Can somebody recommend a good documentary?
Posted by FlissMarie@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 309 comments
My husband and I are looking for recommendations for a good documentary to watch, and would love your suggestions!
We feel as though we’ve watched every documentary going, and can’t seem to find anything new. We like something interesting, thought provoking and maybe even a bit obscure? We particularly enjoyed The Bridge, Six Schizophrenic Brothers and things like 24 Hours in Police Custody. Reading a similar thread in the past kept mentioning ‘There’s something wrong with Aunt Diane’ but we weren’t a fan of that one - seemed a little slow to get off the ground.
We’ve looked on BBC iPlayer and 4od but have hit a bit of a brick wall. Not looking for suggestions of recent crime documentaries/series that have been on UK television as I imagine we’ve already seen them.
Any obscure answers would be greatly appreciated!
VisibleOtter@reddit
The Octopus in my house, a BBC doc from about 2019 is on iPlayer. I watched it again last week, it’s beautiful. My wife hasn’t eaten octopus since we first saw it.
minsandmolls@reddit
Absolutely, turned me vegan.
derek_slazinja@reddit
Absolutely, I'm the same
VisibleOtter@reddit
I should add that I’ve never eaten octopus at all!
Afraid_Simple_4061@reddit
Waco - American apocalypse (3 part series, was on Netflix) was good, and if you are of a certain age you will remember it happening.
If you like Motorsport, the film Senna is really good
.
Teacherymoment@reddit
Tribe by Bruce Parry. The original and the more recent series.
raosmuli@reddit
There’s Ona o e correct and that is ‘The Alabama Project’
jowiejojo@reddit
Something a bit obscure is “skinwalker ranch” if you like mysteries. It’s a group of scientists trying to debunk the skinwalker ranch activity, I found it fascinating.
Psychological_Bee_93@reddit
If you haven’t seen the documentary film One Day In September, it’s good and the first documentary that really got me in to documentaries. It’s about the terror incident at the 1972 Berlin olympics, narrated by Michael Douglas.
Spike Lee’s When The Levees Broke about Hurricane Katrina is really good too.
Ken Burn’s The Vietnam War series is really good too, very intense and a lot but going in to it knowing nothing about it I found it eye opening.
These ones are pretty dark and gritty, but if you’re in to that kind of docu they are really good watches.
Desperate-Cookie3373@reddit
When the Levees Broke is incredible. I watched after visiting New Orleans a few years after Katrina.
I’m also a big fan of Ken Burns’s series on the American Civil War.
Psychological_Bee_93@reddit
Oh, I haven’t sent the civil war one, another thing I know very little about!
Desperate-Cookie3373@reddit
It is one of his earlier ones. My American ex put me onto it years ago- I knew very little about the war myself until I watched it. I generally don’t take much interest in military history, but the very human side he focuses on is fascinating and heartbreaking.
brilliantinemortal@reddit
Came here to recommend One Day in September, outstanding documentary film
OkPea5819@reddit
Yes One Day in September is good, missed that on my list!
Kitchen_Moose717@reddit
Adam Curtis - Bitter Lake. What’s going on in Iran right now will make a lot more sense.
PsstPspspsps@reddit
If you want something a bit more of an easy watch and you like South Park ¡Casa Bonita Mi Amor! Is the heartwarming story of the creators rescuing their favourite childhood attraction which they have referenced over the years in the show. It’s nice to see more of Matt and Trey behind the scenes salvaging the place that bought them so much joy as kids. It’s on Paramount.
ExplodingDogs82@reddit
A few I’ve not seen mentioned on here (yet)
• Tell me who I am - a bit harrowing and a gritty but gripping watch.
• Exit through the gift shop - directed by Banksy and delves into the exploitationof street art
• Blackfish - About Tilikum a captive orca and the consequences of keeping such creatures in zoo’s
• Grizzly Man - pieced together from found footage of Timothy Treadwell who made a life with ginormous bears.
• Three Identical Strangers - An utterly fascinating and quite unbelievable tale.
ukslim@reddit
Is Exit Through The Gift Shop a documentary though?
I supposed it's good to go in with that assumption anyway...
ExplodingDogs82@reddit
It’s often considered a "prankumentary” too but has always been badged as an authentic documentary.
Sir_Of_Meep@reddit
Giving a few different topics of my favourites:
Music Docs:
Fearless Freaks - The Flaming Lips, don't need to like the band to enjoy it, their story of real rags to riches is genuinely inspiring.
Decline of Western Civilisation - Does help to like 80s punk with this film. A look into the south California Punk scene that defined the punk culture for a good while.
Poverty Docs:
Vernon Florida & Grey Gardens - One is a look at a town famous for chopping off their limbs in insurance scams (very florida), the other is an incredibly sad insight into some relatives of Jackie Kennedy that live in poverty and are very unwell.
Weird People:
F for Fake - Orson Welles doc on Elmyr de Hory a piccaso forger whose paintings are almost certainly in galleries under Picaso's name. This has all the Orson charm
Salesman (1969) - Inspired Glen, Glengarry Ross, basically Death of a Salesman with real life bible sellers.
Shout out to anything Werner Herzog, don't only watch Grizzly Man, and anything Errol Morris. Through Wim Wenders in there as well for Salt of the Earth.
PsstPspspsps@reddit
Great recommendations. I’ll give some of these a go. Have you seen Hated: GG Allin & the Murder Junkies? A very strange character. Can’t really call him a musician!
Any_Crazy_500@reddit
‘Don’t fuck with cats’ is a good one. Also ‘Seaspiracy’ and ‘The Gamechangers’ are worth a watch.
bosscockuk@reddit
Battered bastards of baseball ( don’t have to like baseball)
Icarus ( goes wild in second half)
shitty_zombies@reddit
I thought Icarus. Came here to suggest it.
bosscockuk@reddit
its so good, watch the first half and your think, yes this is quite intersesting and then it goes insane...
sundayhungover@reddit
One day in America: 9/11 - it's a mini series on Disney +. One of the best documentaries I've ever seen even if extremely disturbing.
Routine-Pair-7829@reddit
Watched this recently and it’s incredible. The first person accounts and footage from inside and around the towers is so poignant.
arrowtotheaction@reddit
Seconded. Just incredible. Also the documentary that came out on C4 within a year of 9/11 that has the footage by the brothers who were attached to a NYFD unit to film a documentary.
iamdeeproy@reddit
I watched one on iPlayer recently about the Ford Cortina. Also on iPlayer is a good documentary series called Signs of the times, which looks at people's tastes in home furnishings in the 80s .
ukslim@reddit
Try and find Kings of Pastry.
Worst case, I think there are low-def transfers on YouTube or Vimeo etc.
It's a fly-on-the wall about a French high-end patisserie competition, and it's astonishing.
fwendy123@reddit
the perfect neighbour. I think the less you know about it going in, the better
Civil-Ad3301@reddit
On iPlayer there is a wonderful interior design series called ‘Signs of the Times’. It was filmed 92/93 and features people talking about their homes and decor choices but it is so much more than that - you get a glimpse into relationships, the class system, and much more. It’s funny and informative and quite nostalgic!
Spudbanger@reddit
Thanks for telling us about this. Found and watchlisted..
dobbynobson@reddit
I adore this series; it's shot by Martin Parr. It's such a pinpointed moment in time - the bachelor pad, the Laura Ashley home, the Chelsea girl, the nearly-divorced couple. I have a postcard from a Parr retrospective which is a still from this series. It's cushions on a sofa, and the caption says "we keep buying things thinking 'that'll look better', and it just doesn't". A salutory tale!
There's a similar series he did called From A to B: Tales of Modern Motoring which is 5 episodes on folk and their cars from 1994. It's also on iPlayer. Same style (no narration, just a series of vignets), with people explaining their cars and what they love about driving. The travelling salesmen one is fascinating, it's like another world, so analogue. It also reveals how unselfconscious people were back then. No stress about being ridiculed online, everyone looked normal and talked frankly. And the cars take me straight back to childhood - Fiestas, Mondeos, Golfs, Novas - all square tin boxes in bright colours. Very nostalgic.
Civil-Ad3301@reddit
Ah yes Martin Parr! Loved his British seaside photos. I didn’t know about the car version, I will watch - thank you!
No-Wealth5005@reddit
commenting to come back to
ellz9191@reddit
Cancer Conflict on Netflix, Missing Millionaires on IT, Night Caller (not sure what that's on)
Streamliner85@reddit
Man on Wire.
FrontRowBreakfast@reddit
Anything Storyville on BBC iPlayer
Nervous-Yak8523@reddit
Absolutely this 👌
Walkera43@reddit
They Shall Not Grow Old is an amazing story of everyday life while fighting in WW1, told by soldiers themselves.
Ok_Contest3903@reddit
The Kinahan doc on the Irish Escobar is very good. Loved the Salt Path on Now
rondal99@reddit
Anything by Errol Morris, but particularly The Thin Blue Line.
Sad_Breakfast_Plate@reddit
The Dawn Wall!!! So fricken good.
Three identical strangers is a crazy story.
To too Searching for Sugar Man.
PowerApp101@reddit
The one about Bernie Madoff. Insane.
Duanedoberman@reddit
The World At War is the definitive documentary about the 2nd world war made in the 1970s it stands the test of time and is Narrated by Lawrence Olivier.
Early_Enthusiasm_787@reddit
The Vietnam series by Ken burns come close
bcs00002@reddit
The Civil War by Ken Burns for me.
NaturalTruth1374@reddit
One of the all time greats, plus that score by Carl Davis. ❤️
Inside-Try-394@reddit
Inventing L.A.: The Chandlers and Their Times
ApprehensiveYam9631@reddit
Absolutely! Seeing this as a kid when it first aired turned me on to documentaries. I rewatched it again last year and it’s still as relevant, jarring and so well made.
It has the sweet spot of getting the perspectives and word of mouth of the people who were actually participating in the war instead of a lid of talking head “experts”
Although, I’d take what Albert Speer says with a massive pinch of salt!
daddy-dj@reddit
The opening titles are enough to give you nightmares for years.
Menyana@reddit
Loved it.
Brickie78@reddit
TWaW is pretty much guaranteed to be on somewhere at any given time.
Almost never repeated is Cold War made by the same guys in the late 90s and with Branagh instead of Olivier.
lobster_god55@reddit
Excellent suggestion. On a similar note The Great War from 1964 does the same job for the First World War.
idcalvin@reddit
Superb recommendation. An all time classic.
bcs00002@reddit
The Civil War by Ken Burns. Finally watched it after meaning to for years during bottle feeds with my little baby daughter.
It's beautiful, the music honestly could put me to sleep in a good way. The voiceover is really pleasant and nice to listen to ( something lost in modern documentary's). The fact that the ACW was the first war to really be photoshopped on a mass scale is really interesting too, you really connect with these people much more than paintings of precious wars etc when ther e photographs.
Early_Enthusiasm_787@reddit
The recent 7/7 coming one and dunblane massacre on iPlayer were excellent
arrowtotheaction@reddit
There’s a good one about the Bradford FC fire on there from last year too.
ShirtIndividual7233@reddit
The Boy Who's Skin Fell Off
Sounds terrible but it's actually quite uplifting. The world would be a better place with more Jonny Kennedy's in it!
The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off'? Watch it here on Channel 4:
arrowtotheaction@reddit
Oh my gosh, I remember watching this when it aired, what a beautiful soul. Can’t imagine the pain he endured. Any time I hear Don’t Stop Me Now I think of him ❤️
arrowtotheaction@reddit
This Instagram account posts documentaries to watch, many of them are free on YouTube. They recommended one which I watched one the other night called Carts of Darkness about homeless guys racing shopping carts down hills in Vancouver, such a good film.
www.instagram.com/docstowatch
https://youtu.be/zi-f_J6hV-g?si=umAOrI_BNZ0S6se5
SurrealAle@reddit
Get yourself on an Adam Curtis binge, maybe Power of Nightmares or HyperNormalisation
paradeoxy1@reddit
And so the people of AskUK watched Adam Curtis...
And then something strange happened
Cool_Doubt2152@reddit
Agreed, although not a fan of his lack of commentary on the latest one! It needs his voice
paradeoxy1@reddit
A lot of his earlier stuff has no commentary either, but I like his stuff regardless
Theres3ofMe@reddit
I did this but ended up having an existential crisis.
Difficult_Bad1064@reddit
I think mine coincided with watching these actually!
Don't watch too many at once. Existential crises are really very unpleasant.
elbapo@reddit
I just want to say yes i do love these but take them with a pinch of salt. I always find the word 'Then' does a lot of heavy lifting linking various events.
django_undead@reddit
Bitter Lake is really good too.
doepfersdungeon@reddit
Careful . Bit of a Pandoras box these....
Crafty_Bad_6232@reddit
Thirded.
LengthImaginary9017@reddit
And Trauma Zone (available on iPlayer)
bh_44@reddit
Yep. Loads of them on iPlayer. Personal favourite is Bitter Lake.
Difficult_Bad1064@reddit
Seconded. Adam Curtis stuff is captivating.
Dr_Edward_Morbius@reddit
Helvetica. I Dream Of Wires.
Well, you did say obscure was OK.
StrawberryDry1344@reddit
Louis theroux is good but i prefer the older ones.
Loud-Welder1947@reddit
King of Kong - A Fistful of Quarters
OPGR1234@reddit
There’s a thing on YouTube called life in a day. It’s not a documentary as such, more a montage of really world life clips but it’s really cool to watch. think they also made a second.
PercentageFull4162@reddit
Any of the Louis Theroux older documentaries are superb in particular the US ones. Scary
yorkspirate@reddit
I remember watching them years ago but not taking to them however I find them much better now, also his podcasts are good. That said, watched his latest one recently and was underwhelmed by it
Armoredfist3@reddit
Vietnam series by Ken Burns
ferdelance008@reddit
Not sure if you access to this but the documentary on the Sinking of MV Sewol it will depress, horrify and then enrage you.
odkfn@reddit
Look up Peter Santanenllo on YouTube. So many great documentaries!!
DoctorOctagonapus@reddit
Someone's uploaded Exploding The Legend: The Gunpowder Plot to YouTube. An hour of Richard Hammond recreating the Gunpowder Plot as accurately as he could to find out what would have happened if Guy Fawkes had been successful.
FoundObjects4@reddit
Absolutely. Madness in the Fast Lane. https://youtu.be/vaTmn3pWLRQ?si=hNoYZS_Iy1HNpavG
MaterialSilly1536@reddit
Lots of good recommends here , just wanted to add one not mentioned . "Only The DEAD " . An Aussie journalist in the Iraq war trying to report as independently as possible getting dragged into the darkest rabbit hole . https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HMVeVYQ1VYY
Defiant-Tackle-0728@reddit
Ive been rewatching "Tales from the Green Valley" on You Tube.
It was made by the BBC as part of their "Farm" series about 15 years ago where 3 historian/archaelogists live as one did in the 1500s.
The same series has Victorian, Edwardian and WW2 examples plus a couple of spin offs like Christmas episodes.
Ive also enjoyed "Tell Me How I died" and "Killer Cases" on C4 too.
Creative_Rise@reddit
American Movie!
birchbarn@reddit
The Shark Callers of Kontu.
‘The Sharkcallers of Kontu depicts the ancient tradition of 'sharkcalling' in the village of Kontu, on the remote west coast of New Ireland in Papua New Guinea. There are only a few men remaining who use magic to call, trap and kill sharks by hand from their small outrigger canoes.’
It’s still up on YouTube. Truly fascinating and comes in at under an hour.
TheFiftyCalibre@reddit
Ken Burns, anything by Ken Burns. I thoroughly enjoyed the Vietnam documentary, so many layers.
Also, the "Estonia" documentary on Discovery+. It's about the MV Estonia passenger ferry that sank in 1994. It is an English subtitled documentary.
Forsaken_Republic_98@reddit
The Civil War by Ken Burns. To this day, the best docuseries I've ever seen
OkPea5819@reddit
Dear Zachary Inside Job Touching the Void Grizzly Man Blackfish The Cove Taxi to the Dark Side Restrepo Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
theraininspainfallsm@reddit
Big warning on dear Zachary it’s a great documentary but very emotional.
ToyotaComfortAdmirer@reddit
Absolutely fucking soul destroying. Sat there with tears trickling down my face. An incredible documentary. I’ll never watch it again.
After_Translator_223@reddit
Grizzly Man is a good shout.
RepsUpMoneyDown@reddit
+1 for Restrepo.
Workshymassiv@reddit
Touching The Void and Enron. Both absolutely brilliant
SpectreSingh89@reddit
Conspiracy theories on Youtube. I seen Jesse Ventura a fair bit but his can bd a bit hmph hmph.
mightyfine87@reddit
Jonestown
nick9000@reddit
Back when I thought that AI was cool I really enjoyed the documentary AlphaGo - the story of how an AI was developed that beat one of the world's leading Go players.
bowak@reddit
I still think that hyper-specific ai can be very cool. I often think we really need a different word so we can distinguish between LLMs and other types.
Iminawideopenspace@reddit
Peoples Century Starts in 1900, and covers major events of the entire century but from the point of view of ordinary people. Some great footage, interviews, and stories.
Touching The Void Two British mountaineers get into difficulty in the Andes. The story is genuinely unbelievable.
The Two Escobars The story of how drug money bankrolled Colombian football, creating a team that many thought could win the World Cup. But of course it goes terribly wrong.
The American Civil War (Ken Burns) A masterpiece.
Murderball Follows the US paraplegic rugby team on their journey to the Olympics of 2004. They play in reinforced wheelchairs, and F each other up, it’s insane.
Senna (Asif Kapadia) Brazilian F1 racing legend Ayrton Senna. Lots of interviews and news footage of the time.
Diego Maradona (Asif Kapadia) Follows Maradona at Napoli, and how he became and God in Naples.
The Untold History Of The United States Compelling stuff from Oliver Stone. Helps rewrite the history we’re generally taught, and makes you see the world differently.
RepsUpMoneyDown@reddit
I would *highly* recommend Operation Odessa - it's a very well filmed doc about some cocaine dealers who got heavy in the Miami scene and used their connections to try and purchase a submarine from the collapsed USSR to use for the cartels.
Following that, Cocaine Cowboys (either 1, or reloaded) - follows the very first 'big' dealers in again, the Miami cocaine trade, from rags to owning whole city blocks, Griselda blanco etc
Away from that topic, maybe even just watching some stuff on Youtube back to back from Tommy G, he is a independent youtube/journalist going out to different parts of the states, typically interviewing Gangs, Car thief's, but has done some really interesting prison work. Eye opening to see what it can be like there.
I doubt you're into war, but given the current political climate, Severe Clear, Korengal, and Restrepo are all amazing war doc's (again, lots of first hand footage, interviews, on the ground during it)
All of the above aren't the worlds most obscure but i've never heard anyone else reccomend them to me, and they are a big mix of things. Maybe for you, maybe not, but you asked. Anything on BBC iPlayer / 4oD i'd personally sway away from, but that's just me. Going by my recommendations, very rich coming from me.
bowak@reddit
I still sometimes find myself wondering if Operation Odessa is a fake. It was just too good!
I need to rewatch it.
Moomoocaboob@reddit
Restrepo is fantastic, especially when read with Junger’s War. Was very sad to hear of Hetherington being killed in Libya.
FlissMarie@reddit (OP)
Great, will look into these! Thanks for all of your recommendations ☺️
RepsUpMoneyDown@reddit
By all means - if you give us some more info , im happy to recommend more. I've also attached trailers to my post.
Fit_Egg5574@reddit
The octopus teacher
Left_Condition2044@reddit
Class Action Park - absolutely WILD
bowak@reddit
This is what I was doing to post.
I would just about have been old enough to go there with friends at the tale end of the park's heyday if I lived in Yankland and the doc gave me a weird sense of fomo that I never had the chance.
What a film.
sunflowebloom@reddit
I loved that, and also the YouTube videos. I know people died and got injured but it didn’t feel as heavy as a lot of documentaries
Killahills@reddit
Yeah, I was also going to recommend this. Crazy story about a hilariously unsafe water park.
Rich_27-@reddit
When they described some of the rides it's hilarious, especially when they test one and the car comes off the rails and bounces down a hill and over a motorway
Katodz@reddit
Mommy dead and dearest. Anything by Louis Theroux. Talhotblonde. Catfish (the film not the TV series)
Longjumping_Bug832@reddit
Talhotblonde has stayed with me for years!
Gunboat_Diplomat_@reddit
Bitter Lake by Adam Curtis
Chance-Bread-315@reddit
Are you after British docs or open to American stuff too?
If you have Netflix I'd really recommend Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey and the sort of follow-on series that's just recently been released, Trust Me: The False Prophet. Both about the Mormon sect/cult FLDS.
Hungry_Living766@reddit
Koyaanisqatsi.
JudgementCometh@reddit
Hoop Dreams May even be on iPlayer
gunpowdervacuum@reddit
House of Secrets (Netflix, about a possible folie a deux) and The Railway Men (also Netflix, about a disaster caused by a global company that killed hundreds) are my favourites of the last few years.
calatheaandcats@reddit
All my favourites have been said, but I really enjoyed Don’t f with cats and Grey Gardens (not true crime).
Boomboombubble@reddit
The Jinx and Wild Wild Country are both very good.
Theres3ofMe@reddit
The Jinx is brilliant tbf.
jlangue@reddit
I was going to recommend Wild Wild Country too. Tells us a lot about modern times.
WildsmithRising@reddit
I loved Wild Wild Country. I worked at a company which had been founded by a bunch of Osho's sanyassins for a few years. Most of the staff there were followers, and I (being a non-cult member) was definitely in the minority. It was a strange time but fascinating in an odd way. I'm still friends with a few of them, including one person who spent months at the ranch when everything was falling to pieces. The stories she's told me!
misscharleyp@reddit
Merseyside Detectives- The Murders of Ashley & Olivia. Really good and shows how the cases came together.
Ketil_b@reddit
Film length ones (90 minutes)
my brother's keeper 1992 touching the void 2003 deep water 2006 Madness on Wheels
Long format TV (60 minutes) These are TV series with standalone episodes going decades
Equinox Timeshift Horizons Time Team
Scottie99@reddit
Chernobyl although fictionalised is top class.
curlypistachio@reddit
King of kong. A story about an arcade game but ultimately a fight between good and evil.
Straight2theMAN@reddit
The Rescue
Mrs_Biscuit@reddit
Absolutely second this! It's about the Thai football team trapped a flooded cave and their subsequent rescue from it. I think National Geographic made it.
Ok-Treacle8973@reddit
The Trainwreck series on Netflix is good
14 Peaks
The Vietnam War (Ken Burns)
Catching the Kingpins
Juicy_In_The_Sky@reddit
Yep, anything Ken Burns 👌🏻
spartan0746@reddit
If you like Vietnam as a topic then ‘The Fog of War’ is very well done.
spartan0746@reddit
If you like Vietnam as a topic then ‘The Fog of War’ is very well done.
HistoryDisastrous493@reddit
Pretty much anything directed by Werner Herzog is a safe bet?
Specialist_Elk140@reddit
Not for your mental health tho, if you know you know.
Suspicious_Banana255@reddit
Any of Louis Theroux's documentaries.
Free-Purpose-542@reddit
A certain kind of death - on youtube. It stuck with me since watching it
yalrightyeh@reddit
The Ascent of Man. A bit dated but a real classic I think and I could listen to Jacob Bronowski all day, really captivating
witdim@reddit
If you haven't see The imposter (2012), I'd really recommend that. Best to go in as blind as possible, but it starts with a missing child case and gets stranger and stranger. It's one of those docs where you keep changing your mind about what you think is going on.
Silhouette_Sneezes@reddit
This is, hands down, my favourite documentary.
FlissMarie@reddit (OP)
Just finished watching it. Wow, very gripping and definitely had the shock factor. Loved it!
ExplodingDogs82@reddit
Can vouch - a masterful doc
FlissMarie@reddit (OP)
Thanks so much for this! Do you know where we could watch it? Says on Google that it’s on Prime but just checked and not on there sadly.
witdim@reddit
Are you in the US or Europe?
FlissMarie@reddit (OP)
I’m in the UK
witdim@reddit
I'm having trouble finding it. The only possible listing is on Sky Store. Perhaps I should've checked this before recommending it!
FlissMarie@reddit (OP)
Ah such a shame! Maybe it’ll come back on Prime at some point, will add it to the watchlist.
GroupApprehensive978@reddit
Install a vpn and change your location.
Opinelrock@reddit
It's on YouTube for free!
FlissMarie@reddit (OP)
Thanks for that
Kieran_Mc@reddit
The Cave of Forgotten Dreams - Werner Herzog examining some of the oldest cave paintings made by humans. It was initially released as a 3D film but it's not necessary to view it in 3D to appreciate the documentary.
The King of Kong - a bit niche, this is about a rivalry between two men battling over the world high score on Donkey Kong. Billy Mitchell (whose record was being challenged) continues to be a controversial figure nearly 20 years after this came out.
The Story of Tetris (The Gaming Historian / Youtube) - more interesting than you'd think, there was a lot of politicking around getting the rights to release Tetris outside of the Soviet Union.
Independent_Hat_6380@reddit
Wild wild country hands down the best documentary I've ever seen. Won't give anything away.
MaxBulla@reddit
Once Brothers from the ESPN 30 for 30 series. It's about the former Yugoslav national basketball team (the best in the world at the time, including the US) with many on the brink of or already in the NBA. Then the war broke out...... brilliant documentary, regardless if you love sports or not. just on a human level.
WildsmithRising@reddit
Wild, wild country is fascinating.
I very recently watched a documentary called Trust Me: The False Prophet which was really gripping.
Douiret@reddit
Yes, I've just finished Trust Me: The False Prophet, it was fantastic!
WildsmithRising@reddit
It was, wasn't it? Just so gripping, from start to finish. The video-making couple were so dedicated and determined and kind. Thank goodness for them.
Douiret@reddit
All i can say is, Go Nomz! ❤️
Plastic_Library649@reddit
Hypernormalisation by Adam Curtis.
It will change your life.
It's still on iPlayer, I think.
PetitPxl@reddit
Jiro Dreams of Sushi
Grizzly Man
Sound it Out
Katodz@reddit
Hotel coolgardie
TanjoCards@reddit
Commenting for tomorrow
SDHester1971@reddit
One Day in September
PanNationalistFront@reddit
No Stone Unturned
After_Translator_223@reddit
I make documentaries for a living. Some of my faves are Three Identical Strangers, Cropsey, Grey Gardens, Searching for Sugar man, Tickled, Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus, Misha and the Wolves, The Lost Children.
crankgirl@reddit
Dark side of the 90s. Really enjoying it at the moment.
sunflowebloom@reddit
They had the story behind the balloon boy on Netflix
cryamiga@reddit
Zero Days (2016) about Stuxnet - the malware introduced into the Iranian nuclear centrifuges to sabotage them
sunflowebloom@reddit
Voices from the shadows. Google the website and it will give you the link to watch it on vemo free.
I enjoyed the Royal Navy one that was on a couple of years, getting to know people on ships.
I found a channel 4 one on submarines too.
Lion in the house about childhood cancer, quite old now
RonBonxious@reddit
How To With John Wilson - three series of six episodes each
Randystarbuxx@reddit
Barkley Marathons is good. All this mayhem is outstanding, path to Everest is interesting. Note none are on the lines of what you have already watched!
sputnikmonolith@reddit
Wait isn't this the film on YT called 'The Finisher' ? That's the best film about the Barkley Marathons.
RonBonxious@reddit
'The Barkley Marathons: The Race That Eats Its Young' is probably the best-known and follows the 2012 event, and 'The Finisher' focuses on Jasmin Paris' three Barkley attempts.
sputnikmonolith@reddit
Oh yeah, I forgot about that!
Randystarbuxx@reddit
Think I saw something on Netflix but was a few years back
Murky_Fisherman1327@reddit
+1 for Barkley!
Aksium__84@reddit
20 Days in Mariopool. one of the best, if not the best documetaries about the war in Ukraina, and just how savage the attack was.
bfairbz@reddit
Watch ‘2000 Metres to Andriivka’, it’s heartbreaking
broadarrow39@reddit
Hell Jumper on iPlayer is one of the best docs I've seen for a long time. It's the story of a young man from the UK who travels out to Ukraine and puts his life on the line to help residents escape from Russian occupied towns and villages.
bfairbz@reddit
A Bunch of Amateurs - a storyville doc on Iplayer, really wholesome.
The Truffle Hunters - also storyville but not on Iplayer anymore, in Italian so not everyone’s cup of coffee but it is also wholesome and also beautiful
LocalMendicant@reddit
If you like climbing documentaries The Last Mountain is worth watching
Tigermasterdude@reddit
Blackfish. Orca's respond to abuse with violence. Who'd have thunk it?
Fredpillow1995@reddit
+1 absolutely superb that one.
Street-Tell1927@reddit
The Last Dance is one of my favourite ever documentary series, and I knew nothing whatsoever about any of it before watching it.
cloudz4444@reddit
Paradise Lost Trilogy
Loud-Willingness2814@reddit
The Naudet brothers 9/11 documentary is excellent, they were following a rookie fireman in Manhattan on the day of the attacks.
I watched a documentary about Jane Mansfield and her daughter on a flight recently, it was really interesting, think it was called My Mom Jayne. Then watched one about John Candy which made me cry!
The Jinx is very good (stick with it if it feels slow, it is worth it) and there is a second "series" which is also well worth watching.
TheMarthaFarther@reddit
Check out that nutter alex honnold in Free Solo a docu-film about climbing a slab of granite with no ropes in yosemite park. It's utterly enthralling.
Peggerzz@reddit
I have rewatched this many times as it’s just mind boggling to me (and 99.9% of other humans I would suspect)
LocalMendicant@reddit
Once Upon A Time In Northern Ireland on BBC was great - it's about The Troubles
The Last Dance on Netflix is an obvious one but it's really good and I'm not a basketball fan.
BBC again The Yorkshire Ripper Files: A Very British Crime Story
Not sure if either are available right now.
brilliantinemortal@reddit
A couple of excellent (and prescient) documentary films, both Oscar-winning, addressing US Cold War foreign policy if you're into that kind of thing!
Hearts and Minds (1974) - about the Vietnam War, gave me a better understanding of the American national mindset (not just the policy-makers) than anything I've ever seen before: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3rH8TyOjTU (full film)
The Fog of War (2003) - formatted around conversations with Robert McNamara, Secretary of Defence under JFK and LBJ, illustrates the decision-making around the Cold War from inside the administrations whilst also shedding a light on the military-industrial complex: https://watchdocumentaries.com/the-fog-of-war/ (full film)
Was also going to recommend One Day in September but it's already been recommended a few times, so let me just reinforce those recommendations!
Physical_Salt9373@reddit
Twisted sisters channel Unbelievable story
catmadwoman@reddit
Is that the one where they run onto the motorway. Really strange.
Peggerzz@reddit
Dear Zachary if you feel like sobbing all night
Candy_Lawn@reddit
Shoah....but be prepared for a journey and its 9 hours long.
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090015/?ref_=ext_shr
LondonHac@reddit
It's on the iPlayer at the moment (or it was recently). Incredible documentary.
KingKhram@reddit
I recently watched the OJ Simpson 5 part documentary about the murders and that was fantastic. I was fairly young at the time and remember parts of it from what I saw on the news, so it was really good to have a proper deep dive into it.
Searching For Sugarman is one of my favourites and is such a feel good doc. Great music included
ShufflingToGlory@reddit
OJ: Made In America is the best documentary I've ever seen. Around 8 hours across the episodes so plenty to get your teeth into.
Civil-Ad3301@reddit
It’s perfection and absolutely gripping
sundayhungover@reddit
I am currently watching it now and it is brilliant!
Mr_BigFace@reddit
Best documentary I've ever seen, film or TV
MickSturbs@reddit
Searching for Sugarman
daddy-dj@reddit
Great suggestion.
Did you hear about that time that Secret Cinema did a showing of it, without telling the audience beforehand what they'd be seeing? The audience sat through the whole film and then, as the end credits rolled, the screen slowly lifted to show Rodriguez standing on the stage. He and his band then performed a concert for everyone 🥰
Great_Cucumber2924@reddit
Wow, super jealous of that audience
anabsentfriend@reddit
What platform is this on?
OK_LK@reddit
The soundtrack is cracking
theraininspainfallsm@reddit
I think this was one of the first things I saw on Netflix. A great documentary.
Safe-Consideration88@reddit
An amazing story, I often think him, running around in poverty whilst an entire nation is worshiping him.
TheGroover1970@reddit
Was going to say this. It's an excellent documentary.
Lower_Inspector_9213@reddit
Absolutely
Lps4thewin@reddit
Accidental Courtesy: Daryl Davis, Race & America (2016)
It follows the named black musician,author, lecturer who's spent decades engaging with the KKK and through his openness, he's made friends with some of the former members and helped many renounce their racist beliefs. It's an interesting peek behind the curtain and a great way to show, that all you gotta do is open the channels and talk to eachother. Otherwise, we're always gonna fight eachother.
Rabbit-1989@reddit
Wild Wild Country. Absolutely blew my mind a few years back.
louilou96@reddit
Listers: Extreme Birdwatching. Its free on YouTube snd its so funny and great, I recommend it to everyone
Zealousideal-Soil-41@reddit
Stalking Pete Doherty. It’s a mad ride, Louis Theroux highly recommends it. Not to be confused with Who the fuck Is Pete Doherty.
srmarmalade@reddit
Give 'Pete Doherty, Who Killed My Son?' - gives a good insight into that prick.
Blackmore_Vale@reddit
If you can find it. Ghosts of the abyss by James Cameron. The gold standard of documentaries.
crsj@reddit
Class Action Park is class.
Rich_27-@reddit
It's awesome
trailer
crsj@reddit
So, so goood
justyrust74@reddit
From 2005, This one is about the war machine and about propaganda, it seems appropriate considering what’s going on in the world https://youtu.be/8KH6FWs99Aw?si=FeXqideLgWLbU6u0
If anyone hasn’t seen it, I would recommend it, full documentary film in the link above, on YouTube
Ales1390@reddit
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Has its funny moments, but also surprisingly some very heartfelt moments.
i_jizz_nails@reddit
Just watched the lost bass on iplayer, it's great but I am a Beatles fan
Nigelb72@reddit
Hookers, Hustlers, Pimps and their Johns...
Moomoocaboob@reddit
I’ve been working my way back through SevenUp! It’s on YouTube and itvx. Started in the 60s with a bunch of seven year olds from across England. Every seven years they interview them and are due to do another (the final one) this year, 70Up.
The Secret History of Our Streets was a pretty good series, as was A House Through Time.
Rich_27-@reddit
class action park
It's about the worst, craziest amusement park ever, absolutely bonkers and a fantastic watch
sparkysmonkey@reddit
Behind the bastards on Netflix is great. It’s technically a podcast but it’s so good
dulciecarter@reddit
The death of Yugoslavia BBC series on the war, interviews main army and leaders. Absolutely fascinating and horrific documentary.
Fromasha@reddit
Planet Earth
Least_Mall_4604@reddit
Unknown Number: The High School Catfish is crazy and very compelling.
Love Me, Love My Doll is hilarious and absolutely disgusting
doepfersdungeon@reddit
King of Kong
Grizzly man
Touching the void
ams3000@reddit
The Staircase(2004) is awesome. Truly. I think it’s on Netflix. The Imposter (2012) absolutely amazing. The BEST twist ever. Also on Netflix.
Thank me later. :)
Ohtherewearethen@reddit
Secrets of the Bees on Disney+
ThrowRAkitty13@reddit
There’s something wrong with Aunt Diane annoyed me so much, like yeah, something is wrong with her, she has drink/drug problem, it's not a mystery!
Silhouette_Sneezes@reddit
Dear Zachary is not for the faint of heart.
ThrowRAkitty13@reddit
It's not, but it's a great documentary.
FlissMarie@reddit (OP)
Ikr! We were really exited to watch it what with all the recommendations, but as you say, it was just a family in denial re. a woman with a drink and drug problem!
zakik88@reddit
The Search For The Wrong Eyed Jesus. It’s on BBC iPlayer.
Otherwise_Night9702@reddit
The Rescue. It’s about 12 boys trapped in a cave in Thailand rescued by nerds who did cave diving/ scuba diving for hobby.
Apurvis90@reddit
"Man on wire" is excellent if you haven't seen that.
WankyWarrior@reddit
Don’t Get High On Your Own Supply.
It’s on YouTube, it’s a bit grim but it’s great
birdinthebush74@reddit
BBC iplayer Mr Nobody against Putin, it won an Oscar
BBC The Elizabeth Taylor doc
CarefulHomework8110@reddit
'Haunters: the art of a scare' is fabulous
underscoreShaw@reddit
Once Upon a Time in Iraq
Rembrandt72_@reddit
If you’re interested in War documentaries - World War II: From The Frontlines and Greatest Events Of WWII In Colour are great, both on Netflix.
Murder 24/7 on BBC was good, I think it’ll be along similar lines to 24 Hours in Custody although I’ve never actually watched that.
Unknown Number: The Highschool Catfish, Kidnapped: Elizabeth Smart, and The Girl In The Picture were good too. All on Netflix
Cool_Doubt2152@reddit
Hypernormalisation by Adam Curtis
FinalEdit@reddit
Super/Man - The Christopher Reeve Story
It will have you in fucking tears. It is AMAZING.
Also Klitschko: More than a Fight - its about the mayor of Kiev and his relationship with Zelenskyy. It is incredible.
Red-Wimp@reddit
I’m currently watching Simon Schama’s History Of Britain, should be on iPlayer if History is your thing.
FitSolution2882@reddit
The Civil War by Ken Burns.
US History but impeccably well done. Pretty sure it still holds records for how many people watched it - like genuinely enormous numbers.
Koopatrooper64@reddit
13th Amendment on Netflix.
crsj@reddit
Not really documentary but all of the Unsolved Mystery seasons are on the Tubi app. Hundreds of episodes.
Comfortable_Big_7923@reddit
Free Solo.
coxythelegend@reddit
The Dark Tourist series on Netflix is worth a watch… if you can find it “via means” then I recommend ‘Winnebago Man’… there’s a 60 minutes version on YouTube that aired on BBC4 a few year ago. There’s also an instagram account called docstowatch which has a YouTube channel dedicated to finding docs on YouTube free to watch. I found out about one today called ‘Carts of Darkess’ about homeless men who race shopping carts down hills in Vancouver.
hamstertoybox@reddit
I watched Dark Tourist in the dead of night, whilst breastfeeding, and so sleep deprived I was hallucinating. I’m not entirely sure the series wasn’t a fever dream.
kat0id@reddit
Last Breath is brilliant
IHazUZERNAME@reddit
Vice guide to Liberia on YouTube! Crazy doc
Dudleydacat@reddit
“Oil City Confidential” is a very cool documentary which explores the rapid rise and sudden disbanding of Dr Feelgood. The band took London by storm, sped through Europe, and conquered the UK music charts, but imploded just before punk rose to prominence in the 1970s.
Empty-Question-9526@reddit
Secret Mall Apartment was quite good
scrumpu@reddit
The fear of 13 documentary about a prison inmate
davus_maximus@reddit
"Blindboy Undestroys the World" on the housing crisis. Hilarious.
oli_ramsay@reddit
The dawn wall
CosmicAlienFox@reddit
This is an older one, but I quite enjoyed The Occult History of the Third Reich.
MickSturbs@reddit
Last Breath (2019) about saturation diving.
matbur81@reddit
There's an outrageous two parter on iPlayer about a journalist posing as foreigner wanting to conduct business with the North Korean government. It's absolutely incredible. Well worth a watch, it's part of the (excellent) Storyville series.
RevDollyRotten@reddit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Mole_Agent
👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
s_polaris@reddit
Tell Me Who I Am. The story of twin brothers. One of them loses their memory in an accident and family secrets start to surface.
txe4@reddit
Kenneth Clark’s Civilisation
quicksilverjack@reddit
Netflix - The Kings of Tupelo, bizarre characters and consipiracy in the deep south of the US.
Keep Sweet: Pray and Obey, and similarly Trust Me:The False Prophet both about the FLDS Mormons, compelling but upsetting.
BBC Scotland's Murder Trial (https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m000d2cy/murder-trial ) series is also great. I especially recomment the episodes "The Vanishing Woman", "A Deadly Affair" and "The Girl in the River".
Channel 4's Imposter: The Man Who Came Back From the Dead (https://www.channel4.com/programmes/imposter-the-man-who-came-back-from-the-dead) is frankly wild, especially if you don't already know the story.
SteveC91OF@reddit
Bit of a silly one but ‘The King of Kong: A fist full of quarters’ Great story for Good vs Evil!
uncle_monty@reddit
Minding the Gap
Menyana@reddit
I suppose you've been through Louis Theroux? His new one, The Manosphere was very good.
I remember The Rise of The Nazis being very good.
Also, The programme: cons, cults, and kidnapping.
LimberGaelic@reddit
The Seven Five
tearsswwhereyyouread@reddit
The Hatchet Wielding Hitchhiker (2023) - about Kai the Hitchhiker who went viral in 2013 for 'saving' people with his hatchet, but then ended up murdering an unrelated man in cold blood on the other side of the country. Covers how agencies tried to establish him in his fame after the initial viral clip, how much he did not want to / was hard to work with, and what went wrong in his life previously that lead to him adopting a 'home-free not homeless' stance and travelling the country.
He went from never wanting an address to now having the same one for the rest of his life.
DeschainSWNC@reddit
The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
It's fantastic in so many ways. Cannot recommend it highly enough.
Serious_Bit9888@reddit
Hypernormalisation. By Adam Curtis. Made in 2016 but still relevent. Thought provoking. A one off film but Adam Curtis has made other documentaries that are well worth looking at.
Alternative_Head_416@reddit
If you like 24 hours in police custody, Forensics: the real CSI is essentially the BBC’s version and is almost as good.
MasterpieceAlone8552@reddit
Grizzly Man.. or any other Werner Herzog doc for that matter.
ChipCob1@reddit
Why We Fight. I think it's on YouTube
SnooLobsters8265@reddit
I really enjoyed Welcome to Leith. It’s shot like a horror film but is a documentary.
ot1smile@reddit
King of Kong
Loquis@reddit
Abby Ward documentary, her journey to getting back to playing international rugby after having a baby
https://rugbypass.tv/video/606918?playlistId=22507
Unique-Contract760@reddit
Have you seen the Storyville series of documentaries? All available on BBC iPlayer
SOASabredan@reddit
I recently watched Endurance on national geographic about the search for the lost ship that Shackleton sailed. They made really good use of Ai and old voice recordings to have the crew narrate parts that they had written down about the expedition.
Icy_March_8166@reddit
Tickled (2016)... Go into it with an open mind, but keep at it....it's a wild ride
SleepyWhio@reddit
The Last Breath - documentary (not the movie with Woody Harrelson based on the same subject) Netflix
The Rescue (about the Thai Cave Rescue) Disney+
CarrotRunning@reddit
Dig - A rivalry between two rock bands
Until the light takes us - a look at controversial Norwegian black metal
I'll be gone in the dark - the story of the hunt for the golden state killer
Once upon a time in Iraq
Bitter lake/hyper normalisation by Adam Curtis
christianjwaite@reddit
The Money Tree
PingouinFluffy@reddit
There are some great documentaries on the 'From the Archive' section of the iplayer. You have to go on categories and scroll past history and lifestyle. We have watched loads of them.
Wrongun25@reddit
The Horizon one about Artemis 2 was pretty good
horridbloke@reddit
Alien On Stage. It's the story of some Dorset bus drivers who decided to do Alien instead of their usual Christmas panto. The show bombed locally then they got to do a one night performance of it in the west end. The film includes some of the key bits of the performanc.I enjoyed it.
gsko5000@reddit
Jiro dreams of sushi
Searching for sugar man
Lower_Inspector_9213@reddit
Sugar man is fantastic 👍🏼
ExplodingDogs82@reddit
Third Searching for Sugarman …I watch it every few years
Lower_Inspector_9213@reddit
I have hopes that my music is out there in a similar way
Mammoth-Squirrel2931@reddit
If you want to get deep and really into at least some of how the world has turned the way it has I would highly recommend Adam Curtis' Hypernormalisation (BBC I Player), in fact I'd recommend all of his docos.
letspartylikeits2099@reddit
Listers: A glimpse into extreme bird watching is on YouTube for free. Banging 👌
ChickenButt2325@reddit
The Deepest Breath. Husband kept having to leave the room with anxiety 🤣
Lonely-Department329@reddit
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Collective_(2019_film)
Collective, or Collectiv as it is also called, is an incredible documentary about the aftermath of a deadly nightclub fire in Romania which unveiled widespread fraud and corruption throughout Romania.
twojabs@reddit
Any series by Simon Reeve is excellent and worth a watch
GinBitch@reddit
The Jinx and Going Clear - don't Google, just watch and let them blow your mind
Trequartista7777@reddit
The Mormons Are Coming, it's on iPlayer and well worth a watch. It's mainly following some American missionaries up here in the north at the Mormon temple in Chorley. It's an interesting watch, the people are so unbelievably idealistic, I'm not a religious guy at all but I found it to be a good documentary
The_Outsider82@reddit
The Contestant is a crazy one! I watched it recently on BBC. It’s part of their brilliant Storyville Series
GapPerfect5494@reddit
I mean how far back do you want to go? If you’ve never seen When We Were Kings (and if you’ve watched every documentary going it would have been difficult to miss), it is a masterpiece.
binkstagram@reddit
Civilisation is on BBC iPlayer. It is a classic series.
smushs88@reddit
Assuming you may have seen them but I’m a big fan of “Catching Killers” on Netflix.
Otherwise, if you’ve got Apple TV, I started watching “The Line” last night, seems to be about a seal team leader and his team turning on him following a tour in Mosul. Has promise after the first episode but not completed it yet.
Dragonfruit-Agitated@reddit
The Devil next Door on Netflix
HussingtonHat@reddit
If you fancy being fairly depressed and aghast Act of Killing is superb. Tickled is also fun in a fucked up way.
PracticeNo8733@reddit
Not super obscure but perhaps outside the scope of what you've been looking at...
Internet Historian, in particular:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qh9KBwqGxTI (Costa Concordia)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBPg5ftCMv8 (Fyre Festival)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QynNpzqYt0Y (Camping)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7nymZEXjf8 (Kony 2012)
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