Our list of 10 best science documentaries on Amazon Prime will let you step into the amazing world of science and scientific achievements.
The challenge that many documentary filmmakers face is trying to make an accurate documentary while keeping it entertaining enough to get viewers engaged. This challenge becomes even greater if you are making a science documentary. This is why you often see more science TV series. It is easier to hold the attention of viewers when they only have to watch 20 or 40 minutes about something. It also allows the creators to have more leeway as for how they are presenting science. Take the examples of Mythbusters and Brainiac. They are science related as they come, but also extremely fun to watch. However, not every documentary can be things blowing up. Sometimes it is nice to watch something more serious.
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As we’ve mentioned in some earlier articles, science is a delicate topic and you really need to know your facts. This is of course if you want to make a good documentary, ask the right questions and make sure people will consider your documentary worth something. If not, you can always claim the Earth is flat, and try to make your argument by saying: if the Earth is round, how people from Australia don’t fall off of it? Another challenge may be covering the topic in just one documentary. This is why some documentaries look like a film made of dry facts and nothing else. Luckily for us, there are plenty of science documentaries out there that managed to find the right balance. For those of you who have Netflix subscription, some of them are featured on our list of 11 Best Science Documentaries on Netflix Streaming in 2011.
Now let us get back to the reason we are here. In order to get the list of 10 best science documentaries on Amazon Prime, we looked through science & technology category of documentaries available for Amazon Prime subscribers to stream. We checked the documentaries for their Amazon rating and the number of users who rated them (we didn’t consider documentaries that had 5 or fewer raters) and used it as our starting point. We then ranked them using these two criteria and used the average rating to form our list. Here they are:
10. Automatic Brain: The Magic of the Unconscious Mind
Amazon Rating: 4.2
Number of Raters: 209
According to this documentary, we perform 90% of our common daily activities completely unconsciously. It is as our brain is on autopilot. Following that premise, the documentary explores the effects that those unconscious actions have on lives of two people.
9. The Mystery of Dark Matter
Amazon Rating: 4.1
Number of Raters: 290
Dark matter is puzzling scientists for a long period and it looks like we are still not closer to discover its mysteries. This documentary explores the challenges scientists encounter in researching this subject.
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8. In the Shadow of the Moon
Amazon Rating: 4.7
Number of Raters: 82
The story about a man stepping onto the Moon has been told numerous times, but we are still intrigued by what stands as one of greatest achievements in man’s quest to explore space. If you want the story told by the people who were participants of those events, this is a documentary to watch.
7. Everything and Nothing: The Amazing Science of Empty Space
Amazon Rating: 4.8
Number of Raters: 29
Science, philosophy, history: all of that is mixed into this documentary, next onour list of best science documentaries on Amazon Prime that tries to conceive just how big space is. You will be surprised when you discover just how small we are compared to everything else.
6. The God Cells: A Fetal Stem Cell Journey
Amazon Rating: 5
Number of Raters: 8
This documentary takes a controversial and intriguing topic. It revolves around stem cell therapy and its research that’s been rapidly growing in the last two decades. The documentary also argues that this may be a revolution in the field of medicine.
5. The Fantastical World of Hormones
Amazon Rating: 4.2
Number of Raters: 306
We all know about hormones, but do we really know what they do or how important they are? This documentary, that ranked 5th on our list of best science documentaries on Amazon Prime will reveal everything you wanted to know about hormones and show you just how big is their impact on our body.
4. First Footprints: The Original Pioneers of All Humankind
Amazon Rating: 4.4
Number of Raters: 280
Are you ready for more history on our list of 10 best science documentaries on Amazon Prime? This documentary will take you 50,000 years in the past in an attempt to discover the origins of modern humans. It focuses on the ancestors of Aboriginal and explores their lifestyle.
3. Burzynski: Cancer Cure Cover Up
Amazon Rating: 4.7
Number of Raters: 200
This documentary, next in line on our list of best science documentaries on Amazon Prime, tells the story of Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, a biochemist who claims that he had discovered a unique treatment that cures cancer. Since the documentary is leaning towards this claim being justified, we have to warn you that there are a lot of controversies related to Dr. Burzynski and the treatment itself. He never got FDA approval and his actions were labeled as unlawful. Also, the costs of the treatments are high and there hasn’t been a solid scientific proof of this treatment actually being effective.
2. The Brain that Changes Itself
Amazon Rating: 4.5
Number of Raters: 367
Scientists have discovered that our brain is more capable and complex than we thought and that it can adapt or even change in order to overcome difficulties. In this documentary, you will have the chance to hear the stories of people who experienced that first hand.
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1. Hubble’s Enduring Legacy
Amazon Rating: 4.4
Number of Raters: 685
For the end of our list of 10 best science documentaries on Amazon Prime, we will once again shift our attention to space. It isn’t strange that there are so many science documentaries exploring this subject. It is one of the rare things that we humans are not even close to figuring out. What may have got us a bit closer is Hubble Space Telescope. It is credited for numerous breakthroughs in space research and produced some of the most amazing photos of the universe. This documentary will enable you to see those images but also find out the importance of Hubble’s operations.
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