Best Documentaries of All Time (and Space)
Best documentary series AND feature length/stand-alone films (according to me, and others)
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43 titles
- DirectorMichael SchwarzEdward GrayStarsFrances McDormandMichael PollanMichael Pollan, a professor of journalism and a student of food, presents the history of four plants, each of which found a way to make itself essential to humans, thus ensuring widespread propagation. Apples, for sweetness; tulips, for beauty; marijuana, for pleasure; and, potatoes, for sustenance. Each has a story of discovery and adaptation; each has a symbiotic relationship with human civilization. The film tells these stories and examines these relationships.
- StarsRichard ArmitageJulian GloverWill Keen"Three hour mini-series tells the intimate history of a most illustrious brotherhood of Impressionist artists - Monet, Degas, Renoir, Cézanne and Manet. Entirely based on documentary evidence, special effects transport the viewer inside some of the world's best-loved paintings, The Impressionists will recreate the illuminated landscapes, and haunting portraits of late 19th-century France."
- StarsWaldemar JanuszczakArt sleuth Waldemar Januszczak uncovers the secret meanings hidden within some of the greatest paintings by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne and Seurat .
- StarsSteven KearneyDominic SelwoodMichele MitchellThe world's most incredible engineering projects are revisited to uncover why places full of mysteries and untold secrets are now abandoned ruins.
- StarsGabe DoranMike SeneseDavid HeberHowStuffWorks is about the stuff that makes the world go 'round. It's truly incredible to see the ingenious lengths people go to in order to extract rubber and iron, corn and wheat, and water and salt from the earth. Equally amazing is the number of different and varied products that can be derived from something so fundamental. Follow the incredible journey of these goods from the ground to your dinner table, car, closet, medicine cabinet and places you may have never imagined.
- DirectorSébastien ChabotStarsFrancis CabotAnne CabotAdrienne ClarksonThe Gardener is a documentary directed by Sebastien Chabot about Frank Cabot's Les Quatre Vents, aka Cabot Garden, a magnificent private garden in the Charlevoix region near Quebec City.
- CreatorStephanie AngelidesKurt TondorfStarsDon WildmanSeth PorgesKatherine WeatherfordThe stories behind interesting and unusual artifacts stored in museums are told.
- StarsMorgan FreemanSean CarrollMichio KakuHosted by Morgan Freeman, Through the Wormhole will explore the deepest mysteries of existence - the questions that have puzzled mankind for eternity. What are we made of? What was there before the beginning? Are we really alone? Is there a creator? These questions have been pondered by the most exquisite minds of the human race.
- CreatorBruce NashStarsLloyd SherrHarlan SapersteinAdam RichmanFast-paced, fun and informative, Modern Marvels is The History Channel's signature series focusing on historical technology.
- StarsRobert JackSusanna HerbertBen CartwrightA Chronicled look at the fall of the Romanov dynasty in Russia.
- DirectorKim HarringtonHeroes Of The Holocaust series profiles those who risked or gave their lives to save others. The word "hero" should never be used lightly, but there are those who embody every letter of the word. Oskar Schindler is one such man. Join us for an in-depth look at Oskar Schindler's humble beginnings, the bravery he showed in the face of extreme danger, and the lion heart he possessed to always put first the well being of others.
- StarsJosh GatesBrian C. WeedEvan B. StoneAn archeologist travels around the world looking for unknown and missing artifacts from throughout time.
- DirectorBobbi HanselCaspar MazzottiStarsRupert DegasTim Jarvis28 lost adventurers must fight for their lives after their only lifeline is destroyed in the most uninhabitable place on Earth - Antarctica.
- StarsJackie WheetExperts explore mysteries of abandoned subterranean phenomena around the world, sharing their impressive stories, unique origins and the secrets they still keep hidden underground.
- DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsJimmy PageThe EdgeJack WhiteA documentary on the electric guitar from the point of view of three significant rock musicians: The Edge, Jimmy Page, and Jack White.
- StarsJeremy WadeVic HislopDavid BuckmeierJeremy Wade searches the world for legendary and flesh-eating freshwater fish.
- DirectorLance MungiaStarsSkip AtwaterDaryl BemBernard CarrTwo physicists discover psychic abilities are real only to have their experiments at Stanford co-opted by the CIA and their research silenced by the demands of secrecy. Yet, as both these 'remote viewers' and our audience learn, the 'more you hide something, the more it shines like a beacon in psychic space and this ancient truth can no longer be suppressed.' The true story of Russell Targ and America's cold war psychic spies, disclosed and declassified for the first time, with evidence presented by a Nobel Laureate, an Apollo Astronaut, and the military and scientific community that has been suppressed for nearly 30 years, now able to speak for the first time. Targ's understated mantra that "the evidence for extra sensory perception is overwhelming and shows a talent we all share and deserve to know about, leaves us not just with a greater understanding of this unique chapter in U.S. history, but perhaps most importantly a greater understanding of who we are and our larger connection to the world. The CIA, NSA and DIA used it, your tax dollars paid for it, and now you deserve to know about it.
- StarsJeremy WadeAlexander ClarkeMichael TuttleThe deep-sea remains a dangerous & unexplored frontier, a place that swallows evidence and where the unknown is normal. Jeremy Wade searches for answers behind the world's most iconic & baffling underwater mysteries known to science.
- DirectorMichael MazzolaStarsLinda A'RorahaWendy BoastJustice CampbellDr. Steven Greer examines details surrounding his alien-visitation "disclosure" movement.
- DirectorHeidi EwingAlex GibneySeth GordonStarsJames RansoneTempestt BledsoeMorgan SpurlockA collection of documentaries that explores the hidden side of human nature through the use of the science of economics.
- DirectorJulia DordelGuido TölkeStarsJulia DordelSuzanne SimardPeter WohllebenTrees talk, know family ties and care for their young? Is this too fantastic to be true? German forester Peter Wohlleben ('The Hidden Life of Trees') and scientist Suzanne Simard (The University of British Columbia, Canada) have been observing and investigating the communication between trees over decades. And their findings are most astounding. 'Intelligent Trees' features the main observations that are covered in Peter Wohlleben's book such as the stump that has been kept alive by it's neighboring trees, the old tree-couple that looks after each other, the Mother Trees that suckle their offspring, etc... Special about this film is, however, that it goes beyond observations and claims, but match them with the latest underlying Forest Science Research.
- StarsHannah FryDr Hannah Fry explores the strange rules, natures' mysteries and mystical origins of mathematics.
- StarsBettany HughesWith unique access and state-of-the-art technology, Bettany lifts the lid on the most remarkable treasures of civilisation to investigate the story of humanity. She examines household-name treasures and new finds from across the world.
- StarsBettany HughesThe historian explores the history of Greece from the time of the Ancients to the present day.
- StarsBettany HughesThe historian explores the land that inspired her passion for the past by embarking upon a 900-mile journey along the river Nile and examining how it shaped ancient Egypt.
- StarsBettany HughesBettany Hughes follows in the footsteps of 18th century aristocrats going on a Grand Tour as she travels through France and Italy to see how travel, the arts and culture and the finest foods can enrich and inspire our lives.
- DirectorRussell EnglandStarsBettany Hughes
- DirectorMatthew ThompsonStarsDavid AttenboroughRobert DePalmaPhillip ManningSir David Attenborough presents this landmark documentary which brings to life, in unprecedented detail, the lost world of the very last days of the dinosaurs. Searching in the hills of North Dakota, palaeontologist Robert DePalma makes an incredible discovery in a prehistoric graveyard known as Tanis - fossilised creatures, astonishingly well preserved like the bodies found at Pompeii. Whilst DePalma hunts for the evidence that can shed light on the final days of the dinosaurs, state-of-the-art VFX transports Sir David back in time to the Late Cretaceous to witness the creatures who lived at Tanis at the end of the Age of Dinosaurs. Meanwhile, cutting edge scanning techniques reveal fossilised secrets that could change our understanding of the dinosaurs' extinction once and for all.
- DirectorIona McEwanStarsDavid AttenboroughIn this VR presentation, follow David Attenborough deep into this savage world and witness the desperate battles, the beauty, and the sacrifices plants make to ensure the survival of their species.
- DirectorElliot GravesDiscover a secret world hidden beneath your feet; the world of the amazing Micro Monsters. Immerse yourself in the secret world of bugs narrated by David Attenborough.
- DirectorAlastair FothergillJonathan HughesKeith ScholeyStarsDavid AttenboroughMax HughesOne man has seen more of the natural world than any other. This unique feature documentary is his witness statement.
- StarsDavid AttenboroughJoerg WiedenmannExploring the many ways animals use colour throughout their lives.
- StarsDavid AttenboroughBarack ObamaDavid Attenborough revisits the Great Barrier Reef after nearly 60 years. His visit takes him from the most exposed part of the reef as well as down to 300m below the surface discovering corals never seen before.
- CreatorBart LaytonStarsNatalie DunneMax WrottesleyManuel VillaseñorSurvivors share their stories and experience of survival abroad.
- StarsEric MeyersPaul McGannZam BaringRe-enactments of real-life tales of human survival against the savage elements, dangerous climates and physical hazards.
- DirectorAlexandra DeanStarsHedy LamarrMel BrooksJennifer HomThe life and career of the hailed Hollywood movie star and underappreciated genius inventor, Hedy Lamarr.
- StarsAlfred de MontesquiouA war correspondent for the AP news agency and a journalist for Paris Match take us on an extended trip through six countries and cultures from Bursa in Turkey to Xi'an in China.
- StarsHamilton MorrisJason WallachTimothy WyllieJoin an incredible journey through the history, chemistry and societal impacts of the world's most extraordinary drugs.
- DirectorAdam NimoyStarsKarl UrbanChris PineJim ParsonsAn examination of the enduring appeal of Leonard Nimoy and his portrayal of Spock in Star Trek (1966).
- StarsMichael MosleyDruin BurchWalter SneaderThe discoveries that revolutionized medicine In this "entertaining medical series" (The Sunday Times, U.K.), Dr. Michael Mosley shows how drugs have revolutionized medicine and changed the course of human history. Unfolding over a period of 200 years, it's an extraordinary tale of daring, self-experimentation, revelation, genius, and outright luck. In three episodes, Mosley recounts how humans have learned to fight back against disease and death--from unleashing the power of nature's medicine cabinet to the mass production of modern pharmaceuticals. With his characteristic enthusiasm, sense of fun, and hands-on approach, Mosley takes you on a journey of discovery and scientific breakthrough that has saved millions of lives and transformed our world--and that promises a personalized, genetic approach to medicine in the future. Dr. Michael Mosley is a physician, award-winning science journalist, and accomplished television presenter. He has hosted programs including Inside the Human Body and The Story of Science, and he is the author of the nutrition book The Fast Diet.
- StarsDavid SkudderTony McMahonNatasha BillsonOops I Changed The World tells the fascinating stories of accidental and surprise inventions that have transformed our lives.
- StarsKevin T. MooreExplore the science, innovation and sheer genius it takes to transform the most basic ingredients into powerhouse machines.
- StarsMichael WoodChris BailyMichael Wood visits places and interviews experts all over India to cover the great chapters of the subcontinent's history.