Best Documentaries.
by sadiesmovies | created - 21 Mar 2019 | updated - 09 Apr 2019 | PublicA cumulative list of brilliant documentaries and interesting series to watch.
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1. 13th (2016)
TV-MA | 100 min | Documentary, Crime, History
An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.
Director: Ava DuVernay | Stars: Melina Abdullah, Michelle Alexander, Cory Booker, Dolores Canales
Votes: 37,693
2. The Most Hated Family in America (2007 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 60 min | Documentary
Louis meets the Phelps family, who protest against an America that tolerates homosexuality
Director: Geoffrey O'Connor | Stars: Louis Theroux, Lauren Drain, Steve Drain, Fred Phelps
Votes: 4,837
3. 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: 54,742
4. 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: 17,626 | Gross: $3.78M
5. Louis Theroux's Weird Weekends (1998–2000)
Not Rated | 60 min | Documentary
Louis Theroux documents some of the US's most bizarre happenings, events and rituals, by getting involved himself.
Stars: Louis Theroux, David Paul, J.J. Michaels, Randy James
Votes: 3,332
6. Dark Tourist (2018)
TV-MA | 40 min | Documentary, Adventure
From a nuclear lake to a haunted forest, New Zealand filmmaker and journalist David Farrier ('Tickled') visits unusual -- and often macabre -- tourism spots around the world.
Stars: David Farrier, Christian Wolf, Jhon Jairo Velásquez, Scott Michaels
Votes: 8,170
7. Louis Theroux: Savile (2016 TV Movie)
75 min | Documentary
In light of numerous allegations of abuse and sexual violence against the late Sir Jimmy Savile, Louis Theroux re-examines his media relationship with the enigmatic public figure.
Director: Arthur Cary | Stars: Louis Theroux, Jimmy Savile, Kat Ward, Jonathan Ross
Votes: 2,252
8. Reggie Yates' Extreme Russia (2015)
60 min | Documentary
Reggie Yates gets up close and personal with three very different communities in contemporary Russia, exploring what it's like for young people there, 24 years after the fall of the Soviet Union.
Stars: Reggie Yates, Vitaly Milonov, Kirill Kalugin, Dimitri Demushkin
Votes: 270
9. Fyre (2019)
TV-MA | 97 min | Documentary, Crime, Music
An exclusive behind the scenes look at the infamous unraveling of the Fyre music festival.
Director: Chris Smith | Stars: Billy McFarland, Jason Bell, Gabrielle Bluestone, Shiyuan Deng
Votes: 52,083
10. Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary
Follow the shocking, yet humorous, journey of an aspiring environmentalist, as he daringly seeks to find the real solution to the most pressing environmental issues and true path to sustainability.
Directors: Kip Andersen, Keegan Kuhn | Stars: Bruce Hamilton, Kip Andersen, Al Gore, Heather Cooley
Votes: 26,592
11. Leaving Neverland (2019)
TV-MA | 240 min | Documentary
At the height of his stardom, the world's biggest pop star, Michael Jackson, began long-running relationships with two young boys, aged between seven and ten, along their families. They now allege that he sexually abused them.
Director: Dan Reed | Stars: Michael Jackson, Wade Robson, Joy Robson, Chantal Robson
Votes: 31,131
12. Louis Theroux: Louis and the Brothel (2003 TV Movie)
80 min | Documentary
Louis stays with the residents of a soon to open brothel in Nevada for a few weeks.
Director: Geoffrey O'Connor | Star: Louis Theroux
Votes: 1,768
13. Louis Theroux: Miami Mega Jail (2011– )
120 min | Documentary
Louis spends time in one of Miami County Jail's most notorious sections
Star: Louis Theroux
Votes: 1,436
14. Dancing Queen (2018)
45 min | Music, Reality-TV
A docu-series that follows Justin Johnson, aka drag superstar Alyssa Edwards, as he juggles his dance life, drag life, family life, and love life.
Stars: Alyssa Edwards, Atlee Millard, Marcella Raneri, D.J. 'Shangela' Pierce
Votes: 1,698
15. The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann (2019)
TV-14 | 60 min | Documentary, Crime, Mystery
The Disappearance of Madeleine McCann takes a detailed look at the disappearance of three-year-old Madeleine McCann, who vanished from the seaside resort of Praia de Luz in Portugal, while on holiday with her family.
Stars: Anthony Summers, Maria João Vaz, Gonçalo Amaral, Robbyn Swan
Votes: 11,667
16. Evil Genius (2017– )
History
For centuries, brilliant minds have changed and shaped the world. But when genius is used for evil, the results are some of the most twisted, inventive, and outrageous crimes in history.
Stars: Judy Ho, Tim Friedlander, Jon Douglas Rainey
Votes: 703
17. An American Murder Mystery: The Staircase (2017–2018)
TV-14 | 42 min | Documentary, Crime
Investigators discover novelist Michael Peterson clutching his dead wife Kathleen, in a pool of blood at the bottom of their back staircase. Michael insists that her death is the result of a tragic fall, but investigators believe otherwise
Stars: Beth Karas, Jim Hardin, Laurence James Sargent, Candace Zamperini
Votes: 2,971
18. The Blue Planet (2001)
TV-G | 49 min | Documentary
Mammoth series, five years in the making, taking a look at the rich tapestry of life in the world's oceans.
Stars: David Attenborough, Pierce Brosnan, Peter Scoones
Votes: 42,729
19. Blue Planet II (2017)
TV-G | 52 min | Documentary
David Attenborough returns to the world's oceans in this sequel to the acclaimed documentary filming rare and unusual creatures of the deep, as well as documenting the problems our oceans face.
Stars: David Attenborough, Peter Drost, Roger Munns, Roger Horrocks
Votes: 46,703
20. Abducted in Plain Sight (2017)
TV-14 | 91 min | Documentary, Crime
The twisting, turning, stranger-than-fiction true story of the Brobergs, a naive, church-going Idaho family that fell under the spell of a sociopathic neighbor with designs on their twelve-year-old daughter.
Director: Skye Borgman | Stars: Jan Broberg, Bob Broberg, Mary Ann Broberg, Susan Broberg
Votes: 22,264
21. The Confession Tapes (2017– )
TV-MA | 46 min | Documentary, Crime
A critical look into some true crime cases where American law enforcement made up for lack of actual physical evidence by using devious psychological tactics during interrogation in order to extract confessions from naive suspects.
Stars: David Burns, Brian Hutchinson, James Konat, Loretta Fisher
Votes: 5,709
22. Conversations with a Killer: The Ted Bundy Tapes (2019)
TV-MA | 59 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A look inside the mind of serial killer Ted Bundy, featuring interviews with him on death row.
Stars: Stephen Michaud, Bob Keppel, Kathleen McChesney, Ward Lucas
Votes: 32,947
23. Monster: The Josef Fritzl Story (2015)
48 min | Documentary, Crime
Interviews with family members, doctors and victims of 73-year-old Josef Fritzl, who held his daughter captive in a basement for 24 years and fathered seven children with her.
Director: David Notman-Watt | Stars: Daisy Beaumont, Josef Fritzl, Elisabeth Fritzl, Rosemarie Fritzl
Votes: 1,832
24. 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: 158,412
25. Reggie Yates: Searching for Grenfell's Lost Lives (2018 TV Movie)
59 min | Documentary
Director: Dan Child | Star: Reggie Yates
Votes: 7
26. Louis Theroux's Altered States (2018)
60 min | Documentary
Louis Theroux explores the unusual ways modern America deals with birth, love and death.
Stars: Louis Theroux, Trina Williams, Isaiah Stuck, Ari Lund
Votes: 650
27. 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: 72,493 | Gross: $2.07M
28. Bobby Kennedy for President (2018)
TV-MA | 245 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
This four-part documentary series weaves together rare and exclusive footage of attorney general, U.S. senator, and presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy in the 1960s.
Stars: Paul Schrade, Peter Edelman, Harry Belafonte, John Lewis
Votes: 2,098
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