Unlike narrative films, documentaries have the power to legitimately illuminate a subject in a straightforward way, to give us an informed opinion on something we may not have ever considered before. With hundreds of titles available, Netflix is one of the biggest depositories of documentaries around, with some of the most important titles of the last decade available with a single click.
We scoured the service for what we considered to be the best documentaries on Netflix in all manner of subject, be it true crime, movies, video games, music, comedy, food or general human interest. Take a look at the gallery below for ten most outstanding documentaries on the streaming service.
While we narrowed down our list to ten, we didn’t want to overlook some of these other titles currently available on Netflix…
For movie fans:
Lost in La Mancha, The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness, Electric Boogaloo, Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley’s Island of Dr. Moreau, Woody Allen: A Documentary
For music, video game and comedy fans:
The Comedians of Comedy: The Movie, Call Me Lucky, Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me, The Punk Singer, Indie Game: The Movie
And other excellent documentaries:
Making a Murderer, Joseph Fritzl: Story of a Monster, Pumping Iron, The Nightmare, Approaching the Elephant, Exit Through the Gift Shop, The Search for General Tso
With that said, here are our picks for the 10 Best Documentaries on Netflix in the gallery below!
The 10 Best Documentaries on Netflix
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Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (2007)
Blisteringly hilarious, Emmy-winning doc about the 80-year-old (now 89 and still performing!) insult comedian Don Rickles. Directed by the great John Landis (Trading Places, Coming to America) and featuring an array of talking heads, including Billy Crystal, Robert De Niro, Clint Eastwood, Chris Rock, Jimmy Kimmel and more, this is a perfect way to discover one of the funniest men who ever lived/lives.
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Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
This movie is an emotional bomb that will leave you devastated, though it ends on a somewhat hopeful note. It chronicles filmmaker Kurt Kuenne's quest to interview people about his murdered friend Andrew Bagby for the sake of his infant child, born to the woman who killed Andrew. It's a must-see, and one of those films you should go into with as little information as possible. Also, bring tissues, you will cry.
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The Wrecking Crew (2008)
It turns out that a small group of session musicians were responsible for recording some of the most iconic music of the '60s. The Beach Boys, The Monkees, The Mamas & the Papas and other groups relied on The Wrecking Crew to create the perfect sound in the studio. Director Danny Tedesco (whose father Tommy was part of the Crew) spent years making the film, and then years more acquiring the rights to the music.
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Cropsey (2009)
Filmmakers Joshua Zeman and Barbara Brancaccio plant themselves in the center of a story that links a Staten Island urban legend with an actual convicted child kidnapper. Be warned that, while not explicitly graphic, this movie contains very disturbing imagery and subject matter, but for those looking to get a chill from a real-life horror story, this is your ticket to ride.
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Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
Do NOT, under any circumstances, watch this doc on an empty stomach. It chronicles the life and work of then 85-year-old Sukiyabashi Jiro, likely the greatest sushi chef on planet Earth, and how his unfortunate son has to live in his shadow.
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Room 237 (2012)
From architectural anomalies to moon landing conspiracies, director Rodney Ascher explores the obsessive theories fans have regarding Stanley Kubrick's horror masterpiece The Shining. You'll never watch that film the same way, but you will watch it again... forever... and ever... and ever.
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Blackfish (2013)
How many documentaries actually change the world? This one did. After Gabriela Cowperthwaite's hard-hitting look at Sea World's despicable breeding programs and treatment of Orcas in captivity came out, it led to a whirlwind of negative publicity for the park. After many partners (including Southwest Airlines) ceased doing business with them, and profits shrank, the park has now, just this month, announced they would stop the breeding programs and phase out live performances.
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GMO OMG (2013)
This is a heavily slanted documentary from director Jeremy Seifert that nonetheless paints a detailed picture of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and how they're used in food we consume every day. Most damning, it discusses the deplorable business practices of the Monsanto corporation, whose Roundup-infused seeds literally destroy farms and poison crops. This is an important movie about a critical topic that affects everyone reading this.
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Atari: Game Over (2014)
Video game fans will love this doc that documents the rise and fall of the original video game giant, Atari. It focuses on screenwriter/director Zak Penn's obsessive journey to locate and dig up a landfill that supposedly contains thousands of buried game cartridges, mostly of the legendarily awful E.T. The Extraterrestrial game.
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Rich Hill (2014)
This beautiful, lyrical documentary paints a stark picture of life in an impoverished rural town in Missouri. It follows three boys - Andrew, Harley and Appachey - as they navigate being uprooted, parental imprisonment and parental abandonment.
