Top 100 Documentary Movies List

#80 Documentary Movie

Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) R

Alex Gibney exposes the haunting details of the USA's torture and interrogation practices during the War in Afghanistan.

Director:

Alex Gibney

Writers:

Alex Gibney

Stars:

Alex Gibney, Brian Keith Allen, Moazzam Begg

#79 Documentary Movie

Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids (2004) R

Two documentary filmmakers chronicle their time in Sonagchi, Calcutta and the relationships they developed with children of prostitutes who work the city's notorious red light district.

Director:

Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman

Writers:

Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman

Stars:

Kochi, Avijit Halder, Shanti Das

#78 Documentary Movie

The Queen of Versailles (2012) PG

A documentary that follows a billionaire couple as they begin construction on a mansion inspired by Versailles. During the next two years, their empire, fueled by the real estate bubble and cheap money, falters due to the economic crisis.

Director:

Lauren Greenfield

Stars:

Lorraine Barrett, June Downs, Phillip Froehlich

#77 Documentary Movie

Trekkies (1997) PG

Denice Crosby takes a first look at the huge fans of Star Trek and how the series from around America has affected and shaped their lives.

Director:

Roger Nygard

Stars:

Denise Crosby, Frank D'Amico, Barbara Adams

#76 Documentary Movie

The September Issue (2014) PG-13

A documentary chronicling Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour's preparations for the 2007 fall-fashion issue.

Director:

R.J. Cutler

Stars:

Anna Wintour, Thakoon Panichgul, André Leon Talley

#75 Documentary Movie

The Interrupters (2011)

A year in the life of a city grappling with urban violence.

Director:

Steve James

Writers:

Alex Kotlowitz

Stars:

Tio Hardiman, Ameena Matthews, Toya Batey

#74 Documentary Movie

Waiting for 'Superman' (2010) PG

Filmmaker Davis Guggenheim reminds us that education "statistics" have names. As he follows a handful of promising kids through a system that inhibits, rather than encourages, Guggenheim undertakes an exhaustive review of public education, methodically dissecting the system and its seemingly intractable problems.

Director:

Davis Guggenheim

Writers:

Davis Guggenheim, Billy Kimball

Stars:

Charles Adam, Charles Adams, Jonathan Alter

#73 Documentary Movie

42 Up (1998)

Director Michael Apted revisits the same group of British-born adults after a 7 year wait. The subjects are interviewed as to the changes that have occurred in their lives during the last seven years.

Director:

Michael Apted

Stars:

Bruce Balden, Jacqueline Bassett, Symon Basterfield

#72 Documentary Movie

Amy (2015) R

The story of Amy Winehouse in her own words, featuring unseen archival footage and unheard tracks.

Director:

Asif Kapadia

Stars:

Amy Winehouse, Mitch Winehouse, Mark Ronson

#71 Documentary Movie

Into the Abyss (2011) PG-13

Conversations with death row inmate Michael Perry and those affected by his crime serve as an examination of why people - and the state - kill.

Director:

Werner Herzog

Writers:

Chuck Pfarrer, Gary Goldman

Stars:

Werner Herzog, Richard Lopez, Michael Perry

#70 Documentary Movie

The War Room (1993) PG

A documentary of the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign and the organization who ran it.

Director:

Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker

Stars:

James Carville, George Stephanopoulos, Heather Beckel

#69 Documentary Movie

Waste Land (2010)

On the outskirts of Rio de Janiro is Jardim Gramacho, the world's largest landfill, where men and women sift through garbage for a living. Artist Vik Muniz produces portraits of the workers and learns about their lives.

Director:

Lucy Walker, Karen Harley

Stars:

Vik Muniz

#68 Documentary Movie

Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009) PG

The story of the Disney Renaissance, an incredibly prolific, successful and prestigious decade lasting from 1984 to 1994 that saw the fallen Walt Disney Animation Studios' unexpected progressive triumphant return to excellence.

Director:

Don Hahn

Writers:

Patrick Pacheco

Stars:

Roy Edward Disney, John Lasseter, Michael Eisner

#67 Documentary Movie

Food, Inc. (2008) PG

An unflattering look inside America's corporate controlled food industry.

Director:

Robert Kenner

Writers:

Robert Kenner, Elise Pearlstein

Stars:

Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser, Richard Lobb

#66 Documentary Movie

Titicut Follies (1967)

Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.

Director:

Edward Zwick

Stars:

Frederick Wiseman

#65 Documentary Movie

One Day in September (1999) R

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

#64 Documentary Movie

Louder Than a Bomb (2010)

By turns hopeful and heartbreaking, Louder Than a Bomb follows the fortunes of four Chicago-area high school poetry teams as they prepare for and compete in the world's largest youth slam.

Director:

Greg Jacobs, Jon Siskel

Stars:

Kevin Coval, Adam Gottlieb, Elizabeth Graf

#63 Documentary Movie

The Aristocrats (2005)

One hundred superstar comedians tell the same very, VERY dirty, filthy joke--one shared privately by comics since Vaudeville.

Director:

Paul Provenza

Stars:

George Carlin, Don Rickles, Chris Rock

#62 Documentary Movie

Earth (2007) G

Feature-length version of the documentary TV series Planet Earth (2006), following the migration paths of four animal families.

Director:

Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield

Writers:

Leslie Megahey

Stars:

Patrick Stewart, Anggun, James Earl Jones

#61 Documentary Movie

Monterey Pop (1968) R

A film about the greatest pre-Woodstock rock music festival.

Director:

D.A. Pennebaker

Stars:

Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Ravi Shankar

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