My Top 25 Documentaries
by AndrewB686 | created - 13 Mar 2015 | updated - 17 Jul 2017 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Grizzly Man (2005)
R | 103 min | Documentary, Biography
A devastating and heart-rending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzly bears in Alaska.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Timothy Treadwell, Amie Huguenard, Werner Herzog, Carol Dexter
Votes: 61,798 | Gross: $3.17M
2. Encounters at the End of the World (2007)
G | 99 min | Documentary
Film-maker Werner Herzog travels to the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, looking to capture the continent's beauty and investigate the characters living there.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Scott Rowland, Stefan Pashov, Doug MacAyeal
Votes: 19,233 | Gross: $0.94M
3. F for Fake (1973)
PG | 89 min | Documentary
A documentary about fraud and fakery.
Directors: Orson Welles, Gary Graver, Oja Kodar, François Reichenbach | Stars: Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, François Reichenbach, Elmyr de Hory
Votes: 18,269
4. The Gleaners & I (2000)
Not Rated | 82 min | Documentary
Varda films and interviews gleaners in France in all forms, from those picking fields after the harvest to those scouring the dumpsters of Paris.
Director: Agnès Varda | Stars: François Wertheimer, Agnès Varda, Jean La Planche, Bodan Litnanski
Votes: 8,782 | Gross: $0.15M
5. 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: 78,910 | Gross: $4.31M
6. Dreamcatcher (I) (2015)
TV-MA | 104 min | Documentary, Crime, Drama
Takes us into a hidden world of prostitution and sexual trafficking through the eyes of one of its survivors, Brenda Myers-Powell.
Director: Kim Longinotto | Stars: Brenda Myers-Powell, T.T., Keena, Temeka
Votes: 434
7. Gonzo (2008)
R | 120 min | Documentary, Biography, Music
A portrait of the late gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Hunter S. Thompson, Johnny Depp, Joe Cairo, David Carlo
Votes: 8,499 | Gross: $1.25M
8. The Act of Killing (2012)
Not Rated | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
Directors: Joshua Oppenheimer, Anonymous, Christine Cynn | Stars: Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin, Ibrahim Sinik
Votes: 40,769 | Gross: $0.49M
9. A Fierce Green Fire: The Battle for A Living Planet (2012)
TV-G | 101 min | Documentary
An exploration of the environmental movement - grassroots and global activism spanning fifty years from conservation to climate change.
Director: Mark Kitchell | Stars: Meryl Streep, Robert Redford, Ashley Judd, Isabel Allende
Votes: 243 | Gross: $0.03M
10. Virunga (2014)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, War
A team of brave individuals risk their lives to protect the last mountain gorillas.
Director: Orlando von Einsiedel | Stars: André Bauma, Emmanuel de Merode, Mélanie Gouby, Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo
Votes: 12,248
11. The House Is Black (1963)
20 min | Documentary, Short
Set in a leper colony in the north of Iran, The House is Black juxtaposes "ugliness", of which there is much in the world as stated in the opening scenes, with religion and gratitude.
Director: Forugh Farrokhzad | Stars: Forugh Farrokhzad, Ebrahim Golestan, Hossein Mansouri
Votes: 5,555
12. Into the Inferno (2016)
104 min | Documentary
An exploration of active volcanoes around the world.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Katia Krafft, Maurice Krafft, Clive Oppenheimer
Votes: 9,948
13. Everybody Street (2013)
Not Rated | 83 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Everybody Street" highlights the lives and work of New York's iconic street photographers and the unparalleled city that has inspired them for decades.
Director: Cheryl Dunn | Stars: Boogie, Martha Cooper, Bruce Davidson, Elliott Erwitt
Votes: 931
14. Is the Man Who Is Tall Happy? (2013)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary, Animation, Biography
A series of interviews featuring linguist, philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky done in hand-drawn animation.
Director: Michel Gondry | Stars: Noam Chomsky, Michel Gondry, Richard Feynman, Michèle Oshima
Votes: 3,674 | Gross: $0.13M
15. Call Me Kuchu (2012)
Not Rated | 87 min | Documentary
In Uganda, a new bill threatens to make homosexuality punishable by death. David Kato - Uganda's first openly gay man - and his fellow activists work against the clock to defeat the ... See full summary »
Directors: Katherine Fairfax Wright, Malika Zouhali-Worrall | Stars: David Bahati, Lou Engle, Long John, David Kato
Votes: 830 | Gross: $0.01M
16. Lessons of Darkness (1992 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 54 min | Documentary, War
This film surveys the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames, with little narration and scarcely any interviews. Hell on Earth is presented in such transcendent visions and music that one can only be fascinated by it.
Director: Werner Herzog | Star: Werner Herzog
Votes: 6,733
17. 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: 72,360 | Gross: $2.07M
18. 4 Little Girls (1997)
TV-14 | 102 min | Documentary, History
A documentary of the notorious racial terrorist bombing of an African American church during the Civil Rights Movement.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Maxine McNair, Walter Cronkite, Chris McNair, Fred Lee Shuttlesworth
Votes: 3,575 | Gross: $0.13M
19. The Ivory Game (2016)
112 min | Documentary
Wildlife activists in take on poachers in an effort to end illegal ivory trade in Africa.
Directors: Kief Davidson, Richard Ladkani | Stars: Andrea Crosta, Ian Stevenson, Prince William of Wales
Votes: 3,486
20. Holy Hell (2016)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, Drama
An inside look at Buddhafield, a West Hollywood cult formed by a charismatic teacher in the 1980s that eventually imploded.
Director: Will Allen | Stars: Will Allen, Dimitrius Pulido, Phillipe Coquet, David Christopher
Votes: 6,057 | Gross: $0.02M
21. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.
Director: Kurt Kuenne | Stars: Kurt Kuenne, Andrew Bagby, David Bagby, Kathleen Bagby
Votes: 40,642 | Gross: $0.02M
22. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
R | 87 min | Documentary, Comedy, Crime
Following the style of some of the world's most prolific street artists, an amateur filmmaker makes a foray into the art world.
Director: Banksy | Stars: Banksy, Mr. Brainwash, Space Invader, Debora Guetta
Votes: 68,785 | Gross: $3.29M
23. Neurons to Nirvana (2013)
85 min | Documentary, History, News
A stylish, in depth look at the renaissance in psychedelic drug research in light of current scientific, medical and cultural knowledge.
Director: Oliver Hockenhull | Stars: Lesley Ewen, Dennis J. McKenna, David Healy, David E. Nichols
Votes: 1,309
24. 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: 52,183 | Gross: $4.42M
25. Keep the River on Your Right: A Modern Cannibal Tale (2000)
R | 93 min | Documentary, Adventure, Romance
A retired gay anthropologist revisits the native cultures he studied in his youth.
Directors: David Shapiro, Laurie Gwen Shapiro | Stars: Tobias Schneebaum, Norman Mailer, Michael Rockefeller
Votes: 850 | Gross: $0.35M
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