60 INTERESTING HISTORY DOCUMENTARIES (RECOMMENDED) - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2024

I leave you a list of the most interesting documentaries that I know, some of the best in history and that will make you think, reflect and even have fun the most. Among them are The Cove, An Inconvenient Truth, Inside Job, Grizzly Man and many more.

Are you one of those who prefer to watch a good documentary instead of a movie? These types of recordings deal with social, scientific and historical issues, so their variety is served.

The documentaries that you cannot miss

Earthlings

A meticulous recording of the practices carried out by some of the largest industries in the world with animals. Divided into five parts - pets, food, skins, entertainment and experimentation - the method used to shoot it has been that of hidden cameras.

The film is narrated by well-known Hollywood actor and activist Joaquin Phoenix.

home

Home narrates the problems of the earth and its uncertain future by way of awareness. The aerial images that you can see are totally spectacular.

Man on wire

Very interesting audiovisual that tells how Phillipe Petit, a well-known French tightrope walker, got ready and crossed the Twin Towers in 1974.

The feat also talks about his subsequent arrest after having accomplished his goal.

Blackfish

Blackfish is the title used to name Tilikum, the orca in captivity that killed three people in the United States; one of them was a professional trainer.

Food, Inc

Documentary that at the time was something to talk about due to the criticism made about the United States food industry.

Food, Inc was nominated for several awards including the Oscar.

The Cove

Controversial documentary directed by the former National Geographic photographer about the slaughter of 23,000 dolphins in Japan, more specifically in Taiki.

Images are recorded in high definition, and sounds are picked up with underwater microphones.

An uncomfortable truth

An uncomfortable truth was made in 2006 with the Oscar for best documentary and best original song.

As for its theme, it is based on climate change. She is dedicated to staging the problems that this entails and what the consequences will be in the future.

Inside job

One of the best economic documentaries of the 21st century. In a complete summary of the origins of the 2008 crisis, we seek to analyze both the causes and those responsible and the consequences of it.

Fahrenheit 9/11

Interesting and controversial documentary that narrates George Bush's relationship with the September 11 attacks. It will also create a thread between the economy of the Bush family and that of the Bin Ladens.

The Emperor's Journey

Winner of the Oscar for best documentary in 2005, The Emperor's Journey reflects the emigration that penguins make each year to Antarctica. They leave the ocean to enter the icy land in order to reproduce.

Super size me

One of the most famous documentaries ever made. The director and protagonist of the film eats three times a day for a month at McDonald's to demonstrate the effects they can have on the body.

The act of killing

Documentary that collects the history of the coup in Indonesia by General Suharto and the subsequent consequences that triggered his rise to power.

Hoope dreams

A true story that tells the life of two African-American kids who seek to fulfill their dream: to play basketball in the NBA. But before getting there, they must demonstrate their quality in college.

Hoop Dreams has an Oscar nomination for Best Editing.

The Thin Blue Line

Attempt to reconstruct the crime by Randal Adams, a man sentenced to death for the murder of a Dallas police officer in the mid-1970s.

Due to the repercussion generated by the documentary The Thin Blue Line, the case was reopened.

Grizzly man

In Grizzly Man, the main objective is none other than to record the nature and behavior of grizzly bears. For its realization, its protagonist, Timothy Treadwell, would spend fourteen summers living with them in the cold forests of Alaska.

Bowling for Columbine

Audiovisual that raised the controversy of an entire country. In it, he reflects on the use of firearms and the desire of the United States to legalize them.

The common thread will result in a total of three murder episodes produced for these reasons. The best known of all is that of the Columbine massacre, and that gives the title to the film.

Rumors of war

Errol Morris directs a documentary in which he takes as a common thread an interview with Robert S. McNmara, Kennedy and Johnson's former defense secretary.

In this one, interesting facts about the period of tension between the Soviet Union and the United States during the Cold War are revealed.

Capturing the Friedmans

Story that collects the events that occurred during Thanksgiving of the Friedman family.

That night the police broke into his dinner, taking with them the father and son, accused of pedophilia.

The shock doctrine

It explains what the shock doctrine consists of, taking as examples the cases of the governments of Pinochet in Chile and Yeltsin in Russia.

The man with the camera

The man with the camera is produced in the Soviet Union and describes a city day in Russia in 1929.

Gray Gardens

One of the most important documentaries in history. This is about the mansion bought by Edith Bouvier, a woman who falls from grace and lives with her daughter, in a house of gigantic magnitudes and in a sorry state.

Nanook the Eskimo

Story that perfectly reflects the life of the Eskimos in the Arctic. In the description we can see as protagonists a family that carries out its chores in an environment practically impossible for life.

The King of Kong

83-minute film in which a high school teacher and a businessman face each other to break the Guinness World Record for the well-known game Donkey Kong.

Dear Zachary: a letter to a son about his father

Nominated for Best Documentary by the Chicago Film Critics Association, Dear Zachary talks about the idea of ​​collecting information from a deceased father and later providing it to his son.

Crumb

Audiovisual that tells the life and work of Robert Crumb, one of the most famous cartoonists in history.

Author of characters like Fritz the Cat, Crumb is always characterized by his eccentric and endearing personality.

Shoah

Documentary of nothing more and nothing less than 9 and a half hours that deals with the Holocaust. In it, several of the witnesses to such an unpleasant event are interviewed.

The information provided is accurate and of quality.

When we were kings

The story of what is for many, the best boxing fight of all time. If you are a fan of this sport, you will be able to glimpse its protagonists: Muhammad Ali and George Foreman.

Harlan County, USA

Winner of the Oscar for best documentary in 1976, Harlan Country, USA centers its argument on the strike of the Brookside miners in Kentucky against the Eastover company.

Enron, the dudes that scammed America

Throughout almost two hours of documentary, you will be able to know the case of Enron Corporation, a company that in just fifteen years went from being a small business in Texas to becoming the seventh most valuable business group in the United States.

Searching for sugar man

History of Rodríguez, a musician who never achieved fame as such. It was discovered in a Detroit gambling den in the 1960s only to suddenly disappear. However, one of his albums made it to South Africa, thus becoming an icon of freedom in the days of Apartheid.

Roger and me

In Roger and I there is a fierce criticism founded against the industrial corporations that run the world.

Michael Moore will try to get an interview with Roger B. Smith, the CEO of General Motors.

Sadness and pity

French documentary from the sixty-nine that talks about the collaborations of France with the Nazi troops during the Second World War. And it is that the government led by Vichy collaborated resoundingly with the Germans during the years of battle.

Exist Through the gift Shop

Documentary focused on the figure of Bansky, the most famous graffiti artist in the world, and everything that surrounds him,

Night and fog

Reconstruction of the events that occurred in Auschwitz years after the tragedies experienced there.

The story begins with Alain Resnais, who enters the deserted field with no life in between.

Waltz with Bashir

Of Israeli origin and recorded as an animation, the stories of the Palestinian refugees in Sabra and Shatila are told.

Don´t look back

Summary of Bob Dylan's three-week tour of Britain in the spring of '65.

If you are a fan of the famous singer-songwriter, you cannot miss it.

The war game

The war game is recorded in a mockumentary format where a nuclear bombing of the city of Rochester is recounted.

As a result of this event, the devastating effects that have been unleashed on the city begin to be explained.

Hearts in darkness

Focused on the filming of the famous Francis Coppola movie, Apocalypse Now. During the recording of this one in Vietnam, which took longer than normal, more problems appeared than normal…

Murderball

The common thread of this documentary is a competition for quadriplegic rugby players.

What is sought here is the effort and incredible physical capabilities that athletes enjoy despite their disability.

He won the Special Jury Prize and the Audience Award at the 2005 Sundance Festival.

Gimme Shelter

Reflection and study of what the concert of the legendary Rolling Stones concert in the sixty-nine represented before 300,000 attendees.

The expectation was placed on security, since four months before, several guards beat the spectators, leading to the death of one of them.

Without sun

Under the original name Sans Soleil, the film begins with a woman reading letters sent by a camera operator, while questioning about memory and recollection.

Restrepo

Documentary about the stories lived by a platoon of fifteen US soldiers in Afghanistan.

Its realization took several months of filming accompanying the military,

Paradise lost

Documentary trilogy that talks about the "Memphis three", a trio of convicts for the murders of three children in the early nineties.

The position of the tapes is clear: the liberation of the damned. The support was backed by a great world movement that included great international stars.

Deliver us from evil

The sex scandals of the Catholic Church exposed. The focus of attention is on Oliver O'Grady, most likely the most famous priest in the world due to his many abuses. This would take advantage of dozens of children from Catholic families.

Titicut Follies

One of the oldest documentaries on the list. Published in 1967 and with a duration of 84 minutes, Titicut Follies narrates the lives of several inmates of the Massachusetts psychiatric prison.

Not without controversy, the film was banned for several years in several states in the United States.

Senna

Documentary that covers the life of Ayrton Senna, from his beginnings in cars, until his death at the San Marino Grand Prix, passing through his two world titles with Mclaren - Honda.

The impostor

Unbelievable tape that tells the story of Nicholas Barclay, a boy who disappeared in Texas in the nineties and was later found in Spain.

The funny thing comes when the boy, who was initially blond and blue-eyed, is dark and with a French accent. It is at this moment that a farce begins to be discovered.

The wings of life

Spanish documentary that talks about the life of Carlos Cristos, a terminally ill doctor. The objective, according to Carlos, was to have his death recorded in a dignified manner and without drama.

Apocalypse

One of the best documentaries on WWII to date. Over the course of five hours - and with color images - you will be able to learn a little better about the events of the greatest war in history.

Amy

Winner of the Oscar for best documentary and the BAFTA within the same category, Amy is a review of the life of the music star until her death in 2011 at the age of 27.

In it you can see unpublished material and interviews never seen before.

The boy who conquered Hollywood

Story of one of the most famous producers in Hollywood. Rober Evans was the main cause of blockbusters like The Godfather or Love Story among many others.

The images are accompanied by testimonies of eminences such as Coppola or Roman Polanski.

Baraka

Documentary recorded in more than 20 countries, showing the beauties of nature and the essence of man through their customs and culture.

Sicko

Michael Moore, filmmaker and writer, denounces the policies of the United States health system, which affects more than 40 million Americans.

Buy, throw, buy

Directed by Cosima Dannoritzer, it explains the planned obsolescence of the products we buy and the consumer society.

As the documentary progresses, they answer questions such as What do companies do to reduce the life time of products?

Planet Earth

Divided into 11 episodes, each one shows the beauties of nature on planet Earth through astonishing images, traversing marine, mountain and many other ecosystems.

Earth, the movie of our planet

This documentary took more than 5 years to shoot. Tour the most impressive places at different times of the year. It shows the diversity of species, their behavior and the fight for survival.

Cosmos

Famous documentary divided into 13 episodes directed by Carl Sagan. Try to explain the universe, galaxies, planets and space phenomena in an entertaining and simple way.

Darwin's nightmare

It tells how the introduction of a non-indigenous fish species to Lake Victoria caused great damage to the ecosystem, also influencing arms trafficking and corruption.

Exit Through the Gift Shop

The salt of the earth

Sebastião Salgado, famous photographer, explores with his son some of the most impressive unexplored and unspoiled places on the planet.