Documentary AreaSimply the best Documentaries

The turmoil of 1968 helps Nixon win the presidency. Troop strength in Vietnam peaks and the draft accelerates. Karl Marlantes endures bitter jungle fighting on Hill 484, and draftee Arthur Wiknik gets a grim introduction to combat on 'Hamburger Hill'. But shortly after winning both hills, US troops abandon them.

The Romanovs retreat into a bubble of luxury while the czar's forces brutally suppress protests by a starving populace. Rasputin's influence grows, never mind the rumors and scandals. Many people believe Prime minister Peter Stolypin is the last hope of the Romanov Dynasty as reformer-in-chief. He is horrified by the rise of Rasputin. The fight between Stolypin and Rasputin is a battle for influence over Nicholas II. But Stolypin is shot in the Kiev Opera in 1911.

Click CC for subtitles. Oscar-nominated director Petra Costa presents a gripping investigation into the rise of evangelical power in Brazil, revealing how religious leaders have gained unprecedented political influence. With extraordinary access to President Lula, former President Bolsonaro, and Silas Malafaia, the country’s most powerful televangelist, the film uncovers a dramatic power struggle where apocalyptic faith becomes a political force. What emerges is a haunting portrait of a nation at a crossroads, where spiritual warfare is not just metaphor — it’s policy.

The absorbingly cinematic Ascension explores the pursuit of the 'Chinese Dream.' This observational documentary presents a contemporary vision of China that prioritizes productivity and innovation above all. Behind all, the ideology used in China to acquire acquiescence from the lower class workers in the factories, restaurants, resorts, etc who are sold a dream of one day being able to join the elite classes if they work hard enough.
Almost mesmerizing with its cinematography, akin to the dreams of consumerism and the narratives of wealth that are being sold to the underclass workers, the film nicely illustrates the Chinese economy of the present.

The documentary chronicles the fall of the Atari Corporation through the lens of one of the biggest mysteries of all time, dubbed 'The Great Video Game Burial of 1983'. As the story goes, the Atari Corporation, faced with an overwhelmingly negative response to 'E.T.', the video game for the Atari 2600, disposed of hundreds of thousands of unsold game cartridges by burying them in the small town of Alamogordo, New Mexico.

Birds of paradise are one of David Attenborough's lifelong passions. He was the first to film many of their beautiful and often bizarre displays, and over his lifetime he has tracked them all over the jungles of New Guinea. In this very personal film, he uncovers the remarkable story of how these 'birds from paradise' have captivated explorers, naturalists, artists, film-makers and even royalty. He explores the myths surrounding their discovery 500 years ago, the latest extraordinary behaviour captured on camera and reveals the scientific truth behind their beauty": the evolution of their spectacular appearance has in fact been driven by sex. And in a final contemporary twist to this story of obsession and royalty, he travels to the desert of Qatar, to a state-of-the-art facility which houses the largest breeding group of these birds in the world - a sheikh's very own private collection. There he has his closest ever encounter with a greater bird of paradise and its dramatic display, reliving the experience that captivated him in the forests of New Guinea more than 50 years ago.