Best documentary, war, & romance shows streaming, ranked.
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Prime VideoMan on Wire
2008 · Movie · 1h 34mDocumentary · Biography · Crime
1 OscarA look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century".
Prime Video - #695#695
Prime VideoDeliver Us from Evil
2006 · Movie · 1h 41mDocumentary · Crime
Documentary about Father Oliver O'Grady, a Catholic priest who was relocated to various parishes around the United States during the 1970s in an attempt by the Catholic Church to cover up his rape of dozens of children.
Prime Video - #1593#1593Paramount+
Attica
2021 · Movie · 1h 56mDocumentary · History
This unnervingly vivid dive into the 1971 uprising from Emmy® winning director Stanley Nelson sheds new light on the enduring violence and racism of the prison system and highlights the urgent, ongoing need for reform 50 years later.
Paramount+ - #1693#1693
Prime VideoGleason
2016 · Movie · 1h 50mDocumentary · Biography
At the age of 34, former New Orleans Saints defensive back Steve Gleason was diagnosed with ALS and given a life expectancy of two to five years. Weeks later, Gleason found out his wife, Michel, was expecting their first child. A video journal that began as a gift for his unborn son expands to chronicle Steve’s determination to get his relationships in order, build a foundation to provide other ALS patients with purpose, and adapt to his declining physical condition—utilizing medical technologies that offer the means to live as fully as possible.
Prime Video - #1793#1793
Prime VideoThe Endless Summer
1966 · Movie · 1h 35mDocumentary · Sport
The crown jewel to ten years of Bruce Brown surfing documentaries. Brown follows two young surfers around the world in search of the perfect wave, and ends up finding quite a few in addition to some colorful local characters.
Prime Video - #2392#2392
Prime Video20 Feet from Stardom
2013 · Movie · 1h 31mDocumentary · Biography · History
1 OscarBackup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.
Prime Video - #2492#2492Prime Video
Z Channel: A Magnificent Obsession
2004 · Movie · 2h 2mDocumentary · Biography · History
The story of Z Channel, one of the first U.S. pay cable stations and its programming chief, Jerry Harvey. Debuting in 1974 in LA, their eclectic slate of movies became a prime example of the untapped power of cable television.
Prime Video - #2792#2792
Prime VideoLittle Dieter Needs to Fly
1997 · Movie · 1h 20mDocumentary · Biography · Drama
German-American Dieter Dengler discusses his service as a U.S. naval pilot in the Vietnam War. Dengler also revisits the sites of his capture and eventual escape from the hands of the Viet Cong, recreating many events for the camera.
Prime Video - #3292#3292
Prime VideoLost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau
2014 · Movie · 1h 37mDocumentary · Action
A behind the scenes chronicle of how clash of vision, bad creative decisions, lack of interest and really bad weather plagued the disastrous production of the infamous The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996).
Prime Video - #3591#3591Prime Video
The Russian Five
2018 · Movie · 1h 42mDocumentary · Sport
In the late 1980s, the Detroit Red Wings worked to finally break their decades long Stanley Cup drought by extracting players from the Soviet Union, and in the process, changed the way North American hockey is played.
Prime Video - #4291#4291
Prime VideoThe Babushkas of Chernobyl
2015 · Movie · 1h 10mDocumentary
An affectionate portrait of a group of women who, after the 1986 Chernobyl disaster and evacuation, returned to the exclusion zone surrounding the nuclear power plant and have resided there - semi-officially, for years.
Prime Video - #5590#5590
Prime VideoStreet Gang: How We Got to Sesame Street
2021 · Movie · 1h 47mDocumentary · Family · History
Take a stroll down Sesame Street and witness the birth of the most impactful children's series in TV history. From the iconic furry characters to the songs you know by heart, learn how a gang of visionary creators changed our world.
Prime Video - #5790#5790Prime Video
Hot Potato: The Story of The Wiggles
2023 · Movie · 1h 44mDocumentary
The incredible true story of early childhood teachers and friends, The Wiggles, who rock 'n' rolled their way into the hearts of millions around the globe in one of the greatest entertainment stories of all time.
Prime Video - #6190#6190Prime Video
To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story
2017 · Movie · 1h 48mDocumentary · Biography
To Hell and Back: The Kane Hodder Story is the harrowing story of a stuntman overcoming a dehumanizing childhood filled with torment and bullying in Sparks, Nevada. After surviving a near-death burn accident, he worked his way up through Hollywood, leading to his ultimate rise as Jason Voorhees in the Friday the 13th series and making countless moviegoers forever terrified of hockey masks and summer camp. Featuring interviews with cinema legends, including Bruce Campbell (Ash vs. Evil Dead), Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger), and Cassandra Peterson (Elvira: Mistress of the Dark), To Hell and Back peels off the mask of Kane Hodder, cinema's most prolific killer, in a gut-wrenching, but inspiring, documentary. After decades of watching Kane Hodder on screen, get ready to meet the man behind the mask in To Hell and Back - an uniquely human story about one of cinema's most vicious monsters.
Prime Video - #6590#6590Prime Video
What Lies Upstream
2017 · Movie · 1h 25mDocumentary · Mystery
In this scandalous political thriller, an investigation into a chemical spill spirals into an indictment of the entire system meant to protect drinking water, revealing cover-ups at the highest levels of government.
Prime Video - #6990#6990HuluPeacockPrime Video
Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill
1999 · Movie · 1h 55mDocumentary · Comedy
2 EmmysExecutive transvestite Eddie Izzard takes his show to San Francisco to give a brief history of pagan and Christian religions, the building of Stonehenge, the birth of the Church of England ...
HuluPeacockPrime Video - #7289#7289
Prime VideoCalifornia Typewriter
2017 · Movie · 1h 43mDocumentary
California Typewriter is a story about people whose lives are connected by typewriters. The film is a meditation on creativity and technology featuring Tom Hanks, John Mayer, Sam Shepard, David McCullough and others.
Prime Video - #7489#7489
Prime VideoDirtbag: The Legend of Fred Beckey
2017 · Movie · 1h 36mDocumentary · Action · Biography
Fred Beckey is the legendary American "Dirtbag" mountaineer whose name is spoken in hushed tones around campfires. This rebel climber's pioneering ascents and lifestyle form an iconic legacy that continues to inspire generations.
Prime Video - #7989#7989Prime Video
Tickled
2016 · Movie · 1h 32mDocumentary · Crime · Mystery
Journalist David Farrier stumbles upon a mysterious tickling competition online. As he delves deeper he comes up against fierce resistance, but that doesn't stop him getting to the bottom of a story stranger than fiction.
Prime Video - #8489#8489Prime Video
All In: The Fight for Democracy
2020 · Movie · 1h 42mDocumentary
The documentary takes a look at the history, and current activism against voter suppression; barriers to voting that most people don't even know is a threat to their basic rights as citizens of the United States.
Prime Video - #8588#8588Prime Video
The Universe
2007–2015 · Series · 9 seasonsDocumentary · History
This educational show explores many scientific questions and topics about the universe (Big Bang, the Sun, the planets, black holes, other galaxies, astrobiology etc.) through latest CGI, data and interviews with scientists.
Prime Video - #8988#8988Prime Video
Lucy and Desi
2022 · Movie · 1h 43mDocumentary · Biography · Comedy
2 EmmysThis film explores the rise of comedy icon Lucille Ball, her relationship with Desi Arnaz, and how their groundbreaking sitcom "I Love Lucy" forever changed Hollywood, cementing her legacy long after her death in 1989.
Prime Video - #9088#9088Prime Video
Fiddler: A Miracle of Miracles
2019 · Movie · 1h 37mDocumentary
The origin story behind one of Broadway's most beloved musicals, Fiddler on The Roof, and its creative roots in early 1960s New York, when "tradition" was on the wane as gender roles, sexuality, race relations and religion were ev...
Prime Video - #9388#9388
Prime VideoThe Apology
2016 · Movie · 1h 44mDocumentary
The Apology explores the lives of former "comfort women", the more than 200,000 girls forced into sexual slavery during World War II. Today, they fight for reconciliation and justice as they struggle to make peace with the past.
Prime Video - #9888#9888
Prime VideoOn Her Shoulders
2018 · Movie · 1h 35mDocumentary · Biography
Nadia Murad, a 23-year-old Yazidi, survived genocide and sexual slavery committed by ISIS. Repeating her story to the world, this ordinary girl finds herself thrust onto the international stage as the voice of her people.
Prime Video - #10088#10088
Prime VideoSilicon Cowboys
2016 · Movie · 1h 17mDocumentary · History
Three friends dream up the Compaq portable computer at a Texas diner in 1981, and soon find themselves battling mighty IBM for PC supremacy. Their improbable journey altered the future of computing and shaped the world we now know.
Prime Video - #10687#10687
Prime VideoGeorge Carlin: It's Bad for Ya!
2008 · Movie · 1h 10mDocumentary · Comedy
It's Bad For Ya, Carlin's Emmy-nominated 14th and final HBO special from March of 2008 features Carlin's noted irreverent and unapologetic observations on topics ranging from death, religion, bureaucracy, patriotism, overprotected...
Prime Video - #10887#10887Prime Video
Swamp Dogg Gets His Pool Painted
2025 · Movie · 1h 35mDocumentary · Comedy
Cult musician Swamp Dogg and housemates Moogstar and Guitar Shorty have turned their suburban LA home into an artistic haven. They journey through the turbulent music business, forming a special friendship transcending eras.
Prime Video - #10987#10987Prime Video
Fragments of Paradise
2022 · Movie · 1h 38mDocumentary
Jonas Mekas chronicled life via diary films over 70+ years, from his 1949 NYC arrival until 2019. The Lithuanian exile shaped avant-garde cinema while building indie film institutions. "Fragments of Paradise" delves into his archives
Prime Video - #11287#11287
Prime VideoJoe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten
2007 · Movie · 2h 4mDocumentary · Biography
As the front man of the Clash from 1977, Joe Strummer changed people's lives forever. Four years after his death, his influence reaches out around the world, more strongly now than ever before.
Prime Video - #11487#11487Prime Video
This Is Not a Movie: Robert Fisk and the Politics of Truth
2019 · Movie · 1h 46mDocumentary · Action · Biography
The groundbreaking and often game-changing reporting of legendary foreign correspondent and author Robert Fisk is profiled in the latest from acclaimed documentarian Yung Chang (Up the Yangtze).
Prime Video - #11887#11887
HuluPrime VideoThe Men Who Built America
2012– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Biography · History
2 EmmysRockefeller, Vanderbilt, Carnegie, Astor, Ford and Morgan. Their names are part of history and synonymous with the American dream. These men transformed every industry they touched: oil, rail, steel, shipping, automobiles, and fin...
HuluPrime Video - #11987#11987Prime Video
American: An Odyssey to 1947
2022 · Movie · 1h 42mDocumentary
In the early 1930s, Orson Welles ascends to unprecedented stardom while President Franklin Delano Roosevelt navigates a nation in crisis. As WWII begins, an American boy visits abroad, and an American soldier enlists in the army.
Prime Video - #12187#12187Prime Video
It's Quieter in the Twilight
2022 · Movie · 1h 23mDocumentary
In an unremarkable office space, a select group of aging engineers find themselves at the leading edge of discovery. Fighting outdated technology and time, Voyager's flight-team pursues humankind's greatest exploration.
Prime Video - #12587#12587Prime Video
Relative
2022 · Movie · 1h 12mDocumentary
A filmmaker unearths a pervasive history of multigenerational trauma in her Italian-American family. As decades of secrets, home movies, and long-avoided conversations surface, a family once bound by tradition forges a new path forward.
Prime Video - #12887#12887Prime Video
Slay the Dragon
2019 · Movie · 1h 41mDocumentary
It influences elections and sways outcomes-gerrymandering has become a hot-button political topic and symbol for everything broken about the American electoral process. But there are those on the front lines fighting to change the...
Prime Video - #12987#12987
Prime VideoAt the Fork
2016 · Movie · 1h 29mDocumentary
Filmmaker and omnivore John Papola, together with his vegetarian wife Lisa, offer up a timely and refreshingly unbiased look at how farm animals are raised for our consumption. With unprecedented access to large-scale conventional farms, Papola asks the tough questions behind every hamburger, glass of milk and baby-back rib. What he discovers are not heartless industrialists, but America's farmers - real people who, along with him, are grappling with the moral dimensions of farming animals for food.
Prime Video - #13187#13187Prime Video
Citizen K
2019 · Movie · Russian · 2h 6mDocumentary
The strange case of Mikhail Khodorkovsky, once believed to be the wealthiest man in Russia, who rocketed to prosperity and prominence in the 1990s, served a decade in prison, and became an unlikely martyr for the anti-Putin movement.
Prime Video - #13387#13387Prime Video
Exposing Muybridge
2021 · Movie · 1h 28mDocumentary · Biography · History
The story of trailblazing 19th-century photographer Eadweard Muybridge, who changed the world with his camera. Artful, resilient, selfish, naive, eccentric, deceitful--Muybridge is a complicated, imperfect man and his story drips with ambition and success, loss and betrayal, near death experiences and even murder. "The machine cannot lie," Stanford declared of Muybridge's pioneering motion images. But what about the photographer?
Prime Video - #13787#13787Prime Video
Gabby Giffords Won't Back Down
2022 · Movie · 1h 38mDocumentary · Biography · Drama
Looking at the former congresswoman's courage and perseverance in the aftermath of the 2011 assassination attempt that left her partially paralyzed and with a language impairment, aphasia.
Prime Video - #13987#13987
Prime VideoGeorge Carlin: You Are All Diseased
1999 · Movie · 1h 5mDocumentary · Comedy
Legendary comic Carlin comes back to the Beacon theater to angrily rant about airport security, germs, cigars, angels, children and parents, men, names, religion, god, advertising, Bill Jeff and minorities.
Prime Video - #14286#14286Prime Video
United We Fan
2018 · Movie · 1h 37mDocumentary
Fans, stars, creators, and more come together to explore the dynamic history and evolution of save-our-show television fan campaigns from the letter-writing and product mail-in campaigns of yesterday to the social media and crowdf...
Prime Video - #14386#14386
Prime VideoHondros
2018 · Movie · 1h 30mDocumentary · Biography · War
HONDROS follows the life and career of famous war photographer Chris Hondros by exploring the poignant and often surprising stories behind this award-winning photojournalist's best-known photos. Driven by a commitment to bear witn...
Prime Video - #14886#14886
Paramount+Prophet's Prey
2015 · Movie · 1h 41mDocumentary · Biography · History
Filmmaker Amy Berg sheds light on the sexual, financial and spiritual abuses heaped upon members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints by their former leader, Warren Jeffs.
Paramount+ - #15386#15386Prime Video
A.rtificial I.mmortality
2021 · Movie · 1h 14mDocumentary
If you could create an immortal version of yourself, would you? Once the stuff of science fiction, A.I. experts now see it as possible. This feature documentary explores the latest thinking and technological advancements in AI.
Prime Video - #15486#15486Prime Video
James May: Our Man in…
2020–2024 · Series · 3 seasonsDocumentary · Action · Comedy
James May embarks on a remarkable journey across Japan, from its icy north to its balmy south. He'll see the sights, meet the locals, and eat the noodles in a bid to truly understand the Land of the Rising Sun.
Prime Video - #17085#17085Prime Video
Kiss the Ground
2020 · Movie · 1h 24mDocumentary
A revolutionary group of activists, scientists, farmers, and politicians band together in a global movement of "Regenerative Agriculture" that could balance our climate, replenish our vast water supplies, and feed the world.
Prime Video - #17185#17185
Prime VideoIt's Not Yet Dark
2016 · Movie · 1h 21mDocumentary
It's Not Yet Dark tells the ground breaking story of Simon Fitzmaurice, a talented young Irish film maker with ALS (MND), as he embarks on directing his first feature film through the use of his eyes and eye gaze technology.
Prime Video - #17585#17585Prime Video
Satan Wants You
2023 · Movie · 1h 28mDocumentary · Crime · Horror
The story of how the Satanic Panic of the 1980s was ignited by "Michelle Remembers", a memoir by psychiatrist and his patient. The book relied on recovered-memory therapy to uncover Michelle's abduction by baby-stealing Satanists.
Prime Video - #17785#17785Paramount+
Belushi
2020 · Movie · 1h 48mDocumentary · Biography
Using previously unheard audiotapes recorded shortly after John Belushi's death, director R.J. Cutler's documentary examines the too-short life of once-in-a-generation talent who captured the hearts and funny bones of devoted audi...
Paramount+ - #17985#17985MAXPrime Video
Valentine Road
2013 · Movie · 1h 29mDocumentary · Crime
On February 12, 2008 in Oxnard, California, eighth-grade student Brandon McInerney shot his classmate Larry King twice in the back of the head during first period. When Larry died two days later, his murder shocked the nation. Was...
MAXPrime Video - #18185#18185
Prime VideoBuzzfeed Unsolved: True Crime
2016–2021 · Series · 8 seasonsDocumentary · Comedy · Crime
Conspiracy theory enthusiast Ryan deep-dives into mysteries surrounding notorious unsolved crimes, in order to convince his dubious friend Shane that, sometimes, the evidence isn't always as it seems.
Prime Video - #18684#18684
Prime VideoAntarctica: A Year on Ice
2013 · Movie · 1h 31mDocumentary · Action · Biography
A visually stunning chronicle of what it is like to live in Antarctica for a full year, including winters isolated from the rest of the world, and enduring months of darkness in the coldest place on Earth.
Prime Video - #18984#18984Prime Video
Good Night Oppy
2022 · Movie · 1h 45mDocumentary
The film follows Opportunity, the Mars Exploration Rover affectionately dubbed Oppy by her creators and scientists at NASA. Oppy was originally expected to live for only 90 days but she ultimately explored Mars for nearly 15 years.
Prime Video - #19184#19184Paramount+
Sheryl
2022 · Movie · 1h 34mDocumentary
An intimate story of song and sacrifice—musically gifted superstar Sheryl Crow navigates an iconic yet arduous musical career battling sexism, ageism, depression, cancer, and the price of fame, before harnessing the power of her gift.
Paramount+ - #19384#19384Prime Video
Hollywood Dreams & Nightmares: The Robert Englund Story
2022 · Movie · 2h 14mDocumentary
A classically trained actor and director, Robert Englund has become one of the most revolutionary horror icons of our generation. Throughout his career, Englund starred in many well-known movies, but shot to super-stardom with his...
Prime Video - #19484#19484
Prime VideoAll or Nothing
2016– · Series · 1 seasonDocumentary · Sport
For the first time in history, Amazon and NFL Films present an unprecedented inside look at the lives of players, coaches and owners of a franchise over the course of an entire NFL season. Witness the real life, behind the scenes ...
Prime Video - #19984#19984
Prime VideoBoogie Man: The Lee Atwater Story
2008 · Movie · 1h 26mDocumentary · Biography
The Murrow, Polk, and IDA Award-winning documentary Boogie Man is about Lee Atwater, a blues-playing rogue whose rise from the South to Chairman of the GOP made him a political rock star. He mentored George W. Bush and Karl Rove w...
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