Documentaries on Netflix
Last updated April 19, 2025
The Big Fix
2011 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsWhile turning their cameras on the devastating 2010 oil spill that pumped 779,037,744 liters of crude oil and other contaminants into the Gulf of Mexico, filmmakers Joshua Tickell and Rebecca Harrell unearth a stunning stream of corruption.
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Woody Allen: A Documentary
2011 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsIconic and influential director-writer-comedian Woody Allen granted unprecedented access for this in-depth profile of his award-winning career and controversial personal life. Highlights include interviews with collaborators and noted film critics.
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Zeitgeist: The Movie
2007 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsPeter Joseph explores the controversial links between organized religion, the global financial markets and the international power structure in this thought-provoking documentary that probes several well-known conspiracy theories.
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Ken Burns: The West
1996 | NR | 4.0 out of 5 StarsHistorian and Oscar nominee Ken Burns and his talented team mine vintage photographs, music, maps, letters, newspapers and more to bring to life the struggles and challenges Americans faced in the 19th century as they embarked on westward expansion.
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Turtle: The Incredible Journey
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsAttempting a perilous odyssey its ancestors have undertaken for millions of years, one loggerhead turtle swims from a beach in Florida across the Atlantic Ocean, encountering stunning sea creatures as well as serious hazards created by modern man.
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Tapped
2009 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsThe high cost -- to both the environment and our health -- of bottled water is the subject of this documentary that enlists activists, environmentalists, community leaders and others to expose the dark side of the bottled water industry. Americans may rethink their obsession with bottled H20 when they learn of the unregulated industry's willingness to ignore environmental and health concerns, and the problems that arise as a result.
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The Meerkats
2008 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsActor Paul Newman narrates this captivating documentary that chronicles the antics of young Kolo and his family, a clan of meerkats that makes its home in Africa's Kalahari Desert, where their daily fight for survival is anything but easy.
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Lemmy
2010 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsGet a backstage pass to the life and music of Motorhead front man Lemmy Kilmister with this fascinating documentary that follows the legendary musician around the world for three years, providing insight into all aspects of his life. Many of Kilmister's famous friends -- including the Metallica band members, Dave Grohl, Ozzie Osbourne, Slash, Alice Cooper, Billy Bob Thornton and wrestler Triple H -- make appearances.
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Exit Through the Gift Shop
2010 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker Thierry Guetta's project to chronicle the underground world of street art takes a fascinating twist when he meets elusive stencil artist Banksy, who turns the project around to film Guetta while he reinvents himself as a street artist.
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The Cartel
2009 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsIn his first feature film, director Bob Bowdon takes aim at America's public school system, revealing a self-serving network of wasteful cartels that squander funding and fail to deliver when it comes to academic testing and basic skills. Both parents and teachers want change, but reform is an uphill battle in the face of heel-digging bureaucrats and so-called "dropout factories." It's a bona fide crisis that's burgeoning out of control.
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The Hole Story
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsFilmmakers dig deep into a discussion about corporate greed, public health and environmental disaster in this exposé of the Canadian mining industry. With a long history of injustice to workers, the business continues to be dangerous and corrupt.
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American Masters: LENNONYC
2010 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsThis commemorative tribute to music legend John Lennon charts the highlights of his solo career post-Beatles and examines his relationship with wife and collaborator Yoko Ono through never-before-seen footage on loan from the Lennon archives.
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Ride the Divide
2010 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsStarting in Banff, Canada, and ending at the U.S.-Mexico border, the Great Divide mountain bike race extends 2,700 miles along the Continental Divide. This scenic documentary follows three determined cyclists attempting the grueling ride.
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Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of A Tribe Called Quest
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker Michael Rapaport goes behind the scenes with this documentary to chronicle the tumultuous group dynamics that have driven influential, genre-bending hip-hop sensations A Tribe Called Quest to the heights of success.
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Life in a Day
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsAfter thousands of people around the world joined together to record banal and remarkable everyday events on July 24, 2010, director Kevin MacDonald led a team of editors to condense more than 4,500 hours of video into this picture of life on Earth.
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The End of the Line
2009 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsFilmmaker Rupert Murray traverses the world exposing the devastating effects that overfishing with modern technology is having on fish stocks and exploring the real solutions to solve the crisis.
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These Amazing Shadows: The Movies That Make America
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsFeaturing exclusive interviews and dazzling archival footage, this insightful documentary shines a light on the work of the National Film Registry and the art of preserving aesthetically, culturally and historically significant cinema.
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Last Days Here
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsIn this poignant documentary portrait, an aged and gaunt Bobby Liebling, the former lead singer of the heavy metal act Pentagram, rallies to restart his life after decades of disappointment and drug addiction.
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Sergio
2009 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsSérgio Vieira de Mello, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, was killed in 2003 when terrorists bombed the U.N. headquarters in Iraq. Interviews with his family, friends and colleagues paint a moving portrait of his life and work.
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Revenge of the Electric Car
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsFour vastly different yet equally driven auto industry visionaries rush to develop and market the first commercially successful electric car in this follow-up to the provocative documentary Who Killed the Electric Car?
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Echo of the Elephants: The Next Generation
1996 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsIn this continuation of the Echo of the Elephants saga, elephant behavioral expert Cynthia Moss takes viewers back into Kenya's Amboseli National Park for a look at Echo's ever-growing brood. Mirroring the realm of human drama, the animals' natural habitat contains stories of love, loss and plenty of laughter, with an emphasis on the new faces that have joined the herd since the first installment in the series.
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More Than a Game
2008 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsFour African American hoopsters -- including LeBron James, who became an NBA megastar but faced a media maelstrom in his pressure-cooker senior year -- test their unique bond when they prep for playoffs at their elite, largely Caucasian high school.
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Food, Inc.
2008 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsDrawing on Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and Michael Pollan's The Omnivore's Dilemma, director Robert Kenner's provocative, Oscar-nominated documentary explores the food industry's detrimental effects on our health and environment.
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Vegucated
2010 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsIn this documentary, three meat- and cheese-loving New Yorkers agree to adopt a vegan diet for six weeks. Lured with true tales of weight lost and health regained, they begin to uncover the hidden sides of animal agriculture.
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Pedal-Driven
2011 | NR | 3.9 out of 5 StarsThis documentary delves into the escalating conflict between mountain bikers, hungry to ride the open road, and the federal land managers charged with protecting the public lands that belong to us all.
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