Best Documentary Movies of 1996

The highest-rated documentary films from 1996, ranked by MovieMagicScore based on authentic viewer ratings.

Documentary 1995 Documentary 1997 All Time Documentary

Action Comedy Drama Horror Science Fiction Thriller Romance Animation Fantasy Crime

When We Were Kings

1996

It's 1974. Muhammad Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Foreman is ten years younger and the heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a willing backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire, and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set, including a musical festival featuring some of America's top black performers, like James Brown and B.B. King.

7.6

Microcosmos

1996

A documentary of insect life in meadows and ponds, using incredible close-ups, slow motion, and time-lapse photography. It includes bees collecting nectar, ladybugs eating mites, snails mating, spiders wrapping their catch, a scarab beetle relentlessly pushing its ball of dung uphill, endless lines of caterpillars, an underwater spider creating an air bubble to live in, and a mosquito hatching.

7.6

Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills

1996

A horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.

7.6

The Celluloid Closet

1996

Exuberant, eye-opening movie that serves up a dazzling hundred-year history of the role of gay men and lesbians have had on the silver screen. Film contains fabulous footage from 120 films showing the changing face of cinema sexuality, from cruel stereotypes to covert love to the activist triumphs of the 1990s.

7.1

Looking for Richard

1996

Al Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."

6.8

Best Documentary Movies of 1996

This ranking features the top documentary movies released in 1996, sorted by MovieMagicScore viewer ratings. Looking for more? Browse all genres from 1996 or see the best documentary movies of all time.