Documentary Movies itself is a very broad genre.So its hard to choose best documentary movies. The Documentary movies were introduced in the early half of 19th century. Documentary was a whole new and fresh idea which usually had several definitions. Some called it a Factual film that also have drama in it, while others called it “Life as it is” films. The idea of documentary was to catch real actions of real people on camera thus making it much more realistic than the non fictional films. In most of the documentary movies the characters are played by the actual people who are being documented.
Though the genre documentary evolved in the silent era of the movies but its was not popular until the 00s decade. It was because in the early days of documentary they were made on film stock, that was not a popular method. Plus documentary movies didn’t had widespread appeal in the early days. However from past 20 years Documentary have made there own place in the film industry and they are being awarded and praised by critics and fans alike. Infact some of the highest rated films on several popular sites such as IMDB and Rotten tomatoes are Documentary films.
It was because when the century turned people become more aware or say about the increasing pollution, global warming and green environment. Film industry helped in increasing awareness and more documentary movies were made. This resulted in a huge fan base of documentary movies and film makers made documentary movies on other topics as well that were well received.
Here is a List of 100 Most popular documentary films ranging from the old documentary movies to the latest and most recent documentary movies.
Contents
100. Tupac: Resurrection
Director – Lauren Lazin
Cast – Tupac Shakur
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 78%
Release Date – 14 November 2003
Box Office – $7,808,524
Genre – Documentary, Biography, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
99. The Aristocrats
Director – Paul Provenza
Cast – Hank Azaria, Jason Alexander, Lewis Black, Chris Albrecht, Steven Banks, Shelley Berman
IMDB Rating – 6.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 79%
Release Date – 12 August 2005
Box Office – $6.4 million
Genre – Documentary, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –
98. The Bridge
Director – Eric Steel
Cast – Gene Sprague, Eric Geleynse, Susan Ginwalla, Caroline Pressley, Chris Brown, Rachel Marker
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 67%
Release Date – 27 October 2006
Box Office – $205,724
Genre – Documentary, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –
97. Block Party
Director – Michel Gondry
Cast – Talib Kweli, The Fugees, Kanye West, Common, Mos Def, Dead Prez
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
Release Date – 3 March 2006
Box Office – $12.1 million
Genre – Documentary, Comedy, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
96. The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
Director – Morgan Spurlock
Cast – J.J. Abrams, Jimmy Kimmel, Morgan Spurlock
IMDB Rating – 6.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 74%
Release Date – 22 April 2011
Box Office – $700,000
Genre – Documentary, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –
95. The Queen of Versailles
Director – Lauren Greenfield
Cast – David A. Siegel, Jackie Siegel
IMDB Rating – 7.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 6 July 2012
Box Office – $2,401,999
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
94. Cave of the Forgotten Dreams
Director – Werner Herzog
Cast – Gilles Tosello, Werner Herzog, Jean-Michel Geneste, Julien Monney, Jean Clottes
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 96%
Release Date – 25 March 2011
Box Office – $6,467,348
Genre – Documentary, History
Awards – None
Plot –
93. C0caine Cowboys
Director – Billy Corben
Cast – Jorge “Rivi” Ayala, Mickey Munday, Jon Roberts
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 69%
Release Date – 27 October 2006
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Crime, History
Awards – None
Plot –
92. Gasland
Director – Josh Fox
Cast – Aubrey K. McClendon, Richard Nixon, Josh Fox, Pete Seeger, Dick Cheney, Jean Carter
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 15 September 2010
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
91. Marley
Director – Kevin Macdonald
Cast – Bob Marley
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 18 April 2012
Box Office – $1,412,124
Genre – Documentary, Biography, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
90. Into the Abyss
Director – Werner Herzog
Cast – Michael Perry, Werner Herzog, Jason Burkett
IMDB Rating – 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
Release Date – 11 November 2011
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Crime, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –
89. Side By Side
Director – Christopher Kenneally
Cast – David Lynch, Martin Scorsese, James Cameron, Robert Rodriguez, David Fincher
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 93%
Release Date – 17 August 2012
Box Office – $67,054
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
88. It Might Get Loud
Director – Davis Guggenheim
Cast – The Edge, Jack White, Jimmy Page
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 80%
Release Date – 14 August 2009
Box Office – $1,807,506
Genre – Documentary, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
87. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
Director – Alex Gibney
Cast – Kenneth Lay, Andrew Fastow, Gray Davis, Jeffrey Skilling
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 97%
Release Date – 22 April 2005
Box Office – $4.9 million
Genre – Documentary, Biography, History
Awards – None
Plot –
86. Lost in La Mancha
Director – Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe
Cast – Jean Rochefort, Johnny Depp, Terry Gilliam
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 2 August 2002
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
85. Dog Town and Z Boys
Director – Stacy Peralta
Cast – Bob Biniak, Tony Alva, Skip Engblom, Chris Cahill, Jay Adams, Paul Constantineau, Peggy Oki, Jeff Ho, Skip Engblom, Stacy Peralta
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
Release Date – 19 January 2001
Box Office – $400,000
Genre – Documentary, Sport
Awards – None
Plot –
84. Microcosmos
Director – Claude Nuridsany, Marie Pérennou
Cast – Kristin Scott Thomas, Jacques Perrin
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 97%
Release Date – 6 September 1996
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
83. Sound City
Director – Dave Grohl
Cast – Joe Barresi, James Brown, Mike Campbell, Vinny Appice, Brian Bell, Lindsey Buckingham
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 31 January 2013
Box Office – $521,181
Genre – Documentary, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
82. Shine a Light
Director – Martin Scorsese
Cast – Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 85%
Release Date – 7 February 2008
Box Office – $15,773,351
Genre – Documentary, Biography, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
81. TPB AFK: The Pirate Bay Away from Keyboard
Director – Simon Klose
Cast – Peter Sunde, Fredrik Neij, Gottfrid Svartholm
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 68%
Release Date – 8 February 2013
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
80. Pina
Director – Wim Wenders
Cast – Pina Bausch
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 21 February 2011
Box Office – $14.6 million
Genre – Documentary, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
79. Triumph of the Will
Director – Leni Riefenstahl
Cast – Heinrich Himmler, Nazi Leaders, Adolf Hitler, Viktor Lutze
IMDB Rating – 7.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 87%
Release Date – 28 March 1935
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, History, War
Awards – None
Plot –
78. Murder Ball
Director – Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro
Cast – Christopher Igoe, Andy Cohn, Bob Lujano, Keith Cavill, Scott Hogsett, Mark Zupan
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 8 July 2005
Box Office – $1,750,211
Genre – Documentary, Sport
Awards – None
Plot –
77. Metal: A Headbanger’s Journey
Director – Sam Dunn, Jessica Joy Wise
Cast – Sam Dunn
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date – 14 April 2006
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
76. Why We Fight
Director – Eugene Jarecki
Cast – George Bush, Ken Adelman, John Ashcroft, Frank Capra, Joseph Cirincione, Robert Byrd
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 79%
Release Date – 20 January 2006
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, History, War
Awards – None
Plot –
75. Waiting for ‘Superman’
Director – Davis Guggenheim
Cast – Geoffrey Canada
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date – 24 September 2010
Box Office – $6.4 million
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
74. Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures
Director – Jan Harlan
Cast – Barbara Kroner, Stanley Kubrick, Irene Kane, Steven Marcus, Paul Mazursky, Alexander Singer
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 86%
Release Date – 30 August 2001
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Biography
Awards – None
Plot –
73. Stop Making Sense
Director – Jonathan Demme
Cast – Steven Scales, Alex Weir, Tina Weymouth, Bernie Worrell, Jerry Harrison, Lynn Mabry, Ednah Holt
IMDB Rating – 8.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 97%
Release Date – 18 October 1984
Box Office – $5.1 million
Genre – Documentary, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
72. Indie Game: The Movie
Director – Lisanne Pajot, James Swirsky
Cast – Phil Fish, Edmund McMillen, Jonathan Blow, Tommy Refenes
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 18 May 2012
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –
71. Bigger Stronger Faster*
Director – Christopher Bell
Cast – Lyle Alzado, Ben Aukes, Mark Bell, Hank Aaron, Joshua Amsden, Kelly Beecher
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 96%
Release Date – 30 May 2008
Box Office – $308,575
Genre – Documentary, Sport
Awards – None
Plot –
70. Tyson
Director – James Toback
Cast – Mike Tyson
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 85%
Release Date – 27 March 2009
Box Office – $942,049
Genre – Documentary, Biography, Sport
Awards – None
Plot –
69. Pumping Iron
Director – George Butler, Robert Fiore
Cast – Lou Ferrigno, Mike Katz, Ed Corney, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Franco Columbu, Ken Waller
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 18 January 1977
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Sport
Awards – None
Plot –
68. F For Fake
Director – Orson Welles
Cast – Elmyr de Hory, Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, Edith Irving, Clifford Irving
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 88%
Release Date – 14 December 1973
Box Office – $182,857
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
67. Blackfish
Director – Gabriela Cowperthwaite
Cast – Kim Ashdown, John Hargrove, Tilikum, Shamu, Samantha Berg, Mark Simmons
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 19 July 2013
Box Office – $2.3 million
Genre – Documentary, News
Awards – None
Plot –
66. Penn & Teller: Bull$hit
Director – Arthur Penn
Cast – Teller, David Patrick Kelly, Celia McGuire, Penn Jillette, John Miller, Caitlin Clarke
IMDB Rating – 5.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 25%
Release Date – 22 September 1989
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Awards – None
Plot –
65. Monty Python Live at the Hollywood Bowl
Director – Ian MacNaughton, Terry Hughes
Cast – Carol Cleveland, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Graham Chapman, Terry Gilliam, Michael Palin
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
Release Date – 1 January 1982
Box Office – $327,958
Genre – Documentary, Comedy, Musical
Awards – None
Plot –
64. The Road to Guantanamo
Director – Michael Winterbottom, Mat Whitecross
Cast – Farhad Harun, Arfan Usman, Riz Ahmed
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 86%
Release Date – 9 March 2006
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Drama, War
Awards – None
Plot –
63. Winged Migration
Director – Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats
Cast – Jacques Perrin, Philippe Labro
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 12 December 2001
Box Office – $52.8 million
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
62. Who Killed the Electric Car
Director – Chris Paine
Cast – Mel Gibson, Joseph J. Romm, Tom Hanks, Phyllis Diller, Ralph Nader, Chelsea Sexton
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 89%
Release Date – 28 June 2006
Box Office – $1,764,304
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
61. Spellbound
Director – Jeffrey Blitz
Cast – April DeGideo , Angela Arenivar, Nupur Lala, Harry Altman, Ted Brigham
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 97%
Release Date – 30 April 2003
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Comedy, Thriller
Awards – None
Plot –
60. Encounters at the End of the World
Director – Werner Herzog
Cast – Scott Rowland, Doug MacAyeal, Kevin Emery, Regina Eisert, Werner Herzog, Stefan Pashov, Ryan Andrew Evans
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 11 June 2008
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
59. Woodstock
Director – Michael Wadleigh
Cast – The Who, Joan Baez, Arlo Guthrie, Richie Havens, Sha-Na-Na, Joe Cocker
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 26 March 1970
Box Office – $50 million
Genre – Documentary, History, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
Director – Wim Wenders
Cast – Angel Terry Domech, Joachim Cooder, Ibrahim Ferrer Jr, Octavio Calderon, Ry Cooder, Manuel Galbán
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 91%
Release Date – 7 May 1999
Box Office – $23 million
Genre – Documentary, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
57. No end In sight
Director – Charles Ferguson
Cast – Gerld Burke, Campbell Scott, Robert Hutchings, Marc Garlasco, Ali Fadhil, Omar Fekeiki
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 96%
Release Date – 27 July 2007
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, War
Awards – None
Plot –
56. Life in a Day
Director – Kevin Macdonald, Loressa Clisby
Cast – Ester Brym, Cindy Baer, Hiroaki Aikawa, Teagan Bentley, Jesse Brisendine, Cristina Bocchialini
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 81%
Release Date – 2 June 2011
Box Office – $252,788
Genre – Documentary, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –
55. Crumb
Director – Terry Zwigoff
Cast – Charles Crumb, Robert Crumb, Jack Harrington, Aline Kominsky-Crumb
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 21 April 1995
Box Office – $3,174,695
Genre – Documentary, Biography, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –
54. Anvil: The Story Of Anvil
Director – Sacha Gervasi
Cast – Tom Araya, Lemmy, Slash, Scott Ian, Lars Ulrich, Malcolm Dome
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 20 February 2009
Box Office – $951,380
Genre – Documentary, Biography, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –
53. Paradise Lose: The Child Murderers of Robin Hood Hills
Director – Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
Cast – Damien Echols, Jessie Misskelley Jr., Jason Baldwin
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 10 June 1996
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Crime, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –
52. Earthlings
Director – Shaun Monson
Cast – Joaquin Phoenix
IMDB Rating – 8.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
Release Date – 24 September 2005
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
51. No Direction Home: Bob Dylan
Director – Martin Scorsese
Cast – Anthony Glover, Dick Kangas, Bob Dylan, Paul Nelson, Liam Clancy, B.J. Rolfzen
IMDB Rating – 8.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 88%
Release Date – 3 September 2005
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Biography
Awards – None
Plot –
50. When We Were Kings
Director – Leon Gast
Cast – James Brown, George Foreman, Norman Mailer, Muhammad Ali, B.B. King, George Plimpton
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – October 25, 1996
Box Office – $2,789,985
Genre – Documentary, Sport
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –
49. The Last Waltz
Director – Martin Scorsese
Cast – Levon Helm, Garth Hudson, Rick Danko, Richard Manuel
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 26 April 1978
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Biography, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
48. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
Director – Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
Cast – Kirk Hammett, Lars Ulrich, James Hetfield, Robert Trujillo
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 89%
Release Date – 19 May 2004
Box Office – $2,009,087
Genre – Documentary, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
47. American Movie
Director – Chris Smith
Cast – Chris Borchardt, Monica Borchardt, Mark Borchardt, Tom Schimmels, Alex Borchardt, Ken Keen
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 5 November 1999
Box Office – $1.2 million
Genre – Documentary, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –
46. Eddie Murphy Delirious
Director – Bruce Gowers
Cast – Eddie Murphy
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 83%
Release Date – 30 August 1983
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –
45. The Thin Red Line
Director – Terrence Malick
Cast – Jim Caviezel, John Cusack, Sean Penn, Ben Chaplin, John Cusack, Adrien Brody, George Clooney, Woody Harrelson
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 80%
Release Date – 22 December 1998
Box Office – $98.1 million
Genre – Drama, War
Awards – None
Plot –
44. Night and Fog
Director – Alain Resnais
Cast – Reinhard Heydrich, Michel Bouquet, Heinrich Himmler, Julius Streicher, Adolf Hitler
IMDB Rating – 8.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 1955
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Short, History
Awards – None
Plot –
43. Samsara
Director – Ron Fricke
Cast – Ni Made Megahadi Pratiwi Putu Dinda Pratika, Marcos Luna, Balinese Tari Legong Dancers, Puti Sri Candra Dewi
IMDB Rating – 8.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 76%
Release Date – 3 August 2012
Box Office – $6 million
Genre – Documentary, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
42. Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse
Director – Eleanor Coppola, George Hickenlooper
Cast – Robert Duvall, Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Eleanor Coppola, Dennis Hopper
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 7 November 1991
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
41. Man With a Movie Camera
Director – Dziga Vertov
Cast – Mikhail Kaufman
IMDB Rating – 8.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 97%
Release Date – 8 January 1929
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Musi
Awards – None
Plot –
40. Jackass Series
Director – Jeff Tremaine
Cast – Steve-O, Jason “Wee Man” Acuña, Johnny Knoxville, Ryan Dunn, Bam Margera, Chris Pontius
IMDB Rating – 6.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 49%
Release Date – 25 October 2002
Box Office – $79.5 million
Genre – Documentary, Action, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –
39. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about His Father
Director – Kurt Kuenne
Cast – David Bagby, Kurt Kuenne, Shirley Turner, Andrew Bagby, Kathleen Bagby
IMDB Rating – 8.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 31 October 2008
Box Office – $18,334
Genre – Documentary, Biography, Crime
Awards – None
Plot –
38. Catfish
Director – Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost
Cast – Henry Joost, Nev Schulman, Ariel Schulman
IMDB Rating – 7.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 80%
Release Date – 17 September 2010
Box Office – $3.5 million
Genre – Documentary, Drama, Mystery
Awards – None
Plot –
37. Restrepo
Director – Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger
Cast – Aron Hijar, LaMonta Caldwell, Dan Kearney, Juan ‘Doc Restrepo, Misha Pemble-Belkin
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 96%
Release Date – 25 June 2010
Box Office – $1,436,391
Genre – Documentary, War
Awards – None
Plot –
36. Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Director – Independent Lens
Cast – Jiro Ono
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 99%
Release Date – 9 March 2012
Box Office – $2,552,478
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
35. Jesus Camp
Director – Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady
Cast – Mike Papantonio, Becky Fischer
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 87%
Release Date – 15 September 2006
Box Office – $1,013,596
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
34. Roger& Me
Director – Michael Moore
Cast – Rhonda Britton, Roger B. Smith, Ronald Reagan, Michael Moore, Janet Rauch, Fred Ross, Bob Eubanks
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 20 December 1989
Box Office – $7.7 million
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
33. The Imposter
Director – Bart Layton
Cast – Carey Gibson, Frédéric Bourdin, Nicholas Barclay, Beverly Dollarhide, Bryan Gibson, Nancy Fisher
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 13 July 2012
Box Office – $2 million
Genre – Documentary, Biography, Crime
Awards – None
Plot –
32. Eddie Murphy Raw
Director – Robert Townsend
Cast – Eddie Murphy
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 81%
Release Date – 25 November 1987
Box Office – $50.5 million
Genre – Documentary, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –
31. This Is It
Director – Kenny Ortega
Cast – Michael Jackson
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 81%
Release Date – 28 October 2009
Box Office – $261.2 million
Genre – Documentary, Drama, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
30. Capitalism: A Love Story
Director – Michael Moore
Cast – Elijah Cummings, Jimmy Carter, Marcy Kaptur, William Black, Baron Hill, Marcus Haupt
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 75%
Release Date – 2 October 2009
Box Office – $17.4 million
Genre – Documentary, Crime, News
Awards – None
Plot –
29. Capturing the Friedmans
Director – Andrew Jarecki
Cast – David Friedman, Arnold Friedman, Jesse Friedman, Elaine Friedman
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 97%
Release Date – 30 May 2003
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Biography
Awards – None
Plot –
28. The Corporation
Director – Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott
Cast – Christopher Gora, Mikela Jay, Richard Kopycinski, Rob Beckwermert, Nina Jones
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date – 16 January 2004
Box Office – $4.84 million
Genre – Documentary, History
Awards – None
Plot –
27. Hoop Dreams
Director – Steve James
Cast – Arthur Agee, William Gates
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 14 October 1994
Box Office – $11.8 million
Genre – Documentary, Drama, Sport
Awards – None
Plot –
26. An Idiot Abroad
Director – Luke Campbell, Richard Yee, Jamie Jay Johnson, Krishnendu Majumdar
Cast – Stephen Merchant, Ricky Gervais, Karl Pilkington
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 77%
Release Date – 23 September 2010
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Adventure, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –
25. The Film is Not Rated Yet
Director – Kirby Dick
Cast – Jack Valenti, Alison Anders, Becky Altringer, Kirby Dick, Kimberly Peirce, John Waters
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 84%
Release Date – 1 September 2006
Box Office – $339,609
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
24. Touching the Void
Director – Kevin Macdonald
Cast – Ollie Ryall, Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 5 September 2003
Box Office – $13,885,802
Genre – Documentary, Adventure, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –
23. Home
Director – Yann Arthus-Bertrand
Cast – Glenn Close, Jacques Gamblin, Yann Arthus-Bertrand
IMDB Rating – 8.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 3 June 2009
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, Drama, Family
Awards – None
Plot –
22. March of the Penguins
Director – Luc Jacquet
Cast – Jules Sitruk, Charles Berling, Morgan Freeman, Romane Bohringer
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 26 January 2005
Box Office – $127.4 million
Genre – Documentary, Family
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –
21. Koyaanisqatsi
Director – Godfrey Reggio
Cast – Ted Koppel, Lou Dobbs, Marilyn Chambers
IMDB Rating – 8.3
Rotten Tomatoes – 90%
Release Date – 24 August 1983
Box Office – $3.2 million
Genre – Documentary, Music
Awards – None
Plot –
20. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
Director – Seth Gordon
Cast – Brian Kuh, Billy Mitchell, Walter Day, Steve Wiebe, Steve Sanders, Todd Rogers
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 97%
Release Date – 17 August 2007
Box Office – $790,128
Genre – Documentary, Biography
Awards – None
Plot –
19. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons From the Life of Robert S. McNamara
Director – Errol Morris
Cast – Robert McNamara
IMDB Rating – 8.1
Rotten Tomatoes – 96%
Release Date – 19 December 2003
Box Office –$5 million
Genre – Documentary, Biography, History
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –
18. Baraka
Director – Ron Fricke
Cast – N/A
IMDB Rating – 8.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 81%
Release Date – 16 July 1993
Box Office – $1.3 million
Genre – Documentary
Awards – None
Plot –
17. Waltz With Bashir
Director – Ari Folman
Cast – Ari Folman
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 96%
Release Date – 15 May 2008
Box Office – $11,125,849
Genre – Documentary, Animation, Biography
Awards – None
Plot –
16. Grizzly Man
Director – Werner Herzog
Cast – Werner Herzog, Timothy Treadwell
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
Release Date – 12 August 2005
Box Office – $4.1 million
Genre – Documentary, Biography
Awards – None
Plot –
15. The Cove
Director – Louie Psihoyos
Cast – Hayden Panettiere, Hardy Jones, Ric O’Barry, Scott Baker, Isabel Lucas
IMDB Rating – 8.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 31 July 2009
Box Office – $1,140,043
Genre – Documentary, Crime
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –
14. Food Inc.
Director – Robert Kenner
Cast – Michael Pollan, Eric Schlosser
IMDB Rating – 7.8
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 4 June 2009
Box Office – $4.6 million
Genre – Documentary, News
Awards – None
Plot –
13. Exit through the Gift Shop
Director – Banksy
Cast – Invader, Mr. Brainwash, Shepard Fairey, Banksy
IMDB Rating – 8
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 5 March 2010
Box Office – $5,308,618
Genre – Documentary, Comedy, Crime
Awards – None
Plot –
12. Man On Wire
Director – James Marsh
Cast – Philippe Petit
IMDB Rating – 7.7
Rotten Tomatoes – 100%
Release Date – 25 July 2008
Box Office – $5.3 million
Genre – Documentary, Biography, History
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –
11. Searching for the Sugar Man
Director – Malik Bendjelloul
Cast – Sixto Rodriguez
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 94%
Release Date – 26 July 2012
Box Office – $9.1 million
Genre – Documentary, Biography, Music
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –
10. Zeitgeist
Director – Peter Joseph
Cast – Jordan Maxwell, David Ray Griffin, Chogyam Trungpa, George Carlin, Bill Hicks
IMDB Rating – 3.9
Rotten Tomatoes –
Release Date – 18 June 2007
Box Office – $ 1 million
Genre – Documentary, History
Awards – None
Plot –
9. Religulos
Director – Larry Charles
Cast – Bill Maher
IMDB Rating – 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 69%
Release Date – 1 October 2008
Box Office – $13.9 million
Genre – Documentary, Comedy, War
Awards – None
Plot –
8. Inside Job
Director – Charles Ferguson
Cast – Andri Snær Magnason, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, Matt Damon, Paul Volcker, Gylfi Zoega
IMDB Rating – 8.2
Rotten Tomatoes – 98%
Release Date – 8 October 2010
Box Office – $7.9 million
Genre – Documentary, Crime
Awards – Won 1 Oscar.
Plot –
7. Fahrenheit 9/11
Director – Michael Moore
Cast – George W. Bush, Britney Spears, Michael Moore, Donald Rumsfeld
IMDB Rating – 7.5
Rotten Tomatoes – 82%
Release Date – 23 June 2004
Box Office – $222.4 million
Genre – Documentary, Drama, War
Awards – None
Plot –
6. An Inconvenient Truth
Director – Davis Guggenheim
Cast – Al Gore
IMDB Rating – 7.4
Rotten Tomatoes – 93%
Release Date – 24 May 2006
Box Office – $49.8 million
Genre – Documentary, News
Awards – Won 2 Oscars
Plot –
5. Super Size Me
Director – Morgan Spurlock
Cast – Alexandra Jamieson, Morgan Spurlock
IMDB Rating – 7.2
Rotten Tomatoes –
Release Date – 7 May 2004
Box Office – $22.2 million
Genre – Documentary, Comedy, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –
4. Sicko
Director – Michael Moore
Cast – Michael Moore
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes –
Release Date – 8 June 2007
Box Office – $36 million
Genre – Documentary, Drama
Awards – None
Plot –
3. Senna
Director – Asif Kapadia
Cast – Frank Williams, Ayrton Senna, Ron Dennis, Alain Prost
IMDB Rating – 8.6
Rotten Tomatoes – 92%
Release Date – 7 October 2010
Box Office – $10.9 million
Genre – Documentary, Biography, Sport
Awards – None
Plot –
2. CM101MMXI Fundamentals
Director – Murat Dündar
Cast – Cem Yılmaz
IMDB Rating – 9.2
Rotten Tomatoes –
Release Date – 3 January 2013
Box Office – $21.074.048,58
Genre – Documentary, Comedy
Awards – None
Plot –
1. Bowling for Columbine
Director – Michael Moore
Cast – Jacobo Arbenz, Salvador Allende, Michael Moore, Arthur A. Busch, Mike Bradley
IMDB Rating – 7.9
Rotten Tomatoes – 95%
Release Date – 21 November 2002
Box Office – $58 million
Genre – Documentary, Crime, Drama
Awards – Won 1 Oscar
Plot –
This was our list of 100 awesome documentary movies. Which is your favorite documentary film? Do you like Docufiction (Fictional documentary) or mockumentary or knowledge increasing documentaries? Share your views here.
