The Best Places to Watch Documentary Movies Online

Mar. 16th, 2008 | by Aibek |

I really love watching documentary movies. Whether it’s a new Michael Moore movie, some 9/11 conspiracy, arrest of legendary drug cartel, life of Che Guevara, Iraq war, origins of Palestine/Israel conflict …. , most of the professionally made documentaries are quite interesting and educational. If you share this passion, here are some resources to watch documentary movies online.

1. PBS Frontline

Watch PBS Frontline Documentaries Online

PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) Frontline known for producing in-depth lengthy documentaries on various popular issues, leading to numerous awards (see more in Wikipedia). There are over 60 high quality documentaires on their website, with each documnetary available in different formats.

2. Surfthechannel

Other than a documentary source, Surfethechannel is more known as a TVShow and movie streaming website. Possibly the only website that was able to cope with the Stage6 shut down. The website has an impressive Documentary section. There are almost 1800 documentaries there. For avid documentary fans there is also a latest additions feed that lets you stay on top of all recent additions from the feedreader. The only drawback, there is no other way to navigate/sort documentary videos but alphabetically. The other similar but slightly smaller services are QuickSilverScreen (QSS) and Alluc.

3. Free Documentaries / Bodocus / Docuworld

Free Documentaries

These 3 websites aggregate documentary videos from Google Video and nicely organize them into categories i.e. politics, health, history, religion, business etc. FreeDocumentaries also sorts videos by region (Africa, Middle East, Russia, Europe etc.). Check out websites @ FreeDocumentaries, Bodocus and Docuworld.

4. Miro

[Update] Sorry folks, I completely forgot to include Miro in the original list.

Miro (formerly Democray Player) is an all-in-one video player where you can navigate though and subscribe to over 1500 web shows, documentary channels and podacsts. Channels include TED Talks, Frontline/World, NOVA etc. mostly in HD content. Simply choose the channels you like, hit suscribe button and Miro will download new episodes as soon as they are out. You can also browse and watch existing content as well.

5. Joost

Joost - Documentary Videos

I am not really a fan of Joost and never use it to watch documentaries, but what it has is the quality. Most of the videos you get here are in fairly good quality. At the moment there are 27 channels in documentary section (this may vary depending on your location).

6. OneBigTorrent

OneBigTorrent is the first place for quality documentary torrents. In their own words: “OneBigTorrent.org is a new place for sharing material that deals with or is relevant to issues of social justice, progressive and radical politics, independent media, ecology“.

Another good source for documentary movie torrents is MVGroup. The site is a forum and thus a bit hard to navigate, though it still has an active userbase.

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    37 Comments Leave a Comment

    Comment by keith
    2008-03-16 20:38:21

    It is an issue though, that so much fictitious garbage is packaged in a documentary format and made to look legit to the unsuspecting average Joe. Obviously, Moore is the all time king at implying things while still leaving a loophole to back out -”Well I never actually SAID Bush conspired with the Saudis…” sort of stuff. The power of editing is a real thing. The facts get lost -deliberately or not- in the middle sometimes.

    I made a short doc about about Miss Iran of 1976 you might like. Check it out-

    http://www.revver.com/video/303030/jelveh/

    Reply to this comment
    Comment by TelevisionSpy
    2008-03-17 09:19:27

    If you like Ancient History/Anthropology, check out Aracheology TV -it’s got a whole bunch of documentaries.
    http://freetube.110mb.com/index.php?f=1&view=3YXJjaA

    You can check out the rest of the site for more, look under education for more.

    Reply to this comment
     
    Comment by Aibek
    2008-03-17 12:29:51

    Keith, you got an excellent point here. I agree, “the power of editing is the real thing”. Once in a while I come across different documentaries (advocating opposite issues) and yet both sound very legitimate.

    Reply to this comment
     
    Comment by jim s
    2008-03-18 16:32:54

    Great comment. I think this is something ALL of use should be aware and thus use

    caution when we see a doc or any media for the first time.

    Reply to this comment
     
     
    Comment by Mike
    2008-03-16 23:58:30

    You might also want to try JohnLocker.com for documentaries and educational videos. It’s updated daily with some of the best documentaries I’ve seen in a while.

    Reply to this comment
     
    Pingback by FuzzLinks.com » The Best Places to Watch Documentary Movies Online
    2008-03-17 17:16:31

    […] Whether it’s a new Michael Moore movie, some 9/11 conspiracy, arrest of legendary drug cartel, life of Che Guevara, Iraq war, origins of Palestine/Israel conflict …. , most of the professionally made documentaries are quite interesting and educational. If you share this passion, here are some resources to watch documentary movies online.http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/the-best-places-to-watch-documentary-movies-online/ […]

    Reply to this comment
     
    Pingback by Matt Castille » Blog Archive » The Best Places to Watch Documentary Movies Online | MakeUseOf.com
    2008-03-17 17:33:13

    […] The Best Places to Watch Documentary Movies Online | MakeUseOf.com The Best Places to Watch Documentary Movies Online | MakeUseOf.com […]

    Reply to this comment
     
    Comment by NickB
    2008-03-17 17:46:18

    You should add The Internet Archive to this list. http://www.archive.org

    There is a HUGE collection of media archived in this online library, that plays host to a lot of great internet features, including the Wayback Machine…..

    Check it out

    Reply to this comment
     
    Comment by Matthias
    2008-03-17 19:21:33

    You should have pointed out in this article which ones of these services are free and which ain’t? I guess Joost is pay-TV?

    Thanks!

    Reply to this comment
    Comment by Aibek
    2008-03-18 12:15:25

    ALL FREE, including Joost

    Reply to this comment
     
     
    Comment by andres
    2008-03-17 19:30:24

    I can’t believe you left out Thoughtware.TV. If you want only the best Science and Technology videos from all over the Web, that’s the first place to start:

    http://www.Thoughtware.TV

    Reply to this comment
    Comment by Aibek
    2008-03-18 12:19:31

    Thanks for heads up, it seems like a good source.

    Reply to this comment
     
     
    Comment by business
    2008-03-17 19:30:58

    Thank you so much for this. Been looking for documentaries to watch. I waste a lot of time searching on Digg, google videos, etc. I’ll just start here.

    Reply to this comment
     
    Comment by d95
    2008-03-17 20:05:01

    Here is my favorite documentary TV channel:

    http://www.myeasytv.com/show_channel.php?id=276&name=Earth_Channel

    Reply to this comment
    Comment by Simon
    2008-03-17 21:52:34

    doesn’t work and worse it launched a barrage of popups. you own the site?

    Reply to this comment
     
    Comment by Aibek
    2008-03-18 12:20:25

    Sorry, but that site sucks.

    Reply to this comment
     
     
    Comment by Intelligent Choices
    2008-03-17 20:38:04

    Another good source is the CBC documentary archives

    http://archives.cbc.ca/index.asp?IDLan=1

    http://www.cbc.ca

    Reply to this comment
     
    Pingback by The Best Places to Watch Documentary Movies Online | web500
    2008-03-17 20:50:25

    […] read more | digg story […]

    Reply to this comment
     
    Pingback by links for 2008-03-18 « memor.ia blog
    2008-03-17 22:17:19

    […] The Best Places to Watch Documentary Movies Online | MakeUseOf.com (tags: documentary free) […]

    Reply to this comment
     
    Comment by Richard Huffman
    2008-03-18 01:25:37

    The absolute best place to watch documentaries, bar none, has been Google Video. I don’t know that they are legal versions; but I have seen Helvetica, Taxi to the Darkside, Titicut Follies, Supersize Me, and other extremely prominent documentaries there. I have no idea why they were there; but they were up in high resolution. Both Taxi to the darkside and helvetica were up BEFORE they played in my town (Seattle).

    Reply to this comment
     
     
    Comment by Norman Roberts
    2008-03-18 01:47:03

    Thanks for the excellent list, these sites and over 419 other free movie site links alternatives appear on NSR http://www.nosubscriptionrequired.net/
    happy viewing at the best price in town, all for free !!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply to this comment
     
    Pingback by Documentaries | reallygoodmagazine.com
    2008-03-18 04:25:41

    […] This is awesome.  A list of some of the best places to watch documentaries.  I especially liked Miro, a video player you can download that will download documentaries for you.  Check it […]

    Reply to this comment
     
    Pingback by Jonathon Zone » Blog Archive » The Best Places to Watch Documentary Movies Online
    2008-03-18 07:02:02

    […] educational. If you share this passion, here are some resources to watch documentary movies online.read more | digg […]

    Reply to this comment
     
    Comment by Jenbug
    2008-03-18 07:57:38

    VBS has some massively overlooked stuff.

    There’s a fantastic rundown of specific online films that are worth watching from around the web here, and aside from Frontline it doesn’t cover the same ground as this:

    http://xcity-magazine.com/?p=125

    Reply to this comment
     
    Pingback by links for 2008-03-18 | The 4-Hour Workweek Journal
    2008-03-18 17:44:04

    […] The Best Places to Watch Documentary Movies Online I admit I am a documentary junkie. This points to a pretty good set of online sources for documentaries. So much for an information diet! (tags: documentaries videos) Share and Enjoy: These icons link to social bookmarking sites where readers can share and discover new web pages. […]

    Reply to this comment
     
     
    Pingback by Gold stocks, steel, Amy Winehouse and Cold War |
    2008-03-19 00:47:51

    […] That said, if you like watching documentary films, for example on why we are in Iraq, or why the Cold War never existed, or why Einstein had multiple wifes, check out this post from MakeUseOf. […]

    Reply to this comment
     
    Comment by fritz
    2008-03-19 09:01:22

    DOCUMANTIS is the best site for watching documentaries!

    Reply to this comment
     
    Pingback by Where to Watch the Best Documentaries Online | Film Feeds Forever
    2008-03-20 04:43:12

    […] MakeUseof.com has compiled a list of the best websites for watching documentaries. Here’s a brief run down of their list; […]

    Reply to this comment
     
    Comment by david
    2008-03-20 14:35:23

    http://www.chooseandwatch.com/ is far better

    Reply to this comment
     
    Pingback by The Best Places to Watch Documentary Movies Online | Simple Drops
    2008-03-23 23:05:00

    […] educational. If you share this passion, here are some resources to watch documentary movies online.read more | digg story addthis_url = […]

    Reply to this comment
     
    Comment by Alek Davis
    2008-03-24 19:19:10

    Thank you for the links. I love Frontline, but did not realize that the documentaries are available online.

    Reply to this comment
     
    Pingback by Heidi Olson » Documentary Resources
    2008-03-25 11:16:01

    […] a good starting point for finding documentaries with a free download from makeuseof.com, a website I review quite often for updates on web applications, cool tools and […]

    Reply to this comment
     
    Pingback by Education information » Blog Archive » The Best Places to Watch Documentary Movies Online
    2008-03-26 00:00:11

    […] educational. If you share this passion, here are some resources to watch documentary movies online.read more | digg […]

    Reply to this comment
     
    Comment by edoneaude
    2008-03-30 09:54:54

    Perfect for Documentary Lovers like me, thank you. Ill add a link for thin on mi site

    Reply to this comment
    Comment by Aibek
    2008-03-30 21:23:34

    Glad that you liked it ;-)

    Reply to this comment
     
     
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