The 25 best documentaries streaming that capture memorable moments in time

Here are the true stories that deserve spots on your watchlist.

By Eric Farwell, Chris Bellamy, and Kevin Jacobsen

on July 21, 2025 11:43AM EDT

‘Fire of Love’; Kathleen Hanna in ‘The Punk Singer’; Pepper LaBeija in 'Paris Is Burning'. Credit:

Looking for great fly-on-the-wall views of subcultures, obsessions, and stories of incredible artistry? From the beautiful time capsule in *Summer of Soul *to the sublime tragedy of *Fire of Love *and *Grizzly Man*, the best documentaries can wrangle complex histories into intricate, astonishing narratives that mirror the human condition.

To make a documentary is to capture a subject as honestly as possible, offering a snapshot that's educational, sensational, or (ideally) both. Here are the 25 best documentaries streaming across various platforms.

The Act of Killing (2012)

Herman Koto in 'The Act of Killing'.

Drafthouse Films/Everett

This Oscar-nominated documentary proves the sobering reality of crime on a large scale. *The Act of Killing *finds director Joshua Oppenheimer diving deep into the Indonesian genocide of 1965 and 1966, wherein the New Order killed accused communists and sympathizers. Oppenheimer asks some of the perpetrators to reenact the murders, and, while chilling in the sheer inhumanity expressed, the film becomes a powerful examination of one man processing his heinous actions. Brutal yet riveting, *The Act of Killing* is a haunting doc you may never forget. —*Kevin Jacobsen***

Where to watch *The Act of Killing*: Peacock

**Directors:** Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn, Anonymous

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022)

Nan Goldin in 'All the Beauty and the Bloodshed'.

This biographical documentary about photographer/activist Nan Goldin is epic in scope but intimate in its themes. The film focuses on Goldin's ongoing battle against the billionaire Sackler family and their role in the opioid epidemic through their pharmaceutical company, Purdue Pharma. Her protests and demonstrations are intercut with footage of Goldin's early career as a photographer with an interest in the LGBT community, most notably during the AIDS crisis of the '80s. *All the Beauty and the Bloodshed* is a moving testament to the power of advocacy and an unflinching portrait of an artist's role in society. —*K.J.***

Where to watch *All the Beauty and the Bloodshed*: HBO Max

**Director:** Laura Poitras

American Movie (1999)

Miriam Frost, Mark Borchardt, Robert Richard Jorge, Sherri Beaupre, and Tom Schimmels in 'American Movie'. Everett Collection

Sometimes you've just gotta slam a guy’s head into a kitchen cabinet repeatedly until you get the shot right. This is the American Dream...at least according to Mark Borchardt, the I-think-I-can amateur filmmaker at the heart of *American Movie*. This portrait of his creative process, directed by Chris Smith, is exceptionally funny, and the joke is often on Borchardt, but the affectionate eye of the camera is never condescending.

Too many titles use the word "American" as a faux-meaningful affectation. This one earns the modifier — not because it's some sweeping statement, but because its American-ness feels so elemental, from its Midwest suburban setting to Borchardt's single-minded passion for his horror project, which he pursues with a courageous tenacity. *—Chris Bellamy*

Where to watch *American Movie*: Tubi

**Director:** Chris Smith

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)

Andrew Bagby in 'Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father'.

Kurt Kuenne's devastating documentary about grief and the Canadian legal system's failings revolves around the murder of his friend, Andrew Bagby, at the hands of his mysterious ex, Shirley Turner. What follows is an examination of Turner's baffling release from prison and the incredible sorrow that envelops the family after tragically losing a son and getting mired in a custody battle with the very person responsible. —*Eric Farwell*

Where to watch *Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father*: Amazon Prime Video

**Director:** Kurt Kuenne

Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)

Dick Johnson in 'Dick Johnson Is Dead'.

John Wakayama Carey/Courtesy of Sundance Institute

There's no "right" way to deal with grief, or the anxious fear of waiting for something bad to happen that you *know* will come to pass. But Kirsten Johnson found a unique outlet in *Dick Johnson Is Dead*, in which she deals with her father's dementia and the looming specter of his death by killing him on camera repeatedly (with his enthusiastic participation).

Watching father and daughter execute each fatal scenario gives us a remarkable glimpse into their relationship — and the catharsis that comes with the creative process itself. The film's intimate sense of joy is not a deflection against the truth of what the Johnsons are facing, but a self-conscious, honest expression of it. —*C.B.*

Where to watch *Dick Johnson Is Dead*: Netflix

**EW grade:** A– (read the review)**

**Director:** Kirsten Johnson

Fire of Love (2022)

A still from 'Fire of Love'.

Courtesy of Sundance Institute

One of two movies about volcanologists Katherine and Maurice Krafft released in 2022 (the other, *The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft*, was directed by Werner Herzog), *Fire of Love *is part self-portrait, part nature documentary, and part elegy. The pair died in the 1991 Mount Unzen eruption but left behind two decades of footage from which this documentary is compiled. This is a love story between two people and their shared obsession, one inseparable from the other. The film casts their lives as a testament to the power of science and paints discovery as the ultimate act of *self*-discovery. —*E.F.*

Where to watch *Fire of Love*: Hulu

**EW grade:** A– (read the review)

**Director:** Sara Dosa

Flee (2021)

Amin Nawabi in 'Flee'.

Neon/Courtesy Everett Collection

This genre-bending documentary tells the harrowing story of an Afghan man who has fled his home country. He uses the alias "Amin Nawabi" to protect his identity, while the film utilizes lyrical animation to depict his perilous journey from Afghanistan to Denmark as he tries to avoid authorities. *Flee* is a riveting story of resilience that also made history as the first to earn Oscar nominations for all three of Best Animated Feature, Best Documentary Feature, and Best International Feature Film. —*K.J.***

Where to watch *Flee*: Tubi**

**Director:** Jonas Poher Rasmussen

Free Solo (2018)

Alex Honnold in 'Free Solo'.

Oscar winner for Best Documentary Feature, *Free Solo *is a gripping psychological profile almost by accident. Ostensibly, it's about Alex Honnold's attempt to complete the first free solo climb of Yosemite's El Capitan, but, in spending so much time documenting the pursuit, the film can’t help but implicitly ask *why*, or rather, *what kind of person would be driven to do this? *The mortality rate for free solo climbers is a fact Honnold casually accepts. Thus, *Free Solo* is thrilling for its footage and what its subject tries to accomplish, but a sense of existential ambivalence comes with that morbid thrill. —*C.B.*

Where to watch *Free Solo*: Hulu

**EW grade:** A– (read the review)

**Directors:** Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, Jimmy Chin**

Gates of Heaven (1978)

Poster for 'Gates of Heaven'.

In Errol Morris' debut, viewers are introduced to the unique personalities that operate pet cemeteries in Napa Valley. Morris lets his subjects' personalities sparkle, weaving a wild farcical tale about the mundane that is believable but *just *weird enough to stand out. Morris would later scale up to more serious and heady subjects, but he never had a more curious or fascinated eye than when documenting 450 dead animals being dug up for reburial at a different location. —*E.F.*

Where to watch *Gates of Heaven*: AMC+

**Director:** Errol Morris

Grizzly Man (2005)

Timothy Treadwell in 'Grizzly Man'.

Lionsgate/Everett

Werner Herzog has long been an important and divisive figure in documentary filmmaking, and this film is perhaps the best example of why. Following the life and death of bear obsessive Timothy Treadwell, Herzog tries to give audiences a jumping-off point for understanding his passion, succeeding only to the extent that it's possible to understand him at all. This is a complicated portrait of a person who believed in the good of wild animals and ultimately died as a result. But Herzog never judges or condescends to Treadwell, even if his involvement in documenting the fallout becomes increasingly complicated. —*E.F.*

Where to watch *Grizzly Man*: Fandango at Home

**Director:** Werner Herzog

Hoop Dreams (1994)

William Gates in 'Hoop Dreams'.

Fine Line Features/Everett

*Hoop Dreams *possesses a lightning-in-a-bottle magic that documentaries rarely capture. Over five years, the film follows two young Black teenagers in Chicago who get recruited to play basketball at an upscale prep school. It's the late-1980s, Michael Jordan is ascending to god status, and the possibilities of discovering the next great superstar are infinite. Regardless of whether Arthur Agee and William Gates become the next Jordan — or even the next Isiah Thomas — their lives wind up far more interesting than potential glory, with unexpected developments achieving a profundity few scripts ever could have. —*C.B.*

Where to watch *Hoop Dreams*: HBO Max

**EW grade:** A (read the review)

**Director:** Steve James

I Am Not Your Negro (2016)

A gathering of protestors near the Lincoln Memorial in 'I Am Not Your Negro'. Magnolia Pictures

This thought-provoking examination of the systemic oppression against Black Americans is made all the more powerful by its central figure: James Baldwin. Our narrative anchor is the influential writer's perspective on racism being intrinsically linked to the soul of America, as evidenced during the tumultuous civil rights movement of the 1960s and beyond. In Baldwin's words, "It is entirely up to the American people whether or not they are going to face and deal with and embrace this stranger whom they maligned so long."**** The poetically assembled film delves into several facets of racism in the 20th century, from segregation to harmful portrayals in the media to the prison-industrial complex. "It's impossible not to think: The more things change, the more they stay the same," EW's critic writes of the film. "It's enough to make you weep." —*K.J.*

Where to watch* I Am Not Your Negro*: HBO Max

**EW grade:** A– (read the review)

**Director:** Raoul Peck

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If God Is Willing and da Creek Don’t Rise (2010)

A scene from 'If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise'.

Spike Lee's two-part follow-up documentary to the equally excellent *When the Levees Broke* (which is also streaming on Max) examines the effort to rebuild New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina and how the disaster changed the city. Lee is terrifically skilled at bringing disparate concepts together; here, he captures everything from police corruption and the loss of four housing projects to the New Orleans Saints and their Super Bowl XLIV victory, the latter serving as a vibrant pulse that amplifies the possibility of what the city is capable of. —*E.F.*

Where to watch *If God Is Willing and da Creek Don't Rise*: HBO Max

**Director:** Spike Lee

Lost in La Mancha (2002)

Terry Gilliam and Johnny Depp in 'Lost in La Mancha'.

Monty Python's Terry Gilliam tried and failed to mount his vision of *The Man Who Killed Don Quixote* for years before finally succeeding in 2018, 16 years after this documentary arrived. Despite every effort Gilliam and his production crew made, there was no way to save the initial attempt at making the movie, which may have contributed to Gilliam’s diminished presence in the entertainment industry.

This film explores the many ways that art can be destroyed or inhibited, including a NATO practice base making too much noise, the destruction of sets, and personal injury. It's also a rare documentary where knowing the outcome after the cameras stopped rolling enhances the work rather than rendering it irrelevant, turning the entire project into an arc about the long road some dreams take. —*C.B.*

Where to watch *Lost in La Mancha*: The Roku Channel

**EW grade:** N/A (read the review)

**Directors:** Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe

Meru (2015)

Scene from 'Meru'.

Anyone who's ever said "It's not the destination, it's the journey" has never met the climbers in *Meru*. For them, the destination is everything as they scale Mount Meru in the Indian Himalayas via the treacherous Shark's Fin route with their eyes on the peak. Few documentaries have ever provided this kind of first-person access to true, gravity-defying danger — because most documentaries are not co-directed by one of the very people at risk. But Jimmy Chin is the exception, filming his climb, avalanches, injuries, and near-fatal setbacks that befall the voyage. What follows is remarkable, harrowing, and a marvel of documentary editing. —*C.B.*

Where to watch *Meru*: Amazon Prime Video

**EW grade:** B

**Directors:** Jimmy Chin, Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi

MLK/FBI (2020)

Martin Luther King Jr. in 'MLK/FBI'.

Sam Pollard helms this keen examination of the FBI's role in the torment and death of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. From early attempts to create division and dissent in his ranks to phone taps, the organization operated from a place of racist anxiety over the power of Black America and one leader who was leading a peaceful and righteous path to equity. Pollard's film is especially poignant in showing how short-sighted the country remains, even if the methods of dismantling progress have shifted from political entities to more public-facing groups. —*E.F.*

Where to watch *MLK/FBI*: AMC+

**Director:** Sam Pollard

Moonage Daydream (2022)

David Bowie in 'Moonage Daydream'. Neon

Some films' attempts to honor a musician fall short of truly capturing their essence. Not so with this visually striking doc about the artistry of David Bowie, with its kaleidoscopic imagery and a playfully experimental narrative. *Moonage Daydream* compellingly depicts Bowie's ever-changing desire to shape-shift as an artist, as well as the films, fashion, and music that influenced him throughout his career. Director Brett Morgen, EW's critic writes, "ends up articulating a point that's deeper and more sophisticated than mere biography, an insight that feels like a serious contribution to music criticism." —*K.J.***

Where to watch *Moonage Daydream*: HBO Max

**EW grade:** A– (read the review)

**Director:** Brett Morgen

Paris Is Burning (1990)

Pepper LaBeija in 'Paris Is Burning'.

To say Black, Hispanic, and LGBTQ cultures were largely ignored or erased by mainstream America in the 1980s (and beyond) is an understatement. That fact is one undercurrent of Jennie Livingston's *Paris Is Burning*, which documents Harlem ball culture of the mid-to-late-'80s and finds a host of endearing performers all too eager to bring us into their orbit.

The beauty and vibrancy of drag balls speak for themselves, but Livingston is also savvy enough to understand how those events intersect with the political and social realities of the time. This is a vital document that's both celebratory and sobering. —*C.B.*

Where to watch *Paris Is Burning*: HBO Max

**EW grade:** A (read the review)

**Director:** Jennie Livingston

The Punk Singer (2013)

Kathleen Hanna (center) in 'The Punk Singer'.

Kathleen Hanna fronted punk greats Bikini Kill and Le Tigre, two bands that existed at different times in the evolving (but still sexist) conversation about women and their place in culture, with the musicians often serving as paragons of feminist critique and anguish. This Sini Anderson documentary contextualizes Hanna within the progressive alternative rock scene that emerged in the 1980s and gained true steam in the '90s, before highlighting her struggle with Lyme disease and the way the messages in Hanna's music translate her personal battles. —*E.F.*

Where to watch *The Punk Singer*: Pluto TV

**Director:** Sini Anderson

Samsara (2011)

Still from 'Samsara'.

Talking heads, voiceover, and archive footage have their place in documentary filmmaking — perhaps disproportionately so — but a movie like Ron Fricke's *Samsara *unlocks the capabilities of the form. It's far from the first non-narrative doc — for one, Fricke shot Godfrey Reggio's iconic *Koyaanisqatsi *(1982) and directed *Baraka *(1992) — but it may be the most gorgeous.

*Samsara* uses its spectacular, globetrotting 70mm footage to philosophize about life on Earth, forging connections across time, space, and place. Fricke's meditation on cycles of creation and destruction is free-associative yet thematically controlled, with the final result existing somewhere at the nexus of musical, essay, and poem. —*C.B.*

Where to watch *Samsara*: Peacock

**EW grade:** B– (read the review)

**Director:** Ron Fricke

Stories We Tell (2012)

Iris Ng and Sarah Polley in 'Stories We Tell'.

Sarah Polley films are gut punches that incorporate the mind as much as the heart, often exploring community, family, and truth. In this documentary about the affair that led to her birth, Polley incorporates home movie footage — some authentic, some staged — and interviews with different family members to plumb the depths of a woman who remains, even to those who knew her, something of an enigma.

While most documentaries, personal or political, tend to land on one specific version of events, *Stories We Tell* is wise enough to know the truth is in the eye of the beholder, the rememberer, and the storyteller. —*E.F.*

Where to watch *Stories We Tell*: Amazon Prime Video

**EW grade:** A–

Sugarcane (2024)

Chief Willie Sellars of the Williams Lake First Nation in 'Sugarcane'.

National Geographic Documentary Films/Courtesy Everett Collection

The sins committed by colonialists against Indigenous populations are still being uncovered many years later, as this heavy, Oscar-nominated documentary details. Probing deep into the history of the Catholic-run Indian school system in Canada, *Sugarcane* reveals years of systemic abuse against Indigenous students, which left a fundamental impact on the community. Directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie seamlessly weave together those traumas with the present-day residents of the local Sugarcane Reserve as they reckon with the past. —*K.J.***

Where to watch *Sugarcane*: Hulu

**Directors:** Julian Brave NoiseCat, Emily Kassie

Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised) (2021)

Nina Simone in 'Summer of Soul (...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)'.

Courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

Ahmir Thompson (a.k.a. Questlove) painstakingly restored footage from the historic 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival, which saw the best acts of the era take the stage over six Sundays in the same summer as Woodstock. Words can't adequately capture how emotionally resonant it is to see Stevie Wonder, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone, B.B. King, and Sly and the Family Stone, as brilliant as they've ever been, perform for New Yorkers who needed a reason to unite and celebrate. This isn't just a movie about music but a musical experiment, a historical document with its own meticulously crafted beats and rhythms. —*E.F.*

Where to watch *Summer of Soul* *(...Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)*: Hulu

**EW grade:** B+ (read the review)

**Director:** Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson

The Thin Blue Line (1988)

Randall Dale Adams in 'The Thin Blue Line'.

Errol Morris is one of the most celebrated documentarians of his time. Here, he follows his curiosity to the shooting of Dallas police officer Robert W. Wood and the man convicted of the crime, Randall Adams. Investigating inconsistencies in the case, Morris utilizes testimonies from key figures to recreate pieces of the night in question in strange and striking detail.

Far from offering a traditional examination of a "wrong place, wrong time" miscarriage of justice, Morris turns his fixation into a shared obsession, with the director as the crafty detective and the audience as his second set of eyes. —*E.F.*

Where to watch *The Thin Blue Line*: AMC+

**Director:** Errol Morris

The War Room (1993)

George Stephanopoulos and James Carville in 'The War Room'.

October Films/Everett

What goes into winning an election? This is the question explored in* The War Room*, which examines Bill Clinton's presidential bid via the proxies of James Carville and George Stephanopoulos, who ran his campaign and engineered its success in an outsized way. The film considers the relationship between the media and politicians, and how savvy minds can spin news into something that makes or breaks the success of someone, no matter how dirty their hands are. —*E.F.*

Where to watch *The War Room*: HBO Max

**Directors:** Chris Hegedus, D.A. Pennebaker

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Source: “AOL Movies”