Browse documentary movie in United Kingdom
Dive into the world of documentary movie in United Kingdom. From timeless classics to trending hits, explore an exciting collection of titles that define the documentary genre.
Explore critically acclaimed blockbusters, hidden gems, and trending new releases that showcase the diversity and creativity of documentary storytelling. Use our filters to find top-rated titles, recent hits, or beloved classics tailored to your taste.
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A film on the staff and customers of three Blackpool hair-dressing salons as they discuss the many facets of life. Stories of love, loss and gritty determination to carry on and make the best of things with a sense of humour abound.
Three Salons at the Seaside (1994 )
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The Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence are an order of gay male 'nuns', founded in San Francisco in the late 1970s with a goal to "expiate all stigmatic guilt and promulgate universal joy". There are now thousands of nuns all over the world including 30 in Britain, some of whom we meet in Tom Stephan's short documentary, which follows the Sisters' work as active campaigners in the LGBT community.
21st Century Nuns (1994 )
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This spellbinding documentary re-examines the issues raised by Oliver Stone's JFK, and explores the late Jim Garrison's contention that there was a "second conspiracy" to cover up the truth, including attempts to ruin his own reputation.
Beyond JFK: The Question of Conspiracy (1993 )
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In July 1990, a dispute over a proposed golf course to be built on Kanien’kéhaka (Mohawk) lands in Oka, Quebec, sets the stage for a historic confrontation that would grab international headlines and sear itself into the Canadian consciousness.
Kanehsatake, 270 Years of Resistance (1993 )
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A documentary about the uncovering of a diary supposedly belonging to the legendary serial killer Jack The Ripper himself.
The Diary of Jack the Ripper: Beyond Reasonable Doubt? (1993 )
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Carol Morley's 16mm documentary short is set in a fast food restaurant where a selection of twenty-somethings talk about their troubles. One of two shorts Morley directed as her graduation films from Central St. Martin's School of Art (the other being Girl).
Secondhand Daylight (1993 )
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Ten women in Canada talk about being lesbian in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s: discovering the pulp fiction of the day about women in love, their own first affairs, the pain of breaking up, frequenting gay bars, facing police raids, men's responses, and the etiquette of butch and femme roles. Interspersed among the interviews and archival footage are four dramatized chapters from a pulp novel, "Forbidden Love".
Forbidden Love: The Unashamed Stories of Lesbian Lives (1992 )
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Journey back in time to a different age, when the sun never set on the British Empire and her armies were great in number. The Boer War: 1899-1902 was a turning point in British military history and would revolutionize tactics, battlefield strategy, equipment, and training. Well known participants in the Boar Wars include: Harry "Breaker" Morant, Winston Churchill and Mahatma Gandhi.
The Boer War: 1899-1902 (1992 )
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Director Maureen Blackwood harnesses the distinctive style of the Sankofa Film Collective to sketch the Abrew family tree. The achievements of the unique showbiz family are celebrated using rich archive material, including footage of family members in supporting film roles alongside Paul Robeson and intimate fireside-style testimony. The existence of Black British communities before Windrush is foregrounded, with insights into the Abrews' imprint on British culture beginning in 19th century Scotland.
A Family Called Abrew (1992 )
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A study of artist Andy Goldsworthy’s work in Scotland and Japan.
Two Autumns: Andy Goldsworthy (1992 )
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Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.
Paris Is Burning (1991 )
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A chronicle of the production problems — including bad weather, actors' health, war near the filming locations, and more — which plagued the filming of Apocalypse Now, increasing costs and nearly destroying the life and career of Francis Ford Coppola.
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991 )
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Echoes That Remain combines hundreds of rare archival photos and previously unseen film footage with live action sequences shot on location at the sites of former Jewish communities in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Poland and Romania. The film's production team spent over a year of research in archives around the world collecting film footage and photographs to help dramatize the folk stories, parables, and anecdotes. Playing an important role in the film are a series of evocative images from the famed photo biographer of Eastern European shtetl life, the late Roman Vishniac.
Echoes That Remain (1991 )
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An hour-long documentary featuring interviews with various filmmakers who've made a name in the direct-to-video market.
Shock Cinema: Volume One (1991 )
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HOLLYWOOD. Tinseltown. Land of the stars. A city where an actor can reach the greatest heights overnight - and descend just as rapidly. What goes up must come down, and Hollywood's failing stars leave a legacy of sadness, pain and disappointment in their wake. Here, in graphic detail, are the shocking stories behind the deaths of the silver screen's most beloved celebrities, as well as it's lesser known players. Packed with stunning newsreel footage, and previously unrevealed facts, DEATH IN HOLLYWOOD documents many a celebrity's morbid demise due to suicide, drug and alcohol abuse, disease, and even murder. From the outrageous to the tragic, DEATH IN HOLLYWOOD leaves no tombstone unturned in it's quest to dig up the truth about Hollywood's dearly departed.
Death In Hollywood (1990 )
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Welcome behind the closed doors of a Hollywood that only a select few will ever get to see -- a Hollywood of tragic lives and tragic deaths. Some of the worlds brightest stars are hiding deep, dark secrets that - once revealed show a life of unhappiness, heartbreak and torment that has been so carefully hidden behind the glamour and glitter of the big screen. See the true lives behind some of Hollywoods most iconic stars and learn why, for some, it was as if the act of dying itself was a final performance.
Hollywood Heaven: Tragic Lives, Tragic Deaths (1990 )
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This 30-minute series of images Stanley recorded while he was in Afghanistan in the late 80's with some Mujahadin rebels [and also the late war journalist Carlos Mavroleon (1958-1998), who worked as a producer], follows the people's daily attempts to survive in a country being torn to pieces by the Russian invasion. During the shooting, Stanley also encountered the Taliban. Originally made for UNICEF, the film lacks narration save for a Suti poem. Instead, it is accompanied by Simon Boswell's brilliant score.
Voice of the Moon (1990 )
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Hollywood's glittering stars and starlets have always been the envy of the movie-going public. With their fame, wealth and lush lifestyles, they epitomize the "good life" we find so glamorous. Yet every pleasure has its price, and sometimes bearing the burden of fame can be an overwhelming task. All too often, celebrities find refuge and solace in a bottle of booze, a vial of pills, or a dirty syringe...and destroy their careers, families, and lives in the process. Through exclusive footage and little known facts, “When The Applause Died” takes an uncensored, shocking look at Hollywood's brightest stars and music's hottest rockers who burned out and faded away due to their own self-abuse.
When the Applause Died (1990 )
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Each of the twelve 50-minute episodes features a different aspect of the journey through life, from birth to adulthood and continuation of the species through reproduction.
The Trials of Life (1990 )
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I'm British but... uncovers a defiant popular culture, part Asian, part British, against a backdrop of fading English nationalism. The rhythms of Bhangra and Bangla music set the pace for this lively collage of interviews with British Asian youth. Mixing archival footage with present day street scenes of Asians in England, this film chronicles the role of race and cultural identity in the formation of modern day British society. I'm British but... is an engaging critique of nationalisms of any sort and a celebration of cultural diversity and hybridity.
I'm British But... (1990 )
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Tony Palmer's award-winning feature-length documentary profile of Richard Burton.
In from the Cold? A Portrait of Richard Burton (1988 )
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This documentary looks at the Nazi submarine threat, their fleet known as the "Wolf Pack," and how it almost helped to defeat the Allies in World War II.
U-Boats: The Wolfpack (1987 )
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Discover the inside story of the most influential English rock band of the '60s. Inspired by a mix of genres including rhythm and blues, folk and country, their music created a British Invasion around the world. Their third single "You Really Got Me" became an international hit and went straight to the top of the charts in the UK. With seventeen top 20 singles and five top ten albums in the UK, the Kinks had an incredibly successful career spanning over 30 years. Featuring interviews with key members of the group, this is their story.
The Story of the Kinks (1985 )
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Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.
Koyaanisqatsi (1983 )
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Amateur and professional bodybuilders prepare for the 1975 Mr. Olympia and Mr. Universe contests as five-time champion Arnold Schwarzenegger defends his Mr. Olympia title against Serge Nubret and the shy young Lou Ferrigno.
Pumping Iron (1977 )
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Short film about the Manzanar Japanese American internment camp. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2011.
Manzanar (1972 )
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In September, 1959, six Europeans leave Cook's Bay on the southern coast of Dutch New Guinea, now West Papua or Irian Jaya, to trek north to the far side of the island. The journey (450 miles, as a crow flies) across unmapped territory took seven months; three Muyu porters died. Near both coasts, the expedition met villagers who invited them to observe rituals and live with them. In the interior, all villagers kept them at bay, and they depended on air lifts from Hollandia for food and supplies. They climbed above 10,000 feet, built 14 bridges, and fought leeches and malaria. The narrator focuses on describing Stone Age savages, headhunters, and cannibals.
Sky Above and Mud Beneath (1961 )
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Three girls on a tour of the English countryside meet up with two young women who introduce them to the joys of life in a nudist camp.
As Nature Intended (1961 )
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Colonial troops greet London's new Lord Mayor in a patriotic wartime ceremony.
Lord Mayor's Show (1914 )
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Directed by Patrick Gramm, 'The Pigeon People' (2023) takes you deep into Arizona's underground pigeon racing scene as racing rivals prepare for and compete in the Grand Canyon Classic - a 350-mile pigeon race from Utah to Arizona that crosses over the Grand Canyon.
The Pigeon People
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The individual journeys of the four members of the band, as they move through the music scene of the 1960s, playing small clubs throughout Britain and performing some of the biggest hits of the era, until their meeting in the summer of 1968 for a rehearsal that changes their lives forever.
Becoming Led Zeppelin (2025 )
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In the early twentieth century, a mysterious ecological crisis nearly wiped out the fish that most people cared about in the largest freshwater ecosystem on earth—the Great Lakes. The impact reverberated across the region, ruining local industries, damaging small town economies and indigenous communities, and destroying the livelihoods of people in the United States and Canada. With little reason for hope, a dedicated group of scientists, policymakers, and conservationists tackled the mystery.
The Fish Thief: A Great Lakes Mystery (2025 )
