Favorite documentaries
by brianliudc | created - 02 Oct 2017 | updated - 26 Sep 2021 | PublicFavorite documentaries
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1. Muscle Shoals (2013)
PG | 111 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary that celebrates Rick Hall, the founder of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and the signature sound he developed in songs such as "I'll Take You There", "Brown Sugar", and "When a Man Loves a Woman".
Director: Greg 'Freddy' Camalier | Stars: Rick Hall, Aretha Franklin, Keith Richards, Candi Staton
Votes: 4,293 | Gross: $0.70M
an absolutely amazing documentary. one of the few i watch over and over.
2. The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins (1970)
Not Rated | 31 min | Documentary, Short, Music
A portrait of the great Texas bluesman, 'Lightnin' Hopkins. The film includes interviews and a performance by Hopkins.
Directors: Les Blank, Skip Gerson | Stars: Lightnin Hopkins, Billy Bizor, Mance Lipscomb, Ruth Ames
Votes: 867
3. Musique au poing (1982)
Not Rated | 54 min | Documentary, Music
FELA KUTIis to African music what Bob Marley is to reggae: its prophet. All contemporary forms of black music, from funk to electronic, owe something to the irresistible groove of the ... See full summary »
Directors: Jean-Jacques Flori, Stéphane Tchalgadjieff | Stars: Fela Kuti, Martin Luther King, Pope John Paul II
Votes: 227
4. Ghosts of Cité Soleil (2006)
85 min | Documentary, Action, Drama
Documents the violent lives of gang leaders in Haiti's worst slum, focusing on two brothers loyal to then-President Aristide.
Directors: Asger Leth, Milos Loncarevic | Stars: Winson '2Pac' Jean, Wyclef Jean, James 'Bily' Petit Frère, Éleonore 'Lele' Senlis
Votes: 1,910 | Gross: $0.05M
5. Style Wars (1983 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 69 min | Documentary, Music
A documentary that exposes the rich growing subculture of hip-hop that was developing in New York City in the late '70s and early '80s, specifically focusing on graffiti art and breakdancing.
Director: Tony Silver | Stars: Demon, Kase 2, Eric Haze, D. 5
Votes: 3,300
6. 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: 13,362 | Gross: $1.29M
7. Buddha's Lost Children (2006)
97 min | Documentary
Buddha's Lost Children is a feature-length documentary film about a Thai Buddhist monk who - armed only with his faith and skills and master boxer skills - wages an inspirational battle to ... See full summary »
Director: Mark Verkerk | Stars: Phra Khru Bah Neua Chai Kositto, Khun Ead, Pan Sean, Boontam
Votes: 400
8. Up the Yangtze (2007)
Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary
At the edge of the Yangtze River, not far from the Three Gorges Dam, young men and women take up employment on a cruise ship, where they confront rising waters and a radically changing China.
Director: Yung Chang | Stars: Jerry Bo Yu Chen, Campbell Ping He, Cindy Shui Yu
Votes: 1,946 | Gross: $0.78M
9. The Salt of the Earth (2014)
PG-13 | 110 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The life and work of photographer Sebastião Salgado, who has spent forty years documenting societies in hidden corners of the world.
Directors: Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, Wim Wenders | Stars: Sebastião Salgado, Wim Wenders, Lélia Wanick Salgado, Juliano Ribeiro Salgado
Votes: 23,474 | Gross: $1.34M
10. In the Shadow of the Moon (2007)
PG | 100 min | Documentary, History
The crew members of NASA's Apollo missions tell their story in their own words.
Director: David Sington | Stars: Buzz Aldrin, Alan Bean, Eugene Cernan, Mike Collins
Votes: 6,929 | Gross: $1.13M
11. When We Were Kings (1996)
PG | 88 min | Documentary, Sport
Boxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.
Director: Leon Gast | Stars: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King, James Brown
Votes: 19,139 | Gross: $2.79M
12. Sweetgrass (2009)
Unrated | 101 min | Documentary, Adventure, Western
In the summer of 2003, a group of shepherds took a herd of sheep one final time through the Beartooth Mountains of Montana, in the extreme north-west of the United States. It was a journey ... See full summary »
Directors: Ilisa Barbash, Lucien Castaing-Taylor
Votes: 1,106 | Gross: $0.21M
13. Made in Jamaica (2006)
120 min | Documentary, Music
A powerful portrait of the leaders of the reggae music Movement, and how Reggae has become a worldwide phenomenon. The film showcases performances by the best Reggae and Dance Hall artists ever assembled.
Director: Jérôme Laperrousaz | Stars: Brick and Lace, Capleton, Stephen 'Cat' Coore, Joseph Current
Votes: 139
another great music documentary on reggae music of all styles, that blurs the line btwn interviews, culture, documentary, and live performance
14. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
PG-13 | 79 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
Die-hard gamers compete to break world records on classic arcade games.
Director: Seth Gordon | Stars: Steve Wiebe, Billy Mitchell, Mark Alpiger, Adam Wood
Votes: 37,580 | Gross: $0.68M
15. Please Vote for Me (2007)
Not Rated | 58 min | Documentary
Democracy in China exists, that is, in a primary school in Wuhan where a grade 3 class can vote who they want as class monitor.
Director: Weijun Chen | Stars: Cheng Cheng, Luo Lei, Xu Xiaofei
Votes: 1,449
16. Devil's Playground (2002)
77 min | Documentary
Amish teenagers experience and embrace the modern world as a rite-of-passage before deciding which life they will choose.
Director: Lucy Walker | Stars: Velda Bontrager, Mark Bontrager, Dewayne Chupp, Dylan Cole
Votes: 2,703
17. Sigur Rós: Heima (2007)
97 min | Documentary, Music
In the summer of 2006, Sigur Rós returned home to play a series of free, unannounced concerts for the people of Iceland.
Director: Dean DeBlois | Stars: Amiina, Hildur Arsaelsdottir, Jon Thor Birgisson, Orri P. Dyrason
Votes: 8,334
18. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2005)
PG-13 | 110 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Daniel Johnston, manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist is revealed in this portrait of madness, creativity and love.
Director: Jeff Feuerzeig | Stars: Daniel Johnston, Mabel Johnston, Bill Johnston, Laurie Allen
Votes: 10,535 | Gross: $0.33M
19. Cutie and the Boxer (2013)
R | 82 min | Documentary, Biography
This candid New York love story explores the chaotic 40-year marriage of famed boxing painter Ushio Shinohara and his wife, Noriko. Anxious to shed her role as her overbearing husband's assistant, Noriko finds an identity of her own.
Director: Zach Heinzerling | Stars: Ushio Shinohara, Noriko Shinohara, Alex Shinohara, Ethan Cohen
Votes: 4,737 | Gross: $0.20M
20. Purvis of Overtown (2006)
Documentary
After a stint in Raiford State Prison for a breaking and entering charge, Purvis Young seemed destined to fail, yet, while in prison, Purvis taught himself to paint. He became a highly ... See full summary »
Directors: Shaun Conrad, David Raccuglia | Stars: Purvis Young, William Arnett, Jane Fonda, Donald Rubell
Votes: 48
21. Don't Look Back (1967)
Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary, Music
Documentary covering Bob Dylan's 1965 tour of England, which includes appearances by Joan Baez and Donovan.
Director: D.A. Pennebaker | Stars: Bob Dylan, Albert Grossman, Bob Neuwirth, Joan Baez
Votes: 10,015
22. 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: 72,923 | Gross: $3.97M
23. When We Were Boys (2009)
81 min | Documentary
An observational portrait of two years in the lives of students at a private boys' school in Toronto.
Director: Sarah Goodman | Stars: Noah Stanton, Colin Stitt, Charlie Benger, Hal Hannaford
Votes: 24
24. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
PG | 81 min | Documentary
A documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his renowned Tokyo restaurant, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu.
Director: David Gelb | Stars: Jiro Ono, Yoshikazu Ono, Masuhiro Yamamoto, Daisuke Nakazama
Votes: 38,028 | Gross: $2.55M
25. 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: 58,687 | Gross: $2.96M
26. Disarm (2005)
67 min | Documentary, History, War
Disarm filmmakers Mary Wareham (Next Step Productions) and Brian Liu (Toolbox DC) present a contemporary and provocative view of the forces challenging the achievement of a mine-free world.... See full summary »
Directors: Brian Liu, Mary Wareham
Votes: 34
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