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. 2 -

    Shoah

    1985, in 18 top lists Check
  2. 8 -

    Tiexi qu

    2002 — a.k.a. Tie Xi Qu: West of the Tracks, in 8 top lists Check
  3. 158 +2

    Dead Souls

    2018, in 1 top list
    Check
  4. 6 -

    O.J.: Made in America

    2016, in 7 top lists Check
  5. 83 -

    American Masters: No Direction Home: Bob Dylan

    2005, in 0 top lists Check
  6. 5 -

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

    2000, in 6 top lists Check
  7. 246 -5

    City Hall

    2020, in 2 top lists
    Check
  8. 79 -1

    Histoire(s) du cinéma

    1989, in 8 top lists
    Check
  9. 51 -3

    Human

    2015, in 2 top lists Check
  10. 219 -2

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

    1968 — a.k.a. The Hour of the Furnaces, in 9 top lists Check
  11. 137 -2

    Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers: Runnin' Down a...

    2007, in 1 top list Check
  12. 28 -

    When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts

    2006, in 6 top lists Check
  13. 61 +3

    Le chagrin et la pitié

    1969 — a.k.a. The Sorrow and the Pity, in 11 top lists Check
  14. 163 -4

    Il mio viaggio in Italia

    1999 — a.k.a. My Voyage to Italy, in 2 top lists Check
  15. 76 -3

    Le fond de l'air est rouge

    1977 — a.k.a. A Grin Without A Cat, in 3 top lists Check
  16. 176 +8

    Menus-plaisirs - Les Troisgros

    2023 — a.k.a. Menus-Plaisirs - Les Troisgros, in 1 top list
    Check
  17. 160 -3

    Long Strange Trip

    2017, in 0 top lists Check
  18. 36 +1

    Feng ai

    2013 — a.k.a. 'Til Madness Do Us Part, in 1 top list Check
  19. 42 -2

    Century of Cinema: A Personal Journey with...

    1995, in 1 top list Check
  20. 85 -3

    Herr Bachmann und seine Klasse

    2021, in 1 top list
    Check
  21. 93 +2

    George Harrison: Living in the Material World

    2011, in 0 top lists Check
  22. 243 -

    Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of...

    2021, in 0 top lists
    Check
  23. 222 -3

    In Jackson Heights

    2015, in 2 top lists Check
  24. 71 -3

    Woodstock

    1970, in 13 top lists Check
  25. 146 -4

    49 Up

    2005, in 2 top lists Check
  26. 131 +1

    Lost, Lost, Lost

    1976, in 2 top lists Check
  27. 172 +4

    La région centrale

    1971, in 8 top lists Check
  28. 95 +2

    Diaries Notes and Sketches

    1968, in 5 top lists Check
  29. 7 -

    Hoop Dreams

    1994, in 15 top lists Check
  30. 47 -1

    Tôkyô orinpikku

    1965 — a.k.a. Tokyo Olympiad, in 6 top lists Check
  31. 113 -3

    Los Angeles Plays Itself

    2003, in 5 top lists Check
  32. 212 new

    Notre Corps

    2023 — a.k.a. Our Body, in 1 top list
    Check
  33. 25 -2

    Welfare

    1975, in 7 top lists Check
  34. 69 -2

    HyperNormalisation

    2016, in 1 top list Check
  35. 100 -

    Le joli mai

    1963 — a.k.a. The Lovely Month of May, in 4 top lists Check
  36. 94 -4

    Ennio

    2021, in 0 top lists
    Check
  37. 188 +1

    Lake of Fire

    2006, in 1 top list Check
  38. 97 -6

    Revolution of Our Times

    2021, in 0 top lists
    Check
  39. 91 +2

    Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood...

    1996, in 2 top lists Check
  40. 54 -2

    Concert for George

    2003, in 0 top lists Check
  41. 72 -3

    63 Up

    2019, in 1 top list
    Check
  42. 217 -2

    56 Up

    2012, in 2 top lists Check
  43. 182 -4

    Moonage Daydream

    2022, in 1 top list
    Check
  44. 135 -1

    42 Up

    1998, in 2 top lists Check
  45. 141 +6

    Obyknovennyy fashizm

    1965 — a.k.a. Triumph Over Violence, in 6 top lists Check
  46. 122 -

    28 Up

    1984, in 5 top lists Check
  47. 121 -

    Bitter Lake

    2015, in 0 top lists Check
  48. 134 +9

    Roger Waters: Us + Them

    2019 — a.k.a. Roger Waters - Us + Them, in 0 top lists
    Check
  49. 116 -2

    El sol del membrillo

    1992 — a.k.a. The Quince Tree Sun, in 9 top lists Check
  50. 220 +1

    Jane Fonda in Five Acts

    2018, in 0 top lists
    Check
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Last updated on Mar 28, 2024 by Chilton; source