Great documentaries
These are all documentaries that somehow have stayed in my mind over the years.
List activity
1.3K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
50 titles
- DirectorAndrew DouglasStarsHarry CrewsJohnny DowdDavid Eugene EdwardsSearching for The Wrong-Eyed Jesus is a captivating and compelling road trip through the creative spirit of the the Southern U.S. Director Andrew Douglas's film follows "Alt Country" singer Jim White through a gritty terrain of churches, prisons, truck stops, biker bars and coal mines. This is a journey through a very real contemporary Southern U.S., a world of marginalised white people and their unique and home-made society. Along the way are road-side encounters with modern musical mavericks including The Handsome Family, Johnny Dowd, 16 Horsepower and David Johansen; old time banjo player Lee sexton; rockabilly and mountain Gospel churches - and novelist Harry Crews telling grisly stories down a dirt track.
- DirectorStefan JarlStarsRicky BruchRolf DannebergCarl Fredrik DymlingCaptivating and emotional documentary that follows Swedish Discus champion Ricky Bruch as he prepares for the 1984 Olympics at age 38. The film highlights Bruch's obsessive behavior regarding his training and preparations. Facing difficulties with the Swedish Olympic Committee, Bruch is denied the right to compete in the Olympic Games. Bent on revenge, he trains like an animal and competes in smaller competitions, ultimately throwing his career-best 71.26 meters (233 feet, 9 inches). Proving to himself and the world that he is the greatest, Ricky's throw would have won the 1984 Olympics by nearly 5 meters.
- DirectorStefan JarlStarsPeter AnderssonThommy BerggrenJörn DonnerFor two and a half years Adid Stefan Jarl follow the actor and director Thommy Berggren, who talks about his life and work in the film.
- 2006–20075 epsTV-MA8.5 (4.8K)TV Mini Series89MetascoreStarsDarleen AsevedoJay AsevedoShelton Shakespear AlexanderAn examination of the U.S. government's response to Hurricane Katrina.
- DirectorEllen HovdeAlbert MayslesDavid MayslesStarsEdith Bouvier BealeEdith 'Little Edie' Bouvier BealeBrooks HyersMeet a mother and daughter, high-society dropouts, reclusive cousins of Jackie O., managing to thrive together amid the decay and disorder of their East Hampton, NY, mansion, making for an eerily ramshackle echo of the American Camelot.
- DirectorChris MarkerStarsAmilcar CabralFlorence DelayArielle DombasleA woman narrates the contemplative writings of a seasoned world traveler, focusing on contemporary Japan.
- DirectorChris MetzlerJeff SpringerStarsSonny BonoJohn WatersNorm NiverRenowned cult film director John Waters narrates this quirky exploration of the Salton Sea, the massive Southern California lake that was created by accident a century ago, became a popular desert resort and has since developed into a refuge for a community of oddballs.
- 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.
- DirectorNikolaus GeyrhalterStarsClaus Hansen PetzArkadiusz RydellekBarbara HinzOUR DAILY BREAD is a wide-screen tableau of a feast which isn't always easy to digest - and in which we all take part. A pure, meticulous and high-end film experience that enables the audience to form their own ideas.
- DirectorPhilip GröningAn examination of life inside the Grande Chartreuse, the head monastery of the reclusive Carthusian Order in France.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleThe love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.
- DirectorSteven SebringStarsPatti SmithLenny KayeOliver RayAn intimate portrait of poet, painter, musician and singer Patti Smith that mirrors the essence of the artist herself.
- DirectorMika RonkainenStarsAnna JärvinenHeikki KiviahoHarri MantyA son and a father go on a road trip that turns into a musical journey into the emotional memory and the history of Finnish immigration in Sweden; of shame, guilt, crime, alcoholism, and family secrets.
- DirectorDavid GelbStarsJiro OnoYoshikazu OnoMasuhiro YamamotoA documentary on 85-year-old sushi master Jiro Ono, his renowned Tokyo restaurant, and his relationship with his son and eventual heir, Yoshikazu.
- DirectorSophie FiennesStarsAnselm KieferBill KatzKlaus DermutzStarting in 2000, German artist Anselm Kiefer began constructing a series of large elaborate structures, comprising 48 buildings, a labyrinth of tunnels, bridges, lakes and towers. The film bears witness to an incredible creative process.
- DirectorRosvita DransfeldStarsChris HoardDavid WoolfsonSet in a pawnshop the documentary by award-winning filmmaker Rosie Dransfeld features the unlikely friendship between a cynic pawnbroker and a psychopath.
- DirectorAgnès VardaStarsFrançois WertheimerAgnès VardaJean La PlancheVarda films and interviews gleaners in France in all forms, from those picking fields after the harvest to those scouring the dumpsters of Paris.
- DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.
- DirectorDavid BarisonDaniel RossStarsPhilippe Lacoue-LabartheJean-Luc NancyBernard StieglerA 3000km journey up the Danube river to the heart of Europe.
- DirectorClaude LanzmannStarsSimon SrebnikMichael PodchlebnikMotke ZaïdlClaude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors.
- DirectorJennifer BaichwalStarsEdward BurtynskyPhotographer Edward Burtynsky travels the world observing changes in landscapes due to industrial work and manufacturing.
- DirectorEdgar MorinJean RouchStarsAngeloNadine BallotCatherineA documentary about the everyday lives of ordinary Parisians, done in the style of cinéma vérité.
- DirectorÓscar Pérez
- DirectorAri FolmanStarsAri FolmanRon Ben-YishaiRonny DayagAn Israeli film director interviews fellow veterans of the 1982 invasion of Lebanon to reconstruct his own memories of his term of service in that conflict.
- DirectorMåns MånssonStarsAnders Björck
- DirectorByambasuren DavaaLuigi FalorniStarsJanchiv AyurzanaChimed OhinAmgaabazar GonsonWhen a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.
- DirectorKanerva CederströmRiikka TannerStarsBirgitta UlfssonTove JanssonTuulikki PietiläAuthor Tove Jansson and graphic artist Tuulikki Pietilä spent 20 summers on the island of Klovharu in the Gulf of Finland. This documentary is based on 20 hours of Super 8 film footage shot by Tuulikki Pietilä between 1970 and 1991.
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsMichel BouquetReinhard HeydrichHeinrich HimmlerThe history of Nazi Germany's death camps of the Final Solution and the hellish world of dehumanization and death contained inside.
- DirectorYing Ning
- DirectorRick MinnichA musical romp through the Ozark Mountains with a handful of rascally modern-day hillbillies.
- DirectorÅsa BlanckJohan PalmgrenStarsFolke SilvénPeter KleinwichsMax WejstorpA substitute teacher working in the suburbs of Stockholm finds himself increasingly disillusioned about his job. He calls his mentor, a 75-year-old veteran, who travels to Stockholm. Together they try to make a difference in the students' lives.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsTimothy TreadwellAmie HuguenardWerner HerzogA devastating and heart-rending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzly bears in Alaska.
- DirectorHelen AhlssonLisa MuntheStarsHeidi AnderssonJeanette AnderssonKent AnderssonThe tiny village in the far north of Sweden called Ensamheten (Solitude) has sixteen inhabitants. They all share an unusual passion - armwrestling. Among them is 22-year-old Heidi Andersson, three times a world champion. Here is a varied life. One day in the forest with the other lumberjacks, the next she is in the big city modelling bridal gowns. She hunts moose with her mother and talks about boys with her father. The village is a cooperative and they are all behind this slender woman as she takes on the world.
- DirectorNicolas PhilibertStarsGeorges LopezAlizéAxel ThouveninA documentary portrait of a one-room school in rural France, where the students (ranging in age from 4 to 11) are educated by a single dedicated teacher.
- DirectorJessica Gorter'Piter' is the nickname for St Petersburg. You see 7 residents of this city at the start of the 21st century. They picture the dark world of revolution and war, the grey Brezhnev years and the harsh realities of glasnost and perestroika.
- DirectorFatih AkinStarsAlexander HackeAhmed UlugCem YegulAward-winning director Fatih Akin takes us on a journey through Istanbul, the city that bridges Europe and Asia, and challenges familiar notions of east and west. He looks at the vibrant musical scene which includes traditional Turkish music plus rock and hip-hop.
- DirectorMichael WinterbottomStarsJamal Udin TorabiEnayatullahImran ParachaA refugee family is trying to reach more peaceful lands illegally inside trucks.
- DirectorMarc IsaacsOn the other side of the Channel Brits and non-EU refugees brush some wanting to get out, the others wanting to get in.
- DirectorJörn DonnerErkki SeiroJaakko TalaskiviStarsJörn DonnerIrmeli LoikalaJussi NiininenThree 30-something Finnish filmmakers travel around Finland to interview ordinary people and paint a picture of Finland in the year 1970.
- DirectorJukka KärkkäinenJ-P PassiStarsPertti KurikkaKari AaltoSami HelleA Finnish punk-rock band formed by four mentally disabled guys.
- DirectorLotta PetronellaStarsMats BergmanUlf BergmanJohan SimbergHOME. Somewhere. - is a poetic feature length documentary that asks the bold question: Will the human soul ever find a home? On the most remote islands of Finland we encounter men that become our personal guides and lead us through this unknown landscape as well as on the sea. By allowing us to enter their private world and rituals, we are forced to think about our own idea of home.
- DirectorMarc SingerStarsMarc SingerA cinematic portrait of the homeless population who live permanently in the underground tunnels of New York City.
- DirectorSara NessonApple pie cheerleader turned tough-as-nails machine gunner in the Iraq War, Sgt. Robynn Murray comes home to face a new kind of battle she never anticipated.
- DirectorChristian Von BorriesImages of Dubai and of Second Life, in an attempt to glean some new intelligence.
- DirectorJoshua OppenheimerAnonymousChristine CynnStarsAnwar CongoHerman KotoSyamsul ArifinA documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers.
- DirectorShaon ChakrabortyAnna PerssonStarsAgnetaAjubBilalThe true story of the people who are forced to leave Sweden after asking for sanctuary.
- DirectorByambasuren DavaaLuigi FalorniStarsJanchiv AyurzanaChimed OhinAmgaabazar GonsonWhen a Mongolian nomadic family's newest camel colt is rejected by its mother, a musician is needed for a ritual to change her mind.
- DirectorSalomé JashiA journey into a lively but rotting building in a provincial Georgian town. It once used to be a hotel called 'Bakhmaro'. At the center of the building is a restaurant whose walls are covered with bright green and orange plastic foam and where tables are set, waiting for customers - who rarely come. A Chinese shop, a slot machines and a political party office can also be found here. The building is a microcosm intruded by the constant anticipation of change. It is a model of this troubled country with its endless demonstrations and opposition rallies. On the backdrop of political events, somehow, all of life is here.