Favorite Documentaries
by cmpitre | created - 18 Dec 2013 | updated - 08 Oct 2016 | PublicMostly health related, some social justice-focused. Not in any particular order.
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1. Escape Fire: The Fight to Rescue American Healthcare (2012)
PG-13 | 95 min | Documentary, News
An investigative documentary that uncovers the U.S. healthcare system's true design.
Directors: Susan Froemke, Matthew Heineman | Stars: Clive Alonzo, Don Berwick, Elizabeth Blackburn, Krystal Bracy
Votes: 559 | Gross: $0.10M
2. Food Matters (2008)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary
Food Matters examines how the food we eat can help or hurt our health. Nutritionists, naturopaths, doctors, and journalists weigh in on such topics as organic food, food safety, raw foodism, and nutritional therapy.
Directors: James Colquhoun, Carlo Ledesma | Stars: Vicky Blewitt, Ian Brighthope, Jerome Burne, Phillip Day
Votes: 4,846
3. Forks Over Knives (2011)
PG | 90 min | Documentary
Examines the profound claim that most, if not all, of the degenerative diseases that afflict us can be controlled, or even reversed, by rejecting our present menu of animal-based and processed foods.
Director: Lee Fulkerson | Stars: Lee Fulkerson, Matthew Lederman, Alona Pulde, T. Colin Campbell
Votes: 12,766
4. Remote Area Medical (2013)
TV-14 | 81 min | Documentary
A documentary on the annual three-day "pop-up" medical clinic organized by the non-profit Remote Area Medical (RAM) in Bristol, Tennessee's NASCAR speedway.
Directors: Jeff Reichert, Farihah Zaman | Star: Stan Brock
Votes: 159
Highlights many of the realities of healthcare in rural America through the stories of the individuals that visit this "pop up" medical clinic. Touching and inspiring because of both the people that visit the clinic and the volunteers that make it happen each year.
5. The Beautiful Truth (2008)
Not Rated | 92 min | Documentary
A troubled 15-year-old boy attempting to cope with the recent death of his mother sets out to research Dr. Max Gerson's claims of a diet that can cure cancer as his first assignment for ... See full summary »
Director: Steve Kroschel | Stars: Charlotte Gerson, Jay Kordich, Garrett Kroschel, Joyce Riley
Votes: 660
6. Dirt! The Movie (2009)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary
The only remedy for disconnecting people from the natural world is connecting them to it again.
Directors: Bill Benenson, Gene Rosow, Eleonore Dailly | Stars: Jamie Lee Curtis, Bill Logan, Vandana Shiva, Fritjof Capra
Votes: 508
7. Hungry for Change (2012)
Not Rated | 89 min | Documentary
Exposes shocking secrets the diet, weight loss and food industries don't want you to know about deceptive strategies designed to keep you coming back for more. Find out what's keeping you from having the body and health you deserve.
Directors: James Colquhoun, Laurentine Ten Bosch, Carlo Ledesma | Stars: Mike Adams, Nick Bolton, James Caitlin, Kris Carr
Votes: 3,264
8. The English Surgeon (2007)
TV-14 | 93 min | Documentary
This documentary offers a glimpse into the life of an English neurosurgeon (Henry Marsh) situated in Ukraine as we are exposed to the overwhelming dilemmas he has to face and the burden he has to carry throughout his profession.
Director: Geoffrey Smith | Star: Henry Marsh
Votes: 770
9. Miss Representation (2011)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary
Explores the under-representation of women in positions of power and influence in America, and challenges the media's limited portrayal of what it means to be a powerful woman.
Director: Jennifer Siebel Newsom | Stars: Jennifer Siebel Newsom, Jean Kilbourne, Jim Steyer, Katie Couric
Votes: 3,877
10. Burzynski (2010)
TV-G | 108 min | Documentary
Ph.D biochemist, Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, won one of the largest legal battles against the Food & Drug Administration in U.S. history. Dr. Burzynski and his patients endured a treacherous ... See full summary »
Director: Eric Merola | Stars: Joe Barton, Stanislaw Burzynski, Richard Jaffe, David A. Kessler
Votes: 892
11. The House I Live In (2012)
Not Rated | 108 min | Documentary
From the dealer to the narcotics officer, the inmate to the federal judge, a penetrating look inside America's criminal justice system, revealing the profound human rights implications of U.S. drug policy.
Director: Eugene Jarecki | Stars: Eugene Jarecki, David Simon, Shanequa Benitez, William Julius Wilson
Votes: 5,418 | Gross: $0.21M
12. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
PG | 96 min | Documentary
Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim follows Al Gore on the lecture circuit, as the former presidential candidate campaigns to raise public awareness of the dangers of global warming and calls for immediate action to curb its destructive effects on the environment.
Director: Davis Guggenheim | Stars: Al Gore, Billy West, George Bush, George W. Bush
Votes: 85,741 | Gross: $23.81M
13. Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (2010)
Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary
Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead is an American documentary that chronicles Australian Joe Cross's 60-day journey across the United States, where he embarks on a juice-only fast in a quest to reclaim his health.
Directors: Joe Cross, Kurt Engfehr | Stars: Joe Cross, Amy Badberg, Merv Cross, Virginia Cross
Votes: 8,983
Definitely bought a juicer after watching. My friends watched it. They bought juicers, too. Eat your fruits and veggies!
14. 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: 40,893 | Gross: $0.02M
Heartbreaking and captivating true story.
15. Vanishing of the Bees (2009)
Not Rated | 87 min | Documentary, History
This documentary takes a piercing investigative look at the economic, political and ecological implications of the worldwide disappearance of the honeybee.
Directors: Maryam Henein, George Langworthy | Stars: Elliot Page, Bret Adee, Dennis Cardoza, Henri Clement
Votes: 1,194
16. Killer at Large (2008)
TV-PG | 87 min | Documentary
An overview of the politics, social effects and problems associated with the rising epidemic of American obesity.
Director: Steven Greenstreet | Stars: Richard Atkinson, Denise Austin, Brooke Bates, Richard Berman
Votes: 493
17. Food, Inc. (2008)
PG | 94 min | Documentary, News
An unflattering look inside America's corporate controlled food industry.
Director: Robert Kenner | Stars: Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, Richard Lobb, Vince Edwards
Votes: 52,527 | Gross: $4.42M
18. The Gerson Miracle (2004)
Not Rated | 91 min | Documentary
In 1928, Dr. Max Gerson, a German-Jewish researcher, stumbled upon a therapy that claims to have cured tens of thousands of people worldwide since then, including patients's previously ... See full summary »
Director: Steve Kroschel | Stars: Carol Byrd-Bredbenner, Francesca Dego, Giuliano Dego, Robert Gaffney
Votes: 330
19. Mapping Stem Cell Research: Terra Incognita (2007)
PG | 100 min | Documentary
Terra Incognita is a feature length documentary film and companion civic engagement campaign featuring the story of Dr. Jack Kessler, the current chair of Northwestern University's ... See full summary »
Director: Maria Finitzo | Star: Terrence Howard
Votes: 40
20. Ethos (I) (2011)
Not Rated | 78 min | Documentary
Hosted by twice Oscar nominated actor Woody Harrelson, Ethos explores the mechanisms in our systems that work against democracy, the environment and our own personal liberty.
Director: Pete McGrain | Stars: Woody Harrelson, Justin Lewis, Bill Hogan, Noam Chomsky
Votes: 1,260
21. Food Fight (2008)
Not Rated | 83 min | Documentary
A fascinating look at how American agricultural policy and food culture developed in the 20th century, and how the California food movement rebelled against big agribusiness to launch the local organic food movement.
Director: Christopher Taylor | Stars: Michael Pollan, Alice Waters, Marion Nestle, Justin Kirk
Votes: 298
22. God Grew Tired of Us (2006)
PG | 89 min | Documentary
Three young men from Sudan embark on a journey to America after years of wandering Sub-Saharan Africa in search of safety.
Directors: Christopher Dillon Quinn, Tommy Walker | Stars: Panther Bior, John Bul Dau, Nicole Kidman, Daniel Abol Pach
Votes: 2,919 | Gross: $0.28M
23. The Business of Being Born (2008)
Not Rated | 87 min | Documentary
Birth: it's a miracle. A rite of passage. A natural part of life. But more than anything, birth is a business. Compelled to find answers after a disappointing birth experience with her ... See full summary »
Director: Abby Epstein | Stars: Mary Helen Ayres, Julia Barnett, Sylvie Blaustein, Louann Brizendine
Votes: 1,444 | Gross: $0.07M
24. Super Size Me (2004)
PG-13 | 100 min | Documentary
While examining the influence of the fast food industry, Morgan Spurlock personally explores the consequences on his health of a diet of solely McDonald's food for one month.
Director: Morgan Spurlock | Stars: Morgan Spurlock, Daryl Isaacs, Chemeeka Walker, Dania Abu-Rmaileh
Votes: 113,989 | Gross: $11.53M
25. Trouble the Water (2008)
Unrated | 93 min | Documentary
A redemptive tale of an aspiring rap artist surviving failed levees and her own troubled past and seizing a chance for a new beginning.
Directors: Carl Deal, Tia Lessin | Stars: Michael Brown, George W. Bush, Julie Chen Moonves, Ray Nagin
Votes: 2,081 | Gross: $0.52M
26. Bhutto (2010)
Unrated | 111 min | Documentary, Biography
A riveting documentary of the recently assassinated Benazir Bhutto, a polarizing figure in the Muslim world. Following in her father's footsteps as a pillar for democracy, Bhutto was ... See full summary »
Directors: Duane Baughman, Johnny O'Hara | Stars: Aseefa Bhutto Zardari, Bakhtawar Bhutto Zardari, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, Asif Ali Zardari
Votes: 721 | Gross: $0.10M
27. The Invisible War (2012)
Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary, Crime
An investigative documentary about the epidemic of rape of soldiers within the US military.
Director: Kirby Dick | Stars: Amy Ziering, Kirby Dick, Kori Cioca, Jessica Hinves
Votes: 7,107 | Gross: $0.07M
28. The Woodmans (2010)
Unrated | 82 min | Documentary, Biography
The story of a family that suffers a tragedy, but perseveres and finds redemption through each other and their work - making art.
Director: Scott Willis | Stars: Francesca Woodman, George Woodman, Betty Woodman, Charles Woodman
Votes: 682 | Gross: $0.04M
29. Vegucated (2011)
Not Rated | 76 min | Documentary, Comedy
Vegucated is a guerrilla-style documentary that follows three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers who agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks and learn what it's all about.
Director: Marisa Miller Wolfson | Stars: Marisa Miller Wolfson, Chloe Davis, Cody Tarlow, Molly Wadzeck
Votes: 3,064
30. Dying to Have Known (2006)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary
Master filmmaker Steve Kroschel, intrigued by a stunning statement from his last documentary, sets out to find hard evidence of the effectiveness of the Gerson Therapy, a long-suppressed ... See full summary »
Director: Steve Kroschel | Stars: Stephen Barret, T. Colin Campbell, Carolyn Dean, Dean Edell
Votes: 222
31. I Have Never Forgotten You: The Life & Legacy of Simon Wiesenthal (2007)
PG-13 | 105 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentary on the Austrian-Jewish architectural engineer who became a Nazi hunter after surviving the Holocaust.
Director: Richard Trank | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Simon Wiesenthal, Asher BenNatan, Frederick Forsyth
Votes: 749 | Gross: $0.01M
32. An Unreasonable Man (2006)
Not Rated | 122 min | Documentary, Biography
A look at the career of consumer advocate Ralph Nader.
Directors: Henriette Mantel, Steve Skrovan | Stars: Ralph Nader, Pat Buchanan, Howard Zinn, Eric Alterman
Votes: 1,780 | Gross: $0.18M
33. 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: 7,076 | Gross: $1.21M
34. Into the Abyss (2011)
PG-13 | 107 min | Documentary, Crime, Drama
Conversations with death row inmate Michael Perry and those affected by his crime serve as an examination of why people - and the state - kill.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Richard Lopez, Michael Perry, Damon Hall
Votes: 17,428 | Gross: $0.22M
35. It's a Girl! (2012)
Not Rated | 64 min | Documentary
Every year in India and China, millions of babies are killed, neglected or abandoned simply because they are girls.
Director: Evan Grae Davis
Votes: 534
36. Waiting Room (2015)
72 min | Documentary
Waiting, as a condition in which people spend a large part of their lives, is the central theme of this narrative film. The lives of seven women of various ages, who do not know each other,... See full summary »
Director: Palo Korec
Votes: 5
37. The Widowmaker (2015)
Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary, News
Every minute of every year an American drops dead of a heart attack, hundreds of thousands without any warning or prior symptom. But these people could have been saved. The Widowmaker ... See full summary »
Director: Patrick Forbes | Stars: Gillian Anderson, Melinda Murray, Julio Palmaz, Martin B. Leon
Votes: 244
38. Living in Emergency (2008)
Unrated | 120 min | Documentary
In the war-zones of Liberia and Congo, four volunteers with Doctors Without Borders struggle to provide emergency medical care under extreme conditions.
Director: Mark N. Hopkins | Stars: Davinder Gill, Chiara Lepora, Chris Brasher, Tom Krueger
Votes: 1,072 | Gross: $0.03M
39. The Dark Matter of Love (2012)
Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary
Documentary on the psychological aspects of growing up with and without parental love. It centers around the Diaz family, who chooses to adopt three orphans from Russia, and how their new and old kids handle family together.
Director: Sarah McCarthy | Stars: Caitlyn Maria Diaz, Camilena Anna Diaz, Cayden Marcel Diaz, Cheryl Diaz
Votes: 924
40. 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: 25,211 | Gross: $4.20M
41. Running from Crazy (2013)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
'Running from Crazy' is a documentary examining the personal journey of model and actress Mariel Hemingway, the great granddaughter of Ernest Hemingway, as she strives for a greater ... See full summary »
Director: Barbara Kopple | Stars: Stephen Crisman, Dree Hemingway, Jack Hemingway, Joan Hemingway
Votes: 348 | Gross: $0.03M
42. 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: 79,339 | Gross: $4.31M
43. The Unknown Known (2013)
PG-13 | 103 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Former United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, discusses his career in Washington D.C. from his days as a congressman in the early 1960s to planning the invasion of Iraq in 2003.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Donald Rumsfeld, Errol Morris
Votes: 4,343 | Gross: $0.28M
44. 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: 26,077 | Gross: $1.21M
45. Fed Up (2014)
PG | 92 min | Documentary
An examination of America's obesity epidemic and the food industry's role in aggravating it.
Director: Stephanie Soechtig | Stars: Michele Simon, Katie Couric, Bill Clinton, Michael Pollan
Votes: 12,431 | Gross: $1.54M
46. 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: 58,359 | Gross: $2.80M
47. Dark Girls (2011)
Not Rated | 71 min | Documentary
Documentary exploring the deep-seated biases and attitudes about skin color---particularly dark skinned women, outside of and within the Black American culture.
Directors: D. Channsin Berry, Bill Duke | Stars: Soren Baker, Ronald Boutelle, Joni Bovill, Kirk Bovill
Votes: 584
48. How to Die in Oregon (2011)
Not Rated | 107 min | Documentary, Drama, Family
In 1994 Oregon became the first state to legalize a terminally ill person's request to end his or her life with medication. At the time, only Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands had ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Richardson | Stars: Harry Bruton, Ray Carnay, Cody Curtis, Paul Darley
Votes: 2,031
49. Crazy Sexy Cancer (2007)
Not Rated | 89 min | Documentary
Crazy Sexy Cancer is an irreverent and uplifting documentary about a young woman looking for a cure and finding her life. Weeks after she was diagnosed, filmmaker Kris Carr began ... See full summary »
Director: Kris Carr | Stars: Aura Carr, Kenneth Carr, Kris Carr, Leslie Carr
Votes: 269
50. Pink Ribbons, Inc. (2011)
Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary
Breast cancer has become the poster child of corporate cause-related marketing campaigns. Countless women and men walk, bike, climb and shop for the cure. Each year, millions of dollars are... See full summary »
Director: Léa Pool
Votes: 735 | Gross: $0.02M
51. 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: 44,163 | Gross: $14.36M
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