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Best Documentary Movies

of the 2000s

The 20 highest-rated documentary movies released between 2000 and 2009, ranked by IMDb score.

1

Earthlings(2005)

8.6 IMDb

Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.

2

Home(2009)

8.5 IMDb17% RT47 Meta

In 200,000 years of existence, man has upset the balance on which the Earth had lived for 4 billion years. Global warming, resource depletion, species extinction: man has endangered his own home. But

3

Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father(2008)

8.5 IMDb94% RT82 Meta

In 2001, Andrew Bagby, a medical resident, is murdered not long after breaking up with his girlfriend. Soon after, when she announces she's pregnant, one of Andrew's many close friends, Kurt Kuenne, b

4

The Cove(2009)

8.4 IMDb95% RT84 Meta

The Cove tells the amazing true story of how an elite team of individuals, films makers and free divers embarked on a covert mission to penetrate the hidden cove in Japan, shining light on a dark and

5

Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy(2004)

8.3 IMDb

From the earliest versions of the script to the blockbuster debuts, explore the creation of the Star Wars Trilogy.

6

Zeitgeist: Addendum(2008)

8.2 IMDb

Zeitgeist: Addendum premiered at the 5th Annual Artivist Film Festival. Director Peter Joseph stated: "The failure of our world to resolve the issues of war, poverty, and corruption, rests within a gr

7

The Fog of War(2003)

8.1 IMDb96% RT87 Meta

Using archival footage, cabinet conversation recordings, and an interview of the 85-year-old Robert McNamara, The Fog of War depicts his life, from working as a WWII whiz-kid military officer, to bein

8

Waltz with Bashir(2008)

8 IMDb97% RT91 Meta

An Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.

9

Sicko(2007)

8 IMDb91% RT74 Meta

A documentary about the corrupt health care system in The United States whose main goal is to make profit even if it means losing people’s lives. "The more people you deny health insurance, the more m

10

Bowling for Columbine(2002)

8 IMDb95% RT72 Meta

This is not a film about gun control. It is a film about the fearful heart and soul of the United States, and the 280 million Americans lucky enough to have the right to a constitutionally protected U

11

Anvil! The Story of Anvil(2008)

7.9 IMDb98% RT82 Meta

At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal" influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, S

12

Earth(2007)

7.9 IMDb87% RT72 Meta

An epic story of adventure, starring some of the most magnificent and courageous creatures alive, awaits you in EARTH. Disneynature brings you a remarkable story of three animal families on a journey

13

Deliver Us from Evil(2006)

7.9 IMDb100% RT86 Meta

Documentary filmmaker Amy Berg investigates the life of 30-year pedophile Father Oliver O'Grady and exposes the corruption inside the Catholic Church that allowed him to abuse countless children. Vict

14

Touching the Void(2003)

7.9 IMDb93% RT82 Meta

The true story of Joe Simpson and Simon Yates' disastrous and nearly-fatal mountain climb of 6,344m Siula Grande in the Cordillera Huayhuash in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.

15

Food, Inc.(2008)

7.8 IMDb95% RT80 Meta

Documentary filmmaker Robert Kenner examines how mammoth corporations have taken over all aspects of the food chain in the United States, from the farms where our food is grown to the chain restaurant

16

Grizzly Man(2005)

7.8 IMDb93% RT87 Meta

Follows the story of "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in his attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images

17

Man on Wire(2008)

7.7 IMDb100% RT89 Meta

On August 7th 1974, French tightrope walker Philippe Petit stepped out on a high wire, illegally rigged between New York's World Trade Center twin towers, then the world's tallest buildings. After nea

18

The Pixar Story(2007)

7.7 IMDb86% RT

A look at the first years of Pixar Animation Studios - from the success of "Toy Story" and Pixar's promotion of talented people, to the building of its East Bay campus, the company's relationship with

19

The Gleaners and I(2000)

7.7 IMDb93% RT86 Meta

Varda focuses her eye on gleaners: those who scour already-reaped fields for the odd potato or turnip. Her investigation leads from forgotten corners of the French countryside to off-hours at the gree

20

Capturing the Friedmans(2003)

7.6 IMDb97% RT90 Meta

An Oscar nominated documentary about a middle-class American family who is torn apart when the father Arnold and son Jesse are accused of sexually abusing numerous children. Director Jarecki interview

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