The mustsee documentaries
by VforRevenge | created - 03 Jul 2015 | updated - 13 Dec 2022 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Anvil (2008)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
Since 1978, Anvil has become one of heavy metal's most influential yet commercially unsuccessful acts. In 2006, after a fledging European tour Anvil sets out to record their thirteenth album and continue to follow their dreams.
Director: Sacha Gervasi | Stars: Robb Reiner, Steve 'Lips' Kudlow, Tiziana Arrigoni, Scott Ian
Votes: 16,837 | Gross: $0.67M
2. Pearl Jam Twenty (2011)
Not Rated | 119 min | Documentary, History, Music
A documentary on the band Pearl Jam that marks their 20th anniversary in the year 2011.
Director: Cameron Crowe | Stars: Eddie Vedder, Stone Gossard, Jeff Ament, Cameron Crowe
Votes: 8,180 | Gross: $0.45M
3. 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: 40,886
4. Life Itself (2014)
R | 121 min | Documentary, Biography
The life and career of the renowned film critic and social commentator, Roger Ebert.
Director: Steve James | Stars: Roger Ebert, Chaz Ebert, Gene Siskel, Martin Scorsese
Votes: 16,245 | Gross: $0.81M
5. 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: 148,669 | Gross: $21.58M
6. It Might Get Loud (2008)
PG | 98 min | Documentary, Music
A documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: The Edge, Jimmy Page, and Jack White.
Director: Davis Guggenheim | Stars: Jimmy Page, The Edge, Jack White, Dallas Schoo
Votes: 13,546 | Gross: $1.61M
7. Dirty Wars (2013)
Not Rated | 87 min | Documentary, Crime, History
Investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill is pulled into an unexpected journey as he chases down the hidden truth behind America's expanding covert wars.
Director: Rick Rowley | Stars: Jeremy Scahill, Nasser Al Aulaqi, Saleha Al Aulaqi, Muqbal Al Kazemi
Votes: 9,395 | Gross: $0.38M
8. The Pervert's Guide to Ideology (2012)
Not Rated | 136 min | Documentary
Philosopher Slavoj Zizek examines the hidden themes and existential questions asked by world renowned films.
Director: Sophie Fiennes | Star: Slavoj Zizek
Votes: 7,520 | Gross: $0.07M
9. 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: 57,940 | Gross: $2.80M
10. Tickled (2016)
R | 92 min | Documentary, Crime, Mystery
Journalist David Farrier stumbles upon a mysterious tickling competition online. As he delves deeper he comes up against fierce resistance, but that doesn't stop him getting to the bottom of a story stranger than fiction.
Directors: David Farrier, Dylan Reeve | Stars: David Farrier, Dylan Reeve, David Starr, Kevin Clarke
Votes: 20,612 | Gross: $0.61M
11. Food, Inc. (2008)
PG | 94 min | Documentary, News
An unflattering look inside America's corporate controlled food industry.
Director: Robert Kenner | Stars: Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, Richard Lobb, Vince Edwards
Votes: 52,184 | Gross: $4.42M
12. TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away from Keyboard (2013)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary
An intellectual freedoms documentary based around the interpersonal triumphs, and defeats of the three main characters against the largest industry in the known universe. The media industry.
Director: Simon Klose | Stars: Gottfrid Svartholm, Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Peter Althin
Votes: 13,930
13. Deliver Us from Evil (2006)
Not Rated | 101 min | Documentary, Crime
Documentary about Father Oliver O'Grady, a Catholic priest who was relocated to various parishes around the United States during the 1970s in an attempt by the Catholic Church to cover up his rape of dozens of children.
Director: Amy Berg | Stars: Oliver O'Grady, Thomas Doyle, Adam, Jeff Anderson
Votes: 10,822 | Gross: $30.58M
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: 27,073 | Gross: $3.12M
15. 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: 18,031 | Gross: $0.05M
16. Sound City (2013)
Not Rated | 107 min | Documentary, Music
A documentary on the fabled recording studio that was located in Van Nuys, California.
Director: Dave Grohl | Stars: Trent Reznor, Tom Petty, Mick Fleetwood, Vinny Appice
Votes: 13,438 | Gross: $0.42M
17. Zero Days (2016)
PG-13 | 116 min | Documentary
A documentary focused on Stuxnet, a piece of self-replicating computer malware that the U.S. and Israel unleashed to destroy a key part of an Iranian nuclear facility, and which ultimately spread beyond its intended target.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: David Sanger, Emad Kiyaei, Eric Chien, Liam O'Murchu
Votes: 10,405 | Gross: $0.10M
18. 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: 72,850 | Gross: $3.97M
19. Senna (2010)
PG-13 | 106 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport
A documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34.
Director: Asif Kapadia | Stars: Ayrton Senna, Reginaldo Leme, John Bisignano, Neyde Senna
Votes: 75,702 | Gross: $1.61M
20. O.J.: Made in America (2016)
TV-MA | 467 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.
Director: Ezra Edelman | Stars: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mike Albanese, Muhammad Ali, Marcus Allen
Votes: 21,573
21. The Seven Five (2014)
R | 104 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Meet the dirtiest cop in NYC history. Michael Dowd stole money and dealt drugs while patrolling the streets of 80s Brooklyn.
Director: Tiller Russell | Stars: Mike Dowd, Ken Eurell, Walter Yurkiw, Chickie
Votes: 6,271 | Gross: $0.01M
22. Side by Side (2012)
Not Rated | 99 min | Documentary
The documentary investigates the history, process and workflow of both digital and photochemical film creation.
Director: Christopher Kenneally | Stars: Derek Ambrosi, Michael Ballhaus, Andrzej Bartkowiak, Dion Beebe
Votes: 13,713 | Gross: $0.03M
23. This Film Is Not Yet Rated (2006)
Unrated | 98 min | Documentary
Kirby Dick's exposé about the American movie ratings board.
Director: Kirby Dick | Stars: Kirby Dick, Kimberly Peirce, Darren Aronofsky, Atom Egoyan
Votes: 28,618 | Gross: $0.30M
24. Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (2001)
Not Rated | 142 min | Documentary, Biography
The career and life of Stanley Kubrick is explored through pictures, clips from his films, his old home movies, comments from his colleagues and a narration by Tom Cruise.
Director: Jan Harlan | Stars: Katharina Kubrick, Malcolm McDowell, Stanley Kubrick, Barbara Kroner
Votes: 12,202
25. 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: 72,364 | Gross: $2.07M
26. Oklahoma City (2017)
Not Rated | 102 min | Documentary, Crime, History
Documents the beliefs and experiences of Timothy McVeigh in the lead-up to his bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City, which claimed 168 lives.
Director: Barak Goodman | Stars: Janet Beck, Alan Berg, Jim Botting, Bill Buford
Votes: 2,952
27. Evil Genius: The True Story of America's Most Diabolical Bank Heist (2018)
TV-MA | 48 min | Documentary, Crime
The extraordinary story of the "pizza bomber heist" and the FBI's investigation into a bizarre collection of suspects.
Stars: Trey Borzillieri, Jerry Clark, Jason Wick, Lamont King
Votes: 30,975
28. The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young (2014)
Not Rated | 89 min | Documentary, Adventure, History
A famous prison escape sparks the idea for a cult-like race that has seen only 10 finishers in its first 25 years. This award-winning, oddly inspiring, and wildly funny documentary reveals the sports world's most guarded secret.
Directors: Annika Iltis, Timothy James Kane | Star: Lazarus Lake
Votes: 5,752
29. Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World (2018)
TV-PG | 88 min | Documentary, News
Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World explores the promise of open source investigation, taking viewers inside the exclusive world of the "citizen investigative journalist" collective known as Bellingcat.
Director: Hans Pool | Stars: Eliot Higgins, Jay Rosen, Claire Wardle, Veli-Pekka Kivimäki
Votes: 765
30. Zeitgeist (2007 Video)
Not Rated | 118 min | Documentary, History
Mythology and belief in society today, presenting uncommon perspectives of common cultural issues.
Director: Peter Joseph | Stars: Chogyam Trungpa, Jordan Maxwell, George Carlin, Bill Hicks
Votes: 50,354
31. Don't F**k with Cats: Hunting an Internet Killer (2019)
TV-MA | 62 min | Documentary, Crime, Mystery
A group of online justice seekers track down a guy who posted a video of himself killing kittens.
Stars: Deanna Thompson, John Green, Claudette Hamlin, Anna Yourkin
Votes: 62,107
32. The Last Dance (2020)
TV-MA | 49 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Led by Michael Jordan, the 1990s Chicago Bulls establish themselves as one of the most notable dynasties in sports history.
Stars: Michael Jordan, Phil Jackson, Scottie Pippen, David Aldridge
Votes: 151,660
33. My Octopus Teacher (2020)
TV-G | 85 min | Documentary, Drama
A filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world.
Directors: Pippa Ehrlich, James Reed | Stars: Craig Foster, Tom Foster
Votes: 63,671
34. Good Night Oppy (2022)
PG | 105 min | Documentary
The film follows Opportunity, the Mars Exploration Rover affectionately dubbed Oppy by her creators and scientists at NASA. Oppy was originally expected to live for only 90 days but she ultimately explored Mars for nearly 15 years.
Director: Ryan White | Stars: Angela Bassett, Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert, David Letterman
Votes: 4,518
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