Documentaries fulfill two key roles: they simultaneously inform and entertain and if you think the two are mutually exclusive concepts than this will rock you. Documentaries run the thematic gamut. They know no stylistic bounds. They are curious about all themes, from the outrageously mundane to the intriguingly obscure. They pick you up and deposit you anywhere along the emotional spectrum. They are dope.
This list is a compendium of the various ‘best documentaries’ lists I have seen over the years, edited by moi. It includes films that many critical observers have praised and those that have received acclaim. It also includes lower profile documentaries that offer an important message or expertise on a specific subject. If you have ever wanted a starting point for your documentary watching rookie days this might be it. No more idle time, all.
1. Aileen: Life and Death of a Serial Killer (Nick Broomfield & Joan Churchill, 2003)
Notorious female serial killer: her life, times, and death by lethal injection.
2. An Inconvenient Truth (Davis Guggenheim, 2006)
Raised public interest about global warming to a fever pitch. Al Gore’s earthy retaliation to a failed presidential bid.
3. The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012)
In the 1960’s they were the perpetrators of mass murders in Indonesia. Here they are now: shameless, frivolous, and they’re not sorry.
4. American Movie (Chris Smith, 1999)
An aspiring filmmaker from a working-class Wisconsin background. A star-crossed horror film. Slacker nineties aesthetic at its plaid bedecked best.
5. Amy (Asif Kapadia, 2015)
An intimate portrait of a misunderstood songstress. Archival footage included.
6. The Big One (Michael Moore, 1997)
Champion of the working classes goes on a road trip around the Midwest. Scathing promotional fun.
7. Before the Flood (Fisher Stevens, 2016)
That guy from Inception and Titanic takes on the end of the world- as in global warming. It’s more insightful and was better received than one would have assumed. Solutions oriented.
8. Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore, 2002)
Gun violence. Intoxicating populist film-making. Moore making friends from the militia of Michigan to the youths of Columbine. The creator of Cops makes an appearance.
9. The Black Panthers: Vanguard of the Revolution (Stanley Nelson, 2016)
Civil rights are probably one of the most urgent topics that we incorrectly categorize as a ‘past’ problem. It’s not. Learn about its roots.
10. Blackfish (Gabriela Cowperthwaite, 2013)
The dubious practices of Seaworld. The intellectual and psychic landscape of orcas examined.
11. Buena Vista Social Club (Wim Wenders, 1999)
The evocative harmonies of a pre-revolution revival group. The perennially enigmatic Cuba.
12. Burden of Dreams (Les Blank, 1982)
Epic German director Werner Herzog’s vision quest. “A resolve bordering on insanity”. The Amazon.
13. Capitalism: A Love Story (Michael Moore, 2009)
Post-recession reevaluation of the American socioeconomic landscape. True stories too repugnant to believe. Working class activism. Capitalism’s dark side.
14. Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki, 2003)
Bday party clowns (yuck). Pedophilia. The unraveling of a middle-class fam.
15. Cartel Land (Matthew Heineman, 2015)
Charismatic anti-cartel leader with illustrious hair. Cartels. Insight into a chaotic on the ground battle.
16. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (Werner Herzog, 2011)
Herzog’s voice. A cave that tells the origin story of human creative endeavors. State of the art filmmaking. Speculation on our shared fate.
17. The Central Park Five (Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon, 2012)
Systemic racism meets a wrongful conviction meets a media fire storm.
18. Chasing Coral (Jeff Orlowski, 2017)
Dilapidated coral reefs. The crisis of the oceans. Endearing environmental ingenues.
19. Chasing Ice (Jeff Orlowski, 2012)
Singular visionary on a quest to capture ice in its transformative and elusive journey through forms. A global warming bent.
20. Chuck Norris Vs. Communism (Ilinca Calugareanu, 2015)
Bootlegged films in communist Romania. Unexpectedly raw, riveting, and heartfelt.
21. City 40 (Samira Goetschel, 2016)
Mysterious, enigmatic Russian city. Government maneuverings. Nuclear zones. Brutalist architecture.
22. The Corporation (Mark Achbar, Jennifer Abbott, 2003)
Corporate crime. Psychopathic diagnosis. Social and environmental justice on a world scale.
23. The Cove (Louie Psihoyos, 2009)
People killing dolphins. International outrage. A PR crisis.
24. Cowspiracy (Kip Anderson & Keegan Kuhn, 2014)
A shocking and engaging work of muckraking journalism. Devastating implications of the dairy industry.
25. Dear Zachary (Kurt Kuenne, 2008)
Unrelenting, unflinching tragedy. Total sadness.
26. Deliver Us From Evil (Amy Berg, 2006)
A pedophile in the Catholic church.
27. Encounters at the End of the World (Werner Herzog, 2008)
The desolate and haunting landscape of Antarctica. Ice researchers. Parkas.
28. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (Alex Gibney, 2005)
Corporate malpractice. Corruption. An engineered energy crisis. Surprisingly upbeat.
29. Exit Through the Gift Shop (Thierry Guetta, 2010)
Graffiti. Street Art. The vistas of contemporary art. Banksy.
30. Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore, 2004)
War on terrorism. A war on the war on terrorism.
31. Fed Up (Stephanie Soechtig, 2014)
The American food industry as illness vector. Compares sugar to cocaine.
32. A Film Unfinished (Yael Hersonski, 2010)
A cinematic revisiting of the Warsaw Ghetto. The horrors of a debased propaganda machine.
33. Fire at Sea (Gianfranco Rosi, 2016)
The European migrant crisis. Treacherous journeys over unforgiving water. A human rights crisis that the world had turned away from. Learn more.
34. Five Broken Cameras (Emad Burnat & Guy Davidi, 2011)
The human rights crisis in Palestine. A Palestinian and an Israeli filmmaker band together to document it.
35. The Fog of War (Errol Morris, 2003)
Richard McNamara, a figure who loomed large over twentieth-century American political life. His insights, lessons, and wisdom (maybe not to the pacifists among us).
36. Food Inc (Robert Kenner, 2008)
A scathing review of the state of the modern agro-industrial complex. E-coli.
37. Gates of Heaven (Errol Morris, 1978)
A pet cemetery. A meditation on the transience of life.
38. Gimme Shelter (Maysles Brothers & Charlotte Zwerin, 1970)
The Rolling Stones. Young Keith Richards.
39. Girlhood (Liz Garbus, 2004)
Juvenile detention. Endearing and troubled teen girls. Rage against the system.
40. Going Clear (Alex Gibney, 2015)
Scientologists. Who are they and what do they want?
41. The Gleaners and I (Agnes Varda, 2000)
French peasants. Why take life so seriously?
42. Global Report (Peter Armstrong, 1981)
Poverty. Inequality. A global audit. An illuminating reevaluation of our times.
43. Grey Gardens (Maysles Brothers, 1975)
Eccentric cat ladies. Frivolous wealth and the disintegration of a public life. Fashion.
44. Grin Without a Cat (Chris Marker, 1977)
Anti-war activists. The rise of the left. Global political turmoil. A sociopolitical examination of the sixties and seventies.
45. Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)
Grizzly bears. The ultimate frenemies.
46. Hail Satan (Penny Lane 2019)
Politically potent. Sincerely radical. Perception altering.
47. Harlan County, USA (Barbara Kopple, 1976)
West Virginia coal miners. A social study of the working classes. Epic protest footage.
48. Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (Fax Bahr/George Hickenlooper, 1991)
An examination of the making of Apocalypse Now. The most ill-fated film of all time?
49. Hearts and Minds (Peter Davis, 1974)
The realities of the Vietnam War. A scathing and heartbreaking examination.
50. High School (Frederick Wiseman, 1968)
A look behind the classroom walls back in the chaotic sixties.
51. Highway of Tears (Matthew Smiley 2015)
Over 40 Indigenous women have disappeared from one stretch of highway in remote Northern British Columbia. This tragedy has been greatly overlooked by authorities. A human rights aberration.
52. Hitchcock/Truffaut (Kent Jones, 2016)
Two legendary directors. A riveting dialogue on film.
53. Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994)
A meditation on sports, class relations, and social injustice. Frequently cited as the best documentary of all time.
54. The Hour of the Furnaces (Octavia Getino & Fernando e Solanas, 1968)
The trajectory of politics in Latin America. “The Paradigm of revolutionary activist cinema”.
55. The House I Live in (Eugene Jarecki, 2012)
The true cost of America’s losing war on drugs. Prisons.
56. How to Survive a Plague (David France, 2012)
An examination of the forces at play during the 1980’s AIDS epidemic.
57. I Am (Tom Shadyac, 2010)
An entertaining spiritual journey about the true origins of happiness.
58. I am Not Your Negro (Raoul Peck, 2016)
James Baldwin’s 1979 book proposal about the assassinations of three of the civil rights movements key figures: Malcolm X, Martin Luther King, and Medgar Evers. He died before the book could be completed. This film revisits, and builds upon, this manuscript.
59. The Imposter (Bart Layton, 2012)
A child goes missing in Texas. Years later, an identity thief claims to be the missing son through a radically unusual chain of events. The imposter is accepted into the family despite the obvious non-resemblance of this mysterious man to the missing child. Genuine denial or something more sinister on the family’s part?
60. In the Year of the Pig (Emile de Antonio, 1968)
A condemnation and historical examination of the Vietnam War.
61. Inside Job (2010)
The true economic corruption of the forces that be. The real culprits, and winners, of the 2007 economic recession.
62. Inside 9/11 (National Geographic, 2006)
An exploration of 9/11.
63. The Interrupters (2011)
Inner city non-violence workers and an intimate portrait of their efforts in the war zone of Chicago’s black neighborhoods.
64. Into Eternity (Michael Madsen, 2010)
The long shelf life of highly toxic nuclear waste. A Finnish project to design a bunker that keeps it safe for 100,000 years, at which point it decays and becomes safe. A fascinating inquiry into science and human ambition and fallibility.
65. Into the Inferno (Werner Herzog, 2016)
Volcanic activity. Legend, myth, human folly. Meditative.
66. Into the Abyss (Werner Herzog, 2011)
A crime that destroys a Texan family’s life. A meditation on death row, impending death, and the impermanence and sacredness of human life.
67. Iraq in Fragments (James Longley, 2006)
An examination of life in war-torn, post-revolution Iraq. The true costs of a dubious war.
68. The Island President (Jon Shenk, 2012)
The president of the Maldives on his quest to protect his vulnerable country from the ravages of climate change.
69. Jesus Camp (Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady, 2006)
A summer camp for radically devout Christian kids.
70. Jodorowsky’s Dune (Frank Pavich, 2014)
Cult filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky discusses how he would have adapted acclaimed sci-fi novel ‘Dune’. Idiosyncratic imagery abounds.
71. Jumbo Wild (Nick Waggoner, 2015)
Saving a pristine and lush British Columbia landscape from the ambitions of a European ski resort tycoon.
72. Kate Plays Christine (Robert Greene, 2016)
Christine Chubbuck achieved posthumous infamy when she committed suicide on live news. A portrait of actor Kate Lyn Sheil’s journey to portray Chubbuck on screen. .
73. Kedi (Ceyda Torun, 2016)
A poetic adventure through Istanbul. Through the eyes of a cat.
74. Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, Nagoyqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982, 1988, 2002)
An experimental visual and auditory exploration of the unharmonious relationships of human beings and their built and organic environments. Two sequels.
75. Last Train Home (Lixin Fan, 2009)
The world’s largest human migration. During Chinese New Year over 130 million migrant workers return home. This is their journey.
76. Le Joli Mai (Chris Marker & Pierre L’Homme, 1963)
The lives of Parisians in the early 1960’s. Dreamy black and white cinematography.
77. Le Sang des Betes (Georges Franju, 1949)
The bucolic life of Parisian suburbanites contrasted with the gory nearby slaughterhouse conditions.
78. Lessons of Darkness (Werner Herzog, 1995)
Herzog’s musings on the spectacle of flame after the first Gulf War. Iraqi atrocities in Kuwait.
79. Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World (Werner Herzog, 2016)
The Internet and how it impacts human lives and society.
80. The Look of Silence (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2015)
Breaking the silence on the unthinkable. Intrigued?
81. Loss is To Be Expected (Ulrich Seidl, 1992)
An Austrian widower and a Czech woman. Love blossoms between two different worlds.
82. Man on Wire (James Marsh, 2008)
Remember that guy, Phillippe Petit, who tight-roped between the two twin towers with no protective measures? This is his story. Compelling and beautifully filmed, featuring archival footage and interviews with the man himself.
83. Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929)
A man with a movie camera filming things. In 1929. Genre-defining work.
84. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God (Alex Gibney, 2013)
Sex abuse in the church. Against four deaf men.
85. Meru (Jimmy Chin & Elizabeth Chai Vasarhelyi, 2015)
Three climbers try to conquer the imposing Mount Meru. Stunning cinematography.
86. Montage of Heck (Brett Morgen, 2015)
Using archival footage Morgen compiles an intimate portrait of Kurt Cobain. We get a glimpse into the life and mind of a tortured and beautiful musical soul.
87. My Perestroika (Robin Hessman, 2010)
Follows the lives of people living through the fall of the USSR. A touching and comical examination.
88. My Scientology Movie (Louis Theroux & John Dower, 2016)
Why are we fascinated by scientologists? Fascinating conceptual film. You’ll learn how to use the term ‘suppressive persons’ in accusatory dialogue.
89. Nanook of the North (Robert Flaherty, 1922)
An early film on the Inuits of Northern Canada and their living habits and cultural mores.
90. Night and Fog (Alain Resnais, 1955)
The atrocities of the concentration camps examined and penetrated.
91. Nostalgia for the Light (Patricio Guzman, 2010)
In Chile’s Atacama Desert widowers search for the bones of their loved ones. The legacy of Pinochet’s atrocities.
92. The Overnighters (Jesse Moss, 2014)
A pastor gets vilified in his North Dakota town for supporting the homeless workers who have migrated to the town in search of oil field jobs.
93. Our Hitler: a film from Germany (Hans-Jrgen Syberberg, 1977)
An exhaustive seven-hour examination into the rise, fall, and reign of Hitler.
94. Pandora’s Box (Adam Curtis, 1992)
Subtitled ‘Fables from the age of science’, this series documents the consequences of ‘technocratic rationalism’.
95. Paradise Lost (Joe Berlinger & Bruce Sinofsky, 1996)
An examination of the West Memphis murders and sexual assaults of three young boys. The media focuses in on three teens, who are rumored to be involved in Satanism. Are they the perpetrators or were they simply crucified in the court of public opinion?
96. Pearl Button (Patricio Guzman, 2015)
The link between Patagonian waterways and genocide. The film poster is also one of the most beautifully rendered I’ve seen.
97. The Power of Nightmares (Adam Curtis, 2004)
Fundamentalist Islam and neo-conservatism has more in common than you would assume. So argues Curtis and a plethora of intellectuals.
98. The Queen of Versailles (Lauren Greenfield, 2012)
Provocative and unexpectedly endearing in its expose of the filthy rich Siegel family and their quest to build America’s largest estate. Then the recession hits.
99. Religulous (Larry Charles, 2008)
Bill Maher’s hilarious exploration of the beliefs and tenets of world religions. He points out their inconsistencies in delightfully sarcastic style.
100. Restrepo (Sebastian Junger/Tim Hetherington, 2010)
The realities of war speak for themselves. Afghanistan.
101. Rivers & Tides: Andy Goldsworthy working with Time (2002)
Experimental art that is supposed to fall apart. Cuz it’s made of mud, wood, and natural materials.
102. Roger and Me (Michael Moore, 1989)
When a GM plant closes in Detroit, Moore sets out to expose the impacts of the closure on the working classes. This is Moore’s first film and you can trace the origin of his signature style in his hilariously uncomfortable interviews and renegade tactics.
103. Room 237 (Rodney Ascher, 2012)
Perhaps no film has spawned more fan theories than The Shining. This film examines some of the finest, the most idiosyncratic, and the most whatthefuck.
104. Salesman (Maysles Brothers, 1968)
The bitter rivalry between four door to door bible salesmen.
105. Salmon Confidential (Twyla Roscovich, 2013)
Farm fishing is a huge environmental threat that no one wants to talk about. In fact, in Canada, you can get fired for speaking out.
106. Sans Soleil (Chris Marker, 1983)
Experimental travel collage with a powerful meditation on the meaning of human memory and experience. Cult art house cred will be yours.
107. Searching for Sugarman (Malik Bendjelloul, 2012)
Though obscure in the commercial musical mainstream, sixties folk singer Rodriguez becomes an unexpected hit in South Africa. Two fans set out to discover the enigmatic singers fate.
108. Sherman’s March (Ross McElwee, 1986)
What was supposed to be a historical travelogue on General William Sherman’s campaign during the American Civil War turns into a self reflective journey through the documentarians recent breakup and his quest for a new gal.
109. Shoah (Claude Lanzmann, 1985)
A haunting memoir of the Holocaust, from survivor’s own memories. You need a full day to watch and then absorb: it is over 9 hours long.
110. The Shutka Book of Records (Aleksandar Manic, 2005)
The colorful and eccentric residents of Macedonia’s biggest gypsy community.
111. Sicko (Michael Moore, 2007)
A scathing look at the appalling state of the American health care system. $14,000 to attach a finger? Seriously?
112. Sons of Perdition (Jennilyn Merton, Tyler Measom, 2010)
Three ten boys escape from their polygamous sect. Integrating into American society proves to be a heartrending and monumental task.
113. The Sorrow and the Pity (Marcel Ophul, 1969)
The collaboration of the French Vichy government with the Nazi’s during WW2.
114. Spellbound (Jeff Blitz, 2002)
Geeks, rejoice. A touching and hilarious portrait of kids trying to win the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee.
115. The Square (Jehane Noujaim, 2013)
Egyptian revolutionaries on their quest to rebuild their society. A vital piece of modern history.
116. Streetwise (Martin Bell, 1984)
Seattle’s young homeless population. An intimate and harrowing portrait.
117. Supersize Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004)
A riotous assault on the fast food religion. A dubious experiment with ridiculous consequences. A John Lennon doppelganger cum quarter pounder acolyte.
118. Sustainable (Matt Wechsler, 2016)
A farmer fights back against corporate agribusiness. A pioneering sustainable food movement.
119. Tales of the Grim Sleeper (Nick Broomfield, 2010)
An exploration of the Grim Sleeper serial killer, an individual who worked undetected for over 25 years.
120. Tapped (Stephanie Soechtig, 2009)
The hideous truth of the bottled water industry. Consumers can make a difference on this one.
121. Taxi to the Dark Side (Alex Gibney, 2007)
The use of torture by American troops in Afghanistan. The horrific murder of an Afghan taxi driver under terror-based pretenses.
122. The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988)
A genre-defining crime film about the fallibility of eyewitness testimony. Freed a man from prison.
123. The Three Rooms of Melancholia (Pirjo Honkasalo, 2004)
A lyrical, haunting portrayal of the conflict in Chechnya.
124. Titicut Follies (Frederick Wiseman, 1967)
The conditions of a Massachusetts hospital for the criminally insane.
125. Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl, 1935)
Nazi propaganda. Enough said.
126. Vegucated (Marisa Miller Wolfson, 2011)
Take meat eaters and turn them vegan? A lighthearted documentary with a valuable message.
127. Virunga (Orlando von Einsiedel, 2014)
Follows a team of passionate activists trying to save the last mountain gorillas.
128. The War Game (Peter Watkins, 1965)
A hypothetical dystopian exploration of the effects of a nuclear fall-out. Eerie AF.
129. Waste Land (2010)
Outside of Rio de Janeiro people, known as catadores, pick through the world’s largest landfill for found materials in which to turn into art.
130. We Were Here (David Weissman/Bill Weber, 2011)
Safe haven gay community is hit by the AIDS crisis in San Francisco.
131. Welcome Nowhere (Kate Ryan, 2012)
An intimate portrait of the much maligned Roma community of Romania. Unsettling. Confronting.
132. West of Memphis (Amy Berg, 2012)
The notorious West Memphis murders examined. Devil worship, or claims thereof. What is truth and what is fiction in a small town where speculation rules?
133. What the Health (Kip Andersen, 2017)
America’s health organizations don’t really want you to prevent or reduce disease. The cure is out there and it’s hiding in plain sight.
134. When the Levee Breaks: A Requiem in Four Parts (Spike Lee, 2006)
Hurricane Katrina and how her wrath was felt along racialized faultlines.
135. When Two Worlds Collide (Heidi Brandenburg & Matthew Orzel, 2016)
Indigenous activism in the Amazon. Suspense. Horror at the corporate and political powers that be
136. Where to Invade Next (Michael Moore, 2015)
A hilarious examination of how European countries do things better than America. Topics of inquiry include vacation time, education, and diet.
137. The Work (Gethin Aldous & Jairus McLeary, 2017)
Seven men take part in group therapy sessions at the notorious Folsom Prison. This is the chance to repent and reflect on their lives and pasts.
138. 13th (Ava DuVernay, 2016)
Civil rights in America. The political-prison complex as modern slavery. Racism pervades our culture and we can no longer turn away.
139. 3 1/2 Minutes, 10 bullets (Marc Silver, 2015)
A black teen and a white man get into a fight about the volume of the teen’s music. One ends up dead. An examination of race and stand your ground laws in America.
