Great Documentaries
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31 titles
- DirectorJeff FeuerzeigStarsDaniel JohnstonMabel JohnstonBill JohnstonDaniel Johnston, manic-depressive genius singer/songwriter/artist is revealed in this portrait of madness, creativity and love.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreCharlton HestonMarilyn MansonFilmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
- DirectorEugene JareckiStarsGore VidalJohn McCainKen AdelmanIs American foreign policy dominated by the idea of military supremacy? Has the military become too important in American life? Jarecki's shrewd and intelligent polemic would seem to give an affirmative answer to each of these questions.
- DirectorAsif KapadiaStarsAyrton SennaReginaldo LemeJohn BisignanoA documentary on Brazilian Formula One racing driver Ayrton Senna, who won the F1 world championship three times before his death at age 34.
- DirectorSeth GordonStarsSteve WiebeBilly MitchellMark AlpigerDie-hard gamers compete to break world records on classic arcade games.
- 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".
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreRoger B. SmithRhonda BrittonAfter General Motors closes its factory in Flint, Michigan, eliminating 35,000 jobs, filmmaker Michael Moore undertakes a quixotic quest to interview General Motors' chairman, Roger B. Smith.
- 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.
- DirectorChris HegedusD.A. PennebakerStarsJames CarvilleGeorge StephanopoulosHeather BeckelA documentary of the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign and the organization who ran it.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorJulien TempleStarsPaul CookSteve JonesJohn LydonA film about the career of the notorious punk rock band, the Sex Pistols.
- DirectorKurt KuenneStarsKurt KuenneAndrew BagbyDavid BagbyA filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.
- DirectorLeon GastStarsMuhammad AliGeorge ForemanDon KingBoxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.
- DirectorBennett MillerStarsTimothy 'Speed' LevitchTimothy "Speed" Levitch, an eccentric New York City tour bus guide, takes tourists around the island of Manhattan and shares an archive of beautifully distorted information about the city.
- DirectorD.A. PennebakerStarsBob DylanAlbert GrossmanBob NeuwirthDocumentary covering Bob Dylan's 1965 tour of England, which includes appearances by Joan Baez and Donovan.
- DirectorEugene JareckiStarsEugene JareckiDavid SimonShanequa BenitezFrom the dealer to the narcotics officer, the inmate to the federal judge, a penetrating look inside America's criminal justice system, revealing the profound human rights implications of U.S. drug policy.
- DirectorGabriela CowperthwaiteStarsTilikumDave DuffusSamantha BergA documentary following the controversial captivity of killer whales, and its dangers for both humans and whales.
- DirectorCharles FergusonStarsCampbell ScottGerald BurkeAli FadhilA comprehensive look at the Bush Administration's conduct of the Iraq war and its occupation of the country.
- DirectorLeo De BoerA detailed and in-depth look at the early days of the Soviet Union's space program as told by cosmonauts themselves.
- DirectorMorgan SpurlockStarsMorgan SpurlockDaryl IsaacsChemeeka WalkerWhile examining the influence of the fast food industry, Morgan Spurlock personally explores the consequences on his health of a diet of solely McDonald's food for one month.
- DirectorMalik BendjelloulStarsRodriguezStephen 'Sugar' SegermanDennis CoffeyTwo South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.
- 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.
- DirectorBarbara KoppleStarsJohn L. LewisCarl HornNorman YarboroughA heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.
- DirectorEzra EdelmanStarsKareem Abdul-JabbarMike AlbaneseMuhammad AliA chronicle of the rise and fall of O.J. Simpson, whose high-profile murder trial exposed the extent of American racial tensions, revealing a fractured and divided nation.
- DirectorNicolas EntelStarsJorge Enrique AbelloPablo EscobarSebastian MarroquínNicolas Entel's searing documentary tells the story of Pablo Escobar -- Colombian drug kingpin, murderer and family man -- through the eyes of his son, Sebastian, as well as the sons of two of Escobar's most prominent victims.
- DirectorRick CharnoskiCoan NicholsStarsChloë SevignyJamie AffAronOn one level Deathbowl to Downtown is about street skating, but it's also an overview of skateboarding's shift from the parks and pools of the 70s, to the ramp skating in the 80s, to the street ascendancy of the 1990s and beyond. An entertaining, thought provoking take on why the action on New York's hectic streets represents skateboarding to millions of people worldwide.
- DirectorTiller RussellStarsLudwig FainbergJuan AlmeidaNelson YesterIn the early 1990s, three friends set out to hustle the Russian mob, the Cali cartel and the DEA for the score of a lifetime.
- DirectorJennie LivingstonStarsBrooke XtravaganzaAndré ChristianDorian CoreyA chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.
- DirectorTony SilverStarsDemonKase 2Eric HazeA documentary that exposes the rich growing subculture of hip-hop that was developing in New York City in the late '70s and early '80s, specifically focusing on graffiti art and breakdancing.