Flavorwire's 50 Best Documentaries of All Time

Flavorwire's ranked selection of the fifty greatest documentary films ever made, an essential guide to nonfiction cinema.

8 films

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Hoop Dreams

1994•2h54m•★7.6TMDB

William Gates and Arthur Agee navigate the challenges of high school basketball at St. Joseph High School in Illinois while pursuing their dreams of professional careers.

Hoop Dreams

1994•2h54m•★7.6TMDB

Grizzly Man

2005•1h43m•★7.5TMDB

Over 100 hours of footage recorded by Timothy Treadwell documents his interactions with grizzly bears before he and his girlfriend were killed by one in 2003.

Grizzly Man

2005•1h43m•★7.5TMDB

Capturing the Friedmans

2003•1h47m•★7.1TMDB

In 1984, a magazine of child pornography sent to Arnold Friedman led to an investigation that accused him and his son Jesse of sexually abusing multiple children.

Capturing the Friedmans

2003•1h47m•★7.1TMDB

Jagal: The Act of Killing

2012•1h57m•★7.7TMDB

Anwar Congo, a former Indonesian death squad leader, reenacts his role in the mass killings of alleged communists during the 1965-66 purge in Medan.

Jagal: The Act of Killing

2012•1h57m•★7.7TMDB

Crumb

1994•2h•★7.5TMDB

78-rpm blues records from the 1920s and '30s are a passion for Robert Crumb, who shares his views on art and consumer culture in candid interviews.

Crumb

1994•2h•★7.5TMDB

Taxi to the Dark Side

2008•1h46m•★6.9TMDB

Dilawar, an Afghan taxi driver, died after being beaten for days at Bagram Air Base, with his death certificate marked "homicide."

Taxi to the Dark Side

2008•1h46m•★6.9TMDB

Inside Job

2010•1h49m•★7.7TMDB

Over $20 trillion in losses resulted from the 2008 financial crisis, leading to millions of foreclosures and job losses across the United States.

Inside Job

2010•1h49m•★7.7TMDB

Man on Wire

2008•1h34m•★7.4TMDB

1,350 feet above the ground, Philippe Petit performs an illegal high-wire act between the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center on August 7, 1974.

Man on Wire

2008•1h34m•★7.4TMDB