Documentaries you shouldn't miss
by merkele | created - 14 Sep 2013 | updated - 14 Sep 2013 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. 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: 61,904 | Gross: $3.17M
2. 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: 40,816 | Gross: $0.49M
3. Paris Is Burning (1990)
R | 78 min | Documentary
A chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.
Director: Jennie Livingston | Stars: Brooke Xtravaganza, André Christian, Dorian Corey, Paris Duprée
Votes: 17,616 | Gross: $3.78M
4. 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: 6,834
5. My Best Fiend (1999)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography
The love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Eva Mattes
Votes: 12,198 | Gross: $0.10M
6. The Century of the Self (2002)
59 min | Documentary
A documentary about the rise of psychoanalysis as a powerful means of persuasion for both governments and corporations.
Stars: Adam Curtis, Robert Reich, Ann Bernays, Alfred Pritz
Votes: 6,361
7. Marjoe (1972)
PG | 88 min | Documentary, Biography
This Oscar-winning documentary explores the life of one-time child evangelist and faith healer Marjoe Gortner. The son of professional evangelists, Gortner was preaching on the Southern tent-revival circuit by the age of 3.
Directors: Sarah Kernochan, Howard Smith | Stars: Agnes Benjamin, Marjoe Gortner, Vernon Gortner, Sarah Kernochan
Votes: 1,745
8. Blackfish (2013)
PG-13 | 83 min | Documentary
A documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales.
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite | Stars: Tilikum, Dave Duffus, Samantha Berg, Dean Gomersall
Votes: 72,458 | Gross: $2.07M
9. 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: 51,452 | Gross: $0.87M
10. The Imposter (2012)
R | 99 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A documentary centered on a young man in Spain who claims to a grieving Texas family that he is their 16-year-old son who has been missing for 3 years.
Director: Bart Layton | Stars: Adam O'Brian, Nicholas Barclay, Carey Gibson, Bryan Gibson
Votes: 50,468 | Gross: $0.89M
11. The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom (2007)
180 min | Documentary
The many ways in which Western notions of personal and political freedom are changing in the 21st Century are explored in this three-part documentary from writer and filmmaker Adam Curtis.
Stars: John Nash, Robert Spitzer, Jerome Wakefield, Paul McHugh
Votes: 2,018
12. Crumb (1994)
R | 119 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
An intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.
Director: Terry Zwigoff | Stars: Robert Crumb, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Charles Crumb, Maxon Crumb
Votes: 21,596 | Gross: $3.17M
13. 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: 1,767 | Gross: $0.18M
14. The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000)
PG-13 | 79 min | Documentary, Biography
Twelve years after the dramatic collapse of the Christian empire of Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, this documentary tells for the first time what really happened when they lost control of the first and most successful TV ministry of its kind.
Directors: Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato | Stars: RuPaul, Tammy Faye Bakker, Virginia Fairchild, Johnny Grover
Votes: 2,223 | Gross: $1.03M
15. You've Been Trumped (2011)
Not Rated | 79 min | Documentary
In this David and Goliath story for the 21st century, a group of proud Scottish homeowners take on celebrity tycoon Donald Trump as he buys up one of Scotland's last wilderness areas to build a golf resort.
Director: Anthony Baxter | Stars: Michael Forbes, Donald Trump, Anthony Baxter, Kevin Brown
Votes: 2,309 | Gross: $0.03M
16. Nostalgia for the Light (2010)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary
A documentary about two different searches conducted in the Chilean Atacama Desert: one by astronomers looking for answers about the history of the cosmos, and one by women looking for the remains of loved ones killed by Pinochet's regime.
Director: Patricio Guzmán | Stars: Gaspar Galaz, Lautaro Núñez, Luís Henríquez, Miguel Lawner
Votes: 6,116
17. 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: 27,134 | Gross: $3.12M
18. 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: 15,293 | Gross: $0.03M
19. Hands on a Hardbody: The Documentary (1997)
PG | 98 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama
Twenty-four contestants compete in an endurance/sleep deprivation contest in order to win a brand new Nissan Hardbody truck. The last person to remain standing with his or her hand on the ... See full summary »
Director: S.R. Bindler | Stars: Sid Allen, Brent Baskin, Greg Cox, J.C. Crum
Votes: 2,480 | Gross: $0.49M
20. Last Train Home (2009)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary, Drama
A couple embarks on a journey home for Chinese new year along with 130 million other migrant workers, to reunite with their children and struggle for a future. Their unseen story plays out as China soars towards being a world superpower.
Director: Lixin Fan | Stars: Changhua Zhang, Yang Zhang, Suqin Chen, Qin Zhang
Votes: 3,717 | Gross: $0.29M
21. Hell House (2001)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary
Each Halloween, youth members of Trinity Church, Texas construct a 'Hell House'; a modern-day fire-and-brimstone sermon, presented in the form of a haunted house, seen by over 10,000 visitors each year.
Director: George Ratliff | Stars: Aria Adloo, Ashley Adloo, Amy Allred, Gabriel Allred
Votes: 1,725
22. Room 237 (I) (2012)
Not Rated | 102 min | Documentary
An exploration of various interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's horror film, The Shining (1980).
Director: Rodney Ascher | Stars: Bill Blakemore, Geoffrey Cocks, Juli Kearns, John Fell Ryan
Votes: 23,117 | Gross: $0.26M
23. Side by Side (2012)
Not Rated | 99 min | Documentary
The documentary investigates the history, process and workflow of both digital and photochemical film creation.
Director: Christopher Kenneally | Stars: Derek Ambrosi, Michael Ballhaus, Andrzej Bartkowiak, Dion Beebe
Votes: 13,717 | Gross: $0.03M
24. 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: 18,303
25. Darwin's Nightmare (2004)
107 min | Documentary
A documentary on the effect of fishing the Nile perch in Tanzania's Lake Victoria. The predatory fish, which has wiped out the native species, is sold in European supermarkets, while starving Tanzanian families have to make do with the leftovers.
Director: Hubert Sauper | Stars: Elizabeth 'Eliza' Maganga Nsese, Raphael Tukiko Wagara, Dimond Remtulia, Marcus Nyoni
Votes: 5,662 | Gross: $0.20M
26. A Film Unfinished (2010)
Unrated | 88 min | Documentary, Drama, History
A film about an unfinished film which portrays the people behind and before the camera in the Warsaw Ghetto, exposing the extent of the cinematic manipulation forever changing the way we look at historic images.
Director: Yael Hersonski | Stars: Alexander Beyer, Rüdiger Vogler, Hanna Avrutzki, Luba Gewisser
Votes: 1,899 | Gross: $0.31M
27. The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu (2010)
Not Rated | 180 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The film explores the image of the Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu using unknown official footage from the Romanian National Television and National Film Archives.
Director: Andrei Ujica | Stars: Nicolae Ceausescu, Elena Ceausescu, Stefan Andrei, Gheorghe Apostol
Votes: 1,639 | Gross: $0.03M
28. Hospital (1970 TV Movie)
84 min | Documentary
An intimate look at the daily activities of medical staff and patients in New York's Metropolitan Hospital.
Director: Frederick Wiseman | Stars: Eugene Friedman, Stanley Friedman, Robert Schwartz
Votes: 547
29. Aspen (1991)
146 min | Documentary
The film documents the daily life and activities of the people who live, work, visit and play in Aspen, a town famous in the 19th century for silver mining and now known for its scenic splendor and fashionable people.
Director: Frederick Wiseman | Star: John Denver
Votes: 102
30. 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: 5,109
31. 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: 2,239
32. Law and Order (1969 TV Movie)
81 min | Documentary
Also known as The Greater Good, this series of vignettes focuses on the day-to-day work of Kansas City, Missouri police covers the range of circumstances they encounter and the variety of ... See full synopsis »
Director: Frederick Wiseman | Star: Richard Nixon
Votes: 389
33. Juvenile Court (1973)
144 min | Documentary
An unobtrusive and naturalistic examination of the goings-on of a children's court, Memphis Juvenile Court 616.
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Votes: 302
34. Essene (1972)
86 min | Documentary
Daily life in a Benedictine monastery.
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Votes: 203
35. The Store (1983)
118 min | Documentary
A look at the employees and shoppers at the Neiman-Marcus department in Dallas, Texas during the holiday season.
Director: Frederick Wiseman | Stars: Art Buchwald, Lady Bird Johnson
Votes: 324
36. Domestic Violence (2001)
196 min | Documentary
Renowned documentarian Frederick Wiseman turns his observational camera on The Spring, a Florida shelter for battered women and children. For one-hundred and ninety-six minutes, Wiseman ... See full summary »
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Votes: 327
37. Domestic Violence 2 (2002)
160 min | Documentary
The opening scene in this film is of an arrest in Hillsborough County Florida where a woman has scratched her husband while he was trying to restrain her from getting back in her car and ... See full summary »
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Votes: 116
38. All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace (2011)
60 min | Documentary
A series of films about how humans have been colonized by the machines we have built. Although we don't realize it, the way we see everything in the world today is through the eyes of the computers.
Stars: Adam Curtis, Stewart Brand, Al Gore, Alvin Toffler
Votes: 2,136
39. The Queen of Versailles (2012)
PG | 100 min | Documentary
A documentary that follows a billionaire couple as they begin construction on a mansion inspired by Versailles. During the next two years, their empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis.
Director: Lauren Greenfield | Stars: Jaqueline Siegel, David Siegel, Lorraine Barrett, June Downs
Votes: 13,702 | Gross: $2.40M
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