, Moscow and Mexico City.
Director: Michael Glawogger
Votes: 1,028
7. Gates of Heaven (1978)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary
A documentary about a pet cemetery in California, and the people who have pets buried there.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Lucille Billingsley, Zella Graham, Cal Harberts, Dan Harberts
Votes: 6,297
8. Workingman's Death (2005)
Not Rated | 122 min | Documentary
A documentary on the extremes to which workers will go to earn a living.
Director: Michael Glawogger
Votes: 1,812
9. Dark Days (2000)
Not Rated | 82 min | Documentary
A cinematic portrait of the homeless population who live permanently in the underground tunnels of New York City.
Director: Marc Singer | Star: Marc Singer
Votes: 7,183 | Gross: $0.43M
10. The Five Obstructions (2003)
Unrated | 90 min | Documentary
Filmmaker Lars Von Trier challenges Jørgen Leth, the filmmaker behind The Perfect Human (1967), to remake his classic short under circumstances of increasing constraint.
Directors: Jørgen Leth, Lars von Trier | Stars: Claus Nissen, Majken Algren Nielsen, Daniel Hernandez Rodriguez, Jacqueline Arenal
Votes: 9,210 | Gross: $0.09M
11. 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: 41,000 | Gross: $1.33M
12. Samsara (I) (2011)
PG-13 | 102 min | Documentary, Music
Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
Director: Ron Fricke | Stars: Balinese Tari Legong Dancers, Ni Made Megahadi Pratiwi, Puti Sri Candra Dewi, Putu Dinda Pratika
Votes: 38,062 | Gross: $2.67M
13. Sherman's March (1985)
Not Rated | 157 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
Documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee sets out to make a movie about Union General Sherman's March to the Sea towards the end of the American Civil War, but keeps getting sidetracked by his own love life.
Director: Ross McElwee | Stars: Ross McElwee, Dede McElwee, Ross McElwee Jr., Patricia Rendleman
Votes: 2,709
14. Time Indefinite (1993)
Not Rated | 114 min | Documentary, Biography
Forty year old documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee has a penchant for filming everything around him. Following the announcement of his impending marriage to his film-making partner Marilyn ... See full summary »
Director: Ross McElwee | Stars: Steve Ascher, Michael Blumenthal, Robert Gardner, Dee Dee Geraty
Votes: 408
15. Olav H. Hauge - Den Andre Mannen (2008)
57 min | Documentary
Olav H. Hauge lived most of his life alone, as a apple-farmer in the Small village of Ulvik in Hardanger, Norway. As a young adult he start write poems and a diary. Olav was almost 60 years old when he got his breakthrough.
Director: Vigdis Nielsen
Votes: 5
16. In the Basement (2014)
Not Rated | 81 min | Documentary
A documentary that reveals what its subjects do in their respective basements.
Director: Ulrich Seidl | Stars: Fritz Lang, Alfreda Klebinger, Manfred Ellinger, Inge Ellinger
Votes: 3,103 | Gross: $0.00M
17. 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: 37,581 | Gross: $0.68M
18. Tickled (2016)
R | 92 min | Documentary, Crime, Mystery
Journalist David Farrier stumbles upon a mysterious tickling competition online. As he delves deeper he comes up against fierce resistance, but that doesn't stop him getting to the bottom of a story stranger than fiction.
Directors: David Farrier, Dylan Reeve | Stars: David Farrier, Dylan Reeve, David Starr, Kevin Clarke
Votes: 20,756 | Gross: $0.61M
19. Jodorowsky's Dune (2013)
PG-13 | 90 min | Documentary
The story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.
Director: Frank Pavich | Stars: Alejandro Jodorowsky, Michel Seydoux, H.R. Giger, Chris Foss
Votes: 27,596 | Gross: $0.65M
20. Midnight Family (2019)
Unrated | 81 min | Documentary, Action, Crime
In Mexico City's wealthiest neighborhoods, the Ochoa family runs a private ambulance, competing with other for-profit EMTs for patients in need of urgent help.
Director: Luke Lorentzen | Stars: Juan Ochoa, Fer Ochoa, Josue Ochoa, Manuel Hernandez
Votes: 2,018
21. 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: 1,877
22. Into Eternity: A Film for the Future (2010)
75 min | Documentary
A documentary on the safety of nuclear storage.
Director: Michael Madsen | Stars: Carl Reinhold Bråkenhjelm, Mikael Jensen, Berit Lundqvist, Michael Madsen
Votes: 3,114 | Gross: $0.06M
23. 66 scener fra Amerika (1982)
42 min | Documentary, Short
As a visual narrative 66 scener fra America is reminiscent of a pile of postcards from a journey, which indeed is what the film is. It consists of a series of lengthy shots of a tableau ... See full summary »
Director: Jørgen Leth | Stars: Jørgen Leth, Kim Larsen, Andy Warhol
Votes: 275
24. New Scenes from America (2003)
35 min | Documentary, Short
A look at post-9/11 America by the Danish documentarian.
Director: Jørgen Leth | Stars: Henree Alyse, John Ashbery, John Cale, Robert Frank
Votes: 105
25. Into the Inferno (2016)
104 min | Documentary
An exploration of active volcanoes around the world.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Katia Krafft, Maurice Krafft, Clive Oppenheimer
Votes: 9,977
26. Lessons of Darkness (1992 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 54 min | Documentary, War
This film surveys the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames, with little narration and scarcely any interviews. Hell on Earth is presented in such transcendent visions and music that one can only be fascinated by it.
Director: Werner Herzog | Star: Werner Herzog
Votes: 6,756
27. The Amazing Johnathan Documentary (2019)
91 min | Documentary
What begins as a documentary following the final tour of a dying magician - "The Amazing Johnathan" - becomes an unexpected and increasingly bizarre journey as the filmmaker struggles to separate truth from illusion.
Director: Benjamin Berman | Stars: The Amazing Johnathan, Eric André, Criss Angel, Benjamin Berman
Votes: 1,674
28. 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: 19,357 | Gross: $1.16M
29. Edvard Munch (1974 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 210 min | Biography, Drama, History
This biopic of Norwegian Expressionist painter Edvard Munch focuses on the influences that shaped his art, his devastating affair with a married woman that will haunt him for the rest of his life
Director: Peter Watkins | Stars: Geir Westby, Gro Fraas, Kerstii Allum, Eric Allum
Votes: 3,381 | Gross: $0.04M
30. 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: 20,120
31. Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow (2010)
Not Rated | 105 min | Documentary
Starting in 2000, German artist Anselm Kiefer began constructing a series of large elaborate structures, comprising 48 buildings, a labyrinth of tunnels, bridges, lakes and towers. The film bears witness to an incredible creative process.
Director: Sophie Fiennes | Stars: Anselm Kiefer, Bill Katz, Klaus Dermutz
Votes: 311 | Gross: $0.05M
32. How to Draw a Bunny (2002)
90 min | Documentary
Interviews with Christo, Chuck Close, Roy Lichtenstein, Judith Malina, James Rosenquist and others help illuminate the life and work of Warhol contemporary Ray Johnson.
Director: John W. Walter | Stars: Joseph Ialacci, Richard Feigen, Frances Beatty, Mort Janklow
Votes: 610 | Gross: $0.00M
33. Ad Astra (I) (2016)
27 min | Documentary, Short
A visual journey threw Norwegian modernist and brutalist church arcitecture.
Directors: Egil Håskjold Larsen, Paul Tunge
Votes: 15
34. Junun (2015)
Not Rated | 54 min | Documentary, Music
Musician Jonny Greenwood travels to Rajasthan, where he performs with a multitude of Indian musicians.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Jonny Greenwood, Ehtisham Khan Ajmeri, Nihal Khan, Nathu Lal Solanki
Votes: 2,228
35. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
PG | 81 min | Documentary
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: 38,033 | Gross: $2.55M
36. Rivers and Tides (2001)
TV-G | 90 min | Documentary
Portrait of Andy Goldsworthy, an artist whose specialty is ephemeral sculptures made from elements of nature.
Director: Thomas Riedelsheimer | Stars: Andy Goldsworthy, Anna Goldsworthy, Holly Goldsworthy, James Goldsworthy
Votes: 2,472
37. Punishment Park (1971)
R | 91 min | Drama, Thriller
"Punishment Park" is a pseudo-documentary purporting to be a film crews's news coverage of the team of soldiers escorting a group of hippies, draft dodgers, and anti-establishment types ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Watkins | Stars: Patrick Boland, Kent Foreman, Carmen Argenziano, Luke Johnson
Votes: 7,638
38. Movements of a Nearby Mountain (2019)
86 min | Documentary
A self-taught mechanic runs a business exporting used cars from the Austrian Alps to his native Nigeria. As he pursues his lonely day-to-day activities with wondrous serenity, past, present and future begin to overlap.
Director: Sebastian Brameshuber
Votes: 45
39. Burden of Dreams (1982)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary
A documentary following German auteur Werner Herzog as he deals with difficult actors, bad weather and getting a boat over a mountain, all in an effort to make his film Fitzcarraldo (1982).
Director: Les Blank | Stars: Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards
Votes: 8,142
40. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)
R | 96 min | Documentary
Documentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.
Directors: Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper, Eleanor Coppola | Stars: Dennis Hopper, Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, George Lucas
Votes: 23,242 | Gross: $1.32M
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