Documentaries Poll 2024
Ballot for ICMForum.com. Ranked.
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- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsRandall AdamsDavid HarrisGus RoseA film that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas County, Texas.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsTimothy TreadwellAmie HuguenardWerner HerzogA devastating and heart-rending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzly bears in Alaska.
- DirectorWilliam GazeckiStarsDan GiffordJim CavanaughDick DeGuerinA reassessment of the tragedy at Waco that left 76 members of the Branch Davidian religious sect dead.
- DirectorThom AndersenStarsEncke KingBen AlexanderJim BackusA documentary on how Los Angeles has been used and depicted in the movies.
- DirectorChristopher WilchaStarsChristopher WilchaMarie CapozziRick HuntAn NYU philosophy grad struggles to maintain artistic and personal integrity as a production manager for Columbia House.
- DirectorJayne LoaderKevin RaffertyPierce RaffertyStarsPaul TibbetsHarry S. TrumanW.H.P. BlandyDisturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.
- 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.
- DirectorAngela ChristliebStephen KijakStarsJack AngstreichEric ChadbourneBill HeidbrederThis documentary about the culture of intense cinephilia in New York City reveals the impassioned world of five obsessed movie buffs. The filmmakers expose this delightfully deranged cult by capturing the daily lives of its members. Interviews in movie houses, on the street and in the homes of the subjects tell the story of each individual. Many cannot hold a job, or choose not to. All of them have demoted the importance of the real world, giving all of their attention to the fantasy world of the movies. These human encyclopedias of cinema see two to five films a day, and from 600 to 2,000 films per year. Many have no physical sex lives, living instead in a world of romance with stars like James Dean or Audrey Hepburn. In Cinemania, Hollywood's biggest fans become the true stars. This is the story of their lives, their memories, their unbending habits and the films they love.
- DirectorJames MollStarsBill BaschMartin BaschRandolph BrahamIn late 1944, even as they faced imminent defeat, the Nazis expended enormous resources to kill or deport over 425,000 Jews during the "cleansing" of Hungary. This Oscar-winning documentary, executive produced by Steven Spielberg, focuses on the plight of five Hungarian Jews who survived imprisonment in Auschwitz.
- DirectorKurt KuenneStarsKurt KuenneAndrew BagbyDavid BagbyA filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.
- DirectorMichael WadleighStarsJoan BaezRichie HavensRoger DaltreyOscar-winning musical chronicle that brilliantly captures the three-day rock concert and celebration of peace and love that became a capstone for the Sixties.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsCompay SegundoIbrahim FerrerRubén GonzálezAging Cuban musicians whose talents had been virtually forgotten following Castro's takeover of Cuba, are brought out of retirement by Ry Cooder, who travelled to Havana in order to bring the musicians together, resulting in triumphant performances of extraordinary music, and resurrecting the musicians' careers.
- DirectorMark Jonathan HarrisStarsMorgan FreemanIsrael LauLivia ShacterThe story of the post World War II Jewish refugee situation from liberation to the establishment of the modern state of Israel.
- 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.
- DirectorAviva KempnerStarsReeve BrennerHank GreenbergWalter MatthauThe life and career of Hank Greenberg, the first major Jewish baseball star in the Major Leagues.
- DirectorMark Jonathan HarrisStarsJudi DenchLory CahnKurt FuchelThe secret smuggling of 9,300 Jewish children out of Nazi Germany in the late 1930s.
- DirectorSusan Warms DryfoosStarsJulie AndrewsLauren BacallCarol ChanningThe childhood, adolescence, and incredible adult years of Al Hirshfeld, celebrated creator of thousands of line drawings of famous people - many in the entertainment industry - over a span of more than sixty years.
- DirectorJudy IrvingStarsMark BittnerMaggie McCallIvan StormgartA homeless musician finds meaning to his life when he starts a friendship with dozens of parrots.
- DirectorDonna SchatzStarsMagda SchweitzerDan TongGary Tong
- DirectorAl PacinoStarsAl PacinoAlec BaldwinKevin SpaceyAl Pacino's deeply-felt rumination on Shakespeare's significance and relevance to the modern world through interviews and an in-depth analysis of "Richard III."
- DirectorSpike LeeStarsMaxine McNairWalter CronkiteChris McNairA documentary of the notorious racial terrorist bombing of an African American church during the Civil Rights Movement.
- DirectorPatrick MontgomeryStarsJohn LennonPaul McCartneyGeorge HarrisonThe history of the great British rock band.
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsRobert CrumbAline Kominsky-CrumbCharles CrumbAn intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.
- DirectorJeffrey BlitzStarsAngela ArenivarUbaldo ArenivarJorge ArenivarSpellbound follows eight teenagers on their quest to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee.
- DirectorAnat HalachmiStarsSubliminalTamer NafarYoav EliasiA documentary about two Israeli rap music performers, one Jewish (Kobi Shimoni, known as Subliminal) and the other Arab (Tamer Nafar, known as TN).
- DirectorDavid BreashearsStephen JudsonGreg MacGillivrayStarsLiam NeesonLhakpa DorjiDorje SherpaAn international team of climbers ascends Mt. Everest in the spring of 1996. The film depicts their lengthy preparations for the climb, their trek to the summit, and their successful return to Base Camp. It also shows many of the challenges the group faced, including avalanches, lack of oxygen, treacherous ice walls, and a deadly blizzard.
- DirectorOndi TimonerStarsAnton NewcombeCourtney Taylor-TaylorJoel GionA documentary on the once-promising American rock bands The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols, and the friendship/rivalry between their respective founders, Anton Newcombe and Courtney Taylor.
- DirectorErik Greenberg AnjouStarsSteve AuerbachAdam CaslowAlan DershowitzA look at the history of delicatessens in the United States.
- DirectorPatrick CreadonStarsWill ShortzKen BurnsJon StewartAn in-depth look at The New York Times' long-time crossword puzzle editor Will Shortz and his loyal fan base.
- DirectorEric ChaikinJulian PetrilloStarsJoe EdleyMatt GrahamMarlon HillA look at the obsessive world of competitive Scrabble.
- DirectorObie BenzJoshua WaletzkyStarsDavid ByrneSandra BernhardFrances FisherCelebrity confessions about their first sexual experiences.
- DirectorGary HustwitStarsManfred SchulzMassimo VignelliRick PoynorA documentary about typography, graphic design, and global visual culture.
- DirectorAndrew JareckiStarsArnold FriedmanJesse FriedmanDavid FriedmanDocumentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.
- DirectorMarcel OphülsStarsHelmut TausendMarcel VerdierAlexis GraveAn in-depth exploration of the various reactions by the French people to the Vichy government's acceptance of the German invasion.
- DirectorEllen HovdeAlbert MayslesDavid MayslesStarsEdith Bouvier BealeEdith 'Little Edie' Bouvier BealeBrooks HyersMeet a mother and daughter, high-society dropouts, reclusive cousins of Jackie O., managing to thrive together amid the decay and disorder of their East Hampton, NY, mansion, making for an eerily ramshackle echo of the American Camelot.
- DirectorChris HegedusJehane NoujaimStarsKaleil Isaza TuzmanTom HermanKenneth AustinTraces the birth and failure of new media company govWorks.com.
- DirectorLaura DunnThe residents along a 100-mile stretch of the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans in Louisiana have an unusually high cancer rate -- which may be connected to the 150 petrochemical factories which operate in the area.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsJohn BeardTim BeldenBarbara BoxerA documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.
- DirectorDon KempfJames D. SternStarsMichael JordanPhil JacksonDoug CollinsA documentary that follows Michael Jordan's basketball career, stint in baseball, and his last championship season with the Chicago Bulls in 1998.
- DirectorRaymond DepardonStarsMichèle Bernard-RequinThe proceedings of a Paris courtroom are the grist for this documentary. Drawn from over 200 appearances before the same female judge, the director chooses a dozen or so varied misdemeanor and civil hearings to highlight the subtle details of human behavior. In the process he draws attention to issues of guilt, innocence, policing and ethnicity in France.
- DirectorJeffrey JacobsStarsJohn Lowry DobsonJohn Dobson, an 89 year old with a white ponytail and knack for comedy, is the inventor of the Dobsonian telescope mount, which revolutionized astronomy by making large, inexpensive telescopes and deep space observing available to amateur astronomers around the world. A former Vedantan monk, he is a co-founder of Sidewalk Astronomers, an organization that encourages amateurs to share their telescopes and knowledge with the public. The film follows John as he tours the country, giving cosmology, astronomy, and telescope-making classes and features sequences on the Moon, sun, planets, galaxies, Big Bang Theory, and the nature of time and space. Illustrating our journey is actual footage and deep space photography shot from satellites, spacecraft, and the Hubble telescope Space-Telescope Institute.
- DirectorHeidi EwingRachel GradyStarsDevon BrownDarius ChambersEdward Bernard Green Jr.Twenty 12-year-old black boys from one of the most violent ghettos in Baltimore, Maryland, are taken 10,000 miles away to an experimental boarding school in rural Kenya, to try to take advantage of the educational opportunities they can't get in their own country.
- DirectorFrank L. AndersonBarry PoltermannStarsCharles Nelson ReillyIf, in 1940, you had a lobotomized aunt, an institutionalized father, a racist mother, and were the only gay kid on the block, what do you think the odds would be that you'd end up a Tony winner, a staple of television, and a generational icon? Enter "The Life Of Reilly". The cliché goes that truth is stranger than fiction. In this case, it is also funnier and more heartbreaking. Charles Nelson Reilly, famous for his game show innuendos and "X Files" guest appearances, takes us through his bizarre, star-studded, tragic, hilarious, and ultimately amazing life with a potent blend of tenderness and quick one-liners. "The Life Of Reilly" is an adaptation of Mr. Reilly's acclaimed one-man show and was photographed for the screen during Mr. Reilly's final two performances of his play in North Hollywood, California.
- DirectorTal InbarTwo men in suits shoot at the frightened crowd in a popular Tel Aviv cafe. No one escapes unharmed. All caught on security cameras, Closed Circuit deconstructs this event to give insight into the complex Israeli reality and the lasting trauma caused to those involved.
- DirectorThom ZimnyStarsMike AppelRoy BittanClarence ClemonsTakes us into the studio with Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band for the recording of their fourth album.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsPeter BogdanovichDick CavettFrank CapraDocumentary on the life and works of comic genius Buster Keaton, directed by Peter Bogdanovich.
- DirectorChris SmithStarsMark BorchardtMike SchankTom SchimmelsDocumentary about an aspiring filmmaker's attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.
- DirectorEilona ArielAyelet MenahemiStarsYaacov CohenMickey HalikaThis is a human story about people-wondering if they have used time to its fullest or if they could have done it any other way.
- DirectorMax LewkowiczStarsMarc AronsonMichael BernardiJerry BockThe origin story behind one of Broadway's most beloved musicals, Fiddler on The Roof, and its creative roots in early 1960s New York, when "tradition" was on the wane as gender roles, sexuality, race relations and religion were evolving.
- DirectorJustin FolkStarsAdam CarollaDennis PragerJordan B. PetersonNo Safe Spaces contends that identity politics and the suppression of free speech are spreading into every part of society and threatening to divide America.
- DirectorDave LaMattinaChad N. WalkerStarsCaroll SpinneyJim HensonFrank OzCaroll Spinney has been Sesame Street's Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch since 1969; at 78-years-old, he has no intention of stopping.
- DirectorPhil RosenthalStarsPhil RosenthalPeter BoyleStanislav DuzhnikovA documentary on Phil Rosenthal's experiences during the making of "Voroniny," the Russian-language version of "Everybody Loves Raymond".
- DirectorMevlut AkkayaRon FrankStarsRobert KleinJerry LewisSid CaesarThe birth of modern stand-up comedy began in the Catskill Mountains - a boot camp for the greatest generation of Jewish-American comedians.
- DirectorGeorge RatliffStarsAria AdlooAshley AdlooAmy AllredEach Halloween, youth members of Trinity Church, Texas construct a 'Hell House'; a modern-day fire-and-brimstone sermon, presented in the form of a haunted house, seen by over 10,000 visitors each year.
- DirectorVicky FunariJulia QueryStarsJulia QueryJaneSiobhan BrooksDocumentary look at the 1996-97 effort of the dancers and support staff at a San Francisco peep show, The Lusty Lady, to unionize. Angered by arbitrary and race-based wage policies, customers' surreptitious video cameras, and no paid sick days or holidays, the dancers get help from the Service Employees International local and enter protracted bargaining with the union-busting law firm that management hires. We see the women work, sort out their demands, and go through the difficulties of bargaining. The narrator is Julia Query, a dancer and stand-up comedian who is reluctant to tell her mother, a physician who works with prostitutes, that she strips.