Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film Winners
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- DirectorJohn FordStarsHenry FondaJane DarwellLogan RamseyThe Japanese attack on Midway in June 1942, filmed as it happened.Winner
- StarsPeter BathurstDamien ParerCameraman Damien Parer has just returned from the front in New Guinea, where he's documented Australian troops in action. He explains this to us in a prolog. We then see air drops of supplies, wounded men being carried on stretchers by native porters, and men leaving camp to go to the front. There's a tiny bit of possibly staged combat footage. A narrator explains that the Japanese soldiers are expert at disguise, and how important support from the home front is.Winner
- DirectorIlya KopalinLeonid VarlamovStarsN. DubravinEdward G. RobinsonJoseph StalinA number of frontline cameramen shot the footage used in this documentary of the Battle of Moscow, between October 1941 and January 1942,in which a people's war against the German invaders, whose atrocities are shown in graphic detail, is begun, with echoes of traditional Russian heroism and an appeal to save the country's religious and cultural monuments.Winner
- 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.Winner
- DirectorRoy BoultingDavid MacDonaldStarsHarold AlexanderWinston ChurchillAdolf HitlerThe Allied campaign to drive Germany and Italy from North Africa is analysed, with the major portion of the film examining the battles at El Alamein, including a re-enactment.Winner
- DirectorEdward SteichenWilliam WylerStarsRobert TaylorCharles BoyerJoseph J. ClarkAn in-depth look at aircraft carrier combat operations during World War II. Real combat footage. Very strong and compelling.Winner
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsKent SmithHans ConriedAn Academy Award winner for best documentary, the film opens with a notice that..."Exhibition of confiscated Japanese film material authorized by permission of the Alien Property Custodian in the public interest under License No. LM 979"...and was assembled from hundreds of captured newsreels, historical dramas and propaganda films. While revealing the steps that Japan took that led to Pearl Harbor, it goes back 700 years to the feudal caste system, a peasant revolt suppressed after the Samurai murdered over 40,000 people, to Admiral Perry forcibly opening Japan to foreign trade, to the perversion of converting the Shinto religion of nature-worship to that of a fanatic state creed that preached the Japanese were a Master Race and the Emperor was a sun-god to be blindly obeyed. The film carried no credit for a director, while Richard Fleischer shared the Producer credit with Theron Warth.Winner
- StarsRobert MontgomeryRobert TaylorVan HeflinThe 1946-1947 U.S. military expedition to explore and map Antarctica, led by Admiral Richard E. Byrd, is presented from its planning stages through its successful completion.Winner
- DirectorTerry BishopStarsE.R. ChadwickHarford AnerobiFanny ElumezeThis 47-minute documentary, financed by HRH's government, won an Oscar in the special category, and most of it was later edited into a 1953 two-segment documentary called "Savage World" by the same crew of film-makers listed on this film. The story here is about an African tribe that is working to build a maternity hospital, with the aid of government officials, and against the opposition of some tribal members.Winner
- DirectorRobert J. FlahertyRichard LyfordCurt OertelStarsFredric MarchThe life and works of the great artist Michelangelo Buonarroti are shown against the historical background of his time. It begins with his earliest artworks, and follows his life and career as he achieves lasting fame. The documentary includes detailed looks at some of the artist's most renowned creations.Winner
- DirectorThor HeyerdahlStarsThor HeyerdahlHerman WatzingerErik HesselbergA documentary about the Kon-Tiki expedition of the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl.Winner
- DirectorIrwin AllenStarsDon ForbesTheodore von EltzOscar-winning documentary based on Rachel L. Carson's pioneering study of ocean life chronicled in her award-winning and best-selling 1951 book of the same name.Winner
- DirectorJames AlgarStarsWinston HiblerAlthough first glance reveals little more than stones and sand, the desert is alive. Witness moving rocks, spitting mud pots, gorgeous flowers and the never-ending battle for survival between creatures of every shape, size and description.Winner
- DirectorJames AlgarStarsWinston HiblerStory of the American prairie as it was when vast herds of bison and elk grazed there.Winner
- DirectorNancy HamiltonStarsKatharine CornellHelen KellerPolly ThompsonThis documentary chronicles the life of Helen Keller, who was struck by an illness as a young child that left her both blind and deaf. Aided by her devoted teacher, Anne Sullivan, Keller is able to develop ways to communicate and becomes an author and advocate. Made when Keller was 72 years old, this film, directed by Nancy Hamilton and narrated by actress Katharine Cornell, features old and recent footage of Keller as her remarkable journey leads her to meet President Dwight D. Eisenhower.Winner
- DirectorJacques-Yves CousteauLouis MalleStarsFrédéric DumasAlbert FalcoJacques-Yves CousteauA documentary about the undersea explorers and how they penetrate into the underwater world.Winner
- DirectorJerome HillStarsBurgess MeredithFredric MarchAlbert SchweitzerThis biographical drama/documentary narrative written by Dr. Albert Schweitzer and spoken by Fredric March, traces the life of Dr. Schweitzer (with actors playing the characters), from his birth in France up to about the age of 30 when he makes the decision to go to French Equatorial Africa and build his jungle hospital. The latter half of the film encompasses a full day in the hospital-village following the 80s-plus Samaritan in his daily rounds.Winner
- DirectorJames AlgarStarsWinston HiblerVolmer SørensenThe wildlife of the arctic is explored in this true-life adventure.Winner
- DirectorBernhard GrzimekStarsBernhard GrzimekHolger HagenHermann RockmannThe borders of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania were initially drawn without considering the herds of grass-eating wild animals. The recording of seasonal animal movements by the film team at the end of the 1950s forms the framework for action, so that based on this work, new boundaries of the park could be determined in such a way, that the most important animal populations are protected all year round. The beauty of the savannah landscape and the sideways glance at numerous wild animal species living there, some of which were presented to a broader audience for the first time in this film, fill this nature documentary.Winner
- DirectorLarry LansburghStarsGeorge FennemanNautical the HorseQueen Elizabeth the Queen MotherA palimino cow pony, through a series of owners and adventures becomes a champion mount for one of the US equestrian team.Winner
- DirectorPierre-Dominique GaisseauStarsGerard DelloyeTony SaulnierHerve de MaigretIn September, 1959, six Europeans leave Cook's Bay on the southern coast of Dutch New Guinea, now West Papua or Irian Jaya, to trek north to the far side of the island. The journey (450 miles, as a crow flies) across unmapped territory took seven months; three Muyu porters died. Near both coasts, the expedition met villagers who invited them to observe rituals and live with them. In the interior, all villagers kept them at bay, and they depended on air lifts from Hollandia for food and supplies. They climbed above 10,000 feet, built 14 bridges, and fought leeches and malaria. The narrator focuses on describing Stone Age savages, headhunters, and cannibals.Winner
- DirectorLouis Clyde StoumenStarsMarlene DietrichAdolf HitlerThe rise and fall of Nazi Germany in part through the use of classical allegory.Winner
- DirectorShirley ClarkeStarsRobert FrostJohn F. KennedyLyndon B. JohnsonAcclaimed poet Robert Frost reminisces on his career. He is also seen giving lectures at Amherst and Sarah Lawrence Colleges, in daily life at his rural Vermont home, and receiving the Congressional Gold Medal from President Kennedy.Winner
- DirectorJacques-Yves CousteauStarsPierre BidaultLouis BidegantChristian BonniciFascinating underwater documentary filmed with hand-held cameras by frogmen and mostly filmed in deep-water seas from within a special designed batiscaff, by the Cousteau family of sea explorers.Winner
- DirectorRichard KaplanStarsArchibald MacleishEric SevareidCorinne Alsop ColeRichard Kaplan documents the life of one of America's most influential first ladies. Orphaned at age 10, Eleanor Roosevelt marries her fifth cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1905. His election in 1932 allows Eleanor to step up to national prominence, battling for civil rights and visiting troops during World War II. After her husband's death, Roosevelt continues to advocate for human rights at the U.N., proving herself one of America's great humanitarians.Winner
- DirectorPeter WatkinsStarsMichael AspelPeter GrahamDave BaldwinA docudrama depicting a hypothetical nuclear attack on Britain.Winner
- DirectorPierre SchoendoerfferStarsJoseph B. AndersonStuart WhitmanThe director, a French veteran of the Indochina war (La 317e Section), returned to follow a platoon of American soldiers for six weeks at the height of fighting in Vietnam in 1966. The documentary discusses the background and fate of the soldiers and emphasizes how much American culture pervades the soldiers' behaviors in the midst of jungle life and fighting.Winner
- DirectorBill McGawStarsCarl RogersRichard FarsonJerryThe film portrays a 16-hour group-therapy session for eight well-adjusted people who had never met before.Winner
- DirectorGérard PatrisFrançois ReichenbachStarsArtur RubinsteinEliahu InbalPaul KletzkiAn Oscar winning look at the life of Albert Rubinstein shortly after he turned 70. It contains some home movies of him and his family, but is primarily him talking and demonstrating his great skill as a pianist.Winner
- 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.Winner
- DirectorWalon GreenEd SpiegelStarsLawrence PressmanConlan CarterIan McShaneA scientist explains how the savagery and efficiency of the insect world could result in their taking over the world.Winner
- DirectorSarah KernochanHoward SmithStarsAgnes BenjaminMarjoe GortnerVernon GortnerThis Oscar-winning documentary explores the life of one-time child evangelist and faith healer Marjoe Gortner. The son of professional evangelists, Gortner was preaching on the Southern tent-revival circuit by the age of 3.Winner
- DirectorKieth MerrillStarsLarry MahanPhil LyneJoel McCreaA documentary about the rivalry between veteran Larry Mahan and newcomer Phil Lyne, as the two vie for the National Finals Rodeo Championship title.Winner
- 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.Winner
- DirectorBruce NyznikStarsYûichirô MiuraShintaro IshiharaTaisuke FujishimaThis Oscar-winning documentary tells the story behind Japanese daredevil Yuichiro Miura's 1970 effort to ski down the world's tallest mountain.Winner
- 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.Winner
- DirectorJohn KortyStarsKim AtwoodMarty AtwoodMike AtwoodDorothy and Bob DeBolt's tale of the struggles and joys involved in their 19 adopted children, many of who are physically disabled war orphans.Winner
- DirectorArnold ShapiroStarsPeter FalkMickie ColdDoug CroninThe filmed depiction of a program where convicts tell troubled kids about the horrors of prison life.Winner
- DirectorIra WohlStarsIra WohlPhilip WohlZero MostelIn this documentary, the director follows the day-to-day activities of his mentally ill, middle-aged cousin Philly, over a three-year period.Winner
- DirectorMurray LernerStarsIsaac SternDavid GolubDelun LiIsaac Stern's cultural tour of China is seen, with the master violinist performing and mentoring young Chinese musicians. He visits rehearsals of the Peking Opera, meeting with their musicians who use traditional Chinese instruments, and also visits a sports academy and other venues. The lingering effects of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), which opposed any western influences and oppressed those who introduced western approaches, are evident in the lack of skill development among many of the young musicians and the emphasis on technical skill rather than artistic interpretation.Winner
- 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.Winner
- DirectorJohn ZaritskyStarsIan ParkerJim ConwayRaymond HatchOn July 10, 1978, Eric Wilson - a 19-year from Ottawa and student at Tufts University - left home to drive to a summer college course in Colorado. When he went missing four days afterward in Nebraska, his family tried to persuade local and U.S. police that he wasn't simply a runaway and hadn't simply forgotten to call home. The program examines the lengths to which they had to go to find out what happened to Eric, and the byzantine nature of the legal system which seemed less interested in pursuing justice than in avoiding the expenses involved in the investigation and potential trials.Winner
- DirectorEmile ArdolinoStarsJacques d'AmboiseJudy CollinsKevin KlineJacques d'Amboise, a noted former American ballet star who had dancing roles in such films as Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954) and Carousel (1956), and who later became a New York dancing instructor.Winner
- DirectorRob EpsteinStarsHarvey FiersteinHarvey MilkAnne KronenbergA documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor.Winner
- DirectorVictoria MuddStarsMartin SheenBuffy Sainte-MarieBurgess MeredithDocumentary chronicling the government relocation of 10,000 Navajo Indians in Arizona.Winner
- DirectorBrigitte BermanStarsArtie ShawJohn BestLee CastleDocumentary cataloging the life and music of the band leader and clarinetist, Artie Shaw.Winner
- DirectorLee GrantStarsLee GrantJeff FarmerBob HansonA recession in the mid-1980s affects Minnesota farm workers, unemployed urban workers and the newly homeless in Los Angeles and New York.Winner
- 1985– 56mTV-146.6 (221)TV EpisodeDirectorAviva SlesinStarsHeywood Hale BrounMarc ConnellyMargalo GillmoreSurely one of the most profound and outrageous influences on the times following World War I, was the group of a dozen or so taste-makers who lunched together at New York City's Algonquin Hotel.Winner
- DirectorMarcel OphülsStarsKlaus BarbieClaude LanzmannMarcel OphülsA documentary about Klaus Barbie, the Gestapo chief of Lyon, and his life after the war.Winner
- DirectorRob EpsteinJeffrey FriedmanStarsSara LewinsteinDavid MandellSuzi MandellA collection of profiles of people dead from AIDS who are remembered in the AIDS Memorial Quilt.Winner
- DirectorBarbara KoppleCathy CaplanThomas HanekeStarsLewie AndersonR.J. BergstromRon BergstromRecounts the 1985-86 strike against the Hormel Foods Corporation in Minnesota after its employees' wages and benefits were cut.Winner
- DirectorAllie LightIrving SarafStarsWilliam S. JonesWinner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, this film is a hilarious and affectionate look at the path to stardom inside the competitive world of opera.Winner
- DirectorBarbara TrentStarsElizabeth MontgomeryCarlos CantúDiviana IngravalloA film about the true reasons for the 1989 US invasion of Panama and big media complicity in these activities.Winner
- DirectorSusan RaymondStarsSusan RaymondDeanna BurneyClary JanssonFilmmakers Alan Raymond and Susan Raymond document Philadelphia teachers facing challenges at an inner-city school.Winner
- DirectorFreida Lee MockStarsMaya LinA film about the work of the artist most famous for her monuments such as the Vietnam Memorial Wall and the Civil Rights Fountain Memorial.Winner
- DirectorJon BlairStarsKenneth BranaghGlenn CloseIsa BaschwitzTells the story of the Frank family and paints a portrait of their brash and free-spirited daughter Anne, perhaps the world's most famous victim of the Holocaust.Winner
- DirectorLeon GastStarsMuhammad AliGeorge ForemanDon KingBoxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.Winner
- 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.Winner
- 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.Winner
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsMichael DouglasAnkie SpitzerJamal Al GasheyThe Palestinian terrorist group Black September holds Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich.Winner
- DirectorMark Jonathan HarrisStarsJudi DenchLory CahnKurt FuchelThe secret smuggling of 9,300 Jewish children out of Nazi Germany in the late 1930s.Winner
- 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.Winner
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreCharlton HestonMarilyn MansonFilmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.Winner
- 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.Winner
- DirectorZana BriskiRoss KauffmanStarsKochiAvijit HalderShanti DasTwo documentary filmmakers chronicle their time in Sonagchi, Calcutta and the relationships they developed with children of prostitutes who work the city's notorious red light district.Winner
- DirectorLuc JacquetStarsMorgan FreemanRomane BohringerCharles BerlingIn the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family.Winner
- 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.Winner
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsAlex GibneyBrian Keith AllenMoazzam BeggAlex Gibney exposes the haunting details of the USA's torture and interrogation practices during the War in Afghanistan.Winner
- 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".Winner
- DirectorLouie PsihoyosStarsRichard O'BarryLouie PsihoyosHardy JonesUsing state-of-the-art equipment, a group of activists, led by renowned dolphin trainer Ric O'Barry, infiltrate a cove near Taijii, Japan to expose both a shocking instance of animal abuse and a serious threat to human health.Winner
- DirectorCharles FergusonStarsMatt DamonGylfi ZoegaAndri Snær MagnasonTakes a closer look at what brought about the 2008 financial meltdown.Winner
- DirectorDaniel LindsayT.J. MartinStarsBill CourtneyO.C. BrownMontrail 'Money' BrownChronicles three underprivileged students from inner-city Memphis and their volunteer coach who tries to help them beat the odds on and off the field.Winner
- 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.Winner
- DirectorMorgan NevilleStarsDarlene LoveMerry ClaytonLisa FischerBackup singers live in a world that lies just beyond the spotlight. Their voices bring harmony to the biggest bands in popular music, but we've had no idea who these singers are or what lives they lead, until now.Winner
- DirectorLaura PoitrasStarsEdward SnowdenGlenn GreenwaldWilliam BinneyA documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden.Winner
- DirectorAsif KapadiaStarsAmy WinehouseMitch WinehouseMark RonsonArchival footage and personal testimonials present an intimate portrait of the life and career of British singer/songwriter Amy Winehouse.Winner
- 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.Winner
- DirectorBryan FogelStarsBryan FogelDave ZabriskieDon CatlinWhen Bryan sets out to uncover the truth about doping in sports, a chance meeting with a Russian scientist transforms his story from a personal experiment into a geopolitical thriller.Winner
- DirectorJimmy ChinElizabeth Chai VasarhelyiStarsAlex HonnoldTommy CaldwellJimmy ChinAlex Honnold faces the biggest challenge of his career, climbing El Capitan in Yosemite National Park. He pursues it Free Solo, which means climbing without a rope and alone.Winner
- DirectorSteven BognarJulia ReichertStarsJunming 'Jimmy' WangRobert AllenSherrod BrownIn post-industrial Ohio, a Chinese billionaire opens a factory in an abandoned General Motors plant, hiring two thousand Americans. Early days of hope and optimism give way to setbacks as high-tech China clashes with working-class America.Winner
- DirectorPippa EhrlichJames ReedStarsCraig FosterTom FosterA filmmaker forges an unusual friendship with an octopus living in a South African kelp forest, learning as the animal shares the mysteries of her world.Winner
- 20211h 58mPG-138.0 (14K)96MetascoreDirectorQuestloveStarsDorinda DrakeBarbara Bland-AcostaDarryl LewisDocumentary about the legendary 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival which celebrated African-American music and culture and promoted Black pride and unity.Winner
- DirectorDaniel RoherStarsAlexei NavalnyYulia NavalnayaChristo GrozevFollows the man who survived an assassination attempt by poisoning with a lethal nerve agent in August 2020. During his months-long recovery he makes shocking discoveries about the attempt on his life and decides to return home.Winner