3. Best World Documentaries 1
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- DirectorHumphrey JenningsStarsPhilip DicksonGeorge GravettFred GriffithsA tale of firefighters in London during the Blitz.
- DirectorPat JacksonStarsEric FullertonDuncan MacKenzieW. KerrA 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 this little island could fight on. Even as late as 1943/4 when this was made, the convoys still provided vital essential supplies as well as the materiel necessary to take the fight into Europe. This film dramatizes the experiences of many merchant seamen.
- DirectorChris MarkerAbout 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.
- StarsLaurence OlivierQueen Elizabeth IIPrince PhilipA lavish documentary film of Queen Elizabeth II's Coronation in 1953.
- DirectorGeorge LoweStarsMeredith EdwardsJohn HuntGeorge BandDocumentary that covers the famous and successful expedition of the Everest conquest by Tenzing Norgay and Edmund Hillary, the first climbers to reach its peak.
- DirectorFrank BagnallColin DeanStanley HawesStarsPeter FinchWilfrid ThomasQueen Elizabeth IIA record of the 1954 visit to Australia by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II and his Royal Highness Prince Philip.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsPablo PicassoHenri-Georges ClouzotClaude RenoirA filmed record of Pablo Picasso painting numerous canvases for the camera, allowing us to see his creative process at work.
- DirectorJacques-Yves CousteauLouis MalleStarsFrédéric DumasAlbert FalcoJacques-Yves CousteauA documentary about the undersea explorers and how they penetrate into the underwater world.
- DirectorGeorge MorrisonStarsLiam BudhlaeirPadraig O'RaghallaighMise 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.
- DirectorLionel RogosinStarsZacharia MgabiVinah BendileMiriam MakebaCome Back, Africa chronicles the life of Zachariah, a black South African living under the rule of the harsh apartheid government in 1959.
- DirectorFrançois ReichenbachStarsJean CocteauPaul KlingerJune RichmondSatirical documentary, shot in all parts of the US, showing various aspects of American behavior.
- DirectorChris MarkerStarsAliPère GauthierMonsieur KleinA documentary about the then only twelve year old country of Israel, caught amidst the tensions of the Middle East and the ongoing Cold War.
- 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.
- DirectorChris MarkerPierre LhommeStarsChris MarkerYves MontandSimone SignoretChris 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 and the first time in 23 years that France was not involved in any war.
- 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.
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsdon Andrea CarraroPier Paolo PasoliniWhile 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 much of a great choice due to the modern invasion which completely altered the biblical settings. Here, the director explained his reasons of why his search in the Middle East end up being wrong - though somewhat fruitful and rewarding in other ways - and why his native Italy surprised him and became the scenario for his religious epic.
- DirectorGualtiero JacopettiFranco ProsperiStarsSergio RossiGualtiero JacopettiJomo KenyattaThe cruel acts of animal poaching and violence, executions, and tribal slaughtering, all taking place on the African continent.
- DirectorDonald BrittainJohn SpottonStarsBernard LauferEmil BednarekWilhelm BogerA Jewish Holocaust survivor travels through Germany recalling scenes from his memory.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardJoris IvensWilliam KleinStarsAnne BellecKaren BlanguernonFidel CastroIn seven different segments, Godard, Klein, Lelouch, Marker, Resnais, and Varda show their sympathy and support for the North Vietnamese army during the Vietnam War.
- DirectorPeter LennonStarsSean O'FaoláinConor Cruise O'BrienJohn HustonIrish-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.
- DirectorChris MarkerMario Marret1967, 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 are not only higher wages or better working conditions but also BETTER LIVING CONDITIONS. They first and foremost say no to the lifestyle capitalism wants to impose on them. One more year to go and the whole country of France will imitate the strikers of Besançon.
- 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.
- DirectorRichard CawstonStarsWalter AnnenbergKing Charles IIIMichael FlandersIntimate portrait of the daily life of the British Royal Family drawn from 18 months of filming within Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Balmoral.
- 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.
- DirectorLionel RogosinStarsJim CollierGary DavisLarry JohnsonRogosin 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, including Reverend Frederick Douglass Kirkpatrick; attorney and feminist activist Florynce ""Flo"" Kennedy; and musicians Jim Collier, Wende Smith, Larry Johnson and Reverend Gary Davis. All tell stories of heartbreak and despair while their songs blow the roof off the rafters. In an extension of the famed shebeen scenes in Come Back, Africa, the participants in Black Roots spoke openly about politics and race in a way that is still rarely seen on screen. In 1970, it was a radical and daring move by a great director. A deeply humanist film, Black Roots combines tales of oppression with hauntingly beautiful images of the faces of black men, women and children.