Best Documentaries

by Lebowski_smokes | created - 28 Nov 2017 | updated - 6 months ago | Public
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1. Marley (2012)

PG-13 | 144 min | Documentary, Biography, Music

82 Metascore

A documentary on the life, music, and legacy of Bob Marley.

Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Bob Marley, Ziggy Marley, Rita Marley, Jimmy Cliff

Votes: 14,499 | Gross: $1.41M

2. Amy (III) (2015)

R | 128 min | Documentary, Biography, Music

85 Metascore

Archival footage and personal testimonials present an intimate portrait of the life and career of British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse.

Director: Asif Kapadia | Stars: Amy Winehouse, Mitch Winehouse, Mark Ronson, Russell Brand

Votes: 55,119 | Gross: $8.41M

3. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

PG-13 | 79 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport

83 Metascore

Die-hard gamers compete to break world records on classic arcade games.

Director: Seth Gordon | Stars: Steve Wiebe, Billy Mitchell, Mark Alpiger, Adam Wood

Votes: 37,581 | Gross: $0.68M

4. One Day in September (1999)

R | 94 min | Documentary, History, Sport

82 Metascore

The Palestinian terrorist group Black September holds Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich.

Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Michael Douglas, Ankie Spitzer, Jamal Al Gashey, Gerald Seymour

Votes: 6,245 | Gross: $0.16M

5. Touching the Void (2003)

R | 106 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama

82 Metascore

The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.

Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Simon Yates, Joe Simpson, Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron

Votes: 38,117 | Gross: $4.59M

6. Senna (2010)

PG-13 | 106 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport

79 Metascore

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: 75,873 | Gross: $1.61M

7. Gimme Shelter (1970)

GP | 91 min | Documentary, Music, Thriller

85 Metascore

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: 12,895 | Gross: $0.25M

9. Gesucht: Monika Ertl (1989)

89 min | Documentary, Biography

In 1971 she was 'wanted' for political murder, because she had assassinated a Bolivian Colonel, who represented the oppressive military dictatorship in the South American country. In 1973 ... See full summary »

Director: Christian Baudissin | Stars: Hans Ertl, Monika Ertl

Votes: 19

10. For Sama (2019)

TV-PG | 100 min | Documentary, Biography, War

89 Metascore

FOR SAMA is both an intimate and epic journey into the female experience of war.

Directors: Waad Al-Kateab, Edward Watts | Stars: Waad Al-Kateab, Sama Al-Khateab, Hamza Al-Khateab, Afra

Votes: 12,824 | Gross: $0.04M

11. Grizzly Man (2005)

R | 103 min | Documentary, Biography

87 Metascore

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: 61,925 | Gross: $3.17M

12. I Am Not Your Negro (2016)

PG-13 | 93 min | Documentary, History

95 Metascore

Writer James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.

Director: Raoul Peck | Stars: Samuel L. Jackson, James Baldwin, Martin Luther King, Malcolm X

Votes: 23,513 | Gross: $7.12M

13. Even Dwarfs Started Small (1970)

Not Rated | 96 min | Comedy, Drama

A group of dwarfs at a correctional facility erupt in anarchy.

Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Helmut Döring, Paul Glauer, Gisela Hertwig, Hertel Minkner

Votes: 6,293

14. The Act of Killing (2012)

Not Rated | 117 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime

92 Metascore

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: 40,823 | Gross: $0.49M

15. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

PG-13 | 79 min | Documentary, Biography, Sport

83 Metascore

Die-hard gamers compete to break world records on classic arcade games.

Director: Seth Gordon | Stars: Steve Wiebe, Billy Mitchell, Mark Alpiger, Adam Wood

Votes: 37,581 | Gross: $0.68M

16. Whitney (2018)

R | 120 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama

75 Metascore

An in-depth look at the life and music of Whitney Houston.

Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Whitney Houston, Ellen White, Michael Houston, Cissy Houston

Votes: 7,876 | Gross: $3.03M

17. Light & Magic (2022)

TV-14 | 60 min | Documentary, History

Showcasing the people of Industrial Light and Magic, the special effects division of Lucasfilm, this series takes us back in time as they create the effects for some of the biggest and most successful films of the last 45 years.

Stars: George Lucas, Dennis Muren, Lorne Peterson, Ron Howard

Votes: 3,226

18. The Defiant Ones (2017)

TV-MA | 60 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime

"The Defiant Ones" examines the partnership between Jimmy Iovine and Dr. Dre - one the son of a Brooklyn longshoreman, the other straight out of Compton - and their leading roles in a chain of transformative events in contemporary culture.

Stars: Stevie Nicks, Bono, Dr. Dre, Tom Petty

Votes: 15,681

19. The Venerable W. (2017)

PG | 100 min | Documentary

79 Metascore

A view of the religious tensions between Muslims and Buddhist through the portrait of the Buddhist monk Ashin Wirathu, leader of anti-Muslim movement in Myanmar.

Director: Barbet Schroeder | Stars: Ashin Wirathu, U. Zanitar, Kyaw Zayar Htun, U. Kaylar Sa

Votes: 638

20. Perfumed Nightmare (1977)

93 min | Comedy, Drama

A Filipino jeepney driver (Kidlat Tahimik) who idolizes America's space program comes to reject the rapid encroachment of technology.

Director: Kidlat Tahimik | Stars: Kidlat Tahimik, Mang Fely, Dolores Santamaria, Georgette Baudry

Votes: 888



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