documentaries and Biographies
by elel22 | created - 22 Feb 2017 | updated - 27 May 2019 | Publiceducational+motivational movies
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1. 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: 18,037 | Gross: $0.05M
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: 57,962 | Gross: $2.80M
3. Snowden (2016)
R | 134 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The NSA's illegal surveillance techniques are leaked to the public by one of the agency's employees, Edward Snowden, in the form of thousands of classified documents distributed to the press.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Shailene Woodley, Melissa Leo, Zachary Quinto
Votes: 162,911 | Gross: $21.59M
4. Super Size Me (2004)
PG-13 | 100 min | Documentary
While examining the influence of the fast food industry, Morgan Spurlock personally explores the consequences on his health of a diet of solely McDonald's food for one month.
Director: Morgan Spurlock | Stars: Morgan Spurlock, Daryl Isaacs, Chemeeka Walker, Dania Abu-Rmaileh
Votes: 113,251 | Gross: $11.53M
5. State of Surveillance (2014 TV Movie)
30 min | Documentary
A look at the tension between new technologies police departments are using to fight crime and the civil liberties concerns raised by these tools.
Director: Amanda Pike | Stars: Amanda Pike, Scott Shaffer, Thuy Vu
Votes: 9
6. Terms and Conditions May Apply (2013)
Not Rated | 79 min | Documentary, News
A documentary that exposes what corporations and governments learn about people through Internet and cell phone usage, and what can be done about it ... if anything.
Director: Cullen Hoback | Stars: Max Schrems, Moby, Mark Zuckerberg, Orson Scott Card
Votes: 6,542 | Gross: $0.06M
7. The Blind Side (2009)
PG-13 | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The story of Michael Oher, a homeless and traumatized boy who became an All-American football player and first-round NFL draft pick with the help of a caring woman and her family.
Director: John Lee Hancock | Stars: Quinton Aaron, Sandra Bullock, Tim McGraw, Jae Head
Votes: 360,344 | Gross: $255.96M
8. Straight Outta Compton (2015)
R | 147 min | Biography, Drama, History
The rap group NWA emerges from the mean streets of Compton in Los Angeles, California, in the mid-1980s and revolutionizes Hip Hop culture with their music and tales about life in the hood.
Director: F. Gary Gray | Stars: O'Shea Jackson Jr., Corey Hawkins, Jason Mitchell, Neil Brown Jr.
Votes: 218,394 | Gross: $161.20M
9. Race (I) (2016)
PG-13 | 134 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
Jesse Owens' quest to become the greatest track and field athlete in history thrusts him onto the world stage of the 1936 Olympics, where he faces off against Adolf Hitler's vision of Aryan supremacy.
Director: Stephen Hopkins | Stars: Stephan James, Jason Sudeikis, Eli Goree, Shanice Banton
Votes: 40,910 | Gross: $19.10M
10. Eddie the Eagle (2015)
PG-13 | 106 min | Adventure, Biography, Comedy
The story of Eddie Edwards, the notoriously tenacious British underdog ski jumper who charmed the world at the 1988 Winter Olympics.
Director: Dexter Fletcher | Stars: Taron Egerton, Hugh Jackman, Tom Costello, Jo Hartley
Votes: 100,171 | Gross: $15.79M
11. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)
R | 180 min | Biography, Comedy, Crime
Based on the true story of Jordan Belfort, from his rise to a wealthy stock-broker living the high life to his fall involving crime, corruption and the federal government.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Jonah Hill, Margot Robbie, Matthew McConaughey
Votes: 1,582,063 | Gross: $116.90M
12. Soul Surfer (2011)
PG | 112 min | Biography, Drama, Family
Bethany Hamilton, a professional surfer, loses her left arm in a shark attack. Unwilling to pay attention to the gravity of her situation, Bethany decides to get back into the ocean and surf again.
Director: Sean McNamara | Stars: AnnaSophia Robb, Dennis Quaid, Helen Hunt, Carrie Underwood
Votes: 52,881 | Gross: $43.85M
13. The Bling Ring (2013)
R | 90 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Inspired by actual events, a group of fame-obsessed teenagers use the internet to track celebrities' whereabouts in order to rob their homes.
Director: Sofia Coppola | Stars: Katie Chang, Israel Broussard, Emma Watson, Claire Julien
Votes: 92,214 | Gross: $5.84M
14. Chasing Mavericks (2012)
PG | 116 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
When young Jay Moriarity discovers that the mythic Mavericks surf break, one of the biggest waves on Earth, exists just miles from his Santa Cruz home, he enlists the help of local legend Frosty Hesson to train him to survive it.
Directors: Michael Apted, Curtis Hanson | Stars: Jonny Weston, Gerard Butler, Elisabeth Shue, Abigail Spencer
Votes: 34,529 | Gross: $6.00M
15. Everest (2015)
PG-13 | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
On May 10, 1996, mountain guides Rob Hall and Scott Fischer combine their expedition teams for a final ascent to the summit of Mount Everest. With little warning, a storm strikes the mountain and the climbers must now battle to survive.
Director: Baltasar Kormákur | Stars: Jason Clarke, Ang Phula Sherpa, Thomas M. Wright, Martin Henderson
Votes: 232,323 | Gross: $43.48M
16. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)
R | 139 min | Biography, Drama, History
World War II American Army Medic Desmond T. Doss, serving during the Battle of Okinawa, refuses to kill people and becomes the first man in American history to receive the Medal of Honor without firing a shot.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Andrew Garfield, Sam Worthington, Luke Bracey, Teresa Palmer
Votes: 593,640 | Gross: $67.21M
17. A Street Cat Named Bob (2016)
Not Rated | 103 min | Biography, Drama, Family
The true feel-good story of how James Bowen, a busker and recovering drug addict, has his life transformed when he meets a stray ginger cat. Based on the international best selling book.
Director: Roger Spottiswoode | Stars: Luke Treadaway, Bob the Cat, Ruta Gedmintas, Joanne Froggatt
Votes: 33,658 | Gross: $0.04M
18. American Made (2017)
R | 115 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
The story of Barry Seal, an American pilot who became a drug-runner for the CIA in the 1980s in a clandestine operation that would be exposed as the Iran-Contra Affair.
Director: Doug Liman | Stars: Tom Cruise, Domhnall Gleeson, Sarah Wright, Jesse Plemons
Votes: 208,050 | Gross: $51.34M
19. Thank You for Your Service (I) (2017)
R | 109 min | Biography, Drama, War
A group of U.S. soldiers returning from Iraq struggle to integrate back into family and civilian life, while living with the memory of a war that threatens to destroy them long after they've left the battlefield.
Director: Jason Hall | Stars: Miles Teller, Beulah Koale, Joe Cole, Scott Haze
Votes: 15,615 | Gross: $9.47M
20. The Greatest Showman (2017)
PG | 105 min | Biography, Drama, Musical
Celebrates the birth of show business and tells of a visionary who rose from nothing to create a spectacle that became a worldwide sensation.
Director: Michael Gracey | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Zac Efron, Zendaya
Votes: 311,258 | Gross: $174.34M
21. Hands of Stone (2016)
R | 111 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The legendary Roberto Duran and his equally legendary trainer Ray Arcel change each other's lives.
Director: Jonathan Jakubowicz | Stars: Edgar Ramírez, Usher, Robert De Niro, Rubén Blades
Votes: 17,552 | Gross: $4.71M
22. Megan Leavey (2017)
PG-13 | 116 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Based on the true life story of a young Marine corporal whose unique discipline and bond with her military combat dog saved many lives during their deployment in Iraq.
Director: Gabriela Cowperthwaite | Stars: Kate Mara, Ramón Rodríguez, Tom Felton, Bradley Whitford
Votes: 26,982 | Gross: $13.41M
23. American Sniper (2014)
R | 133 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Navy S.E.A.L. sniper Chris Kyle's pinpoint accuracy saves countless lives on the battlefield and turns him into a legend. Back home with his family after four tours of duty, however, Chris finds that it is the war he can't leave behind.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Bradley Cooper, Sienna Miller, Kyle Gallner, Cole Konis
Votes: 529,010 | Gross: $350.13M
24. The Fighter (I) (2010)
R | 116 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Based on the story of Micky Ward, a fledgling boxer who tries to escape the shadow of his more famous but troubled older boxing brother and get his own shot at greatness.
Director: David O. Russell | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Christian Bale, Amy Adams, Melissa Leo
Votes: 388,759 | Gross: $93.62M
25. American Gangster (2007)
R | 157 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
An outcast New York City cop is charged with bringing down Harlem drug lord Frank Lucas, whose real life inspired this partly biographical film.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Denzel Washington, Russell Crowe, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Josh Brolin
Votes: 452,343 | Gross: $130.16M
26. Lone Survivor (2013)
R | 121 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Marcus Luttrell and his team set out on a mission to capture or kill notorious Taliban leader Ahmad Shah, in late June 2005. Marcus and his team are left to fight for their lives in one of the most valiant efforts of modern warfare.
Director: Peter Berg | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Taylor Kitsch, Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster
Votes: 306,585 | Gross: $125.10M
27. Machine Gun Preacher (2011)
R | 129 min | Action, Biography, Crime
Sam Childers is a former drug-dealing biker tough guy who found God and became a crusader for hundreds of Sudanese children who've been forced to become soldiers.
Director: Marc Forster | Stars: Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Michael Shannon, Kathy Baker
Votes: 68,943 | Gross: $0.54M
28. The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)
PG-13 | 117 min | Biography, Drama
A struggling salesman takes custody of his son as he's poised to begin a life-changing professional career
Director: Gabriele Muccino | Stars: Will Smith, Thandiwe Newton, Jaden Smith, Brian Howe
Votes: 560,441 | Gross: $163.57M
29. Kill the Messenger (2014)
R | 112 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Journalist Gary Webb, California 1996, started investigating CIA's role in the 1980s in getting crack cocaine to the black part of LA to get money and weapons to the Contra insurgents in Nicaragua.
Director: Michael Cuesta | Stars: Jeremy Renner, Robert Patrick, Jena Sims, Robert Pralgo
Votes: 48,746 | Gross: $2.45M
30. The Social Network (2010)
PG-13 | 120 min | Biography, Drama
As Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg creates the social networking site that would become known as Facebook, he is sued by the twins who claimed he stole their idea and by the co-founder who was later squeezed out of the business.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield, Justin Timberlake, Rooney Mara
Votes: 758,270 | Gross: $96.96M
31. Jarhead (2005)
R | 125 min | Biography, Drama, War
A psychological study of Marine's state of mind during the Gulf War. Told through the eyes of a U.S. Marine sniper who struggles to cope with boredom, a sense of isolation, and other issues back home.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Jamie Foxx, Lucas Black, Scott MacDonald
Votes: 206,392 | Gross: $62.66M
32. Legend (I) (2015)
R | 132 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Identical twin gangsters Ronald and Reginald Kray terrorize London during the 1960s.
Director: Brian Helgeland | Stars: Tom Hardy, Emily Browning, Taron Egerton, Paul Anderson
Votes: 202,311 | Gross: $1.87M
33. The Railway Man (2013)
R | 116 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
A former British Army officer, who was tortured as a prisoner of war at a Japanese labor camp during World War II, discovers that the man responsible for much of his treatment is still alive and sets out to confront him.
Director: Jonathan Teplitzky | Stars: Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Stellan Skarsgård, Jeremy Irvine
Votes: 42,635 | Gross: $4.44M
34. Alpha Dog (2006)
R | 122 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
Johnny and his pals kidnap Jake's 15-year-old brother Zach, then assign his buddy Frankie to be Zach's minder. They develop a brotherly friendship. Zach parties with his captors as things begin to spin out of control.
Director: Nick Cassavetes | Stars: Emile Hirsch, Justin Timberlake, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Willis
Votes: 107,956 | Gross: $15.23M
35. Only the Brave (2017)
PG-13 | 134 min | Action, Biography, Drama
Based on the true story of the Granite Mountain Hotshots, a group of elite firefighters who risk everything to protect a town from a historic wildfire.
Director: Joseph Kosinski | Stars: Josh Brolin, Miles Teller, Jeff Bridges, Jennifer Connelly
Votes: 77,315 | Gross: $18.34M
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