Biographical Documentaries on Netflix
Last updated April 19, 2025
In the Footsteps of Alexander the Great
1998 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsIn this BBC production, documentary filmmaker and historian Michael Woods retraces the footsteps of the legendary Alexander the Great as he traveled from Greece to India on a quest for glory.
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I'm Carolyn Parker: The Good, the Mad, and the Beautiful
2011 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsJonathan Demme's documentary began as a film about Hurricane Katrina but became a portrait of one of the disaster's most colorful survivors: Carolyn Parker, a woman determined to rebuild her life -- even if it takes everything she has.
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Horgasm: A Love Story
2012 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsExplore the world of competitive snowboarding through the experiences of record-breaking snowboarder Torstein Horgmo as he travels the world, filming in areas of spectacular scenery or while he competes in Olympic arenas with crowds of thousands.
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Mexican Fighter
2013 | NR | 3.7 out of 5 StarsThis documentary takes a close look at the history and heroes of mixed martial arts in Mexico, showcasing the career of champion Cain Velasquez. Reflecting the warrior spirit of Mexico's original cultures, MMA continues to attract more fans.
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Dogtown and Z-Boys
2001 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsLegendary skateboarder Stacy Peralta directed this fast-paced, award-winning documentary that focuses on the Z-Boys of Venice Beach, Calif., who revolutionized skateboarding in the 1970s when they infused surfing techniques into the sport. Credited with founding skating culture as we know it, these young, innovative guys became legends in the field, and the depth of their influence is still felt in a variety of sports -- and society -- today.
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Brother's Keeper
1992 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThis documentary explores the odd world of the four elderly Ward brothers, illiterate farmers who have lived their entire lives in a dilapidated shack. When William dies in the bed he shared with his brother Delbert, the police arrest him for murder.
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Secrets of Mary Magdalene
2006 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThanks in large part to the best-selling novel The Da Vinci Code -- which purports that Mary Magdalene was Jesus Christ's wife -- she's never been a more compelling figure. In this riveting documentary, religious scholars contribute their insights.
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Ralph Nader: An Unreasonable Man
2006 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThought-provoking and revealing, this biographical documentary profiles the personal and professional life of Ralph Nader, one of America's most controversial consumer advocates and political activists. Interviews and archival footage help illuminate the career of an influential public figure whose willingness to take on big industry earned him a reputation as both a working-class hero and a public pariah.
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Girl 27
2007 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsAuthor-screenwriter David Stenn investigates a notorious Hollywood scandal more than 65 years after it occurred, a rape case involving Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer studio execs and an underage dancer who refused to stay silent. Hired along with 120 other young girls to entertain MGM salesmen at a stag party in 1937, Patricia Douglas was violently raped and brought a landmark lawsuit against her attackers -- then mysteriously disappeared.
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Up the Yangtze
2007 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsWhen the Three Gorges Dam makes life hard for the Yu family, daughter Yu Shui must take a job aboard a cruise ship, where she enters into a dizzying microcosm of modern China. Meanwhile, her parents face the rising waters of the Yangtze.
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Family Affair
2010 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsAt the age of 9, Chico Colvard accidentally shot his sister with one of the firearms his father kept around the house, an incident which led to shocking and disturbing revelations about the father he adored. In this astonishing personal document, Colvard turns his camera on his own family to uncover the history of his sisters' sexual abuse at the hands of their father, and the curious capacity for familial forgiveness.
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Vidal Sassoon: The Movie
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThis incisive documentary profiles trend-setting stylist Vidal Sassoon, from his harsh childhood and Israeli military service to his revolutionary approach to hairstyles and his establishment as a world-renowned brand.
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The Quantum Activist
2009 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsFilmmakers Ri Stewart and Renee Slade tackle a weighty subject -- quantum mechanics -- in this thought-provoking documentary that centers on visionary scientist Amit Goswami and his revolutionary theories about reality and consciousness. Without watering down too much of the science, the film illuminates the details of Goswami's work while putting forth challenging new ideas about mysticism, God and religious thought.
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FIGHTVILLE
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsFar from the glitz of Las Vegas's mega mixed martial arts bouts, fighters duke it out in sweaty local venues on what they hope is their way to the big time. This documentary shines a light on that world -- focusing on the Louisiana fight circuit.
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Conan O'Brien Can't Stop
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsFollowing his unplanned and highly publicized departure from NBC, exiled talk show host Conan O'Brien decides to take his show on the road. This documentary captures that uproarious tour as well as O'Brien's dramatic break with his ex-employers.
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The Swell Season
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsExploring the realities of fame and great expectations, this poignant documentary shadows indie folk artists Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová on a whirlwind tour in the wake of their Oscar win for the haunting anthem "Falling Slowly" (from Once).
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Unraveled
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsReflecting on his fortune and downfall while awaiting sentencing and under house arrest, attorney and white-collar criminal Marc Dreier reveals the series of events that led him to hatch a Ponzi scheme which lost $750 million.
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The Imposter
2012 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsA 13-year-old boy who vanished in Texas and shows up three years later in Spain now has the same tattoos, but looks different and speaks with an accent. An investigator sets out to unravel the mystery in this riveting documentary.
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The Queen of Versailles
2012 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsMeet the Siegels, glitterati who made a fortune in the time-share business only to see it crumble in the 2008 financial collapse. The site of their rise and almost-fall is their home (America's largest), a gaudy replica of the Palace of Versailles.
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How to Grow a Band
2011 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThis fascinating documentary follows innovative musician Chris Thile, who created the band Punch Brothers after writing a 4-movement bluegrass elegy to his recently failed marriage and recruiting a talented group of musicians to play it.
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Follow Me: The Yoni Netanyahu Story
2012 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsIn 1976, Lt. Col. Yonatan Netanyahu led a daring rescue of hostages at Uganda's Entebbe Airport, in which he was the lone Israeli casualty. Through letters, photos, family, friends and fellow soldiers, this moving documentary tells a hero's story.
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Mission for Mussolini
2006 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsThis riveting documentary centers on Italian journalist Luigi Romersa and the task given to him in 1944 by Benito Mussolini: to investigate and report back on Adolf Hitler's claims of Nazi superweapons, including a bomb that would "shock the world."
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Of Two Minds
2012 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsWeaving together the stories of several fascinating Americans living with bipolar disorder, this documentary explores their triumphant highs, despairing lows and struggles to survive in a culture that doesn't always understand them.
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The American Scream
2012 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsIn the sleepy town of Fairhaven, MA, The American Scream follows the creative minds behind three local homemade haunts and their spirited, passionate and sometimes harrowing efforts in igniting their town's Halloween spirit each year.
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The Moo Man
2013 | NR | 3.6 out of 5 StarsChronicling a year in the life of a family-run dairy, this charming documentary centers on an optimistic English farmer who insists on thinking small when it comes to the size of his herd.
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