100 Greatest Documentary Films
Criteria: These are the Greatest Documentary Films chosen for their influence, impact, historical importance, cinematography, direction, and popularity.
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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.
- DirectorLeni RiefenstahlStarsDavid AlbrittonArvo AskolaJack BeresfordThe document of the 1936 Olympics at Berlin.
- DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.
- 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.
- DirectorRalph SteinerWillard Van DykeStarsMorris CarnovskyA prescient documentary about city planning, which presents idyllic suburbs and nuclear families as a solution to the chaos, poverty and social decay of industrialized inner cities.
- 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.
- DirectorJacques-Yves CousteauLouis MalleStarsFrédéric DumasAlbert FalcoJacques-Yves CousteauA documentary about the undersea explorers and how they penetrate into the underwater world.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreGeorge W. BushBen AffleckMichael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11 and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
- DirectorLeni RiefenstahlStarsAdolf HitlerHermann GöringMax AmannThe infamous propaganda film of the 1934 Nazi Party rally in Nuremberg, Germany.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorClaude LanzmannStarsSimon SrebnikMichael PodchlebnikMotke ZaïdlClaude Lanzmann's epic documentary recounts the story of the Holocaust through interviews with witnesses - perpetrators as well as survivors.
- 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.
- DirectorPare LorentzStarsThomas ChalmersBam WhiteThis documentary is about what happened to the Great Plains of the United States when a combination of farming practices and environmental factors led to the Dust Bowl of the 1930s.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorThor HeyerdahlStarsThor HeyerdahlHerman WatzingerErik HesselbergA documentary about the Kon-Tiki expedition of the Norwegian explorer Thor Heyerdahl.
- 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.
- 1985– 3h 28mNot Rated8.4 (12K)TV EpisodeDirectorMartin ScorseseStarsBob DylanB.J. RolfzenDick KangasA chronicle of Bob Dylan's strange evolution between 1961 and 1966 from folk singer to protest singer to "voice of a generation" to rock star.
- DirectorMaryann DeLeoStarsWilliam NovickAdi RocheThis Academy Award-winning documentary takes a look at children born after the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear plant disaster who have been born with a deteriorated heart condition.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsAlex GibneyBrian Keith AllenMoazzam BeggAlex Gibney exposes the haunting details of the USA's torture and interrogation practices during the War in Afghanistan.
- DirectorLuc JacquetStarsMorgan FreemanRomane BohringerCharles BerlingIn the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family.
- DirectorLeon GastStarsMuhammad AliGeorge ForemanDon KingBoxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.
- DirectorRob EpsteinStarsHarvey FiersteinHarvey MilkAnne KronenbergA documentary of the successful career and assassination of San Francisco's first elected gay city supervisor.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreCharlton HestonMarilyn MansonFilmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
- 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.
- DirectorRichard KaplanStarsArchibald MacleishEric SevareidCorinne Alsop ColeRichard Kaplan documents the life of one of America's most influential first ladies. Orphaned at age 10, Eleanor Roosevelt marries her fifth cousin, Franklin D. Roosevelt, in 1905. His election in 1932 allows Eleanor to step up to national prominence, battling for civil rights and visiting troops during World War II. After her husband's death, Roosevelt continues to advocate for human rights at the U.N., proving herself one of America's great humanitarians.
- DirectorDavis GuggenheimStarsAl GoreBilly WestGeorge BushFilmmaker Davis Guggenheim follows Al Gore on the lecture circuit, as the former presidential candidate campaigns to raise public awareness of the dangers of global warming and calls for immediate action to curb its destructive effects on the environment.
- 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.
- DirectorB.Z. GoldbergJustine ShapiroCarlos BoladoStarsMoishe Bar AmB.Z. GoldbergShlomo GreenSeveral Jewish and Palestinian children are followed for three years and put in touch with each other, in this alternative look at the Jewish-Palestinian conflict. The three filmmakers followed a group of seven local children between 1995 and 1998. They all have a totally different background. These seven children tell their own story about growing up in Jerusalem. Through this portrait of their generation, we see how deep rooted and almost insoluble the problems of the Middle East have become. When the protagonists speak out in an epilogue a couple of years later, it becomes apparent that all have lost their childlike innocence.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorAlbert MayslesDavid MayslesCharlotte ZwerinStarsMick JaggerKeith RichardsMick TaylorWhen three hundred thousand members of the Love Generation collided with a few dozen Hells Angels at San Francisco's Altamont Speedway, the bloody slash that transformed a decade's dreams into disillusionment was immortalized on this film.
- 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.
- DirectorJeffrey BlitzStarsAngela ArenivarUbaldo ArenivarJorge ArenivarSpellbound follows eight teenagers on their quest to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee.
- DirectorGarson KaninCarol ReedStarsDwight D. EisenhowerLeslie BanksWinston ChurchillA documentary account of the allied invasion of Europe during World War II compiled from the footage shot by nearly 1400 cameramen.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsWalter HustonBenjamin SimonA group of mentally traumatized veteran patients is followed as they go through psychiatric treatment.
- 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.
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsRobert CrumbAline Kominsky-CrumbCharles CrumbAn intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.
- 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."
- DirectorArnold ShapiroStarsPeter FalkMickie ColdDoug CroninThe filmed depiction of a program where convicts tell troubled kids about the horrors of prison life.
- DirectorD.A. PennebakerStarsBob DylanAlbert GrossmanBob NeuwirthDocumentary covering Bob Dylan's 1965 tour of England, which includes appearances by Joan Baez and Donovan.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsStanley WrayRobert MorganJames A. VerinisA documentary on the 25th bombing mission of the Memphis Belle, a B-17 in the US 8th Air Force.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanDocumentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreTucker AlbrizziTony BennA documentary comparing the highly profitable American health care industry to other nations, and HMO horror stories including shotgun deaths.
- DirectorBill McGawStarsCarl RogersRichard FarsonJerryThe film portrays a 16-hour group-therapy session for eight well-adjusted people who had never met before.
- DirectorMark Jonathan HarrisStarsMorgan FreemanIsrael LauLivia ShacterThe story of the post World War II Jewish refugee situation from liberation to the establishment of the modern state of Israel.
- DirectorIlya KopalinLeonid VarlamovStarsN. DubravinEdward G. RobinsonJoseph StalinA number of frontline cameramen shot the footage used in this documentary of the Battle of Moscow, between October 1941 and January 1942,in which a people's war against the German invaders, whose atrocities are shown in graphic detail, is begun, with echoes of traditional Russian heroism and an appeal to save the country's religious and cultural monuments.
- DirectorLiz GarbusWilbert RideauJonathan StackStarsBernard AddisonBurl CainGeorge CrawfordDocumentary depicting day to day life in Angola Prison mostly from an inmate's perspective. Interviews are with several inmates including one with a life sentence who is about to die.
- DirectorHumphrey JenningsStarsPhilip DicksonGeorge GravettFred GriffithsA tale of firefighters in London during the Blitz.
- 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.
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsMichael DouglasAnkie SpitzerJamal Al GasheyThe Palestinian terrorist group Black September holds Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsStephen HawkingIsobel HawkingJanet HumphreyA film about the life and work of the cosmologist, Stephen Hawking, who despite his near total paralysis, was one of the great minds of all time.
- DirectorRob McGannStarsTariq AliPaul BermanRichard BullietAmerican Zeitgeist is a feature length documentary by filmmaker Rob McGann that offers a historical look at the War on Terrorism from 1979 through 2006. The narrative of American Zeitgeist is woven out of more than 40 in-depth interviews with leading experts on terrorism, U.S. foreign policy, Islam and Middle Eastern studies.
- DirectorForugh FarrokhzadStarsForugh FarrokhzadEbrahim GolestanHossein MansouriSet in a leper colony in the north of Iran, The House is Black juxtaposes "ugliness", of which there is much in the world as stated in the opening scenes, with religion and gratitude.
- 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.
- DirectorMikhail RommStarsMikhail RommMartin BormannWilly BrandtA documentary about the rise and fall of fascism and the effects of Nazism on German society.
- DirectorJonathan KarshStarsSusan TomAnthony TomFaith TomDocumentary following Susan Tom of Fairfield, California and her 11 adopted special needs children.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsRobert McNamaraJohn F. KennedyFidel CastroThe story of America as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense under President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorRobert ChildStarsWalter CronkiteHal HolbrookAndrew Rooney6,000 young Americans volunteered to fly large unarmed gliders into battle. Only a few returned.
- DirectorD.A. PennebakerStarsOtis ReddingJimi HendrixRavi ShankarA film about the greatest pre-Woodstock rock music festival.
- DirectorMarc SingerStarsMarc SingerA cinematic portrait of the homeless population who live permanently in the underground tunnels of New York City.
- DirectorClaude NuridsanyMarie PérennouStarsKristin Scott ThomasJacques PerrinA documentary on insect life in meadows and ponds.
- 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.
- DirectorPenelope SpheerisStarsEugene TatuAlice Bag BandBlack FlagA look into the Los Angeles punk rock scene, that was largely ignored by the rock music press of the time.
- DirectorMark AchbarJennifer AbbottStarsMikela JayRob BeckwermertChristopher GoraDocumentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance.
- DirectorIrwin AllenStarsTheodore von EltzJohn StormA documentary showcasing the world's many different animal species, both past and present.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreRoger B. SmithRhonda BrittonAfter General Motors closes its factory in Flint, Michigan, eliminating 35,000 jobs, filmmaker Michael Moore undertakes a quixotic quest to interview General Motors' chairman, Roger B. Smith.
- 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.
- 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.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsRobbie RobertsonMuddy WatersNeil YoungA film account and presentation of the final concert of The Band.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsCompay SegundoIbrahim FerrerRubén GonzálezAging Cuban musicians whose talents had been virtually forgotten following Castro's takeover of Cuba, are brought out of retirement by Ry Cooder, who travelled to Havana in order to bring the musicians together, resulting in triumphant performances of extraordinary music, and resurrecting the musicians' careers.
- DirectorDavid LeafJohn ScheinfeldStarsJohn LennonYoko OnoStew AlbertA documentary on the life of John Lennon, with a focus on the time in his life when he transformed from a musician into an antiwar activist.
- DirectorPaul RachmanStarsGreg GinnIan MacKayeJames DrescherThe History of American Punk Rock 1980-1986
- 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.
- DirectorMorgan SpurlockStarsMorgan SpurlockDaryl IsaacsChemeeka WalkerWhile examining the influence of the fast food industry, Morgan Spurlock personally explores the consequences on his health of a diet of solely McDonald's food for one month.
- DirectorTony KayeStarsNoam ChomskyBill BairdFlip BenhamA graphic documentary on both sides of the abortion debate.
- DirectorRob EpsteinJeffrey FriedmanStarsRupert EverettKlaus MüllerKarl GorathHistorian Klaus Müller interviews survivors of the Nazi persecution of homosexuals because of the German Penal Code of 1871, Paragraph 175.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsMartin ScorseseWorld-renowned director Martin Scorsese narrates this journey through his favorites in Italian cinema.
- 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.
- DirectorJessica YuStarsHenry DargerDakota FanningLarry PineA documentary on Henry Darger, visionary artist, janitor, and novelist.
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsAbel JacquinAlexandre O'NeillA surrealist film, a pseudo-documentary portrait of Las Hurdes, a remote region of Spain where civilisation has barely developed, showing how the local peasants try to survive without even the most basic utilities and skills.
- DirectorEdgar MorinJean RouchStarsAngeloNadine BallotCatherineA documentary about the everyday lives of ordinary Parisians, done in the style of cinéma vérité.
- DirectorDean DeBloisStarsAmiinaHildur ArsaelsdottirJon Thor BirgissonIn the summer of 2006, Sigur Rós returned home to play a series of free, unannounced concerts for the people of Iceland.
- DirectorDavid ZeigerStarsMichael AlaimoEdward AsnerJoe BangertNO! SIR! tells an almost entirely forgotten story of the military men and women who forced the U.S. government to end the Vietnam War
- DirectorJack Haley Jr.StarsFred AstaireGene KellyBing CrosbyVarious MGM stars from yesteryear present their favorite musical moments from the studio's 50-year history.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogScott RowlandStefan PashovFilm-maker Werner Herzog travels to the McMurdo Station in Antarctica, looking to capture the continent's beauty and investigate the characters living there.
- DirectorEllen SpiroStarsEd GrothusAtomic Ed & the Black Hole tells the story of a scientist-turned-atomic junk collector known as Atomic Ed. More than 30 years ago, Ed quit his job making "better" atomic bombs and he began collecting what he calls "nuclear waste," non-radioactive high-tech discards from the Los Alamos National Laboratory. As the self-appointed curator of an unofficial museum of the nuclear age called "The Black Hole," Atomic Ed reveals and preserves a history of government waste that was literally thrown in a trash heap.
- DirectorAl ReinertStarsJim LovellKen MattinglyRussell SchweickartAn in-depth look at various NASA moon landing missions, starting with Apollo 8.
- 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.
- DirectorBen BurttStarsJames BuchliToni MyersOn several Shuttle missions, Earth has been portrayed from places that nobody else could reach. We also are shown the different locations and environmental problems mankind created there because of our wish to exploit our planet for our own benefit.
- DirectorVictoria MuddStarsMartin SheenBuffy Sainte-MarieBurgess MeredithDocumentary chronicling the government relocation of 10,000 Navajo Indians in Arizona.
- 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.
- DirectorHeidi EwingRachel GradyStarsMike PapantonioLou EngleBecky FischerA documentary on kids who attend a summer camp hoping to become the next Billy Graham.
- DirectorJohn Alan SchwartzStarsMichael CarrSamuel BerkowitzMary Ellen BrightonA collection of death scenes, ranging from TV material to homemade super 8 movies.
- DirectorGeorge ButlerRobert FioreStarsArnold SchwarzeneggerLou FerrignoMatty FerrignoArnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno face off in a no-holds-barred competition for the title of Mr. Olympia in this critically-acclaimed film that made Schwarzenegger a household name.