Letterboxd's Official Top 250 Documentary Films

Letterboxd's Official Top 250 Documentary Films's icon

Created by Chilton.

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LAST UPDATE: March 2024

A companion piece to Dave Vis' list of Letterboxd's official top 250 films of all-time, which excludes documentaries from consideration.

Ranked by average user rating. This list was extracted from here. Updated once a month. This is an official list progress project on all-time stats pages for Pro and Patron users. Expanded from a top 100 to a top 250 on June 27th, 2021, on the list's 3-year anniversary.

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ELIGIBILITY RULES:

• Documentaries must be feature-length (45+ minutes), with a theatrical and/or festival release in its entirety.
• TV series, miniseries, and episodes are excluded but docs listed as 'TV movie' on IMDb are eligible. Exceptions made for series and episodes that also had a limited theatrical release.
• No featurettes unless theatrically distributed, even if feature-length (featurettes are marked as 'Video' on IMDb, such as 'making of' docs).
• In an attempt to combat unintentional fan manipulation, all music-adjacent films must have screened at a film festival to qualify.
• No standup comedy marked as a documentary, nor any stage shows. Exceptions may be made for borderline exceptions.
• Skateboarding compilations are excluded.
• There is a 1,000 minimum ratings threshold.

NOT ON IMDB:
#115 Disintegration Loop 1.1 (2024, Basinski)

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  1. 24 -

    Chelovek s kino-apparatom

    1929 — a.k.a. Man with a Movie Camera, in 24 top lists Check
  2. 2 -

    Shoah

    1985, in 18 top lists Check
  3. 186 -

    Häxan

    1922, in 17 top lists Check
  4. 39 -

    Sans soleil

    1983 — a.k.a. Sans Soleil, in 16 top lists Check
  5. 7 -

    Hoop Dreams

    1994, in 15 top lists Check
  6. 40 +2

    Les glaneurs et la glaneuse

    2000 — a.k.a. The Gleaners & I, in 13 top lists Check
  7. 71 -3

    Woodstock

    1970, in 13 top lists Check
  8. 65 -3

    Crumb

    1994, in 12 top lists Check
  9. 16 -

    Koyaanisqatsi

    1982, in 12 top lists Check
  10. 3 -

    Paris Is Burning

    1990, in 12 top lists Check
  11. 129 -2

    The Thin Blue Line

    1988, in 12 top lists Check
  12. 61 +3

    Le chagrin et la pitié

    1969 — a.k.a. The Sorrow and the Pity, in 11 top lists Check
  13. 46 -2

    F for Fake

    1973, in 11 top lists Check
  14. 18 -1

    Harlan County U.S.A.

    1976, in 11 top lists Check
  15. 35 -

    Tongues Untied

    1989, in 11 top lists Check
  16. 151 -5

    Vals Im Bashir

    2008 — a.k.a. Waltz with Bashir, in 11 top lists Check
  17. 101 -2

    Dont Look Back

    1967 — a.k.a. Bob Dylan: Dont Look Back, in 10 top lists Check
  18. 150 +2

    Grey Gardens

    1975, in 10 top lists Check
  19. 20 -1

    Yuki yukite, shingun

    1987 — a.k.a. The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On, in 10 top lists Check
  20. 9 -

    The Act of Killing

    2012, in 9 top lists Check
  21. 116 -2

    El sol del membrillo

    1992 — a.k.a. The Quince Tree Sun, in 9 top lists Check
  22. 77 -3

    Grizzly Man

    2005, in 9 top lists Check
  23. 219 -2

    La hora de los hornos: Notas y testimonios...

    1968 — a.k.a. The Hour of the Furnaces, in 9 top lists Check
  24. 49 +1

    The Last Waltz

    1978, in 9 top lists Check
  25. 240 -2

    My Winnipeg

    2007, in 9 top lists Check
  26. 1 -

    Stop Making Sense

    1984, in 9 top lists Check
  27. 199 -1

    Titicut Follies

    1967, in 9 top lists Check
  28. 26 +1

    La batalla de Chile: La lucha de un pueblo sin...

    1975 — a.k.a. The Battle of Chile: Part I, in 8 top lists Check
  29. 216 +2

    Être et avoir

    2002 — a.k.a. To Be and to Have, in 8 top lists Check
  30. 156 -1

    Gimme Shelter

    1970, in 8 top lists Check
  31. 79 -1

    Histoire(s) du cinéma

    1989, in 8 top lists
    Check
  32. 172 +4

    La région centrale

    1971, in 8 top lists Check
  33. 8 -

    Tiexi qu

    2002 — a.k.a. Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks, in 8 top lists Check
  34. 98 -4

    The Times of Harvey Milk

    1984, in 8 top lists Check
  35. 75 -3

    Hearts and Minds

    1974, in 7 top lists Check
  36. 111 +2

    News from Home

    1976, in 7 top lists Check
  37. 193 -

    Nostalgia de la luz

    2010 — a.k.a. Nostalgia for the Light, in 7 top lists Check
  38. 6 -

    O.J.: Made in America

    2016, in 7 top lists Check
  39. 25 -2

    Welfare

    1975, in 7 top lists Check
  40. 108 +3

    When We Were Kings

    1996, in 7 top lists Check
  41. 5 -

    As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief...

    2000, in 6 top lists Check
  42. 29 -

    La batalla de Chile: La lucha de un pueblo sin...

    1976 — a.k.a. The Battle of Chile: Part II, in 6 top lists Check
  43. 123 +3

    La batalla de Chile: La lucha de un pueblo sin...

    1979 — a.k.a. The Battle of Chile: Part III, in 6 top lists Check
  44. 17 +1

    Cabra Marcado Para Morrer

    1984 — a.k.a. Twenty Years Later, in 6 top lists Check
  45. 80 +1

    Cameraperson

    2016, in 6 top lists Check
  46. 213 -2

    The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of...

    2003 — a.k.a. The Fog of War, in 6 top lists Check
  47. 53 -

    I Am Not Your Negro

    2016, in 6 top lists Check
  48. 96 +2

    Lektionen in Finsternis

    1992 — a.k.a. Lessons of Darkness, in 6 top lists Check
  49. 55 +5

    Obrazy starého sveta

    1972 — a.k.a. Pictures of the Old World, in 6 top lists Check
  50. 141 +6

    Obyknovennyy fashizm

    1965 — a.k.a. Triumph Over Violence, in 6 top lists Check
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Last updated on Mar 28, 2024 by Chilton; source