Best movies — documentaire on Apple TV+ : our Top 20

2008 · Pablo Orlowsky

When a series of coordinated attacks shakes cities around the globe, a diverse team of intelligence officers, a battle-worn field operative, and a reluctant whistleblower are thrown together to track down the shadowy network behind them. Chasing leads from crowded metropolises to remote safe houses, they confront political interference, fractured alliances, and the moral cost of combating an enemy that thrives on chaos — forcing each to question how much they will sacrifice to prevent the next strike.

2008 · James Marsh

On August 7, 1974, French wire-walker Philippe Petit stepped onto a cable illegally strung between New York’s World Trade Center twin towers — then the tallest buildings on Earth. For nearly an hour he balanced, danced and improvised 1,350 feet above Manhattan’s sidewalks before being taken into custody. This mesmerizing, buoyant documentary reconstructs the daring plot, the tension of the act itself, and the breathtaking audacity of Petit's most celebrated feat.

With Philippe Petit, Jean François Heckel, Jean-Louis Blondeau, Annie Allix, David Forman, Alan Welner and Barry Greenhouse

2020 · Jonah Malak

At the bottom of Boesmansgat, a 283-meter sinkhole, longtime dive partners Don and Dave complete a record-setting plunge—then, just as they begin to surface, Dave, fresh from breaking a world record, spots a corpse drifting in the gloom. Compelled to know whose life ended in the depths, they ignore protocol and descend again, plunging into a tense, dangerous recovery that forces them to confront the unforgiving silence of the abyss and the secrets it hides.

With Don Shirley, David Shaw, Ann Shaw and Gordon Hiles

2014 · Juan Álvarez Neme

In a half-built theater, a neglected national ballet company lingers in obscurity until the arrival of Julio Bocca — a legendary dance figure whose presence ignites their discipline, ambition, and belief in a second chance. What was once an abandoned rehearsal space becomes a crucible of renewal, pushing each dancer to confront past failures and reach for a daring rebirth.

With Julio Bocca

1978 · Martin Scorsese

Facing imminent execution for the killing of a young couple, a condemned man on death row seeks spiritual counsel from a local nun during the last days before his sentence is carried out.

With Robbie Robertson, Rick Danko, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Garth Hudson, Eric Clapton and Neil Diamond

2022 · Eran Creevy

An intimate behind-the-scenes portrait built from brand-new, in-depth interviews and candid cast conversations, carrying fans on a spellbinding, first-person journey through the making and enduring magic of one of cinema’s most cherished franchises.

With Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Bonnie Wright, Matthew Lewis, Tom Felton and James Phelps

2008 · Larry Charles

Comedian and commentator Bill Maher adopts a devil’s-advocate stance toward religion as he speaks with believers around the world about their faith. Traveling through communities shaped by Christianity, Judaism and Islam, he scrutinizes key doctrines and practices—questioning attitudes toward homosexuality, the historical evidence for Jesus, observance of the Jewish Sabbath, and the rise of violent Islamist extremism.

With Bill Maher, Jose Luis De Jesus Miranda, Andrew Newberg, Steve Burg, Tal Bachman, Jonathan Boulden and Francis Collins

2009 · Michael Moore

Michael Moore returns to the central question of his work, examining how unchecked corporate power corrodes the everyday lives of ordinary Americans—and, by extension, people around the world.

With Michael Moore, Elijah Cummings, Marcy Kaptur, Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Thora Birch and Baron Hill

2011 · Ron Fricke

Captured on 70mm over nearly five years and filmed across twenty-five countries on five continents, Samsara presents a visual odyssey through consecrated sites, regions marked by catastrophe, vast industrial landscapes, and the planet’s most awe-inspiring natural scenes.

With Ni Made Megahadi Pratiwi, Puti Sri Candra Dewi, Putu Dinda Pratika, Marcos Luna, Hiroshi Ishiguro, Olivier De Sagazan and Ladyboys of Cascade Bar

2012 · Joshua Oppenheimer

Former leaders of Indonesian death squads stage reenactments of their mass killings, each shot in the stylistic language of a different film genre. As these choreographed scenes unfold, the boundary between lived violence and theatrical performance collapses, turning atrocity into spectacle. The film examines the enduring wounds of Indonesia’s 1965–66 anti-communist purge and probes the moral and psychological landscape of those who carried out the killings, raising unsettling questions about memory, complicity and the ways societies narrate and normalize violence.

With Anwar Congo, Herman Koto, Syamsul Arifin, Ibrahim Sinik, Yapto Soerjosoemarno, Safit Pardede and Jusuf Kalla

2023 · Fanny Molins

Nathalie runs the Atlantic Bar, a small, raucous refuge where nights spill into song, dancing and close, messy human connection. When the bar is suddenly put up for sale, she and her regulars are forced to confront the possible end of their world and the loss of a sanctuary that, despite its wounds, has become utterly indispensable.

2003 · Kevin Macdonald

Based on real events, two climbers set out in 1985 to conquer the forbidding 6,344 m west face of Siula Grande in Peru's Cordillera Huayhuash; after an avalanche leaves one of them gravely injured, their descent becomes a harrowing struggle to survive, forcing impossible choices and pushing friendship and endurance to the brink.

With Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron, Ollie Ryall, Joe Simpson, Richard Hawking and Simon Yates

2004 · Morgan Spurlock

A filmmaker eats nothing but McDonald’s meals—three times a day—for thirty days and gives up exercise while a team of three doctors conducts regular medical exams and tracks his weight. Their continuous assessments document rapid declines in his health, culminating in a shocking demonstration of how a fast-food diet can contribute to obesity and related problems.

With Morgan Spurlock, Daryl Isaacs, Lisa Ganjhu, Stephen Siegel, Bridget Bennett, Eric Rowley and Mark Fenton

2022 · Brett Morgen

Featuring previously unseen archival footage, the film traces David Bowie's artistic evolution and the musical experiments that shaped his singular career.

With David Bowie, Lou Reed, Tina Turner, Russell Harty, Dick Cavett, Mick Ronson and Trevor Bolder

2015 · Carlos Saura

A richly layered portrait of the football world, where intense cross-border rivalries and private disappointments collide, and friendships persist despite national divides.

With Mía Maestro, Pedro Aznar, Juan Falú, Marian Farías Gómez, Gabo Ferro, Liliana Herrero and Jairo

2012 · Lisanne Pajot

A raw, intimate portrait of game creators as they shape ideas into playable worlds and push them out into the market. More than a behind-the-scenes look at programming and production, it probes the emotional cost of creation—the compromises, anxieties and courage required to reveal yourself through your work.

With Jonathan Blow, Phil Fish, Edmund McMillen and Tommy Refenes

2024 · David Tedeschi

In 1963 the Beatles exploded across Europe and, a year later, they swept through America. Their pioneering international tours reshaped youth culture worldwide and established the blueprint for contemporary mass entertainment. At the same time they were crafting and recording a succession of hugely successful singles and albums. But the extraordinary pressure of global fame—escalating into near-chaos by 1966—made continuing to tour impossible. Released from the demands of the road, they turned their energy to the studio, creating a string of albums that transformed the art of recorded music.

With Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, John Lennon and George Harrison

2022 · Annie Ernaux

A filmmaker revisits a trove of Super 8 reels shot between 1972 and 1981 and realizes they are more than family records: they quietly document the pastimes, habits and aspirations of a particular social class in the decade following 1968. She weaves these silent fragments into a film that fuses personal memory with social observation and historical context, aiming to recreate the colour, taste and atmosphere of that era.

With Annie Ernaux

2013 · Leslie Small

A high-energy concert film that follows Kevin Hart's 2012 Let Me Explain tour, blending uproarious stand-up, electric live performances and behind-the-scenes chaos from shows in 80 cities across 10 countries, a run that generated more than $32 million in ticket revenue.

With Kevin Hart, David Terrell, David Jason Perez, Justine Herron, Harry Ratchford, Joey Wells and William Horton

2010 · Jacques Perrin

In 1890, a Pony Express rider and his faithful mustang, Hidalgo, travel to the Arabian desert to enter a hazardous, long-distance race with a vast prize at stake—an ordeal that propels both horse and man on a globe-spanning, life-threatening adventure.

With Pierce Brosnan, Lancelot Perrin and Jacques Perrin