The Top 50 Greatest Documentary Films/Series of All Time
Most documentaries could be demarcated in two categories, voyeuristic entertainment and sophistry in oggling and recognizing 'a problem' with no redress. (If that doesn't cohere then so be it, I concocted that with scant brainwork.) These ones don't do that or that.
As is a mainstay for each of my lists, the search engine operated by this website has it that I've watched a combined 425+ documentary films and mini-series.
Directors with multiple documentaries ranked (listed by alphabetical order of last name):
As is a mainstay for each of my lists, the search engine operated by this website has it that I've watched a combined 425+ documentary films and mini-series.
Directors with multiple documentaries ranked (listed by alphabetical order of last name):
- Errol Morris: 3 films (The Fog of War; The Thin Blue Line; Gates of Heaven)
- Adam Curtis: 2 films (The Century of the Self; HyperNormalisation)
- Charles Ferguson: 2 films (Inside Job; No End in Sight)
- Barbara Kopple: 2 films (Harlan County U.S.A.; American Dream)
- Michael Moore: 2 films (Roger & Me; Bowling for Columbine)
- Joshua Oppenheimer: 2 films (The Act of Killing; The Look of Silence)
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50 titles
- DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.My rating - 9.5/10
- DirectorOrson WellesGary GraverOja KodarStarsOrson WellesOja KodarFrançois ReichenbachA documentary about fraud and fakery.My rating - 9.5/10
- 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.My rating - 9/10
- 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.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsRobert CrumbAline Kominsky-CrumbCharles CrumbAn intimate portrait of controversial cartoonist Robert Crumb and his traumatized family.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorKazuo HaraStarsKenzo OkuzakiRiichi AikawaMasaichi HamaguchiA documentary following Kenzo Okuzaki, a 62-year-old WW2 veteran notorious for his protests against Emperor Hirohito, as he tries to expose the needless executions of two Japanese soldiers during the war.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorJennie LivingstonStarsBrooke XtravaganzaAndré ChristianDorian CoreyA chronicle of New York's drag scene in the 1980s, focusing on balls, voguing and the ambitions and dreams of those who gave the era its warmth and vitality.My rating - 9/10
- 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.My rating - 9/10
- 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.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorFax BahrGeorge HickenlooperEleanor CoppolaStarsDennis HopperMartin SheenMarlon BrandoDocumentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems - nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.My rating - 9/10
- 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.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorLeon GastStarsMuhammad AliGeorge ForemanDon KingBoxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.My rating - 9/10
- StarsAdam CurtisRobert ReichAnn BernaysA documentary about the rise of psychoanalysis as a powerful means of persuasion for both governments and corporations.My rating - 9/10
- StarsMichael JordanPhil JacksonScottie PippenLed by Michael Jordan, the 1990s Chicago Bulls establish themselves as one of the most notable dynasties in sports history.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorJosé PadilhaFelipe LacerdaStarsSandro do NascimentoRodrigo PimentelLuiz Eduardo SoaresOn June 12, 2000, a young man with a gun took the passengers aboard Bus 174 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hostage. This documentary examines the event itself, the resulting media frenzy, the police response, and the perpetrator's background.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorJehane NoujaimStarsAhmed HassanKhalid AbdallaMagdy AshourA group of Egyptian revolutionaries battle leaders and regimes, risking their lives to build a new society of conscience.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorCharles FergusonStarsMatt DamonGylfi ZoegaAndri Snær MagnasonTakes a closer look at what brought about the 2008 financial meltdown.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorAlon SchwarzStarsAvigdor FeldmanYoav GelberTeddy KatzIn the war of 1948 hundreds of Palestinian villages were depopulated. Israelis call it 'The War of Independence. Palestinians call it 'Nakba"'. The film examines one village- Tantura and why "Nakba" is taboo in Israeli society.My rating - 9/10
- StarsHector BerrellezJorge GodoyGeneva CamarenaFormer cartel insiders divulge the bone-chilling details behind the notorious murder and kidnapping of DEA Agent "Kiki" Camarena.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorCharles FergusonStarsCampbell ScottGerald BurkeAli FadhilA comprehensive look at the Bush Administration's conduct of the Iraq war and its occupation of the country.My rating - 9/10
- DirectorJonathan DemmeStarsDavid ByrneBernie WorrellAlex WeirConsidered by critics as the greatest concert film of all time, the live performance was shot over the course of three nights at Hollywood's Pantages Theater in December of 1983 and features Talking Heads' most memorable songs.My rating - 8.5/10
- 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.My rating - 8.5/10
- 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.My rating - 8.5/10
- DirectorChris SmithStarsMark BorchardtMike SchankTom SchimmelsDocumentary about an aspiring filmmaker's attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.My rating - 8.5/10
- DirectorThom AndersenStarsEncke KingBen AlexanderJim BackusA documentary on how Los Angeles has been used and depicted in the movies.My rating - 8.5/10