In addition to serving to share videos of all kinds uploaded by users, on YouTube you can find a good number of documentaries, the work of important producers and even television channels. High-quality content on the most varied topics and all of them, how could it be otherwise, completely free.
Many production companies and television channels share their complete documentaries for free on YouTube
Below is a compilation of some of the most interesting documentaries of recent times. There are some about history, music, nature, technology…
-“Mysteries of the Stone Age”: Documentary divided into two parts, produced by the German television channel Deutsche Welle, which addresses different questions about the primitive stages of the human being, from how he stopped being a nomad and settled, going from hunter-gatherer to farmer to the origin of dolmens and other prehistoric constructions.
-“Queen, the greatest”: For many it is one of the greatest rock groups in history and its charismatic leader, Freddie Mercury, will always be missed. This documentary, released in March 2021, covers 50 of the most extraordinary moments (in 50 parts) in the career of the British band, covering everything from their first performances in the 70s to their latest collaborations with singer Adam Lambert.
-“Our planet”: Netflix documentary in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund that shows the natural beauty of different habitats on our planet in 8 episodes lasting around 50 minutes.
-“Ignition: The Story of Xbox”: When the world of home videogames seemed to offer only two great alternatives (Nintendo and Sony), a third party came along that has remained in a more than established position for decades: Microsoft. Your Xbox game console is one of the references between the different generations of PlayStation and the successive NES, N64, Wii, Nintendo Switch. This 6-part documentary tells the entire story of this console from its conception to its success, without sparing even the mistakes (there were, there always are).
-“The Beginning: Making Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace”: While the universe created by George Lucas in 1977 with what is now known as Episode IV (at the time simply “Star Wars” continues to expand with new films and television series, this documentary of more than an hour long shows the revolutionary filming of the so-called “Prequel Trilogy”, showing the creation process from the first casting sessions to the theatrical release of the first installment (chronologically) of the saga in 1999.
-“North Korea: The happiest country in the world”: It is the most hermetic country on the planet, the most iron dictatorship, a concentration camp that encompasses an entire nation. That is why this nearly one-hour documentary by the Russian channel RT in Spanish is especially interesting, which delves into their cities and collects first-person testimonies from their inhabitants.
-“Copy, damn!”: It is not always easy to understand the complexities of the world of copyright: intellectual property, copyright, copyleft, creative commons licences… This RTVE documentary addresses these issues, paying special attention to audiovisual production under free use licenses in Spain .
-“In the city at the end of the world”: Since April 26, 1987, Chernobyl has been a ghost zone. After the nuclear power plant accident, the surroundings were contaminated with radiation, the city of Pripyat was evacuated and its inhabitants never returned, leaving its streets and buildings (or the iconic Ferris wheel) as a frozen testimony of an era. This documentary by journalist Jon Sistiaga for Canal+ delves into the so-called Exclusion Zone, a territory that will remain contaminated for more than 20,000 years, in which human life is testimonial but nature has claimed what was always its own.
-“The price of free”: Third part of the documentary series “The virtual revolution”, this time the subject is the price paid for what nothing is paid for. Remembering the maxim “free means that someone else pays for it”, it adapts to the use of technology and different technological platforms and tools, starting with the Google search engine or social networks, explaining how users who do not pay for a service are themselves commodity. For those who want to delve into these topics on the Internet, specific documentaries on social networks can be found free of charge.