The history of documentaries begins with 1922’s “Nanook of the North”, a silent film by Robert J. Flaherty who immortalized the struggles of an Inuk man named Nanook in the Canadian Arctic. While he was accused of staging certain scenes - classifying his movie as a “docudrama” - it did start a tradition that lives on to this day.
Documentaries convey knowledge in a unique way - but at times, they go beyond education, rising to almost artistic heights. Except in their case, the artist is nature, together with the filming crews that capture its beauty in a perfect way.
Our Planet
“Our Planet” is maybe the most beautiful documentary to binge-watch on Netflix. Narrated by documentary veteran Sir David Attenborough (he was featured in the first-ever nature documentary series in 1954), the series addresses issues of conservation and focuses on the humans’ impact on the animals in their native environment.
The series had its premiere at London’s Natural History Museum in April 2019, with guests like Prince Charles, David Beckham, Ellie Goulding, and Attenborough himself. The series went on to win the Emmy Award for Outstanding Documentary or Nonfiction Series last year.
The series can be streamed on Netflix or watched free on YouTube thanks to the streaming giant and WWF.
The Blue Planet, Planet Earth, and Frozen Planet
Alastair Fothergill has several award-winning nature documentaries tied to his name. He has been with the BBC’s Natural History Unit between 1983 and 1998, after which he stepped down to focus on producing The Blue Planet, released in 2001.
The resulting miniseries won two Primetime Emmy Awards, two BAFTA awards, and spawned two sequels that also stand on their own: Planet Earth in 2006 and Frozen Planet in 2011. All three of them were narrated by Sir David Attenborough.
Virunga
Orlando von Einsiedel’s “Virunga” follows four park rangers trying to protect the mountain gorilla population in the Congo’s Virunga Mountains, one of the few left on the planet, from conflict, oil exploration, and poaching.
Aside from presenting the natural beauty of the area, “Virunga” also explores the political and economic issues in the region, the armed conflicts, and the corruption that disregards biodiversity and the area’s protected status.
Virunga was presented at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 17, 2014, two days after the area’s chief warden Emmanuel de Merode, featured in the documentary, was shot by unidentified gunmen. Later in the year, it was picked up by Netflix, nominated for an Oscar, and a feature film version of the documentary was announced to be directed by Barry Jenkins.
Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey
In 1980, Carl Sagan’s “Cosmos: A Personal Voyage” has brought science documentaries to the mainstream. More than three decades later, “Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey” honors its legacy, bringing it up-to-date in the most stunning way.
Produced by actor and animator Seth MacFarlane, the original series’ co-author Ann Druyan, Star Trek producer Brannon Braga, and Mitchell Cannold, the series was scored by veteran composer Alan Silvestri, and narrated by Neil deGrasse Tyson.
The series received 12 Emmy nominations, winning two, and Silvestri also received twp for his magnificent score. The series even won a 2014 Peabody Award within the Education category.
Home
Finally, let’s not forget about one of the most beautiful documentaries ever created, the work of French director Yann Arthus-Bertrand that became the first film ever to be released simultaneously all over the world - in theaters, online, on TV, and on DVD.
The film was released on May 5, 2009 - World Environment Day - absolutely free for anyone to see. Paris-based Kering (the company behind brands like Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent, and Boucheron, among others) sponsored its $12 million budget, and it took more than a year and a half to film.
Versions of the movie can still be found on YouTube, Vimeo, and Archive.org, and it can be streamed in high-definition via Amazon Prime Video.