Historical Documentary Movies

What happened after Einstein fled Nazi Germany? Using archival footage and his own words, this docudrama dives into the mind of a tortured genius.

Marijuana is the most controversial drug of the 20th century. Smoked by generations to little discernible ill effect, it continues to be reviled by...

Revolves around the equal protection and citizenship-focused 14th amendment, which was ratified in 1868 in the turbulent era of Reconstruction and...

Former corporate whiz kid Robert McNamara was the controversial Secretary of Defense in the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, during the height of...

Director Claude Lanzmann spent 11 years on this sprawling documentary about the Holocaust, conducting his own interviews and refusing to use a single...

Profiles the double Oscar winner, who helmed some of the most well-respected movies of all time, via never-before-seen archive and contributions from...

Chronicles the life of singer-songwriter Aimee Mann; from her early life to her eventual triumph over the music industry as the tentpole indie artist...

Words of Captain Scott uses readings of the diaries and letters of Captain Scott, his companions, and those of his Norwegian rival Roald Amundsen -...

Working from the text of James Baldwin’s unfinished final novel, director Raoul Peck creates a meditation on what it means to be Black in the...

The Mediterranean. Because people have been travelling there for thousands of years, it is believed to be without secrets. And yet, far below its...

Through five portraits of relatives and mentors, five expressions of resistance, Pegah Ahangarani sketches her life story. Drawing from personal...

A century after Shackleton's Endurance sank beneath the ice, explorers uncover the legendary shipwreck and an amazing tale of survival.

A collection of restored prints from the Lumière Brothers.

In one of those wonderful coincidences of history, lumière, the French word for “light,” was also the last name of brothers...

This documentary delves into the mysteries surrounding the Neanderthals and what their fossil record tells us about their lives and disappearance.

A documentary about the life of former U.S. Secret Service agent, Clint Hill, who served under five United States presidents from Eisenhower to Ford...

Egyptian archaeologists dig into history, discovering tombs and artifacts over 4,000 years old as they search for a buried pyramid in this...

On snow-covered fields in the small village of Napue in Ostrobothnia, a terribly one-sided battle is being fought in the bitter February cold. The...

Using original footage and interviews, this documentary tells the nail-biting story of Apollo 13 and the struggle to bring its astronauts safely home.