PBS
Last Updated: August 6th
Streaming video is the best thing that’s ever happened to documentaries. People who would never have paid for a ticket to a theatrical nonfiction film are now, thanks to Netflix’s robust selection, scarfing down the stuff by the barrel. But where to start among the masses? Here’s a ranking of 20 of the best documentaries on Netflix right now to get you going, covering a variety of themes and real stories.
Related: The 15 Best Documentary Series On Netflix Right Now
Criterion
1. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
Run Time: 103 min, IMDb: 8/10
Before Making a Murderer, before Serial, before The Jinx, there was Errol Morris’ landmark work of investigative cinema dredged up from the heart of Texas. The true crime documentary famously helped overturn the death row conviction of Randall Dale Adams, thanks in part to the director’s then-unheard-of habit of staging re-enactments of Adams’ alleged crime to see if they squared with available evidence. Its influence has been absorbed to the point where it’s virtually invisible, but The Thin Blue Line still manages several palpable shocks for newcomers to the Adams case. Once you watch it, read this excellent interview with Morris where he reflects on making the film.
Netflix
2. 13th (2016)
Run Time: 100 min, IMDb: 8.2/10
This 2016 documentary from Ava DuVernay won an Emmy and was nominated for an Oscar during awards season two years ago. The film chronicles the justice system’s abuses against black people, making a case for institutionalized racism being a problem in America that’s only emboldened by the prison cycle. DuVernay boldly explores how prisons and detention centers are making a profit off of free prison labor, most of it done by black men which begs the question, is slavery really dead?
Drafthouse
3. The Look of Silence (2014)
Run Time: 103 min, IMDb: 8.3/10
Oppenheimer’s follow-up to The Act of Killing doesn’t shatter the documentary format into a million pieces like its predecessor; instead, it’s a much more straightforward account of an eye doctor (kept anonymous) who meets with the men who killed his brother during the genocides. Under the pretext of an eye exam, he relentlessly grills his “patients” about their role in the killings, forcing them to “see” past their own experiences. But though it’s much less formally daring, The Look of Silence becomes a far more sympathetic film, a necessary course corrective: a reminder that heroes can rise up against incredible evil, even if in only small, largely symbolic ways. It should be viewed second, as it lacks the broader societal and historical context that Killing throws in your face, but it should be viewed.
Magnolia Pictures
4. Man on Wire (2008)
Run Time: 94 min, IMDb: 7.8/10
While many other films on this list tackle complex social issues or unanswerable questions, sometimes it’s needed to kick back with a light doc that’s there simply to entertain and amuse, and Man On Wire does just that. It centers on a seemingly impossible feat shocked the world: Those 45 minutes back in 1974 where a man walked, danced, and achieved his grandest dreams on top of a cable between the Twin Towers. And it’s a fun ride. Framed like a heist movie, Man On Wire may rely on recreated footage to tell its tale, but you’ll quickly get caught up in the almost whimsical nature of a performer, his wire, and his walk.
Netflix
5. Casting JonBenet (2017)
Run Time: 80 min, IMDb: 6.2/10
90’s crime nostalgia is alive and well in this pseudo-doc from director Kitty Green. Everyone knows how tiny pageant queen JonBenet Ramsey died — bludgeoned to death in the basement of her family home — so Green is less interested in rehashing the investigation into the little girl’s death and more interested in reenacting her life and final moments. To do this, she enlists actors from the area where the family lived, all hoping to play JonBenet or her parents in an upcoming production. Over the course of the film, these thespians are forced to confront the reality of the Ramsey family’s situation which in turn helps viewers to take a look under the surface of this tabloid trauma.
Magnolia
6. Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
Run Time: 81 min, IMDb: 7.9/10
The polar opposite of Super Size Me. David Gelb’s meditative-yet-jaunty peek inside sushi chef Jiro Ono’s long road to culinary perfection has proven such a sleeper hit on Netflix that the streaming service hired Gelb to make its nonfiction food series Chef’s Table. Whet your appetite for foodie docs with Jiro, which, in addition to showing us the process behind maintaining the high standards of a three-Michelin-star sushi restaurant (even a tiny one), also doubles as a serious meditation on family legacy. Jiro’s son may be doomed to remain forever in his father’s gigantic shadow.
Netflix
7. Hot Girls Wanted (2015)
Run Time: 82 min, IMDb: 6.1/10
This six-part docuseries from Rashida Jones was praised when it was released at Sundance in 2015 and for good reason. The film depicts the gritty underbelly of the porn industry from the perspective of the young women who are drawn to the life. Not only does the doc explore the intersection between sexuality and the internet, it also gives an honest look at the toll the industry can take on its youngest and most naïve performers.
Magnolia Pictures
8. The Wolfpack (2015)
Run Time: 90 min, IMDb: 7/10
The Angulo family serves as the subject of this fascinating doc that follows a group of kids, who are trapped inside their four-bedroom home in Manhattan, learning about the world from watching old movies. The family’s seven children, six brothers and one sister, were homeschooled and confined to their apartment in the city by their parents for very strange reasons. The film is a juicy look into an urban fable and how a dysfunctional family managed to hide their secrets for so long.
Netflix
9. 100 Years: One Woman’s Fight For Justice (2016)
Run Time: 76 min, IMDb: 8.4/10
This 2016 documentary chronicles the fight of one woman against the federal government by way of a massive class action lawsuit consisting of Native American tribes who’ve seen their land, money, and dignity stripped away for a century. Diving deep into a bleak, ongoing chapter of American history, 100 Years defines the fine details of just how horribly these tribes have been treated and how nearly insurmountable their struggle has been for so long. It’s a heavy story, but it’s a deeply important one.
Netflix
10. Icarus (2017)
Run Time: 121 min, IMDb: 8/10
Bryan Fogel’s Academy Award-winning documentary Icarus wasn’t supposed to involve Russians and doping scandal and cover-ups. Fortunately for Fogel, when the filmmaker decided to test his mettle by competing in one of the toughest cycling competitions in the world and chose to dope to help his chances, he ended up meeting Russian scientist, Dr. Grigory Rodchenkov, the director of Russia’s national anti-doping laboratory. The result is this nearly 90-minute film that chronicles Russia’s extensive history with doping and Rodchenkov’s fight for his life after he blows the whistle on the country’s bad practices.
Netflix
11. Amanda Knox (2016)
Run Time: 92 min, IMDb: 7/10
It seems as though we’re all now more aware than ever of how utterly screwed any of us can be in an instant if the system places us in its crosshairs for being in the wrong place at the wrong time and not behaving in a way perceived to be “normal” in the immediate aftermath. Recent true crime documentaries like The Staircase, Making a Murderer and Serial have certainly played a part in illuminating this frightening and unfortunate slice of reality. We can now add Rod Blackhurst and Brian McGinn’s Amanda Knox to that list. Prepare to be terrified and infuriated as the filmmakers detail how an overzealous Italian prosecutor and a global tabloid press thirsty for a sensational story joined forces to wreck a young woman’s life, largely for their own benefit. As Daily Mail journalist Nick Pisa freely admits on camera — without any trace of remorse or shame — about his work covering the case, “A murder always gets people going… And we have here this beautiful, picturesque hilltop town in the middle of Italy. It was a particularly gruesome murder; throat slit, semi-naked, blood everywhere. I mean, what more do you want in a story?”
Asylum Entertainment
12. Happy Valley (2014)
Run Time: 98 min, IMDb: 7.1/10
There’s a certain angle from which the story of Penn State football looks like the ultimate example of evil forces triumphing in America. In this riveting account, director Amir Bar-Lev captures the fullness of that feeling. The filmmaker visits the Happy Valley campus in the immediate aftermath of the 2011 revelations that the school administration covered up assistant coach Jerry Sandusky’s decades of predatory behavior, chronicling the inabilities of the Penn State faithful to accept that their heroes — especially head coach Joe Paterno — could have been complicit in such deeds. The scene of one loyalist ripping the sign of a lone protester outside a Paterno statue is a perfect encapsulation of how myth can triumph over cold, harsh reality.
Netflix
13. Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (2017)
Run Time: 94 min, IMDb: 7.8/10
This documentary features never-before-seen footage of Jim Carrey in character as Andy Kaufman on the set of his 1999 film Man on the Moon. Directed by Chris Smith, the film shows Carrey, who was a celebrated comedic actor at the time, going method for his dramatic role as the brilliant on-stage comedian. There’s plenty of behind-the-scenes drama on this one, including Carrey’s backstage antics while shooting the movie, but what’s really interesting about the film is watching the actor’s thorough process and how he’s approached his colorful careers.
Netflix
14. Take Your Pills (2018)
Run Time: 87 min, IMDb: 6.4/10
Adderall and other stimulants are nothing new in this day and age, but how did they become so wildly available? And what long-term effects do they have? Take Your Pills examines their history, dating all the way back to 1937 up to now when they’re even more common among performance-driven adults than young people who actually need them. Peppered with pop culture references and imaginative art, it’s an intriguing and thought-provoking documentary.
Magnolia Pictures
15. Blackfish (2013)
Run Time: 83 min, IMDb: 8.1/10
The film that turned the tide of public opinion on Sea World and convinced Pixar to change the ending of Finding Dory, Gabriela Cowperthwaite’s animal rights muckraker is more than just 83 minutes of theme park shaming. In telling the story of Tillikum, the psychologically damaged orca who spent his life in captivity and was involved in the deaths of three people, the movie is an elegy for the freedoms that marine creatures like him were once able to enjoy. Is there an ethical way to view creatures like Tillikum up close and personal, and if so, should we trust a private company to deliver it to us?
Berta
16. India’s Daughter (2015)
Run Time: 63 min, IMDb: 8.2/10
Calling Leslee Udwin’s searing account of the gang rape and murder of a Delhi medical student “true crime” is really a vast understatement — plus, the film isn’t about the investigation. However, it is indeed necessary to view something this horrific as a crime, one perpetuated not just by the brutes on the bus but also by the culture of India itself against its vulnerable female population. At only an hour long, and also including an infuriating interview with one of the convicted men from prison, India’s Daughter packs in more righteous anger than is probably healthy. Watch it when your stomach is steeled enough.
Magnolia
17. Best Of Enemies (2015)
Run Time: 87 min, IMDb: 7.6/10
Maybe you’re watching our current political nightmare unfold on TV and asking yourself how things ever got this bad — how showmanship and bluster won out over substantive debate. For the answer, there’s Morgan Neville and Robert Gordon’s briskly entertaining account of televised punditry during the 1968 presidential conventions. That year, a down-in-the-ratings ABC pitted National Review founder William F. Buckley, Jr. against the transgressive gay writer Gore Vidal, and the two promptly went for the jugular. The mudslinging and sustained character attacks that followed would set the tone for the next five decades of political dialogue in this country, leading right to… well, you know.
Netflix
18. What Happened, Miss Simone? (2015)
Run Time: 101 min, IMDb: 7.6/10
The alternately revolutionary and dispiriting saga of a combative, unapologetic and astoundingly gifted soul singer, Liz Garbus’s doc is a powerful rendering of the struggles Nina Simone faced throughout her career: the ways she became trapped in downward spirals, first of spousal abuse and then of bipolar disorder; and of her desperate, all-consuming urge to affect change on the country during the Civil Rights era. What happened? Watch for yourself.
Sundance
19. Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (2012)
Run Time: 91 min, IMDb: 7.6/10
Part one of the fascinating yet completely unintentional Ai Weiwei documentary saga is Alison Klayman’s thrilling biography of the Chinese dissident artist and political provocateur. Klayman had the good fortune to catch Ai during his period of greatest freedom, as the globetrotter defaces symbols of Chinese heritage and outwardly challenges the government on social media. Never Sorry is a profile of the artist as the people’s hero, and a swift rejoinder to those who find the art world “boring.” And all would seem to be well for the cause of the lone voice against the regime, at least until the events in the doc’s follow-up, Ai Weiwei: The Fake Case.
Netflix
20. The Bleeding Edge (2018)
Run Time: 99 min, IMDb: 8/10
Warning: Netflix’s latest documentary The Bleeding Edge will seriously piss you off. It might also make you swear off doctors for the rest of your life. The film is a deep dive into the medical device industry and the dangers that lurk there for unassuming patients. Like the pharmaceutical industry, there are few laws regulating the creation and implementation of medical devices — think everything from birth control to orthopedic instruments — and the doc shows how this is negatively affecting millions of Americans every year from the women unknowingly sterilized by an IUD device to a doctor whose own ortho-device slowly poisoned him. It’s a frustrating watch, but a necessary one.
Recent Changes For July 2018:
Removed: The Trials of Muhammad Ali, The Irish Pub
Added: Casting JonBenet, The Bleeding Edge
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