10. Best American Documentaries 1
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- DirectorFrank CapraAnatole LitvakStarsWalter HustonVictor Bulwer-LyttonKai-Shek ChiangThe official World War II US Government film statement defining the various enemies of the Allies and why they must be fought.
- DirectorJohn BoultingRoy BoultingFrank CapraStarsLeo GennBurgess MeredithBernard MilesDocumentary made by the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
- DirectorGarson KaninCarol ReedStarsDwight D. EisenhowerLeslie BanksWinston ChurchillA documentary account of the allied invasion of Europe during World War II compiled from the footage shot by nearly 1400 cameramen.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsJoseph GoebbelsHermann GöringRudolf HessProduced and presented as evidence at the Nuremberg war crimes trial of Hermann Göring and twenty other Nazi leaders.
- DirectorLionel RogosinStarsRay SalyerGorman HendricksFrank MatthewsBy focusing on the lives of three down-and-out alcoholic transients, the film creates a wrenching portrait of the tragic hopelessness of life on "The Bowery" in New York City.
- DirectorRobert DrewStarsRobert DrewHubert H. HumphreyMuriel Buck HumphreyCinéma vérité feature that follows presidential hopefuls John F. Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey during the 1960 Wisconsin primary.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsMarilyn MonroeRock HudsonLauren BacallAnthology of excerpts from Marilyn Monroe's 20th Century-Fox output, narrated by Rock Hudson, and created as a cinematic eulogy to Monroe, who died the year before.
- DirectorRobert DrewStarsJames LipscombJohn F. KennedyGeorge WallaceGovernor George Wallace will not let two black students into an Alabama school, against the wishes of President Kennedy. Loud shouts come from both sides of the issue as JFK stands by his decisions.
- DirectorEmile de AntonioStarsJohn G. AdamsRoy M. CohnRay JenkinsAn unfiltered, unflinching document of the notorious 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, compiled entirely from raw TV footage (with no narration, music, or added scenes).
- DirectorBruce BrownStarsRobert AugustMichael HynsonLord James BlearsThe crown jewel to ten years of Bruce Brown surfing documentaries. Brown follows two young surfers around the world in search of the perfect wave, and ends up finding quite a few in addition to some colorful local characters.
- DirectorPaul MorrisseyAndy WarholStarsBrigid BerlinRandy BorscheidtChristian PäffgenLacking a formal narrative, Warhol's art house classic follows various residents of the Chelsea Hotel in 1966 New York City, presented in a split screen with a single audio track in conjunction with one side of screen.
- DirectorBarbara ConnellBill JerseyStarsErnie ChambersRay CristensenBill YoungdahlDuring the civil rights movement, a Lutheran minister in Nebraska sets out to integrate his church.
- DirectorShirley ClarkeStarsJason HollidayShirley ClarkeCarl LeeBlack gay prostitute Jason Holliday is rigorously interviewed on his story and character, revealing nuanced truths about life and art.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanDocumentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.
- DirectorWilliam GreavesStarsPatricia Ree GilbertDon FellowsJonathan GordonFilmmaker William Greaves auditioned acting students for a fictional drama, while simultaneously shooting the behind-the-scenes drama taking place.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanDocumentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside Northeast High School as a fly on the wall to observe the teachers and how they interact with the students.
- DirectorEmile de AntonioStarsHarry S. AshmoreDaniel BerriganJoseph ButtingerA documentary chronicling the background to, and history of, the Vietnam War.
- 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.
- DirectorJonas MekasStarsTimothy LearyEd EmshwillerFranz FuenstlerA chronogical about life including self, family, friend, couple and idol in 6 reels
- DirectorSidney LumetJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsHarry BelafonteRuby DeeBen GazzaraFollows Martin Luther King's life and decades-long civil rights activism.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanFrederick Wiseman observes basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky in the Vietnam era. Recruits are seen receiving instructions on everything from brushing their teeth to killing enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat.
- DirectorJim KleinJulia ReichertStarsJessica JonesFocuses on the socialization of American females. It tells the story of six women and girls. The first film to emerge from the modern women's movement in the early 1970s.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsJohn FordPeter BogdanovichOrson WellesA documentary on the life and films of director John Ford.
- 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.
- DirectorLarry WardStarsBothwell BrowneCharles ChaplinLillian Gish"The Moving Picture Boys in the Great War" (1975) is a compilation documentary narrated by Lowell Thomas, illustrating changing attitudes toward the war and its participants, as well as toward the movies themselves. Winner, Gold Medal, 1975 Chicago Film Festival.
- 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.
- DirectorThom AndersenFay AndersenMorgan FisherStarsDean StockwellEadweard MuybridgeA documentary film about the English photographer Eadweard Muybridge.
- 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.
- DirectorConnie FieldStarsLola WeixelMargaret WrightLyn ChildsDocumentary about women working in factories during WWII and resultant loss of jobs after the war. Five women tell their stories. Fascinating clips of racist, sexist propaganda of the era.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsWalter HustonBenjamin SimonA group of mentally traumatized veteran patients is followed as they go through psychiatric treatment.
- DirectorLes BlankStarsAnzonini Del PuertoKathleen BendelHarrod BlankA documentary on the history of garlic. Blank interviews chefs, garlic lovers, and historians about the their love of the 'stinking rose.'
- DirectorLaurence JarvikStarsPeter BergsonEmanuel CellerNahum GoldmanA documentary about America's knowledge of the Holocaust during the Second World War dares to ask, ""Could the Jews of Europe have been saved?"
- DirectorArnold SchwartzmanStarsElizabeth TaylorOrson WellesSimon WiesenthalOrson Welles and Elizabeth Taylor compassionately narrate this harrowing documentary about Jewish persecution in Nazi Germany, which soon turned into a notoriously industrious plan to wipe them from existence.
- 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.
- DirectorGodfrey ReggioStarsEdward AsnerPat BenatarJerry BrownA collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology.
- DirectorGreta SchillerRobert RosenbergStarsRita Mae BrownBruce NugentHenry OtisThe history of the Gay and Lesbian community before the Stonewall riots began the major gay rights movement.
- DirectorMartin BellStarsAnnieEddieAntoineGritty documentary that looks at the lives of teenagers living on the streets of Seattle.
- DirectorRob EpsteinStarsHarvey FiersteinHarvey MilkAnne KronenbergA documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor.
- DirectorRoss McElweeStarsRoss McElweeDede McElweeRoss McElwee Jr.Documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee sets out to make a movie about Union General Sherman's March to the Sea towards the end of the American Civil War, but keeps getting sidetracked by his own love life.
- 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.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanStarsLeVar BurtonFrancis Ford CoppolaLuciano PavarottiFrederick Wiseman chronicles everything and everyone that appears in the world's most famed park.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorJoshua WaletzkyStarsPhilip BoscoElmer BernsteinClaudine BouchéA documentary that explores the work of a composer who created music for over 50 films, collaborating with such diverse directors as Orson Welles, Nicholas Ray, and Martin Scorsese.
- DirectorArnold GlassmanTodd McCarthyStuart SamuelsStarsConrad L. HallJohn BaileyVilmos ZsigmondCameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography, illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from The Birth of a Nation (1915) to Do the Right Thing (1989).
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsPatrick DisantoA collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life and religion.
- 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.
- DirectorChris HegedusD.A. PennebakerStarsJames CarvilleGeorge StephanopoulosHeather BeckelA documentary of the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign and the organization who ran it.
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsRobert CrumbAline Kominsky-CrumbCharles CrumbAn intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.
- 1995–19983h 45m8.5 (5.1K)TV EpisodeDirectorMartin ScorseseMichael Henry WilsonStarsMartin ScorseseAllison AndersKathryn BigelowMartin Scorsese describes his initial and growing obsession with films from the 1940s and 50s as the art form developed and grew with clips from classics and cult classics.
- DirectorRob EpsteinJeffrey FriedmanStarsLily TomlinTony CurtisSusie BrightA documentary surveying the various Hollywood screen depictions of homosexuals and the attitudes behind them throughout the history of North American film.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsTony BrooksDiana DavisTerry WoodA horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanStarsHelen FinnerRenowned documentarian Frederick Wiseman takes an intimate and nuanced look at the Ida B. Wells housing project in the south side of Chicago, Illinois.
- DirectorChris HegedusD.A. PennebakerStarsPhilip BoscoCarol BurnettJane ConnellA chronicle of the ups and downs that occur during the rehearsals and previews process of Ken Ludwig's Broadway comedy "Moon Over Buffalo".
- 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.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsFred A. Leuchter Jr.Robert Jan Van PeltDavid IrvingA cinematic portrait of the life and career of the infamous American execution device designer and holocaust denier.
- DirectorChuck WorkmanStarsJohnny DeppJohn TurturroDennis HopperTraces the Beats from Allen Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac's meeting in 1944 at Columbia University to the deaths of Ginsberg and William S.
- 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.
- DirectorCharles KiselyakStarsSeymour CasselCarol KaneJon VoightA look at the life, times, and art of independent film pioneer John Cassavetes through interviews with his family, friends, and admirers of his work.
- DirectorRob EpsteinJeffrey FriedmanStarsRupert EverettKlaus MüllerKarl GorathHistorian Klaus Müller interviews survivors of the Nazi persecution of homosexuals because of the German Penal Code of 1871, Paragraph 175.
- DirectorMark Jonathan HarrisStarsJudi DenchLory CahnKurt FuchelThe secret smuggling of 9,300 Jewish children out of Nazi Germany in the late 1930s.
- DirectorChris HegedusJehane NoujaimStarsKaleil Isaza TuzmanTom HermanKenneth AustinTraces the birth and failure of new media company govWorks.com.
- DirectorJan HarlanStarsKatharina KubrickMalcolm McDowellStanley KubrickThe career and life of Stanley Kubrick is explored through pictures, clips from his films, his old home movies, comments from his colleagues and a narration by Tom Cruise.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanRenowned documentarian Frederick Wiseman turns his observational camera on The Spring, a Florida shelter for battered women and children. For one-hundred and ninety-six minutes, Wiseman profiles the women and children that have been victim to domestic violence, showing them endure therapeutic, thoughtful lectures and learn from the tireless social workers employed at The Spring that their sanctuary has been found.
- DirectorChristian FreiStarsJames NachtweyChristiane AmanpourHans-Hermann KlareDocumentary about war photographer James Nachtwey, considered by many the greatest war photographer ever.
- DirectorNanette BursteinBrett MorgenStarsRobert EvansEddie AlbertPeter BartDocumentary about legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans (the film shares the same name as Evans's famous 1994 autobiography).
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreCharlton HestonMarilyn MansonFilmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
- DirectorMalcolm ClarkeStuart SenderStarsIan HolmRobert LantzEleonore HertzbergDocumentary about Holocaust victim Kurt Gerron.
- 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.
- 20031h 59mTV-147.5 (3.1K)DirectorKenneth BowserStarsMartin ScorseseDennis HopperPeter BogdanovichA look at 1970s Hollywood when it was known as New Hollywood, and the director was the star of the movie.
- DirectorTed DemmeRichard LaGraveneseStarsFrancis Ford CoppolaWilliam FriedkinRobert AltmanA documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.
- DirectorNick BroomfieldJoan ChurchillStarsAileen WuornosNick BroomfieldTerry Humphreys-SlayNick Broomfield's second documentary about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, focusing on her mental state on death row.
- 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.
- DirectorDana BrownStarsLaird HamiltonLayne BeachleyDan MalloySurfers and secret spots from around the world are profiled in this documentary.
- DirectorMark AchbarJennifer AbbottStarsMikela JayRob BeckwermertChristopher GoraDocumentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance.
- DirectorStacy PeraltaStarsLaird HamiltonDarrick DoernerDave KalamaDocumentary detailing the origins and history of surf culture.
- DirectorElliot BerlinJoe FabStarsSandra RobertsDagmar Schroeder-HildebrandTom BosleyAs a part of their study of the Holocaust, the children of the Whitwell, TN Middle School try to collect 6 million paper clips representing the 6 million Jews killed by the Nazis, and grows to include millions of others killed.
- DirectorDaniel AnkerStarsGene HackmanNorma BarzmanJack BennyThe history of Hollywood's handling of the Nazis and its later depiction of the Holocaust they perpetrated.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreGeorge W. BushBen AffleckMichael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11 and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
- DirectorRobert GreenwaldStarsDavid AlbrightRobert BaerMilton BeardenRobert Greenwald's gripping and controversial documentary, detailing the administration's march to war, as seen through the eyes of countless experts. 2004 National Theatrical Release.
- DirectorMichael EpsteinStarsSteven BachHal AshbySandy Berke JordanAn inside look at the hectic production of Heaven's Gate (1980), the media circus that turned it into a synonym for movie flop and how it added to the tectonic change that occurred in Hollywood film studios after it infamously flopped.
- DirectorWendy AppleStarsKathy BatesZach StaenbergJodie FosterDocumentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.
- DirectorChristian BauerStarsMichael HanrahanWerner AngressVictor BrombertHolocaust survivors share their story of fleeing to the United States, joining the US Army, training in Military Intelligence, and returning to Europe to end Nazism by using their linguistic abilities.
- DirectorMark WexlerStarsHaskell WexlerMark WexlerBilly CrystalThe son of acclaimed cinematographer Haskell Wexler confronts his complex father by turning the camera on him. What results is a portrait of a difficult genius and a son's path out of the shadow of a famous father.
- 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.
- DirectorDavid ZeigerStarsMichael AlaimoEdward AsnerJoe BangertNO! SIR! tells an almost entirely forgotten story of the military men and women who forced the U.S. government to end the Vietnam War
- 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.
- DirectorJoel EngardioTom ShepardStarsJason EdlingBy fighting for their right to live and worship as they choose, Jehovah's Witnesses won legal victories that protected civil liberties and free choice for all Americans. By refusing blood transfusions, but insisting on medical care, Jehovah's Witnesses risked their lives in pursuit of new bloodless technology now used on all types of patients. By resisting Hitler and his Nazi army, German Jehovah's Witnesses were sent to the concentration camps and became martyrs.
- DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsAl GoreBilly WestGeorge BushFilmmaker Davis Guggenheim follows Al Gore on the lecture circuit, as the former presidential candidate campaigns to raise public awareness of the dangers of global warming and calls for immediate action to curb its destructive effects on the environment.
- DirectorJon FauerStarsRemi AdefarasinRuss T. AlsobrookHoward A. Anderson III110 of the world's top cinematographers discuss the art of how and why films look the way they do.
- DirectorKirby DickStarsKirby DickKimberly PeirceDarren AronofskyKirby Dick's exposé about the American movie ratings board.
- DirectorTony KayeStarsNoam ChomskyBill BairdFlip BenhamA graphic documentary on both sides of the abortion debate.
- DirectorBarbara KoppleCecilia PeckStarsNatalie MainesEmily StrayerMartie MaguireA documentary on the The Chicks (formerly the Dixie Chicks) in the wake of singer Natalie Maines' anti-George W. Bush statement at a 2003 concert.
- DirectorIan InabaStarsTaalam AceyJohn ConyersBob FitrakisA look at the career of U.S. Representative Cynthia McKinney from Georgia and the historical suppression of black voters in the United States.
- DirectorTom ThurmanStarsEd BradleyBob BraudisDouglas BrinkleyA documentary on the life and death of Hunter S. Thompson.
- DirectorHarry MosesStarsTeri HortonTod M. VolpeBen HellerIn this documentary, veteran filmmaker Harry Moses exposes the controversy in the world of high priced artwork. He paints a vivid picture of how art is bought and sold in America.
- DirectorRichard BergeBonni CohenNicole NewnhamStarsJoan AllenE. Randol SchoenbergMaria AltmannThe story of Nazi Germany's plundering of Europe's great works of art during World War II and Allied efforts to minimize the damage.