Best Adventure Documentaries
by Stevensmovies | created - 08 Oct 2018 | updated - 2 months ago | PublicFor more real life adventures visit: http://steventure.blogspot.com.au/
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Documentaries about real life adventure, adventure sports and/or survival.
Feel free to suggest more, which I will add after watching them.
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1. The Dawn Wall (2017)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
In an unbelievable story of perseverance, free climber Tommy Caldwell and climbing partner Kevin Jorgeson attempt to scale the impossible 3000ft Dawn Wall of El Capitan.
Directors: Josh Lowell, Peter Mortimer | Stars: John Branch, Tommy Caldwell, Kevin Jorgeson
Votes: 21,243 | Gross: $1.08M
2. Valley Uprising (2014)
Not Rated | 103 min | Documentary
In the shady campgrounds of Yosemite valley, climbers carved out a counterculture lifestyle of dumpster-diving and wild parties that clashed with the conservative values of the National Park Service.
Directors: Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen, Josh Lowell | Stars: Peter Sarsgaard, Alex Honnold, Yvon Chouinard, Royal Robbins
Votes: 6,278
3. Free Solo (2018)
PG-13 | 100 min | Documentary, Adventure, Sport
Alex 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.
Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi | Stars: Alex Honnold, Tommy Caldwell, Jimmy Chin, Cheyne Lempe
Votes: 77,486 | Gross: $17.54M
4. Reel Rock Film Tour (2010– )
100 min | Adventure, Sport
An annual event focusing on some of the best athletes conquering breathtaking feats in the vertical realm.
Stars: Alex Honnold, Chris Sharma, Daniel Woods, Cedar Wright
Votes: 98
5. Return to the Wild: The Chris McCandless Story (2014)
Not Rated | 57 min | Documentary, Adventure
A journey in the footsteps of the enigmatic young American named Chris McCandless, who vanished and ultimately perished in the Alaskan wilderness. New interviews and never before released ... See full summary »
Directors: Jeanmarie Condon, Ann Johnson Prum | Star: Sean Penn
Votes: 361
6. The Call of the Wild (2007)
155 min | Documentary
A 2007 documentary film by Ron Lamothe about Christopher McCandless notable for coming to a different conclusion on McCandless's death than Sean Penn's film, Into the Wild, and Jon Krakauer's book, Into the Wild.
Director: Ron Lamothe | Stars: Thomas Clausen, Will Forsberg, Leonard Knight
Votes: 362
7. The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young (2014)
Not Rated | 89 min | Documentary, Adventure, History
A famous prison escape sparks the idea for a cult-like race that has seen only 10 finishers in its first 25 years. This award-winning, oddly inspiring, and wildly funny documentary reveals the sports world's most guarded secret.
Directors: Annika Iltis, Timothy James Kane | Star: Lazarus Lake
Votes: 5,774
8. Gorging (2013)
G | 90 min | Documentary, Adventure, Biography
Award winning documentary about the sport of canyoneering and four adventurers as they hike, wade, swim, rock climb, and rappel down cliffs and waterfalls.
Director: Brian Olliver | Stars: Mike Kelsey, Dennis Turville, Rich Carlson, Steve Cabourne
Votes: 63
9. First Ascent (2006 Video)
90 min | Documentary, Action, Adventure
"First Ascent" is unlike any mountain climbing film you've ever seen. Join Swiss climber Didier Berthod as he attempts the impossible - to become the first man ever to climb the insanely ... See full summary »
Directors: Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen | Stars: Didier Berthod, David Lama, Timmy O'Neill, Kevin Perez
Votes: 234
10. Africa Fusion (2016)
Not Rated | 52 min | Documentary
A road trip exploring South Africa's scenery, culture, music and world class sandstone climbing.
Directors: Nic Good, Georgia Court | Stars: Hazel Findlay, Alex Honnold, Alard Hufner, Clinton Martinengo
Votes: 83
11. Climbing Blind (2020)
81 min | Documentary
Blind climber Jesse Dufton's ascent of the Old Man of Hoy.
Director: Alastair Lee | Stars: Jesse Dufton, Neil Gresham, Leo Houlding, Alastair Lee
Votes: 110
12. Meru (2015)
R | 90 min | Documentary, Sport
Three elite climbers struggle to find their way through obsession and loss as they attempt to climb Mount Meru, one of the most coveted prizes in the high stakes game of Himalayan big wall climbing.
Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi | Stars: Conrad Anker, Grace Chin, Jimmy Chin, Amee Hinkley
Votes: 19,066 | Gross: $2.33M
13. Out of the Blue (III) (2020)
Documentary, Short
A mysterious character engages a combination of street artists and mountain alpinists for an unthinkable project located in the Oberland summits of Switzerland. An extraordinary vertical odyssey.
Directors: Davina Beyloos Montaz-Rosset, Sèbastien Montaz-Rosset | Stars: Sébastian Hope, Cor Vinke, Maja Walter, Bernhard Witz
Votes: 7
14. Anderswo. Allein in Afrika (2018)
103 min | Documentary, Adventure
Cape Town. On his 25th birthday, Anselm starts a journey across Africa on a bicycle with two friends. After they arrive in the scorching Kalahari Desert, the trio suddenly splits. His ... See full summary »
Director: Anselm Nathanael Pahnke | Star: Anselm Nathanael Pahnke
Votes: 663
15. National Parks Adventure (2016)
43 min | Documentary, Short
Coinciding with the National Parks Centennial, National Parks Adventure celebrates America's natural wonders. Narrated by Robert Redford, it follows a trio of adventurers and revisits Roosevelt and Muir's camping trip when the Park System was born.
Director: Greg MacGillivray | Stars: Robert Redford, Conrad Anker, Max Lowe, Rachel Pohl
Votes: 1,026
16. The Meaning of Vanlife (2019)
87 min | Documentary
An adventurous, revealing look into the Vanlife community through the eyes of nomads who have chosen to live a life of freedom on the road.
Director: Jim Lounsbury
Votes: 92
17. Jump London (2003 TV Movie)
60 min | Documentary
Having developed from a childhood game, Free Running has been given global recognition due to a series of adverts for Toyota, Nike and the BBC to name a few. The recognised creator of the ... See full summary »
Directors: Mike Christie, Emily Richardson | Stars: Clare Tomlinson, Stephen Billington, Toby Sawyer, Will Alsop
Votes: 186
18. Jump Britain (2005 TV Movie)
60 min | Documentary
The long awaited sequel to the critically accliamed Jump London, Sebastien Foucan and Jerome Ben Aoues are joined by members of the UK's burgeoning Parkour community as they attempt to Jump Britain.
Director: Mike Christie | Stars: Clare Tomlinson, Jerome Ben Aoues, Phil Chapman, Paul Corkery
Votes: 195
19. Adaptive (2019)
Short, Adventure
Two athletes. One is a new amputee while the other has been an amputee her whole life. In August 2018, Jim Ewing and Maureen Beck journeyed to the Northwest Territories of Canada to climb ... See full summary »
Director: Taylor Zann | Stars: Maureen Beck, Jim Ewing, Hugh Herr
Votes: 10
20. The Franklin: Wild River (1980)
50 min | Documentary
Directors: Michael Cordell, Stacey Gavrily, Chris Noone | Stars: Bob Brown, Peter Thompson
21. Heavy Water (2015)
Not Rated | 84 min | Documentary
Follow big wave surfer Nathan Fletcher through the evolution of surfing and his relationship with big waves.
Director: Michael Oblowitz | Stars: Jay Adams, Brian Bielmann, Woody Brown, Woody Brown
Votes: 118 | Gross: $0.06M
22. Karl Meltzer: Made to Be Broken (2017)
42 min | Documentary, Short, Sport
Ultra-runner Karl Meltzer has long dreamed of setting the speed record for crossing America's Appalachian Trail. Now he sets out for his third and final attempt to run the 3,523 km (2,188 miles) in less than 46 days, 8 hours, 6 min.
Director: Matt Katsolis | Stars: Jonathan Basham, Eric Belz, David Horton, Scott Jurek
Votes: 571
23. Under an Arctic Sky (2017)
Not Rated | 39 min | Documentary, Short, Adventure
Six surfers set sail along the frozen shores of Iceland as the worst storm in twenty-five years is about to arrive.
Director: Chris Burkard | Stars: Chris Burkard, Heiðar Logi Elíasson, Sam Hammer, Steve Hawk
Votes: 1,499
24. Mountain of Storms (2018)
Not Rated | 52 min | Documentary
In 1968, five friends took a road trip to climb Cerro Fitz Roy, and documented the whole thing on a 16mm Bolex. Along the way they surfed undiscovered breaks, skied on sand and snow, spent 31-days in a snow cave
Stars: Yvon Chouinard, Dick Dorworth, Chris Jones, Lito Tejada Flores
Votes: 65
25. Footprints, the Path of Your Life (2016)
PG | 89 min | Documentary
A Roman Catholic priest leads a band of ten young men from various backgrounds on a pilgrimage. They walk from the south of France along the less popular Northern Route of the "Camino" to ... See full summary »
Director: Juan Manuel Cotelo
Votes: 286
26. Van Life (II) (2019)
58 min | Documentary
Thousands of Americans have left everything behind to explore the USA from behind the wheel. Far removed from previous generations, these #VanLife travellers are nomadic workers, hyperconnected to the world around them.
Director: Mattieu Fauroux
Votes: 10
27. Mountain (I) (2017)
PG | 74 min | Documentary
An experience about the highest peaks around the world.
Director: Jennifer Peedom | Star: Willem Dafoe
Votes: 4,253 | Gross: $0.24M
28. Expedition Happiness (2017)
95 min | Documentary
Two free spirits, one dog. Traveling the vast spaces of an enormous continent in search of something more.
Director: Felix Starck | Stars: Mogli, Felix Starck
Votes: 4,873
29. Pedal the World (2015)
80 min | Documentary
Young millennial German fueled by wanderlust and a lack of real world responsibilities travels the globe by bike, peddling across 22 countries and over 20,000 kms to find meaning in life. ... See full summary »
Director: Felix Starck | Star: Felix Starck
Votes: 1,130
30. Unbounded (2018)
74 min | Documentary
Unaided and inexperienced, a crew of four venture through the most rural and inaccessible natural areas of Chile.
Directors: Garrett Martin, Garrett Martin | Stars: Aljoscha Adam, Anthony Brogno, Garrett Martin, Robyn McLellan
Votes: 56
31. Beauty Beneath the Dirt (2012)
Not Rated | 69 min | Documentary, Adventure, Reality-TV
Beauty Beneath the Dirt follows the story of three young urbanites -- a lawyer, an Ivy grad, and a city chick -- as they attempt to balance family, friendship, and personal happiness while hiking from Georgia to Maine.
Director: Katherine Imp | Stars: Katherine Imp, Brandon Imp, Emily Ginger, Matt Gill
Votes: 43
32. Snow to Sand (2019)
60 min | Documentary
Explorers Shawn Forry and Justin Lichter complete the first ever winter expedition of America's 2,650-mile Pacific Crest Trail from Canada to Mexico.
Directors: Jill Jones, Brent Yontz | Stars: Heather Anderson, Leora Beihn, Shawn Forry, Jack Haskel
Votes: 36
33. Paddle to Seattle: Journey Through the Inside Passage (2009)
Unrated | 86 min | Documentary, Adventure, Comedy
Two best friends build their own kayaks and paddle alone for 97 days in the wilderness over 1,300 miles from Alaska to Seattle and survive to talk about most things.
Directors: J.J. Kelley, Josh Thomas | Stars: J.J. Kelley, Josh Thomas
Votes: 141
34. The Longest Wave (2019)
94 min | Documentary, Sport
THE LONGEST WAVE offers a rare glimpse into what motivates an athlete who has everything to lose to push his body and mind to the limit. A film about surf legend Robby Naish.
Director: Joe Berlinger | Stars: Laird Hamilton, Gerry Lopez, Kai Lenny, Robert Richman
Votes: 76
35. Momentum Generation (2018)
TV-14 | 103 min | Documentary
A group of teenagers in Hawaii enter the world of professional competitive surfing in the 1990s and rise to super stardom.
Directors: Jeff Zimbalist, Michael Zimbalist | Stars: Jeannie Chesser, Tom DeLonge, Shane Dorian, Fletcher Dragge
Votes: 1,350
36. Beyond the Comfort Zone: 13 Countries to K2 (2018)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Adventure
Adventurer Mike Horn and his friends travel through 13 countries in an attempt to get on top of the most difficult mountain in the world. Immersing into different cultures and breathtaking landscapes, they get closer to climbing K2.
Director: Nils Krebs
Votes: 108
37. El Cap Report (2012)
58 min | Documentary, Adventure, Sport
El Cap Report has been updated, prior to its release, to include Tom Evan's role in Yosemite's now famous Dawn Wall climb. All other stories remain intact.
Directors: Dave Davis, Mary Grandelis
Votes: 20
38. Kilian Jornet: Path to Everest (2018)
80 min | Documentary
Surrounded by the mountains and people who are his inspiration, in 'Path to Everest', the mountain athlete Kilian Jornet reveals his most intimate fears, contradictions and passions.
Directors: Sèbastien Montaz-Rosset, Josep Serra Mateu | Stars: Kilian Jornet, Sèbastien Montaz-Rosset, Jordi Canals, Jordi Tosas
Votes: 562
39. Brave New Wild (2014)
76 min | Documentary, Sport
An offbeat chronicle of America's Golden Age of rock climbing before and after the controversial ascent of the Dawn Wall in 1970.
Director: Oakley Anderson-Moore | Stars: Tom Frost, John Gill, Warren Harding, Don Lauria
Votes: 15
40. Alone (2015– )
TV-14 | 44 min | Documentary, Game-Show, Reality-TV
Ten survival "experts" attempt to survive alone. The winner receives $500,000.
Stars: Nicole Apelian, Sam Larson, Brooke Whipple, Brad Richardson
Votes: 7,402
41. Sherpa (2015)
Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary
In 2014, director Jennifer Peedom was working on a documentary about the Sherpas of Mount Everest when the largest avalanche in recent history occurred on the mountain, killing 16 Sherpas.
Director: Jennifer Peedom | Stars: Russell Brice, Tim Medvetz, Pasang Tenzing Sherpa, Phurba Tashi Sherpa
Votes: 5,417
42. The River Runner (2021)
86 min | Documentary
In this documentary, a kayaker sets out to become the first man to paddle the four great rivers that flow from Tibet's sacred Mount Kailash.
Director: Rush Sturges
Votes: 2,050
43. Surviving the Stone Age: Adventure to the Wild (2020)
47 min | Documentary, Reality-TV
Deep in one of Europe's last remaining wildernesses, eight experts embark on an epic journey to uncover the secrets of the Stone Age. For one month, they will attempt to follow in the steps... See full summary »
Stars: Matthew Gravelle, Matt Graham, Nicole Apelian, Lynx Vilden
Votes: 41
44. Alone: The Beast (2020– )
TV-PG | Game-Show
Three strangers attempt to endure 30 days in a remote wilderness location with no tools or modern amenities; faced with extreme challenges, it'll take all their ingenuity and stamina to work together and survive.
Stars: Rick Robles, Zane Kraetsch, Nate Weber, Lindsay Persico
Votes: 263
45. The Alpinist (2021)
PG-13 | 92 min | Documentary, Biography
Marc-André Leclerc climbs alone, far from the limelight. The free-spirited 23-year-old makes some of the boldest solo ascents in history. With no cameras and no margin for error, Leclerc's approach is the essence of solo adventure.
Directors: Peter Mortimer, Nick Rosen | Stars: Marc-André Leclerc, Peter Mortimer, Alex Honnold, Jason Kruk
Votes: 14,446
47. The Rescue (2021)
PG | 107 min | Documentary, Action, Mystery
A chronicle of the enthralling, against-all-odds story that transfixed the world in 2018: the daring rescue of twelve boys and their coach from deep inside a flooded cave in Northern Thailand.
Directors: Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi | Stars: Bancha Duriyapunt, Apakorn Youkongkaew, Anan Surawan, Woranan Ratrawiphukkun
Votes: 20,643 | Gross: $1.06M
48. 14 Peaks: Nothing Is Impossible (2021)
TV-MA | 101 min | Documentary, Adventure, Sport
Fearless Nepali mountaineer Nirmal Purja embarks on a seemingly impossible quest to summit all 14 of the world's 8,000-meter peaks in seven months.
Director: Torquil Jones | Stars: Nirmal Purja, Suchi Purja, Klára Kolouchová, Reinhold Messner
Votes: 30,437
49. Shackleton: The Greatest Story of Survival (2023)
90 min | Documentary, Adventure, History
28 lost adventurers must fight for their lives after their only lifeline is destroyed in the most uninhabitable place on Earth - Antarctica.
Directors: Bobbi Hansel, Caspar Mazzotti | Stars: Rupert Degas, Tim Jarvis
Votes: 111
50. Finding Michael (2023)
100 min | Documentary
Spencer Matthews heads to Everest to try and find his brother Michael who disappeared 23 years ago.
Director: Tom Beard | Stars: Bear Grylls, Spencer Matthews, Spencer Matthews, Dhuru Patel
Votes: 1,997
51. Fine Lines (2019)
PG | 96 min | Documentary, Sport
An introspective journey on the lessons life has taught 20 legends of the vertical world. At times brutally honest, other times pensive, these athletes' stories reveal the triumph of the ... See full summary »
Director: Dina Khreino | Stars: Conrad Anker, Maureen Beck, Tommy Caldwell, Jimmy Chin
Votes: 264
52. Explorer: The Last Tepui (2022)
55 min | Documentary
Follows elite climber Alex Honnold and a world-class climbing team on a grueling mission deep in the Amazon jungle.
Directors: Renan Ozturk, Taylor Freesolo Rees | Stars: Franklin George, Alex Honnold, Brian Irwin, Bruce Means
Votes: 1,233
53. The Climb (2023)
Game-Show, Reality-TV
Amateur climbers go through a series of mental and physical challenges in a competition to crown the world's best amateur climber.
Stars: Jason Momoa, Chris Sharma, Meagan Martin, Robyn Michelle Ragins
Votes: 533
54. Franklin (2022)
91 min | Documentary, Adventure, History
The story of Australia's most significant environmental battle to save the remote Franklin River from being dammed by a hydroelectric project in the 1980s, as told through the lens of a current-day solo rafting adventure.
Director: Kasimir Burgess
Votes: 55
55. Touching the Void (2003)
R | 106 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama
The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Simon Yates, Joe Simpson, Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron
Votes: 38,118 | Gross: $4.59M
56. The Mission (2023)
PG-13 | 103 min | Documentary
26-year-old American missionary John Chau was killed as he attempted to make contact with an Indigenous group off the coast of India, one of the last communities on the planet still living in isolation.
Directors: Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss | Stars: Pam Arlund, Dan Davis, Levi Davis, Daniel Everett
Votes: 909
57. Edge of the Unknown with Jimmy Chin (2022– )
TV-14 | 23 min | Documentary
Take a look inside the minds of elite adventure athletes through transformative stories about facing fear, personal loss, and Mother Nature.
Stars: Jimmy Chin, Alex Honnold, Travis Rice, Conrad Anker
Votes: 441
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