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Mind-Blowing Documentaries Now Available to Stream

Mind-Blowing Documentaries Now Available to Stream

Recent mini-series such as Netflix’s hits “Tiger King” and “Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich” are good examples of the old adage that truth can be stranger than fiction. By revealing to audiences unknown and likely shocking aspects of the world we live in, these shows have become some of the most popular television content of the past year, inspiring binge-watching aplenty during this age of coronavirus lockdowns.

These shows are far from the first documentaries to provide exceptional entertainment. And while presenting facts is an essential aspect of documentaries, the greatest of the genre also have compelling narratives and, in certain cases, dabble in sensationalism.

24/7 Tempo has compiled a list of 24 mind-blowing documentaries — some films, some series — that are available on streaming platforms right now based on user and critic ratings on the Internet Movie Database (IMDb) and Rotten Tomatoes, as well as knowledge of individual works. Streaming availability has been determined using data from JustWatch.

Many of the most gripping documentaries deal with crime. Others explore aspects of the natural world the average person is unfamiliar with. Some take on issues of a more political nature, digging deeply to educate audiences. The movies on this list could fit each category. All of them offer something special — be it a shocking twist or an unbelievable subject.

For readers more interested in purely fictional works, these are the 100 best movies of all time.

 

To determine the best mind-blowing documentaries available to stream, 24/7 Tempo created an index based on each film or series’ Rotten Tomatoes average critic rating, Rotten Tomatoes average audience rating, and Internet Movie Database average user rating. To be considered, each film or series needed to be categorized as “documentary” by IMDb, have at least 5,000 user ratings on IMDb, and at least 10 Rotten Tomatoes critic reviews.

We averaged the user ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb and weighted by the number of votes for each. The combined user rating was then averaged with the Rotten Tomatoes critic rating. Editorial discretion was used to remove titles that were deemed insufficiently surprising and to add certain titles that were considered essential viewing.

Each film and series was available for streaming on at least one platform as of June 29, 2020, based on data from website JustWatch.

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

24. Jeffrey Epstein: Filthy Rich (2020)
> Featuring: Virginia Giuffre, Maria Farmer, Michael Reiter
> Directed by: Lisa Bryant
> Runtime: 226 min
> Available on: Netflix

The first season of the Netflix series, based on James Patterson’s bestseller “Filthy Rich” and co-written by John Connolly with Tim Malloy, focuses on Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender and pedophile who used his influence to provide young women for rich and powerful men. The season premiered in May. Critics regard the first season as a good start, though critic Sophie Gilbert of The Atlantic said the series “comes no closer to unraveling Epstein than any previous reportorial attempts have managed.” The series won the Critics’ Choice Real TV Awards Crime/Justice Show.

Source: Courtesy of HBO Documentary Films

23. Going Clear: Scientology & the Prison of Belief (2015)
> Featuring: Paul Haggis, Jason Beghe, Spanky Taylor
> Directed by: Alex Gibney
> Runtime: 119 min
> Available on: Google Play Movies, Vudu, YouTube, HBO Now, HBO Go, DIRECTV, Amazon Video, HBO Now Amazon Channel, HBO Max

Acclaimed director Alex Gibney wrote and directed this look at the controversial Church of Scientology, based on a book written by Lawrence Wright. The provocative documentary won three Emmys. Former church member Paul Haggis, one of the documentary’s writers, spoke on camera about the abuse and control that people were subjected to by the church. Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes called the film “thoroughly disquieting but impossible to ignore.” It has a 95% Freshness rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics.

Source: Courtesy of Sundance Selects

22. Tabloid (2010)
> Featuring: Joyce McKinney, Peter Tory, Troy Williams
> Directed by: Errol Morris
> Runtime: 87 min
> Available on: Google Play Movies, YouTube, Showtime, fuboTV, Amazon Video, DIRECTV, Apple iTunes, Showtime Amazon Channel

“Tabloid” recounts the bizarre, funny, and salacious adventures of Joyce McKinney, a former beauty queen with an IQ of 168, who chased her romantic fantasies all over the globe and those stories became tabloid newspaper fodder. The film was directed by documentarian Errol Morris, whose other notable works include “The Fog of War,” “Gates of Heaven,” and “Vernon, Florida.” Roger Moore of Tribune News Service said, “Mesmerizing…In Joyce McKinney, Morris has found a fittingly weird and funny muse.” “Tabloid” has a 92% Freshness rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics.

Source: Courtesy of Soom Foods via Facebook

21. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
> Featuring: Arnold Friedman, Jesse Friedman, David Friedman
> Directed by: Andrew Jarecki
> Runtime: 107 min
> Available on: HBO Now, HBO Go, Vudu, YouTube, Google Play Movies, Microsoft Store, HBO Now Amazon Channel, Apple iTunes, DIRECTV, FandangoNOW, Amazon Video, HBO Max

This documentary “takes the concept of reality television and twists it into a shocking but poignant art form,” says critic Bill Muller in the Arizona Republic. The film tells the story of a seemingly normal family whose father and son are accused of horrific crimes. The documentary has a Freshness rating of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and was nominated for Best Documentary at the Academy Awards. Director Andrew Jarecki would later direct the popular HBO mini-series “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst.”

Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Releasing

20. Man on Wire (2008)
> Featuring: Philippe Petit, Jean François Heckel, Jean-Louis Blondeau
> Directed by: James Marsh
> Runtime: 94 min
> Available on: Google Play Movies, Vudu, YouTube, realeyz, Amazon Video, Microsoft Store, FlixFling, Redbox, Magnolia Selects, FandangoNOW, Tubi TV, The Roku Channel, Apple iTunes

“Man on Wire,” about the story of high-wire performer Philippe Petit, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2009, for director James Marsh. The documentary details how Petit prepared for his famous walk on a cable between the Twin Towers in New York City in 1974 and how this feat affected his life afterward. Petit wrote the book “To Reach the Clouds: My High Wire Walk Between the Twin Towers” that recounted his six-year quest to walk between the buildings. The Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes says the documentary “brings you every ounce of suspense that can be wrung from a man on a (suspended) wire.” The movie also has a perfect score among 158 critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Source: Courtesy of Indomina Releasing

19. The Imposter (2012)
> Featuring: Adam O’Brian, Nicholas Barclay, Carey Gibson
> Directed by: Bart Layton
> Runtime: 99 min
> Available on: Google Play Movies, YouTube, Pure Flix, Amazon Prime Video, Microsoft Store, Amazon Video, Tubi TV

Director Bart Layton won a BAFTA Award for this strange story that combined home video and reenactments to tell a story about a teen in Spain who claimed to be a boy who went missing from a Texas family three years earlier. Though he bears the missing boy’s distinguishing marks, not all is what it seems, and the story gets weirder upon further investigation. Linda Barnard of the Toronto Star said, “To give any of this film away is a crime. You simply have to see it for yourself.” The film has a Rotten Tomatoes Freshness rating of 95%.

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

18. Wild Wild Country (2018)
> Featuring: Ma Anand Sheela, Osho, Philip Toelkes
> Directed by: Maclain Way, Chapman Way
> Runtime: 403 min
> Available on: Netflix

“Wild Wild Country” is a mini-series that tells the story of a controversial guru whose group buys land in the Oregon desert in the early 1980s to build a utopian community. However, the group comes into conflict with local ranchers, leading to a bioterror attack and illegal wiretapping. The six-part series, which has a near perfect Rotten Tomatoes critics rating of 98%, won an Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series, in 2018.

Source: Thitisate Thitirojanawat / iStock via Getty Images

17. West of Memphis (2012)
> Featuring: Jason Baldwin, Damien Wayne Echols, Jessie Misskelley
> Directed by: Amy Berg
> Runtime: 147 min
> Available on: Google Play Movies, YouTube, Microsoft Store, Vudu, Amazon Video, FandangoNOW, Apple iTunes, DIRECTV

Oscar-nominated director Amy Berg (“Deliver Us From Evil”) co-wrote and directed “West of Memphis,” about three young men arrested for the murder of three boys in Arkansas. The film, which holds a Rotten Tomatoes critics rating of 95%, is noted for Berg’s access to the defendants’ legal defense team and it takes an unsparing look at the flaws in the American justice system. Moira MacDonald of the Seattle Times said the movie was “a real-life horror story, made no less shocking by the familiarity of its early scenes.”

Source: Courtesy of Lions Gate Films

16. Grizzly Man (2005)
> Featuring: Timothy Treadwell, Amie Huguenard, Werner Herzog
> Directed by: Werner Herzog
> Runtime: 103 min
> Available on: Apple iTunes, Vudu, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Microsoft Store, Amazon Video, Tubi TV, AMC on Demand, VUDU Free, Redbox, FandangoNOW, Hoopla, The Roku Channel

Acclaimed and eccentric director Werner Herzog wrote and directed this heartstring-pulling documentary about grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard who were killed while living among the animals in Alaska in 2003. Joshua Katzman of the Chicago Reader said the movie was “an engrossing look at obsessive behavior gone terribly awry.” The documentary won numerous awards, including one for Best Non-Fiction Film from the New York Film Critics Circle in 2005 that it shared with the film “The White Diamond.” “Grizzly Man” has a 92% Freshness score among Rotten Tomatoes critics.

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

15. Catfish (2010)
> Featuring: Nev Schulman, Ariel Schulman, Henry Joost
> Directed by: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
> Runtime: 87 min
> Available on: Vudu, Amazon Video, Apple iTunes, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Microsoft Store, DIRECTV, Redbox, FandangoNOW, Netflix, fuboTV

This shocking movie about a man’s online relationship with a young woman has received generally positive reviews from both critics and audience members. Rotten Tomatoes’ Critics Consensus states “its timely premise and tightly wound mystery make for a gripping documentary,” though some critics question the film’s authenticity.

Source: Courtesy of Radius-TWC

14. Citizenfour (2014)
> Featuring: Edward Snowden, Glenn Greenwald, William Binney
> Directed by: Laura Poitras
> Runtime: 114 min
> Available on: Vudu, Google Play Movies, Amazon Video, YouTube, Microsoft Store, Tubi TV, VUDU Free, DIRECTV, Pluto TV, Redbox, FandangoNOW, Hoopla, Apple iTunes

Laura Poitras, who shared the 2014 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service, won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature in 2015 along with two other documentarians for the story about Edward Snowden, the whistleblower who disclosed the extensive covert surveillance programs operated by U.S. intelligence agencies. Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes calls the documentary “part real-life thriller, part sobering examination of 21st century civil liberties, ‘Citizenfour’ transcends ideology to offer riveting, must-see cinema.” The tensely toned documentary has a 96% Freshness score among Rotten Tomatoes critics.

Source: Courtesy of No Distributor Found

13. The Dawn Wall (2017)
> Featuring: Tommy Caldwell, Kevin Jorgeson
> Directed by: Josh Lowell, Peter Mortimer
> Runtime: 100 min
> Available on: Vudu, Apple iTunes, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Microsoft Store, Netflix, Amazon Video, Redbox, FandangoNOW

“The Dawn Wall” — about two mountain climbers’ attempt to scale the 3,000 foot, nearly vertical rock face in Yosemite National Park — is described by critics “as thrilling as it is profound.” This climbing documentary will not only blow your mind, but send your heart racing. On Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of critics and 95% of viewers reported liking it.

Source: Gyro / iStock via Getty Images

12. Blackfish (2013)
> Featuring: Tilikum, Dave Duffus, Samantha Berg
> Directed by: Gabriela Cowperthwaite
> Runtime: 83 min
> Available on: Apple iTunes, Vudu, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Microsoft Store, Hoopla, Amazon Video, FlixFling, Hulu, Redbox, FandangoNOW, Magnolia Selects, Netflix

The captivity of orcas, or killer whales, at places like SeaWorld may not be a topic most people have given much thought. This critically acclaimed documentary will undoubtedly give viewers reasons to care about — and likely oppose — the practice. And while the movie is described by some as disturbing, it received positive reviews from 98% of professional reviewers and 90% of audience members on Rotten Tomatoes.

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

11. Tiger King (2020)
> Featuring: Carole Baskin, Joe Exotic, Bhagavan Antle
> Directed by: Eric Goode, Rebecca Chaiklin
> Runtime: 317 min
> Available on: Amazon Video, Netflix

Netflix’s recent smash hit mini-series offers viewers a glimpse into the lives of numerous eccentric big cat aficionados. Over the series’ eight episodes further — and oftentimes increasingly outlandish — information about each of the main characters. The series is classified as true-crime, but as critic Nick Allen, writing for RogerEbert.com, put it, “the term ‘true-crime’ doesn’t do justice to its greatness.”

Source: duncan1890 / Getty Images

10. Earth (2007)
> Featuring: James Earl Jones, Patrick Stewart, Anggun
> Directed by: Alastair Fothergill, Mark Linfield
> Runtime: 90 min
> Available on: Vudu, Apple iTunes, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Microsoft Store, Amazon Video, DIRECTV, Mubi

This entertaining and informative feature-length documentary from award-winning British producer/director Alastair Fothergill (“Planet Earth,” “The Blue Planet”) is narrated by Emmy Award-winning actor James Earl Jones. The documentary follows the migration patterns of four separate animal families. Stephen Cole of the Globe and Mail said, “As a spectacle Disney’s Earth is right out of this world.”

Source: Wolterk / iStock Editorial via Getty Images

9. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
> Featuring: John Beard, Tim Belden, Barbara Boxer
> Directed by: Alex Gibney
> Runtime: 110 min
> Available on: Apple iTunes, Vudu, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Microsoft Store, Amazon Video, FlixFling, Hoopla, Redbox, Popcornflix, Magnolia Selects, FandangoNOW, Tubi TV

“Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room” is the Oscar-nominated documentary about the spectacular implosion of the corrupt energy company. The film was co-written and directed by Alex Gibney, who won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature for “Taxi to the Dark Side” in 2008. It holds a 97% Freshness rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics. Rene Rodriguez of the Miami Herald said the film was a “deft, entertaining and infuriating documentary about one of the most egregious cases of corporate corruption in American history.”

Source: Courtesy of Cinedigm

8. The Invisible War (2012)
> Featuring: Amy Ziering, Kirby Dick, Kori Cioca
> Directed by: Kirby Dick
> Runtime: 93 min
> Available on: Google Play Movies, Apple iTunes, YouTube, Hoopla, Amazon Video, Amazon Prime Video, Pluto TV, Sundance Now, Microsoft Store

This investigative documentary examines the widespread scourge of sexual assault in the U.S. military — a topic that press material for the film refers to as “one of our country’s most shameful and best kept secrets.” On Rotten Tomatoes, 99% of critics gave the Oscar-nominated film positive reviews, with the site’s Critics Consensus calling it “a vital and frank exposé.”

Source: Courtesy of THINKFilm

7. In the Shadow of the Moon (2007)
> Featuring: Buzz Aldrin, Neil Armstrong, Stephen Armstrong
> Directed by: David Sington
> Runtime: 100 min
> Available on: History Vault

Director David Sington’s documentary examines the experiences of NASA’s moonwalkers as well as the impact their exploits had on the American public. Much of the archival footage used in the documentary had never been shown before. Critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes gave the film approval scores of at least 91%. Leigh Paatsch of the Herald Sun (Australia) called the film, “A captivating and revelatory experience from beginning to end.”

Source: Courtesy of Creative Thinking International Ltd.

6. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
> Featuring: Tony Brooks, Diana Davis, Terry Wood
> Directed by: Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky
> Runtime: 150 min
> Available on: Apple iTunes, HBO Now, HBO Go, Google Play Movies, YouTube, DIRECTV, Hoopla, HBO Max, Amazon Video, HBO Now Amazon Channel

Prior to Amy Berg’s “West of Memphis,” filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky dealt with the same crime in “Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills” — the first of three installments. The Emmy-winning movie about a triple murder in West Memphis, Arkansas, and the teenagers accused of the crime has a perfect score from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Critic Joe Utichi (FilmFocus) confirms in his 2005 review that the documentary will, indeed, “blow your mind.”

Source: Engraved by Benjamin Cole (1695–1766), Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

5. The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015)
> Featuring: Robert Durst, Andrew Jarecki, Gary Napoli
> Directed by: Andrew Jarecki
> Runtime: 279 min
> Available on: Apple iTunes, Google Play Movies, Vudu, Amazon Video, HBO Now Amazon Channel, HBO Now, HBO Go, DIRECTV, HBO Max

The six-episode mini-series reveals information uncovered from a seven-year probe of unsolved crimes that were linked to Robert Durst, scion of a prominent New York real estate family. Andrew Jarecki directed and co-wrote the series that ran on HBO. It won an Emmy for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series in 2015. Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes calls the documentary “an engrossing blend of interviews and dramatizations.” Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave “The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst” a Freshness score of 95%, and audiences were even more effusive in their praise, with 97% liking the series.

Source: Courtesy of Oscilloscope Laboratories

4. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)
> Featuring: Kurt Kuenne, Andrew Bagby, David Bagby
> Directed by: Kurt Kuenne
> Runtime: 95 min
> Available on: Apple iTunes, Kanopy, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Microsoft Store, Amazon Prime Video, Amazon Video, Vudu, Hoopla, Tubi TV

Described by the Los Angeles Times’ Robert Abele as “an undeniably shattering story,” “Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father” is a highly emotional film by filmmaker Kurt Kuenne who set out to memorialize his murdered best friend for the benefit of his friend’s unborn son. Though not an easy watch, the documentary won positive reviews from 94% of critics and 96% of viewers on Rotten Tomatoes and has an exceptional rating of 8.5 out of 10 on IMDb.

Source: Courtesy of National General Pictures

3. Deliver Us from Evil (2006)
> Featuring: Oliver O’Grady, Thomas Doyle, Adam
> Directed by: Amy Berg
> Runtime: 101 min
> Available on: Google Play Movies, Vudu, YouTube, Amazon Video, IMDb TV, Pluto TV, Redbox, Tubi TV, Microsoft Store, Apple iTunes

“Deliver Us from Evil” is an Oscar-nominated chronicle of how the Catholic Church shielded a pedophile priest by moving him from parish to parish in northern California. Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes calls the documentary “a profoundly disturbing chronicle of a wolf in sheep’s clothing,” adding that the victims’ recollections “are nothing short of shocking and heartbreaking.” It also holds a perfect rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics.

Source: Courtesy of ESPN Films

2. O.J.: Made in America (2016)
> Featuring: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Mike Albanese, Muhammad Ali
> Directed by: Ezra Edelman
> Runtime: 467 min
> Available on: Apple iTunes, Amazon Video, Google Play Movies, Sling TV

Ezra Edelman’s Oscar- and Emmy-winning documentary traces the rise and fall of one of America’s greatest sports heroes while exposing the nation’s racial and class fissures. Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes said the film “paints a balanced and thorough portrait of the American dream juxtaposed with tragedy and executed with power and skill.” “O.J.: Made in America” holds a perfect rating among Rotten Tomatoes critics and 97% of audiences liked the film.

Source: Courtesy of Netflix

1. Making a Murderer (2015)
> Featuring: Dolores Avery, Steven Avery, Laura Nirider
> Directed by: Laura Ricciardi, Moira Demos
> Runtime: 60 min (20 episodes)
> Available on: Netflix

Documentary series “Making a Murderer” tells the story of Wisconsin man Steven Avery who served a lengthy prison sentence, was exonerated, and then charged and convicted of another crime. Filmed over the course of a decade, the two-season series contains twists and turns aplenty, building a world of corruption and crime. The highly bingeable show won four Primetime Emmy Awards and hooked 98% of audience members who rated it on Rotten Tomatoes.

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