Documentaries on Netflix
Last updated April 20, 2025
SoLa
2010 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsSoLa: Louisiana Water Stories is a poignant look back at a way of life that may now be gone forever, and a prescient view at exactly how the gusher in the Gulf was allowed to happen. Thanks to corruption, malfeasance and the Louisiana industrial and political climate, environmental pollution seems to be simply a cost of doing business.
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Dutch Influence
2013 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsThe beat starts to rise, a sea of hands fills the air, the crowd surges....Welcome to the world's most dynamic new music scene. Buckle up for an energetic ride as Armin van Buuren, Tiesto and Afrojack, leaders of the Dutch House movement, invite us into their lives. Recognised by no one in Holland, but at Miami Music Week they're superstars, rapidly redefining a genre and taking over the globe's hottest clubs. A slick, pulsating party of a doc.
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Status Quo? The Unfinished Business of Feminism in Canada
2013 | NR | 3.5 out of 5 StarsFeminism has shaped the society we live in. But just how far has it brought us, and how relevant is it today? This in-depth documentary asks these questions and uncovers provocative answers about the evolution of women's equality in Canada.
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On Any Sunday II
1981 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsThis follow-up to the highly successful film that many motorcycle enthusiasts view as gospel features racing giant and world champion Bruce Penhall, as well as clips from interviews and the championship races of Brad Lackey, Bob Hannah and others.
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Fahrenheit 9/11
2004 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsMichael Moore's hard-hitting documentary addresses the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, outlining the reasons the United States became a target for hatred and terrorism and criticizing President George W. Bush's response to the attacks.
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Comic Book Confidential
1988 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsRon Mann's documentary explores how comic books were elevated to pop art and bore witness to cultural phenomena with the help of legendary creators such as Robert Crumb, Will Eisner, William Gaines, Bill Griffith and Stan Lee. The film traces the medium from its ultrapatriotic beginnings -- with pages filled with superheroes fighting for truth, justice and the American way -- and shows how it evolved into sophisticated, complicated, readable art.
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Incredible Creatures That Defy Evolution: Vol. 1
2000 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsThis documentary explores evidence claiming to prove that certain animals could only have come from a divine creator, and not evolution. Challenge your thought processes and beliefs as intricate designs throughout the animal kingdom are dissected, conjuring up many questions about the true origins of several creatures. Dr. Jobe Martin lets viewers in on startling data that surprised even him at first.
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Graffiti Verite 1: Read the Writing on the Wall
1995 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsGoing behind the scenes with 24 of Los Angeles's most prolific graffiti artists -- including Mear, E-Muse and Man-One -- Bob Bryan's award-winning documentary reveals the underground world of the urban art from. Candid interviews and open discussions with the artists provide insight into the link between graffiti, ritualistic hieroglyphics and cave paintings, as well as how graffiti functions as a form of street propaganda and public art gallery.
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Cocalero
2007 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsThis 2007 Sundance Film Festival competition entry from director Alejandro Landes documents Aymara Indian Evo Morales's grassroots political campaign to become the first indigenous president of Bolivia. Morales, former president of the Chapare coca growers union, solicited a groundswell of native political support during the 2002 elections, a telling response to the incumbent administration's attempts to eradicate the crop.
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Iran: A Cinematographic Revolution
2007 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsDespite political turmoil and cultural isolation -- and sometimes even because of them -- Iran has served as fertile ground for filmmakers for more than seven decades, as witnessed by this tribute to Persian cinema from Nader Takmil Homayoun. From escapism to social realism, the new wave of the 1970s and the more poetic films of recent years, this homage traces the history of Iranian filmmaking through a fascinating array of clips and interviews.
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Confessions of a Superhero
2007 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsOn Hollywood Boulevard, wannabe movie stars dress up as superheroes and pose for photos with tourists. Matt Ogens's documentary follows four of these quirky dreamers, who are just killing time until they're discovered. You'll get to know a Superman who takes his role to heart, an Incredible Hulk who sold his prized video game system for a ticket to Tinseltown, a Midwestern beauty queen-turned-Wonder Woman and a Batman in need of a little therapy.
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Fall from Grace
2007 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsFor years, the Rev. Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist Church have preached a message of intolerance and hatred, aimed at homosexuals. This compelling documentary shines a spotlight on Phelps and his followers, widely condemned as a hate group. K. Ryan Jones's debut takes a hard look a church that claims that everything from the poor economy to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks can be tied to God's wrath over so-called sexual deviance.
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Not Quite Hollywood
2008 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsExplore the unofficial history of Australian cult film with this provocative documentary on the "Ozploitation" flicks of the 1970s and '80s. Filmmaker Mark Hartley explores the violence, sex and nudity rampant during this period of lax restrictions. Jam-packed with film clips, poster art and international advertisements, the film also features anecdotes from numerous celebrities about this dynamic period in Australian cinema.
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Let's Make Money
2008 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsWith an eye toward exposing the policies and practices that affect the global economy, director Erwin Wagenhofer traverses the planet in a heroic effort to trace money as it passes through the international finance system. Making stops in First World countries and developing nations alike, the film reveals the far-reaching consequences of relaxed credit, deregulation and privatization as well as shocking examples of greed and ruthlessness.
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Wake Up
2010 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsJonas Elrod woke up one day with the ability to see and hear angels, demons and ghosts. Filmed over the course of three years, this documentary follows Jonas and his girlfriend as they try to understand the phenomenon.
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Picture Me
2009 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsGo behind the scenes and experience both the glamour and the darker side of the high fashion industry as filmmaker Ole Schell documents girlfriend Sara Ziff's rise to international model status in this revealing film. Taking place over several years, the documentary features interviews with numerous models in the industry and includes appearances by designers Karl Lagerfeld and Nicole Miller, photographer Gilles Bensimon and others.
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Fierce Light: When Spirit Meets Action
2008 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsTrying to come to terms with the death of a friend killed during a peaceful protest in Mexico, filmmaker Velcrow Ripper explores the concept of spiritual activism by focusing on a patch of land given to low-income South Central Los Angeles residents.
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Cleanflix
2009 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsIn this documentary, filmmakers Andrew James and Joshua Ligairi explore the rise and fall of Cleanflicks, a movie rental company that edited offensive material out of Hollywood films to produce unauthorized "clean" versions for its customers.
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Right to Exit: Kevorkian
2004 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsDetermined to help people die with dignity, Dr. Jack Kevorkian refused to conceal or halt his participation in assisted suicides until the government stopped him with a 1999 murder conviction. This film chronicles his struggles. Through interviews with key players in the trial as well as a prison phone chat with Kevorkian himself, director Anna Terean provides an illuminating study of both the doctor and the politics of euthanasia.
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Sins of My Father
2009 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsNicolas Entel's searing documentary tells the story of Pablo Escobar -- Colombian drug kingpin, murderer and family man -- through the eyes of his son, Sebastian, as well as the sons of two of Escobar's most prominent victims.
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Catfish
2010 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsWhen gifted 8-year-old artist Abby contacts young photographer Nev through Facebook, he's intrigued. He gradually becomes involved with her family, even falling for her older sister -- until he realizes something's not quite right.
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War Don Don
2010 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker Rebecca Richman Cohen offers this gripping documentary that follows the sensational trial of Issa Sesay, a controversial leader in Sierra Leone's bloody civil war who stands accused of heinous crimes against humanity.
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Return to Tarawa: The Leon Cooper Story
2009 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsSome 65 years after leaving the Pacific, former Navy Ens. Leon Cooper returns to the site of the bloody battle at Tarawa to investigate a disturbing rumor: that trash and debris now decorate the shores where thousands of men fell dead or wounded. Out of respect for the sacrifices his countrymen made there in the fall of 1943, Cooper is determined to clean up the area and restore honor to once hallowed ground. Oscar-nominated actor Ed Harris narrates.
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The Game of Death
2010 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsIn this study of obedience and authority, documentarian Thomas Bornot pushes reality TV to the bone-chilling limit: He stages a game show in which contestants submit to electric shocks of increasing intensity for a chance to win a million euros. Viewers look on and a hostess presides as participants quiz the contestant and administer punishment for incorrect answers, resulting in a disturbing display of compliance and, in some cases, resistance.
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The Greatest Movie Ever Sold
2011 | NR | 3.4 out of 5 StarsIntrepid filmmaker Morgan Spurlock (Super Size Me) directs this bitingly ironic documentary, which scrutinizes the pervasive marketing, advertising and product placement practices that have become standard in the entertainment industry.
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