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9 documentaries about Chernobyl | Cinema blend

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9 documentaries about Chernobyl | Cinema blend

The April 26, 1986 explosion of reactor number 4 at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant is often considered the worst nuclear disaster in history, a disaster that has been discussed countless times. Over the years, the disaster has led to a relatively accurate HBO seriesbeen referred to Stranger thingsand been the source of all kinds great and highly rated documentaries which describes the tragic event and what happened in the area of northern Ukraine devastated by the catastrophic episode.

If you ever wanted to know more about the incident and its consequences, you’ve come to the right place. We have put together a list of documentaries about Chernobyl that are eye-opening, to say the least. Here you will find informative and entertaining chronicles of the earth-shattering tragedy.

A Soviet Worker in the Aftermath of the Chernobyl Incident: The Lost Tapes — (Image credit: HBO)

Chernobyl: The Lost Tires (2022)

The director: James Jones
Documentary Length: 97 minutes
What it’s about: One of the best documentaries about Max, a collection of archival and largely never-before-seen footage captured in the immediate aftermath of the Chernobyl disaster, summarizing the initial response and consequences of the devastating accident.
Why it’s worth checking out: Although stark and dramatic, there is beauty in its simplicity Chernobyl: The Lost Tires with its stunning and sometimes disturbing images and stories from those who witnessed the tragic events with their own eyes.

Mourners at a monument to the Chernobyl victims in Chernobyl: hour after hour

(Image credit: 1091 images)

Chernobyl: hour by hour (2020)

The director: Piers Garland
Documentary Length: 51 minutes
What it’s about: An hour-by-hour (and later year-by-year) chronicle of the Chernobyl accident, combining archive footage and dramatized scenes to show how everything happened on April 26, 1986.
Why it’s worth checking out: Chernobyl: hour after hour is not the most in-depth documentary on the subject, but this historical documentary does a good job of providing a brief overview of the disaster and how it changed the world.

Memories of Pripyat in Chernobyl: secrets, lies and the untold stories

(Image credit: Science Channel)

Chernobyl: Secrets, Lies and the Untold Stories (2022)

The director: Andy Webb
Documentary Length: 85 minutes
What it’s about: Following the release of declassified documents about the Chernobyl disaster, long untold stories are being examined in detail as the world tries to understand the incident and how it could have been prevented.
Why it’s worth checking out: Chernobyl: secrets, lies and the untold stories is a fast-paced and enlightening experience that provides a lot of information about the infamous accident, including testimonies from survivors who have long been left out of the official record.

The construction of the massive structure in Building Chernobyl's MegaTomb

(Image credit: PBS)

Building the Chernobyl MegaTomb (2017)

The director: Martin Gorst
Documentary Length: 52 minutes
What it’s about: During the aftermath of the Chernobyl explosion, a huge sarcophagus was built around the ruins of the nuclear power plant to block out the deadly radiation. Decades later, with the structure in a state of disrepair, engineers race to build a stronger and more advanced ‘MegaTomb’.
Why it’s worth checking out: If you want to better understand the severity of the accident decades after the fact, and how teams of engineers have continued to work to protect the country and its people, this fascinating episode of PBS’s NOVA it will work.

Fedor Alexandrovich in The Russian Woodpecker

(Image credit: Kino Lorber & Espresso Media)

The Russian Woodpecker: Chernobyl and War in Ukraine (2015)

The director: Chad Gracia
Documentary Length: 81 minutes
What it’s about: A documentary that follows Fedor Alexandrovich in his attempt to better understand the Chernobyl disaster and its supposed connections to the Soviet radio antenna over the horizon known as the Duga.
Why it’s worth checking out: The Russian Woodpecker: Chernobyl and War in Ukraine is both a documentary about the infamous disaster and the rising tensions between Russia and Ukraine in the mid-2010s.

Horses in Ukraine in life after Chernobyl

(Image credit: Discovery Channel)

Life after Chernobyl (2016)

The director: Chiara Bellati
Documentary Length: 42 minutes
What it’s about: Although the area around the Chernobyl nuclear power plant has been largely abandoned by humans for almost forty years, the animal population thrives in the dangerous and radiant landscape.
Why it’s worth checking out: Life after Chernobylalthough it is about the disaster is very much a beautiful nature documentary in that it shows the resilience of life, even in one of the most dangerous locations on Earth.

(Image credit: EM Productions)

Chernobyl: the invisible enemy (2021)

The director: Roxane Schlumberger
Documentary Length: 57 minutes
What it’s about: A collection of archival and drone footage from the Exclusion Zone in modern times paints a picture of the real-life consequences of the Chernobyl disaster, both for the local population and for the once vibrant landscape.
Why it’s worth checking out: If you would like a short documentary to help you better understand the severity of the accident, Chernobyl: the invisible enemyone of the best streaming titles on Pluto TVit will work.

(Image credit: Journeyman Films)

The Babushkas of Chernobyl

The director: Anne Bogart, Holly Morris
Documentary Length: 70 minutes
What it’s about: After the Chernobyl disaster, a group of women refuse to leave the so-called “Dead Zone”, where their families have lived for centuries.
Why it’s worth checking out: While so many other documentaries talk about the death, destruction and disaster of the accident, The Babushkas of Chernobyl takes a more uplifting tone with its story about a group of tough old ladies who refuse to back down.

(Image credit: vice)

Hunting the radioactive beasts of Chernobyl

The director: Shane Smith
Documentary Length: 9 minutes
What it’s about: Vice co-founder Shane Smith travels to the site of the Chernobyl disaster to take part in a rather unique hunting trip where he is told he will encounter radioactive boars.
Why it’s worth checking out: Long before Vice launched news shows on HBO and later Showtime, the media company had a Vice guide to travel series that includes a 2007 episode titled “Hunting Radioactive Beasts of Chernobyl,” a fun yet informative short documentary about hunting in the Exclusion Zone and drinking a lot of alcohol.

(Image credit: HBO)

BONUS: Chernobyl (2019)

The director: Johan Renck
Number of episodes: 5
What it’s about: HBO’s landmark limited series explores the Chernobyl disaster like never before with an emotionally gripping and intense docudrama about one of the Soviet Union’s darkest days.
Why it’s worth checking out: Although Chernobyl is not technically a documentary, the Emmy Award-winning series is something that anyone interested in the subject should watch at least once.

This is just a small part of the great Chernobyl documentaries that can be found on some of the websites best streaming servicesbut this is a great place to start.