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100 Must-See Documentaries Streaming on Netflix This November

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More classic documentaries and other nonfiction favorites have expired from Netflix Watch Instantly in the past month, the most notable being Martin Scorsese’s concert film The Last Waltz. Two other longtime staples of our Netflix 100 lists now gone are the African LGBT rights film Call Me Kuchu and the Oscar-nominated Dirty Wars. Reportedly, Verena Paravel and Lucien Castaing-Taylor’s Leviathan will be joining them before November is through, but I’m keeping it here until I’m sure and also to recommend that you see it as soon as possible (I’ve moved it to the top of the list to remind you).

Fortunately, there are a handful of new additions to the streaming service that I’d like to highlight as essential viewing. There’s the new Netflix Original Winter on Fire: Ukraine’s Fight for Freedom, which is about the Euromaidan protests and fits well with fellow Netflix Original pick The Square. Also Rory Kennedy’s riveting history Last Days in Vietnam, Nina Davenport’s personal pregnancy doc First Comes Love, Robert B. Weide’s biographical portrait Woody Allen: A Documentary and the updated classic All American High Revisted.

That’s more additions than expirations, of course, so I chose two films for removal. One is The Unknown Known, because we have enough Errol Morris on the list, and that’s one of our least favorites, and the other is Trekkies, because while it’s a fine introduction and better-than-average example of the now too-popular fandom doc genre, it’s not quite as necessary as the rest of the titles here.

And here are a few coming attractions for you: films expected to hit Netflix Watch Instantly later in the month include Call Me Lucky, Dior and I and Best of Enemies.

Now a reminder of how the titles are numerically arranged:

They are mostly ranked in order of my favor with some objective authority, but there are some clumps throughout the list that obviously fit together. Some are by director, some are by genre or subject matter and some are by series. In fact, I see this whole list as being best watched in order of the rankings. There are a few double features in the bunch (Expedition to the End of the World and Encounters at the End of the World and The Act of Killing and Camp 14, for two example sets) and some groupings where I truly think the higher ranking title is best watched before a certain title or titles below it.

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(Editor in Chief)

Christopher Campbell is the founding editor of Nonfics.