Great Documentaries
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- DirectorSteve JamesStarsWilliam GatesArthur AgeeEmma GatesA film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
- DirectorJeff FeuerzeigStarsDaniel JohnstonMabel JohnstonBill JohnstonDaniel Johnston, manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist is revealed in this portrait of madness, creativity and love.
- DirectorJosé PadilhaFelipe LacerdaStarsSandro do NascimentoRodrigo PimentelLuiz Eduardo SoaresOn June 12, 2000, a young man with a gun took the passengers aboard Bus 174 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hostage. This documentary examines the event itself, the resulting media frenzy, the police response, and the perpetrator's background.
- DirectorMark AchbarJennifer AbbottStarsMikela JayRob BeckwermertChristopher GoraDocumentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance.
- DirectorPeter DavisStarsTin ChanChau DiemNgo Dinh DiemA startling and courageous landmark documentary that unflinchingly confronted the United States' involvement in Vietnam at the height of the controversy that surrounded it.
- DirectorZana BriskiRoss KauffmanStarsKochiAvijit HalderShanti DasTwo documentary filmmakers chronicle their time in Sonagchi, Calcutta and the relationships they developed with children of prostitutes who work the city's notorious red light district.
- 1985– 3h 28mNot Rated8.4 (12K)TV EpisodeDirectorMartin ScorseseStarsBob DylanB.J. RolfzenDick KangasA chronicle of Bob Dylan's strange evolution between 1961 and 1966 from folk singer to protest singer to "voice of a generation" to rock star.
- DirectorSimon PummellSimon Pummell's epic movie tells the story of a human life, using found footage from the last 100 years of cinema, cut to a powerful score by Jonny Greenwood of Radiohead.
- DirectorD.A. PennebakerStarsBob DylanAlbert GrossmanBob NeuwirthDocumentary covering Bob Dylan's 1965 tour of England, which includes appearances by Joan Baez and Donovan.
- DirectorJames MarshStarsPhilippe PetitJean François HeckelJean-Louis BlondeauA look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century".
- DirectorAlbert MayslesDavid MayslesCharlotte ZwerinStarsPaul BrennanCharles McDevittJames BakerFour dogged door-to-door Bible salesmen travel from Boston to Florida on a seemingly futile quest to sell luxury editions of the Good Book to working-class Catholics.
- DirectorGuy MaddinStarsDarcy FehrAnn SavageLouis NeginFact, fantasy and memory are woven seamlessly together in this portrait of film-maker Guy Maddin's home town of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
- DirectorBanksyStarsBanksyMr. BrainwashSpace InvaderFollowing the style of some of the world's most prolific street artists, an amateur filmmaker makes a foray into the art world.
- DirectorChris MarkerStarsAmilcar CabralFlorence DelayArielle DombasleA woman narrates the contemplative writings of a seasoned world traveler, focusing on contemporary Japan.
- DirectorJoshua OppenheimerAnonymousChristine CynnStarsAnwar CongoHerman KotoSyamsul ArifinA documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsRobert McNamaraJohn F. KennedyFidel CastroThe story of America as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense under President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara.
- DirectorJehane NoujaimStarsAhmed HassanKhalid AbdallaMagdy AshourA group of Egyptian revolutionaries battle leaders and regimes, risking their lives to build a new society of conscience.
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsPatrick DisantoA collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life and religion.
- DirectorYael HersonskiStarsAlexander BeyerRüdiger VoglerHanna AvrutzkiA film about an unfinished film which portrays the people behind and before the camera in the Warsaw Ghetto, exposing the extent of the cinematic manipulation forever changing the way we look at historic images.
- DirectorDaniel DencikStarsPer Bak JensenJonas BergsøeBo ElberlingA grand and adventurous journey of discovery to the last white areas of the world map. But no matter how far we go and how hard we try to find answers, we ultimately meet ourselves and our own transience.
- DirectorChris MarkerStarsCatherine BelkhodjaKenji TokitsuNagisa ÔshimaThe French computer programmer Laura inherits the task of making a computer game of the Battle of Okinawa during World War II. She searches the internet for information on the battle, and interviews Japanese experts and witnesses. The extraordinary circumstances of the Battle of Okinawa lead Laura to reflect deeply on her own life and humanity in general, particularly the influence of history and memories.
- DirectorDavid GelbStarsJiro OnoYoshikazu OnoMasuhiro YamamotoA documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his renowned Tokyo restaurant, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu.
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsRobert CrumbAline Kominsky-CrumbCharles CrumbAn intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.
- DirectorLaura PoitrasStarsEdward SnowdenGlenn GreenwaldWilliam BinneyA documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden.
- DirectorMichel GondryStarsNoam ChomskyMichel GondryRichard FeynmanA series of interviews featuring linguist, philosopher and activist Noam Chomsky done in hand-drawn animation.
- DirectorMark AchbarPeter WintonickStarsNoam ChomskyMark AchbarKarin Aguilar-San JuanA film about the noted American linguist/political dissident and his warning about corporate media's role in modern propaganda.
- DirectorEdgar MorinJean RouchStarsAngeloNadine BallotCatherineA documentary about the everyday lives of ordinary Parisians, done in the style of cinéma vérité.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanDocumentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsAbilio FernándezSalvador AllendeThe chronicle of the political tension in Chile in 1973 and of the violent counter revolution against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende.
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsSalvador AllendeCarlos AltamiranoFernando CastilloFilmmaker Patricio Guzmán tracks the deterioration of Salvador Allende's position following the attempted coup d'état of 29 June 1973, and analyzes the 10 weeks before Augusto Pinochet's CIA-backed seizure of power.
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsSalvador AllendeAbilio FernándezErnesto MalbranThis film investigates the factory worker's response to the insurrection, as well as Chile's socialist aspirations for the future. The camera captures the optimism in the industrial working class before Pinochet's US-backed coup d'état.
- DirectorEvgeny AfineevskyStarsHis Beatitude SviatoslavSaid IsmagilovBishop AgapitA documentary on the unrest in Ukraine during 2013 and 2014, as student demonstrations supporting European integration grew into a violent revolution calling for the resignation of President Viktor F. Yanukovich.
- DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsGiuseppe RinaldiA documentary on China, concentrating mainly on the faces of the people, filmed in the areas they were allowed to visit. The 220-minute version consists of three parts. The first part, taken around Beijing, includes a cotton factory, older sections of the city, and a clinic where a Caesarean operation is performed using acupuncture. The middle part visits the Red Flag canal and a collective farm in Henan, as well as the old city of Suzhou. The final part shows the port and industries of Shanghai and ends with a stage presentation by Chinese acrobats.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsDavid SangerEmad KiyaeiEric ChienA documentary focused on Stuxnet, a piece of self-replicating computer malware that the U.S. and Israel unleashed to destroy a key part of an Iranian nuclear facility, and which ultimately spread beyond its intended target.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsAlex GibneyTerry KohutGary SmithAlex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all the way to the Vatican.
- DirectorAva DuVernayStarsMelina AbdullahMichelle AlexanderCory BookerAn in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation's history of racial inequality.
- DirectorCoco SchrijberStarsEddie AdamsMichael HerrVeterans of the Vietnam War tell about their experiences. The disasters but also the glorious moments of war. The central figure in the documentary is the scenario writer of Full Metal Jacket, Michael Herr. The veterans describe how it felt to kill for the first time and how those feelings still hunt them.
- DirectorFax BahrGeorge HickenlooperEleanor CoppolaStarsDennis HopperMartin SheenMarlon BrandoDocumentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.
- DirectorKeith MaitlandStarsMonty MuirViolett BeaneCole Bee WilsonAnimation, testimony, and archival footage combine to relate the events of August 1, 1966 when a gunman opened fire from the University of Texas clock tower, killing 16 people.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardJoris IvensWilliam KleinStarsAnne BellecKaren BlanguernonFidel CastroIn seven different segments, Godard, Klein, Lelouch, Marker, Resnais, and Varda show their sympathy and support for the North Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War.
- StarsLouis MalleThomas Frederick HowardRajani Desai"Phantom India" is regarded as the crowning achievement of Louis Malle's career.
- DirectorYang ZhangStarsTsring ChodronTsewang DolkarJiangcuo SebaA group of Tibetans make a 1200 kilometer pilgrimage to Lasa.
- DirectorEmad BurnatGuy DavidiStarsEmad BurnatSoraya BurnatMohammed BurnatA documentary on a Palestinian farmer's chronicle of his nonviolent resistance to the actions of the Israeli army.
- DirectorJehane NoujaimStarsSamir KhaderJosh RushingGeorge W. BushA documentary on perception of the United States's war with Iraq, with an emphasis on Al Jazeera's coverage.
- DirectorGianfranco RosiStarsSamuele PucilloMattias CucinaSamuele CaruanaCapturing life on the Italian island of Lampedusa, a frontline in the European migrant crisis.
- DirectorRaoul PeckStarsSamuel L. JacksonJames BaldwinMartin Luther KingWriter James Baldwin tells the story of race in modern America with his unfinished novel, Remember This House.
- DirectorTony GatlifStarsLa CaitaThe journey of the Romany people told through musicians and dancers of India, Egypt, Turkey, Romania, Hungary, Slovakia, France, and Spain.
- DirectorAlexander NanauStarsDan Alexandru CondreaLiviu IoluRazvan LutacDirector Alexander Nanau follows a crack team of investigators at the Romanian newspaper Gazeta Sporturilor as they try to uncover a vast health-care fraud that enriched moguls and politicians and led to the deaths of innocent citizens.