My top documentaries
by roger0 | created - 07 Jan 2016 | updated - 12 Mar 2022 | Public@AbabonRoger
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1. 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: 59,945 | Gross: $77.44M
2. 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: 57,974 | Gross: $2.80M
3. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (2012)
TV-14 | 106 min | Documentary
Alex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all the way to the Vatican.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Alex Gibney, Terry Kohut, Gary Smith, Pat Kuehn
Votes: 4,082
4. 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: 78,956 | Gross: $4.31M
5. 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: 54,692
6. The Internet's Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz (2014)
Not Rated | 105 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
The story of programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz, who took his own life at the age of 26.
Director: Brian Knappenberger | Stars: Aaron Swartz, Tim Berners-Lee, Cindy Cohn, Gabriella Coleman
Votes: 18,039 | Gross: $0.05M
7. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
R | 122 min | Documentary, Drama, War
Michael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11 and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, George W. Bush, Ben Affleck, Stevie Wonder
Votes: 132,387 | Gross: $119.19M
8. Give Up Tomorrow (2011)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Crime, Mystery
When a teenager from a political family in the Philippines is accused of a double murder, the country's entire judicial system is put to the test after years of alleged corruption.
Director: Michael Collins
Votes: 595
9. Bowling for Columbine (2002)
R | 120 min | Documentary, Crime, Drama
Filmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Charlton Heston, Marilyn Manson, Salvador Allende
Votes: 148,729 | Gross: $21.58M
10. Four Horsemen (2012)
Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary, News
The modern day Four Horsemen continue to ride roughshod over the people who can least afford it. Crises are converging when governments, religion and mainstream economists have stalled. 23 ... See full summary »
Director: Ross Ashcroft | Stars: Dominic Frisby, Gillian Tett, Lawrence Wilkerson, David Morgan
Votes: 2,918
11. Roger & Me (1989)
R | 91 min | Documentary
After General Motors closes its factory in Flint, Michigan, eliminating 35,000 jobs, filmmaker Michael Moore undertakes a quixotic quest to interview General Motors' chairman, Roger B. Smith.
Director: Michael Moore | Stars: Michael Moore, Roger B. Smith, Rhonda Britton, Fred Ross
Votes: 27,512 | Gross: $6.71M
12. Last Men in Aleppo (2017)
Not Rated | 104 min | Documentary, War
Khaled, Mahmoud and Subhi volunteer with the White Helmets trying to save lives of hundreds of victims in the besieged city of Aleppo during the Syrian Civil War.
Directors: Feras Fayyad, Steen Johannessen | Stars: Khaled Umar Harah, Batul, Mahmoud, Abu Umar
Votes: 3,000 | Gross: $0.01M
13. Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)
R | 106 min | Documentary, Crime, History
Alex Gibney exposes the haunting details of the USA's torture and interrogation practices during the War in Afghanistan.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Alex Gibney, Brian Keith Allen, Moazzam Begg, Christopher Beiring
Votes: 16,802 | Gross: $0.27M
14. 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: 27,105 | Gross: $3.12M
15. Richter: The Enigma (1998 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 158 min | Music, Documentary
This biography of Sviatoslav Richter, the great Russian pianist who dedicated his life to music and had little regard for fame in the West, shines a light on his formative years and places him against the setting of a chaotic USSR culture.
Director: Bruno Monsaingeon | Star: Svyatoslav Richter
Votes: 201
16. The Origins of AIDS (2004)
92 min | Documentary
Documentary about the hypothesis that HIV may have been caused by mass vaccination against Polio, in Congo, between 1957 and 1960.
Directors: Peter Chappell, Catherine Peix Eyrolle | Stars: Cecil Fox, Simon Wain-Hobson, Joseph Vandepitte, Tom Curtis
Votes: 386
17.
Frontline (1983– )
Episode:
Secrets of the Vatican
(2014)
TV-PG | 84 min | Documentary, News
From PBS and Frontline: Pope Benedict made history when he announced his resignation, becoming the first Pope to step down voluntarily in six hundred years. In his wake he left a bitterly ... See full summary »
Director: Antony Thomas | Stars: Will Lyman, Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Pope Francis, Pope Benedict XVI
Votes: 151
18. Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003)
R | 93 min | Documentary, Crime
Nick Broomfield's second documentary about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, focusing on her mental state on death row.
Directors: Nick Broomfield, Joan Churchill | Stars: Aileen Wuornos, Nick Broomfield, Terry Humphreys-Slay, Leitha Prather
Votes: 6,948 | Gross: $0.10M
19. Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (2015)
Not Rated | 119 min | Documentary
A documentary looking at the inner-workings of the Church of Scientology.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Paul Haggis, Jason Beghe, Spanky Taylor, David Miscavige
Votes: 40,904
20. Overdos (2010)
Not Rated | 47 min | Documentary, News
In times of crisis people seek strong leaders and simple solutions. But what happens when their solutions are identical to the mistakes that caused the very crisis?
Director: Martin Borgs | Star: Johan Norberg
Votes: 422
21. The Trials of Henry Kissinger (2002)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary
A film about the war crimes of the American diplomat, Henry Kissinger.
Director: Eugene Jarecki | Stars: Brian Cox, Henry Kissinger, Anna Chennault, Daniel Davidson
Votes: 2,094 | Gross: $0.52M
22. Howard Hughes: The Man and the Madness (1999 TV Movie)
Documentary, Biography
Documentary on the idiosyncratic, eccentric billionaire Howard Hughes utilizes rare archive footage and interviews with associates to shed light on the Hughes enigma.
Director: Nick Millard | Stars: Shannon Bollinger, Brett Brinkhoff, Jan Dicken, Howard Hughes
Votes: 40
23. Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (2004)
Unrated | 78 min | Documentary
Documentary on reported Conservative bias of the Rupert Murdoch-owned Fox News Channel (FNC), which promotes itself as "Fair and Balanced". Material includes interviews with former FNC employees and the inter-office memos they provided.
Director: Robert Greenwald | Stars: Douglas Cheek, Walter Cronkite, Bob McChesney, Jeff Cohen
Votes: 6,276 | Gross: $0.24M
24. 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: 25,046 | Gross: $4.20M
25. The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor.
Director: Rob Epstein | Stars: Harvey Fierstein, Harvey Milk, Anne Kronenberg, Tory Hartmann
Votes: 6,574 | Gross: $0.01M
26. Wheel of Time (2003)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary
Wheel of Time is Werner Herzog's photographed look at the largest Buddhist ritual in Bodh Gaya, India.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: The Dalai Lama, Lama Lhundup Woeser, Takna Jigme Sangpo, Matthieu Ricard
Votes: 2,737
27. The Oath (2010)
Unrated | 90 min | Documentary
Tells the story of two men whose fateful encounter in 1996 set them on a course of events that led them to Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden, 9/11, Guantanamo, and the U.S. Supreme Court.
Director: Laura Poitras | Stars: Osama bin Laden, Salim Hamdan, Abu Jandal, Troy Lebane
Votes: 950 | Gross: $0.04M
28. 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: 5,106
29. 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: 50,435 | Gross: $0.89M
30. Callas: A Documentary (1978 TV Movie)
100 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
Documentary about opera diva Maria Callas.
Director: Tony Palmer | Stars: John Ardoin, Biki, Jacques Bourgeois, Maria Callas
Votes: 54
31. Sky Ladder: The Art of Cai Guo-Qiang (2016)
76 min | Documentary
Trace the rise of contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang from childhood in Mao's China to global art world superstar, and join his quest to realize his lifelong obsession: Sky Ladder.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Ian Buruma, Guo-Qiang Cai, Wen-You Cai, Wenhao Cai
Votes: 1,644
32. The Devil Next Door (2019)
TV-MA | 46 min | Documentary, Crime, History
A Cleveland grandfather is brought to trial in Israel, accused of being the infamous German death camp guard known as Ivan the Terrible.
Stars: Yoram Sheftel, Eli Gabay, Michael Shaked, Eli Rosenbaum
Votes: 15,082
33. Circus of Books (2019)
Not Rated | 92 min | Documentary, Biography, History
In 1976, Karen and Barry Mason had fallen on hard times and were looking for a way to support their young family when they answered an ad in the Los Angeles Times. Larry Flynt was seeking ... See full summary »
Director: Rachel Mason | Stars: Karen Mason, Barry Mason, Micah Mason, Rachel Mason
Votes: 5,008
34. The Dissident (2020)
PG-13 | 119 min | Documentary, Crime, Thriller
When Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi disappears in Istanbul, his fiancée and dissidents around the world piece together the clues to a murder and expose a global cover up.
Director: Bryan Fogel | Stars: Jamal Khashoggi, Omar Abdulaziz, Irfan Fidan, Recep Kiliç
Votes: 30,477
35. How to Survive a Plague (2012)
Not Rated | 110 min | Documentary, History, News
The story of two coalitions -- ACT UP and TAG (Treatment Action Group) -- whose activism and innovation turned AIDS from a death sentence into a manageable condition.
Director: David France | Stars: Peter Staley, Larry Kramer, Iris Long, Bob Rafsky
Votes: 4,356 | Gross: $0.13M
36. Hemingway (2021– )
TV-14 | 120 min | Documentary, Biography
Explore the painstaking process through which Hemingway created some of the most important works of fiction in American letters.
Stars: Peter Coyote, Jeff Daniels, Edna O'Brien, Michael Kitakis
Votes: 1,615
37. Collective (2019)
Not Rated | 109 min | Documentary, Crime
Director Alexander Nanau follows a crack team of investigators at the Romanian newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor as they try to uncover a vast health-care fraud that enriched moguls and politicians and led to the deaths of innocent citizens.
Director: Alexander Nanau | Stars: Dan Alexandru Condrea, Liviu Iolu, Razvan Lutac, Mirela Neag
Votes: 13,436
38. The Crime of the Century (2021)
TV-MA | 116 min | Documentary, Crime
A searing indictment of Big Pharma and the political operatives and government regulations that enable over-production, reckless distribution and abuse of synthetic opiates.
Stars: Patrick Radden Keefe, Edward Byrne, Kadrolsha Ona Carole, Anna Lembke
Votes: 4,357
39. The Last Days (1998)
PG-13 | 87 min | Documentary, War
In late 1944, even as they faced imminent defeat, the Nazis expended enormous resources to kill or deport over 425,000 Jews during the "cleansing" of Hungary. This Oscar-winning documentary... See full summary »
Director: James Moll | Stars: Bill Basch, Martin Basch, Randolph Braham, Alice Lok Cahana
Votes: 5,758 | Gross: $0.42M
40. Night and Fog (1956)
TV-14 | 32 min | Documentary, Short, History
The history of Nazi Germany's death camps of the Final Solution and the hellish world of dehumanization and death contained inside.
Director: Alain Resnais | Stars: Michel Bouquet, Reinhard Heydrich, Heinrich Himmler, Adolf Hitler
Votes: 21,455
41. The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019)
TV-14 | 119 min | Documentary, Crime
The story of Theranos, a multi-billion dollar tech company, its founder Elizabeth Holmes, the youngest self-made female billionaire, and the massive fraud that collapsed the company.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Alex Gibney, Elizabeth Holmes, Dan Ariely, Roger Parloff
Votes: 15,197
42. 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: 28,069
43. The Andy Warhol Diaries (2022)
TV-MA | 66 min | Documentary, Biography
After he's shot in 1968, Andy Warhol begins documenting his life and feelings. Those diaries, and this docuseries, take a peek behind his persona.
Stars: Bill Irwin, Jeffrey Deitch, Jessica Beck, Bob Colacello
Votes: 2,701
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