Essential Documentaries
Don't expect a complete list any time soon- will add more when I find them.
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17 titles
- DirectorBenjamin ChristensenStarsBenjamin ChristensenElisabeth ChristensenMaren PedersenFictionalized documentary showing the evolution of witchcraft, from its pagan roots to its confusion with hysteria in Eastern Europe.Unofficially the first documentary
- 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.officially the first documentary
- DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.Documentation of life and construction of form/ City Symphony
- DirectorLeni RiefenstahlStarsAdolf HitlerHermann GöringMax AmannThe infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany.A study of truth.
- DirectorPaolo CavaraGualtiero JacopettiFranco ProsperiStarsStefano SibaldiRossano BrazziYves KleinA "shockumentary" consisting of a collection of mostly real archive footage displaying mankind at its most depraved and perverse, displaying bizarre rites, cruel behavior and bestial violence.A study of fakery.
- DirectorVilgot SjömanStarsLena NymanVilgot SjömanBörje AhlstedtTold in a quasi-documentary style, this companion piece to I Am Curious (Blue) (1968) deals with topics such as class society, non-violent resistance, sex, relationships, and tourism to Francoist Spain.Is it a documentary? part I
- DirectorVilgot SjömanStarsMaj HulténVilgot SjömanLena NymanTold in a quasi-documentary style, this companion piece to I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) deals with topics such as class society, religion, sex, contraceptives, and the Swedish prison Kumla.Is it a documentary? Part II
- 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.Experimental Part I
- DirectorOrson WellesGary GraverOja KodarStarsOrson WellesOja KodarFrançois ReichenbachA documentary about fraud and fakery.Experimental part II
- DirectorGualtiero JacopettiFranco ProsperiStarsStefano SibaldiSusan HampshireDick GregoryTwo documentary filmmakers go back in time to the pre-Civil War American South, to film the slave trade.A study of fakery Part II
- 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).Beyond the Limits
- 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.Global Symphony
- 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.A challenge to form and perception of reality.
- DirectorAbbas KiarostamiStarsHossain SabzianMohsen MakhmalbafAbolfazl AhankhahThe true story of Hossain Sabzian, a cinephile who impersonated the director Mohsen Makhmalbaf to convince a family they would star in his so-called new film.A study of fakery, Part III
- DirectorYael HersonskiStarsAlexander BeyerRüdiger VoglerHanna AvrutzkiA film about an unfinished film which portrays the people behind and before the camera in the Warsaw Ghetto, exposing the extent of the cinematic manipulation forever changing the way we look at historic images.A study of fakery, Part IV
- DirectorFrank PavichStarsAlejandro JodorowskyMichel SeydouxH.R. GigerThe story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.How failure can change the world for the better.
- DirectorPete SchuermannStarsJosh PhillipsJodi Lynn ThomasBill LeVasseurAn exploration of the making of b-movie sci-fi cult classic "The Creeping Terror" and its con-man director Art "A.J." Nelson/Vic Savage.Proof that innovation is still possible.