Summary

• Max offers a diverse collection of documentaries from top studios.
• With themes ranging from music to true crime, there's something for everyone.
• Award-winning offerings set Max apart from other streaming services.

The best documentaries on Max come from many different origins. The streaming service has movies and series from HBO, Warner Bros, and Discovery Channel. It also brings in movies and shows from licensing deals. This results in one of the largest libraries of documentary movies and series on any streaming service. These also run the gamut of themes. Max has a series of music documentaries. Max also has plenty to choose from in true crime, one of the most popular forms of documentary.

That isn't where it stops though. Max also has plenty of documentaries based on movies and TV shows. There are also classic documentaries, with many from the Criterion Collection. The best documentaries on Max offer something for everyone and help the service stand out from other competitors thanks to its large library and award-winning offerings. With so much to choose from on Max, it might be hard to find everything available, but there are plenty of documentaries on Max that will make anyone happy.

25 Jodorowsky's Dune (2014)

The Failure Of Alejandro Jodorowsky To Make Dune

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Dune has become one of the most successful new franchises thanks to Denis Villineuve's two movies in his proposed trilogy. It also isn't the first time Dune came to the big screen, as David Lynch also directed a movie based on the franchise years ago. However, even before Lynch's movie, Alejandro Jodorowsky tried to adapt the Frank Herbert story and ran into one obstacle after another. Jodorowsky's Dune tells the story of the director's attempts and failure to make this grand-scale movie.

Money problems and an unwieldy script led to the production's demise.

Frank Pavich made the documentary and released it in 2013, tracking Jodorowsky's failed journey from its inception in 1974 until the rights lapsed, and David Lynch made his movie a decade later. Everyone from David Carradine, Mick Jagger, Udo Kier, and Orson Welles joined the cast, with Pink Floyd providing the music, and Dan O'Bannon working on special effects. However, money problems and an unwieldy script led to the production's demise. What resulted was this captivating documentary.

24 Häxan (1922)

A Documentary Tracking Witchcraft From The Middle Ages

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Häxan is a horror documentary on Max that tells the story of witchcraft, starting in the Middle Ages and going through to the 20th century. It is also one of the more controversial documentaries, as Häxan was banned in the United States thanks to its nude scenes as well as the accusation it was anti-religion. However, over the years, it has become a cult classic and a historical touchstone of how society can turn destructive with things it doesn't understand.

Häxan is a harsh indictment of the dangers of misunderstanding mental and neurological disorders.

Häxan received a Criterion Collection release, which is one big reason it is on Max to see. The United States lifted the ban years later, and it was re-released with the title Witchcraft Through the Ages. While the history of witchcraft remains a compelling reason to watch it, Häxan is a harsh indictment of the dangers of misunderstanding mental and neurological disorders, as many communities just like to blame it on witchcraft.

23 6 Days To Air: The Making Of South Park (2011)

How Matt Stone & Trey Parker Make An Episode In One Week's Time

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One of the best documentaries on Max shows the most impressive behind-the-scenes look at making any television show. In 6 Days to Air, the documentary tells that exact story. For anyone who wondered how South Park could tell relevant stories based on current events, it is because Matt Stone and Trey Parker make each episode in the week leading up to its airing.

If it sounds intensive to create an entire animated episode in six days, 6 Days to Air proves just how daunting the task is. On top of the incredible work ethic, this documentary also works so well by showing Stone and Parker in action, two of TV's best creatives.

22 A Forbidden Orange (2021)

The Making Of Stanley Kubrick's Cult Classic

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There are a lot of behind-the-scenes looks at Stanley Kubrick's movies, with one of the best being The Shining documentary Room 237. That said, one of the best documentaries on Max takes a look at one of Kubrick's most controversial movies. A Forbidden Orange tells the story of how A Clockwork Orange screened without censorship in 1975 at a festival in Spain, despite being banned by the Franco government.

This is one of the best Kubrick documentaries ever made, and to make it even better, A Clockwork Orange star Malcolm McDowell narrates the movie.

21 A Brief History Of Time (1991)

Exploring The Life Of Stephen Hawking

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Based on the book of the same name, A Brief History of Time tells the story of the life of physicist Stephen Hawking. However, there is a huge difference between the two, as the book is a look at cosmology, while the movie is about Hawking himself as well as his work. The documentary is a fascinating look at an incredible man and includes interviews with family members and colleagues.

The biggest selling point is that the 1991 documentary was directed by the award-winning Errol Morris (The Thin Blue Line, The Fog of War). The movie has universal acclaim, with a 93 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

20 Magic & Bird: A Courtship Of Rivals (2010)

A Documentary About Two Of Basketball's Greatest Rivals

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America loves basketball, and one of the best documentaries on Max traces the at-times tense relationship between Magic Johnson and Larry Bird. Starting with the 1979 NCAA Basketball Championship Game, the rivalry received so much media attention that it played a major role in the NBA's success during the 80s.

Both Johnson and Bird's careers were cut short by health issues – an HIV diagnosis for Johnson and a back injury for Bird. A Courtship of Rivals shows how the two eventually set their differences aside and forged a lifelong friendship. This rivalry is also a focal point of HBO's Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.

19 Nanook Of The North (1922)

One Of The Earliest DOcumentary Movies

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Nanook of the North is one of the most complicated of the best documentaries on Max. When studying documentary filmmaking, Nanook of the North is spoken of as the first official documentary to receive a wide release. However, the documentary also received criticism for staging many of the scenes in the movie. Despite that, it was still the first feature-length documentary to receive commercial success. It was also one of the first movies selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry in 1989.

18 Amy (2015)

A Documentary About Late Musician Amy Winehouse

One of the best music documentaries of the last 15 years, Amy is about the life and death of Amy Winehouse. The singer started her career in 2002 and hit her biggest success in 2006 thanks to her second album, Back To Black. Winehouse died in 2011, while still on top of the music world, and her music and legacy live on.

The documentary on Max, Amy, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival and then hit theaters in 2015. The movie was a huge success, winning 30 awards. This includes both a Grammy Award and an Oscar. It follows her career before and after her addiction issues, showing her talent and genius.

17 Miss You Can Do It (2013)

The Story Of Abbey Curran's Road To The Miss USA Pageant

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Directed by Ron Davis, Miss You Can Do It tells the story of Abbey Curran, a woman with cerebral palsy who refuses to let her disability limit her. Curran, an Iowa native, founded the annual Miss You Can Do It Pageant in 2004 to give differently-abled girls like herself a chance to shine on stage. Curran became the first woman with disabilities to compete in the 2008 Miss USA Pageant, setting a milestone for the disability rights movement. One of the best documentaries on Max, Davis's movie highlights other girls like Curran and their supportive families.

16 The Alzheimer's Project (2009)

A Documentary About Alzheimer's

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This four-episode miniseries delves into the lives of those afflicted with Alzheimer's Disease, a terrible disorder that affects memory and cognitive skills in its victims. Part of a larger awareness campaign, The Alzheimer's Project focuses on both those diagnosed with the disease and their loved ones. Each episode examines the causes, symptoms, and cures of Alzheimer's without losing focus on the people most affected by it. Instead of making it all about science, the goal is to humanize this horrific affliction.

15 Life According To Sam (2013)

A Documentary About An Extraordinary Man With Progeria

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Life According to Sam examines a child with the misunderstood and overlooked disease: progeria. Progeria is a rare genetic disorder that brings on signs of aging early on in a sick person's life. Sam Burns, a 13-year-old with progeria, works with his parents, Dr. Leslie Gordon and Dr. Scott Berns, to find a cure for the disease in the documentary. Ultimately, the documentary on Max stands as a testament to Sam's fighting power and resilience in the face of a terrible prognosis.

14 Moonage Daydream (2022)

An Abstract Music Documentary About David Bowie

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The David Bowie documentary Moonage Daydream was a theatrical movie released in 2022. There is another of the best documentaries on Max called Five Years that explores Bowie's life. However, this documentary is more in touch with what David Bowie was all about. It went through his career and included unreleased footage from his career and life.

However, it was also edited and formed in a way that seemed abstract at times, which pays tribute to who Bowie was and the persona he created to form his career. It covered his career from his start in London to his death and finished as one of the best movies of 2022.

13 Paradise Lost (1996)

The Story Of The West Memphis Three

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Paradise Lost follows one of the most controversial criminal cases in American history. In 1993, three young boys were murdered in what authorities claimed was a satanic ritual. The three teens arrested and charged with the murders were known as the West Memphis Three. They were accused of being Satanists and ended up found guilty of the murders.

Metallica allowed their music to be used in the documentary, which focused mostly on the murders and the trial. The movie won a Primetime Emmy as one of the best documentaries on Max, and it received two sequels following the West Memphis Three's release from prison after years of appeals.

12 True Justice: Bryan Stevenson's Fight For Equality (2019)

A Look At The Work Of Social Activist Bryan Stevenson

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Bryan Stevenson is an Alabama defense attorney and criminal reform advocate who founded the Equal Justice Initiative. In addition to being the focus of one of the best documentaries on Max, Stevenson's work as a trial lawyer for death row inmates is dramatized in the 2020 film Just Mercy, which stars Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx. True Justice highlights just one of many activists working behind the scenes to make America a more equitable place.

It takes an expansive look at Stevenson's life and examines what inspired him to take on institutional inequality in a state with one of the worst track records.

11 White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction Of Hiroshima And Nagasaki (2007)

A Documentary About The Survivors Of The Bombings Of World War II

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Steven Okazaki met with over 500 Japanese survivors of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings while filming this harrowing documentary, released on the 62nd anniversary of the first atomic bombing. White Light/Black Rain gives voice to around a dozen of these survivors, who ranged in age from six to 28 when the bombs hit.

Through their stories, Okazaki's documentary shows how the attacks, which ended the Pacific Front of World War II, devastated generations of Japanese citizens. Okazaki also interviews four Americans who were involved in the production and dissemination of the A-bombs.

10 Don't Look Back (1967)

Bob Dylan Presents An Unrealistic Look At His Life

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Bob Dylan is a man who became one of the biggest and most iconic musicians in history, but he also often kept his personal life private. One of the exceptions to this rule was his documentary in 1967 called Don't Look Back. What makes this music feature one of the best documentaries on Max is the fact that it isn't a realistic look at Dylan's life or career.

Instead, the singer "played" Bob Dylan in the documentary and let fans see what he wanted them to see, creating a new mythos out of an already incredible career. Critically acclaimed director D.A. Pennebaker allowed Dylan to portray who he thought he should be in this feature.

9 F For Fake (1973)

Orson Welles Directs A Documentary About An Art Forger

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Orson Welles is best known for his groundbreaking movie Citizen Kane, which is among the movies spoken of as the best of all time. However, many years later, he also directed what is one of the best documentaries on Max, F for Fake. The movie features Elmyr de Hory, and the man recounting his career as a professional art forger.

However, that is just the surface of the story, as the movie investigates the sense of authorship and authenticity and the innate value of art as a whole. The public rejected it upon its release, it received a Criterion Collection release and a general reappraisal as a documentary film as an essay.

8 Capturing The Friedmans (2003)

The True-Crime Documentary About Party Clowns Guilty Of Sexual Abuse

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Capturing the Friedmans was one of the earlier examples of true-crime documentaries. Released as an HBO original documentary in 2003, and remaining one of the best documentaries on Max, Capturing the Friedmans tells the story of father and son, Arnold and Jesse Friedman, who were arrested and convicted of child sexual abuse. Even more frightening is that they worked as clowns at children's parties before they ended up finally arrested and convicted.

The movie included interviews and home video footage provided by the family. It went on to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Documentary Feature.

7 The Jinx: The Life And Deaths Of Robert Durst (2015)

A True-Crim Documentary That Resulted In A Conviction Of Its Subject

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Robert Durst is an NYC-based real estate heir implicated in the deaths of three people: his disappeared wife, Kathie, in 1982, a writer named Susan Berman, and a man named Morris Black. Directed by Andrew Jarecki, The Jinx involves first-hand interviews with Durst, who managed to avoid charges for any of the killings, despite the amount of evidence piled against him.

Comments made by Durst while filming the documentary series led to his arrest on first-degree murder charges

The documentary illustrates what happens when wealth and status get in the way of justice. Ironically, comments made by Durst while filming the documentary series led to his arrest on first-degree murder charges for the death of Berman, in 2015. While the documentary shows him escaping justice, it directly resulted in him finally going to prison on a life sentence.

6 All That Breathes (2022)

A Documentary About Siblings Who Rescue Birds In India

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All That Breathes tells the story of siblings Mohammad Saud and Nadeem Shehzad, who rescue and treat injured birds in India. In a world where people watch true-crime documentaries about murders and musical documentaries about debauchery, it is a refreshing change to get a movie about people protecting nature. As the beloved black kites die in the polluted skies of New Delhi, the brothers do everything they can to care for the injured. The movie premiered at Sundance, where it won the Grand Jury Prize, and also screened at Cannes, where it won the Golden Eye.