A night in with a good documentary is a night well spent.
Here are a handful of the best documentaries onAmazon Prime Videothat do all of the above and then some.
and throwing bologna sandwiches at the screen (if you know, you know).
Iggy Pop in ‘Gimme Danger’; Oppy in ‘Good Night Oppy’; Robert G. Richardson in ‘Time’.Credit:Richard Creamer/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty; Amazon Prime (2)
It’s a remarkable thing to see.D.W.
Literature-loving celeb sightings (Fran Lebowitz, Susan Orlean,Parker Posey) also add extra chapters of fun.D.W.
Worth it for the surf soundtrack alone, Brown’s gorgeous film (the sand!
Penn Jillette and Teller in ‘The Aristocrats’.ThinkFilm Inc./Everett
From oligarch’s wives to ex-beauty queens, everything is filtered through her unique, often raw POV.
And who better to tell the story of the coolest punks than another cool punk,Jim Jarmusch?
She’s that good.
Don Packard in ‘Best Worst Movie’.Magicstone Productions
“It’s enough to make you weep.”
It’s an engrossing exploration of commitment to one’s art that will undoubtedly make you hungry.
InJudy Blume Forever,she gets exactly that.
Still from ‘Blackfish’.Netflix
As the voice-over says, “At the core, it’s all about unconditional love.“D.W.
Others chronicle the lives of public figures and the extraordinary careers they lead.
This personal documentary is all the more poignant now Kilmer died of pneumoniaon April 1, 2025.
A pilot in ‘Blue Angels’.Prime Video
Where to watchVal: Amazon Prime Video
Directors:Leo Scott, Ting Poo
Adina Cohen, Judith Lowry, and Naomi Hample in ‘The Booksellers’.Greenwich Entertainment/Everett
Ron Reyes performing in ‘The Decline of Western Civilization’.Media Home Entertainment
Bruce Brown surfing in ‘The Endless Summer’.Monterey Home Video
The Orozcos with their Burger King meal in ‘Food, Inc.'.Magnolia
Frida Kahlo in ‘Frida’.Lucienne Bloch, Courtesy Old Stage Studios
Various teens driving in ‘Generation Wealth’.Lauren Greenfield
Giannis Antetokounmpo (far right) with teammates in ‘Giannis: The Marvelous Journey’.Courtesy of Prime Video
Iggy Pop performing onstage at Whisky a Go Go in 1973 in Los Angeles, Calif., in ‘Gimme Danger’.Richard Creamer/Michael Ochs Archives/Getty
Oppy roaming in ‘Good Night Oppy’.Amazon Prime Video
Still from ‘I Am Not Your Negro’.Magnolia Pictures
Jiro Ono (left) in ‘Jiro Dreams of Sushi’.Magnolia
Judy Blume in ‘Judy Blume Forever’.Courtesy of Sundance Institute
Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz in ‘Lucy and Desi’.FPG/Getty
Klaus Kinski in ‘My Best Fiend’.Everett
Phil Tippett with his creations in ‘Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters’.Doppelganger Releasing
Still from ‘The Russian Five’.Gunpowder & Sky/Courtesy Everett
Sarah Polley and Michael Polley in the 1980s in ‘Stories We Tell’.Roadside Attractions/Courtesy Everett Collection
Nathan Smith in ‘Sunshine Hotel’.Everett
Morgan Spurlock (left) getting his blood pressure taken in ‘Super Size Me’.Tracy Boulian
Sibil Fox Richardson and Robert G. Richardson kissing in ‘Time’.Amazon Prime
Val Kilmer in ‘Val’.A24
