100 Greatest Movie Documentaries/50 Greatest Documentary Films
This list is a list of best documentaries in modern cinema, (1970s-present,) based on topic, diversity, critical reception, accolades, cultural impact, historical importance, cinematography, direction and popularity. Excluding ones that have been critically panned/negative reviews and entertaining celebrity biographies-(Found in ABC & CBS shows list). @=Academy Award nominated @-=Snubbed
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- DirectorRobert J. FlahertyStarsAllakariallakAlice NevalingaCunayouIn this silent predecessor to the modern documentary, film-maker Robert J. Flaherty spends one year following the lives of Nanook and his family, Inuits living in the Arctic Circle.@-
- DirectorMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackStarsMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackMarguerite HarrisonThe struggles of a hardscrabble Iranian nomadic tribe as they journey through bleak country to reach the grasslands that will save their livestock.@-
- DirectorFrances H. FlahertyRobert J. FlahertyStarsTa'avaleFa'amgaseT'ugaitaFilmmaker Robert J. Flaherty presents a docufictional account of a family living in a Samoan village in the early 1920s.@-
- DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.@-
- DirectorRobert J. FlahertyStarsColman 'Tiger' KingMaggie DirraneMichael DirraneIn this blend of documentary and fictional narrative from pioneering filmmaker Robert Flaherty, the everyday trials of life on Ireland's unforgiving Aran Islands are captured with attention to naturalistic beauty and historical detail.@-
- DirectorLeni RiefenstahlStarsAdolf HitlerHermann GöringMax AmannThe infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany.@-
- DirectorPare LorentzStarsThomas ChalmersThis documentary short film looks at the devastating and costly problems, including seasonal flooding and erosion of precious topsoil, associated with the Mississippi River system and promotes more Federal projects to remedy the situation.@-
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsWalter HustonBenjamin SimonA group of mentally traumatized veteran patients is followed as they go through psychiatric treatment.@-
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsSam LeveneArlene FrancisJoseph WisemanFilm produced by the International Ladies Garment Workers Union -- featuring several well-known Broadway actors -- recreates Triangle Fire of 1911 and compares working conditions of the 1910's with the 1950's.@
- DirectorNorman FosterStarsFrancis Kee TellerJohn MitchellMrs. Kee TellerA young Navajo Indian boy is caught up in the conflict of cultures when he rejects the white man's school. Told in semi-documentary style.@
- 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.@
- 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.@
- 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.@
- DirectorLouis Clyde StoumenStarsRaymond MasseyEdward WestonArthur 'Weegee' FelligFollows history of camera and photography development from Da Vinci through Louis-Jacques Daguerre and Matthew Brady, to Margaret Bourke-White, Alfred Eisenstadt, Weegee and Edward Weston.@
- 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.@-
- DirectorIrwin AllenStarsTheodore von EltzJohn StormA documentary showcasing the world's many different animal species, both past and present.@
- DirectorGeorge LoweAn Oscar-nominated account of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1958 recording the first crossing of Antarctica from the Weddell Sea to the Ross Sea.@
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeSharmila TagoreAlok ChakravartyThis final installment in Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy follows Apu's life as an orphaned adult aspiring to be a writer.@-
- DirectorLouis Clyde StoumenStarsMarlene DietrichAdolf HitlerThe rise and fall of Nazi Germany in part through the use of classical allegory.@
- DirectorMarshall FlaumStarsRichard BasehartA documentary--nominated for an Academy Award--about the American involvement in World War I.@
- DirectorBruce BrownStarsRobert AugustMichael HynsonLord James BlearsThe crown jewel to ten years of Bruce Brown surfing documentaries. Brown follows two young surfers around the world in search of the perfect wave, and ends up finding quite a few in addition to some colorful local characters.@-
- DirectorFrederick WisemanDocumentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.@-
- DirectorCarroll BallardStarsJohn CarterThe American farm and farmer at harvest time, beginning in Texas with the first cutting of winter wheat, and following the season north to the Canadian border.@
- DirectorEmile de AntonioStarsHarry S. AshmoreDaniel BerriganJoseph ButtingerA documentary chronicling the background to, and history of, the Vietnam War.@
- DirectorIrwin RostenStarsJames CoburnNaturalists fight to save rapidly vanishing species of wolves.@
- 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.@-
- DirectorAlbert MayslesDavid MayslesCharlotte ZwerinStarsPaul BrennanCharles McDevittJames BakerFour dogged door-to-door Bible salesmen travel from Boston to Florida on a seemingly futile quest to sell luxury editions of the Good Book to working-class Catholics.@-
- 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.@
- DirectorSidney LumetJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsHarry BelafonteRuby DeeBen GazzaraFollows Martin Luther King's life and decades-long civil rights activism.@
- DirectorWilliam CaytonStarsBrock PetersKevin KennedyTommy BurnsA documentary on the first African-American boxer to ever become world heavyweight champion. Released on the same year as "The Great White Hope" and also Oscar nominated like that film, this project uses of stills, archive footage and his own words narrated by actor Brock Peters to present Johnson's life, trajectory and of course, 'the fight of the century' against James Jeffries.@
- DirectorBruce BrownStarsSteve McQueenDave AldanaMark BrelsfordDocumentary on motorcycle racing featuring stars of the sport, including film star Steve McQueen, a racer in his own right.@
- 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.@
- DirectorWinterfilm CollectiveStarsRusty SachsJoe BangertScott ShimabukuroFor three days in 1971, former US soldiers who were in Vietnam testify in Detroit about their war experiences. Nearly 30 speak, describing atrocities personally committed or witnessed, telling of inaccurate body counts, and recounting the process of destroying a village. The atrocities are casual, seem routine, and are sanctioned or committed by officers. Images from the war illustrate the testimony; there's a side discussion among veterans about racism and a couple of interviews about the soldiers' self-realization. The testimony appears in the US Congressional Record on April 6 and 7, 1971. A "winter soldier" contrasts with Paine's "summer soldier and sunshine patriot."@
- DirectorJack Haley Jr.StarsFred AstaireGene KellyBing CrosbyVarious MGM stars from yesteryear present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50-year history.-- @-
- 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.@
- DirectorDavid BergmanJacques EhrlichHaim GouriHistorical documentary made up of footage and stills shot by the Nazis. A compilation of testimony from witnesses who appeared at the Eichmann trial provides a telling narrative.@
- DirectorJudy CollinsJill GodmilowStarsAntonia BricoJudy CollinsA special deluxe edition of the 1974 Oscar nominated documentary film about the first female conductor to conduct major orchestras in the US and Europe, Antonia Brico!@
- 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.@
- DirectorGlen PearcyStarsLuis ValdezA great documentary about the United Farm Workers Movement and their non-violent struggle against police brutality in 1973.@
- 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.@
- 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.@
- 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.@
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsLucille BillingsleyZella GrahamCal HarbertsA documentary about a pet cemetery in California, and the people who have pets buried there.
- DirectorBarbet SchroederStarsKokoPenny PattersonSaul KitchenerA documentary that follows Dr. Penny Patterson's current scientific study of Koko, a gorilla who communicates through American Sign Language.@-
- DirectorArnold ShapiroStarsPeter FalkMickie ColdDoug CroninThe filmed depiction of a program where convicts tell troubled kids about the horrors of prison life.@
- DirectorBarry Alexander BrownGlenn SilberStarsKarleton ArmstrongBetty BoardmanAllen GinsbergInterviews with people involved with and leading the Madison, Wisconsin area resistance to the Vietnam war.@
- DirectorTom PriestleySteve SingerStarsBrit HumeThe Killing Ground examines toxic waste, its effects on public health, and failures by government agencies and chemical companies to keep it contained.@
- 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.@
- DirectorRoss SpearsStarsJames AgeeMia AgeeMae BurroughsAgee is the only film biography of a major American writer to be nominated for and Academy Award. Ever.@
- DirectorGlenn SilberTeté VasconcellosStarsEnrique AlvarezJohn A. BushnellTerence CookeExamines the origins of the civil war in El Salvador and the US involvement in it, echoing memories of the prior Eastern Asia wars and America involved conflicts in Korea and Vietnam.@
- DirectorJayne LoaderKevin RaffertyPierce RaffertyStarsPaul TibbetsHarry S. TrumanW.H.P. BlandyDisturbing collection of 1940s and 1950s United States government-issued propaganda films designed to reassure Americans that the atomic bomb was not a threat to their safety.@-
- DirectorGodfrey ReggioStarsEdward AsnerPat BenatarJerry BrownA collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology.@-
- DirectorMeg SwitzgableStarsFrank KalerRita KalerTed KordisA New Jersey family discovers their drinking water is contaminated with deadly poisons from a nearby landfill.
- 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.@
- DirectorAra ChekmayanRichard KotukStarsPeter ThomasRichard KotukJohn BrooksA significant number of American children and teenagers - from all social backgrounds - suffer from mental disorders, schizophrenia, autism and emotional problems, leading them to isolation from society while treating their issues in mental health facilities. But there's no end in sight for those young individuals when they face obstacles and mistreatments in inadequate places under the supervision of careless and inexperienced professionals. The documentary follows some of those public mental institutions and another private center dealing with troubled kids and reveals what's wrong with their procedures, and the irreparable harm they cause in those patients.@
- DirectorMartin BellStarsAnnieEddieAntoineGritty documentary that looks at the lives of teenagers living on the streets of Seattle.@
- DirectorRob EpsteinStarsHarvey FiersteinHarvey MilkAnne KronenbergA documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor.@
- DirectorClaude LanzmannStarsSimon SrebnikMichael PodchlebnikMotke ZaïdlClaude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors.@-
- DirectorVictoria MuddStarsMartin SheenBuffy Sainte-MarieBurgess MeredithDocumentary chronicling the government relocation of 10,000 Navajo Indians in Arizona.@
- 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.@
- DirectorBen SheddStarsWilliam ShatnerAn award-winning 32 minute docu-fantasy that takes the creation cycle of the seasons from poetic thought through finished ballet featuring the award-winning poetry of Gus Nicholson, Alexei Karpov's award-winning score and David Taylor's award-winning choreography. A great study tool on the use of language and imagination and a delight to the senses.--
- DirectorMarcel OphülsStarsKlaus BarbieClaude LanzmannMarcel OphülsA documentary about Klaus Barbie, the Gestapo chief of Lyon, and his life after the war.@
- DirectorStephen LowStarsEarl PenningtonSeveral beaver families in their wild surroundings. The interesting process of building a dam can be watched as well as the dangers arising from hungry bears and other influences on the new-built home.--
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsRandall AdamsDavid HarrisGus RoseA film that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas County, Texas.@-
- DirectorAl ReinertStarsJim LovellKen MattinglyRussell SchweickartAn in-depth look at various NASA moon landing missions, starting with Apollo 8.@
- DirectorRichard KilbergStarsJulian BondJohn BrademasCalvin O. Butts IIIThe Academy Award¨-nominated Adam Clayton Powell delves into the gripping life and career of the most influential and flamboyant civil rights leader in America in the Õ30s, Õ40s and Õ50s.@
- DirectorRob EpsteinJeffrey FriedmanStarsSara LewinsteinDavid MandellSuzi MandellA collection of profiles of people dead from AIDS who are remembered in the AIDS Memorial Quilt.@
- DirectorMark MoriSusan J. RobinsonStarsJane AlexanderIt is one of the most volatile nuclear arms controversies in America's history: the mismanagement of the U.S. Department of Energy's Savannah River Plant outside Aiken, South Carolina--mismanagement which has produced numerous reactor accidents, a general deterioration of the aging facility's cooling system, and the threat of nuclear waste to the area's drinking water. BUILDING BOMBS, the product of five years of research and filmed interviews by Atlanta filmmakers Mark Mori and Susan Robinson, is the first in-depth look at the social, emotional and moral impact of the nation's largest nuclear weapons manufacturing facility on the people of Aiken, South Carolina. But BUILDING BOMBS is more than just the facts--horrifying as they are. It is a powerful story of individuals whose lives and livelihoods were wed to the Savannah River Plant and of how those individuals faced complex personal and professional choices with touching courage and dignity.@
- DirectorMark KitchellStarsJentri AndersJoan BaezFrank BardackeA documentary about militant student political activity in the University of California-Berkely in the 1960's.@
- 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.@
- DirectorDiane GareyLawrence R. HottStarsLinda HuntRalph WaiteRichard B. ShullThis Oscar nominated short documentary presents the inspiring and real life story of the pioneers of environmental protection in America, their contributions to the cause of saving thousands of acres of natural territories and wild life preservation, all which led to the Creation of the Wilderness Act, law passed in 1964.@
- DirectorJohn WeileyStarsAlex ScottThis large format film explores the last great wilderness on earth. It takes you to the coldest, driest, windiest continent, Antarctica. The film explores life in Antarctica, both for the animals that live there and the scientists that work there.--
- DirectorAlan RaymondStarsAlan RaymondAmerica Undercover offers an inside look at the maximum-security federal penitentiary at Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. It examines the difficulties of life in the prison and talks to prisoners who are sentenced to spend the rest of their lives there.@
- DirectorGeorge CaseyStarsRobert FoxworthNorman BanksLawrence BlairThis spectacular presentation explores the volcano belt known as the Ring of Fire. Breathtaking cinematography displays close up shots of past and present Pacific Rim volcanoes from Chile, the USA, Japan, and the Philippines.
- 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.@
- DirectorWilliam MilesNina RosenblumStarsDenzel WashingtonLouis Gossett Jr.Leon BassAn account of Black American soldiers in World War II who combated racism in the segregated military and on the home front. In April 1945, some Black American soldiers were among the first 'liberators' to enter Nazi death camps, encountering the survivors described by one GI as "walking skeletons."@
- DirectorDavid DouglasStarsRip TornMan's emergency creativity can be seen at its best, after Saddam Hussein had the Kuwait oil wells lit up, as teams from all over the world fought those fires for months, and had to save the oil resources, as well as reduce air pollution.@
- DirectorRichard SchmiechenStarsEvelyn HookerChuck RowlandPatrick StewartDirected by Oscar-winner Richard Schmiechen and narrated by Patrick Stewart, Changing Our Minds: The Story of Dr. Evelyn Hooker portrays the life and work of the woman who undertook the groundbreaking research that led to the radical discovery that homosexuals were not, by definition, "sick," sending shock waves through the psychiatric community and culminating in a major victory for gay rights.@
- DirectorBarbara TrentStarsElizabeth MontgomeryCarlos CantúDiviana IngravalloA film about the true reasons for the 1989 US invasion of Panama and big media complicity in these activities.@
- 19921h 53mNot Rated7.4 (111)DirectorHava Kohav BellerStarsJohn DildineRoland FreislerCarl Friedrich GoerdelerIn 1944, at least 170 German citizens were brought to trial and convicted as participants in a plot to assassinate Adolf Hitler. This was not an isolated act, but rather the last of more than 20 attempts to overthrow the Nazi Regime. Powerful and provocative, Academy Award nominee THE RESTLESS CONSCIENCE explores the motivating principles and activities of the anti-Nazi resistance inside Germany from 1933 to 1945. The film is a deeply moving portrayal of individual destinies, focusing on the moral and political evolution of individuals whose conscience was at odds with an overpowering national consensus. Hava Kohav Beller's THE RESTLESS CONSCIENCE highlights the tension between individual responsibility to a personal ethical code, and to a tyrannical political system. In telling their story, the film recognizes those who, despite mortal danger to themselves and their families, had the courage to uphold essential human values.@
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogThis film surveys the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames, with little narration and scarcely any interviews. Hell on Earth is presented in such transcendent visions and music that one can only be fascinated by it.@-
- DirectorAdrian WarrenStarsRebecca JenkinsMountain Gorilla takes the viewer to a remote range of volcanic mountains in Rwanda, Africa, described by those who have been there as ""one of the most beautiful places in the world"", and home to the few hundred remaining mountain gorillas.--
- DirectorMichael AptedStarsRobert RedfordNorman ZigrossiRobert SikmaThis film describes the events surrounding a 1975 shootout at the Pine Ridge reservation in S. Dakota where two FBI agents were killed.
- DirectorChris HegedusD.A. PennebakerStarsJames CarvilleGeorge StephanopoulosHeather BeckelA documentary of the Bill Clinton 1992 presidential campaign and the organization who ran it.@
- DirectorAdrian WarrenStarsPatrick StewartGo on a breathtaking adventure through time and across five continents to reveal nature's most vital secret.--
- DirectorSusan RaymondStarsSusan RaymondDeanna BurneyClary JanssonFilmmakers Alan Raymond and Susan Raymond document Philadelphia teachers facing challenges at an inner-city school.@
- DirectorSteve JamesStarsWilliam GatesArthur AgeeEmma GatesA film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.-- @-
- DirectorHoward HallStarsKate NelliganThe Tangwalder off California's Channel Islands are full of wonders: hugging starfish, dazzling octopuses, capricious sea lions and more, shot by Howard Hall, the director of Deep Sea.--
- DirectorGeorge CaseyStarsJames Earl JonesThe Serengeti is a huge area of grassland in Tanzania, Africa. Once a year, in the time of drought, about two million herd animals like antelopes travel north to feed and mate before moving south again, when plants there begin to blossom.--
- DirectorJean BachStarsDizzy GillespieMilt HintonMarian McPartlandThe documentary compiles interviews of all the top jazz musicians in NYC in the year 1958, for a piece in Esquire magazine.@
- DirectorConnie FieldMarilyn MulfordStarsChude Pamela AllenHeather BoothL.C. DorseyChronicles the Mississippi voter registration drive from 1961- 64.@
- 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.@
- 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.@
- DirectorGreg MacGillivrayStarsSteven K. KatonaMeryl StreepJudith ConnorFilmmaker Greg MacGillivray examines the world's oceans and their importance to life on Earth.--
- DirectorRob EpsteinJeffrey FriedmanStarsLily TomlinTony CurtisSusie BrightA documentary surveying the various Hollywood screen depictions of homosexuals and the attitudes behind them throughout the history of North American film.@-