Decider Lists

Showtime’s Impressive Library Of Documentaries Is Full Of Movies Certified Fresh by Rotten Tomatoes

By Claire Spellberg @c_spellberg

Published Aug. 29, 2017, 9:30 a.m. ET

*Whitney: Can I Be Me* is just one of the many amazing documentaries on Showtime. Check out the streaming site's 20 best offerings, ranked by their Rotten Tomatoes Critic Scores.Photos: Everett Collection ; Illustration: Dillen Phelps

**American Jihad**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 100%
This timely documentary from Alison Ellwood explores the tactics employed by terrorists to convert Americans to the ranks of Jihadism. Narrated by Liev Schreiber, *American Jihad* warns of the dangers of radicalized Jihadi thought on the individual, their families, and communities as a whole.
[Stream *American Jihad*]Photo: Showtime

**As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 100%
*As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM* follows the late DJ's swift rise to stardom, his battle with substance abuse, the ups and downs of his love life, and his unexpected death. The doc combines live DJ sets with interviews from his famous friends. [Read Decider's review]
[Stream *As I AM: The Life and Times of DJ AM*]Photo: Showtime

**Becoming Bulletproof**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 100%
This 2015 doc comes from Super Size Me legend Morgan Spurlock, but this time, he focuses on the production of a Western costume drama featuring disabled actors from across the country. The documentary highlights the difficulties disabled actors face to land big Hollywood roles and prompts us to think about the extreme lack of diversity on screen.
[Stream *Becoming Bulletproof*]Photo: Showtime

**Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 100%
If *Steve Jobs* met *Survivor*, we'd be left with the 2016 documentary *Gringo*. The film follows John McAfee, the mega-millionaire and anti-virus software guru, as he moves to Belize to get off the grid completely. Once in Belize, McAfee builds a harem, becomes a drug lord, and creates an armed police force to protect himself from the police. [Read Decider's review]
[Stream *Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee*]Showtime

**No No: A Dockumentary**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 100%
This fascinating documentary examines the life of Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Dock Ellis, who famously made it through a no-hitter back in 1970 while on LSD. After his baseball career, Ellis became a well-known civil rights leader.
[Stream *No No: A Dockumentary*]Photo: Everett Collection

**Hoop Dreams**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 98%
*Hoop Dreams* follows two Chicago kids as they attempt to turn their passion for basketball into professional careers. The 1994 doc was filmed over a span of five years, allowing us to become the boys' largest champions as we watch them get closer to their dream.
[Stream *Hoop Dreams*]Courtsey Everett Collection

**Weiner**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 97%
Despite the soapy subject matter, *Weiner* is actually a fascinating peek into Anthony Weiner's psyche and his 2013 campaign for New York City mayor. Unfortunately for Weiner, women begin coming forward with new sexting allegations, and his campaign team must scramble to do damage control. The doc won the 2016 Sundance Grand Jury Prize for U.S. Documentary, so it's definitely worth your time. [Read Decider's review]
[Stream *Weiner*]Motto Pictures

**All Things Must Pass**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 97%
Actor-turned-filmmaker Colin Hanks crafted a documentary around the rise and fall of one of the most iconic music brick-and-mortar stores of all time: Tower Records. Featuring interviews from music icons like Chuck D., David Geffen, Dave Grohl, Elton John and more, the film explores Tower's legacy since it filed for bankruptcy in 2006.
[Stream *All Things Must Pass*]Photo: Everett Collection

**Listen to Me Marlon**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 97%
*Listen to Me Marlon* has branded itself as "the definitve Brando, in his own words." As in, director Stevan Riley gained exclusive access to the late actor's personal archive, and he uses the unseen film footage and unheard audio recordings to create a portrait of the Hollywood legend unlike any other.
[Stream *Listen to Me Marlon*]

**In My Father's House**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 92%
Ricki Stern's moving documentary about hip-hop artist Che "Rhymefest" Smith will give you all the feels. Leaving the glamorous rap world to move back into his childhood home on Chicago's South Side, Che attempts to reconnect with his estranged father after 20 years of separation.
[Stream *In My Father's House*]Photo: Showtime

**Prophet's Prey**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 92%
If you're into cults and sister-wives, you'll love this 2015 documentary about FLDS Church leader Warren Jeffs and the horrific abuse he inflicted on the cult's followers. *Prophet's Prey* features interviews with victims who've escaped and insiders who are still living within the community, making it one of the most gripping exposés on the horrific nature of these cults.
[Stream *Prophet's Prey*]Photo: Showtime

**Zero Days**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 91%
Directed by Alex Gibney, this documentary serves as a guide to the Stuxnet computer virus, the malware program that started cyberwarfare. Allegedly, the US and Israel commissioned the computer virus to destroy Iran's nuclear arsenal, and the filmmakers explore not only whether this is true, but also the implications of this scandal on global cyberwarfare.
[Stream *Zero Days*]Everett Collection

**Meru**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 89%
Three of the world's best professional climbers scale the Shark's Fin on Mount Meru in the Himalayas. The climbers must wrestle with their inner fears, interpersonal differences, and a slippery, snowy slope in order to accomplish a feat that has never before been succesful.
[Stream *Meru*]Photo: Everett Collection

**Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of The National Lampoon**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 87%
This doc charts the meteoric rise of National Lampoon from a counter-culture humor magazine to a blockbuster comedy series. *Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead* includes unseen footage, magazine art, an interviews from those who were most involved with and influenced by the comedic franchise.
[Stream *Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead: The Story of The National Lampoon*]Photo: Netflix

**The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 85%
In 1996, Warner Bros. almost made the movie "Superman Lives," but decided against it. *The Death of "Superman Lives"* explores this little moment of almost movie history, answering a question that many superhero fans didn't even know they had.
[Stream *The Death of "Superman Lives": What Happened]*Photo: Showtime

**Risk**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 82%
Academy Award winning director Laura Poitras captures the story of Julian Assange, the founder of WikiLeaks who is currently embroiled in a 6+ year scandal with the American government. In *Risk* Poitras highlights the many contradictions of a man who sacrificed everything to provide the world with the truth.
[Stream *Risk*]Courtesy Everett Collection

**Lenny Cooke**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 82%
In the early 2000s, Lenny Cooke was the best high school basketball player in the country, but over ten years later, he hasn't played in a single NBA game. Filmmakers Ben and Joshua Safdie explore how everything can go wrong in just a matter of years for young athletes like Cooke, a man who could've been the next LeBron.
[Stream *Lenny Cooke*]Photo: Showtime

**Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 81%
*Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans* tells the story of famous actor/director Steve McQueen as he struggles to make racing movie 'Le Mans' in France in the 1970s. The documentary combines present-day interviews with archival footage to explain how one of the world's largest stars could be undone in pursuit of an extravagant dream.
[Stream *Steve McQueen: The Man & Le Mans*]Photo: Showtime

**The World According to Dick Cheney**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 80%
This 2013 documentary follows the career of former Vice President Dick Cheney from his first days in Washington to his drama-ridden vice presidency. Interviews with Cheney's friends and family shed light on the personal side of his rise to the position of second-in-command.
[Stream *The World According to Dick Cheney*]Photo: Showtime

**Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic**
**Rotten Tomatoes Score:** 80%
This documentary from Emmy winning filmmaker Marina Zenovich and Pryor's widow Jennifer Pryor recounts the comedian's enduring influence on the industry. Dave Chapelle, Mel Brooks, Johnny Carson and many more explain the influence Richard Pryor had on both their individual careers and the world as a whole in this moving homage to the man Bob Newhart once called "the seminal comedian of the last 50 years."
[Stream *Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic*]Photo: Showtime

Where to Stream:

Whitney: Can I Be Me

Is anyone else still shook from watching the completely amazing Whitney Houston documentary Whitney: Can I Be Me on Showtime this weekend? Filmmakers Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal expertly weave behind-the-scenes concert footage, home videos and photos, and interviews to create a portrait of a woman much more complex than the image she put out to the world. Despite her monumental worldwide impact, Whitney could never truly do what she wanted–she could never just be herself–and the filmmakers ensure that we’re left feeling the full weight of Whitney’s inner turmoil.

Whitney: Can I Be Me is a wonderful addition to Showtime’s catalog, but it’s by no means the only quality documentary in their vast library. There are over 60 documentaries available to Showtime and Showtime Anytime customers, and the vast majority of them are actually really good. In fact, five documentaries currently have a 100% Rotten Tomatoes Critic Rating, making them the freshest of the fresh. (An added bonus: Many of them are directed by women.)

Showtime’s documentary selection has a little bit for everyone: sports fans can turn to Lenny Cooke or Hoop Dreams, the politically obsessed have Trumped: Inside the Greatest Political Upset of All Time or Weiner, and music lovers can check out All Things Must Pass or Jimi Hendrix: Electric Church.

Wondering where to begin? We combed through Showtime’s expansive offerings to find you the top documentaries available. These are the top 20 documentaries on Showtime, ranked by their Rotten Tomatoes Critics Scores.

Where to Stream Whitney: Can I Be Me