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Documentary movies

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

7.22008MovieDocumentary · History

Director Peter Joseph examines examples of economic subjugation and offers solutions based on alignment with nature.

7.82015MovieDocumentary · History

NOVA leads viewers on a mathematical mystery tour -- a provocative exploration of math's astonishing power across the centuries. We discover math's signature in the swirl of a nautilus shell, the whirlpool of a galaxy and the spiral in the center of a sunflower. Math was essential to everything from the first wireless radio transmissions to the prediction and discovery of the Higgs boson and the successful landing of rovers on Mars. But where does math get its power? Astrophysicist and writer Mario Livio, along with a colorful cast of mathematicians, physicists and engineers, follows math from Pythagoras to Einstein and beyond, all leading to the ultimate riddle: Is math an invention or a discovery? Humankind's clever trick or the language of the universe?

6.52002MovieDocumentary

Some 220 miles above Earth lies the International Space Station, a one-of-a-kind outer space laboratory that 16 nations came together to build. Get a behind-the-scenes look at the making of this extraordinary structure in this spectacular IMAX film. Viewers will blast off from Florida's Kennedy Space Center and the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Russia for this incredible journey -- IMAX's first-ever space film. Tom Cruise narrates.

7.52025MovieDocumentary

'The Seat' is an unprecedented inside look that led to a once-in-a-generation driver change in Mercedes and F1 history. It reveals the private conversations that led the Mercedes team and Toto Wolff, its Team Principal and CEO, to its decision to promote 18-year-old Italian-born Kimi Antonelli to a Formula 1 Driver, making him the third-youngest rookie in the sport's history. The film follows Kimi, in the lead up to his first Formula 1 season as he takes on his destiny.

9.72020MovieDocumentary

Go back to the beginning of television's longest-running primetime drama with behind-the-scenes footage, memorable scenes and exclusive interviews with the actors, creators and crew members.

7.52017MovieDocumentary

A profile of Istanbul and its unique people, seen through the eyes of the most mysterious and beloved animal humans have ever known, the Cat.

7.62004MovieDocumentary · Crime

For the third time, HBO cameras go inside Trenton State Maximum Security Prison--and inside the mind of one of the most prolific killers in U.S. history--in this gripping documentary. Mafia hit man Richard Kuklinski freely admits to killing more than 100 people, but in this special, he speaks with top psychiatrist Dr. Park Dietz in an effort to face the truth about his condition. Filled with more never-before-revealed confessions, it's the most chillingly candid Iceman special yet as it combines often-confrontational interview footage between Kuklinski and Dietz with photos, crime reenactments and home movies that add new layers to this evolving and fascinating story.

6.42024MovieDocumentary

As England reach the final of the Euros at last, 6,000 ticketless football fans storm Wembley stadium, leaving destruction in their wake.

5.82012MovieDocumentary · History

"The Perfect Human Diet" is an unprecedented global exploration to find a solution to our epidemic of overweight obesity and diet-related disease - the #1 killer in America. The film bypasses current dietary group-think by exploring modern dietary science, previous historical findings, ancestral native diets and the emerging field of human dietary evolution; revealing for the first time, the authentic human diet. Film audiences finally have the opportunity to see what our species really needs for optimal health and are introduced to a practical template based on these breakthrough scientific facts.

6.92025MovieDocumentary · Music

Over six years, 18-year-old Nico Ballesteros captured an unfiltered portrait of Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, offering unprecedented access into the private and public life of one of the most controversial figures in modern culture.

8.02024MovieDocumentary

Explore the near half-century career of the legendary comic book artist and writer. Made for his fans following a near death experience, the documentary delves into Miller's radical and defining influence on art, storytelling and culture. Following his small town beginnings in Vermont, to New York City, Hollywood, and beyond; this intimate documentary delves into his failures, successes, self-destruction and re-discovery.

6.52014MovieDocumentary

How Frans Afman, a banker from the Netherlands, developed a new system for film financing, revolutionized independent filmmaking in Hollywood, but could not prevent it all from crashing down, when ambition of others turned into greed.

4.22018MovieDocumentary · History

Parallels are drawn between Abraham Lincoln's presidency and the presidency of Donald Trump. Not since 1860 have the Democrats so fanatically refused to accept the result of a free election. That year, their target was Lincoln. They smeared him. They went to war to defeat him. In the end, they assassinated him.

–1985MovieDocumentary

This documentary analyzes the life and political legacy of Puerto Rico’s first elected governor, Luis Muñoz Marín, covering his early career in the late 30’s through the 1960’s.

7.22015MovieDocumentary

The explosive trajectory and tragic demise of iconic music retailer Tower Records, and the legacy of its rebellious founder Russ Solomon. Two hundred stores in thirty countries on five continents. In 1999 it made $1 billion. In 2006 it filed for bankruptcy. What went wrong?

7.02019MovieDocumentary

An inside look at the life of Patrick Swayze as told by the people who knew him best.

7.12021MovieDocumentary · History

London, England, 2008. Some of the most distinguished experts on the work of Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) gather at the National Gallery to examine a painting known as Salvator Mundi; an event that turns out to be the first act of one of the most fascinating stories in the history of art.

7.72025MovieDocumentary · Music

Pop icon Christopher is on the brink of global stardom, but the birth of his second child challenges his priorities. Is the dream worth the cost?

6.62006MovieDocumentary

A documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.