Rotten Tomatoes: Top Documentary Movies
by BonaFideBOSS | created - 02 Dec 2020 | updated - 16 Mar 2022 | PublicWhich of these top 35 documentary movies, according to Rotten Tomatoes, is your favorite?
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1. Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
PG-13 | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, History
An exploration of the life, lessons, and legacy of iconic children's television host Fred Rogers.
Director: Morgan Neville | Stars: Fred Rogers, Margaret Whitmer, Tom Junod, Joanne Rogers
Votes: 27,124 | Gross: $22.84M
2. I Am Not Your Negro (2016)
PG-13 | 93 min | Documentary, History
Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.
Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X
Votes: 23,513 | Gross: $7.12M
3. Apollo 11 (I) (2019)
G | 93 min | Documentary, History
A look at the Apollo 11 mission to land on the moon led by commander Neil Armstrong and pilots Buzz Aldrin and Mike Collins.
Director: Todd Douglas Miller | Stars: Neil Armstrong, Mike Collins, Buzz Aldrin, Deke Slayton
Votes: 27,227 | Gross: $9.04M
4. Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)
PG-13 | 118 min | Documentary, History, Music
Documentary about the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival which celebrated African-American music and culture and promoted Black pride and unity.
Director: Questlove | Stars: Dorinda Drake, Barbara Bland-Acosta, Darryl Lewis, Ethel Beatty
Votes: 13,887
5. 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: 16,259 | Gross: $0.81M
6. 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: 58,685 | Gross: $2.96M
7. Amazing Grace (2018)
G | 89 min | Documentary, Music
A documentary presenting Aretha Franklin with choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles in January 1972.
Directors: Alan Elliott, Sydney Pollack | Stars: Aretha Franklin, James Cleveland, Alexander Hamilton, Cornell Dupree
Votes: 5,154 | Gross: $4.45M
8. Minding the Gap (2018)
Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary, Sport
Filmmaker Bing Liu searches for correlations between his skateboarder friends' turbulent upbringings and the complexities of modern masculinity.
Director: Bing Liu | Stars: Kent Abernathy, Mengyue Bolen, Nina Bowgren, Keire Johnson
Votes: 10,471 | Gross: $0.01M
9. Faces Places (2017)
PG | 94 min | Documentary, Adventure
Director Agnes Varda and photographer/muralist J.R. journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.
Directors: JR, Agnès Varda | Stars: Agnès Varda, JR, Jeannine Carpentier, Clemens Van Dungern
Votes: 13,613 | Gross: $0.95M
10. Collective (2019)
Not Rated | 109 min | Documentary, Crime
Director Alexander Nanau follows a crack team of investigators at the Romanian newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor as they try to uncover a vast health-care fraud that enriched moguls and politicians and led to the deaths of innocent citizens.
Director: Alexander Nanau | Stars: Dan Alexandru Condrea, Liviu Iolu, Razvan Lutac, Mirela Neag
Votes: 13,444
11. McQueen (2018)
R | 111 min | Documentary, Biography
The life and career of fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen: from his start as a tailor, to launching and overseeing his eponymous line and his untimely death.
Directors: Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui | Stars: Alexander McQueen, Joyce McQueen, John Hitchcock, Danny Hall
Votes: 8,420 | Gross: $1.26M
12. Crip Camp (2020)
R | 106 min | Documentary, History
Down the road from Woodstock, a revolution blossomed at a ramshackle summer camp for teenagers with disabilities, transforming their lives and igniting a landmark movement.
Directors: James Lebrecht, Nicole Newnham | Stars: James Lebrecht, Lionel Je'Woodyard, Joseph O'Conor, Ann Cupolo Freeman
Votes: 8,239
13. 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: 13,958 | Gross: $4.95M
14. Weiner (2016)
R | 96 min | Documentary
An examination of disgraced New York Congressman Anthony Weiner's mayoral campaign and today's political landscape.
Directors: Josh Kriegman, Elyse Steinberg | Stars: Anthony Weiner, Huma Abedin, Jordan Zain Weiner, Barbara Morgan
Votes: 10,533 | Gross: $1.61M
15. Three Identical Strangers (2018)
PG-13 | 96 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
In 1980 New York, three young men who were all adopted meet each other and find out they're triplets who were separated at birth. But their quest to find out why turns into a bizarre and sinister mystery.
Director: Tim Wardle | Stars: Robert Shafran, Michael Domnitz, Howard Schneider, Ellen Cervone
Votes: 39,837 | Gross: $12.32M
16. 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: 55,115 | Gross: $8.41M
17. Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)
PG-13 | 89 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
A daughter helps her father prepare for the end of his life.
Director: Kirsten Johnson | Stars: Michael Hilow, Ana Hoffman, Dick Johnson, Kirsten Johnson
Votes: 7,240
18. Free Solo (2018)
PG-13 | 100 min | Documentary, Adventure, Sport
Alex Honnold faces the biggest challenge of his career, climbing El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. He pursues it Free Solo, which means climbing without a rope and alone.
Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi | Stars: Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell, Jimmy Chin, Cheyne Lempe
Votes: 77,470 | Gross: $17.54M
19. MLK/FBI (2020)
TV-PG | 104 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Based on newly declassified files, Sam Pollard's resonant film explores the US government's surveillance and harassment of Martin Luther King, Jr.
Director: Sam Pollard | Stars: Martin Luther King, J. Edgar Hoover, David Garrow, Clarence B. Jones
Votes: 1,757
20. Kedi (2016)
Not Rated | 79 min | Documentary
A profile of an ancient city and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat.
Director: Ceyda Torun | Stars: Yaman Barlas, Sari, Arzu Göl, Kemal Suncu
Votes: 15,885 | Gross: $2.83M
21. The Last Waltz (1978)
PG | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
A film account and presentation of the final concert of The Band.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robbie Robertson, Muddy Waters, Neil Young, Van Morrison
Votes: 20,182 | Gross: $0.32M
22. Knock Down the House (2019)
PG | 87 min | Documentary
A look at the people involved with various political campaigns during the 2018 U.S. congressional election.
Director: Rachel Lears | Stars: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Cori Bush, Joe Crowley, Paula Jean Swearengin
Votes: 12,971
23. Time (I) (2020)
PG-13 | 81 min | Documentary, Biography
Fox Rich fights for the release of her husband, Rob, who is serving a 60-year sentence in prison.
Director: Garrett Bradley | Stars: Sibil Fox Richardson, Robert G. Richardson, Mahlik Richardson, Remington B. Richardson
Votes: 6,301
24. Totally Under Control (2020)
TV-14 | 123 min | Documentary
An in-depth look at how the United States government handled the response to the COVID-19 outbreak during the early months of the pandemic.
Directors: Alex Gibney, Ophelia Harutyunyan, Suzanne Hillinger | Stars: Alex Azar, Charlie Baker, Scott Becker, Taison Bell
Votes: 3,369
25. Blackfish (2013)
PG-13 | 83 min | Documentary
A documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales.
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite | Stars: Tilikum, Dave Duffus, Samantha Berg, Dean Gomersall
Votes: 72,478 | Gross: $2.07M
26. 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: 16,805 | Gross: $0.27M
27. Stop Making Sense (1984)
PG | 88 min | Documentary, Music
Considered by critics as the greatest concert film of all time, the live performance was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983 and features Talking Heads' most memorable songs.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: David Byrne, Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steven Scales
Votes: 20,068 | Gross: $5.02M
28. The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, History, Music
A look into the Los Angeles punk rock scene, that was largely ignored by the rock music press of the time.
Director: Penelope Spheeris | Stars: Eugene Tatu, Alice Bag Band, Black Flag, Catholic Discipline
Votes: 4,868
29. Murderball (2005)
R | 88 min | Documentary, Sport
Quadriplegics, who play full-contact rugby in wheelchairs, overcome unimaginable obstacles to compete in the Paralympic Games in Athens, Greece.
Directors: Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro | Stars: Joe Soares, Keith Cavill, Mark Zupan, Robert Soares
Votes: 10,459 | Gross: $1.52M
30. Maiden (2018)
PG | 97 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
The story of Tracy Edwards, a 24-year-old cook on charter boats, who became the skipper of the first ever all-female crew to enter the Whitbread Round the World Race in 1989.
Director: Alex Holmes | Stars: Frank Bough, John Chittenden, Bruno Du Bois, Pat Edwards
Votes: 2,585 | Gross: $3.01M
31. Welcome to Chechnya (2020)
TV-MA | 107 min | Documentary
A group of activists risk their lives fighting for LGBTQ+ rights in Chechnya.
Director: David France | Stars: Olga Baranova, David Isteev, Ramzan Kadyrov, Maxim Lapunov
Votes: 3,143
32. 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: 27,595 | Gross: $0.65M
33. Tower (2016)
TV-14 | 82 min | Documentary, Animation, Crime
Animation, testimony, and archival footage combine to relate the events of August 1, 1966 when a gunman opened fire from the University of Texas clock tower, killing 16 people.
Director: Keith Maitland | Stars: Monty Muir, Violett Beane, Cole Bee Wilson, Aldo Ordoñez
Votes: 8,291 | Gross: $0.09M
34. Anvil (2008)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
Since 1978, Anvil has become one of heavy metal's most influential yet commercially unsuccessful acts. In 2006, after a fledging European tour Anvil sets out to record their thirteenth album and continue to follow their dreams.
Director: Sacha Gervasi | Stars: Robb Reiner, Steve 'Lips' Kudlow, Tiziana Arrigoni, Scott Ian
Votes: 16,846 | Gross: $0.67M
35. 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: 78,995 | Gross: $4.31M
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