True Crime Docs to Watch
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- DirectorMasao AdachiStarsMasao AdachiA visual document of the life of serial killer Norio Nagayama, focusing entirely of his living environment with some narrated biographical information.
- DirectorHoward AlkStarsSkip AndrewEdward CarmodyJames DavisA chronicle of Fred Hampton's revolutionary leadership of the Illinois Black Panther Party, followed by an investigation into his assassination at the hands of the Chicago Police Department.
- DirectorRobert HendricksonLaurence MerrickStarsBobby BeausoleilMary BrunnerVincent BugliosiDocumentary on Charles Manson and his family. Has a number of insightful interviews with many family members most notably Squeaky and Sandy (Blue and Red). There is also a history of Manson from his birth to the family formation to the Tate/La Bianca murders. Plenty of footage of the family playing at Spahn Ranch.
- DirectorPatrick TurleyStory of a Hijack on Independence Day 1977 in New York.
- DirectorImre HorvathStarsRobb WebbImre HorvathFrank SalernoDocumentary about serial killers and FBI Behavioral Sciences Profilers. Interviews with Ed Kemper and Ted Bundy as well as crime victims and law enforcement officials. Includes some Dramatic Recreations.
- DirectorMichael McIntyreStarsYukio MishimaJohn HurtNobuko Lady AlberyAbout Yukio Mishima that highlights the many known major aspects of his life and personality. Mishima was a pen name he adopted en route to his chosen life as a writer.
- DirectorChristine ChoyRenee Tajima-PenaStarsLily ChinRonald EbensStarleneThe film recounts the murder of a Chinese-American automotive engineer in a racially motivated hate crime, and how the murderer escaped justice in the court system.
- 1983– 51mTV-MA8.0 (321)TV EpisodeDirectorArthur GinsbergStarsMarlene SandersDonald BentMichael BadenCan the dead speak? Yes...but only to those who know how to listen. In this riveting documentary, Dr. Michael Baden, one of the country's most celebrated forensic pathologists, reveals the stories behind the cases of unnatural or suspicious death that he helped solve. In more than 20,000 autopsies over the past 32 years, Dr. Baden has uncovered the secrets of the dead and brought killers to justice, earning him the nickname, 'detective of death.'
- DirectorMorgan NevilleHarry PallenbergStarsNick BeckBuddy ColletteBert CoronaA political and social history of Los Angeles, using old stills and news footage, contemporary footage, and commentary. Bert Corona is our guide for East Los Angeles, Buck Henry for Hollywood, David Hockney for the art scene, Elaine Young for Beverly Hills, Buddy Collette and Gene Norman for Central Avenue and music, Margaret Crawford and Joan Didion for the San Fernando Valley, James Ellroy for noir L.A., Frank Wilkinson on land use and L.A.'s poor, and, throughout, the observations of Mike Davis, L.A.'s pre-eminent social historian.
- DirectorJoe BerlingerBruce SinofskyStarsTony BrooksDiana DavisTerry WoodA horrific triple child murder leads to an indictment and trial of three nonconformist boys based on questionable evidence.
- StarsHoward NightingallVern WhaleyA unique one-hour biography of the most notorious gangster in history.
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsMichael DouglasAnkie SpitzerJamal Al GasheyThe Palestinian terrorist group Black September holds Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich.
- StarsLarry Gene BellDavid BerkowitzLee BrownFormer FBI agent John Douglas, the inventor of criminal profiling, leads a journey into the minds of the 20th Century's most notorious killers, including Charles Manson, John Wayne Gacy, and Jeffrey Dahmer.
- DirectorJames Ronald WhitneyStarsJames Ronald WhitneyMelvin JustDenise BensonAn in-depth look at the director James Ronald Whitney's family history of incest spanning at least three generations and the devastating consequences that include drug abuse and alcoholism.
- 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.
- DirectorWilliam GazeckiStarsRobert DerhamAlan DershowitzDick DetrichReckless Indifference examines the tragic chain of events that led to the murder of a Los Angeles teenager who was also the son of an LAPD officer. At the end of an heated and emotional trial, four teens are sent to prison for the rest of their lives despite the fact that only one of them wielded a weapon.
- DirectorTeresa HuntStarsAlbert KirbyAlan WilliamsDenise FergusAlbert Kirby, the retired Detective Superintendent who headed the investigation into the murder of James Bulger in 1993, reflects on his involvement with the case.
- DirectorVikram JayantiStarsJames EllroyRick JacksonBrian M. CarrA documentary about James Ellroy and his fascination with unsolved murder cases, especially those of his mother, and the similar, infamous, Black Dahlia murder.
- 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.
- DirectorJosé PadilhaFelipe LacerdaStarsSandro do NascimentoRodrigo PimentelLuiz Eduardo SoaresOn 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.
- DirectorGrover BabcockBlue HadaeghStarsFred CorralSherwood DixonJulie WilsonUnblinking and unsettling, this documentary lays bare a mysterious process that goes on all around us - what happens to people who die with no next of kin.
- DirectorJohn BorowskiStarsTony JayEd BertagnoliCary CallisonTorture chambers, acid vats, greased chutes and gassing rooms were just some of the devices of death designed by the Torture Doctor, H.H. Holmes in his castle of horrors. Follows Holmes' entire life as a criminal mastermind.
- StarsMichael PetersonDavid RudolfRon GueretteThe high-profile murder trial of American novelist Michael Peterson following the death of his wife Kathleen Peterson in 2001.
- DirectorBrent E. HuffmanMost prison documentaries focus on the inmates. This sobering program features guards and prisoners alike, giving the viewer two interpretations of life at Ohio's Warren Correctional Institution. From the smallest detail-how cellmates rig a shabby partition around their toilet-to the cynicism and frontline sociology with which the corrections officers analyze their surroundings, the video clearly elucidates the effects of prolonged monotony and confinement on the human spirit. As one officer puts it, "Eight hours a day, I'm locked up here too."
- DirectorWalter StokmanStarsJohn CazaleSidney LumetAl Pacino'Based on a True Story' is a documentary on John Wojtowicz and Salvatore Naturile's attempt to rob a bank in Flatbrush, NY, which was later made into a movie in 1975.