Best documentaries on Prime Video right now, ranked

Baraka (1992)

Documentary

A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.

Blackfish (2013)

Documentary

Notorious killer whale Tilikum is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top killer whale trainer. Blackfish shows the sometimes devastating consequences of keeping such intelligent and sentient creatures in captivity.

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008)

Documentary, Crime

In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, begins this film, a gift to the child.

Ennio (2022)

Documentary, Music, History

A portrait of Ennio Morricone, the most popular and prolific film composer of the 20th century, the one most loved by the international public, a two-time Oscar winner and the author of over five hundred unforgettable scores.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)

Documentary

Revered sushi chef Jiro Ono strives for perfection in his work, while his eldest son, Yoshikazu, has trouble living up to his father's legacy.

Man on Wire (2008)

Documentary

On August 7th 1974, French tightrope walker Philippe Petit stepped out on a high wire, illegally rigged between New York's World Trade Center twin towers, then the world's tallest buildings. After nearly an hour of performing on the wire, 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan, he was arrested. This fun and spellbinding documentary chronicles Philippe Petit's "highest" achievement.

Food, Inc. (2008)

Documentary

Documentary filmmaker Robert Kenner examines how mammoth corporations have taken over all aspects of the food chain in the United States, from the farms where our food is grown to the chain restaurants and supermarkets where it's sold. Narrated by author and activist Eric Schlosser, the film features interviews with average Americans about their dietary habits, commentary from food experts like Michael Pollan and unsettling footage shot inside large-scale animal processing plants.

The Imposter (2012)

Documentary, Mystery, Crime

In 1994, a 13-year-old boy disappeared without a trace from his home in San Antonio, Texas. Three-and-a-half years later, he is found alive in a village in southern Spain with a horrifying story of kidnap and torture. His family is overjoyed to bring him home. But all is not quite as it seems.

The Last Waltz (1978)

Documentary, Music

Martin Scorsese's documentary intertwines footage from The Band's incredible farewell tour with probing backstage interviews and featured performances by Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, and other rock legends.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008)

Documentary, Music

At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal" influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now in their fifties, set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams.

Marley (2012)

Music, Documentary

Bob Marley's universal appeal, impact on music history and role as a social and political prophet is both unique and unparalleled. Directed by Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland), MARLEY is the definitive life story of the musician, revolutionary, and legend, from his early days to his rise to international superstardom. Made with the support of the Marley family, the film features rare footage, incredible performances and revelatory interviews with the people that knew him best.

Where to Invade Next (2015)

Documentary, Comedy

To understand firsthand what the United States of America can learn from other nations, Michael Moore playfully “invades” some to see what they have to offer.

Requiem for the American Dream (2015)

Documentary

Through interviews filmed over four years, Noam Chomsky unpacks the principles that have brought us to the crossroads of historically unprecedented inequality – tracing a half-century of policies designed to favor the most wealthy at the expense of the majority – while also looking back on his own life of activism and political participation. He provides penetrating insight into what may well be the lasting legacy of our time – the death of the middle class, and swan song of functioning democracy.

Meru (2015)

Documentary

Meru is the electrifying story of three elite American climbers—Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk—bent on achieving the impossible.

Zero Days (2016)

Documentary

Alex Gibney explores the phenomenon of Stuxnet, a self-replicating computer virus discovered in 2010 by international IT experts. Evidently commissioned by the US and Israeli governments, this malware was designed to specifically sabotage Iran’s nuclear programme. However, the complex computer worm ended up not only infecting its intended target but also spreading uncontrollably.

Cartel Land (2015)

Drama, Documentary

In the Mexican state of Michoacán, Dr. Jose Mireles, a small-town physician known as "El Doctor," shepherds a citizen uprising against the Knights Templar, the violent drug cartel that has wreaked havoc on the region for years. Meanwhile, in Arizona's Altar Valley—a narrow, 52-mile-long desert corridor known as Cocaine Alley—Tim "Nailer" Foley, an American veteran, heads a small paramilitary group called Arizona Border Recon, whose goal is to halt Mexico’s drug wars from seeping across our border.

My Best Fiend (1999)

Documentary

A film that describes the love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.

I Am Heath Ledger (2017)

Documentary

The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.

Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)

Documentary

A documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.

Zeitgeist: Addendum (2008)

Documentary, History, War

Director Peter Joseph examines examples of economic subjugation and offers solutions based on alignment with nature.

Val (2021)

Documentary

For over 40 years Val Kilmer, one of Hollywood's most mercurial and/or misunderstood actors, has been documenting his own life and craft through film and video. He has amassed thousands of hours of footage, from 16mm home movies made with his brothers, to time spent in iconic roles for blockbuster movies like Top Gun, The Doors, Tombstone, and Batman Forever. This raw, wildly original and unflinching documentary reveals a life lived to extremes and a heart-filled, sometimes hilarious look at what it means to be an artist and a complex man.

An Honest Liar (2014)

History, Comedy, Documentary

An Honest Liar tells the incredible story of the world-famous magician, escape artist, and world-renowned enemy of deception, James 'The Amazing' Randi. The film brings to life Randi's intricate investigations that publicly exposed psychics, faith healers, and con-artists with quasi-religious fervor. A master deceiver who came out of the closet at the age of 81, Randi created fictional characters, fake psychics, and even turned his partner of 25 years, Jose Alvarez, into a sham guru named Carlos.

American Animals (2018)

Drama, Crime, Documentary

Lexington, Kentucky, 2004. Four young men attempt to execute one of the most audacious art heists in the history of the United States.

Zeitgeist: Moving Forward (2011)

Documentary

A presentation of a case for a needed transition out of the current socioeconomic monetary paradigm which governs the entire world society. This subject matter will transcend the issues of cultural relativism and traditional ideology and move to relate the core, empirical 'life ground' attributes of human and social survival, extrapolating those immutable natural laws into a new sustainable social paradigm called a 'Resource-Based Economy'.

Super Size Me (2004)

Documentary

Morgan Spurlock subjects himself to a diet based only on McDonald's fast food three times a day for thirty days without exercising to try to prove why so many Americans are fat or obese. He submits himself to a complete check-up by three doctors, comparing his weight along the way, resulting in a scary conclusion.

De viaje con los Derbez (2019)

Documentary

The series follows the fun and endearing Derbez family as they discover new cultures in foreign lands and for the first time – all together and unfiltered.

The Men Who Built America (2012)

Documentary

Influential builders, dreamers and believers whose feats transformed the United States, a nation decaying from the inside after the Civil War, into the greatest economic and technological superpower the world had ever seen. The Men Who Built America is the story of a nation at the crossroads and of the people who catapulted it to prosperity.

The Universe (2007)

Documentary

From the planets to the stars and out to the edge of the unknown, history and science collide in a wondrous yet deadly adventure through space and time.

Súbete a mi moto (2020)

Drama, Documentary

The Story behind the the iconic boy band Menudo according to the creator and manager of the band

World War II in Colour (2009)

Documentary, War & Politics

World War II In Colour is a 13-episode television documentary miniseries recounting the events of World War II narrated by Robert Powell. The show covers the Western Front, Eastern Front, and the Pacific War. It is on syndication in America on the Military Channel. This series is in full color, combining both original and colorized footage.

Gloria Trevi: Ellas soy yo (2023)

Drama, Documentary

The First 48 (2004)

Documentary, Drama, Crime

The First 48 follows detectives from around the country during these first critical hours as they race against time to find the suspect. Gritty and fast-paced, it takes viewers behind the scenes of real-life investigations with unprecedented access to crime scenes, autopsies, forensic processing, and interrogations.

James May: Our Man in… (2020)

Documentary, Comedy, Action & Adventure

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.

Ancient Aliens (2010)

Documentary, Mystery, Sci-Fi & Fantasy

Did intelligent beings from outer space visit Earth thousands of years ago? From the age of the dinosaurs to ancient Egypt, from early cave drawings to continued mass sightings in the US, each episode gives historic depth to the questions, speculations, provocative controversies, first-hand accounts and grounded theories surrounding this age old debate.

Forensic Files (1996)

Crime, Documentary

Real crimes, disease outbreaks and accidents around the world are solved by experts using scientific laboratory analysis which helps them find previously undetectable evidence. Brilliant scientific work helps convict the guilty and free the innocent.

Life After People: The Series (2009)

Documentary

Life After People is a television series on which scientists, structural engineers, and other experts speculate about what might become of Earth should humanity instantly disappear. The featured experts also talk about the impact of human extinction on the environment, and the vestiges of civilization thus left behind.

CHIVAS: El Rebaño Sagrado (2021)

Documentary

This four-part docuseries chronicles one unforgettable season with one of Mexico's most popular soccer club, the Chivas of Guadalajara, as they strive to resurrect their legendary franchise from a series of devastating losses.

A Haunting (2005)

Documentary, Mystery, Drama

These are the true stories of the innocent and the unimaginable. Based on true events, A Haunting dramatises some of the scariest stories, revealing a world in which tragedy, suicide and murder have left psychic impressions so powerful that innocent people become forced to deal with them decades later. Through mesmerizing first-person accounts, the mystery and origin of each haunting is powerfully revealed and leaves a lingering sense that life—and death—are much stronger then anyone could have possibly imagined.

NOVA (1974)

Documentary

PBS' premier science series helps viewers of all ages explore the science behind the headlines. Along the way, NOVA demystifies science and technology, and highlights the people involved in scientific pursuits.

Seduced: Inside the NXIVM Cult (2020)

Documentary, Crime

This four-part documentary series follows the story of India Oxenberg's perilous journey through the dark and criminal world of the notorious self-help-group-turned-sex-slave-cult NXIVM.

D-Day Sacrifice (2014)

Documentary, War & Politics

Comprised entirely of re-mastered and colorised archive footage from World War II, much of it never before seen, Sacrifice recounts the story of D-Day through the testimonies of those who lived it. These important historical days are seen through the eyes of French civilians and members of the military fighting on both sides. The testimonies of famous individuals like Dwight D. Eisenhower and Erwin Rommel are intertwined with those of anonymous soldiers and citizens, such as film director Samuel Fuller and Eisenhower's chauffeur, Kay Summersby. From the preparations for D-Day all the way through to the liberation of Paris, the accounts of these men and women provide a moving and invaluable retelling of this pivotal time in history.

All or Nothing: Manchester City (2018)

Documentary

Legendary coach Pep Guardiola leads his Manchester City team through the 2017-18 football season.