Top Rated Documentary Movies on YouTube - Page 12

The Endless Summer

1966

The Endless Summer

1966
7.2
Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.
Piece by Piece

2024

Piece by Piece

2024
7.4
A unique cinematic experience that invites audiences on a vibrant journey through the life of cultural icon Pharrell Williams. Told through the lens of LEGO® animation, turn up the volume on your imagination and witness the evolution of one of music's most innovative minds.
The Armstrong Lie

2013

The Armstrong Lie

2013
6.9
In 2009, Alex Gibney was hired to make a film about Lance Armstrong’s comeback to cycling. The project was shelved when the doping scandal erupted, and re-opened after Armstrong’s confession. The Armstrong Lie picks up in 2013 and presents a riveting, insider's view of the unraveling of one of the most extraordinary stories in the history of sports. As Lance Armstrong says himself, “I didn’t live a lot of lies, but I lived one big one.”
Chimpanzee

2012

Chimpanzee

2012
7
A nature documentary centered on a family of chimps living in the Ivory Coast and Ugandan rain forests. Through Oscar, a little chimpanzee, we discover learning about life in the heart of the African tropical forest and follow his first steps in this world with humor, emotion and anguish. Following a tragedy, he finds himself separated from his mother and left alone to face the hostility of the jungle. Until he is picked up by an older chimpanzee, who will take him under her protection.
Tabloid

2011

Tabloid

2011
6.4
A documentary on a former Miss Wyoming who is charged with abducting and imprisoning a young Mormon Missionary.
The Velvet Queen

2021

The Velvet Queen

2021
7.9
High up on the Tibetan plateau. Amongst unexplored and inaccessible valleys lies one of the last sanctuaries of the wild world, where rare and undiscovered fauna lives. Vincent Munier, one of the world’s most renowned wildlife photographers takes the adventurer and novelist Sylvain Tesson (In the Forest of Siberia) with him on his latest mission. For several weeks, they’ll explore these valleys searching for unique animals and try to spot the snow leopard, one of the rarest and most difficult big cats to approach.
Holy Hell

2016

Holy Hell

2016
6.6
An inside look at a West Hollywood cult formed by a charismatic teacher in the 1980s that eventually imploded.
Generation Iron

2013

Generation Iron

2013
6.7
Generation Iron - examines the professional sport of bodybuilding today and gives the audience front row access to the lives of the top 7 bodybuilders in the sport as they train to compete in the world's most premiere bodybuilding stage - Mr. Olympia.
Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

2008

Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson

2008
6.9
Fueled by a raging libido, Wild Turkey, and superhuman doses of drugs, Thompson was a true "free lance, " goring sacred cows with impunity, hilarity, and a steel-eyed conviction for writing wrongs. Focusing on the good doctor's heyday, 1965 to 1975, the film includes clips of never-before-seen (nor heard) home movies, audiotapes, and passages from unpublished manuscripts.
Expedition Happiness

2017

Expedition Happiness

2017
6.4
A German couple and their dog travel across North America in a school bus searching for a state of pure bliss.
Freakonomics

2010

Freakonomics

2010
6.1
Some of the world's most innovative documentary filmmakers will explore the hidden side of everything.
Berlin: Symphony of a Great City

1927

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City

1927
7.5
A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.
Inequality for All

2013

Inequality for All

2013
7.5
Based on Reich's 2010 book Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future, the film examines widening income inequality in the United States. U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich tries to raise awareness of the country's widening economic gap. He publicly argued about the issue for decades, and producing a film of his viewpoints was a "final frontier" for him. In addition to being a social issue documentary, Inequality for All is also partially a biopic regarding Reich's early life and his time as Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton's presidency. Warren Buffett and Nick Hanauer, two entrepreneurs and investors in the top 1%, are interviewed in the film, supporting Reich's belief in an economy that benefits all citizens, including those of the middle and lower classes.
Dave Chappelle's Block Party

2005

Dave Chappelle's Block Party

2005
6.8
The American comedian/actor delivers a story about the alternative Hip Hop scene. A small town Ohio mans moves to Brooklyn, New York, to throw an unprecedented block party.
A Brief History of Time

1991

A Brief History of Time

1991
7.2
This shows physicist Stephen Hawking's life as he deals with the ALS that renders him immobile and unable to speak without the use of a computer. Hawking's friends, family, classmates, and peers are interviewed not only about his theories but the man himself.
Betting on Zero

2016

Betting on Zero

2016
7.1
Controversial hedge fund titan Bill Ackman is on a crusade to expose global nutritional giant Herbalife as the largest pyramid scheme in history while Herbalife execs claim Ackman is a market manipulator out to bankrupt them and make a killing off his billion dollar short.
Conan O'Brien Can't Stop

2011

Conan O'Brien Can't Stop

2011
6.5
A documentary that follows the former Tonight Show host. Filmed during Conan’s ”Legally Prohibited From Being Funny on Television” comedy tour, after his departure from the Tonight Show, taking viewers on an intimate journey of O’Brien’s life.
Tyson

2008

Tyson

2008
6.9
Director James Toback takes an unflinching, uncompromising look at the life of Mike Tyson--almost solely from the perspective of the man himself. TYSON alternates between the controversial boxer addressing the camera and shots of the champion's fights to create an arresting picture of the man.
Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations

1938

Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations

1938
6.8
Starting with a long and lyrical overture, evoking the origins of the Olympic Games in ancient Greece, Riefenstahl covers twenty-one athletic events in the first half of this two-part love letter to the human body and spirit, culminating with the marathon, where Jesse Owens became the first track and field athlete to win four gold medals in a single Olympics.
Dark Days

2000

Dark Days

2000
7.2
A cinematic portrait of the homeless population who live permanently in the underground tunnels of New York City.