Greatest documentaries
by grantss | created - 06 Aug 2016 | updated - 2 weeks ago | PublicRated 10/10. In descending order, roughly.
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1. The Civil War (1990)
TV-14 | 76 min | Documentary, History, War
A comprehensive survey of the American Civil War.
Stars: David McCullough, Sam Waterston, Julie Harris, Jason Robards
Votes: 18,552
2. The World at War (1973–1974)
TV-PG | 50 min | Documentary, History, War
A groundbreaking 26-part documentary series narrated by the actor Laurence Olivier about the deadliest conflict in history, World War II.
Stars: Laurence Olivier, Averell Harriman, Anthony Eden, Albert Speer
Votes: 29,327
3. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
R | 110 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: John Beard, Tim Belden, Barbara Boxer, George W. Bush
Votes: 20,112
4. Mr. Dynamite: The Rise of James Brown (2014)
Not Rated | 120 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
A look at the music career of musician James Brown beginning with his first hit song, "Please, Please, Please," in 1956.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: James Brown, Christian McBride, Bobby Byrd, Greg Tate
Votes: 1,497
5. Baseball (1994–2010)
TV-PG | 104 min | Documentary, History, Sport
A documentary on the history of the sport with major topics including Afro-American players, player/team owner relations and the resilience of the game.
Stars: Daniel Okrent, George F. Will, John Chancellor, Doris Kearns Goodwin
Votes: 4,739
6. History of the Eagles (2013)
Not Rated | 94 min | Documentary, Music
The life and times of the super successful American soft-rock band, Eagles.
Stars: Don Henley, Glenn Frey, Don Felder, Joe Walsh
Votes: 2,808
7. Lewis & Clark: The Journey of the Corps of Discovery (1997 TV Movie)
TV-G | 240 min | Documentary, Adventure, Biography
The story of the most important American exploration expedition in American history and the participants in it.
Director: Ken Burns | Stars: Hal Holbrook, Adam Arkin, John Logan Allen, Stephen Ambrose
Votes: 1,417
8. Cosmos (1980)
TV-PG | 60 min | Documentary
Astronomer Carl Sagan leads us on an engaging guided tour of the various elements and cosmological theories of the universe.
Stars: Carl Sagan, Jaromír Hanzlík, Jonathan Fahn, Jean Charney
Votes: 44,140
9. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a Dream (2007)
Not Rated | 259 min | Documentary, Music
"Runnin' Down A Dream," a film directed by cinema legend Peter Bogdanovich, is the story of one of America's great rock and roll bands told as never before.
Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Neil Armstrong, Mick Avory, Ron Blair, Peter Bogdanovich
Votes: 2,162
10. The Beatles: Get Back (2021)
PG-13 | 156 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
In January 1969, The Beatles set out to write and record new songs for their first live show in more than two years, culminating in an impromptu concert atop their Savile Row studio.
Votes: 28,091
11. Planet Earth II (2016)
TV-G | 50 min | Documentary
David Attenborough returns with a new wildlife documentary that shows life in a variety of habitats.
Stars: David Attenborough, Chadden Hunter, Gordon Buchanan, Elizabeth White
Votes: 158,234
12. Monty Python: Almost the Truth - The Lawyer's Cut (2009)
54 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentary on the history on British comedy group Monty Python. Features interviews with the five surviving members plus other comedians and artists whose careers they have influenced.
Stars: Eric Idle, John Cleese, Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam
Votes: 1,900
13. Carrier (2008– )
Documentary
CARRIER is a character-driven immersion in the high-stakes world of a nuclear aircraft carrier, shot on the USS Nimitz during a six-month deployment to the Persian Gulf. The program follows... See full summary »
Stars: Chris Altice, Kevin McLaughlin, Randy Brock, David Fravor
Votes: 633
14. Joy Division (2007)
R | 93 min | Documentary, Music
A chronological account of the influential late 1970s English rock band.
Director: Grant Gee | Stars: Richard Boon, Anton Corbijn, Kevin Cummins, Bob Dickinson
Votes: 3,868
15. Rolling Thunder Revue (2019)
TV-MA | 142 min | Documentary, Biography, History
In an alchemic mix of fact and fantasy, Martin Scorsese looks back at Bob Dylan's 1975 Rolling Thunder Revue tour and a country ripe for reinvention.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Bob Dylan, Allen Ginsberg, Patti Smith, Martin von Haselberg
Votes: 7,710
16. Supermensch (2013)
R | 85 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
The life and career of the legendary Hollywood insider, Shep Gordon.
Directors: Beth Aala, Mike Myers | Stars: Shep Gordon, Sylvester Stallone, Michael Douglas, Alice Cooper
Votes: 3,403 | Gross: $0.21M
17. Crossfire Hurricane (2012)
Not Rated | 111 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Legendary British rock band The Rolling Stones mark their 50th year together.
Director: Brett Morgen | Stars: Mick Jagger, Charlie Watts, Bill Wyman, Ronnie Wood
Votes: 2,741
18. 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: 78,975 | Gross: $4.31M
19. The Beatles: Eight Days a Week - The Touring Years (2016)
Not Rated | 106 min | Documentary, History, Music
A compilation of found footage featuring music, interviews, and stories of The Beatles' 250 concerts from 1963 to 1966.
Director: Ron Howard | Stars: The Beatles, John Lennon, George Harrison, Paul McCartney
Votes: 13,837 | Gross: $2.93M
20. The War (2007)
TV-14 | 124 min | Documentary, History, War
A seven-part series focusing on the many ways in which the Second World War impacted the lives of American families.
Stars: Keith David, Katharine Phillips, Tom Hanks, Paul Fussell
Votes: 5,667
21. Five Came Back (2017)
TV-14 | 60 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The wartime contributions of five prominent Hollywood film directors during World War II are profiled.
Stars: Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, Meryl Streep, Guillermo del Toro
Votes: 5,279
22.
American Experience (1987– )
Episode:
The Battle of Chosin
(2016)
PG | 113 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The Battle of Chosin Reservoir, a crucial battle in the Korean War.
Director: Randall MacLowry | Stars: Juan Balleza, Bruce Cumings, Sam Folsom, John Edward Gray
Votes: 507
23. Icarus (2017)
TV-MA | 120 min | Documentary, Sport
When Bryan sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports, a chance meeting with a Russian scientist transforms his story from a personal experiment into a geopolitical thriller.
Director: Bryan Fogel | Stars: Bryan Fogel, Dave Zabriskie, Don Catlin, Grigory Rodchenkov
Votes: 54,707
24. Memory of the Camps (2014 TV Movie)
70 min | Documentary, History
Cameramen from Britain's Army Film Unit capture footage of concentration camps in German in 1945.
Director: Sidney Bernstein | Stars: Jasper Britton, Adolf Hitler, Sidney Bernstein, Alfred Hitchcock
Votes: 703 | Gross: $0.00M
25. 20 Days in Mariupol (2023)
TV-PG | 95 min | Documentary, War
As the Russian invasion begins, a team of Ukrainian journalists trapped in the besieged city of Mariupol struggle to continue their work documenting the war's atrocities.
Director: Mstyslav Chernov | Stars: Mstyslav Chernov, Evgeniy Maloletka, Liudmyla Amelkina, Roman Golovanov
Votes: 20,116
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