Best Documentaries About Film/Film Icons
by MBroskie | created - 15 Nov 2018 | updated - 27 Dec 2018 | PublicIn progress & no particular order 11/14
- Instant Watch Options
- Genres
- Movies or TV
- IMDb Rating
- In Theaters
- Release Year
- Keywords
1. American Movie (1999)
R | 107 min | Documentary, Comedy
Documentary about an aspiring filmmaker's attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.
Director: Chris Smith | Stars: Mark Borchardt, Mike Schank, Tom Schimmels, Monica Borchardt
Votes: 19,355 | Gross: $1.16M
2. Burden of Dreams (1982)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary
A documentary following German auteur Werner Herzog as he deals with difficult actors, bad weather and getting a boat over a mountain, all in an effort to make his film Fitzcarraldo (1982).
Director: Les Blank | Stars: Werner Herzog, Klaus Kinski, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards
Votes: 8,142
3. They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)
TV-MA | 98 min | Documentary, Biography
In the final fifteen years of the life of legendary director Orson Welles, he pins his Hollywood comeback hopes on a film, The Other Side of the Wind (2018), in itself a film about an aging film director trying to finish his last great movie.
Director: Morgan Neville | Stars: Alan Cumming, Peter Bogdanovich, Oja Kodar, Orson Welles
Votes: 5,445
4. Overnight (2003)
R | 82 min | Documentary
A documentary on the rise and stumble of Troy Duffy, the bartender-cum-filmmaker who was swept up by Miramax's Harvey Weinstein to turn his script for The Boondock Saints into a feature film.
Directors: Tony Montana, Mark Brian Smith | Stars: Troy Duffy, Jeffrey Baxter, Chris Brinker, Jake Busey
Votes: 4,664
5. His Way (2011 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 87 min | Documentary
A look at the professional, political and personal life of legendary movie producer Jerry Weintraub featuring interviews with friends, family and colleagues.
Director: Douglas McGrath | Stars: Ellen Barkin, Barbara Bush, George Bush, James Caan
Votes: 434
6. Listen to Me Marlon (2015)
Unrated | 103 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentary that utilizes hundreds of hours of audio that Marlon Brando recorded over the course of his life to tell the screen legend's story.
Director: Stevan Riley | Stars: Marlon Brando, Stella Adler, Bernardo Bertolucci, Michael Borne
Votes: 7,923 | Gross: $0.43M
7. Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau (2014)
Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary, Adventure
A behind the scenes chronicle of how clash of vision, bad creative decisions, lack of interest and really bad weather plagued the disastrous production of the infamous The Island of Dr. Moreau (1996).
Director: David Gregory | Stars: Richard Stanley, Kier-La Janisse, Michael Gingold, Graham Humphreys
Votes: 4,414
8. Magician: The Astonishing Life and Work of Orson Welles (2014)
PG-13 | 91 min | Documentary, Biography
A look at the life and work of the great theatre, radio and film artist.
Director: Chuck Workman | Stars: Orson Welles, Simon Callow, Christopher Welles, Joanne Hill Styles
Votes: 974 | Gross: $0.02M
9. Filmworker (2017)
Not Rated | 94 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentary about how English actor Leon Vitali came to work as an assistant to American filmmaker Stanley Kubrick for over 30 years.
Director: Tony Zierra | Stars: Leon Vitali, Ryan O'Neal, Brian Capron, Mike Alfreds
Votes: 3,505 | Gross: $0.10M
10. Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009)
PG | 86 min | Documentary, Drama, History
The story of the Disney Renaissance, an incredibly prolific, successful and prestigious decade lasting from 1984 to 1994 that saw the fallen Walt Disney Animation Studios' unexpected progressive triumphant return to excellence.
Director: Don Hahn | Stars: Roy Edward Disney, John Lasseter, Michael Eisner, Don Hahn
Votes: 3,274 | Gross: $0.08M
11. S Is for Stanley (2015)
78 min | Documentary, Biography, Drama
S Is For Stanley is the story of Emilio D'Alessandro, Stanley Kubrick's personal driver. A Friendship that lasted through 30 years of their lives, helped create four cinema masterpieces, ... See full summary »
Director: Alex Infascelli | Stars: Emilio D'Alessandro, Alex Infascelli, Roberto Pedicini, Clive Riche
Votes: 1,944
12. The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? (2015)
Not Rated | 104 min | Documentary, Sci-Fi
A documentary about the proposed 1998 Superman Lives feature film that would have starred Nicolas Cage.
Director: Jon Schnepp | Stars: Jon Schnepp, Charlie Oliver, Aaron Blossom, Joey Romero
Votes: 4,708
13. Lost in La Mancha (2002)
R | 89 min | Documentary
Terry Gilliam's doomed attempt to get his film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018), off the ground.
Directors: Keith Fulton, Louis Pepe | Stars: Terry Gilliam, Johnny Depp, Jeff Bridges, Tony Grisoni
Votes: 11,999 | Gross: $0.73M
14. Stanley Kubrick's Boxes (2008 TV Movie)
48 min | Documentary, Biography, History
Jon Ronson is asked by the widow of Stanley Kubrick to investigate the contents of about a thousand boxes left by Kubrick, shown to contain materials reflecting the work Kubrick did after the release of Barry Lyndon (1975) in 1975.
Director: Jon Ronson | Stars: Jon Ronson, Anthony Frewin, Jan Harlan, Christiane Kubrick
Votes: 1,364
15. Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)
R | 96 min | Documentary
Documentary 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.
Directors: Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper, Eleanor Coppola | Stars: Dennis Hopper, Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, George Lucas
Votes: 23,242 | Gross: $1.32M
16. The Director and the Jedi (2018)
95 min | Documentary
An intimate documentary delving into Rian Johnson's process as he comes in as a director new to the Star Wars universe.
Director: Anthony Wonke | Stars: Rian Johnson, Ram Bergman, Steve Yedlin, Kathleen Kennedy
Votes: 1,121
17. Tales from the Script (2009)
Not Rated | 105 min | Documentary
War stories and life lessons from the industry's top writers.
Director: Peter Hanson | Stars: Allison Anders, Jane Anderson, Doug Atchison, John August
Votes: 1,543 | Gross: $0.01M
18. Becoming Mike Nichols (2016)
TV-14 | 72 min | Documentary
Filmmaker Mike Nichols sits down with theater director Jack O'Brien to discuss his personal life and professional work.
Director: Douglas McGrath | Stars: Ann-Margret, Anne Bancroft, Richard Burton, Leslie Caron
Votes: 628
19. The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling (2018 TV Movie)
TV-MA | 259 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
Judd Apatow presents an emotional two-part in-depth look at the life, career and complex internal struggles of his loving mentor, the influential stand-up comedian and actor Garry Shandling, based on Shandling's personal diaries.
Director: Judd Apatow | Stars: Garry Shandling, Judd Apatow, Kevin Nealon, Mike Shandling
Votes: 2,178
20. De Palma (2015)
R | 110 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentary about writer and director Brian De Palma.
Directors: Noah Baumbach, Jake Paltrow | Stars: Brian De Palma, Mark Hamill, Amy Irving, Kurt Russell
Votes: 6,206 | Gross: $0.16M
21. Becoming Bond (2017)
TV-MA | 95 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
A look at the troubled acting career of George Lazenby and his short-lived association with James Bond.
Director: Josh Greenbaum | Stars: George Lazenby, Josh Lawson, Kassandra Clementi, Jane Seymour
Votes: 3,224
22. Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (2017)
TV-MA | 94 min | Documentary
A behind-the-scenes look at how Jim Carrey adopted the persona of idiosyncratic comedian Andy Kaufman on the set of Man on the Moon (1999).
Director: Chris Smith | Stars: Jim Carrey, Danny DeVito, Milos Forman, Peter Bonerz
Votes: 27,992
23. Becoming Cary Grant (2017)
TV-PG | 85 min | Documentary, Biography
For the first time one of Hollywood's greatest stars tells his own story, in his own words. From a childhood of poverty to global fame, Cary Grant, the ultimate self-made star, explores his own screen image and what it took to create it.
Director: Mark Kidel | Stars: Mark Kidel, Cary Grant, Frank Sinatra, Judy Balaban
Votes: 1,123
24. Jodorowsky's Dune (2013)
PG-13 | 90 min | Documentary
The story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.
Director: Frank Pavich | Stars: Alejandro Jodorowsky, Michel Seydoux, H.R. Giger, Chris Foss
Votes: 27,596 | Gross: $0.65M
25. Full Tilt Boogie (1997)
R | 97 min | Documentary
A documentary about the production of From Dusk Till Dawn (1996) and the people who made it.
Director: Sarah Kelly | Stars: Rick Stribling, Ken Bondy, Amy Minda Cohen, Elizabeth Avellan
Votes: 2,912 | Gross: $0.01M
26. Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead (2015)
Not Rated | 98 min | Documentary, History
A look at the history of the American comedy publication and production company, National Lampoon, from its beginning in the 1970s to 2010, featuring rare and never-before-seen footage.
Director: Douglas Tirola | Stars: Danny Abelson, Judd Apatow, Kevin Bacon, Henry Beard
Votes: 2,553 | Gross: $0.06M
27. Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)
R | 106 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The history of the independent film company, The Cannon Film Group, Inc..
Director: Mark Hartley | Stars: Sam Firstenberg, David Paulsen, Luigi Cozzi, Menahem Golan
Votes: 5,994
28. Project Greenlight (2001–2023)
TV-MA | 30 min | Documentary, Reality-TV
The second season of Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's movie making reality series goes a different route when it's two professionals realizing their vision on screen instead of just one: writer and director.
Stars: Chris Moore, Jeff Balis, Ben Affleck, Pete Jones
Votes: 1,015
29. The Chair (2014)
TV-PG | 60 min | Documentary
Follows two first-time directors who are given the opportunity to direct separate films adapted from the same original screenplay.
Stars: Zachary Quinto, Neal Dodson, Shane Dawson, Josh Shader
Votes: 500
Tell Your Friends