25+ documentaries worth watching: most on Hulu, Prime or Netflix!
I’ve taken each documentary’s official synopsis, occasionally added a few thoughts of my own, and ended with a link to the trailer to introduce you to some worth your precious time documentaries. My most favorite ones I saved until the very end..
1) THE GREAT ALONE - Free on Prime
SYNOPSIS: "The Great Alone" is an award-winning documentary packed with adventure and thrills that follows the inspiring comeback story of four-time Iditarod Champion Lance Mackey and his indestructible love and passion for dog sledding, his family and the infamous Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race.
2) BARKLEY MARATHONS:THE RACE THAT EATS ITS YOUNG - Free on Prime
SYNOPSIS:
A famous prison escape sparks the idea for a cult-like race that has seen only 10 finishers in its first 25 years. This award-winning, oddly inspiring, and wildly funny documentary reveals the sports world's most guarded secret.
COMMENTS: One of my favorite documentaries of all time. Quirky and lovable enough to recommend to anyone!
Watch the BARKLEY MARATHONS Trailer!
3) Other ULTRA MARATHON Documentaries all Free on Prime- one marathon is somethin’, but multiple leave me dumbfounded...and fascinated.
DESERT RUNNERS - Free on Prime
SYNOPSIS: A diverse cast of non-professional runners attempt to complete the most difficult ultra marathon race series on Earth.
RUNNING FOR GOOD - Free on Prime
SYNOPSIS: Running For Good is a feature length sports documentary following world record marathon runner Fiona Oakes, in her attempt not only to set a new global record in endurance racing, but to compete in the “toughest footrace on earth” the Marathon Des Sables, 250km race through the Sahara Desert.
FINDING TRACTION - Free on Prime
SYNOPSIS: The documentary film Finding Traction is a rare and revealing look at the life of extraordinary ultra-runner, Nikki Kimball, as she attempts a speed record on Vermont's 273-mile Long Trail.
ULTRA HIGH: RUNNING AT 18,000 FEET - Free on Prime
SYNOPSIS: ULTRA HIGH is a feature length documentary film about the race to complete a 137-mile, high altitude ultra marathon that is arguably one of the toughest footraces in the world.
4) ANTARCTICA: A YEAR ON ICE - Free on Prime
SYNOPSIS: 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.
COMMENTS: Winter in Antarctica is nine months y’all. If you commit t0 stay there, there is no coming or going from there for nine straight almost completely dark months!!!!
5) CHEF'S TABLE Documentary Series - Free on Netflix
SYNOPSIS: Some of the most renowned chefs in the world share their deeply personal stories, inspirations, and unique styles. Each chef's discipline and culinary talent is explored while he or she prepares an awe-inspiring creation.
6) THREE IDENTICAL STRANGERS - Free on Hulu
SYNOPSIS: Identical triplets become separated at birth and adopted by three different families. Years later, their amazing reunion becomes a global sensation, but it also unearths an unimaginable secret that has radical repercussions.
7) FREE SOLO - Free on Hulu
SYNOPSIS: Professional rock climber Alex Honnold attempts to conquer the first free solo climb of famed El Capitan's 900-metre vertical rock face at Yosemite National Park.
COMMENTS: Academy Award winning documentary. It does not matter that you know he achieves his goal, I still held my breath the WHOLE TIME!!
8) MERU - Free on Prime
SYNOPSIS: Three elite climbers fight through feelings of obsession and loss as they struggle to climb Mount Meru.
COMMENTS: Same directors as FREE SOLO.
9) THE DAWN WALL - Free on Netflix
SYNOPSIS: Legendary free climber Tommy Caldwell tries to get over heartbreak by scaling the Dawn Wall of El Capitan in Yosemite National Park.
COMMENTS: This is the story of Tommy Caldwell who is the OG climber that Alex trains with in FREE SOLO.
10) THE BIGGEST LITTLE FARM - Free on Hulu
SYNOPSIS: A couple are followed through their successes and failures as they work to develop a sustainable farm on 200 acres outside of Los Angeles. Over the years, the desolate land they purchase begins to thrive and it is transformed.
COMMENTS: This is such a sweet movie. Loved it.
11) FYRE FESTIVAL - The Greatest Party That Never Happened - Free on Netflix
SYNOPSIS: The history of the Fyre Music Festival, from its creation through its unraveling.
12) FYRE FRAUD - Free on Hulu
SYNOPSIS: Fyre Festival was the defining scam of the millennial generation, at the nexus of social media influence, late-stage capitalism, and morality in the post-truth era. Marketing for the 2017 music event went viral with the help of rapper Ja Rule, Instagram stars, and models, but turned epic fail after stranding thousands in the Bahamas.
13) 13th - Free on Netflix
SYNOPSIS: Filmmaker Ava DuVernay explores the history of racial inequality in the United States, focusing on the fact that the nation's prisons are disproportionately filled with African-Americans.
COMMENTS: This documentary will likely make you feel uncomfortable and that is a good thing. This is one among many books, documentaries, movies, podcasts and blog posts that have shaken me out of complacency. There is also a separate Netflix special featuring Oprah interviewing Ava DuVernay, the very talented Director of “13th”.
14) I AM A KILLER - Free on Netflix
SYNOPSIS: Featuring never-before-seen footage with unprecedented access to prisons across the United States, this crime documentary series gives insight into the stories of prisoners who are awaiting their fate on death row. Each episode profiles a different prisoner convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. Recounting the events that led up to their crime, the killers reveal their motivations and how they now view their actions. Viewers' attitudes are challenged by different viewpoints and the prisoners' stories about how split-second decisions changed the course of their lives.
COMMENTS: It is the classic case of how you can’t help but see a villain differently when you’ve seen and heard their back story / origin story.
Watch the I AM A KILLER Trailer!
15) CrossFit Documentaries - Always fun watching other people work out really, really hard.
FITTEST ON EARTH: A Decade of Fitness - 99 cents on Prime
SYNOPSIS: Elite athletes qualify for and compete in the 2016 Reebok CrossFit Games, a gruelling five-day, 15-event test of fitness and endurance.
THE REDEEMED AND THE DOMINANT - Free on Netflix
SYNOPSIS: Elite athletes take on a series of gruelling tests during four of the most intense days of competition in CrossFit Games history.
FITTEST IN DUBAI - Free on Netflix
SYNOPSIS: "Fittest in Dubai" is a 60 min documentary film of the first CrossFit Sanctional event in the world. First place male and female competitors qualify for a position to the CrossFit Games in the United States.
16) SHOREBREAK: The Clark Little Story - Free on Prime
SYNOPSIS: Photographer Clark Little captures the beauty of Hawaii's powerful shore break waves from inside the impact zone.
17) PERFECT - Free on Prime
SYNOPSIS: Synchronised swimming is for girls. It's for girls who can run a 400 metre sprint while holding their breath, and smiling. Perfect dives beyond the sequins and mascara as it follows the Canadian synchronised swimming team through the most gruelling year of their lives. After winning gold at the Pan American Games in Toronto these elite athletes and their relentless trainer, Meng Chen, are hungry for a spot at the ultimate competition; Rio De Janeiro 2016. And they're willing to do whatever it takes to make it.
18) CAN YOU DIG THIS? - Free on Prime
SYNOPSIS: Can You Dig This explores the urban gardening revolution currently taking place in South Central Los Angeles, one of the largest food deserts in the country. We follow the inspirational personal journeys of five 'gangster gardeners,' all planting the seeds for a better life.
COMMENTS: I first became aware of this documentary when I saw the TED Talk of Ron Finley, the “Gangster Gardener”. If you haven’t seen it, HERE it is.
19) LIVING ON ONE DOLLAR - Free on Prime
SYNOPSIS: In rural Guatemala, four friends battle illness, parasites and hunger as they experiment with living on just $1 a day for eight weeks.
20) 1) THE WRECKING CREW - $2.99 on Prime
SYNOPSIS: The son of guitarist Tommy Tedesco pays tribute to his late father and a core group of studio musicians who played on some of the biggest hits of the 1960s and '70s, including "California Girls" and "Mrs. Robinson."
COMMENTS: So much fun. Such a great time walking through some of the best songs ever written by the musicians who actually recorded them!
21) SPINNING PLATES - YouTube and Vudu $2.99
SYNOPSIS: The stories of three restaurants and the people behind them reveal how food draws families and communities together.
22) FREE BURMA RANGERS - $19.99 Prime
SYNOPSIS: The Free Burma Rangers (FBR) is a multi-ethnic humanitarian service movement working to bring help, hope and love to people in the conflict zones of Burma, Iraq and Sudan.
COMMENTS: This documentary and the next 2 on the list were life-changing. I looked at buying this movie to watch as an investment and donation to the amazing work of this group of people. Worth.The.Money.
23) EMANUEL - Prime $3.99, free Sling TV and Starz
SYNOPSIS: Through interviews with victims’ families, survivors and others, Brian Ivie’s documentary revisits the 2015 massacre at a historic black church in Charleston.
COMMENTS: Incredible and true story. Must watch.
24) WON’T YOU BE MY NEIGHBOR - Free HBO Go, buy Prime $14.99
SYNOPSIS: Filmmaker Morgan Neville examines the life and legacy of Fred Rogers, the beloved host of the popular children's television show Mister Rogers' Neighborhood.
COMMENTS: In my opinion, this particular documentary is better than the other documentaries about him and the Tom Hanks Mr. Rogers movie for sure. So so good.
25) TRUE JUSTICE: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality- Free on Hulu and Prime for limited time, Free on HBO
SYNOPSIS: An intimate portrait of this remarkable man, True Justice: Bryan Stevenson’s Fight for Equality follows his struggle to create greater fairness in the system and shows how racial injustice emerged, evolved and continues to threaten the country, challenging viewers to confront it.
COMMENTS: What an incredible and inspiring human being. If you haven’t seen his TED Talk, it is one of my favorites of all time. Watch it HERE