Top 5 1. First Contact (1982) - Possibly the best documentary ever made https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085544/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085544/ 2. Rivers

Top 5 1. First Contact (1982) - Possibly the best documentary ever made https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085544/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0085544/ 2. Rivers and Tides (2001) - Beautiful meditation on the art of Andy Goldsworthy, with music by Fred Frith https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307385/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307385/ 3. This is the Last Dam Run of Likker I'll Ever Make (2002) - The story of Popcorn Sutton https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glQjCKAI4gA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glQjCKAI4gA 4. Alone in the Wilderness (2004) - Mostly original footage and commentary by Richard Proenneke https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437806/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437806/ 5. Apollo 11 (2019) - Narration-free documentary on the first moon landing https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8760684/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8760684/ Bonus picks: Pirates of Silicon Valley (1999) is a dramatization but an incredibly accurate one https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0168122/ If mockumentaries count, everything by Christopher Guest is obligatory. There's also this short gem on the Centrifuge Brain Project https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVeHxUVkW4w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVeHxUVkW4w Grizzly Man (2005) is not a mockumentary, but like most Herzog documentaries, it's not exactly straight https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427312/ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427312/ Finally, I'm a huge fan of first-nuclear-era documentaries made by the U.S. government, e.g. Army Nuclear Power Program (1963) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPWDMHH4rY4 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HPWDMHH4rY4 SNAP 8 Reactor (1963) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82nCRWawfhQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=82nCRWawfhQ SNAPSHOT (1964) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9jI1Hdl5Yw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9jI1Hdl5Yw Remote Maintanence of Molten Salt Reactors (?) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHT-w2x6dDg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uHT-w2x6dDg and many more.