Best documentary, war, & action shows streaming, ranked.

The story of Easy Company of the U.S. Army 101st Airborne Division and their mission in World War II Europe, from Operation Overlord to V-J Day.

Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, and he gathers six other samurai to join him.

A documentary series on the wildlife found on Earth. Each episode covers a different habitat: deserts, mountains, deep oceans, shallow seas, forests, caves, polar regions, fresh water, plains and jungles. Narrated by David Attenbo...

Nine noble families fight for control over the lands of Westeros, while an ancient enemy returns after being dormant for millennia.

A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.

In the 1950s, fear and violence escalate as the people of Algiers fight for independence from the French government.

David Attenborough returns to the world's oceans in this sequel to the acclaimed documentary filming rare and unusual creatures of the deep, as well as documenting the problems our oceans face.

Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose comrades have been killed in action.

Attenborough explores the planet's undersea habitats, revealing the greatest age of ocean discovery and emphasizing the ocean's vital importance while exposing its problems and highlighting opportunities for marine life recovery.

Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.

A carpenter in the Fascist Slovak State is appointed "Aryan controller" of a Jewish widow's store.

A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.

When a menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman, James Gordon and Harvey Dent must work together to put an end to the madness.

During the Nazi occupation of Rome in 1944, the Resistance leader, Giorgio Manfredi, is chased by the Nazis as he seeks refuge and a way to escape.

Spike Lee documents the former Talking Heads frontman's brilliant, timely 2019 Broadway show, based on his recent album and tour of the same name.

Filmmaker Bing Liu searches for correlations between his skateboarder friends' turbulent upbringings and the complexities of modern masculinity.

A French boarding school run by priests seems to be a haven from World War II until a new student arrives. Occupying the next bed in the dormitory to the top student in his class, the two young boys begin to form a bond.

A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.

A global view of the specialized strategies and extreme behavior that living things have developed in order to survive; what Charles Darwin termed "the struggle for existence."

While Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.

Documentary follows the work and lives of legendary 1970s session musicians who were featured on some of the most iconic recordings of the era.

In this half-hour program, artist Bob Ross paints a beautiful oil painting on canvas.

A renegade crew aboard a small spacecraft tries to survive as they travel the unknown parts of the galaxy and evade warring factions as well as authority agents out to get them.

A chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.

Seven continents formed by Earth's splitting crust each have unique climates, terrain and wildlife. Journey across South America's paradise to Africa's heat, discovering unexpected stories and spectacular nature.

Storyteller and Conceptual Magician Derek DelGaudio attempts to understand the illusory nature of identity and answer the deceptively simple question 'Who am I?'

From the Boer War through World War II, a soldier rises through the ranks in the British military.

Young Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others...

A heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.

Alex Honnold faces the biggest challenge of his career, climbing El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. He pursues it Free Solo, which means climbing without a rope and alone.

A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.

30 years later, we're bringing the Banks family back together. Join Will Smith and his former co-stars for a funny and heartfelt night full of music and dancing in honor of the show that ran for six seasons and 148 episodes.

A look at the final years in the life of Martin Luther King, Jr.

Nathan Fielder uses his business degree and life experiences to, in unorthodox ways, help real small businesses turn a profit.

A prospector goes to the Klondike during the 1890s gold rush in hopes of making his fortune, and is smitten with a girl he sees in a dance hall.

In post-war Berlin, an American private helps a lost Czech boy find his mother.

A documentary of the notorious racial terrorist 1963 bombing by the Ku Klux Klan of the African American 16th Street Baptist Church in Birmingham during the Civil Rights Movement, which killed four young girls.

Using extensive interviews with survivors and archival footage, an examination reveals the aftermath of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

A documentary that utilizes hundreds of hours of audio that Marlon Brando recorded over the course of his life to tell the screen legend's story.

A documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor.

In a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.

A group of activists risk their lives fighting for LGBTQ+ rights in Chechnya.

He is supreme being and the destroyer of evil. Witness the story of Lord Shiva, his Avatars and his union with Shakti that shaped the universe.

Africa, the world's wildest continent. David Attenborough takes an awe-inspiring journey through one of the most diverse places in the world. We visit deserts, savannas, and jungles and meet up with some of Africa's amazing wildlife.

American military personnel interact warily with a variety of Italian locals over a year and a half in the push north during the Italian Campaign of WWII as German forces make their retreat.

Documentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.

HBO special featuring the folk duo from New Zealand performing live at the London Apollo.

The life and work of the renowned primatology scientist, Jane Goodall, especially on her research about chimpanzees.

Explores the life and legacy of Mariska Hargitay's mother, Hollywood icon Jayne Mansfield, who died tragically in a car accident at age 34 when Mariska was only three years old.

Incarcerated men defy the odds to expose a cover-up in one of America's deadliest prison systems.

In official collaboration with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum, this documentary series takes viewers through harrowing moments of the historic morning of September 11, 2001.

In 1936, archaeologist Indiana Jones is tasked by Army Intelligence to help locate a legendary ancient power, the Ark of Covenant, before the Nazis get it first.

A humble orphan boy in 1810s Kent is given the opportunity to go to London and become a gentleman, with the help of an unknown benefactor.

An examination of the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Katrina.

Exposing her role behind the camera, Kirsten Johnson reaches into the vast trove of footage she has shot over decades around the world. What emerges is a visually bold memoir and a revelatory interrogation of the power of the camera.

In this silent predecessor to the modern documentary, film-maker Robert J. Flaherty spends one year following the lives of Nanook and his family, Inuits living in the Arctic Circle.

A century before GOT, Ser Duncan the Tall, and his squire, Egg, wandered through Westeros while the Targaryen dynasty ruled the Iron Throne, and dragons were still remembered. Great destinies and enemies await the incomparable fri...

Follows the man who survived an assassination attempt by poisoning with a lethal nerve agent in August 2020. During his months-long recovery he makes shocking discoveries about the attempt on his life and decides to return home.

The lives of both illustrious and ordinary Romans in the last days of the Roman Republic.

When an old enemy, the Cylons, resurface and obliterate the 12 colonies, the crew of the aged Galactica protect a small civilian fleet - the last of humanity - as they journey toward the fabled 13th colony, Earth.

Set almost 100 years after Captain Kirk's five-year mission, a new generation of Starfleet officers sets off in the U.S.S. Enterprise-D on its own mission to go where no one has gone before.

A look at the life, work, activism and controversies of actress and fitness tycoon, Jane Fonda.

Paddington, now happily settled with the Brown family and a popular member of the local community, picks up a series of odd jobs to buy the perfect present for his Aunt Lucy's 100th birthday, only for the gift to be stolen.

Newly-discovered archive footage and witness accounts to lay bare the tragedy and heroic efforts made to prevent another explosion.

A documentary looking at the inner-workings of the Church of Scientology.

Lured by gold, two greedy peasants unknowingly escort a princess and her general across enemy lines.

Three Australian lieutenants are court martialed for executing prisoners as a way of deflecting attention from war crimes committed by their superior officers.

The fascinating relationship between predators and their prey, and the strategies predators use to catch their food and prey use to escape death.

A mentally disabled giant and his level headed guardian find work at a sadistic cowboy's ranch in depression era America.

Intrepid scientists and lovers Katia and Maurice Krafft died in a volcanic explosion doing the very thing that brought them together: unraveling the mysteries of volcanoes by capturing the most explosive imagery ever recorded.

As World War II and the German occupation ends, the Polish resistance and the Soviet forces turn on each other in an attempt to take over leadership in Communist Poland.

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.

Reeve's rise to becoming a film star follows with a near-fatal horse-riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down. After the accident, he became an activist for spinal cord injury treatments and disability ri...

Cast and crew members from all "Harry Potter" films reunite in a retrospective special to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001).

Harry, Ron and Hermione set out on a quest to eliminate the remaining horcruxes. On the other hand, the students and teachers must unite to defend Hogwarts against Lord Voldemort and his army.

Two rival hockey stars at the top of their game face an unexpected challenge when they develop feelings for each other, complicating their careers and the sport's expectations.

A nature documentary series on five vulnerable or endangered species known to form enduring populations: chimpanzee, emperor penguin, lion, tiger and African wild dog.

A boy leaves his small country town and heads to the big city to get a job. As soon as he makes it big his sweetheart will join him and marry him. His enthusiasm to get ahead leads to some interesting adventures.

A group of teenagers in Hawaii enter the world of professional competitive surfing in the 1990s and rise to super stardom.

Follows the life of artist Nan Goldin and the downfall of the Sackler family, the pharmaceutical dynasty who was greatly responsible for the opioid epidemic's unfathomable death toll.

A son creates a list of things worth living for--all in an attempt to raise the spirits of his chronically depressed mother--in this adaptation of the acclaimed one-character show.

An intimate portrait of actress Debbie Reynolds and her relationship with her beloved children, Carrie and Todd.

Chris Rock's 2008 comedy tour visits London, New York and Johannesburg. Various parts of this tour are edited together to create his fifth HBO stand-up special.

Kon Ichikawa examines the beauty and rich drama on display at the 1964 Summer Games in Tokyo, creating a record of observations that range from the expansive to the intimate.

Documentary film that focuses on the period beginning with the birth of Motown in Detroit in 1958 until its relocation to Los Angeles in the early 1970s.

An exploration of the history of the Bee Gees, featuring revealing interviews with oldest brother Barry Gibb, and archival interviews with the late twin brothers Robin and Maurice.

An in-depth look at various NASA moon landing missions, starting with Apollo 8.

A hit man from the Midwest moves to Los Angeles and gets caught up in the city's theatre arts scene.

Four dogged door-to-door Bible salesmen travel from Boston to Florida on a seemingly futile quest to sell luxury editions of the Good Book to working-class Catholics.

Two F.B.I. Agents, Fox Mulder the believer and Dana Scully the skeptic, investigate the strange and unexplained, while hidden forces work to impede their efforts.

When a mysterious European ship is found marooned in a nearby Japanese fishing village, Lord Yoshii Toranaga discovers secrets that could tip the scales of power and devastate his enemies.

Trailed by a clan of female ninja, Ogami is paid to assassinate a clan traitor accompanied by three killers known as the Gods of Death.

Enforcing his own brand of justice, U.S. Marshal Raylan Givens, a strong-willed, quiet law-man haunted by his past, returns to his native town to see that justice is served to those in need.

Anthony Bourdain visits countries, delving into their political issues as well as indigenous food and culture.

A group of terrorists plans to detonate three plutonium cores for a simultaneous nuclear attack on different cities. Ethan Hunt, along with his IMF team, sets out to stop the carnage.

When three hundred thousand members of the Love Generation collided with a few dozen Hells Angels at San Francisco's Altamont Speedway, the bloody slash that transformed a decade's dreams into disillusionment was immortalized on t...

A users guide to the cosmos from the big bang to galaxies, stars, planets and moons. Where did it all come from and how does it all fit together. A primer for anyone who has ever looked up at the night sky and wondered.

A psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.

An authorized documentary on the late musician Kurt Cobain, from his early days in Aberdeen, Washington to his success and downfall with the grunge band Nirvana.

A tribute to Jaws (1975), the movie that sparked a lasting fascination with the ocean's most misunderstood predator.