Documentary
by Maniac_In_Black | created - 15 Feb 2022 | updated - 1 month ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. News from Home (1976)
85 min | Documentary
Impersonal and beautiful images of Akerman's life in New York are combined with letters from her loving but manipulative mother, read by Akerman herself.
Director: Chantal Akerman | Star: Chantal Akerman
Votes: 2,808
2. Grey Gardens (1975)
PG | 95 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama
Meet a mother and daughter, high-society dropouts, reclusive cousins of Jackie O., managing to thrive together amid the decay and disorder of their East Hampton, NY, mansion, making for an eerily ramshackle echo of the American Camelot.
Directors: Ellen Hovde, Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Muffie Meyer | Stars: Edith Bouvier Beale, Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale, Brooks Hyers
Votes: 15,278 | Gross: $0.03M
3. The Great Buster (2018)
Not Rated | 102 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
Documentary on the life and works of comic genius Buster Keaton, directed by Peter Bogdanovich.
Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Peter Bogdanovich, Dick Cavett, Frank Capra, Jim Curtis
Votes: 2,389 | Gross: $0.14M
4. Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018)
Not Rated | 103 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Pamela B. Green's energetic film about pioneer filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché is both a tribute and a detective story, tracing the circumstances by which this extraordinary artist faded from memory and the path toward her reclamation.
Director: Pamela B. Green | Stars: Jodie Foster, Alice Guy, Pamela B. Green, Catherine Hardwicke
Votes: 1,125 | Gross: $0.10M
5. Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)
PG | 103 min | Documentary
A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.
Director: Barbara Kopple | Stars: John L. Lewis, Carl Horn, Norman Yarborough, Logan Patterson
Votes: 6,627
6. Citizenfour (2014)
R | 114 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden.
Director: Laura Poitras | Stars: Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, William Binney, Jacob Appelbaum
Votes: 57,975 | Gross: $2.80M
7. The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story (1996)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, Biography
The childhood, adolescence, and incredible adult years of Al Hirshfeld, celebrated creator of thousands of line drawings of famous people - many in the entertainment industry - over a span of more than sixty years.
Director: Susan Warms Dryfoos | Stars: Julie Andrews, Lauren Bacall, Carol Channing, Cy Coleman
Votes: 436
8. Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000)
PG | 122 min | Documentary, History, War
The secret smuggling of 9,300 Jewish children out of Nazi Germany in the late 1930s.
Director: Mark Jonathan Harris | Stars: Judi Dench, Lory Cahn, Kurt Fuchel, Eva Hayman
Votes: 1,960 | Gross: $0.37M
9. The Long Way Home (1997)
Not Rated | 120 min | Documentary, History, War
The story of the post World War II Jewish refugee situation from liberation to the establishment of the modern state of Israel.
Director: Mark Jonathan Harris | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Israel Lau, Livia Shacter, Abraham Klausner
Votes: 1,270
10. 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: 41,468 | Gross: $1.72M
11. Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
Not Rated | 68 min | Documentary
A man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.
Director: Dziga Vertov | Stars: Mikhail Kaufman, Elizaveta Svilova
Votes: 27,978
12. A Dog's Life (1962)
Approved | 108 min | Documentary, Horror
A "shockumentary" consisting of a collection of mostly real archive footage displaying mankind at its most depraved and perverse, displaying bizarre rites, cruel behavior and bestial violence.
Directors: Paolo Cavara, Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi | Stars: Stefano Sibaldi, Rossano Brazzi, Yves Klein, Henning Skaarup
Votes: 4,405
13. Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (1997)
PG | 80 min | Documentary
An exploration of the careers of four unrelated professionals: a lion tamer, a robotics expert, a topiary gardener, and a naked mole rat specialist.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Dave Hoover, George Mendonça, Rodney Brooks, Raymond A. Mendez
Votes: 3,982 | Gross: $0.83M
14. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
R | 122 min | Documentary, Drama, War
Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11 and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, George W. Bush, Ben Affleck, Stevie Wonder
Votes: 132,388 | Gross: $119.19M
15. 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: 148,729 | Gross: $21.58M
16. The Act of Killing (2012)
Not Rated | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
Directors: Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, Christine Cynn | Stars: Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin, Ibrahim Sinik
Votes: 40,804 | Gross: $0.49M
17. Surfwise (2007)
R | 93 min | Documentary, Sport
Doug Pray explores the life of surfer Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz.
Director: Doug Pray | Stars: Juliette Paskowitz, David Paskowitz, Jonathan Paskowitz, Abraham Paskowitz
Votes: 1,640 | Gross: $0.27M
18. The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor.
Director: Rob Epstein | Stars: Harvey Fierstein, Harvey Milk, Anne Kronenberg, Tory Hartmann
Votes: 6,574 | Gross: $0.01M
19. Going Attractions: The Definitive Story of the Movie Palace (2019)
84 min | Documentary, Family, History
The evolution of the movie business over the past century, from penny arcades and nickelodeons, to the grand movie palaces built by the studios, and what happened over the years as they were challenged by television and cell-phone cinema.
Director: April Wright | Stars: Richard L. Fosbrink, Bob Boin, Jerald Gray, Matt Lambros
Votes: 301
20. Voyage to the Sky (1937)
11 min | Documentary, Short
We begin on planet Earth, with a demonstration of measuring distances using triangulation. Then, an imaginary voyage begins from earth to the moon, on to Mars, Saturn, the closest star (... See full summary »
Directors: A.-P. Dufour, Jean Painlevé
Votes: 415
21. Women Make Film: A New Road Movie Through Cinema (2018– )
TV-14 | 840 min | Documentary, History
A documentary that spans 13 decades and five continents to give a guided tour of the art and craft of movies as told by female filmmakers.
Stars: Tilda Swinton, Adjoa Andoh, Jane Fonda, Sharmila Tagore
Votes: 390
22. Chronicle of a Summer (1961)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary, History
A documentary about the everyday lives of ordinary Parisians, done in the style of cinéma vérité.
Directors: Edgar Morin, Jean Rouch | Stars: Angelo, Nadine Ballot, Catherine, Céline
Votes: 3,584
23. Children Must Laugh (1938)
61 min | Documentary
Jewish life in Poland before World War II. The Vladimir Medem Sanatorium stood as the embodiment of health and enlightenment in striking contrast to the grim images of urban Polish-Jewish poverty.
Director: Aleksander Ford | Stars: A.L. Alexander, David Dubinsky, B. Charney Vladeck
Votes: 112
24. Manhatta (1921)
Not Rated | 11 min | Documentary, Short
This groundbreaking silent documentary captures the beauty and majesty of the New York City in its streets, skyscrapers, bridges, rail yards and harbors.
Directors: Charles Sheeler, Paul Strand
Votes: 1,638
25. The Great White Silence (1922)
80 min | Documentary
In 1910 the British Antarctic Expedition, led by Capt. Robert F. Scott, embarks from Lyttleton, NZ on a quest to become the first to reach the South Pole.
Director: Herbert G. Ponting | Stars: Robert Falcon Scott, Herbert G. Ponting, Henry R. Bowers, Edgar Evans
Votes: 1,680
26. Los Sures (1984)
Not Rated | 57 min | Documentary
In the late 70s and early 80s, Los Sures was one of the poorest neighborhoods in New York City. In fact, it had been called the worst ghetto in America. Diego Echeverria's film skillfully ... See full summary »
Director: Diego Echeverria | Stars: Marta Avilés, Evelyn Borges, Tito Lopez, Ana Maria Soto
Votes: 149 | Gross: $0.08M
27. They Shall Not Grow Old (II) (2018)
R | 99 min | Documentary, History, War
A documentary about World War I with never-before-seen footage to commemorate the centennial of the end of the war.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Thomas Adlam, William Argent, John Ashby, Attwood
Votes: 38,455 | Gross: $17.96M
28. How to Survive a Plague (2012)
Not Rated | 110 min | Documentary, History, News
The story of two coalitions -- ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) -- whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.
Director: David France | Stars: Peter Staley, Larry Kramer, Iris Long, Bob Rafsky
Votes: 4,356 | Gross: $0.13M
29. Marine Circus (1939)
Passed | 9 min | Documentary, Short, Family
This Pete Smith Specialty offers a look at Marineland of Florida, featuring the various marine life on display there.
Director: James A. FitzPatrick | Star: Pete Smith
Votes: 74
30. Las Hurdes (1933)
30 min | Documentary, Short
A surrealist film, a pseudo-documentary portrait of Las Hurdes, a remote region of Spain where civilisation has barely developed, showing how the local peasants try to survive without even the most basic utilities and skills.
Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Abel Jacquin, Alexandre O'Neill
Votes: 6,260
31. Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life (1925)
Passed | 71 min | Documentary
The struggles of a hardscrabble Iranian nomadic tribe as they journey through bleak country to reach the grasslands that will save their livestock.
Directors: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack | Stars: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, Marguerite Harrison, Haidar Khan
Votes: 1,195
32. Italianamerican (1974)
Not Rated | 49 min | Documentary
Martin Scorsese interviews his mother and father about their life in New York City and the family history back in Sicily. These are two people who have lived together for a long time and know each other very well.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Catherine Scorsese, Charles Scorsese, Martin Scorsese
Votes: 3,698
33. F for Fake (1973)
PG | 89 min | Documentary
A documentary about fraud and fakery.
Directors: Orson Welles, Gary Graver, Oja Kodar, François Reichenbach | Stars: Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, François Reichenbach, Elmyr de Hory
Votes: 18,293
34. The Sorrow and the Pity (1969)
PG | 251 min | Documentary, History, War
An in-depth exploration of the various reactions by the French people to the Vichy government's acceptance of the German invasion.
Director: Marcel Ophüls | Stars: Helmut Tausend, Marcel Verdier, Alexis Grave, Louis Grave
Votes: 4,095
35. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)
G | 90 min | Documentary, History
Werner Herzog gains exclusive access to film inside the Chauvet caves of Southern France and captures the oldest known pictorial creations of humanity.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Jean Clottes, Julien Monney, Jean-Michel Geneste
Votes: 17,787 | Gross: $5.23M
36. 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: 25,927 | Gross: $1.21M
37. Titicut Follies (1967)
Unrated | 84 min | Documentary
Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Votes: 5,106
38. High School (1968)
Not Rated | 75 min | Documentary
Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside Northeast High School as a fly on the wall to observe the teachers and how they interact with the students.
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Votes: 2,236
39. The Birth of a Flower (1910)
6 min | Documentary, Short
"Percy Smith (1880-1944) was world famous as a photographer of plant life. Probably the first British example of time-lapse photography as applied to the growth of plants." Montly Film Bulletin, November 1955
Director: F. Percy Smith
Votes: 243
40. The Look of Silence (2014)
PG-13 | 103 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A family that survived the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer | Stars: Adi Rukun, M.Y. Basrun, Volker Hanisch, Amir Hasan
Votes: 13,880 | Gross: $0.11M
41. The Silent World (1956)
86 min | Documentary, Adventure
A documentary about the undersea explorers and how they penetrate into the underwater world.
Directors: Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Louis Malle | Stars: Frédéric Dumas, Albert Falco, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, François Saout
Votes: 1,814
42. For All Mankind (1989)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary, History
An in-depth look at various NASA moon landing missions, starting with Apollo 8.
Director: Al Reinert | Stars: Jim Lovell, Ken Mattingly, Russell Schweickart, Eugene Cernan
Votes: 6,528 | Gross: $0.77M
43. Secret Mall Apartment (2024)
91 min | Documentary
In 2003, eight Rhode Islanders created a secret apartment inside a busy mall and lived there for four years, filming everything along the way. Far more than a prank, the secret apartment became a deeply meaningful place for all involved.
Director: Jeremy Workman | Stars: Michael Townsend, Colin Bliss, Adriana Valdez-Young, Andrew Oesch
Votes: 17
44. The Man Who Skied Down Everest (1975)
G | 86 min | Documentary, Sport
This Oscar-winning documentary tells the story behind Japanese daredevil Yuichiro Miura's 1970 effort to ski down the world's tallest mountain.
Director: Bruce Nyznik | Stars: Yûichirô Miura, Shintaro Ishihara, Taisuke Fujishima, Yukihiko Kato
Votes: 755
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