Top 30 documentaries
by kirkendog | created - 30 Mar 2023 | updated - 7 months ago | PublicI don't watch a lot of these as too many are boring & I avoid the political propaganda films which are most of the top 50 in the media. We get enough brainwashing watching regular news, commercials & TV.
I left off any nature documentary because they usually ruin them with the nonstop talk of climate change. Anyone with a brain knows the constant fear porn of the weather is a massive brainwashing initiative to destroy America. They want to milk us of our money to prop up evil organizations like the UN, WHO, & WEF (of course the big polluters like India & China don't have to do what we have to do). Amazingly I watched Frozen Planet & Blue Planet again, since it was available for free, & these actually went through the entire 1st seasons without mentioning climate change (from 2012 & 2002), I guess it was after this that they got their directives to blame everything on it.
If it were up to them we'd all be in cities, taking buses with no vehicles, no freedom to travel, eating bugs & slaves to the system in the worst way of living possible. Sadly our indoctrination centers (colleges) have successfully convinced millions to think this is more important than anything, as if the world will end (forgetting Al Gore's prediction we'd be under water by now & this month, Jun 2023, is the 5 year deadline where all of humanity will be wiped out due to using fossil fuels, according to a top climate scientist, who was quoted by Greta Thunberg, a modern day Joan of Arc mascot).
I had a free trial of PBS for 7 days & watched some of the Ken Burns' documentaries, thinking they can't be too bad, I was wrong, they are full of propaganda & political correctness, almost enough to make you gag like a maggot. The leftists must have bombarded the ratings/reviews to have them rated so high, as they clearly are not the best. They are so anti-American, typical from the white leftist who should just pack their bags & move to China, they'd fit in better. Almost every documentary from Burns, whether it's his film or he produced it, was basically hours of bashing whites &/or Republicans & defending every other race & DemocRats. If these were done against any other group in the world, there would have been hell to pay for Burns, but of course it's open season on whites & Republicans & it's perfectly fine. Examples below:
Vietnam War - commentary from the biggest leftists you could find, no balance at all, Congress speakers representing the biased viewpoint of the film, all DemocRats, to make it appear only they cared, even though it was the DemocRats who got us into the war in the 1st place, LBJ had plenty of opportunities to get us out of it & he didn't. The released tapes, after they died, were staged to make LBJ look Presidential while making Nixon look horrible, they didn't play the LBJ tapes that make him look horrible. They had all the people the left love (McCain, Kerry, Fonda) & glorified the North Vietnamese Communists with numerous interviews & they were smiling as if they were smarter than the US. I mean, China would probably put out a similar documentary. The amount of people they lost, this was not a victory for them at all. They show Bush, the younger, getting out of the war, but not Clinton & tons of leftists who fled to Canada. They featured 2 DemocRat conventions as if they were the only party in the USA & the famous anti-White speech from Muhammad Ali.
Of course the war was another mistake by our Govt, just like Afghanistan/Iraq & now Ukraine, it's a way for our Govt to keep the money flowing to themselves &/or fight proxy wars against enemies they've created & they use the media to attempt to brainwash the public into believing it's necessary so more lower & middle class kids can die for the elites. This is a uniparty problem which may never be fixed until we disappear from the Earth, but PBS instead of telling the truth from all sides, slanted the story to the left, which is why we shouldn't have PBS in the first place, all taxpayers are paying for them to put out DemocRat propaganda.
National Parks - way too focused on the people like John Muir, Teddy Roosevelt & others instead of the parks, it should have been more about the beauty of the parks with tons of film & pictures, instead of boring puff pieces about the people, as if the parks should be named Muir park or something. The theme was basically an endorsement of Govt overreach, taking state land because they know best, the same Govt that is allowing China to buy our land. All the Govt had to do was appoint a state representative to save the lands for the states, they didn't need to bully their way in, like they do for everything. The left loves big Govt, the Cronon guy that did a lot of the talking was giddy over taking the land from the states. They had the Smoky Mountains park where they took land from 5500 whites & Indians for the greater good, but didn't have any commentary from what those people thought of the almighty Govt. Per an article I read, 'The Govt owns large portions of every state now, especially in the West, & BLM rents the land to special interests – like mining & logging corporations, who don't have a vested interest in protecting sacred sites from looters & has mismanaged forests and “public lands” so badly that wildfires are common. These fires often destroy private property & fortunes in addition to the public lands & animals.' Cronon said the parks are our land, yet the Govt charges us to see it. The parks should be free for Americans, charge the foreigners who are pretty much most of the visitors anyway, we have to work to survive while they get a lot of down time as compared to us. Most of the commentary was a collection of PC people to make sure the diversity was covered, just pathetic that they think that is necessary, no surprise from PBS though. Surprisingly, they mentioned the Japanese internment camps, but they did so without condemning their DemocRat President FDR. If that were a Republican, they would have spent an hour talking about that alone. Jimmy Carter stole 47 million acres from Alaska, not because the Alaskans were going to destroy the land, just because the Govt wants to take any good land they can get so they can make the profits instead of the state. One of the 'bad guys' featured was bashed & called a Republican, whenever they mention something a DemocRat did, it's never mentioned that they are a DemocRat, typical bias you see in anything from the media these days. The last Govt lovefest in the film was putting wolves back into Yellowstone, never mentioning how many sheep & cattle died from nearby ranches, because for PBS the Govt is always right, those peons in the outskirts of our wonderful parks are not deserving of protection.
Civil War - approx. 850,000 died in the war from 1861 to 1865, including 100,000 estimated blacks/Indians, total of 2-3% of the population of 31 million at the time, equivalent to 8 million dying today, 2/3 from diseases. Despite 88% of the deaths being white, blacks still expect reparations from us despite so many of our ancestors dying for them. It's complete BS how this series was put out, it made it seem everyone who fought for the south was a slave owner & the only reason they fought was to keep slaves. Only the elites had slaves on both sides of the battle, most of the south was fighting for states rights & to keep their cotton, while the north wanted the cotton & wanted the Govt to dictate how things will work in every state (same problem we have today with DemocRats loving big Govt & Republicans want more states rights). They left out battles to include a black girl historian who states ‘I grow impatient w/people who say Lincoln couldn’t have freed the slaves faster because of the times’, such racist drivel. Historian Shelby Foote, in a later interview about the film said 'It seemed to me to lean a little heavily on slavery as the biggest problem of the war, which I don't think it was, especially to the people who fought it.'
The West - by far the worst of the Burns series', they should have called this The Indians with that chant to start off every episode (to be fair, he just produced this one - the director is a leftist from Harvard). It was all about them & how horrible whitey is. When 1 Indian tribe wiped out another, I wonder if they thought that this is their land & those other pesky Indians don't belong. Oh, but I thought they were a peace-loving people who didn't do anything bad until the whites came around. This ruins the leftist mantra that they use to bash whites over the head with constantly, which is why they don't mention it. The Spanish/Mexicans would have done the same to the Indians had we not done it first. Very little mention or not at all of so many characters that are a huge part of the west (Billy the Kid, Jesse James, Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickok, Crazy Horse, Bat Masterson, The Donner Party & Geronimo). No mention on how important the discovery of oil was, no surprise as leftists hate oil. Overly focused as usual on the minorities, leftists can't survive a day without bashing whites & propping up minorities, it's a religion. One good comment on the film I read is, 'Another group of glorified victims are the Mexicans, who got the raw end of the deal from the Texans. The series readily forgets & never mentions, that these poor people were descendants of conquistadors, who butchered Aztecs, Mayas & Incas wholesale’. Most of the Indian women speaking look like Elizabeth Warren clones, whites claiming Indian heritage, it's just pathetic. A NY Times writer wrote about the film, 'fiercely & brilliantly rooted in fact’. When a NY Times person said it's a fact, it's definitely a lie, they lie about everything. They left in a comment from 1 cattle farmer who was describing 1 of his brothers '1 brother ended up the worst of the lot, a sheep man & a Republican’. I mean to even include that in the film shows the bias of this series.
To further show the destruction revisionist history causes, look at these comments from a senior person at Target stores in the modern world. 'The closure of Mt Rushmore, return of that land & all public lands in the Black Hills, SD is our cornerstone battle. Not only does it sit in the heart of the sacred Black Hills, but it is an international symbol of white supremacy & colonization. To truly dismantle white supremacy & systems of oppression, we have to go back to the roots. Which for us, is putting Indigenous lands back in Indigenous hands’
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1. 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: 77,427 | Gross: $17.54M
2. Plandemic 3: The Great Awakening (2023)
102 min | Documentary
Filmmaker Mikki Willis explores topics related to COVID-19, the World Economic Forum, and freedom of speech.
Director: Mikki Willis | Stars: Mikki Willis, G. Edward Griffin, Maximo Alvarez, Christine Anderson
Votes: 359
3. Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)
PG-13 | 91 min | Documentary, Sport
Documentary about the pioneering 1970s Zephyr skating team.
Director: Stacy Peralta | Stars: Sean Penn, Jay Adams, Tony Alva, Jeff Ament
Votes: 13,361 | Gross: $1.29M
4. 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: 21,234 | Gross: $1.08M
5. Beyond the Summits (2009)
TV-G | 80 min | Documentary
One of the world's greatest climbers scales the mighty Alps in this documentary. Catherine Destivelle is one of the most revered mountain-scalers worldwide. "Beyond the Summits" follows ... See full summary »
Director: Rémy Tezier | Stars: Catherine Destivelle, Lothar Mauch, Claire Destivelle, Gabriel Briand
Votes: 124
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: 2,809
7. Bones Brigade: An Autobiography (2012)
PG | 90 min | Documentary, Sport
When six teenage boys came together as a skateboarding team in the 1980s, they reinvented not only their chosen sport but themselves too - as they evolved from insecure outsiders to the most influential athletes in the field.
Director: Stacy Peralta | Stars: Tony Alva, Steve Caballero, Fred Durst, Shepard Fairey
Votes: 2,729
8. 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: 19,059 | Gross: $2.33M
9. Step Into Liquid (2003)
PG | 88 min | Documentary, Sport
Surfers and secret spots from around the world are profiled in this documentary.
Director: Dana Brown | Stars: Laird Hamilton, Layne Beachley, Dan Malloy, Robert August
Votes: 2,783 | Gross: $3.67M
10. March of the Penguins (2005)
G | 80 min | Documentary, Family
In the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family.
Director: Luc Jacquet | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Romane Bohringer, Charles Berling, Jules Sitruk
Votes: 59,953 | Gross: $77.44M
11. 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: 61,898 | Gross: $3.17M
12. 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: 14,421
13. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (2004)
Not Rated | 84 min | Documentary, Music
The iconic metal band struggles for two years to create their album St. Anger, dealing with alcoholism, the loss of their bass player, and the challenge of working with a psychotherapist.
Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky | Stars: James Hetfield, Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, Robert Trujillo
Votes: 20,352 | Gross: $1.22M
14. The Last Narc (2020)
TV-MA | 46 min | Documentary, Crime
Former cartel insiders divulge the bone-chilling details behind the notorious murder and kidnapping of DEA Agent "Kiki" Camarena.
Stars: Hector Berrellez, Geneva Camarena, Ramón Lira, Jorge Godoy
Votes: 2,871
15. Pipeline Masters (2006 Video)
Not Rated | 83 min | Documentary
The Pipeline Masters competition; where surf history was made. There is Gerry's Era, and Gerry's Army, the Free Ride Generation and the birth of backside tube riding, Simon Anderson's ... See full summary »
Stars: Tom Carroll, Andy Irons, Bruce Irons, Gerry Lopez
Votes: 30
16. 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: 6,276
17. 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: 38,108 | Gross: $4.59M
18. 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: 20,618 | Gross: $1.06M
19. Searching for Sugar Man (2012)
PG-13 | 86 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.
Director: Malik Bendjelloul | Stars: Rodriguez, Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman, Dennis Coffey, Mike Theodore
Votes: 72,911 | Gross: $3.97M
20. The Beckoning Silence (2007 TV Movie)
PG | 73 min | Drama
After a mountain climber's severe injuries and near-death accident, he's told he'll never climb again. His recovery left him to confront the question: why, after coming so close to death, did he feel compelled to continue climbing?
Director: Louise Osmond | Stars: Roger Schäli, Simon Anthamatten, Andreas Abegglen, Cyrille Berthod
Votes: 1,394
21. McConkey (2013)
TV-14 | 100 min | Documentary, Action, Adventure
An examination of the legacy one athlete left to the progression of his sports.
Directors: Rob Bruce, Scott Gaffney, Murray Wais, Steve Winter, David Zieff | Stars: Ingrid Backstrom, Andreas Barkhall, Mark Broderick, Rob Bruce
Votes: 869
22. The Brandon Teena Story (1998)
Not Rated | 89 min | Documentary, Biography
Documentary about a multiple murder in rural Nebraska in 1993.
Directors: Susan Muska, Gréta Olafsdóttir | Stars: Daphne, Reanna, Gina, Shaun
Votes: 1,338 | Gross: $0.04M
23. Take Every Wave: The Life of Laird Hamilton (2017)
Not Rated | 118 min | Documentary, Sport
Filmmaker Rory Kennedy examines the career of American Laird Hamilton, a man who has spent his life conquering untameable walls of water and changed the sport of big wave surfing forever.
Director: Rory Kennedy | Stars: Nick Carroll, Darrick Doerner, Laird Hamilton, Gabrielle Reece
Votes: 709 | Gross: $0.18M
24. Wampler's Ascent (2013)
77 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama
All people face challenges throughout their life and this is an unprecedented look at one man's journey of terror and sheer will to overcome all odds as he tries to conquer one of the biggest human feats ever attempted.
Director: Elizabeth Wampler | Star: Stephen Wampler
Votes: 43
25. 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: 24,424 | Gross: $1.33M
26. Man on Wire (2008)
PG-13 | 94 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century".
Director: James Marsh | Stars: Philippe Petit, Jean François Heckel, Jean-Louis Blondeau, Annie Allix
Votes: 58,680 | Gross: $2.96M
27. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
Not Rated | 150 min | Documentary, Crime
A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.
Directors: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky | Stars: Tony Brooks, Diana Davis, Terry Wood, Dick Clay
Votes: 18,147
28. Riding Giants (2004)
PG-13 | 105 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Documentary detailing the origins and history of surf culture.
Director: Stacy Peralta | Stars: Laird Hamilton, Darrick Doerner, Dave Kalama, Jeff Clark
Votes: 4,671 | Gross: $2.28M
29. Marley (2012)
PG-13 | 144 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
A documentary on the life, music, and legacy of Bob Marley.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Rita Marley, Jimmy Cliff
Votes: 14,494 | Gross: $1.41M
30. The Last Mountain (2021)
R | 107 min | Documentary
The unforgettable story of the 30-year-old climber Tom Ballard who disappeared on the so-called killer mountain, Nanga Parbat, in 2019
Director: Christopher Terrill | Stars: Kate Ballard, Tom Ballard, Karim Hayat
Votes: 593
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