My Favourite Documentaries
by OliverBagshaw | created - 17 Sep 2018 | updated - 20 Nov 2020 | PublicA list compiling my favourite documentaries.
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1. Grey Gardens (1975)
PG | 95 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama
Meet a mother and daughter, high-society dropouts, reclusive cousins of Jackie O., managing to thrive together amid the decay and disorder of their East Hampton, NY, mansion, making for an eerily ramshackle echo of the American Camelot.
Directors: Ellen Hovde, Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Muffie Meyer | Stars: Edith Bouvier Beale, Edith 'Little Edie' Bouvier Beale, Brooks Hyers
Votes: 15,294 | Gross: $0.03M
2. Man on Wire (2008)
PG-13 | 94 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century".
Director: James Marsh | Stars: Philippe Petit, Jean François Heckel, Jean-Louis Blondeau, Annie Allix
Votes: 58,684 | Gross: $2.96M
3. My Best Fiend (1999)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Biography
The love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Eva Mattes
Votes: 12,200 | Gross: $0.10M
4. 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: 40,819 | Gross: $0.49M
5. The Look of Silence (2014)
PG-13 | 103 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A family that survived the genocide in Indonesia confronts the men who killed one of their brothers.
Director: Joshua Oppenheimer | Stars: Adi Rukun, M.Y. Basrun, Volker Hanisch, Amir Hasan
Votes: 13,889 | Gross: $0.11M
6. Shoah (1985)
Not Rated | 566 min | Documentary, History, War
Claude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors.
Director: Claude Lanzmann | Stars: Simon Srebnik, Michael Podchlebnik, Motke Zaïdl, Hanna Zaïdl
Votes: 10,559 | Gross: $0.02M
7. Iris (IX) (2014)
PG-13 | 79 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary about fashion icon Iris Apfel, the 93-year-old style maven who has had an out-sized presence on the New York fashion scene for decades, from legendary late 88-year-old documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles.
Director: Albert Maysles | Stars: Iris Apfel, Harold Koda, Dries Van Noten, Inez Bailey
Votes: 4,615 | Gross: $1.31M
8. 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: 40,738 | Gross: $0.02M
9. 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: 20,738 | Gross: $0.61M
10. 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: 27,139 | Gross: $3.12M
11. The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015–2024)
TV-14 | 45 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Filmmaker Andrew Jarecki examines the complicated life of reclusive real estate icon Robert Durst, the key suspect in a series of unsolved crimes.
Stars: Andrew Jarecki, Robert Durst, J. Patrick Burns, Dick DeGuerin
Votes: 51,717
12. 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: 40,915
13. 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: 68,834 | Gross: $3.29M
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: 61,909 | Gross: $3.17M
15. Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, Music
A collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology.
Director: Godfrey Reggio | Stars: Edward Asner, Pat Benatar, Jerry Brown, Johnny Carson
Votes: 41,503 | Gross: $1.72M
16. Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
Not Rated | 68 min | Documentary
A man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.
Director: Dziga Vertov | Stars: Mikhail Kaufman, Elizaveta Svilova
Votes: 28,001
17. Drifters (1929)
49 min | Documentary
A silent documentary film by John Grierson telling the story of Britain's North Sea herring fishery.
Director: John Grierson
Votes: 478
18. The Epic of Everest (1924)
Not Rated | 87 min | Documentary, Adventure, History
The official record of Mallory and Irvine's 1924 expedition.
Director: J.B.L. Noel | Stars: Andrew Irvine, George Mallory
Votes: 675
19. Dark Horse (2015)
PG | 85 min | Documentary, Drama, Sport
An inspirational true story of a group of friends from a working men's club who decide to take on the elite 'sport of kings' and breed themselves a racehorse
Director: Louise Osmond | Stars: Jan Vokes, Howard Davies, Brian 'Daisy' Vokes, Angela Davies
Votes: 1,325
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: 21,915
21. Cartel Land (2015)
R | 100 min | Documentary
Filmmaker Matthew Heineman examines the state of the ongoing drug problem along the U.S.-Mexican border.
Director: Matthew Heineman | Stars: Tim Foley, José Manuel 'El Doctor' Mireles, Paco Valencia, Chaneque
Votes: 18,829 | Gross: $0.70M
22. City of Ghosts (2017)
R | 92 min | Documentary, War
A documentary that follows the efforts of "Raqqa Is Being Slaughtered Silently," a handful of anonymous activists who banded together after their homeland was taken over by ISIS in 2014. ... See full summary »
Director: Matthew Heineman | Stars: Abdelaziz Alhamza, Mohamad Almusari, Hamoud Almousa, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi
Votes: 4,127 | Gross: $0.13M
23. Samsara (I) (2011)
PG-13 | 102 min | Documentary, Music
Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.
Director: Ron Fricke | Stars: Balinese Tari Legong Dancers, Ni Made Megahadi Pratiwi, Puti Sri Candra Dewi, Putu Dinda Pratika
Votes: 38,056 | Gross: $2.67M
24. Baraka (1992)
Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary
A collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life and religion.
Director: Ron Fricke | Star: Patrick Disanto
Votes: 40,998 | Gross: $1.33M
25. 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: 27,990
26. Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present (2012)
Not Rated | 106 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary that follows the Serbian performance artist as she prepares for a retrospective of her work at The Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Directors: Matthew Akers, Jeff Dupre | Stars: Marina Abramovic, Ulay, Klaus Biesenbach, David Balliano
Votes: 6,475 | Gross: $0.09M
27. HyperNormalisation (2016)
166 min | Documentary
Adam Curtis explains how, at a time of confusing and inexplicable world events, politicians and the people they represent have retreated in to a damaging over-simplified version of what is happening.
Director: Adam Curtis | Stars: Adam Curtis, Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin, Victor Gotbaum
Votes: 7,376
28. Bitter Lake (2015)
136 min | Documentary
An experimental documentary that explores Saudi Arabia's relationship with the U.S. and the role this has played in the war in Afghanistan.
Director: Adam Curtis | Stars: George Bush, George W. Bush, Joanne Herring, Hamid Karzai
Votes: 3,526
29. Hoop Dreams (1994)
PG-13 | 170 min | Documentary, Drama, Sport
A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
Director: Steve James | Stars: William Gates, Arthur Agee, Emma Gates, Curtis Gates
Votes: 28,023 | Gross: $7.83M
30. 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: 21,598 | Gross: $3.17M
31. Meet Marlon Brando (1966)
Not Rated | 28 min | Documentary, Short
Journalists from all over America meet Marlon Brando in a New York hotel room to interview him about his new film, Morituri. Seeing this as an opportunity to let the legendary actor promote... See full summary »
Directors: Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin | Stars: Marlon Brando, Rex Morgan, Mary Frann, Lee Murray
Votes: 376
32. Stop Making Sense (1984)
PG | 88 min | Documentary, Music
Considered by critics as the greatest concert film of all time, the live performance was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983 and features Talking Heads' most memorable songs.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: David Byrne, Bernie Worrell, Alex Weir, Steven Scales
Votes: 20,041 | Gross: $5.02M
33. Faces Places (2017)
PG | 94 min | Documentary, Adventure
Director Agnes Varda and photographer/muralist J.R. journey through rural France and form an unlikely friendship.
Directors: JR, Agnès Varda | Stars: Agnès Varda, JR, Jeannine Carpentier, Clemens Van Dungern
Votes: 13,611 | Gross: $0.95M
34. Seahorse (2019)
Not Rated | 91 min | Documentary
Director Jeanie Finlay charts a transgender man's path to parenthood after he decides to carry his child himself. The pregnancy prompts an unexpected and profound reckoning with conventions of masculinity, self-definition and biology.
Director: Jeanie Finlay | Star: Freddy McConnell
Votes: 288
35. Paris Is Burning (1990)
R | 78 min | Documentary
A chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.
Director: Jennie Livingston | Stars: Brooke Xtravaganza, André Christian, Dorian Corey, Paris Duprée
Votes: 17,620 | Gross: $3.78M
36. 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: 62,282
37. Jonathan Agassi Saved My Life (2018)
100 min | Documentary, Biography
Jonathan Agassi is one of the world's most successful gay porn stars. This is a rare and intimate look at the world of porn and escorting, as well as on a unique relationship between a mother and son.
Director: Tomer Heymann | Stars: Jonathan Agassi, Michael Lucas
Votes: 462
38. Burroughs: The Movie (1983)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography
Burroughs: The Movie explores the life and times of controversial Naked Lunch author William S. Burroughs, with an intimacy never before seen and never repeated. The film charts the ... See full summary »
Director: Howard Brookner | Stars: William S. Burroughs, Allen Ginsberg, Herbert Huncke, James Grauerholz
Votes: 795
39. Don't Look Back (1967)
Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary, Music
Documentary covering Bob Dylan's 1965 tour of England, which includes appearances by Joan Baez and Donovan.
Director: D.A. Pennebaker | Stars: Bob Dylan, Albert Grossman, Bob Neuwirth, Joan Baez
Votes: 10,014
40. The Beaches of Agnès (2008)
Not Rated | 112 min | Documentary, Biography
Agnès Varda explores her memories, mostly chronologically, with photographs, film clips, interviews, reenactments, and droll, playful contemporary scenes of her narrating her story.
Director: Agnès Varda | Stars: Agnès Varda, André Lubrano, Blaise Fournier, Vincent Fournier
Votes: 4,785 | Gross: $0.24M
41. 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
42. Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau (2014)
Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary, Adventure
A behind the scenes chronicle of how clash of vision, bad creative decisions, lack of interest and really bad weather plagued the disastrous production of the infamous The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996).
Director: David Gregory | Stars: Richard Stanley, Kier-La Janisse, Michael Gingold, Graham Humphreys
Votes: 4,413
43. Antonio Gaudí (1984)
Not Rated | 72 min | Documentary
The work of Catalan architect Antonio Gaudí, as seen by Japanese New Wave director Hiroshi Teshigahara.
Director: Hiroshi Teshigahara | Stars: Isidro Puig Boada, Antoni Gaudí, Seiji Miyaguchi
Votes: 1,743
44. Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
PG-13 | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, History
An exploration of the life, lessons, and legacy of iconic children's television host Fred Rogers.
Director: Morgan Neville | Stars: Fred Rogers, Margaret Whitmer, Tom Junod, Joanne Rogers
Votes: 27,122 | Gross: $22.84M
45. Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980)
22 min | Documentary, Short
A short documentary in which directors Werner Herzog and Errol Morris make a bet which results in Herzog being forced to eat his own shoe.
Director: Les Blank | Stars: Werner Herzog, Tom Luddy, Michael Goodwin, Alice Waters
Votes: 2,731
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