Get real with our ranked list of the best documentaries of all time, from groundbreaking political exposés to culture-changing concerts

Sometimes all you want are action movies or Miyazaki animated fantasies.  We get that.  Movies are a beautiful escape.  But there’s still that pang of conscience: What about the outside world?  The real world struggling with sociopolitical inequity?  The world captured by filmmakers who want to inform us and make us angry? ( If they win an Oscar or two along the way, all the better.)  A brilliant documentary can turn audiences into activists; it can awaken, alarm and amuse.  Coming to a ranked list of the 51 best documentaries of all time wasn’t easy—watching them won’t be, either.  But you won’t regret it. 

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