Documentary backdrop

Documentary movies

Fascinating real-life stories, historical accounts, and educational deep dives that reveal the truth about our world.

Subgenres include: True Crime Documentary, Biographical Documentary, Social & Political Documentary.

Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

251. Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey

Documentary
7.6

20111h 20min

Director: Constance Marks

Beloved by children of all ages around the world, Elmo is an international icon. Few people know his creator, Kevin Clash, who dreamed of working with his idol, master puppeteer Jim Henson. Displaying his creativity and talent at a young age, Kevin ultimately found a home on Sesame Street. Narrated by Whoopi Goldberg, this documentary includes rare archival footage, interviews with Frank Oz, Rosie O’Donnell, Cheryl Henson, Joan Ganz Cooney and others and offers a behind-the-scenes look at Sesame Street and the Jim Henson Workshop.


Samsara

252. Samsara

Documentary Nature & Wildlife Documentary
8.4

20111h 42min

Brazil, China

Director: Ron Fricke

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.

Themes

Humanity's spirituality, Balance between mundane and miraculous, Global daily-life exposure, Sacred versus industrial landscapes, Transient beauty and endurance, Poetic documentary style

Available on

Amazon Video
Apple TV
Kanopy
Data provided by JustWatch.Availability may vary by region.

Buck

253. Buck

Documentary
7.6

20111h 29min

Director: Cindy Meehl

An examination of the life of acclaimed 'horse whisperer' Buck Brannaman, who recovered from years of child abuse to become a well-known expert in the interactions between horses and people.


Bully

254. Bully

Documentary Drama
7.3

20111h 32min

Director: Lee Hirsch

This year, over 5 million American kids will be bullied at school, online, on the bus, at home, through their cell phones and on the streets of their towns, making it the most common form of violence young people in this country experience. The Bully Project is the first feature documentary film to show how we've all been affected by bullying, whether we've been victims, perpetrators or stood silent witness. The world we inhabit as adults begins on the playground. The Bully Project opens on the first day of school. For the more than 5 million kids who'll be bullied this year in the United States, it's a day filled with more anxiety and foreboding than excitement. As the sun rises and school busses across the country overflow with backpacks, brass instruments and the rambunctious sounds of raging hormones, this is a ride into the unknown.


TT3D: Closer to the Edge

255. TT3D: Closer to the Edge

Documentary
7.9

20111h 44min

Director: Richard De Aragues

By vividly recounting the TT's legendary rivalries and the Isle of Man's unique road racing history, this 3D feature documentary discovers why modern TT riders still risk their lives to win the world's most dangerous race. The Isle of Man Tourist Trophy is the greatest motorcycle road race in the world, the ultimate challenge for rider and machine. It has always called for a commitment far beyond any other racing event, and many have made the ultimate sacrifice in their quest for victory. A story about freedom of choice, the strength of human spirit and the will to win. It's also an examination of what motivates those rare few, this elite band of brothers who risk everything to win.


African Cats

256. African Cats

Documentary Adventure
7.5

20111h 29min

Director: Keith Scholey

African Cats captures the real-life love, humor and determination of the majestic kings of the savanna. The story features Mara, an endearing lion cub who strives to grow up with her mother’s strength, spirit and wisdom; Sita, a fearless cheetah and single mother of five mischievous newborns; and Fang, a proud leader of the pride who must defend his family from a once banished lion.


Bill Cunningham New York

257. Bill Cunningham New York

Documentary
7.9

20111h 25min

Director: Richard Press

Doubling as a cartography of the ever-changing city, Bill Cunningham New York portrays the secluded pioneer of street fashion with grace and heart.


Pina

258. Pina

Documentary
7.6

20111h 46min

Director: Wim Wenders

Pina is a feature-length dance film in 3D with the ensemble of the Tanztheater Wuppertal Pina Bausch, featuring the unique and inspiring art of the great German choreographer, who died in the summer of 2009.


The Light Bulb Conspiracy

259. The Light Bulb Conspiracy

Documentary
8.0

20101h 15min

Director: Cosima Dannoritzer

Once upon a time... consumer goods were built to last. Then, in the 1920’s, a group of businessmen realized that the longer their product lasted, the less money they made, thus Planned Obsolescence was born, and manufacturers have been engineering products to fail ever since. Combining investigative research and rare archive footage with analysis by those working on ways to save both the economy and the environment, this documentary charts the creation of ‘engineering to fail’, its rise to prominence and its recent fall from grace.


Into Eternity: A Film for the Future

260. Into Eternity: A Film for the Future

Documentary
7.3

20101h 15min

Director: Michael Madsen

Every day, the world over, large amounts of high-level radioactive waste created by nuclear power plants is placed in interim storage, which is vulnerable to natural disasters, man-made disasters, and to societal changes. In Finland the world’s first permanent repository is being hewn out of solid rock – a huge system of underground tunnels - that must last 100,000 years as this is how long the waste remains hazardous.