Do not be alarmed if you have watched every documentary offered on other streaming services (or simply do not have or cannot purchase any), as YouTube has a wide selection of compelling, dramatic, and informative documentaries. With 30 million premium subscribers who can buy or rent a large selection of incredible movies and TV episodes, YouTube concluded 2020 with 30 million subscribers. Yet even if you haven’t subscribed, you may still watch video for free because YouTube often uploads new movies and programmes for free viewing (though sometimes with ads).
Updated April 15, 2023: Since YouTube is always adding new free documentaries, we’ve updated this post to reflect some of the best ones currently accessible and to uphold the standards of excellence we constantly pursue.
These are some of the best documentaries you can watch for free on YouTube if you like learning about fresh and fascinating discoveries, examining real-life events, or solving a captivating true mystery.
13th
13th is a significant documentary that every American (or student of history) should watch. It is one of the few documentaries that Netflix entirely free on YouTube (and has received over 13 million views as a result). The 13th Amendment to the United States Constitution and its connection to the prison-industrial complex are examined in detail in Ava DuVernay’s film. The movie examines how slavery was never completely abolished following the Civil War but was instead transferred to a vast political, judicial, and corporate structure that criminalises Black bodies.
A Certain Kind of Death
The award-winning documentary A Certain Sort of Death by Blue Hadaegh and Grover Babcock explores what happens to a person’s body after they pass away without any surviving family members. We are taken on a step-by-step day in the life of people who handle these dead at the Los Angeles County coroner’s office as we follow three cases. We are also shown the process of figuring out how they died and who to call to claim the remains.
They have a limited amount of time to locate the next of kin before they are compelled to cremate the dead, so they must act quickly. The hardships and significance of this process are revealed in a disturbing yet enlightening and intriguing way to the viewers. This uncomplicated film is a valuable, odd lesson in empathy.
A Murder in the Family
The victim’s mother, Margaret Davis, tries to show that her daughter-in-law was the one who killed a British businessman in the Philippines while he was sleeping in 2002. Davis was unaware that the most unlikely suspect was the mastermind behind it all when she received the phone call informing her that her son had died.
A Murder in the Family raises the bar for suspense in true crime films, offers insight into the case’s details, shows how a mother unearthed the truth about her son’s death, and transports viewers on a rollercoaster trip as the tragic events take place.
All Is Self
All Is Self explores how our civilization is based on the assumption that we are separate from nature, allowing us to harm the environment and other people without feeling like we are destroying ourselves. It makes the argument that the disorder in our society is a reflection of the chaos in our own brains. Even if we occasionally may feel removed from the rest of the world, this documentary demonstrates how spiritual traditions from all around the world have understood this for ages and how modern science is just now starting to catch up.
The film educates us on the concept of oneness and how these spiritual practises have contributed to the conviction that all living things are members of our family, that we are one with nature, and that everything is self. Who knew that YouTube would provide free spiritual guidance?
Citizenfour
Citizenfour, one of the most significant movies of the last ten years, analyses Edward Snowden’s shocking discoveries concerning governmental monitoring and the intrusive practises of the NSA and is entirely free with advertisements on YouTube. At the same time, Citizenfour also documents the unsettling hostility the government has for whistleblowers, fact-checkers, and truth-tellers through the difficulties Laura Poitras had while shooting the movie. The movie is organised similarly to a classic conspiracy thriller, but this one is unsettlingly real.
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father
Because he knew the subject of the 2008 documentary and added an unflinchingly tragic personal touch because of this friendship, Kurt Kuenne’s work is utterly emotionally devastating. Hello, Zachary The focus of A Letter to a Son Regarding His Father is Andrew Bagby, who was discovered dead in a Pennsylvania park. The viewers get to observe how his ex-girlfriend, who left for Canada after he passed away, is suspected as the police inquiry progresses. Dear Zachary is quite upsetting, and as viewers, we can form our own opinions on the issue, especially as more information about the woman in question becomes available.
Kuenne made a film to introduce the child to his father whom he had never met using interviews with family members and disturbing archival images. When the story took a more tragic turn, Kuenne decided to make it public. It’s one of the best free movies on YouTube, and it’s simply unforgettably good.
Josef Fritzl’s Horrifying Crime
Josef Fritzl’s Horrifying Crime is a documentary about how a father’s horrifying deeds tore a family apart that is both emotionally difficult and expertly constructed. The unsettling story of a woman who had spent 24 years locked away in a cellar came to light in 2008. Elizabeth Fritzl gave birth to seven of Josef Fritzl’s children while she was imprisoned, and she was also beaten, raped, and attacked by her own father.
Using interviews and court records from reporters and attorneys who followed the Josef Fritzl case, the documentary examines a real-life monster, revealing how it damaged the family and how he was able to hide his wicked deeds. Ironically, this free YouTube movie tells the Fritzl case story better than any other.
Life in a Day
The stunning collection of photos and video clips from over 80,000 YouTube users over the course of one single day are featured in Kevin Macdonald’s 2011 crowdsourced film Life in a Day. The footage was submitted from 192 different countries across the world.
With the footage all being shot on July 24, 2010, the creative and captivating documentary is an emotionally stirring time capsule that shows what life was like for people from many walks of life, backgrounds, and nations. “A metaphor of the experience of being on the Internet,” said Macdonald, “clicking from one place to another, in this somewhat random way…following our own thoughts, following narrative and thematic paths.”
Life in a Day was a huge hit with spectators and critics, who praised it as a heartwarming film that perfectly captured how lovely and distinctive the earth and its people are. Due to its enormous popularity, a sequel called Life in a Day 2020 was produced in 2021. This film portrayed the turbulent year that was marked by the COVID-19 epidemic.
Man on Wire
James Marsh’s 2008 heart-pounding documentary Man on Wire, which provides an exciting look at famed high-wire artist Philippe Petit’s risky and daring 1974 walk between the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, will captivate adrenaline junkies and others who are not easily alarmed by heights. The movie details Petit’s careful preparation for the life-threatening stunt, which lasted for almost an hour and led to the daredevil’s detention and subsequent release.
The captivating movie received its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, where it won the renowned Grand Jury Prize, and it also won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. The intense and electric photography astounded viewers and critics alike, who watched Petit undertake the perilous walk with bated breath. Man on Wire, which presently has a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, served as the basis for the Joseph Gordon-Levitt-starring 2015 movie The Walk.
The Atomic Café
The 1982 documentary The Atomic Café includes chilling narrator-free clips of newsreels and footage released by the government throughout the ’40s and ’50s at the dawn of the nuclear age. The film offers a sobering look at apocalyptic nuclear warfare and the false information and propaganda implemented by the United States throughout the Cold War.
The challenging film was released at a time when American scepticism and nostalgia were at their height and people’s faith in the government was at an all-time low due to the Watergate Affair and the Vietnam War. Viewers can experience the frenzy and anxiety that pervaded the nation during that crucial time in history through the use of military training video, vintage television broadcasts, and propaganda movies.
The Creepy Line
M.A. Taylor’s enlightening 2018 documentary, The Creepy Line, examines social media’s impact and its profound effects on how society thinks and behaves as well as how it shapes public opinion overall. It sheds light on how major internet platforms like Facebook and Google manipulate the general public by tampering with user data.
The fascinating video examines how the two sizable tech firms violate data privacy for their own nefarious purposes, presenting evidence for its position through in-depth interviews, in-depth analysis, and lengthy studies that will make you wary of using the internet in the future.
This Is The Zodiac Speaking
In the late 1960s, the Zodiac Killer’s unsolved killings plunged California into a state-wide state of panic as he rose to prominence as one of the most terrifying actual serial killers. As letters, purportedly written by the murderer, became a part of the mystery, it further increased the terror. The case ended up being the most tedious and challenging murder investigation for the law enforcement community at the time. Many theories have been proposed in relation to one of the largest unsolved crimes in American history, the Zodiac Killer (and a great David Fincher film).
Director David Prior explores the case once more in the retrospective film This Is The Zodiac Speaking, examining many parts of the inquiry and incorporating interviews with the original detectives and surviving victims. The documentary examines the situation objectively but leaves room for the spectator to develop their own hypotheses and beliefs about who the Zodiac really is. This free short offers a thorough, tense, and amazing look into the killer, even though the Fincher movie is fantastic.
World’s Scariest Drug
The Devil’s Breath, commonly known as Scopolamine, is the subject of this Vice documentary. World’s Scariest Medication examines the various physiological impacts it can have on a person, including the purported ability to render you incapable of exercising free choice. In this documentary, freaked-out dealers and individuals who have personally used the drug are interviewed. This enables viewers to understand how the tale took a far darker turn than they had anticipated and to hear firsthand about the horror stories surrounding the World’s Scariest Drug.
