My favorite documentaries
by mosheq | created - 06 Nov 2011 | updated - 15 Jan 2018 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. 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: 27,131 | Gross: $3.12M
2. 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: 68,830 | Gross: $3.29M
3. 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: 8,803 | Gross: $0.15M
4. Spellbound (2002)
G | 97 min | Documentary, Comedy, Thriller
Spellbound follows eight teenagers on their quest to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee.
Director: Jeffrey Blitz | Stars: Angela Arenivar, Ubaldo Arenivar, Jorge Arenivar, Scott McGarraugh
Votes: 12,460 | Gross: $5.73M
5. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
Not Rated | 101 min | Documentary, Crime
A film that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas County, Texas.
Director: Errol Morris | Stars: Randall Adams, David Harris, Gus Rose, Jackie Johnson
Votes: 25,965 | Gross: $1.21M
6. When We Were Kings (1996)
PG | 88 min | Documentary, Sport
Boxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.
Director: Leon Gast | Stars: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King, James Brown
Votes: 19,136 | Gross: $2.79M
7. American Movie (1999)
R | 107 min | Documentary, Comedy
Documentary about an aspiring filmmaker's attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.
Director: Chris Smith | Stars: Mark Borchardt, Mike Schank, Tom Schimmels, Monica Borchardt
Votes: 19,343 | Gross: $1.16M
8. Planet Earth (2006)
TV-PG | 49 min | Documentary, Family
A documentary series on the wildlife found on Earth. Each episode covers a different habitat: deserts, mountains, deep oceans, shallow seas, forests, caves, polar regions, fresh water, plains and jungles. Narrated by David Attenborough.
Stars: Sigourney Weaver, David Attenborough, Nikolay Drozdov, Thomas Anguti Johnston
Votes: 220,325
9. Simon Schama's Power of Art (2006)
60 min | Documentary, Drama, History
Focusing on eight iconic works of art, Power of Art reveals the history of visual imagination through the ages.
Stars: Simon Schama, Allan Corduner, Paul Popplewell, Grégoire Bonnet
Votes: 1,147
10. The Life of Mammals (2002–2003)
50 min | Documentary
David Attenborough's comprehensive study of how a remarkable group of animals evolved - a group that includes ourselves.
Star: David Attenborough
Votes: 4,241
11. Sans Soleil (1983)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, Drama
A woman narrates the contemplative writings of a seasoned world traveler, focusing on contemporary Japan.
Director: Chris Marker | Stars: Amilcar Cabral, Florence Delay, Arielle Dombasle, Riyoko Ikeda
Votes: 12,135 | Gross: $0.03M
12. Heart of a Dog (2015)
Not Rated | 75 min | Documentary
Multimedia artist Laurie Anderson reflects on her relationship with her beloved terrier Lolabelle.
Director: Laurie Anderson | Stars: Laurie Anderson, Archie, Jason Berg, Heung-Heung Chin
Votes: 2,552 | Gross: $0.42M
13. Gimme Shelter (1970)
GP | 91 min | Documentary, Music, Thriller
When three hundred thousand members of the Love Generation collided with a few dozen Hells Angels at San Francisco's Altamont Speedway, the bloody slash that transformed a decade's dreams into disillusionment was immortalized on this film.
Directors: Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin | Stars: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Mick Taylor, Charlie Watts
Votes: 12,891 | Gross: $0.25M
14. 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: 61,903 | Gross: $3.17M
15. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
German-American Dieter Dengler discusses his service as a U.S. naval pilot in the Vietnam War. Dengler also revisits the sites of his capture and eventual escape from the hands of the Viet Cong, recreating many events for the camera.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Dieter Dengler, Werner Herzog, Eugene Deatrick
Votes: 6,834
16. High School (1968)
Not Rated | 75 min | Documentary
Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside Northeast High School as a fly on the wall to observe the teachers and how they interact with the students.
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Votes: 2,239
17. Stories We Tell (2012)
PG-13 | 108 min | Documentary
A film that excavates layers of myth and memory to find the elusive truth at the core of a family of storytellers.
Director: Sarah Polley | Stars: Michael Polley, John Buchan, Mark Polley, Joanna Polley
Votes: 14,116 | Gross: $1.60M
18. Crumb (1994)
R | 119 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
An intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.
Director: Terry Zwigoff | Stars: Robert Crumb, Aline Kominsky-Crumb, Charles Crumb, Maxon Crumb
Votes: 21,595 | Gross: $3.17M
19. Jane (II) (2017)
PG | 90 min | Documentary, Biography
The life and work of the renowned primatology scientist, Jane Goodall, especially on her research about chimpanzees.
Director: Brett Morgen | Stars: Jane Goodall, Hugo Van Lawick, Hugo Eric Louis van Lawick
Votes: 5,666 | Gross: $1.72M
20. Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (2017)
TV-MA | 94 min | Documentary
A behind-the-scenes look at how Jim Carrey adopted the persona of idiosyncratic comedian Andy Kaufman on the set of Man on the Moon (1999).
Director: Chris Smith | Stars: Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Milos Forman, Peter Bonerz
Votes: 27,989
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