What Documentary Movies to watch on Pluto
Find what to watch on Pluto including the latest releases. Filter by movies, TV shows, release years, genres and more.
How to Survive a Plague
In the early years of the AIDS epidemic, the disease was considered a death sentence affecting communities, like the LGBT ones, whom many in power felt deserved it. This film tells the story of how militant activists like ACT-UP and TAG pushed for a meaningful response to this serious public-health problem. As the activists struggled against political indifference, religious hostility, corporate greed, and apparently-skewed scientific research priorities with determination and sheer audacity, they produced a political wave that would lead to an effective treatment regime and advance LGBT rights beyond anyone's expectations.

- Metascore86
- 2012
A Field in England
Amid the Civil War in 17th-century England, a group of deserters flee from battle through an overgrown field. Captured by an alchemist, the men are forced to help him search to find a hidden treasure that he believes is buried in the field.

- Metascore73
- 2013
Third Eye Spies
For more than 20 years the CIA studied psychic abilities for use in their top-secret spy program. With previously classified details about ESP now finally coming to light, there can be no more secrets.

- 2019
George Michael: Easy to Pretend
Few artists come close to the superstardom of George Michael. In the early eighties he conquered the world with the popularity of Wham! He achieved hit after hit and when the time came for him to become a solo artist he didn’t hold back.

- 2019
AC/DC: Dirty Deeds
Formed in Australia in 1973, AC/DC are considered pioneers of heavy metal. Using archive footage and music footage, this documentary chronicles the life of one of the all time greatest rock bands.

- 2012
Pussy Riot - A Punk Prayer
Three Russian women face a seven year prison term for a satirical performance in a Moscow cathedral.

- Metascore72
- 2013
Kid Cannabis
An eighteen year old high school drop out and his twenty-seven year old friend start trafficking marijuana across the border of Canada in order to make money and their lives are changed forever.

- Metascore54
- 2014
Mohawk
Late in the War of 1812, a young Mohawk woman and her two lovers battle a squad of American soldiers hell-bent on revenge.

- Metascore70
- 2017
The Fight
The Fight is an inspiring, emotional insider look at how these important battles are fought and the legal gladiators on the front lines fighting them. Directors Elyse Steinberg, Josh Kriegman, and Eli Despres capture the rollercoaster ride of the thrill and defeat in these deeply human battles. When a mother is separated from her child, a soldier is threatened to lose his career, a young woman's right to choose is imperiled at the pleasure of a government official, and the ability to exercise our basic right to vote is threatened, the consequences can be devastating to us and to future generations. The Fight celebrates the unsung heroes who fiercely work to protect our freedoms.

- Metascore73
- 2020
Best of Enemies
'Best of Enemies' is a documentary about the legendary series of nationally televised debates in 1968 between two great public intellectuals, the liberal Gore Vidal and the conservative William F. Buckley Jr. Intended as commentary on the issues of their day, these vitriolic and explosive encounters came to define the modern era of public discourse in the media, marking the big bang moment of our contemporary media landscape when spectacle trumped content and argument replaced substance. 'Best of Enemies' delves into the entangled biographies of these two great thinkers and luxuriates in the language and the theater of their debates, begging the question, 'What has television done to the way we discuss politics in our democracy today?'

- Metascore77
- 2015
Lion
In 1986, Saroo was a five-year-old child in India of a poor but happy rural family. On a trip with his brother, Saroo soon finds himself alone and trapped in a moving decommissioned passenger train that takes him to Calcutta, 1000 miles away from home. Now totally lost in an alien urban environment and too young to identify either himself or his home to the authorities, Saroo struggles to survive as a street child until he is sent to an orphanage. Soon, Saroo is selected to be adopted by the Brierley family in Tasmania, where he grows up in a loving, prosperous home. However, for all his material good fortune, Saroo finds himself plagued by his memories of his lost family in his adulthood and tries to search for them even as his guilt drives him to hide this quest from his adoptive parents and his girlfriend. Only when he has an epiphany does he realize not only the answers he needs, but also the steadfast love that he has always had with all his loved ones in both worlds.

- Metascore69
- 2016
Mirage Men
For over 60 years, the US Air Force and US intelligence services exploited and manipulated beliefs about UFOs and extraterrestrial visits as part of their counter-intelligence programs. Now some of those behind these operations speak out.

- 2013
JFK: A President Betrayed
Narrated by Academy Award winner Morgan Freeman, "JFK: A President Betrayed" uncovers new evidence that reveals how JFK embarked on secret back channel peace efforts with Nikita Khrushchev and Fidel Castro and was determined to get out of Vietnam despite intense opposition inside his own government.

- 2013
The Autobiography of Miss Jane Pittman
During the racial turmoil of 1960s Louisiana, 110-year-old ex-slave Jane Pittman grants an interview to a persistent journalist and relates the remarkable story of her life. Orphaned early, she toils on a plantation until a chance meeting with a white Union soldier named Brown changes her outlook. Jane's emancipation marks only the beginning of an arduous and heartbreaking odyssey, framed by the horrors of slavery and the justice of the civil-rights movement.

- Metascore77
- 1974
Best Worst Movie
In 1989, unwitting Utah actors starred in the undisputed Worst Movie in History: TROLL 2. Two decades later, the legendarily inept film's child star unravels the improbable, heartfelt story of an Alabama dentist-turned-cult movie icon and an Italian filmmaker who come to terms with this genuine, internationally revered cinematic failure.

- Metascore61
- 2009
Henry V
Henry V, King of England is not much more than a puppet King. Clergymen lead him to believe that he ought to invade France to secure his legal ancestral claim to the throne. The French King, pondering his country’s situation, is urged by the Dauphin, who has his eyes on the throne, to enter into battle.

- Metascore83
- 1989
Dillinger
An account of the notorious gangster, John Dillinger, from midway through his bank-robbing career up until his final shootout outside the Biograph Theatre.

- Metascore58
- 1973
Mystery of the Nile
Join a team of explorers on the expedition of a lifetime as they set off to become the first to navigate the Blue Nile from source to sea. The epic 3,260 mile descent down the world's greatest and deadliest river has eluded humankind for centuries - until now! Ride shotgun on the team's 16-foot rafts as they crash through the rapids in Ethiopia's desert canyons. Battle through some of the world's most extreme whitewater rapids with renowned kayaker, Gordon Brown. Over the arduous, four month journey, the team faces nearly in-surmountable challenges - from crocodile attacks to armed bandits and arrests. Through breathtaking cinematography, Mystery of the Nile reveals a wondrous region and abundant treasures, from Tissisat Falls and the wonders of Egypt to the forgotten black pyramids of Meroe and 12th century churches that were carved into sheer rock.

- 2005
The Heart of the Game
A documentary Roosevelt Roughriders, a girls' high-school basketball team in Seattle, and one player's fight to regain her eligibility to play.

- Metascore74
- 2005
Operation Valkyrie
In 1944, in fear of a complete German defeat in the World War II, a group of high command officers plot an attempt against Hitler, and one of the leaders of the conspiracy, Stauffenberg (Sebastian Koch), goes to a meeting with the Fuhrer in charge of exploding the place. However, Hitler survives and the officers are executed. This unsuccessful operation was called "Valkyrie Operation", and this realistic movie discloses this true event.

- 2004
Venus and Serena
Ever since Venus and Serena Williams started playing in tennis tournaments, they've provoked strong reactions - from awe and admiration to suspicion and resentment. They've been winning championships for over a decade, pushing the limits of longevity in such a demanding sport. How long can they last? In Venus & Serena, we gain unprecedented access into their lives during the most intimidating year of their career. Over the course of 2011, Venus grappled with an energy-sapping autoimmune disease while Serena battled back from a life-threatening pulmonary embolism. Neither Venus nor Serena let their adversities hold them back. They drew their greatest strength from each other.

- Metascore65
- 2012
Hoop Dreams
This documentary follows two young African-Americans through their high school years as they perfect their skills in basketball in the hopes of getting a college scholarship and eventually play in the NBA. Arthur Agee and William Gates both show great potential and are are actively recruited as they look to enter high school. They start off at the same high school but unable to pay an unexpected bill for tuition fees, Arthur has to withdraw and go to the local public high school. The film follows them through their four years of high school and their trials and tribulations: injuries, slumps and the never ending battle to maintain their grades. Through it all, their hoop dreams continue.

- Metascore98
- 1994
Miss Potter
Blending animation and live-action sequences, this unconventional biopic chronicles the life of beloved children's author-illustrator Beatrix Potter.

- Metascore57
- 2006
My Kid Could Paint That
Four year old Marla Olmstead from Binghamton, New York became the sensation of the art world for her abstract artwork, which have sold for thousands of dollars per piece. The showing of her work started off as a lark, but when the paintings sold without the buyers knowing who the artist was, the media began to run with the story. Through it all, Marla's parents, Mark Olmstead and Laura Olmstead, want to be grounded in what is best for their daughter while exposing her to whatever positive may come from the experience. But some negative and big name media also surfaces, some questioning whether Marla is the real artist behind the work, and some questioning exposing a four year old to such infamy. Regardless, the fact of this art selling brings up the legitimacy of abstract art being quantified as "quality", especially if a four year old can produce it but can't express the emotions or rationale behind its creation. Or is art truly in the eyes of the beholder? Regardless, money, in the art world as is much in life, becomes the great equalizer.

- Metascore74
- 2007