Best Documentary Movies on HBO Max in the US

1. 1
   Night and Fog 1956

   Directed by Alain Resnais · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel
   8.0

   8.3 · 594 votes
2. 2
   Paris Is Burning 1991

   Directed by Jennie Livingston · Streaming on HBO Max, Shout! Factory TV, YouTube Free
   7.8

   8.0 · 574 votes
3. 3
   Friends: The Reunion 2021

   Directed by Ben Winston · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.7

   7.8 · 1.4K votes
4. 4
   Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story 2024

   Directed by Ian Bonhôte · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.6

   8.1 · 228 votes
5. 5
   Amy 2015

   Directed by Asif Kapadia · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.5

   7.6 · 1.3K votes
6. 6
   Cobain: Montage of Heck 2015

   Directed by Brett Morgen · Streaming on HBO Max, Qello Concerts by Stingray
   7.5

   7.6 · 769 votes
7. 7
   Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief 2015

   Directed by Alex Gibney · Streaming on HBO Max, The CW, Kanopy
   7.4

   7.6 · 894 votes
8. 8
   The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air Reunion 2020

   Directed by Marcus Raboy · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.4

   8.1 · 175 votes
9. 9
   Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind 2018

   Directed by Marina Zenovich · Streaming on HBO Max
   7.4

   7.9 · 271 votes
10. 10
    Häxan 1922

    Directed by Benjamin Christensen · Streaming on JustWatch TV Free, HBO Max, Brew
    7.4

    7.6 · 465 votes
11. 11
    Hoop Dreams 1994

    Directed by Steve James · Streaming on fuboTV, HBO Max, The Roku Channel
    7.3

    7.6 · 347 votes
12. 12
    Harry Potter 20th Anniversary: Return to Hogwarts 2022

    Directed by Joe Pearlman · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.3

    7.3 · 3.6K votes
13. 13
    Spielberg 2017

    Directed by Susan Lacy · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.2

    7.5 · 317 votes
14. 14
    When We Were Kings 1996

    Directed by Leon Gast · Streaming on HBO Max, The Roku Channel, Shout! Factory TV
    7.2

    7.6 · 264 votes
15. 15
    Buena Vista Social Club 1999

    Directed by Wim Wenders · Streaming on HBO Max, Shout! Factory TV, YouTube Free
    7.2

    7.5 · 389 votes
16. 16
    For All Mankind 1989

    Directed by Al Reinert · Streaming on HBO Max, Cinemax
    7.2

    7.8 · 165 votes
17. 17
    Diego Maradona 2019

    Directed by Asif Kapadia · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.2

    7.4 · 452 votes
18. 18
    F for Fake 1973

    Directed by Orson Welles · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel
    7.2

    7.4 · 385 votes
19. 19
    Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills 1996

    Directed by Joe Berlinger · Streaming on Hoopla, HBO Max
    7.2

    7.6 · 215 votes
20. 20
    Bruce Lee, the Legend 1984

    Directed by Raymond Chow · Streaming on Amazon Prime Video, HBO Max, Philo
    7.1

    7.9 · 114 votes
21. 21
    The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness 2013

    Directed by Mami Sunada · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.1

    7.6 · 194 votes
22. 22
    Mommy Dead and Dearest 2017

    Directed by Erin Lee Carr · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.0

    7.4 · 262 votes
23. 23
    Navalny 2022

    Directed by Daniel Roher · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.0

    7.3 · 310 votes
24. 24
    Gimme Shelter 1970

    Directed by Albert Maysles · Streaming on HBO Max, Cinemax
    7.0

    7.4 · 202 votes
25. 25
    Harlan County U.S.A. 1976

    Directed by Barbara Kopple · Streaming on HBO Max
    7.0

    7.6 · 125 votes
26. 26
    Bob Dylan – Don't Look Back 1967

    Directed by D. A. Pennebaker · Streaming on HBO Max, Shout! Factory TV, YouTube Free
    7.0

    7.4 · 184 votes
27. 27
    Grey Gardens 1976

    Directed by Ellen Giffard · Streaming on HBO Max, Shout! Factory TV, YouTube Free
    7.0

    7.3 · 261 votes
28. 28
    Berlin: Symphony of a Great City 1927

    Directed by Walter Ruttmann · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy, GuideDoc
    6.9

    7.5 · 131 votes
29. 29
    Andre the Giant 2018

    Directed by Jason Hehir · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.9

    7.3 · 176 votes
30. 30
    Capturing the Friedmans 2003

    Directed by Andrew Jarecki · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.9

    7.1 · 376 votes
31. 31
    I Choose to Believe 2023

    Directed by Gonzalo Arias · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.9

    7.6 · 100 votes
32. 32
    Nanook of the North 1922

    Directed by Robert Flaherty · Streaming on HBO Max, Philo, Kanopy
    6.9

    7.1 · 335 votes
33. 33
    TINA 2021

    Directed by T.J. Martin · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.9

    7.7 · 83 votes
34. 34
    Hearts and Minds 1974

    Directed by Peter Davis · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel, Mometu
    6.9

    7.6 · 96 votes
35. 35
    The Bee Gees: How Can You Mend a Broken Heart 2020

    Directed by Frank Marshall · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.8

    7.7 · 78 votes
36. 36
    My Mom Jayne 2025

    Directed by Mariska Hargitay · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.8

    8.0 · 56 votes
37. 37
    Game of Thrones: The Last Watch 2019

    Directed by Jeanie Finlay · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.8

    7.0 · 357 votes
38. 38
    The Times of Harvey Milk 1984

    Directed by Rob Epstein · Streaming on HBO Max, Shout! Factory TV, YouTube Free
    6.8

    7.3 · 128 votes
39. 39
    The Inventor: Out for Blood in Silicon Valley 2019

    Directed by Alex Gibney · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.8

    7.0 · 324 votes
40. 40
    Tony Hawk: Until the Wheels Fall Off 2022

    Directed by Sam Jones · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.8

    7.7 · 72 votes
41. 41
    David Byrne's American Utopia 2020

    Directed by Spike Lee · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.8

    7.5 · 92 votes
42. 42
    Monterey Pop 1968

    Directed by D. A. Pennebaker · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel, Shout! Factory TV
    6.8

    7.4 · 101 votes
43. 43
    All the Beauty and the Bloodshed 2022

    Directed by Laura Poitras · Streaming on HBO Max, Kanopy
    6.8

    7.1 · 176 votes
44. 44
    A Brief History of Time 1991

    Directed by Errol Morris · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel
    6.8

    7.2 · 135 votes
45. 45
    Hail Satan? 2019

    Directed by Penny Lane · Streaming on HBO Max, Philo, Kanopy
    6.8

    7.0 · 201 votes
46. 46
    Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds 2016

    Directed by Alexis Bloom · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.7

    7.4 · 85 votes
47. 47
    David Lynch: The Art Life 2017

    Directed by Jon Nguyen · Streaming on HBO Max, Shout! Factory TV, YouTube Free
    6.7

    7.0 · 228 votes
48. 48
    Catfish 2010

    Directed by Henry Joost · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.7

    6.8 · 571 votes
49. 49
    Salesman 1969

    Directed by David Maysles · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.7

    7.2 · 105 votes
50. 50
    Tokyo Olympiad 1965

    Directed by Kon Ichikawa · Streaming on HBO Max, Criterion Channel
    6.7

    7.7 · 51 votes

Smart score = (votes × rating + 82 × 6.03) ÷ (votes + 82): the TMDB rating, pulled toward the catalog average as if every film had 82 extra average votes. Streaming data by JustWatch.

1. 1
   Band of Brothers: Legacy 2026

   Directed by Chase Millsap · Streaming on HBO Max
   6.5

   8.7 · 19 votes
2. 2
   Juice WRLD: Into the Abyss 2021

   Directed by Tommy Oliver · Streaming on HBO Max
   6.4

   7.9 · 23 votes
3. 3
   Billy Crystal: 700 Sundays 2014

   Directed by Des McAnuff · Streaming on HBO Max
   6.4

   8.1 · 15 votes
4. 4
   Rita Lee: Mania de Você 2025

   Directed by Guido Goldberg · Streaming on HBO Max
   6.3

   8.2 · 13 votes
5. 5
   Nothing Left Unsaid: Gloria Vanderbilt & Anderson Cooper 2016

   Directed by Liz Garbus · Streaming on HBO Max
   6.4

   7.7 · 20 votes
6. 6
   Surviving Ohio State 2025

   Directed by Eva Orner · Streaming on HBO Max
   6.3

   7.5 · 20 votes
7. 7
   Bleed Out 2018

   Directed by Stephen Burrows · Streaming on HBO Max
   6.3

   7.7 · 14 votes
8. 8
   Introducing, Selma Blair 2021

   Directed by Rachel Fleit · Streaming on Philo, HBO Max, Discovery +
   6.3

   7.5 · 17 votes
9. 9
   Luther: Never Too Much 2024

   Directed by Dawn Porter · Streaming on HBO Max
   6.2

   8.0 · 10 votes
10. 10
    Albert Brooks: Defending My Life 2023

    Directed by Rob Reiner · Streaming on HBO Max
    6.3

    7.2 · 25 votes