Documentaries
by janeak619 | created - 18 Mar 2013 | updated - 2 weeks ago | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Freakonomics (2010)
PG-13 | 85 min | Documentary
A collection of documentaries that explores the hidden side of human nature through the use of the science of economics.
Directors: Heidi Ewing, Alex Gibney, Seth Gordon, Rachel Grady, Eugene Jarecki, Morgan Spurlock | Stars: James Ransone, Tempestt Bledsoe, Morgan Spurlock, Melvin Van Peebles
Votes: 7,738 | Gross: $0.10M
2. Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (2003)
R | 93 min | Documentary, Crime
Nick Broomfield's second documentary about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, focusing on her mental state on death row.
Directors: Nick Broomfield, Joan Churchill | Stars: Aileen Wuornos, Nick Broomfield, Terry Humphreys-Slay, Leitha Prather
Votes: 6,954 | Gross: $0.10M
3. Part of Me (2012)
PG | 93 min | Documentary, Music
A look at the life, career and music of singer Katy Perry as we follow her on the California Dreams World Tour.
Directors: Dan Cutforth, Jane Lipsitz | Stars: Katy Perry, Adam Marcello, Casey Hooper, Patrick Matera
Votes: 13,872 | Gross: $25.24M
4. Doors: Mr. Mojo Risin' - The Story of L.A. Woman (2012)
Not Rated | 60 min | Documentary, Music
The Doors didn't simply "break on through" in the late 1960s. Led by rock poet and frontman Jim Morrison, they exploded onto the music scene. Over four years, they provided the soundtrack ... See full summary »
Director: Martin R. Smith | Stars: Jim Ladd, Jim Morrison, Ray Manzarek, Michael McClure
Votes: 351
5. Happy (2012)
Not Rated | 76 min | Documentary, Drama, Family
Happy takes us on a journey from the swamps of Louisiana to the slums of Kolkata in search of what really makes people happy.
Director: Roko Belic | Stars: Marci Shimoff, Ed Diener, Richard Davidson, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
Votes: 3,382
6. Making a Murderer (2015–2018)
TV-14 | 60 min | Documentary, Crime
Filmed over a 10-year period, Steven Avery, a DNA exoneree who, while in the midst of exposing corruption in local law enforcement, finds himself the prime suspect in a grisly new crime.
Stars: Steven Avery, Dolores Avery, Laura Nirider, Allan Avery
Votes: 102,865
7. The Bridge (I) (2006)
R | 94 min | Documentary, Drama
Filmmakers use hidden cameras to capture the various suicide attempts at the Golden Gate Bridge - the world's most popular suicide destination. Interviews with the victims' loved ones describe their lives and mental health.
Director: Eric Steel | Stars: Eric Geleynse, Chris Brown, Susan Ginwalla, Caroline Pressley
Votes: 12,218 | Gross: $0.18M
8. Pervert Park (2014)
77 min | Documentary, Crime
Pervert Park follows the everyday lives of the sex offenders in the park as they struggle to reintegrate into society.
Directors: Frida Barkfors, Lasse Barkfors | Stars: William J. Fuery Jr., Tracy Hutchinson, James Broderick, James Turner
Votes: 1,436
9. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006–2007)
TV-MA | 51 min | Documentary
An examination of the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Katrina.
Stars: Darleen Asevedo, Jay Asevedo, Shelton Shakespear Alexander, Lee Arnold
Votes: 4,825
10. 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
11. The Keepers (II) (2017)
TV-MA | 62 min | Documentary, Crime, Mystery
A seven-part docuseries about the unsolved murder of a nun and the horrific secrets and pain that linger nearly five decades after her death.
Stars: Gemma Hoskins, Abbie Schaub, Virginia Anzengruber, Jean Hargadon Wehner
Votes: 25,058
12. When You're Strange (2009)
R | 86 min | Documentary, Music
A look at the late '60s and early '70s rock band The Doors, including rare exclusive footage.
Director: Tom DiCillo | Stars: Johnny Depp, John Densmore, Robby Krieger, Ray Manzarek
Votes: 10,275 | Gross: $0.24M
13. It's Not Yet Dark (2016)
81 min | Documentary
It's Not Yet Dark tells the ground breaking story of Simon Fitzmaurice, a talented young Irish film maker with ALS (MND), as he embarks on directing his first feature film through the use of his eyes and eye gaze technology.
Director: Frankie Fenton | Stars: Simon Fitzmaurice, Ruth Fitzmaurice, Damien Fitzmaurice, Florence Fitzmaurice
Votes: 250 | Gross: $0.00M
14.
30 for 30 (2009– )
Episode:
The Price of Gold
(2014)
TV-G | 78 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The Kerrigan - Harding incident that rocked the Olympic and sports world.
Director: Nanette Burstein | Stars: Oksana Baiul, Mahlon Bradley, Vincent Buscemi, Connie Chung
Votes: 1,224
15. Finding the Gold Within (2014)
93 min | Documentary, Drama
Six young black men from Akron, Ohio, enter college, determined to redefine society's images and low expectations. Despite their confidence, the stark reality of being away from home brings... See full summary »
Director: Karina Epperlein
Votes: 23
16. Let There Be Light (1980)
Not Rated | 58 min | Documentary, War
A group of mentally traumatized veteran patients is followed as they go through psychiatric treatment.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Walter Huston, Benjamin Simon
Votes: 2,027
17. Attacking the Devil: Harold Evans and the Last Nazi War Crime (2014)
102 min | Documentary
Before the Internet. Before Social Media. Before Breaking News. The victims of Thalidomide had to rely on something even more extraordinary to fight their corner: Investigative Journalism. ... See full summary »
Directors: David Morris, Jacqui Morris | Stars: Harold Evans, Ralph Nader, Michael Sheen
Votes: 666
18. Children of Drum (2017)
58 min | Documentary, History
Children of Drum is a documentary about the legacy of black journalists under apartheid-era South Africa.
Director: Larry Tung
19. Abducted in Plain Sight (2017)
TV-14 | 91 min | Documentary, Crime
The twisting, turning, stranger-than-fiction true story of the Brobergs, a naive, church-going Idaho family that fell under the spell of a sociopathic neighbor with designs on their twelve-year-old daughter.
Director: Skye Borgman | Stars: Jan Broberg, Bob Broberg, Mary Ann Broberg, Susan Broberg
Votes: 22,247
20. Theo Who Lived (2016)
86 min | Documentary
A documentary on American journalist Theo Padnos who was Kidnapped by Al-Qaeda in Syria.
Director: David Schisgall | Star: Theo Padnos
Votes: 121 | Gross: $0.01M
21. Class Action Park (2020)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Crime
A documentary that focuses on a dangerously legendary water park and its slew of injuries and crimes along with child safety concerns.
Directors: Seth Porges, Chris Charles Scott III | Stars: John Hodgman, Faith Anderson, Alison Becker, Bill Benneyan
Votes: 7,981
22. The Social Dilemma (2020)
PG-13 | 94 min | Documentary, Drama
Explores the dangerous human impact of social networking; tech experts sound the alarm on their own creations.
Director: Jeff Orlowski-Yang | Stars: Tristan Harris, Jeff Seibert, Bailey Richardson, Joe Toscano
Votes: 89,475
23. Pain Warriors (2019)
75 min | Documentary
Pain Warriors examines the other side of the OPIOID CRISIS, that of under-treated pain among the patient populations of Canada and the USA.
Directors: Tina Petrova, Eugene Weis
Votes: 219
24. American Tragedy (2019)
13+ | 80 min | Documentary
Sue Klebold attempts to reconcile how the son she affectionately referred to as "Sunshine Boy" became a school shooter. "If love could have stopped Columbine," she says, "Columbine would never have happened.
Director: Josh Sabey | Stars: Tiffany Tate Aragon, Carol Archer, Paul Archer, Lisa Belkin
Votes: 633
25. 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: 40,726 | Gross: $0.02M
26. Mommy Dead and Dearest (2017)
TV-MA | 82 min | Documentary, Crime
In this documentary, the murder of Deedee Blanchard by her daughter Gypsy Rose is explored, as well as the circumstances leading up to the event.
Director: Erin Lee Carr | Stars: Jessica Thomas, Jim Arnott, David Blanchard, Dee Dee Blanchard
Votes: 11,908
27. 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: 20,729 | Gross: $0.61M
28. Take Care of Maya (2023)
TV-14 | 103 min | Documentary
As a medical team tries to understand 10-year-old Maya Kowalski's rare illness, they begin to question her parents. Suddenly, Maya is in state custody - despite a family desperate to bring their daughter home.
Director: Henry Roosevelt
Votes: 9,649
29. The Deepest Breath (2023)
PG | 108 min | Documentary, Adventure, Sport
A champion and expert safety diver seemed destined for one another. Despite different paths taken, they meet at the pinnacle of the free-diving world, experiencing the thrilling rewards and inescapable risks of chasing dreams through the depths of the ocean.
Director: Laura McGann | Stars: Alessia Zecchini, Stephen Keenan, Leigh Baker, Mahmoud Barracuda
Votes: 14,625
30. Albert Fish: In Sin He Found Salvation (2007)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A documentary about Albert Fish, who was a sadistic and cannibalistic serial killer.
Director: John Borowski | Stars: Oto Brezina, Joe Coleman, Bob Dunsworth, Albert Fish
Votes: 1,314
31. To End All War: Oppenheimer & the Atomic Bomb (2023)
87 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Exploring how one man's brilliance, hubris and relentless drive changed the nature of war forever.
Director: Christopher Cassel | Stars: J. Robert Oppenheimer, Kai Bird, Ellen Bradbury, Alan B. Carr
Votes: 2,506
32. Titicut Follies (1967)
Unrated | 84 min | Documentary
Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.
Director: Frederick Wiseman
Votes: 5,109
33. Child of Rage (1990 TV Movie)
27 min | Documentary
Six-year-old Beth talks to a therapist about the horrific abuse she has suffered as well as the abuse she inflicts upon small animals and her own brother. This film documents her subsequent healing and recovery.
Director: Arthur Ginsberg | Stars: Joel Craiger, Ken Magid, Beth Thomas
Votes: 1,178
34. My Amityville Horror (2012)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary, Horror
For the first time in 35 years, Daniel Lutz recounts his version of the infamous Amityville haunting that terrified his family in 1975.
Director: Eric Walter | Stars: Daniel Lutz, Susan Bartell, Laura DiDio, Marvin Scott
Votes: 2,077
35. 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
36. The Last Stop (II) (2017)
110 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
The Elan School was the last stop. Set deep in the woods of Maine, Elan delivered controversial therapy to troubled teens. It was a meat grinder of raw emotion and harsh discipline. Some say it sold hope, others say it sold Hell.
Director: Todd Nilssen | Stars: Peter Arnold, Liz Arnold, Alec Canarri, Jeff Bloking
Votes: 476
37. The Family I Had (2017)
77 min | Documentary, Crime
In The Family I Had, a mother recalls how her brilliant teenage son came to shatter their idyllic family through one horribly violent and shocking act.
Directors: Katie Green, Carlye Rubin | Stars: Ella Bennett, Charity Lee, Kyla Bennett, Becca Baggenstoss
Votes: 1,315
38. 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: 40,914
39. Hell Camp: Teen Nightmare (2023)
TV-MA | 90 min | Documentary
Out-of-control teens across America were sent to a therapy camp in the harsh Utah desert. The conditions were brutal, but the staff were even worse.
Director: Liza Williams | Stars: Nadine Louise Guerrara, Steve Cartisano, Chris Smith, Lance 'Horsehair' Jaggar
Votes: 2,964
40. The Mission (2023)
PG-13 | 103 min | Documentary
26-year-old American missionary John Chau was killed as he attempted to make contact with an Indigenous group off the coast of India, one of the last communities on the planet still living in isolation.
Directors: Amanda McBaine, Jesse Moss | Stars: Pam Arlund, Dan Davis, Levi Davis, Daniel Everett
Votes: 907
41. 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
42. Unseen (II) (2016)
75 min | Documentary, Crime
In 2009, police discovered the bodies of eleven women decomposing in and around the home of a known sex offender. With access to the surviving victims, Unseen looks into how the murders of those women went unnoticed for so long.
Director: Laura Paglin | Stars: Vanessa Gay, Latundra Billups, Shawn Morris, Melvette Sockwell
Votes: 1,194
43. The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley (2019)
TV-14 | 119 min | Documentary, Crime
The story of Theranos, a multi-billion dollar tech company, its founder Elizabeth Holmes, the youngest self-made female billionaire, and the massive fraud that collapsed the company.
Director: Alex Gibney | Stars: Alex Gibney, Elizabeth Holmes, Dan Ariely, Roger Parloff
Votes: 15,207
44. How to Die in Oregon (2011)
Not Rated | 107 min | Documentary, Drama, Family
In 1994 Oregon became the first state to legalize a terminally ill person's request to end his or her life with medication. At the time, only Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands had ... See full summary »
Director: Peter Richardson | Stars: Harry Bruton, Ray Carnay, Cody Curtis, Paul Darley
Votes: 2,019
45. Chowchilla (2023)
98 min | Documentary, Crime, Drama
Go behind the headlines to explore the strangest mass kidnapping in history, with exclusive interviews from those who lived through it.
Director: Paul Solet | Stars: Alex Isles, Adrianna Acevedo, Taylor Box, Tate McMillan
Votes: 843
46. A Compassionate Spy (2022)
101 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The incredible story of Manhattan Project scientist Ted Hall, who shared classified nuclear secrets with Russia.
Director: Steve James | Stars: Joan Hall, Ted Hall, Joseph Albright, Daniel Axelrod
Votes: 346
47. Boy Interrupted (2009)
Not Rated | 92 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
Filmmaker Dana Perry documents the life of her son, Evan, a 15-year-old who committed suicide.
Director: Dana Heinz Perry | Stars: Evan Scott Perry, Dana Heinz Perry, Hart Perry, Nicholas Kopple-Perry
Votes: 2,326
48. They Called Him Mostly Harmless (2024)
89 min | Documentary, Crime, Mystery
A hiker found dead in Florida wilderness is identified by internet sleuths after 2 years. His identity triggers more questions as multiple hikers claim to have met him, but he never revealed his name.
Director: Patricia E. Gillespie | Stars: Kristin Adams, Marge Creech, Brandon Dowell, Kelly Fairbanks
Votes: 2,134
49. The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker (2023)
TV-MA | 85 min | Documentary, Crime
This shocking documentary chronicles a happy-go-lucky nomad's ascent to viral stardom and the steep downward spiral that resulted in his imprisonment.
Director: Colette Camden | Stars: Kai Lawrence, Jessob Reisbeck, Terry Woods, Brad Mulcahy
Votes: 12,733
50. American Murder: The Family Next Door (2020)
TV-MA | 83 min | Documentary, Crime
In 2018, 34-year-old Shanann Watts and her two young daughters disappear in Colorado. With the heartbreaking details emerging, the family's story made headlines around the world.
Director: Jenny Popplewell | Stars: Nickole Atkinson, Jim Benemann, Luke Epple, Mark Jamieson
Votes: 32,758
51. If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front (2011)
Unrated | 85 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
A rare behind-the-curtain look at the Earth Liberation Front, the radical environmental group that the FBI calls America's 'number one domestic terrorist threat.'
Directors: Marshall Curry, Sam Cullman | Stars: Daniel McGowan, Lisa McGowan, Tim Lewis, Kirk Engdall
Votes: 3,316 | Gross: $0.06M
52. Skin Deep: The Battle Over Morgellons (2019)
90 min | Documentary
A nurse journeys to discover the truth behind a disease so bizarre, patients who suffer from it are regularly written off as delusional by doctors and loved ones.
Director: Pi Ware | Stars: Cindy Casey, Steven R. Feldman, Marianne Middelveen, Harry Quinn Schone
Votes: 136
53. Beware the Slenderman (2016)
TV-14 | 114 min | Documentary, Biography, Crime
Tells the story of two 12-year old girls, who attempted to murder one of their friends in an attempt to appease Slenderman, a fictional monster from a horror website.
Director: Irene Taylor | Stars: Morgan Geyser, Anissa Weier, Angie Geyser, William Weier
Votes: 7,811
54. Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst (2004)
Not Rated | 89 min | Documentary, History, Mystery
The story of the 1974 kidnap of teenage heiress Patty Hearst, which set off one of the most bizarre episodes in recent American history.
Director: Robert Stone | Stars: Russ Little, Michael Bortin, Timothy Findley, Dan Grove
Votes: 631
55. The Pig Farm (2011)
86 min | Documentary, Crime
Award-winning investigation into the crimes of Robert Pickton. This documentary explores why it took so many years to capture and convict Canada's most prolific serial killer. Troubling revelations about who knew what, and when.
Stars: Maggie Huculak, Vicki Gabereau, Tamara Hamilton, Renee Olbert
Votes: 394
56. 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: 6,067 | Gross: $0.02M
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