100+ Top, Good, Great, Best, Interesting Documentaries
I watch documentaries. These are my favorites. In no particular order.
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- DirectorKurt KuenneStarsKurt KuenneAndrew BagbyDavid BagbyA filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.
- DirectorShaun MonsonStarsJoaquin PhoenixUsing hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.
- DirectorTellerStarsTim JenisonPenn JilletteMartin MullInventor Tim Jenison seeks to understand the painting techniques used by Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer.
- DirectorErin Lee CarrStarsSimone BilesScott BlackmunRichard BlumenthalUSA Gymnastics team doctor Larry Nassar is convicted of serial sexual abuse of young athletes.
- DirectorWerner HerzogDmitry VasyukovStarsWerner HerzogGennady SolovievAnatoly BlumeiA documentary depicting the life and work of the trappers of Bakhtia, a village in the heart of the Siberian Taiga, where daily life has changed little in over a century.
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsSimon YatesJoe SimpsonBrendan MackeyThe true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
- DirectorBrian KnappenbergerStarsAaron SwartzTim Berners-LeeCindy CohnThe story of programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz, who took his own life at the age of 26.
- DirectorJimmy ChinElizabeth Chai VasarhelyiStarsAlex HonnoldTommy CaldwellJimmy ChinAlex 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.
- DirectorLouie PsihoyosStarsJames WilksArnold SchwarzeneggerPatrik BaboumianA UFC fighter's world is turned upside down when he discovers an elite group of world-renowned athletes and scientists who prove that everything he had been taught about protein was a lie.
- DirectorKip AndersenKeegan KuhnStarsBruce HamiltonKip AndersenAl GoreFollow the shocking, yet humorous, journey of an aspiring environmentalist, as he daringly seeks to find the real solution to the most pressing environmental issues and true path to sustainability.
- DirectorPaul LazarusStarsDean KamenSlingShot focuses on noted Segway inventor Dean Kamen and his work to solve the world's water crisis. An eccentric genius with a provocative world view, Kamen is an inspiration for future scientists. His inventions help people in need and ease suffering. SlingShot is about an indomitable man who just might have enough passion and innovative thinking to create a solution for a crisis affecting billions. Kamen lives in a house with secret passages, a closet full of denim and a helicopter garage. His latest passion: the SlingShot water purification system created to obliterate half of human illness on the planet. Kamen reminisces about improving home dialysis technology and choosing to forgo parenthood while lamenting he has only one lifetime for inventing. SlingShot is both an inspirational character study and a look at Kamen's vapor compression distiller from its earliest development through recent trials in rural Ghana and beyond.
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsDavid ByrneBernie WorrellAlex WeirA live performance of the band Talking Heads shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983 and featuring their most memorable songs.
- DirectorAsif KapadiaStarsAmy WinehouseMitch WinehouseMark RonsonArchival footage and personal testimonials present an intimate portrait of the life and career of British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse.
- DirectorBruce SpiegelStarsConnie AtkinsonTony BennettBill CharlapBill Evans Time Remembered is a 90-minute documentary film, produced by Bruce Spiegel which tells the story of Bill Evans' turbulent life and his contribution to jazz music.
- DirectorSteve JonesTodd JonesJosh TaftStarsBruce IronsLyndie IronsKelly SlaterBipolar disorder and addiction as seen through the life of three-time world champion surfer Andy Irons. The untold story of Andy's life serves to tear down the myths associated with these two ferocious diseases.
- DirectorJay BulgerStarsGinger BakerFemi KutiEric ClaptonGinger Baker looks back on his musical career with Cream and Blind Faith; his introduction to Fela Kuti; his self-destructive patterns and losses of fortune; and his current life inside a fortified South African compound.
- DirectorJon AlpertLife in Cuba for three struggling families over the course of 45 years, from the cautious optimism of the early 1970s to the harrowing 1990s after the fall of the Soviet Union and the 2016 death of Fidel Castro.
- DirectorBrett MorgenStarsJane GoodallHugo Van LawickHugo Eric Louis van LawickThe life and work of the renowned primatology scientist, Jane Goodall, especially on her research about chimpanzees.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsThomas AdlamWilliam ArgentJohn AshbyA documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of the end of the war.
- DirectorJeffrey BlitzStarsAngela ArenivarUbaldo ArenivarJorge ArenivarSpellbound follows eight teenagers on their quest to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee.
- DirectorCharles FergusonStarsMatt DamonGylfi ZoegaAndri Snær MagnasonTakes a closer look at what brought about the 2008 financial meltdown.
- DirectorJonathan HalperinShaul SchwarzStarsMark KellyScott KellyBarack ObamaAstronaut Scott Kelly's record-breaking year in space from launch to landing.
- StarsDeanna ThompsonJohn GreenClaudette HamlinA group of online justice seekers track down a guy who posted a video of himself killing kittens.
- StarsSteven AveryDolores AveryLaura NiriderFilmed over a 10-year period, Steven Avery, a DNA exoneree who, while in the midst of exposing corruption in local law enforcement, finds himself the prime suspect in a grisly new crime.
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsRobert CrumbAline Kominsky-CrumbCharles CrumbAn intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.