Best Documentaries
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- 2010–8.8 (6)TV EpisodeDirectorAlain Ferrari
- 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.
- DirectorPatrick RotmanStarsMichèle Alliot-MarieClaude AllègreMartine AubryPart 1: The young wolf (1932-1981) Jacques Chirac was born in Paris on 29 November 1932. At the age of 18 he became a student at Sciences-Po, the prestigious French institute of political science. He then moved on to the equally renowned École Nationale de l'Administration, before working for Georges Pompidou at Matignon. On 5 March 1967 he was elected as MP for Corrèze and joined the government. A move that marked the beginning of an uninterrupted ministerial career. In 1974, Jacques Chirac torpedoed Jacques Chaban-Delmas' challenge for the French presidency and became prime minister under Valéry Giscard d'Estaing. But it rapidly became obvious that it was difficult for the two men to work together. In August1976, he resigned and created a new political party, the RPR, purpose-designed for conquering the Élysée Palace. Part 2: The old lion (1981-2006) Facing President François Mitterrand, Jacques Chirac embodied the opposition. In 1986, the right won the parliamentary elections and he became prime minister. After two years of stormy political cohabitation, François Mitterrand was re-elected in 1988. Swallowing his disappointment, Chirac set his political machine rolling once again. During the referendum on the Maastricht Treaty, he campaigned in favor, against the vast majority of his party. In March 1993, Chirac led the opposition to a crushing victory. Édouard Balladur became prime minister. In 1995, Jacques Chirac was elected French president: the fulfillment of thirty years of politics.
- DirectorPatrick Benquet
- DirectorMarie-Monique RobinStarsAnibal AcostaAlcides Lopez AufrancCarl BernardThe French army was very influential in how modern suppression of independence movements has been and is carried out. This documentary reveals why.
- DirectorBertrand TavernierStarsPatrick RotmanBertrand TavernierDocumentary on the French-Algerian conflict 1954-1962 which was never officially called a "war", including interviews with some of the survivors.
- DirectorClaude LanzmannStarsSimon SrebnikMichael PodchlebnikMotke ZaïdlClaude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors.
- DirectorHarun FarockiAndrei UjicaStarsIon CaramitruElena CeausescuNicolae CeausescuThis documentary uses news footage and amateur video to paint a vivid picture of Romania's 1989 revolution and the fall of dictator Nicolae Ceausescu.
- DirectorRobert J. FlahertyStarsColman 'Tiger' KingMaggie DirraneMichael DirraneIn this blend of documentary and fictional narrative from pioneering filmmaker Robert Flaherty, the everyday trials of life on Ireland's unforgiving Aran Islands are captured with attention to naturalistic beauty and historical detail.
- DirectorRobert J. FlahertyStarsAllakariallakAlice NevalingaCunayouIn this silent predecessor to the modern documentary, film-maker Robert J. Flaherty spends one year following the lives of Nanook and his family, Inuits living in the Arctic Circle.
- DirectorGeorges FranjuStarsGeorges HubertNicole LadmiralAlfred MacquartBucolic scenes from the outskirts of Paris are contrasted with stark footage from slaughterhouses.
- DirectorGhislain CloquetChris MarkerAlain ResnaisStarsJean NégroniFrançois MitterrandPope Pius XIIA documentary of black art.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsAbel JacquinAlexandre O'NeillA surrealist film, a pseudo-documentary portrait of Las Hurdes, a remote region of Spain where civilisation has barely developed, showing how the local peasants try to survive without even the most basic utilities and skills.
- DirectorRon FrickeStarsPatrick DisantoA collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life and religion.
- 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.
- StarsJohn HurtRoger MunnsA cinematic experience bringing you the most amazing human stories in the world. Humans and wildlife surviving in the most extreme environments on Earth
- DirectorFlorent MarcieIn 1996, during the first Chechnyan war, Florent Marcie, a young French director travels through Chechnya in the cold of winter to meet those "indomitable Chechens", a defiant nation in resistance.
- DirectorNicolas PhilibertStarsGeorges LopezAlizéAxel ThouveninA documentary portrait of a one-room school in rural France, where the students (ranging in age from 4 to 11) are educated by a single dedicated teacher.
- DirectorGerman DoinStarsSantiago MagariñosAmira AdreNicolás ValenzuelaThe forbidden education (Spanish title La Educación Prohibida) is an independent film released in 2012. It describes a variety of alternative education practices and unconventional schools in Latin America and Spain, and includes educational approaches such as popular culture, the Montessori system, progressive education the Valntorf education, at home teaching. It is the first film in Spanish funded by the public
- 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.
- DirectorSandrine BonnaireStarsSabine BonnaireSandrine BonnaireA sensitive portrait of Sabine Bonnaire, the autistic sister of the french actress Sandrine Bonnaire.
- DirectorMargot BenacerrafStarsJosé Ignacio CabrujasLaurent Terzieff"Araya" is an old natural salt mine located in a peninsula in northeastern Venezuela which was still, by 1959, being exploited manually five hundred years after its discovery by the Spanish. Margot Benacerraf captures in images, the life of the "salineros" and their archaic methods of work before their definite disappearance with the arrival of the industrial exploitation.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogScott RowlandStefan PashovFilm-maker Werner Herzog travels to the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, looking to capture the continent's beauty and investigate the characters living there.
- DirectorAgnès VardaStarsFrançois WertheimerAgnès VardaJean La PlancheVarda films and interviews gleaners in France in all forms, from those picking fields after the harvest to those scouring the dumpsters of Paris.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogRichard LopezMichael PerryConversations with death row inmate Michael Perry and those affected by his crime serve as an examination of why people - and the state - kill.
- DirectorChristophe de PonfillyStarsChristophe de PonfillyAhmad Shah MassoudMerabuddineThe friendship between Christophe de Ponfilly and Commander Massoud, a legendary figure of the Afghan resistance against the Soviet invader, goes back to the filmmaker's first film, "A Valley Against an Empire", made in 1981. Fifteen years later, weakened, isolated, betrayed by many of his own, the "Lion of Panshir" has not surrendered to his new and implacable enemies, the Taliban. While preparing his next offensive, he evokes his commitment and his fights, and bears witness to a history in which he has been one of the main actors for twenty years. At the same time, the director questions the role and power of the media, as well as his own approach as a filmmaker. Commander Massoud was killed in an attack in September 2001.
- DirectorJonathan NossiterStarsAlbiera AntinoriAllegra AntinoriLodovico AntinoriA documentary on the impact of globalization on the world's different wine regions.
- DirectorTerence DaviesStarsTerence DaviesGeorge HarrisonJack HawkinsA filmmaker looks at the history and transformation of his birthplace, Liverpool, England.
- DirectorMarcel OphülsStarsChristiane AmanpourPaul AmarSergio ApollonioWe follow Marcel Ophuls' two journeys to Sarajevo in 1993. He is starting a documentary about war correspondants. But this also becomes a reflexion about truth and life. The form consists in many interviews of mostly French and American journalists and reporters of television or newspapers.
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsSimon YatesJoe SimpsonBrendan MackeyThe true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsRobert CrumbAline Kominsky-CrumbCharles CrumbAn intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.
- 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.
- DirectorThomas RiedelsheimerStarsAndy GoldsworthyAnna GoldsworthyHolly GoldsworthyPortrait of Andy Goldsworthy, an artist whose specialty is ephemeral sculptures made from elements of nature.
- 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.
- DirectorJonathan CaouetteStarsJonathan CaouetteRenee LeblancAdolph DavisFilmmaker Jonathan Caouette's documentary on growing up with his schizophrenic mother -- a mixture of snapshots, Super-8 film, answering machine messages, video diaries, early short films, and more - culled from nineteen years of his life.
- DirectorChristian RouaudStarsLéon MailléPierre BurguièreChristiane BurguièreSeated in his office in Paris, one day of October 1971, Michel Debré, minister of the Defence declares: We choose the Larzac as it is a deprived land. With no prior dialogue, his decision to extend the military camp of the Larzac is made. The first reaction of the peasants is radical: "If they want our farms and lands, we'll leave them dead and we won't be the only dead around" He sets an unanimous wave of protestations and resistances; the beginning of an amazing struggle, that will last for ten years until the elections for Presidency of May 1981
- DirectorAnastasia LapsuiMarkku LehmuskallioStarsNekochako LapsuiParasi PuikoMihail NerkagiThe film depicts the arc of human life from cradle to the grave.
- DirectorChristian FreiStarsJames NachtweyChristiane AmanpourHans-Hermann KlareDocumentary about war photographer James Nachtwey, considered by many the greatest war photographer ever.
- DirectorPeter WatkinsStarsMichael AspelPeter GrahamDave BaldwinA docudrama depicting a hypothetical nuclear attack on Britain.
- DirectorPeter WatkinsStarsTony CosgroveOlivier Espitalier-NoelDon FairserviceThe 1746 Battle of Culloden, the last land battle fought in the British Isles and the battle that ensured that Scotland was controlled by England.
- DirectorJean-Xavier de LestradeStarsAnn FinnellPatrick McGuinnessJames WilliamsOscar-winning documentary that documents a murder trial in which a 15-year-old African-American is wrongfully accused of a 2000 murder in Jacksonville, Florida.
- StarsMichael PetersonDavid RudolfRon GueretteThe high-profile murder trial of American novelist Michael Peterson following the death of his wife Kathleen Peterson in 2001.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorEugene JareckiStarsBrian CoxHenry KissingerAnna ChennaultA film about the war crimes of the American diplomat, Henry Kissinger.
- DirectorCharles FergusonStarsCampbell ScottGerald BurkeAli FadhilA comprehensive look at the Bush Administration's conduct of the Iraq war and its occupation of the country.
- DirectorWilliam KarelStarsJohn AshcroftRobert BaerTony BlairThe 1000 days of George W. Bush's presidency from the 9/11 attacks to the iraqi quagmire. How a bunch of people influenced by neo-cons hawks took control of the US foreign policy.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanWELFARE shows the nature and complexity of the welfare system in sequences illustrating the staggering diversity of problems that constitute welfare: housing, unemployment, divorce, medical and psychiatric problems, abandoned and abused children, and the elderly. These issues are presented in a context where welfare workers as well as clients struggle to cope with and interpret the laws and regulations that govern their work and life.
- DirectorDavid LeafJohn ScheinfeldStarsJohn LennonYoko OnoStew AlbertA documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanDocumentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreElaine BlyDan BurnsOn his book tour, Michael Moore exposes more wrongdoing by greedy big businesses and callous politicians around America.
- From 1892 to 1924, nearly 16 million emigrants from Europe passed through Ellis Island, a small block of land where a transit center was built, near the New York Statue of Liberty.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsTony BrooksDiana DavisTerry WoodA horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsDamien Wayne EcholsMelissa ByersNorris DeajonThe case of the West Memphis Three, its questionable circumstances and the parties involved are followed up years later.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsGary GitchellTodd MooreDana MooreA further followup of the case of the West Memphis Three and the decades long fight to exonerate them that finally gained traction with new DNA evidence.
- 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.
- DirectorRalph ArlyckStarsRalph ArlyckSean FarrellThirty years, three generations, and a lifetime later, award-winning filmmaker Ralph Arlyck returns to San Francisco in search of Sean, the boy who was the subject of his controversy-sparking 1969 documentary.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleThe love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.
- DirectorSerge BrombergRuxandra MedreaStarsRomy SchneiderBérénice BejoSerge ReggianiHenri-Georges Clouzot's unfinished masterpiece, Inferno (1964), is reconstructed in this film which is part drama and part documentary.
- DirectorLes BlankStarsWerner HerzogKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleA 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).
- DirectorCarmen CastilloStarsSalvador AllendeCarmen CastilloConsuelo CastilloOctober 5, 1974: In the suburbs of Santiago, pregnant Carmen is badly injured and her partner Miguel, head of the resistance against Pinochet's dictatorship, is killed in combat. So begins a journey into the memories of the defeated...
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsGaspar GalazLautaro NúñezLuís HenríquezA documentary about two different searches conducted in the Chilean Atacama Desert: one by astronomers looking for answers about the history of the cosmos, and one by women looking for the remains of loved ones killed by Pinochet's regime.
- DirectorFernando E. SolanasStarsMick JaggerKeith RichardsFernando E. SolanasAfter the fall of the military dictatorship in 1983, successive democratic governments launched a series of reforms purporting to turn Argentina into the world's most liberal and prosperous economy. Less than twenty years later, the Argentinians have lost literally everything: major national companies have been sold well below value to foreign corporations; the proceeds of privatizations have been diverted into the pockets of corrupt officials; revised labour laws have taken away all rights from employees; in a country that is traditionally an important exporter of foodstuffs, malnutrition is widespread; millions of people are unemployed and sinking into poverty; and their savings have disappeared in a final banking collapse. The film highlights numerous political, financial, social and judicial aspects that mark out Argentina's road to ruin.
- DirectorJorge FurtadoStarsPaulo JoséCiça ReckziegelDouglas TraininiThe ironic, heartbreaking and acid "saga" of a spoiled tomato: from the plantation of a "Nisei" (Brazilian with Japanese origins); to a supermarket; to a consumer's kitchen to become sauce of a pork meat; to the garbage can since it is spoiled for the consumption; to a garbage truck to be dumped in a garbage dump in "Ilha das Flores"; to the selection of nutriment for pigs by the employees of a pigs breeder; to become food for poor Brazilian people.
- DirectorOctavio GetinoFernando E. SolanasStarsMaría de la PazFernando E. SolanasEdgardo SuárezDivided into three segments, namely 1 Neocolonialism, 2 Act for liberation, 3 Violence and liberation, the documentary lasts more than 4 hours this deals with the defense of the revolution and the revolution of the third world such as the revolt of the students in the United States and Western Europe, Czech citizens protest against the Soviet Union's State bureaucracy and also the revolution that (probably) is unprecedented in Argentina.
- DirectorEmilio Pacull
- DirectorEnrique PiñeyroPablo TesoriereStarsEnrique PiñeyroGermán CantoreAgustin Negrussi"The Police Horror Show" is a documentary portraying the dramatic story of Fernando Ariel Carrera, an ordinary man unjustly convicted to 30 years of prison due systemic corruption.
- DirectorFernando E. SolanasStarsFernando E. SolanasThe degraded socio-economic condition of Argentina leading to the December 2001 rebellions, and its consequent social chaos analyzed by focusing on real people from Buenos Aires poorest shantytowns, crumbling hospitals, and women middle class farmers fighting multi national banks that are shamelessly appropriating their farmlands.
- DirectorRodrigo VázquezStarsPaul AussaressesManuel ContrerasHenry KissingerIn 1973, Chile undergoes a coup d'etat. 30 years later, it appears that it was - alongside with all the coups in the southern cone - organised by the CIA in order to stop the possibility of having a communist block on its south.
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsSalvador AllendeTrue story of the saga that was hoped to be the long-awaited justice brought to bear upon Augusto Pinochet, Chilean dictator from 1973 to 1990. In September 1998, Pinochet flew to London on a pleasure trip but experienced back pain and underwent an operation in the London Clinic. Upon waking, he was arrested by Scotland Yard. Could it be that this was to become the first Latin American dictator to answer for crimes while serving as Head of State? After 500 days of house arrest, he nevertheless eventually returned unscathed to Chile, despite the compelling case built against him before and during this period by a young Spanish prosecutor, Carlos Castresana.
- DirectorMark AchbarJennifer AbbottStarsMikela JayRob BeckwermertChristopher GoraDocumentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance.
- DirectorErwin WagenhoferStarsJean ZieglerPeter BrabeckKarl OtrokA look at how the world's food is produced and how mass production changes the environment and the lives of people.
- DirectorGilles PerretStarsYves BontazFrédéric LordonA business leader from Haute-Savoie explains his relationship to globalization.
- DirectorStephanie BlackStarsBelinda BeckerBuju BantonHorst KöhlerDocumentary look at the effects of globalization on Jamaican industry and agriculture.
- DirectorPhilippe DiazStarsMartin SheenAmartya SenJohn PerkinsA phenomenal discourse on why poverty exists when there is so much wealth in the world. A must see for anyone wanting to understand not only the US economic system but the foundations of today's global economy.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsJohn BeardTim BeldenBarbara BoxerA documentary about the Enron corporation, its faulty and corrupt business practices, and how they led to its fall.
- 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.
- DirectorSacha GervasiStarsRobb ReinerSteve 'Lips' KudlowTiziana ArrigoniSince 1978, Anvil has become one of heavy metal's most influential yet commercially unsuccessful acts. In 2006, after a fledging European tour Anvil sets out to record their thirteenth album and continue to follow their dreams.
- 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.
- DirectorMatthew LongfellowStarsRoger WatersStorm ThorgersonNigel WilliamsonA detailed look at the production of the biggest album in the history of progressive rock and one of the best-selling albums of all time.
- 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.
- StarsB.B. KingIke TurnerPinetop PerkinsA documentary series about the origin and history of The Blues.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsGeorge HarrisonHarry HarrisonPeter HarrisonFilmmaker Martin Scorsese examines the life of musician George Harrison, weaving together interviews, concert footage, home movies and photographs.
- DirectorJulien TempleStarsJoe StrummerSteve JonesMick JonesAs the front man of the Clash from 1977, Joe Strummer changed people's lives forever. Four years after his death, his influence reaches out around the world, more strongly now than ever before.
- DirectorAJ SchnackStarsKurt CobainEvan FortinNathan StreifelIn this visual essay style documentary, intimate audio of journalist Michael Azerrad's interviews with Kurt Cobain is played over more recently photographed footage of Cobain's Washington state homes and haunts.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsJames HetfieldKirk HammettLars UlrichThe iconic metal band struggles for two years to create their album St. Anger, dealing with alcoholism, the loss of their bass player, and the challenge of working with a psychotherapist.
- DirectorSteven SebringStarsPatti SmithLenny KayeOliver RayAn intimate portrait of poet, painter, musician and singer Patti Smith that mirrors the essence of the artist herself.
- 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.
- DirectorTom DiCilloStarsJohnny DeppJohn DensmoreRobby KriegerA look at the late '60s and early '70s rock band The Doors, including rare exclusive footage.
- 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.
- DirectorNanette BursteinBrett MorgenStarsRobert EvansEddie AlbertPeter BartDocumentary about legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans (the film shares the same name as Evans's famous 1994 autobiography).
- DirectorRodney AscherStarsBill BlakemoreGeoffrey CocksJuli KearnsAn exploration of various interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's horror film, The Shining (1980).
- DirectorWilliam KarelStarsPhilippe FaureChristiane KubrickJan HarlanThis hard-hitting mockumentary exposes how Stanley Kubrick faked the 1969 moon landing, with seeming-endorsements from many key players in NASA and the US government.
- DirectorLeon GastStarsMuhammad AliGeorge ForemanDon KingBoxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.
- DirectorTrisha ZiffStarsErnest AlósJuan Diego BottoSebastian del AmoThe story of three lost boxes known as the Mexican Suitcase that were recovered in 2007. The boxes, misplaced in the chaos at the start of WWII, contained many of the Spanish Civil War negatives by the legendary photographer Robert Capa and fellow photographers Gerda Taro and David "Chim" Seymour.
- DirectorWerner HerzogDmitry VasyukovStarsWerner HerzogGennady SolovievAnatoly BlumeiA documentary depicting the life and work of the trappers of Bakhtia, a village in the heart of the Siberian Taiga, where daily life has changed little in over a century.
- DirectorColine SerreauStarsDominique GuilletVandana ShivaAna PrimavesiHeroic machist industrial agronomy producing heavily contaminated and modified food and arid wastelands is challenged by several world examples of sensitive organic approach to producing food.