If you’ve already dug into every documentary available on other streaming platforms (or you just don’t have one or can’t afford one), fear not, because YouTube offers many moving, exciting and interesting documentaries. YouTube ended 2020 with 30 million premium subscribers who can buy or rent a wide variety of great movies and TV shows. But for those who haven’t subscribed, you can still stream content for free, as YouTube is constantly updating us, regularly adding movies and specials to watch for free (although sometimes with ads).
Updated September 13, 2022: YouTube is always adding new documentaries for free, so we’ve updated this article to reflect some of the best available and to maintain the consistency and excellence we always strive for.
For documentaries lovers who love to discover real life stories, an immersive, where mystery unraveling or even being taught about new and interesting discoveries, these are some of the best documentaries you can watch on YouTube for free.
10 Josef Fritzl’s Horrific Crime
Josef Fritzl’s Horrific Crime is an emotionally painful but perfectly edited documentary about how a father’s horrific actions tore a family apart. In 2008, the disturbing case came to light of a woman who had been trapped in a basement for 24 years. Elizabeth Fritzl was held captive, beaten, raped and assaulted by her own father, Joseph, and bore seven of his children while she was imprisoned.
The documentary examines a real-life monster, explaining how it affected the family and how he managed to hide his evil actions, including interviews and legal documentation by journalists and lawyers following the Josef Fritzl case. It’s ironic that this free movie on YouTube would be better than any other story about the Fritzl case.
9 Everything Is Self
By stating that the chaos in our society is a representation of the chaos in our own mind, Everything Is Self examines how our society is built on the idea that we separate ourselves from nature, allowing us to harm the environment and others without feeling like we are destroying ourselves. At times we may feel separated from the rest of the world, but in this documentary we see how spiritual traditions around the world have recognized this for centuries and how modern science is beginning to understand it. The documentary makes us aware of the idea of unity and how these spiritual traditions have led to the belief that all beings are our family, that we are one with nature and that everything is self. Who knew lighting would be free on YouTube?
8 A certain kind of death
In their award-winning documentary, directors Blue Hadaegh and Grover Babcock investigate what happens to someone’s body when they die and have no next of kin. A certain kind of death. After three cases with the Los Angeles County coroner, we are taken step by step through the lives of those who treat these bodies and shown the process of determining how they died and who to call to claim the remains.
In a race against time, they have only a few months to find the next of kin before they are forced to cremate the bodies. Viewers gain a disturbing yet interesting and educational insight into the struggles and importance of this process. This free movie is an important, strange lesson in empathy.
7 The Atomic Café
Taking a sobering look at nuclear warfare and the false information and propaganda the United States implemented during the Cold War, the 1982 documentary is The Atomic Cafe contains chilling, narratorless clips from newsreels and government-released footage in the 1940s and 1950s at the dawn of the nuclear age.
The thought-provoking photo premiered during the height of American cynicism and nostalgia when our… the citizens of the country had less confidence in government after both the Watergate scandal and the Vietnam War. Using military training footage, old television broadcasts and propaganda films, viewers can get a taste of the hysteria and insecurity that reigned throughout that exciting period of history throughout the country.
6 This is the zodiac that speaks
The unsolved murders of the Zodiac Killer sent California into a spiral of terror in the late 1960s, when he became one of the most terrifying real-life serial killers. The case became the most frustrating and difficult murder investigation for the law enforcement community at the time, and when letters allegedly written by the killer became part of the mystery, it only added to the panic. The Zodiac Killer to this day remains a mystery and one of the biggest unsolved cases in America, resulting in countless theories (and a great David Fincher movie).
In the retrospective documentary This is the zodiac that speaks, director David Prior dives into the case again, covering aspects of the investigation, including interviews with the original investigators and surviving victims. By analyzing the case on a factual basis, the documentary leaves it open for the viewer to invoke their own beliefs and theories about who the zodiac really is. While the Fincher movie is brilliant, this free movie is a comprehensive, suspenseful and beautiful take on the killer.
5 A murder in the family
When a British businessman is murdered in his sleep in the Philippines in 2002, the victim’s mother, Margaret Davis, tries to prove that her daughter-in-law was responsible. When Davis got a call that her son was dead, she had no idea that the mastermind behind it all was the most unexpected suspect. A murder in the family takes true crime documentaries to a new level of suspense, providing insight into the ins and outs of the case, how a mother uncovered the secrets surrounding her son’s death, and takes the audience on a roller coaster ride as the shocking events unfold.
4 The scariest drug in the world
This Vice documentary explores a drug called Scopolamine, otherwise known as The Devil’s Breath. The scariest drug in the world is extremely enlightening and explores the various effects it can have on a person’s body – one of which is supposedly the ability to make you unable to exercise your free will. The interviews in this documentary are with: freaked out dealers and people’s personal experiences with the drug, and it allows viewers to see how the story took a much darker turn than they expected, and first-hand the horror stories surrounding the The scariest drug in the world.
3 Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father
Kurt Kuenne’s 2008 documentary is completely emotionally devastating, as he was friends with the subject of the film and gives an unshakable heartbreaking personal touch. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father revolves around Andrew Bagby, who was found dead in a park in Pennsylvania. Viewers are shown how the police investigation begins to suspect that his ex-girlfriend, who fled to Canada after his death, is starting to suspect. Dear Zacharias is extremely shocking and as viewers we are able to form our own perception about the matter, especially when some facts come to light about the woman in question.
From interviews with family and disturbing archive footage, Kuenne captured their fond memories of Andrew in a film designed to introduce the child to his father he had never met, and decided to release it publicly as the case took a more tragic turn. . It’s just unforgettable and it’s one of the best free movies on YouTube.
2 Citizenfour
One of the most important documentaries of the past decade, Citizenfour is available completely free with ads on YouTube and investigates Edward Snowden’s disturbing revelations about government surveillance and the NSA’s invasive behavior. At the same time, because of the effort Laura Poitras had in making the film, Citizenfour also describes the disturbing antagonism the government has towards whistleblowers, fact-checkers and truth tellers. The film is structured like one of the great conspiracy thrillers, except it is disturbingly true.
1 13th
One of the rare documentaries that Netflix has put on YouTube completely for free (with over 13 million views as a result), 13th is an important film that every American (or history student) should see. Ava DuVernay’s film dissects the history of the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution and its relationship to the prison-industrial complex. The film explores how slavery never really ended after the Civil War, but rather moved into a vast political, legal and business system that criminalizes black bodies.