Biographical Documentaries, a list by Riz

8.9

/21799/

86

/95/

84

/208/

4.5

/36990/

100

/55/

Audience

98

/91/

age 15+

A chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.

84

7.8

/55030/

77

/2469/

75

/1147/

4.0

/86467/

95

/226/

Audience

87

/22356/

85

/41/

4.0

age 16+

A documentary on the life of Amy Winehouse, the immensely talented yet doomed songstress. We see her from her teen years, where she already showed her singing abilities, to her finding success and then her downward spiral into alcoholism and drugs.

80

7.4

/1283/

72

/69/

79

/12/

3.6

/6053/

97

/32/

Audience

92

/48/

74

/7/

3.5

Rob Reiner profiles Albert Brooks, comedic legend, acclaimed filmmaker, talented character actor and a lifelong friend, who Reiner first met in their high school drama club.

74

6.8

/3734/

68

/131/

71

/37/

3.4

/15999/

94

/49/

Audience

76

/177/

76

/11/

3.0

age 13+

Musician Jon Batiste attempts to compose a symphony as his wife, writer Suleika Jaouad, undergoes cancer treatment.

72

6.7

/365/

70

/14/

70

/7/

3.3

/1976/

94

/18/

Audience

75

/8/

65

/5/

3.0

This documentary about the great master of European horror and fantastic films offers an immersive exploration into the life and legacy of the director of Suspiria. Using the writing process of his next film as a starting point, Dario Argento Panico immerses us in the mind of the Italian genius, and offers testimonials from other filmmakers who love his work, all key names in today's world of cinema including Gaspar Noé and Guillermo Del Toro.

73

7.0

/1628/

67

/94/

67

/21/

3.4

/5071/

96

/85/

Audience

68

/47/

79

/20/

3.0

age 13+

Academy Award winner Errol Morris pulls back the curtain on the storied life and career of David Cornwell, the former spy known to the literary world as John le Carré.

77

71

7.4

/2501/

75

/334/

78

/195/

3.6

/3810/

Audience

88

/67/

Explore how one man's relentless drive and invention of the atomic bomb changed the nature of war forever, led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and unleashed mass hysteria.

71

7.0

/11036/

71

/518/

72

/136/

3.4

/12774/

81

/54/

Audience

87

/142/

62

/17/

2.5

age 14+

His love of film began as an escape from a rocky childhood. From underdog to Hollywood legend, Sylvester Stallone tells his story in this documentary.

79

7.5

/8929/

75

/390/

73

/60/

3.7

/21612/

90

/48/

Audience

88

/231/

73

/16/

3.5

age 13+

Through archival interviews and footage, George Michael and Andrew Ridgeley relive the arc of their Wham! career, from 70s best buds to 80s pop icons.

78

7.5

/1966/

72

/181/

71

/21/

3.6

/2910/

100

/25/

Audience

92

/61/

72

/7/

3.0

The story of Robert Pilatus and Fabrice Morvan, who became fast friends during their youth in Germany. With Rob coming from a broken home and Fabrice having left an abusive household, they shared a similar upbringing, as well as a future goal: to become famous superstars. In a few short years, their dreams came true. Rob and Fab, better known as Milli Vanilli, became the world's most popular pop duo in 1990 and won the GRAMMY for Best New Artist. However, their ascension to success came with a devastating price that ultimately led to their infamous undoing.

75

7.1

/525/

71

/12/

64

/7/

3.4

/1768/

96

/50/

Audience

85

/47/

75

/8/

3.0

Since her debut at the age of 18, musician, civil rights campaigner and activist Joan Baez has been on stage for over 60 years. For the now 82-year-old, the personal has always been political, and her friendship with Martin Luther King and her pacifism have shaped her commitment. In this biography that opens with her farewell tour, Baez takes stock in an unsparing fashion and confronts sometimes painful memories.

84

8.0

/3377/

78

/130/

79

/24/

4.0

/6626/

100

/57/

Audience

99

/833/

84

/15/

3.0

A courageous pastor uses his underground network to rescue and aid North Korean families as they risk their lives to embrace freedom.

77

7.2

/12764/

71

/463/

70

/202/

3.8

/28056/

96

/49/

Audience

93

/637/

66

/13/

age 15+

In her own words, through personal video and diaries, Pamela Anderson shares the story of her rise to fame, rocky romances and infamous sex tape scandal.

81

7.7

/908/

71

/49/

72

/12/

3.7

/2677/

95

/62/

Audience

81

/31/

79

/16/

4.0

age 14+

The radical honesty of the books by young adult fiction pioneer Judy Blume changed the way millions of readers understood themselves, their sexuality, and what it meant to grow up, but also led to critical battles against book banning and censorship.

84

8.1

/15173/

81

/959/

77

/136/

4.0

/25695/

99

/153/

Audience

95

/384/

78

/35/

3.5

age 15+

A short kid from a Canadian army base becomes the international pop culture darling of the 1980s—only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease?

81

7.4

/1402/

70

/73/

72

/13/

3.6

/3803/

95

/98/

Audience

98

/615/

81

/19/

3.5

The story of the Black queer origins of rock n' roll. It explodes the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard's complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon's life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions.

80

7.4

/6140/

76

/445/

82

/239/

3.6

/29033/

97

/37/

Audience

93

/595/

68

/11/

age 14+

After years in the limelight, Selena Gomez achieves unimaginable stardom. But just as she reaches a new peak, an unexpected turn pulls her into darkness. This uniquely raw and intimate documentary spans her six-year journey into a new light.

78

8.6

/2253/

72

/17/

78

/4/

3.7

/1086/

91

/22/

Audience

100

/49/

68

/6/

2.5

A turbulent newsroom drama that intimately chronicles the working days of broadcast journalist Ravish Kumar as he navigates a spiraling world of truth and disinformation.

77

7.4

/741/

71

/66/

68

/16/

3.6

/1316/

98

/54/

Audience

79

/34/

80

/13/

3.0

age 15+

An intimate and revealing look at the world-changing musician, presented through a lens of archival footage and never-before-heard home recordings and personal conversations. This definitive documentary honors Armstrong's legacy as a founding father of jazz, one of the first internationally known and beloved stars, and a cultural ambassador of the United States.

78

7.2

/3530/

73

/134/

71

/46/

3.7

/12682/

97

/60/

Audience

90

/145/

78

/19/

3.0

age 15+

A portrait of the life and career of Robert Downey Sr. (1936-2021), the visionary and fearless US filmmaker — father of actor Robert Downey Jr. — who in the sixties and seventies laid the foundations for countercultural comedy.

73

7.0

/390/

66

/16/

70

/1/

3.5

/1035/

100

/25/

Audience

60

/9/

80

/9/

3.0

A portrait of musician David Johansen from Martin Scorsese and David Tedeschi featuring a live performance at Café Carlyle in New York City, where he performs as Buster Poindexter singing the Johansen songbook, along with new and archival interviews.

63

6.5

/345/

52

/15/

66

/4/

3.3

/730/

72

/20/

2.5

Physicist Ted Hall is recruited to join the Manhattan Project as a teenager and goes to Los Alamos with no idea what he'll be working on. When he learns the true nature of the weapon being designed, he fears the post-war risk of a nuclear holocaust and begins to pass significant information to the Soviet Union.

80

8.2

/1310/

70

/43/

67

/9/

3.7

/1741/

98

/58/

Audience

96

/92/

79

/13/

3.0

The life and times of Yankee Yogi Berra, whose unique personality and unforgettable Yogi-isms sometimes got in the way of his being recognized as one of baseball’s very greatest catchers.

68

6.6

/5692/

68

/240/

68

/133/

3.1

/7389/

82

/39/

Audience

89

/400/

63

/10/

2.0

age 15+

Global superstar Jennifer Lopez reflects on her multifaceted career and the pressure of life in the spotlight in this intimate documentary.

76

7.8

/1224/

74

/79/

78

/22/

3.7

/1864/

90

/80/

Audience

84

/25/

70

/21/

2.5

age 13+

This revealing documentary honors the legendary Sidney Poitier—iconic actor, filmmaker, and civil rights activist. Featuring interviews with Denzel Washington, Spike Lee, Halle Berry, and more.

80

7.6

/14429/

74

/428/

76

/182/

4.0

/68406/

92

/166/

Audience

75

/295/

83

/34/

3.5

A cinematic odyssey featuring never-before-seen footage exploring David Bowie's creative and musical journey.

78

67

7.2

/1554/

73

/160/

78

/48/

3.8

/20288/

100

/5/

Audience

84

/57/

66

/4/

age 10+

Grammy® winner singer-songwriter Olivia Rodrigo takes a familiar road trip from Salt Lake City, where she began writing her debut album “SOUR,” to Los Angeles. Along the way, Rodrigo recounts the memories of writing and creating her record-breaking debut album and shares her feelings as a young woman navigating a specific time in her life. Through new live arrangements of her songs, intimate interviews and never-before-seen footage from the making of the album, audiences will follow Olivia along on a cinematic journey exploring the story of “SOUR.”

86

63

8.4

/1446/

79

/102/

75

/21/

4.0

/1921/

100

/11/

Audience

99

/91/

This career spanning documentary on heavy metal legend Ronnie James Dio delves deep into his incredible rise from 50's doo-wop crooner, to his early classic rock days in Ritchie Blackmore's Rainbow, to replacing the iconic lead singer Ozzy Osborne in Black Sabbath, to finally cement his legend with DIO. Ronnie's biography is completely unique to the tired sex, drugs and rock and roll cliches. The film is about perseverance, dreams and the power to believe in yourself.

81

7.9

/1825/

76

/81/

74

/21/

3.6

/2771/

96

/27/

Audience

95

/97/

73

/5/

3.5

In the world of Major League Baseball no one has created a mythology like Nolan Ryan. Told from the point of view of the hitters who faced him and the teammates who revered him, Facing Nolan is the definitive documentary of a Texas legend.

82

7.7

/29865/

78

/749/

72

/190/

3.8

/36157/

97

/103/

Audience

89

/319/

82

/22/

3.5

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.

72

7.2

/1026/

67

/79/

67

/12/

3.4

/2475/

95

/19/

Audience

91

/22/

61

/5/

2.5

The untold story of the Abbey Road studio, all-star interviews and intimate access to the premises.

75

6.8

/213/

71

/7/

68

/5/

3.8

/1590/

90

/30/

79

/14/

3.0

The quixotic journey of Nam June Paik, one of the most famous Asian artists of the 20th century, who revolutionized the use of technology as an artistic canvas and prophesied both the fascist tendencies and intercultural understanding that would arise from the interconnected metaverse of today's world.

84

7.6

/14405/

74

/543/

75

/181/

4.1

/88893/

98

/177/

Audience

84

/349/

84

/38/

4.0

age 10+

A doomed love triangle between intrepid French scientists Katia and Maurice Krafft, and their beloved volcanoes.

79

8.0

/4682/

79

/317/

77

/46/

3.9

/10860/

96

/23/

Audience

90

/68/

75

/8/

2.5

age 15+

A wide-ranging, definitive look at Hawk’s life and iconic career, and his relationship with the sport with which he’s been synonymous for decades, featuring unprecedented access, never-before-seen footage, and interviews with Hawk and prominent figures in the sport including Stacy Peralta, Rodney Mullen, Mike McGill, Lance Mountain, Steve Caballero, Neil Blender, Andy MacDonald, Duane Peters, Sean Mortimer, and Christian Hosoi.

60

6.4

/8103/

67

/489/

70

/158/

3.2

/15469/

63

/16/

Audience

53

/95/

41

/12/

age 14+

Journalist Jenny Eliscu and filmmaker Erin Lee Carr investigate Britney Spears' fight for freedom by way of exclusive interviews and confidential evidence.

75

6.9

/1207/

71

/75/

74

/30/

3.5

/1221/

94

/18/

Audience

85

/20/

69

/6/

3.0

age 14+

From a chance meeting to a tragic fallout, Malcolm X and Muhammad Ali's extraordinary bond cracks under the weight of distrust and shifting ideals.

74

7.3

/4188/

74

/309/

77

/73/

3.5

/8670/

85

/34/

Audience

86

/277/

69

/11/

2.5

age 13+

The remarkable coming-of-age story of Stephen Curry—one of the most influential, dynamic, and unexpected players in basketball history—and his rise from an undersized college player to a four-time NBA champion.

77

6.5

/90/

86

/3/

88

/4/

86

/22/

Audience

69

/272/

70

/13/

3.0

What is art and how does it relate to society? Is its value determined by its popularity or originality? Is the goal profit or expressing one's personal vision? These are some of the questions raised as we follow fiercely independent New York artist Robert Cenedella in his artistic journey through decades of struggling for creative expression. A student, protégé and friend of German artist George Grosz, Cenedella is now passing on the legacy of Grosz's approach to art, in the very same room where Grosz taught. In portraying Cenedella's determination to buck the system of what's popular while critiquing that popularity in his attempt to turn the art world upside down, ART BASTARD is a funny, touching, and insightful look inside the maverick mind of a true original.

73

7.4

/25358/

73

/1210/

73

/351/

3.6

/23727/

age 13+

Through exclusive interviews and archival footage, this documentary traces an intimate portrait of seven-time Formula 1 champion Michael Schumacher.

74

7.6

/1295/

74

/63/

73

/23/

3.6

/2868/

88

/74/

Audience

91

/88/

70

/16/

2.0

This feature-length documentary explores the life of singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen as seen through the prism of his internationally renowned hymn, Hallelujah.

73

7.3

/369/

73

/11/

42

/4/

3.5

/522/

97

/32/

Audience

85

/20/

74

/10/

3.0

age 10+

Follows the life and career of Arthur Ashe.

68

7.3

/1831/

75

/100/

69

/19/

3.5

/4367/

62

/4/

2.5

An intimate exploration of Alanis Morissette and her groundbreaking 1995 album Jagged Little Pill.

66

6.4

/274/

50

/2/

70

/3/

67

/21/

Audience

81

/190/

57

/13/

3.0

The story of promoter Saul Holiff's turbulent life and his success making Johnny Cash a superstar.

76

7.6

/14346/

73

/576/

70

/146/

3.8

/32043/

93

/122/

Audience

88

/127/

73

/29/

2.5

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.

69

6.9

/449/

68

/43/

73

/13/

3.3

/790/

86

/22/

Audience

71

/17/

64

/7/

2.5

age 8+

An intimate portrait of the life and work of the original "celebrity chef" Wolfgang Puck.

62

6.7

/3126/

63

/40/

62

/13/

3.2

/746/

50

/22/

Audience

57

/7/

52

/7/

3.5

A surrealist biographical documentary about trailblazing electronic musician and animal rights activist Moby.

82

7.9

/2469/

74

/91/

72

/60/

4.0

/2519/

99

/67/

Audience

76

/7178/

83

/19/

4.0

When a cross-section of seven-year-olds were interviewed for 7 Up in 1964 it was immediately evident that their social backgrounds influenced their attitudes towards life. While the upper class children were confident and self-assured, those from middle and working class backgrounds were resigned to a challenging life of hard work. This premise was put to the test every seven years when the same group were interviewed about the progression of their lives. 49 years in the making, the changes that occurred to the original 14 make for fascinating television and are in many ways the stories of all our lives. From success and disappointment, marriage and childbirth, to poverty and illness, nearly every facet of life has been captured on film. Now, at the age of 56, the group are once more brought together and, with the benefit of hindsight, assess whether their lives have been ruled by circumstance or self-determination.

76

7.6

/1221/

79

/66/

54

/7/

3.6

/2876/

96

/107/

Audience

90

/73/

69

/21/