3. Best World Documentaries 1
by erezl123 | created - 30 Jul 2022 | updated - 28 Jan 2023 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Fires Were Started (1943)
63 min | Drama, War
A tale of firefighters in London during the Blitz.
Director: Humphrey Jennings | Stars: Philip Dickson, George Gravett, Fred Griffiths, Johnny Houghton
Votes: 1,325
2. Western Approaches (1944)
83 min | Drama, War
A wartime film, made under the auspices of the Crown Film Unit, serving as a tribute to the Merchant Navy. During WWII, they kept the lifeline to America and the Commonwealth open so that ... See full summary »
Director: Pat Jackson | Stars: Eric Fullerton, Duncan MacKenzie, W. Kerr, Eric Baskeyfield
Votes: 157
3. Olympia 52 (1952)
82 min | Documentary
About the 1952 Summer Games in Helsinki, Finland. Made to educate the public, to enrich moral and intellectual life through sport, and to salve the wounds of the ongoing Cold War.
Director: Chris Marker
Votes: 33
4. A Queen Is Crowned (1953)
TV-G | 82 min | Documentary, History
A lavish documentary film of Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation in 1953.
Stars: Laurence Olivier, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother
Votes: 181
5. The Conquest of Everest (1953)
Not Rated | 78 min | Documentary, Adventure
Documentary that covers the famous and successful expedition of the Everest conquest by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, the first climbers to reach its peak.
Director: George Lowe | Stars: Meredith Edwards, John Hunt, George Band, Tom Bourdillon
Votes: 881
6. The Queen in Australia (1954)
68 min | Documentary
A record of the 1954 visit to Australia by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and his Royal Highness Prince Philip.
Directors: Frank Bagnall, Colin Dean, Stanley Hawes | Stars: Peter Finch, Wilfrid Thomas, Queen Elizabeth II, Prince Philip
Votes: 16
7. The Mystery of Picasso (1956)
PG | 78 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A filmed record of Pablo Picasso painting numerous canvases for the camera, allowing us to see his creative process at work.
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot | Stars: Pablo Picasso, Henri-Georges Clouzot, Claude Renoir
Votes: 2,701 | Gross: $0.27M
8. The Silent World (1956)
86 min | Documentary, Adventure
A documentary about the undersea explorers and how they penetrate into the underwater world.
Directors: Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Louis Malle | Stars: Frédéric Dumas, Albert Falco, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, François Saout
Votes: 1,814
9. Mise Éire (1959)
88 min | Documentary
Mise Eire tells of events in Ireland leading up to, during, and immediately after the 1916 Easter Rising, extensively using original footage such as newsreels from the time.
Director: George Morrison | Stars: Liam Budhlaeir, Padraig O'Raghallaigh
Votes: 46
10. Come Back, Africa (1959)
95 min | Documentary, Drama
Come Back, Africa chronicles the life of Zachariah, a black South African living under the rule of the harsh apartheid government in 1959.
Director: Lionel Rogosin | Stars: Zacharia Mgabi, Vinah Bendile, Miriam Makeba, Lewis Nkosi
Votes: 358
11. America as Seen by a Frenchman (1960)
90 min | Documentary
Satirical documentary, shot in all parts of the US, showing various aspects of American behavior.
Director: François Reichenbach | Stars: Jean Cocteau, Paul Klinger, June Richmond
Votes: 173
12. Third Side of the Coin (1960)
60 min | Documentary
A documentary about the then only twelve year old country of Israel, caught amidst the tensions of the Middle East and the ongoing Cold War.
Director: Chris Marker | Stars: Ali, Père Gauthier, Monsieur Klein, Yaakov Malkin
Votes: 232
13. A Dog's Life (1962)
Approved | 108 min | Documentary, Horror
A "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.
Directors: Paolo Cavara, Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi | Stars: Stefano Sibaldi, Rossano Brazzi, Yves Klein, Henning Skaarup
Votes: 4,409
14. Le joli mai (1963)
Not Rated | 165 min | Documentary
Chris Marker and Pierre Lhomme's LE JOLI MAI (The Lovely Month of May) is a portrait of Paris and Parisians during May 1962, the first springtime of peace after the ceasefire with Algeria ... See full summary »
Directors: Chris Marker, Pierre Lhomme | Stars: Chris Marker, Yves Montand, Simone Signoret, Jean-Luc Godard
Votes: 878 | Gross: $0.02M
15. World Without Sun (1964)
93 min | Documentary
Fascinating 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.
Director: Jacques-Yves Cousteau | Stars: Pierre Bidault, Louis Bidegant, Christian Bonnici, Jacques Bourdes
Votes: 533
16. Location Hunting in Palestine (1965)
54 min | Documentary
While scouting locations for his classic "The Gospel According to St. Matthew", director Pier Paolo Pasolini noticed that filming in the actual site of the story, in Palestine, wouldn't be ... See full summary »
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini | Stars: don Andrea Carraro, Pier Paolo Pasolini
Votes: 325
17. Africa: Blood and Guts (1966)
R | 122 min | Documentary, Horror
The cruel acts of animal poaching and violence, executions, and tribal slaughtering, all taking place on the African continent.
Directors: Gualtiero Jacopetti, Franco Prosperi | Stars: Sergio Rossi, Gualtiero Jacopetti, Jomo Kenyatta, Julius Nyerere
Votes: 1,877
18. Memorandum (1966)
58 min | Documentary
A Jewish Holocaust survivor travels through Germany recalling scenes from his memory.
Directors: Donald Brittain, John Spotton | Stars: Bernard Laufer, Emil Bednarek, Wilhelm Boger, Arthur Breitwieser
Votes: 76
19. Far from Vietnam (1967)
Not Rated | 120 min | Documentary, Drama, War
In seven different segments, Godard, Klein, Lelouch, Marker, Resnais, and Varda show their sympathy and support for the North Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War.
Directors: Jean-Luc Godard, Joris Ivens, William Klein, Claude Lelouch, Chris Marker, Alain Resnais, Agnès Varda | Stars: Anne Bellec, Karen Blanguernon, Fidel Castro, Bernard Fresson
Votes: 886
20. Rocky Road to Dublin (1968)
Not Rated | 70 min | Documentary
Irish-born journalist Peter Lennon exposed the truth of a repressed, suppressed and censored country, and the hypocrisy of church, politics and state, through a series of 'innocent' interviews.
Director: Peter Lennon | Stars: Sean O'Faoláin, Conor Cruise O'Brien, John Huston, Douglas Gageby
Votes: 175
21. Be Seeing You (1968)
Not Rated | 55 min | Documentary
1967, one year before may '68. The strike at the Rhodiaceta textile plant in Besançon sounds like the rehearsal of the rising to come. Indeed for the first time ever, the workers' claims ... See full summary »
Directors: Chris Marker, Mario Marret
Votes: 121
22. The Hour of the Furnaces (1968)
Unrated | 260 min | Documentary, History, War
Divided 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 ... See full summary »
Directors: Octavio Getino, Fernando E. Solanas | Stars: María de la Paz, Fernando E. Solanas, Edgardo Suárez, Julio Troxler
Votes: 1,189
23. Royal Family (1969)
110 min | Documentary
Intimate portrait of the daily life of the British Royal Family drawn from 18 months of filming within Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral.
Director: Richard Cawston | Stars: Walter Annenberg, King Charles III, Michael Flanders, Robert Gordon Menzies
Votes: 82
24. The Sorrow and the Pity (1969)
PG | 251 min | Documentary, History, War
An in-depth exploration of the various reactions by the French people to the Vichy government's acceptance of the German invasion.
Director: Marcel Ophüls | Stars: Helmut Tausend, Marcel Verdier, Alexis Grave, Louis Grave
Votes: 4,097
25. Black Roots (1970)
63 min | Documentary, History, Music
Rogosin took the fight for equality to his homeland with his astonishing and powerful fourth feature Black Roots. The film, which is ripe for rediscovery, featured an extraordinary cast, ... See full summary »
Director: Lionel Rogosin | Stars: Jim Collier, Gary Davis, Larry Johnson, Florynce Kennedy
Votes: 111
26. Pictures of the Old World (1972)
70 min | Documentary
Pictures of the Old World is an unquestioned masterpiece of European documentary cinema, with existential radicalism that offers a contrast to the shallowness of hundreds of other ... See full synopsis »
Director: Dusan Hanák
Votes: 808
27. Reminiscences of a Journey to Lithuania (1972)
Not Rated | 88 min | Documentary
Filmmaker Jonas Mekas creates an elegiac diary of a trip to his home country of Lithuania.
Director: Jonas Mekas | Stars: Jonas Mekas, Adolfas Mekas, Pola Chapelle, Ken Jacobs
Votes: 1,251
28. The Battle of Chile: Part I (1975)
Not Rated | 97 min | Documentary, History
The chronicle of the political tension in Chile in 1973 and of the violent counter revolution against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende.
Director: Patricio Guzmán | Stars: Abilio Fernández, Salvador Allende
Votes: 1,614
29. Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (1975)
132 min | Documentary, Biography
A documentary film on the life and works of director Kenji Mizoguchi.
Director: Kaneto Shindô | Stars: Takako Irie, Daisuke Itô, Kyôko Kagawa, Matsutarô Kawaguchi
Votes: 325
30. Torre Bela (1975)
105 min | Documentary
The rise and fall of a revolutionary cooperative movement established in a large private farm in Ribatejo, Portugal, from March to December 1975 (most part of the land occupations occurred ... See full summary »
Directors: Thomas Harlan, Jacques d'Arthuys, Anna Devoto, Luc Mohler, Luisa Orioli | Stars: Thomas Harlan, Maria Vitória, José Neves Paiva, Herculano Valada Martins
Votes: 127
31. Voyage to the Edge of the World (1976)
G | 92 min | Documentary
On his ship "Calypso," as well as in a submarine, Jacques Cousteau and his crew sail from South America and travel to Antarctica. They explore islands, reefs, icebergs, fossils, active ... See full summary »
Director: Philippe Cousteau | Star: Jacques-Yves Cousteau
Votes: 160
32. The Memory of Justice (1976)
PG | 278 min | Documentary, War
Explores the subject of atrocities during wartime, especially during World War II and the Vietnam War.
Director: Marcel Ophüls | Stars: Yehudi Menuhin, Noël Favrelières, Anthony Herbert, Edward Sowders
Votes: 384
33. A Grin Without A Cat (1977)
240 min | Documentary
French essay film focusing on global political turmoil in the 1960s and '70s, particularly the rise of the New Left in France and the development of socialist movements in Latin America.
Director: Chris Marker | Stars: Simone Signoret, Jorge Semprún, Davos Hanich, Sandra Scarnati
Votes: 1,114
34. Germany in Autumn (1978)
123 min | Documentary, Drama
Germany in Autumn has no typical plot; it mixes documentary footage with standard movie scenes to present the mood of Germany during the late 1970s. The film covers 2 months in 1977 when a ... See full summary »
Directors: Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Alf Brustellin, Hans Peter Cloos, Alexander Kluge, Maximiliane Mainka, Edgar Reitz, Katja Rupé, Volker Schlöndorff, Peter Schubert, Bernhard Sinkel | Stars: Wolfgang Bächler, Heinz Bennent, Wolf Biermann, Joachim Bißmeier
Votes: 1,413
35. My Name Is Anna Magnani (1979)
105 min | Documentary, Biography
Traces the life of Anna Magnani, her creations, her successes, her triumphs, her boycotted career, her nonconformism, her anxieties, her generosity - Punctuated with photos that tell her ... See full summary »
Director: Chris Vermorcken | Stars: Anna Magnani, Jean-Paul Andret, Claude Autant-Lara, Liliane Becker
Votes: 47
36. 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: 8,137
37. Sans Soleil (1983)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, Drama
A woman narrates the contemplative writings of a seasoned world traveler, focusing on contemporary Japan.
Director: Chris Marker | Stars: Amilcar Cabral, Florence Delay, Arielle Dombasle, Riyoko Ikeda
Votes: 12,135 | Gross: $0.03M
38. The Man in the Silk Hat (1983)
75 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy
A documentary with many excerpts from the films of French movie pioneer Max Linder, narrated by his daughter.
Director: Maud Linder | Stars: Max Linder, Maud Linder, Sarah Bernhardt, Benoît-Constant Coquelin
Votes: 58
39. Marlene (1984)
Unrated | 94 min | Documentary, Biography
Retrospective on the career of enigmatic screen diva Marlene Dietrich.
Director: Maximilian Schell | Stars: Marlene Dietrich, Maximilian Schell, Annie Albers, Bernhard Hall
Votes: 842 | Gross: $0.85M
40. Jango (1984)
115 min | Documentary, Biography, History
The story of João "Jango" Goulart, the Brazilian left-wing president deposed by the military.
Director: Silvio Tendler | Stars: Leonel Brizola, João Goulart, Juscelino Kubitschek, Carlos Lacerda
Votes: 189
41. Twenty Years Later (1984)
119 min | Documentary, History
A filmmaker returns to Northeast Brazil after twenty years to resume his film (a profile of assassinated peasant leader João Pedro Teixeira) which was shut down by a right-wing military coup in 1964.
Director: Eduardo Coutinho | Stars: Eduardo Coutinho, Elizabeth Teixeira, Ferreira Gullar, Tite de Lemos
Votes: 1,695
42. Shoah (1985)
Not Rated | 566 min | Documentary, History, War
Claude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors.
Director: Claude Lanzmann | Stars: Simon Srebnik, Michael Podchlebnik, Motke Zaïdl, Hanna Zaïdl
Votes: 10,558 | Gross: $0.02M
43. A.K. (1985)
71 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary that shows the production of Ran and discusses the film techniques of Kurosawa himself.
Director: Chris Marker | Stars: Shigehiko Hasumi, Chris Marker, Akira Kurosawa, Tatsuya Nakadai
Votes: 1,223
44. The Mothers of the Plaza of Mayo (1985)
64 min | Documentary, History
The movie follows the struggle of the Mothers of the Plaza of Mayo, a group of mothers who challenged authorities during the repressive regime in Argentina (1976-1983), trying to discover ... See full summary »
Directors: Susana Blaustein Muñoz, Lourdes Portillo | Star: Carmen Zapata
Votes: 95
45. Handsworth Songs (1986)
61 min | Documentary
Documentary examining the 1985 riots in London and Birmingham's Handsworth district that erupted in reaction to the repressive policing of black communities.
Director: John Akomfrah | Stars: Pervaiz Khan, Meera Syal, Yvonne Weekes
Votes: 270
46. The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On (1987)
Not Rated | 122 min | Documentary
A documentary following Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old WW2 veteran notorious for his protests against Emperor Hirohito, as he tries to expose the needless executions of two Japanese soldiers during the war.
Director: Kazuo Hara | Stars: Kenzo Okuzaki, Riichi Aikawa, Masaichi Hamaguchi, Toshio Hara
Votes: 2,126
47. Hôtel Terminus (1988)
Unrated | 267 min | Documentary, Biography, History
A documentary about Klaus Barbie, the Gestapo chief of Lyon, and his life after the war.
Director: Marcel Ophüls | Stars: Klaus Barbie, Claude Lanzmann, Marcel Ophüls, Johannes Schneider-Merck
Votes: 1,591 | Gross: $0.34M
48. My Private War (1990)
90 min | Documentary, War
Late in the 1980s, two documentary film makers found six German men, all in their 60s and 70s, who had been soldiers in the German invasion of the USSR in 1942. Each carried an 8mm camera ... See full summary »
Directors: Harriet Eder, Thomas Kufus | Star: Erich von Manstein
Votes: 202
49. Uslyszcie mój krzyk (1991)
46 min | Documentary
The story of an ordinary accountant, Ryszard Siwiec, who set himself on fire during the large harvest festival at the Warsaw stadium in 1968. He did it to protest against the military invasion in Czechoslovakia.
Director: Maciej J. Drygas | Stars: Ryszard Siwiec, Maria Siwiec, Innocenta Siwiec, Elzbieta Siwiec
Votes: 188
50. The Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's Wife (1991)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary
From the award-winning Director Nick Broomfield, The Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's Wife portrays the sinister and comic sides of Eugene Terre'Blanche, leader of the neo-Nazi AWB Afrikaner Party in South Africa.
Director: Nick Broomfield | Stars: Nick Broomfield, Eugene Terre'Blanche, J.P. Meyer, Anita Meyer
Votes: 447
51. Birthplace (1992)
47 min | Documentary
After almost 50 years, Holocaust survivor Henryk Grynberg visits the village he grew up in. He was also hiding there during the Nazi occupation. Grynberg wants to know what happened to his father and younger brother during the war.
Director: Pawel Lozinski | Star: Henryk Grynberg
Votes: 240
52. The Last Bolshevik (1993)
Not Rated | 120 min | Documentary, Biography, History
This documentary tells the story of film director Aleksandr Medvedkin, throughout his life a sincere believer in communism, whose films were repeatedly banned in the Soviet Union. Modern ... See full summary »
Director: Chris Marker | Stars: Léonor Graser, Nikolai Izvolov, Kira Paramonova, Viktor Dyomin
Votes: 730
53. François Truffaut: Portraits volés (1993)
88 min | Documentary
Twenty-six people - including two daughters, an ex-wife, his last lover, actors, fellow directors and writers, a neighbor, and boyhood friends - talk about François Truffaut. They discuss ... See full summary »
Directors: Michel Pascal, Serge Toubiana | Stars: Fanny Ardant, Olivier Assayas, Alexandre Astruc, Jean Aurel
Votes: 133
54. London (1994)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary
An inspiring tale through London by pictures narrated by Paul Scofield.
Director: Patrick Keiller | Stars: Paul Scofield, John Major, Norma Major, Dennis Skinner
Votes: 760
55. Tracking Down Maggie: The Unofficial Biography of Margaret Thatcher (1994)
87 min | Documentary, Biography
Kamikaze documentarian Nick Broomfield unleashes his bothersome Brit persona on the Iron Lady in this hilariously revealing film. The result is ninety minutes of the filmmaker being ... See full summary »
Director: Nick Broomfield | Stars: Nick Broomfield, Margaret Thatcher, Ari Ben-Menashe, Elizabeth Buchanan
Votes: 197
56. Mengele: The Final Account (1995)
52 min | Documentary
The warrant for the arrest of Auschwitz's "Angel of Death" Dr. Josef Mengele was a catalog of horror. A look back of the crimes and life of the SS Doctor who sent 400,000 people to the gas chambers in the pursuit of racial purification.
Director: Dan Setton | Stars: Ruth Elias, Marc Berkowith, Josef Kleinman, Lea Huber
Votes: 16
57. Microcosmos (1996)
Not Rated | 80 min | Documentary
A documentary on insect life in meadows and ponds.
Directors: Claude Nuridsany, Marie Pérennou | Stars: Kristin Scott Thomas, Jacques Perrin
Votes: 11,653 | Gross: $1.57M
58. Marcello Mastroianni: I Remember (1997)
Not Rated | 198 min | Documentary, Biography
In 1996, Marcello Mastroianni talks about life as an actor. It's an anecdotal and philosophical memoir, moving from topic to topic, fully conscious of a man "of a certain age" looking back.... See full summary »
Director: Anna Maria Tatò | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Renato Berta, Manoel de Oliveira, Diogo Dória
Votes: 425 | Gross: $0.01M
59. Histoire(s) du cinéma (1989–1999)
267 min | Documentary
An 8-part documentary chronicling the history of cinema, examining the history of the concept of cinema and how both relates to the 20th century.
Stars: Jean-Luc Godard, Alain Cuny, Julie Delpy, Sabine Azéma
Votes: 801
60. Buena Vista Social Club (1999)
G | 105 min | Documentary, Music
Aging 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.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Compay Segundo, Ibrahim Ferrer, Rubén González, Octavio Calderon
Votes: 20,546 | Gross: $7.00M
61. Mobutu, roi du Zaïre (1999)
135 min | Documentary
Thiery Michel takes an in-depth look at the reign of Mobutu Sese Seko. A man of "modest roots" who had a Catholic upbringing, Mobutu was sent to the army by his father for insubordination. ... See full summary »
Director: Thierry Michel | Stars: Raymond Barre, Jacques Chirac, Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Mobutu Sese Seko
Votes: 216
62. News from a Personal War (1999)
57 min | Documentary
Documentary about urban violence in Brazil, especially in Rio de Janeiro. Policemen, drug dealers, and shantytown dwellers get trapped into a daily war that knows no winners.
Directors: Kátia Lund, João Moreira Salles | Stars: Nilton Cerqueira, Carlos Luis Gregório, Paulo Lins, Hélio Luz
Votes: 848
63. Herr Zwilling und Frau Zuckermann (1999)
126 min | Documentary
Only two Jews who were born in the town of Czernowitz still survive, after the turmoils of the twentieth century, and they are now both in their nineties.
Director: Volker Koepp
Votes: 148
64. My Voyage to Italy (1999)
PG-13 | 246 min | Documentary
World-renowned director Martin Scorsese narrates this journey through his favorites in Italian cinema.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Star: Martin Scorsese
Votes: 3,526 | Gross: $0.01M
65. Calle 54 (2000)
G | 105 min | Documentary, Music
A film featuring performances of several stars of the Latin Jazz music scene.
Director: Fernando Trueba | Stars: Michel Camilo, Tito Puente, Arturo O'Farrill, Rolando Guerrero
Votes: 827 | Gross: $0.18M
66. Black Box BRD (2001)
102 min | Documentary
Wolfgang Grams, RAF terrorist, killed in a police shoot out in 1993 was thought to be part of the 1989 murder of high placed banker Alfred Herrhausen. This documentary interviews people ... See full summary »
Director: Andres Veiel | Stars: Pater Augustinus, Roswitha Bleith-Bendieck, Paul Brand, Rolf E. Breuer
Votes: 518
67. Winged Migration (2001)
G | 89 min | Documentary
Documentary on the migratory patterns of birds, shot over the course of three years on all seven continents.
Directors: Jacques Perrin, Jacques Cluzaud, Michel Debats | Stars: Jacques Perrin, Philippe Labro
Votes: 12,370 | Gross: $10.76M
68. Shanghai Ghetto (2002)
95 min | Documentary
Stripped of possessions and rights, German and Eastern European Jews flee to an unlikely destination to avoid persecution from the Nazis.
Directors: Dana Janklowicz-Mann, Amir Mann | Stars: Stephen Chang, Irene Eber, Betty Grebenschikoff, Harold Janklowicz
Votes: 220 | Gross: $0.71M
69. Fellini: I'm a Born Liar (2002)
R | 105 min | Documentary, Biography
A look at Fellini's creative process. In extensive interviews, Fellini talks a bit about his background and then discusses how he works and how he creates. Several actors, a producer, a ... See full summary »
Director: Damian Pettigrew | Stars: Federico Fellini, Roberto Benigni, Luigi 'Titta' Benzi, Italo Calvino
Votes: 986 | Gross: $0.11M
70. Carlo Giuliani, ragazzo (2002)
75 min | Documentary
Documentary about the death of Carlo Giuliani, who was shot by a police officer in Genoa on July 20, 2001 during a peaceful protest.
Director: Francesca Comencini | Stars: Heidi Gaggio Giuliani, Carlo Orlando
Votes: 134
71. Edifício Master (2002)
110 min | Documentary
The daily lives and routine of 37 families living in a huge 12-story building in Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro: their drama, aspirations, intimate revelations, loneliness, dreams...
Director: Eduardo Coutinho | Star: Fernando José
Votes: 1,684
72. Bus 174 (2002)
R | 122 min | Documentary, Crime
On June 12, 2000, a young man with a gun took the passengers aboard Bus 174 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hostage. This documentary examines the event itself, the resulting media frenzy, the police response, and the perpetrator's background.
Directors: José Padilha, Felipe Lacerda | Stars: Sandro do Nascimento, Rodrigo Pimentel, Luiz Eduardo Soares, Anonymous
Votes: 8,623 | Gross: $0.22M
73. S21: The Khmer Rouge Killing Machine (2003)
Unrated | 101 min | Documentary, History, War
A unique documentary on the notorious S-21 prison, today the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, with testimony by the only surviving prisoners and former Khmer Rouge guards.
Director: Rithy Panh | Stars: Khieu 'Poev' Ches, Yeay Cheu, Nhem En, Houy Him
Votes: 1,163 | Gross: $0.02M
74. Touching the Void (2003)
R | 106 min | Documentary, Adventure, Drama
The true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
Director: Kevin Macdonald | Stars: Simon Yates, Joe Simpson, Brendan Mackey, Nicholas Aaron
Votes: 38,112 | Gross: $4.59M
75. Die Geschichte vom weinenden Kamel (2003)
PG | 93 min | Documentary, Drama, Family
When a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.
Directors: Byambasuren Davaa, Luigi Falorni | Stars: Janchiv Ayurzana, Chimed Ohin, Amgaabazar Gonson, Zeveljamz Nyam
Votes: 6,414 | Gross: $1.74M
76. The Basque Ball: Skin Against Stone (2003)
110 min | Documentary
Documentary about the Basque nationalist movement in Spain.
Director: Julio Medem | Stars: Xabier Arzalluz, Bernardo Atxaga, Txiki Benegas, Txetxo Bengoetxea
Votes: 1,134
77. The Five Obstructions (2003)
Unrated | 90 min | Documentary
Filmmaker Lars Von Trier challenges Jørgen Leth, the filmmaker behind The Perfect Human (1967), to remake his classic short under circumstances of increasing constraint.
Directors: Jørgen Leth, Lars von Trier | Stars: Claus Nissen, Majken Algren Nielsen, Daniel Hernandez Rodriguez, Jacqueline Arenal
Votes: 9,209 | Gross: $0.09M
78. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (2003)
Unrated | 74 min | Documentary
In April 2002, an Irish film crew is making a documentary about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, when a coup from the opposition is made.
Directors: Kim Bartley, Donnacha O'Briain | Stars: Hugo Chávez, Pedro Carmona, Jesse Helms, Colin Powell
Votes: 2,628
79. Suite Habana (2003)
80 min | Documentary
Dawn breaks in La Habana, and as the day advances we follow the simple lives of ten ordinary Cubans, with only sounds and images accompanied by music.
Director: Fernando Pérez | Stars: Francisquito Cardet, Francisco Cardet, Norma Pérez, Waldo Morales
Votes: 619
80. Salvador Allende (2004)
Not Rated | 100 min | Documentary, Biography
From his childhood in Valparaiso to his death during the Pinochet military coup on September 11, 1973, the life and works of Chilean president Salvador Allende.
Director: Patricio Guzmán | Stars: Salvador Allende, Patricio Guzmán, Jacques Bidou, Alejandro Gonzáles
Votes: 769
81. Touch the Sound: A Sound Journey with Evelyn Glennie (2004)
Not Rated | 99 min | Documentary
A documentary which explores the connections among sound, rhythm, time, and the body by following percussionist Evelyn Glennie, who is nearly deaf.
Director: Thomas Riedelsheimer | Stars: Evelyn Glennie, Fred Frith, Roxane Butterfly, Horacio 'Negro' Hernández
Votes: 681 | Gross: $0.18M
82. Darwin's Nightmare (2004)
107 min | Documentary
A documentary on the effect of fishing the Nile perch in Tanzania's Lake Victoria. The predatory fish, which has wiped out the native species, is sold in European supermarkets, while starving Tanzanian families have to make do with the leftovers.
Director: Hubert Sauper | Stars: Elizabeth 'Eliza' Maganga Nsese, Raphael Tukiko Wagara, Dimond Remtulia, Marcus Nyoni
Votes: 5,662 | Gross: $0.20M
83. The Swenkas (2004)
72 min | Documentary
A documentary on Johannesburg South African men who call themselves "Swenkas" and compete for cash and prizes in an event that's part fashion show, part choreography, and part moral code.
Director: Jeppe Rønde | Stars: Sabelo, Mr. Zulu, Yule Masiteng
Votes: 131
84. Watermarks (2004)
Unrated | 80 min | Documentary, History, Sport
The story of the Hakoah Vienna Jewish womens swim team of the 1930s, their forced separation, and their reunion decades later.
Director: Yaron Zilberman | Stars: Hanni Lux, Judith Haspel, Anni Lampl, Elisheva Susz
Votes: 253 | Gross: $0.25M
85. 2 oder 3 Dinge, die ich von ihm weiß (2005)
85 min | Documentary, Drama, War
Family drama and historical truth collide in this film about the painful legacy cast by Hanns Ludin, a prominent Nazi executed for war crimes in 1947. In this documentary, Hanns Ludin's son... See full summary »
Director: Malte Ludin | Stars: Hanns Ludin, Malte Ludin, Adolf Hitler, Ernst Röhm
Votes: 217
86. March of the Penguins (2005)
G | 80 min | Documentary, Family
In the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family.
Director: Luc Jacquet | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Romane Bohringer, Charles Berling, Jules Sitruk
Votes: 59,957 | Gross: $77.44M
87. Inatteso (2005)
53 min | Documentary
Those who seek political asylum in Italy fear for their very survival. They are forced to wait for several years, are forbidden to work and receive no assistance from the State. They are ... See full summary »
Director: Domenico Distilo | Star: Joanna Henneman
Votes: 12
88. Viva Zapatero! (2005)
80 min | Documentary
A documentary about the state of censorship and political satire in Italy.
Director: Sabina Guzzanti | Stars: Francesco Alberoni, Lucia Annunziata, Silvio Berlusconi, Enzo Biagi
Votes: 943
89. Workingman's Death (2005)
Not Rated | 122 min | Documentary
A documentary on the extremes to which workers will go to earn a living.
Director: Michael Glawogger
Votes: 1,812
90. The Devil's Miner (2005)
Not Rated | 82 min | Documentary
'The Devil's Miner' tells the story of 14-year-old Basilio who worships the devil for protection while working in a Bolivian silver mine to support his family.
Directors: Kief Davidson, Richard Ladkani
Votes: 603 | Gross: $0.01M
91. Iraq in Fragments (2006)
Not Rated | 94 min | Documentary, War
Stories from modern day Iraq as told by Iraqis living in a time of war, occupation and ethnic tension.
Director: James Longley | Stars: Marmar Alhilali, Mohammed Haithem, Suleiman Mahmoud, Mohamed Qasim Sainakh
Votes: 1,546 | Gross: $0.20M
92. Nanking (2007)
R | 88 min | Biography, History, War
Through readings of historical account by actors and the testimony of survivors, the events of the Nanjing Massacre are recounted.
Directors: Bill Guttentag, Dan Sturman | Stars: Hugo Armstrong, Rosalind Chao, Stephen Dorff, John Getz
Votes: 3,589 | Gross: $0.16M
93. Am Limit (2007)
Not Rated | 95 min | Documentary, Sport
Daredevil mountain climbers on their attempt to break yet another speed climbing record.
Director: Pepe Danquart | Stars: Thomas Huber, Alexander Huber, Dean Potter, Chongo
Votes: 720 | Gross: $0.02M
94. Le papier ne peut pas envelopper la braise (2007)
90 min | Documentary
The film is situated as close as one can get to the life - and thus the spiritual death - of a prostitute.
Director: Rithy Panh
Votes: 111
95. Manda Bala (Send a Bullet) (2007)
Unrated | 85 min | Documentary
An examination of corruption and class warfare in Brazil as told through the stories of a wealthy businessman, a plastic surgeon who assists kidnapping victims and a politician whose income relies on a frog farm.
Director: Jason Kohn
Votes: 1,202 | Gross: $0.11M
96. Santiago (2007)
80 min | Documentary
Documentary about Santiago, a peculiar man who used to work for the director and his parents as a butler. The material was filmed in 1992 but, for some strange reason, the director felt he ... See full summary »
Director: João Moreira Salles | Star: Santiago Badariotti Merlo
Votes: 756
97. Jogo de Cena (2007)
100 min | Documentary, Drama
Following a newspaper ad, ordinary women tell part of their life stories to director Eduardo Coutinho, which are then re-enacted by actresses, blurring the barriers between truth, fiction and interpretation.
Director: Eduardo Coutinho | Stars: Marília Pêra, Andrea Beltrão, Fernanda Torres, Aleta Gomes Vieira
Votes: 1,311
98. Stranded (2007)
Unrated | 130 min | Documentary
For the first time ever, survivors of the famous 1972 Andes plane crash tell in their own words their harrowing story of survival.
Director: Gonzalo Arijon | Stars: Jose Algorta, Roberto Canessa, Alfredo Delgado, Daniel Fernandez
Votes: 1,478 | Gross: $0.09M
99. Chris & Don: A Love Story (2007)
Not Rated | 90 min | Documentary, Biography, Romance
The love story between British writer, Christopher Isherwood (whose book 'The Berlin Stories' inspired the musical and film Cabaret) and Don Bachardy, American portrait artist.
Directors: Tina Mascara, Guido Santi | Stars: W.H. Auden, Don Bachardy, Ted Bachardy, James Berg
Votes: 990 | Gross: $0.21M
100. Waveriders (2008)
80 min | Documentary, Adventure, Biography
The untold story of big-wave surfing in Ireland.
Director: Joel Conroy | Stars: Cillian Murphy, Kelly Slater, Richie Fitzgerald, Gabe Davies
Votes: 168
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