Five Docs Rankings

Get inspiration for your lists by seeing which documentaries have been picked the most.

1. 

   1

   Russia 1985-1999: TraumaZone

   Picked once | Average position 1

   What it felt like to live through the collapse of communism and democracy. A series of films by Adam Curtis.

2. 

   2

   Final Account

   Picked once | Average position 1

   A depiction of the last living generation of German participants in Adolf Hitler’s Third Reich.

3. 

   3

   Philip and His Seven Wives

   Picked once | Average position 1

   Philip and His Seven Wives (2006) a film made for the BBC’s prestigious Storyville strand, tells the intriguing story of a former messianic rabbi who believes that he communicates directly with God. Isaacs’ captivating and intimate documentary is a portrait of this unconventional family whose lives revolve around faith and obedience to the head of the household.

4. 

   4

   Life and Death Row

   Picked once | Average position 2

   The story of capital punishment through the eyes of young people whose lives have been shaped by it.

5. 

   5

   President

   Picked once | Average position 2

   Zimbabwe is at a crossroads. The leader of the opposition MDC party, Nelson Chamisa, challenges the old guard ZANU-PF led by Emmerson Mnangagwa, known as “The Crocodile.” The election tests both the ruling party and the opposition – how do they interpret principles of democracy in discourse and in practice?

6. 

   6

   Bitter Lake

   Picked once | Average position 2

   An experimental documentary that explores Saudi Arabia's relationship with the U.S. and the role this has played in the war in Afghanistan.

7. 

   7

   The Power of Nightmares

   Picked once | Average position 3

   Examines how politicians have used our fears to increase their power and control over society.

8. 

   8

   F@ck This Job

   Picked once | Average position 3

   In 2008, Natasha, a newly rich woman, decides to open an independent TV station in Russia and builds an open-minded team of outcasts. By 2020, Natasha has lost everything to Russia's war between Propaganda and Truth.

9. 

   9

   Between Life and Death

   Picked once | Average position 3

   Provocative documentary following the doctors who can now interrupt, and even reverse, the process of death. Filmed over six months in the country's leading brain injury unit (Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge), it follows the journey of a man who, by only moving his eyes, is eventually asked if he wants to live or die. Two other families are also plunged into the most ethically difficult decision in modern medicine.

10. 

    10

    An Honest Liar

    Picked once | Average position 4

    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 names Carlos.