The best documentary movies of all time

TOPICAL scores 405 films listed as documentary; here are the top 250, best first. The top three are No Other Land (2024), Waltz with Bashir (2008), Stop Making Sense (1984). A film can be in more than one genre. The last column is each film's rank among all 6,624 films.

Rank	Film	Year	Score	All-time rank
1	No Other Land	2024	77.5	442
2	Waltz with Bashir	2008	75.7	505
3	Stop Making Sense	1984	75.7	507
4	Hoop Dreams	1994	73.9	578
5	Citizenfour	2014	72.5	634
6	Flee	2021	72.4	640
7	Bowling for Columbine	2002	71.4	682
8	Inside Job	2010	70.4	724
9	Searching for Sugar Man	2012	69.8	752
10	The Act of Killing	2012	69.4	769
11	20 Days in Mariupol	2023	69.3	773
12	Woodstock	1970	69.2	779
13	O.J.: Made in America	2016	69.1	785
14	Paris Is Burning	1990	68.6	808
15	Mr. Nobody Against Putin	2025	68.4	815
16	Free Solo	2018	67.7	849
17	Man on Wire	2008	67.2	874
18	Amy	2015	66.9	888
19	The Fog of War	2003	66.0	934
20	Koyaanisqatsi	1982	65.2	972
21	My Octopus Teacher	2020	64.9	986
22	Man with a Movie Camera	1929	64.8	994
23	Collective	2019	63.0	1,087
24	Virunga	2014	62.9	1,092
25	The Cove	2009	62.7	1,103
26	March of the Penguins	2005	62.0	1,140
27	The Look of Silence	2014	61.0	1,195
28	The Salt of the Earth	2014	60.8	1,209
29	An Inconvenient Truth	2006	60.3	1,234
30	Buena Vista Social Club	1999	57.2	1,414
31	4 Little Girls	1997	56.9	1,436
32	Faces Places	2017	56.7	1,445
33	Navalny	2022	56.0	1,487
34	Nanook of the North	1922	55.4	1,524
35	The Last Waltz	1978	55.0	1,551
36	Earthlings	2005	53.7	1,637
37	Icarus	2017	53.5	1,649
38	Fahrenheit 9/11	2004	53.1	1,671
39	Caesar Must Die	2012	53.1	1,675
40	Capturing the Friedmans	2003	52.3	1,723
41	American Factory	2019	52.3	1,725
42	Exit Through the Gift Shop	2010	51.9	1,752
43	The Thin Blue Line	1988	51.6	1,774
44	Minding the Gap	2018	50.5	1,845
45	Fire at Sea	2016	50.4	1,850
46	When We Were Kings	1996	50.2	1,863
47	Harlan County U.S.A.	1976	48.9	1,953
48	Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt	1989	48.3	1,996
49	Food, Inc.	2008	48.1	2,012
50	Pina	2011	47.7	2,040
51	The Missing Picture	2013	47.3	2,070
52	Hearts and Minds	1974	47.0	2,089
53	American Dream	1990	46.9	2,095
54	The Decline of Western Civilization	1981	46.9	2,096
55	This Is It	2009	46.3	2,139
56	20 Feet from Stardom	2013	46.3	2,142
57	The Elephant Whisperers	2022	46.1	2,157
58	Taxi to the Dark Side	2007	46.0	2,159
59	Super Size Me	2004	45.5	2,198
60	Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport	2000	44.8	2,248
61	Sicko	2007	43.8	2,325
62	Grey Gardens	1975	43.6	2,338
63	The Times of Harvey Milk	1984	43.2	2,368
64	One Day in September	1999	41.1	2,530
65	Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom	2015	40.5	2,582
66	Bob Dylan – Don't Look Back	1967	40.2	2,599
67	All That Breathes	2022	40.1	2,607
68	Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids	2004	39.9	2,624
69	The Gatekeepers	2012	39.0	2,695
70	The Last Days	1998	38.9	2,707
71	The Silent World	1956	37.6	2,811
72	No End in Sight	2007	37.5	2,820
73	RBG	2018	37.4	2,831
74	Restrepo	2010	36.6	2,890
75	Triumph of the Will	1935	36.4	2,911
76	For All Mankind	1989	36.2	2,923
77	Encounters at the End of the World	2007	35.8	2,964
78	Olympia Part One: Festival of the Nations	1938	35.4	2,992
79	Roger & Me	1989	35.3	3,004
80	The Square	2013	35.0	3,026
81	Deliver Us from Evil	2006	34.9	3,034
82	Finding Vivian Maier	2013	34.8	3,048
83	Cartel Land	2015	33.9	3,125
84	The Story of the Weeping Camel	2003	33.8	3,133
85	Waste Land	2010	32.9	3,211
86	Marjoe	1972	32.7	3,222
87	Let It Be	1970	32.7	3,224
88	Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room	2005	32.2	3,266
89	Five Broken Cameras	2011	32.2	3,267
90	The Long Way Home	1997	32.1	3,275
91	Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie	1988	31.7	3,315
92	The Living Desert	1953	31.1	3,366
93	Gasland	2010	30.9	3,380
94	The Endless Summer	1966	30.7	3,398
95	Sugarcane	2024	30.6	3,413
96	Tupac: Resurrection	2003	30.4	3,430
97	Best Boy	1979	30.3	3,436
98	Undefeated	2011	30.2	3,443
99	Darwin's Nightmare	2004	30.1	3,451
100	What Happened, Miss Simone?	2015	30.1	3,458
101	Jesus Camp	2006	29.7	3,489
102	On the Bowery	1956	29.1	3,543
103	Zeitgeist: The Movie	2007	29.1	3,549
104	Sherman's March	1985	28.7	3,579
105	Heaven Is a Traffic Jam on the 405	2016	28.6	3,587
106	Last Men in Aleppo	2017	28.2	3,624
107	The Atomic Cafe	1982	27.8	3,662
108	Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory	2011	27.3	3,711
109	Last Days in Vietnam	2014	26.8	3,760
110	Moscow Strikes Back	1942	26.7	3,770
111	Jazz on a Summer's Day	1959	25.7	3,865
112	Strong Island	2017	25.6	3,867
113	Life, Animated	2016	25.5	3,881
114	How to Survive a Plague	2012	25.3	3,903
115	Genocide	1982	25.2	3,910
116	Religulous	2008	25.1	3,918
117	Of Fathers and Sons	2017	24.9	3,937
118	Burma VJ: Reporting from a Closed Country	2008	24.4	3,985
119	The Invisible War	2012	24.4	3,988
120	Hale County This Morning, This Evening	2018	24.3	3,997
121	Kon-Tiki	1950	24.1	4,014
122	Murder on a Sunday Morning	2001	23.9	4,031
123	Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser	1988	23.6	4,057
124	Chulas Fronteras	1976	23.3	4,088
125	A House Made of Splinters	2022	23.1	4,109
126	Streetwise	1984	22.4	4,175
127	Promises	2001	22.1	4,211
128	War Photographer	2001	21.9	4,227
129	Let There Be Light	1946	21.9	4,228
130	Portrait of Jason	1967	21.6	4,253
131	Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One	1968	21.5	4,262
132	Serengeti Shall Not Die	1959	21.5	4,268
133	Children Underground	2001	21.4	4,275
134	Spellbound	2002	21.4	4,278
135	The Hellstrom Chronicle	1971	21.2	4,300
136	Cutie and the Boxer	2013	21.1	4,303
137	Home	2009	21.0	4,312
138	World Without Sun	1964	21.0	4,318
139	Berkeley in the Sixties	1990	20.8	4,340
140	Hell and Back Again	2011	20.5	4,367
141	White Wilderness	1958	20.4	4,372
142	Victory Through Air Power	1943	20.2	4,400
143	The Unconquered	1954	20.1	4,401
144	Waco: The Rules of Engagement	1997	20.0	4,412
145	The War Room	1993	19.8	4,434
146	Which Way Home	2009	18.8	4,538
147	Dirty Wars	2013	18.8	4,541
148	Before Stonewall	1984	18.5	4,566
149	Long Night's Journey into Day	2000	18.4	4,575
150	The Most Dangerous Man in America	2009	18.1	4,606
151	The True Glory	1945	18.1	4,610
152	Iraq in Fragments	2006	17.9	4,633
153	The Fighting Lady	1944	17.8	4,636
154	The Anderson Platoon	1967	17.7	4,654
155	The Eleanor Roosevelt Story	1965	17.6	4,657
156	Wattstax	1973	17.6	4,663
157	My Architect: A Son's Journey	2003	17.3	4,688
158	Twist of Faith	2004	17.2	4,699
159	Salesman	1969	17.1	4,709
160	This Is Cinerama	1952	17.1	4,716
161	Albert Schweitzer	1957	16.9	4,734
162	Abacus: Small Enough to Jail	2016	16.7	4,755
163	The Panama Deception	1992	16.5	4,770
164	The Wrecking Crew	2008	16.4	4,782
165	Monterey Pop	1968	16.4	4,788
166	Grass: A Nation's Battle for Life	1925	16.3	4,792
167	End Game	2018	16.1	4,820
168	Let's Get Lost	1988	15.9	4,836
169	In the Shadow of the Stars	1991	15.9	4,841
170	Genghis Blues	1999	15.8	4,849
171	The Vanishing Prairie	1954	15.7	4,855
172	The Man Who Skied Down Everest	1975	15.7	4,861
173	Street Fight	2005	15.5	4,873
174	Trouble the Water	2008	15.5	4,877
175	Sound and Fury	2000	15.4	4,884
176	Freedom on My Mind	1994	15.3	4,901
177	Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience	2007	15.2	4,911
178	Down and Out in America	1986	15.1	4,915
179	From Mao to Mozart: Isaac Stern in China	1980	14.8	4,954
180	The Corbett-Fitzsimmons Fight	1897	14.6	4,970
181	Empire	1965	14.5	4,986
182	Regret to Inform	1998	14.4	4,994
183	Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision	1994	14.3	5,000
184	Desert Victory	1943	14.3	5,009
185	The Secret Land	1948	14.2	5,012
186	Scared Straight!	1978	14.2	5,018
187	My Country, My Country	2006	14.2	5,020
188	Balseros	2002	14.1	5,027
189	He Makes Me Feel Like Dancin'	1983	14.0	5,033
190	Broken Rainbow	1985	14.0	5,036
191	The Weather Underground	2002	13.9	5,043
192	Sky Above and Mud Beneath	1960	13.8	5,056
193	Dancemaker	1998	13.7	5,071
194	A Great Day in Harlem	1994	13.6	5,075
195	Who Are the DeBolts? And Where Did They Get Nineteen Kids?	1977	13.3	5,113
196	With Byrd at the South Pole	1930	13.2	5,117
197	I Am a Promise: The Children of Stanton Elementary School	1993	13.2	5,124
198	The Ten-Year Lunch	1987	13.2	5,126
199	Daughter from Danang	2002	13.2	5,127
200	Black Fox: The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler	1962	13.1	5,132
201	Decasia: The State of Decay	2002	12.9	5,153
202	The Horse with the Flying Tail	1960	12.9	5,159
203	Festival	1967	12.8	5,168
204	If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front	2011	12.6	5,182
205	The Titan: Story of Michelangelo	1950	12.6	5,188
206	Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (If You're a Girl)	2019	12.5	5,195
207	The Sea Around Us	1953	12.1	5,238
208	A Time for Burning	1967	11.7	5,287
209	Artie Shaw: Time Is All You've Got	1985	11.6	5,292
210	Truth in Numbers? Everything, According to Wikipedia	2010	11.5	5,302
211	On Any Sunday	1971	11.4	5,316
212	Arthur Rubinstein: The Love of Life	1969	11.4	5,320
213	The Quiet One	1948	11.3	5,324
214	Chariots of the Gods	1970	11.3	5,329
215	The Great American Cowboy	1973	11.2	5,338
216	War Dance	2007	10.9	5,367
217	On the Ropes	1999	10.7	5,396
218	Just Another Missing Kid	1981	10.6	5,405
219	Robert Frost: A Lover's Quarrel with the World	1963	10.5	5,410
220	Freeheld	2007	10.4	5,424
221	The Eternal Jew	1940	10.4	5,428
222	King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis	1970	10.3	5,432
223	Prisoner of Paradise	2002	10.2	5,448
224	The Garden	2008	10.2	5,452
225	High School	1968	9.9	5,476
226	Journey Into Self	1968	9.9	5,486
227	The T.A.M.I. Show	1964	9.4	5,537
228	LaLee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton	2001	9.3	5,546
229	Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern	1995	9.3	5,547
230	To Die in Madrid	1963	9.3	5,550
231	The Memphis Belle	1944	8.8	5,605
232	Dead Birds	1963	8.7	5,610
233	Marlene	1984	8.6	5,627
234	In the Year of the Pig	1968	8.5	5,640
235	Primary	1960	8.5	5,641
236	13 Lakes	2004	8.4	5,651
237	Antonia: A Portrait of the Woman	1974	8.3	5,655
238	All My Babies... A Midwife's Own Story	1953	8.1	5,682
239	Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth	1998	7.9	5,704
240	The Negro Soldier	1944	7.6	5,735
241	The Murder of Fred Hampton	1971	7.6	5,739
242	Design for Death	1947	7.6	5,741
243	Justin Bieber: Never Say Never	2011	7.4	5,757
244	Why We Fight: The Battle of Russia	1943	7.4	5,766
245	Legacy	2000	7.3	5,770
246	Who Killed Vincent Chin?	1987	7.3	5,771
247	Manson	1973	6.9	5,814
248	Jeffries-Johnson World's Championship Boxing Contest	1910	6.7	5,839
249	The Battle Over Citizen Kane	1996	6.5	5,861
250	Report from the Aleutians	1943	6.5	5,868