Favorite Documentaries
by unempty | created - 07 Dec 2011 | updated - 15 Feb 2013 | Public- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. Encounters at the End of the World (2007)
G | 99 min | Documentary
Film-maker Werner Herzog travels to the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, looking to capture the continent's beauty and investigate the characters living there.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Scott Rowland, Stefan Pashov, Doug MacAyeal
Votes: 19,248 | Gross: $0.94M
2. The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia (2009)
TV-MA | 86 min | Documentary
A year in the life of the White family, well known for Jesco White, the star of the "Dancing Outlaw" documentary.
Director: Julien Nitzberg | Stars: J. Parker Bazzle II, Big & Rich, Ponty's Camper, Derek Wayne Castle
Votes: 5,194
3. The White Diamond (2004)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary
Engineers attempt daring journey above Guyanese rainforest canopy with airship prototype. Adventure fraught with risks, as previous expedition ended tragically. This is a unique story of exploring uncharted jungle from the air.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Graham Dorrington, Dieter Plage, Adrian de Schryver
Votes: 4,951
4. Restrepo (2010)
R | 93 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A year with one platoon in the deadliest valley in Afghanistan.
Directors: Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger | Stars: The Men of Battle Company 2nd of the 503rd Infantry Regiment 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team, Juan 'Doc Restrepo, Dan Kearney, LaMonta Caldwell
Votes: 24,423 | Gross: $1.33M
5. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
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: 40,682 | Gross: $0.02M
6. American Movie (1999)
R | 107 min | Documentary, Comedy
Documentary about an aspiring filmmaker's attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.
Director: Chris Smith | Stars: Mark Borchardt, Mike Schank, Tom Schimmels, Monica Borchardt
Votes: 19,331 | Gross: $1.16M
7. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
Not Rated | 107 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Documentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.
Director: Andrew Jarecki | Stars: Arnold Friedman, Jesse Friedman, David Friedman, Elaine Friedman
Votes: 27,103 | Gross: $3.12M
8. Marwencol (2010)
Not Rated | 83 min | Documentary, Biography, Fantasy
Documentary about Mark Hogancamp. After a vicious attack leaves him brain-damaged and broke, Mark seeks recovery in "Marwencol", a 1/6th scale World War II-era town he creates in his backyard. Inspired the movie Welcome to Marwen (2018)
Director: Jeff Malmberg | Stars: Mark Hogancamp, Emmanuel Nneji, Edda Hogancamp, Tom Neubauer
Votes: 3,704 | Gross: $0.11M
9. Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (1999)
PG-13 | 91 min | Documentary, Biography
A cinematic portrait of the life and career of the infamous American execution device designer and holocaust denier.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Fred A. Leuchter Jr., Robert Jan Van Pelt, David Irving, Caroline Leuchter
Votes: 5,780 | Gross: $0.50M
10. War Photographer (2001)
96 min | Documentary, War
Documentary about war photographer James Nachtwey, considered by many the greatest war photographer ever.
Director: Christian Frei | Stars: James Nachtwey, Christiane Amanpour, Hans-Hermann Klare, Christiane Breustedt
Votes: 4,302
11. Devil's Playground (2002)
77 min | Documentary
Amish teenagers experience and embrace the modern world as a rite-of-passage before deciding which life they will choose.
Director: Lucy Walker | Stars: Velda Bontrager, Mark Bontrager, Dewayne Chupp, Dylan Cole
Votes: 2,703
12. Grizzly Man (2005)
R | 103 min | Documentary, Biography
A devastating and heart-rending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzly bears in Alaska.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Timothy Treadwell, Amie Huguenard, Werner Herzog, Carol Dexter
Votes: 61,868 | Gross: $3.17M
13. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
German-American Dieter Dengler discusses his service as a U.S. naval pilot in the Vietnam War. Dengler also revisits the sites of his capture and eventual escape from the hands of the Viet Cong, recreating many events for the camera.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Dieter Dengler, Werner Herzog, Eugene Deatrick
Votes: 6,828
14. White Diamond (2007)
111 min | Documentary, Music
An intimate documentary following international pop star Kylie Minogue on her return to the stage for her Showgirl Homecoming Tour, following her battle against breast cancer.
Director: William Baker | Stars: Kylie Minogue, William Baker, Jason Beitel, Bono
Votes: 140
15. Jesus Camp (2006)
PG-13 | 87 min | Documentary
A documentary on kids who attend a summer camp hoping to become the next Billy Graham.
Directors: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady | Stars: Mike Papantonio, Lou Engle, Becky Fischer, Ted Haggard
Votes: 28,775 | Gross: $0.90M
16. The Fog of War (2003)
PG-13 | 107 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The story of America as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense under President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Robert McNamara, John F. Kennedy, Fidel Castro, Richard Nixon
Votes: 25,046 | Gross: $4.20M
17. 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: 25,923 | Gross: $1.21M
18. Shadow Company (2006)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary
A groundbreaking investigation into the secretive world of private security forces in Iraq.
Directors: Nick Bicanic, Jason Bourque | Stars: Alan Bell, Phil Lancaster, Madelaine Drohan, Robert Young Pelton
Votes: 809
19. In the Realms of the Unreal (2004)
Unrated | 81 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentary on Henry Darger, visionary artist, janitor, and novelist.
Director: Jessica Yu | Stars: Henry Darger, Dakota Fanning, Larry Pine, Frier McCollister
Votes: 2,244 | Gross: $0.41M
20. 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: 15,276 | Gross: $0.03M
21. The Yes Men Fix the World (2009)
87 min | Documentary, Comedy
Troublemaking duo Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, posing as their industrious alter-egos, expose the people profiting from Hurricane Katrina, the faces behind the environmental disaster in Bhopal, and other shocking events.
Directors: Andy Bichlbaum, Mike Bonanno, Kurt Engfehr | Stars: Reggie Watts, Mike Bonanno, Andy Bichlbaum, Richard Ebeling
Votes: 5,207 | Gross: $0.19M
22. Gates of Heaven (1978)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary
A documentary about a pet cemetery in California, and the people who have pets buried there.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Lucille Billingsley, Zella Graham, Cal Harberts, Dan Harberts
Votes: 6,289
23. Dark Days (2000)
Not Rated | 82 min | Documentary
A cinematic portrait of the homeless population who live permanently in the underground tunnels of New York City.
Director: Marc Singer | Star: Marc Singer
Votes: 7,176 | Gross: $0.43M
24. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)
R | 96 min | Documentary
Documentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.
Directors: Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper, Eleanor Coppola | Stars: Dennis Hopper, Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, George Lucas
Votes: 23,221 | Gross: $1.32M
25. The Endurance (2000)
G | 97 min | Documentary, History
A retelling of Sir Ernest Shackleton 's ill-fated expedition to Antarctica in 1914-1916, featuring new footage of the actual locations and interviews with surviving relatives of key ... See full summary »
Director: George Butler | Stars: Liam Neeson, Julian Ayer, John Blackborow, David Cale
Votes: 2,194 | Gross: $2.45M
26. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
PG-13 | 79 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
Die-hard gamers compete to break world records on classic arcade games.
Director: Seth Gordon | Stars: Steve Wiebe, Billy Mitchell, Mark Alpiger, Adam Wood
Votes: 37,577 | Gross: $0.68M
27. The Cove (2009)
PG-13 | 92 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Using state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.
Director: Louie Psihoyos | Stars: Richard O'Barry, Louie Psihoyos, Hardy Jones, Michael Illiff
Votes: 51,440 | Gross: $0.87M
Tell Your Friends