15 Documentaries Everyone Needs To Watch

by meowie_mum | created - 17 Oct 2021 | updated - 25 Apr 2022 | Public
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1. Garnet's Gold (2014)

75 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama

Follow one extraordinary man's quixotic and recklessly brave adventure in search of hidden treasure, in a belated rite of passage to rediscover the meaning of his life.

Director: Ed Perkins

Votes: 442

2. The Last Stop (II) (2017)

110 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama

The Elan School was the last stop. Set deep in the woods of Maine, Elan delivered controversial therapy to troubled teens. It was a meat grinder of raw emotion and harsh discipline. Some say it sold hope, others say it sold Hell.

Director: Todd Nilssen | Stars: Peter Arnold, Liz Arnold, Alec Canarri, Jeff Bloking

Votes: 476

3. Grey Gardens (1975)

PG | 95 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama

83 Metascore

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: 15,292 | Gross: $0.03M

4. The Bridge (I) (2006)

R | 94 min | Documentary, Drama

58 Metascore

Filmmakers use hidden cameras to capture the various suicide attempts at the Golden Gate Bridge - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.

Director: Eric Steel | Stars: Eric Geleynse, Chris Brown, Susan Ginwalla, Caroline Pressley

Votes: 12,218 | Gross: $0.18M

5. Sunshine Hotel (2001)

98 min | Documentary

A portrait of one of the few remaining men only 'flophouses' on New York City's infamous skid row, the Bowery.

Director: Michael Dominic | Stars: Cashmere, Nathan Smith

Votes: 713

6. Rewind (III) (2019)

86 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama

87 Metascore

Digging through the vast collection of his father's home videos, a young man reconstructs the unthinkable story of his boyhood and exposes vile abuse passed through generations.

Director: Sasha Joseph Neulinger | Stars: Sasha Joseph Neulinger, Henry Nevison, Howard Nevison

Votes: 2,635

7. Dreams of a Life (2011)

Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama

62 Metascore

A filmmaker sets out to discover the life of Joyce Vincent, who died in her bedsit in North London in 2003. Her body wasn't discovered for three years, and newspaper reports offered few details of her life - not even a photograph.

Director: Carol Morley | Stars: Zawe Ashton, Alix Luka-Cain, Alistair Abrahams, Mandy Allen

Votes: 3,435 | Gross: $0.01M

8. United States of Tents (2019)

91 min | Documentary

An estimated 500,000 U.S. citizens, veterans and children are homeless across the nation. A newly-released documentary by filmmaker Dennis Michael Lynch tackles the homeless crisis in ... See full summary »

Director: Dennis M. Lynch

Votes: 108

9. God Knows Where I Am (2016)

Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama

66 Metascore

Through diary entries, this documentary follows the life and death of homeless woman Linda Bishop and her struggles with starvation, sanity and God.

Directors: Jedd Wider, Todd Wider | Stars: Kevin Carbone, Matthew Nelson, Wayne DiGeronimo, Brian Smith

Votes: 924

10. Steve Jobs: The Man in the Machine (2015)

R | 128 min | Documentary, Biography

72 Metascore

A look at the personal and private life of the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs.

Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Steve Jobs, Alex Gibney, Steve Wozniak, Michael S. Malone

Votes: 6,501 | Gross: $0.49M

11. The Men Who Killed Kennedy (1988–2003)

Documentary, History

A detailed examination of the assassination of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, with emphasis on the discrepancies and inconsistencies in the government's official version of events.

Stars: Hilary Minster, Robert J. Groden, Cyril H. Wecht, Gary Mack

Votes: 655

12. Voices in the Tunnels (2008 Video)

Not Rated | 56 min | Documentary

A group of intrepid filmmakers explore the abandoned subway tunnels beneath New York City in search of the mole people.

Director: Vic David | Stars: Kenny Chery, Vic David, Erik Oberholtzer, Jennifer Toth

Votes: 105

13. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)

Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime

82 Metascore

A filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.

Director: Kurt Kuenne | Stars: Kurt Kuenne, Andrew Bagby, David Bagby, Kathleen Bagby

Votes: 40,726 | Gross: $0.02M

14. Four Seasons Lodge (2008)

Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary

From the darkness of Hitler's Europe to the mountains of the Catskills, Four Seasons Lodge follows a community of Holocaust survivors who come together each summer to dance, cook, fight and flirt-and celebrate their survival.

Director: Andrew Jacobs

Votes: 188

15. Most Likely to Succeed (2019)

TV-14 | 97 min | Documentary

In 2007, four teenagers from disparate backgrounds are voted "Most Likely To Succeed" during their senior year of high school. Filmed over a ten-year period and directed by award-winning ... See full summary »

Director: Pamela Littky | Stars: Peter Hayes, Sarah Kaiser-Cross, Quidrela Lewis, Charles Rider

Votes: 219



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