Genre

Documentary movies

Browse documentary movies by rating, decade and country, and see which are on Netflix where you live.

A Trip to Infinity

7.12022MovieDocumentary

Does infinity exist? Can we experience the Infinite? In an animated film (created by artists from 10 countries) the world's most cutting-edge scientists and mathematicians go in search of the infinite and its mind-bending implications for the universe. Eminent mathematicians, particle physicists and cosmologists dive into infinity and its mind-bending implications for the universe.

Carl Sagan: We Are Made of Star Stuff

–2027MovieDocumentary

An intimate and cinematic portrait of astronomer and planetary scientist Carl Sagan.

Birth of a Nation

7.01997MovieDocumentary

Jonas Mekas assembles 160 portraits, appearances, and fleeting sketches of underground and independent filmmakers captured between 1955 and 1996. Fast-paced and archival in spirit, the film celebrates the avant-garde as its own “nation of cinema,” a vital community existing outside the dominance of commercial film.

Wild Life

7.12023MovieDocumentary

From Oscar-winning filmmakers Chai Vasarhelyi and Jimmy Chin, "Wild Life" follows conservationist Kris Tompkins on an epic, decades-spanning love story as wild as the landscapes she dedicated her life to protecting. After falling in love in mid-life, Kris and the outdoorsman and entrepreneur Doug Tompkins left behind the world of the massively successful outdoor brands they'd helped pioneer like Patagonia, The North Face, and Esprit, and turned their attention to a visionary effort to create National Parks throughout Chile and Argentina. "Wild Life" chronicles the highs and lows of their journey to effect the largest private land donation in history.

The War Room

6.81993MovieDocumentary · History

A behind-the-scenes documentary about the Clinton for President campaign, focusing on the adventures of spin doctors James Carville and George Stephanopoulos.

My Generation

7.02017MovieDocumentary · Music

The vivid and inspiring story of British film icon Michael Caine's personal journey through 1960s swinging London.

Tab Hunter Confidential

7.22015MovieDocumentary

Throughout the 1950s, Tab Hunter reigned as Hollywood’s ultimate male heartthrob. But throughout his years of stardom, Tab had a secret. Tab Hunter was gay, and spent his Hollywood years in a precarious closet that repeatedly threatened to implode and destroy him. Tab Hunter himself shares first hand, for the first time, what it was like to be a studio manufactured movie star during the Golden Age of Hollywood and the consequences of being someone totally different from his studio manufactured image.

David Blaine: The Magic Way

6.62020MovieDocumentary

Magician David Blaine performs reality-defying magical acts; featured celebrities include Odell Beckham Jr., Emily Blunt, John Krasinski, Tom Brady, Gisele Bündchen, Dave Chappelle, James Corden, Bryan Cranston, David Dobrik, Dr. Dre and Jamie Foxx.

Asbury Park: Riot, Redemption, Rock & Roll

6.32019MovieDocumentary

The story of the long troubled town of Asbury Park, and how the power of music can unite a divided community. A once storied seaside resort, Asbury Park erupted in flames during a summer of civil unrest, crippling the town for the next 45 years and reducing it to a state of urban blight. A town literally divided by a set of railroad tracks, the riot destroyed the fabled Westside jazz and blues scene, but from the flames of the burning city emerged the iconic Jersey sound.

We Had a Plan

–2026MovieDocumentary

Paul and Daniel, a gay couple who spent ten years working illegally as cleaners in the Netherlands, return to the Philippines as a success story. But before long their plans begin to unravel, and they face a difficult choice. A love story.

Sharks Up Close with Bertie Gregory

6.92025MovieDocumentary · TV Movie

Bertie heads to South Africa for his most audacious mission yet. The wild waters here are a hotspot for one of the ocean’s most famous and feared predators, the great white shark. Diving in the shallows without a cage, Bertie will attempt to film these huge sharks. By entering their domain, he discovers the challenges they face on our rapidly changing planet.

Daughters

7.02024MovieDocumentary

Four young girls prepare for a special Daddy Daughter Dance with their incarcerated fathers, as part of a unique fatherhood program in a Washington, D.C., jail.

Beware the Slenderman

6.52016MovieDocumentary · Crime

In this horrifyingly modern fairytale lurks an online Boogeyman and two 12-year-old girls who would kill for him. The entrance to the internet quickly leads to its darkest basement. How responsible are our children for what they find there?

Fans Only: The Human Side of Porn

10.02025MovieDocumentary

In an access-all-areas journey through the adult film industry, Joel Van der Molen teams up with porn legend Tommy Gunn to challenge stereotypes, uncover personal stories, and explore the human side of a misunderstood world.

Finding Harmony: A King's Vision

8.82026MovieDocumentary

In an unprecedented portrait of King Charles III, Finding Harmony: A King's Vision provides intimate insight into His Majesty's passionate quest to reunite humanity with nature. Academy Award-winner Kate Winslet narrates this journey through The King's Foundation's vital work.

The Hour of the Furnaces

6.91968MovieDocumentary

An impassioned three-part documentary of the liberation struggle waged throughout Latin America, using Argentina as a historical example of the imperialist exploitation of the continent. Part I: Neo-Colonialism and Violence is a historical, geographic, and economic analysis of Argentina. Part II: An Act For Liberation examines the ten-year reign of Juan Perón (1945-55) and the activities of the Peronist movement after his fall from power. Part III: Violence and Liberation studies the role of violence in the national liberation process and constitutes a call for action.