Top 6 Best Hbo Documentaries That You Should Watch 2021
With award-winning factual programs and true-crime documentaries, HBO offers some of the finest programming available on any of the streaming platforms, bar none.
Author:Elisa MuellerReviewer:James PierceNov 13, 202130.7K Shares591.4K Views
With award-winning factual programs and true-crime documentaries, HBO offers some of the finest programming available on any of the streaming platforms, bar none. The greatest HBO documentaries will make you weep, laugh, think, and feel—all while broadening your perspective on the world around you. Nobody will judge you for binging a lighter romantic comedy or watching your favorite true-crime series for the umpteenth time.
However, if you're wanting to mix things up a little, there's no better option than one of the finest HBO documentaries to watch. This is due to the fact that HBO and HBO Max provide award-nominated docuseries and full-length documentaries on a variety of subjects.
Star-centered films such as Jane Fonda in Five Acts, Tina, and Robin Williams: Come Intimate My Mind will offer you an inside peek into the minds of your favorite actors and actresses. If you're wanting to immerse yourself in history, 4 Little Girls and Atlanta's Missing and Murdered: The Lost Children are two excellent options.
I'll Be Gone In The Dark
I'll Be Gone in the Dark is an American true-crime documentary television series centered on Michelle McNamara as she writes a book on and investigates the Golden State Killer, directed by Liz Garbus, Elizabeth Wolff, Myles Kane, and Josh Koury.
The original six-part series debuted on HBO on June 28, 2020, and aired through August 2, 2020. On June 21, 2021, a special episode aired.
The Crime Of The Century
Alex Gibney directed, produced, and wrote the two-part documentary film The Crime of the Century. The film covers the opioid crisis in the United States, as well as the political operatives, government policies, and businesses that facilitate opiate addiction, including the Sackler family and Purdue Pharma. HBO broadcasted it in two parts on May 10, 2021, and May 11, 2021.
The film examines the US opioid crisis, as well as the political operators, government laws, and businesses that allow opiate addiction. Part one of the documentary focuses on Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family, who collaborated with the FDA to obtain Oxycontin authorized for widespread usage. Government rules attempted to minimize misconduct, and major pharmaceutical companies and other distributors would pay complaints while keeping the facts confidential.
Part one introduces Patrick Radden Keefe, Andrew Kolodny, Mark Ross, Anna Lembke, Lynn Webster, Roy Bosley, Barry Meier, Art Van Zee (local physician), Paul Pelletier, and Giles Sartin. The documentary critics blame opioid producers and marketers, while Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family blame drug addiction on opioid users.
Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, And Rage
Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage is a documentary film set to be released in 2021 about the 1999 Woodstock music event. The documentary includes interviews with concert organizers, employees, artists, and spectators who discuss their memories of the notorious 3-day event, which was plagued by extreme heat, overpricing, violence, sexual assault, looting, vandalism, and fires.
On July 23, 2021 (the 22nd anniversary of the concert's first day), HBO and HBO Max aired Woodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage. Music Box is the first installment in a six-part documentary series.
Some Best Hbo Documentaries Of All Time
If you believe Netflix is the streaming provider that now holds the documentary crown, you need to remember who the original is. Before Netflix was even a big-ass red box outside your grocery store, HBO was cranking out amazing real tales.
It's pre-Redbox here, y'all. For years, HBO has been doing the job. Seriously. HBO has been terrifying its subscribers since 1996's Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills, with real crime tales that are just as horrific today. Hard Knocks—and subsequently, amazing profiles of sports superstars like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Tiger Woods were among HBO's first sports documentaries when the new century arrived.
From Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief to Class Action Park, there's plenty of strange yet can't-look-away nonsense in between. To be honest, it makes choosing which HBO documentary is the greatest a near-impossible job. Regardless, we gave it our best effort.
At The Heart Of Gold: Inside The USA Gymnastics Scandal (2019)
Rachel Denhollander openly accused Larry Nassar, the doctor for the USA Gymnastics national team, of sexual assault in 2016. Over 300 women will be able to come forward with their own experiences as a result of Nassar's improper medical "treatments," according to her article.
Nassar, an amiable and apparently harmless guy, spent more than 13 years abusing his position as a trusted medical doctor and confidante to build confidence in young athletes competing in the competitive world of Olympic gymnastics.
At the Heart of Gold is an alarming story that explores confused ideas of right and wrong while also providing an empowering precedent for the #Metoo movement a few months later, combining video of Nassar, excerpts from the court hearings, and interviews with the victims.
Baltimore Rising (2017)
The majority of us are likely to recall what happened during the 2016 Baltimore demonstrations. But Baltimore Rising is a different story, documenting the city after Freddie Gray, a 25-year-old black man, died in police custody.
For those who imagine the Baltimore riots as apocalyptic movie scenes, the early scenes do not necessarily disprove this dystopian imagery. Baltimore Rising will expose you to the larger picture of the aftermath, providing a nuanced perspective on an event that shook the country's social and political landscape.
Beware The Slenderman (2016)
Two twelve-year-old girls took their closest friend to the woods on May 31, 2014, and stabbed her 19 times in the hopes of appeasing an online monster known as Slenderman.
Court footage, family and friend interviews, criminal investigation interrogation recordings, and deep dives on online forums are used in Irene Taylor Brodsky's frightening documentary to illustrate the origins of the girls' ideas and their growing intentions.
The camerawork in the courtroom makes you feel as though you're sitting among the audience. During the investigation video, you'll find yourself asking to ask your own questions in the courtroom.
Boy Interrupted (2019)
Dana Perry, an award-winning documentary filmmaker, takes us through the life of her bipolar son, leading up to his death at the age of fifteen, in a heartbreaking compilation of personal videos.
The film, which is based on the famous book Girl, Interrupted, gives viewers a front-row seat to the transformation of mental health. Boy, Interrupted is both subtle and harsh, focusing on a narrative that has profoundly impacted one family and is still a reality for many others.
Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher And Debbie Reynolds (2017)
We lost Debbie Reynolds and Carrie Fisher within weeks of one other a few years ago, and the world still misses them deeply.
Looking back, Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds were released only a few weeks after their deaths, paying tribute to the two outstanding actors. The film examines the mother-daughter connection, which reveals a surprising lot about the big, tragic tale of old Hollywood.
Best HBO Documentaries Currently Streaming
A Dangerous Son 2018
Liz Garbus is one of the most prolific, skilled, and versatile documentary filmmakers working today, with numerous HBO collaborations under her belt, including the true-crime film There's Something Wrong with Aunt Diane (2011) and the docuseries I'll Be Gone in the Dark (2020), both of which are currently available on HBO Max.
She addresses the current subject of children with severe emotional and mental illness while individually portraying three suffering families in the essential and profoundly disturbing feature A Dangerous Son, which is tough to watch at times.
Garbus' emotive, character-driven film serves as a frightening exposé and another achievement in dramatic nonfiction storytelling for the filmmaker, providing an alternate perspective on the growing issue of school violence (in contrast to the higher frequency of gun-control-focused documentaries).
Allen V. Farrow 2021
It's little wonder that this four-part documentary, which explores the labyrinth of sexual assault accusations against director Woody Allen while also delving into the unsettling recurrent motifs in the filmmaker's body of work, sparked outrage almost instantly.
Reopening the scars from Allen and Mia Farrow's relationship, one of Hollywood's most famous and acrimonious sagas, would not be an easy job with simple solutions.
The docuseries, produced by Kirby Dick and Amy Ziering, have been criticized for leaving out elements to simplify the complex background, despite crucial interviews with Mia Farrow, her son Ronan Farrow, and her daughter Dylan Farrow, who accused Allen of abusing her as a young child.
However, learning about the damage caused to Mia Farrow and Dylan by Allen during and after their relationship, as well as how Allen was able to use his celebrity to deflect attention away from unfavorable news, makes for a distressing, frustrating, but necessary viewing experience.
Andre The Giant 2018
Andre the Giant was fantastic in a variety of ways. In his heyday, the towering professional wrestler, who also starred in The Princess Bride and played Bigfoot in a landmark episode of The Six Million Dollar Man, was an instantly likable character, and he thankfully continues to be so in this HBO Sports documentary, executive-produced by Bill Simmons.
Not that he's given an exalted status, but filmmaker Jason Hehir is clearly enamored with his subject, painting a loving picture with few flaws. Andre the myth, André the legend, André the ladies' guy, and yes, André the flatulent, are all included in the film. It portrays him as a hero as well as a sad human being. You'll appreciate and love Andre the Giant even if you're not a wrestling enthusiast.
Elisa Mueller
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James Pierce
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