Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed
Image via Netflix
Director: Joshua Rofé
The first thing to know about the Bob Ross documentary on Netflix is it does not reveal that this beloved figure was a bad man. But it does uncover the disturbing truth behind the business of Bob Ross Inc., and specifically what happened after Ross' untimely death. Featuring interviews with Ross' son and best friend, as well as others who knew him, Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal & Greed chronicles how he became a pop culture icon by accident, and covers his philosophy of painting. It also gets a bit into his personal life, showing us the man behind the canvas. But the main thrust of the movie is the business dealings that took advantage of Ross, and the fallout from his death. It's an intriguing film, especially at only 90 minutes in length. - Adam Chitwood
2. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
Image via IFC Films
Directors: Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky
You don't have to like Metallica to find this seminal 2004 documentary completely engrossing. In fact, Metallica: Some Kind of Monster is one of the best music documentaries ever made, as it offers an unprecedented and candid look inside the making of Metallica's 2003 album St. Anger. What began as a documentary about the making of an album soon becomes the chronicle of a band on the brink, as lead singer James Hetfield enters rehab while the band's relationship is at an all time low. We watch as they try to work through their interpersonal issues and differing appraoches to making music, and drummer Lars Ulrich openly admits he's not sure if the band's going to survive
3. Misha and the Wolves
Image via Sundance
Director: Sam Hobkinson
Would you question someone who claimed to be a Holocaust survivor even if their story was completely outlandish? That’s the question at the heart of Sam Hobkinson’s captivating documentary Misha and the Wolves. The film is about a woman, Misha Defonseca, who claimed that her parents were arrested by the Nazis when she was seven years old, and so she ran away towards Germany to find her missing parents, and during her trek she joined a pack of wolves. This memoir became a worldwide best-seller, but its credibility became the center of a lawsuit between Misha and her publisher, Jane Daniel. The larger exploration here isn’t simply a matter of a stranger-than-fiction tale, but why we go looking for uplifting narratives at the expense of hard realities that may not comfort us. – Matt Goldberg
4. Road to Roma
Image via Netflix
Directors: Andres Clariond and Grabriel Nuncio
This documentary may have limited reach, but Road to Roma is terrific supplemental viewing if you’ve already seen Alfonso Cuaron’s Oscar-winning Netflix drama Roma. This feature-length documentary goes behind the scenes as Cuaron crafts his most personal film to date, recalling his own memories to create an epically intimate Mexico City-set drama. This one’s great for cinephiles. – Adam Chitwood
5. Gaga: Five Foot Two
Image via Netflix
Director: Chris Moukarbel
If you're in the mood for a celebrity documentary that digs a bit deeper than surface-level, Gaga: Five Foot Two is a solid watch. Released in 2017, the film covers Lady Gaga's life around the writing and release of her album Joanne, which also coincides with her casting in A Star Is Born for director/star Bradley Cooper and the end of her engagement with Taylor Kinney. This film is fairly intimate, as Gaga also battles fibromyalgia and you get a look into her life as she's juggling so much at once, climaxing with her Super Bowl halftime performance.
6. Athlete AImage via Netflix
Directors: Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk
If you’re curious about the United States Gymnastics program, then Athlete A is a must-watch. The documentary chronicles the investigation by journalists into team doctor Larry Nassar’s sexual assault of the young girls he was supposed to be helping, and is told through interviews with not only the journalists but also survivors of Nassar’s abuse. That in and of itself would make Athlete A worthwhile, but the film also delves into the history of the US Gymnastics program, and the power structure in place that has not only protected abusers, but also fostered an environment in which repeated abuse – both verbal and physical – is part of the training of these young girls. It’s an eye-opening documentary that will make you look at US gymnastics – especially with the Olympics looming – in a different light. – Adam Chitwood
7.Murder Among the Mormons
Ken Sanders (Rare book and Document Dealer) in episode 1 of Murder Among the Mormons. c. Courtesy of Netflix © 2021
Directors: Jared Hess and Tyler Measom
The three-episode documentary Murder Among the Mormons is among the best Netflix original documentaries streaming right now. Over the course of just under three hours, the film chronicles a series of historical document discoveries that threaten to upend the Lattter Day Saints church, only for key parties to turn up dead from bombings. It’s a twist-filled journey so I’ll refrain from going further, but the film uses present day interviews and archival footage to tell its story in a compelling way that doesn’t feel exploitative. Go in knowing as little as possible, but if the idea of historical documents and the Mormon church interest you, you’ll find this fascinating from beginning to end. – Adam Chitwood Image via Netflix Director: Ava DuVernay Ava DuVernay follows up her acclaimed film Selma with a searing documentary that looks at the mass incarceration of minorities following the passage of the 13th amendment. As the documentary points out, it’s not just ingrained cultural racism that results in the widespread incarceration of African-Americans and other minorities. 13th systematically goes through the decades following the passage of the 13th amendment to show how black people were targeted by the media, by the government, and by businesses to create a new form of slavery. It is a movie that will infuriate you, depress you, and hopefully spur you to action against a system that has done egregious harm to our fellow citizens. – Matt Goldber8. 13th
Image via Netflix Writers/Directors: Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed If you’re looking for something soothing, uplifting, and oddly beautiful, you should check out Pippa Ehrlich and James Reed’s lovely documentary My Octopus Teacher. The movie follows filmmaker Craig Foster who goes snorkeling off the coast of South Africa and encounters an octopus. The film never anthropomorphizes or cheapens the complexity of this underwater world, while also never losing sight of the majesty it presents. Even if you’re not much for nature documentaries, you’ll likely be enchanted by My Octopus Teacher. – Matt Goldberg9. My Octopus Teacher
American Murder: The Family Next Door Director: Jenny Popplewel
American Murder: The Family Next Door Director: Jenny Popplewell10.American Murder: The Family Next Door
The Netflix original documentary American Murder: The Family Next Door is a harrowing, infuriating chronicle of the 2018 Watts family murders that uses social media posts, law enforcement recordings.
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