Best Economics Documentary Movies ever made - TOP 50
by nightdaycrawler | created - 01 Sep 2021 | updated - 11 months ago | PublicFeature Documentary Films only, in alphabetical order (English title)
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1. 97% Owned (2012)
104 min | Documentary
97% owned present serious research and verifiable evidence on our economic and financial system. This is the first documentary to tackle this issue from a UK-perspective and explains the ... See full summary »
Director: Michael Oswald | Stars: Ben Dyson, Anne Belsey, Noel Longhurst, Josh Ryan-Collins
Votes: 671
2. Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (2016)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary
A small financial institution called Abacus becomes the only company criminally indicted in the wake of the United States' 2008 mortgage crisis.
Director: Steve James | Stars: Thomas Sung, Hwei Lin Sung, Cyrus Vance Jr., Matt Taibbi
Votes: 2,943 | Gross: $0.10M
3. America: Freedom to Fascism (2006)
95 min | Documentary
A documentary that explores the connection between income tax collection and the erosion of civil liberties in America.
Director: Aaron Russo | Stars: Aaron Russo, John Turner, Joe Banister, Sherry Peel Jackson
Votes: 2,603 | Gross: $0.09M
4. American Factory (2019)
TV-14 | 110 min | Documentary
In post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a factory in an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.
Directors: Steven Bognar, Julia Reichert | Stars: Junming 'Jimmy' Wang, Robert Allen, Sherrod Brown, Dave Burrows
Votes: 23,885
5. Becoming Warren Buffett (2017)
TV-PG | 90 min | Documentary, Biography
The legendary investor started out as an ambitious, numbers-obsessed boy from Nebraska and ended up becoming one of the richest and most respected men in the world.
Director: Peter W. Kunhardt | Stars: Kenan Akansel, Saul Bisht, Susie Buffet Jr., Bertie Buffet
Votes: 5,374
6. Betting on Zero (2016)
Not Rated | 99 min | Documentary
Writer/director Ted Braun follows controversial hedge fund titan Bill Ackman as he puts a billion dollars on the line in his crusade to expose Herbalife as the largest pyramid scheme in history.
Director: Ted Braun | Stars: William Ackman, Douglas M. Brooks, William Cohan, Julie Contreras
Votes: 5,620
7. Boom Bust Boom (2015)
G | 70 min | Documentary, History
Terry Jones guides us through the history and the nature of the economic boom-bust cycle and why people repeatedly ignore it to their sorrow.
Directors: Bill Jones, Terry Jones, Ben Timlett | Stars: Terry Jones, George Magnus, Robert Shiller, Zvi Bodie
Votes: 556
8. Capitalism: A Love Story (2009)
R | 127 min | Documentary, Crime, History
An examination of the social costs of corporate interests pursuing profits at the expense of the public good.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, William Black, Jimmy Carter, Elijah Cummings
Votes: 43,880 | Gross: $14.36M
9. Catastroika (2012)
87 min | Documentary
The creators of Debtocracy, analyze the shifting of state assets to private hands. They travel round the world gathering data on privatization and search for clues on the day after Greece's massive privatization program.
Directors: Aris Chatzistefanou, Katerina Kitidi | Stars: Dean Baker, Alex Callinicos, Costas Douzinas, Ben Fine
Votes: 594
10. Collapse (II) (2009)
Unrated | 82 min | Documentary
A documentary on Michael Ruppert, a police officer turned independent reporter who predicted the current financial crisis in his self-published newsletter, From the Wilderness.
Director: Chris Smith | Star: Michael Ruppert
Votes: 6,845 | Gross: $0.05M
11. Debtocracy (2011)
75 min | Documentary
Debtocracy seeks the causes of the Greek debt crisis and proposes solutions sidelined by the government and the dominant media. It follows countries like Ecuador that created debt Audit Commissions and tracks this process in Greece.
Directors: Aris Chatzistefanou, Katerina Kitidi | Stars: Samir Amin, Hugo Arias, Alain Badiou, Gerard Dumenil
Votes: 780
12. End of the Road: How Money Became Worthless (2012)
Unrated | 55 min | Documentary
In 2008 the world experienced financial turmoil. Markets crashed, stocks plummeted, and financial institutions thought to be invincible, collapsed. Was the financial crisis solved or were the problems merely kicked down the road?
Director: Tim Delmastro | Stars: Adam Fergusson, G. Edward Griffin, Mike Maloney, Bill Murphy
Votes: 509
13. 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
14. Four Horsemen (2012)
Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary, News
The modern day Four Horsemen continue to ride roughshod over the people who can least afford it. Crises are converging when governments, religion and mainstream economists have stalled. 23 ... See full summary »
Director: Ross Ashcroft | Stars: Dominic Frisby, Gillian Tett, Lawrence Wilkerson, David Morgan
Votes: 2,919
15. Heist: Who Stole the American Dream? (2011)
Not Rated | 76 min | Documentary, History, News
Heist: Who Stole the American Dream? reveals how American corporations orchestrated the dismantling of middle-class prosperity through rampant deregulation, the outsourcing of jobs, and tax... See full summary »
Directors: Frances Causey, Donald Goldmacher | Stars: Elizabeth Warren, Nomi Prins, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Robert Crandall
Votes: 185
16. I.O.U.S.A. (2008)
PG | 85 min | Documentary
Few are aware that America may be on the brink of a financial meltdown. I.O.U.S.A. explores the country's shocking current fiscal condition and ways to avoid a national economic disaster.
Director: Patrick Creadon | Stars: Robert Bixby, Humphrey Bogart, Warren Buffett, George Bush
Votes: 1,945 | Gross: $0.82M
17. Inequality for All (2013)
PG | 89 min | Documentary
A documentary that follows former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich as he looks to raise awareness of the country's widening economic gap.
Director: Jacob Kornbluth | Stars: Robert Reich, Conan O'Brien, Candice Bergen, Lily Tomlin
Votes: 7,019 | Gross: $1.21M
18. 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: 78,998 | Gross: $4.31M
19. Laboratory Greece (2019)
165 min | Documentary
A journey through Greece and Europe's past and recent history: from the Second World War to the current crisis. It is a historical documentary, a look into many stories.
Director: Jacopo Brogi | Stars: Filippo Abbate, Konrad Adenauer, Salvador Allende, Rania Antonopoulos
Votes: 32
20. Laissez-faire (2015)
80 min | Documentary, History, War
A historical perspective to understand Neoliberalism and to understand why this ideology today so profoundly influences the choices of our governments and our lives.
Director: Ruggero Arenella | Stars: Stefano Accomo, Giovanni Agnelli, Jaime Roldós Aguilera, Salvador Allende
Votes: 14
21. Let's Make Money (2008)
110 min | Documentary
Most of us don't know where their money is. However, one thing is for certain, it's is not in the bank to which we entrusted it. The bank and our money is already a part of the cycle of the global money market.
Director: Erwin Wagenhofer | Stars: Mark Mobius, Mirko Kovats, K. Sujatha Raaju, Gerhard Schwarz
Votes: 1,753
22. Life and Debt (2001)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary
Documentary look at the effects of globalization on Jamaican industry and agriculture.
Director: Stephanie Black | Stars: Belinda Becker, Buju Banton, Horst Köhler, Michael Manley
Votes: 1,034 | Gross: $0.24M
23. Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992)
Not Rated | 167 min | Documentary, Biography, War
A film about the noted American linguist/political dissident and his warning about corporate media's role in modern propaganda.
Directors: Mark Achbar, Peter Wintonick | Stars: Noam Chomsky, Mark Achbar, Karin Aguilar-San Juan, Paul Andrews
Votes: 4,937
24. Master of the Universe (2013)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary
A former banker in Germany, who entered the business with the advent of modern computer systems reminisces of his working years in some of the world-leading banking corporations.
Director: Marc Bauder | Stars: Rainer Voss, Angela Merkel
Votes: 1,202
25. Money as Debt (2006)
47 min | Documentary, Animation
The monetary systems practiced through modern banking.
Director: Paul Grignon | Star: Bob Bossin
Votes: 488
26. Money for Nothing: Inside the Federal Reserve (2013)
Not Rated | 104 min | Documentary, History, News
Nearly 100 years after its creation, the power of the U.S. Federal Reserve has never been greater. Markets and governments around the world hold their breath in anticipation of the Fed ... See full summary »
Director: Jim Bruce | Stars: Liev Schreiber, Paul Volcker, Janet Yellen, Peter Atwater
Votes: 1,158
27. Oeconomia (2020)
89 min | Documentary
Our economic system has made itself invisible and eludes understanding. In recent years, we have often had little more than a diffuse and unsatisfactory feeling that something is going ... See full summary »
Director: Carmen Losmann | Stars: Samirah Kenawi, Dag Schulze, Marc Sierszen, Lino Zeddies
Votes: 377
28. Panic: The Untold Story of the 2008 Financial Crisis (2018)
TV-14 | 96 min | Documentary, History
As the 2008 financial crisis loomed, frantic efforts to save the US from economic collapse happened in secret. VICE News explores the untold stories of powerful people leading the way.
Director: John Maggio | Stars: Gary Ackerman, Steve Bannon, Ben Bernanke, Jill Biden
Votes: 767
29. Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream (2012)
Not Rated | 70 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Filmmaker Alex Gibney investigates the fact that the 400 richest Americans control more wealth than the 150 million people in the bottom 50 percent of the population.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Alex Gibney, Paul Piff, Anne Rueth, Colin Dunkley
Votes: 1,390
30. Piigs (2017)
76 min | Documentary
Claudia is trying to save the Cooperative company "Il Pungiglione" from bankrupt: 150 workers will remain unemployed and 100 disabled people won't have any further assistance. It's a ticking time social bomb.
Directors: Adriano Cutraro, Federico Greco, Mirko Melchiorre | Stars: Marshall Auerbach, Paolo Barnard, Claudia Bonfini, Noam Chomsky
Votes: 183
31. Princes of the Yen (2014)
93 min | Documentary, Crime
Set in 20th Century Japan the documentary explores the role and power of Central Banks and how they can be used to change a country's economic political and social structures A documentary adaption off the book by Professor Richard Werner.
Director: Michael Oswald | Stars: Andrew Piper, Richard Werner, Noriko Yamagiwa
Votes: 316
32. Requiem for the American Dream (2015)
Not Rated | 73 min | Documentary, Biography, News
Renowned academic and author Noam Chomsky elucidates 10 principles of concentration of wealth and power that have led to unprecedented inequality and the hollowing out of the American middle class.
Directors: Peter D. Hutchison, Kelly Nyks, Jared P. Scott | Stars: Noam Chomsky, Alan Greenspan, Malcolm X, Richard Nixon
Votes: 9,891 | Gross: $0.13M
33. Roger & Me (1989)
R | 91 min | Documentary
After General Motors closes its factory in Flint, Michigan, eliminating 35,000 jobs, filmmaker Michael Moore undertakes a quixotic quest to interview General Motors' chairman, Roger B. Smith.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Roger B. Smith, Rhonda Britton, Fred Ross
Votes: 27,518 | Gross: $6.71M
34. Saving Capitalism (2017)
TV-PG | 73 min | Documentary
SAVING CAPITALISM is a documentary film that follows former Secretary of Labor and Professor, Robert Reich, as he takes his book and his views to the heart of conservative America to speak ... See full summary »
Directors: Jacob Kornbluth, Sari Gilman | Stars: Robert Reich, Darvin Bentlage, Annie Presley, Guadalupe
Votes: 3,437
35. Memoria del saqueo (2004)
120 min | Documentary
After the fall of the military dictatorship in 1983, successive democratic governments launched a series of reforms purporting to turn Argentina into the world's most liberal and prosperous... See full summary »
Director: Fernando E. Solanas | Stars: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Fernando E. Solanas, Ronnie Wood
Votes: 1,054
36. The China Hustle (2017)
R | 82 min | Documentary
An unsettling and eye-opening Wall Street horror story about Chinese companies, the American stock market, and the opportunistic greed behind the biggest heist you've never heard of.
Director: Jed Rothstein | Stars: Dan David, Matthew Wiechert, Herb Greenberg, Roddy Boyd
Votes: 3,940 | Gross: $0.05M
37. The Corporation (2003)
Not Rated | 145 min | Documentary, History
Documentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance.
Directors: Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott | Stars: Mikela Jay, Rob Beckwermert, Christopher Gora, Nina Jones
Votes: 21,787 | Gross: $1.88M
38. The Crisis of Civilization (2011)
Not Rated | 82 min | Documentary, History, News
The Crisis Civilization is a documentary feature film investigating how global crises like ecological disaster, financial meltdown, dwindling oil reserves, terrorism and food shortages are ... See full summary »
Director: Dean Puckett | Stars: Nafeez Mossadeq Ahmed, Francis Fukuyama, Samuel Huntington
Votes: 203
39. The End of Poverty? (2008)
Not Rated | 106 min | Documentary
A phenomenal discourse on why poverty exists when there is so much wealth in the world. A must see for anyone wanting to understand not only the US economic system but the foundations of today's global economy.
Director: Philippe Diaz | Stars: Martin Sheen, Amartya Sen, John Perkins, Eric Toussaint
Votes: 468 | Gross: $0.06M
40. The Flaw (2011)
Not Rated | 78 min | Documentary, History
An examination of the causes of the economic crisis of 2008.
Director: David Sington | Stars: Andrew Luan, Robert Shiller, Louis Hyman, George Cooper
Votes: 837
41. The Money Masters (1996)
210 min | Documentary
The Money Masters is a 1996 documentary film that discusses the concepts of money, debt, taxes, and describes their development from biblical times onward.
Director: William T. Still | Star: William T. Still
Votes: 754
42. The New Corporation: The Unfortunately Necessary Sequel (2020)
105 min | Documentary
Exposes how companies are desperately rebranding as socially responsible - and how that threatens democratic freedoms.
Directors: Jennifer Abbott, Joel Bakan | Stars: Anjali Appadurai, Chris Barrett, Heidi Boghosian, Wendy Brown
Votes: 647
43. The New Watchdogs (2011)
104 min | Documentary
This documentary takes an in depth look at France's mass medias and shines a light on corporate and political interests that shape the news.
Directors: Gilles Balbastre, Yannick Kergoat | Star: Frédéric Lordon
Votes: 455
44. The Rise and Rise of Bitcoin (2014)
TV-14 | 96 min | Documentary, History, News
A computer programmer becomes fascinated with the digital currency Bitcoin, and through his involvement in the Bitcoin community, we learn about the impending global impact of this amazing new technology.
Director: Nicholas Mross | Stars: Daniel Mross, Eliza Mross, Gabriel Sukenik, Matt
Votes: 1,892
45. The Secret of Oz (2009)
Not Rated | 104 min | Documentary, History
What's going on with the world's economy? Foreclosures are everywhere, unemployment is skyrocketing - and this may only be the beginning. Could it be that solutions to the world's economic ... See full summary »
Director: William T. Still | Stars: Andrew Nance, Brent Robinson, William T. Still
Votes: 248
46. The Shock Doctrine (2009)
Not Rated | 79 min | Documentary, History
An investigation of "disaster capitalism", based on Naomi Klein's proposition that neo-liberal capitalism feeds on natural disasters, war and terror to establish its dominance.
Directors: Mat Whitecross, Michael Winterbottom | Stars: Janine Huard, Ewen Cameron, Naomi Klein, Milton Friedman
Votes: 3,116
47. The Take (2004)
Unrated | 87 min | Documentary
In the wake of Argentina's economics collapse of 2001, factory workers break into abandoned factories and restart production. Could these pioneers of cooperative ownership be a model for rebuilding Argentina's economy?
Director: Avi Lewis | Stars: Matilde Adorno, Michel Camadessus, Bill Clinton, Gustavo Cordera
Votes: 1,227
48. The Weight of Chains 2 (2014)
124 min | Documentary, Comedy, History
'The Weight of Chains 2' is a documentary film largely dealing with the effects of the Washington Consensus economic doctrine on the newly established former Yugoslav republics, but also ... See full summary »
Director: Boris Malagurski | Stars: Boris Malagurski, Oliver Stone, Noam Chomsky, Carla Del Ponte
Votes: 1,440
49. Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005)
Not Rated | 98 min | Documentary
A look at the impact of the retail giant on local communities.
Director: Robert Greenwald | Stars: Lee Scott, Don Hunter, Jon Hunter, Jeremy Hunter
Votes: 4,598
50. Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (2011)
Not Rated | 161 min | Documentary
A feature length documentary work which presents a case for a needed transition out of the current socioeconomic monetary paradigm which governs the entire world society.
Director: Peter Joseph | Stars: Peter Joseph, Robert Sapolsky, Gabor Maté, Richard Wilkinson
Votes: 18,745
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