facebook
twitter
google+
50 fabulous documentary films, covering hard politics through to music, money and films that never were...
Thanks to streaming services such as Netflix, we’ve never had better access to documentaries. A whole new audience can discover that these real life stories are just as thrilling, entertaining, and incredible as the latest big-budget blockbuster. What’s more, they’re all true too. But with a new found glut of them comes the ever more impossible choice, what’s worth your time? Below is my pick of the 50 best modern feature length documentaries.
I’ve defined modern as being from 2000 onwards, which means some of the greatest documentaries ever made will not feature here. I’m looking at you Hoop Dreams.
50. McConkey (2013)
d. Rob Bruce, Scott Gaffney, Murray Wais, Steve Winter, David Zieff
Shane McConkey was an extreme skier and Base jumper who lived life on the edge, and very much to the full.
google+
50 fabulous documentary films, covering hard politics through to music, money and films that never were...
Thanks to streaming services such as Netflix, we’ve never had better access to documentaries. A whole new audience can discover that these real life stories are just as thrilling, entertaining, and incredible as the latest big-budget blockbuster. What’s more, they’re all true too. But with a new found glut of them comes the ever more impossible choice, what’s worth your time? Below is my pick of the 50 best modern feature length documentaries.
I’ve defined modern as being from 2000 onwards, which means some of the greatest documentaries ever made will not feature here. I’m looking at you Hoop Dreams.
50. McConkey (2013)
d. Rob Bruce, Scott Gaffney, Murray Wais, Steve Winter, David Zieff
Shane McConkey was an extreme skier and Base jumper who lived life on the edge, and very much to the full.
- 11/12/2015
- by simonbrew
- Den of Geek
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
After narrowing the Oscar documentary feature shortlist to five at the 87th Academy Award nominations Jan. 15, a number of notable exclusions were featured, particularly Al Hicks‘ Keep on Keepin’ On, which documents the mentorship and friendship of a jazz legend and a blind piano prodigy, and Steve James‘ Life Itself, about the life and career of famed film critic Roger Ebert. (James is no stranger to snubs and the exclusion of his 1994 film Hoop Dreams led to rule reform within the documentary category.) Both films hold 97 percent positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
Some films surprised when they didn’t even land a spot on the shortlist, such as Red Army, which examines the rise and fall of the Soviet Union’s hockey team from the perspective of its coach. That film holds a 100 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In light of these best documentary feature snubs,...
Managing Editor
After narrowing the Oscar documentary feature shortlist to five at the 87th Academy Award nominations Jan. 15, a number of notable exclusions were featured, particularly Al Hicks‘ Keep on Keepin’ On, which documents the mentorship and friendship of a jazz legend and a blind piano prodigy, and Steve James‘ Life Itself, about the life and career of famed film critic Roger Ebert. (James is no stranger to snubs and the exclusion of his 1994 film Hoop Dreams led to rule reform within the documentary category.) Both films hold 97 percent positive ratings on Rotten Tomatoes.
Some films surprised when they didn’t even land a spot on the shortlist, such as Red Army, which examines the rise and fall of the Soviet Union’s hockey team from the perspective of its coach. That film holds a 100 percent positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
In light of these best documentary feature snubs,...
- 1/23/2015
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
Do: check the instructions (Wild)
This month sees the release of Wild, based on Cheryl Strayed's memoir about her solo hike along the gruelling 1,000 mile Pacific Crest Trail. Cheryl (Reese Witherspoon) certainly doesn't make it easy for herself, buying the wrong type of gas cylinder for her stove and thus being forced to subsist on a diet of "cold mush."
Don't: give up (Touching The Void)
Consider the obstacles that Joe Simpson faced during his calamitous attempt to climb Peruvian mountain Siula Grande: a broken leg; a fall into a crevasse; and zero hope of rescue after partner Simon Yates left him for dead. And yet, as recounted in classic documentary Touching The Void, Simpson gritted his teeth and dragged himself through hell to reach safety.
Do: stay calm (Life Of Pi)
Travel is unpredictable. One minute, like Indian teenager Pi (Suraj Sharma), you're emigrating to Canada aboard a freighter.
This month sees the release of Wild, based on Cheryl Strayed's memoir about her solo hike along the gruelling 1,000 mile Pacific Crest Trail. Cheryl (Reese Witherspoon) certainly doesn't make it easy for herself, buying the wrong type of gas cylinder for her stove and thus being forced to subsist on a diet of "cold mush."
Don't: give up (Touching The Void)
Consider the obstacles that Joe Simpson faced during his calamitous attempt to climb Peruvian mountain Siula Grande: a broken leg; a fall into a crevasse; and zero hope of rescue after partner Simon Yates left him for dead. And yet, as recounted in classic documentary Touching The Void, Simpson gritted his teeth and dragged himself through hell to reach safety.
Do: stay calm (Life Of Pi)
Travel is unpredictable. One minute, like Indian teenager Pi (Suraj Sharma), you're emigrating to Canada aboard a freighter.
- 1/16/2015
- Digital Spy
The world’s biggest film festival for children and young people will include preview screenings of The Imitation Game and Disney doc Bears [pictured]; Q&A’s with Harry Potter’s David Yates, Stanley Kubrick’s daughter and Selfish Giant director Clio Bernard.
Into Film Festival (Nov 4-21), the world’s biggest such event for children and young people, is preparing to launch its 2014 edition with a raft of previews, filmmaker Q&As and workshops on how to break into the industry.
Formerly known as the National Youth Film Festival, the programme anticipates 300,000 attendees aged 5-19 - up from 200,000 last year - at screenings and events across the UK and is funded by Cinema First and supported by the BFI through National Lottery money.
The programme will roll out across more than 520 cinemas across all the major chains and in a range of venues across the UK. Autism friendly screenings and, for sensory-impaired...
Into Film Festival (Nov 4-21), the world’s biggest such event for children and young people, is preparing to launch its 2014 edition with a raft of previews, filmmaker Q&As and workshops on how to break into the industry.
Formerly known as the National Youth Film Festival, the programme anticipates 300,000 attendees aged 5-19 - up from 200,000 last year - at screenings and events across the UK and is funded by Cinema First and supported by the BFI through National Lottery money.
The programme will roll out across more than 520 cinemas across all the major chains and in a range of venues across the UK. Autism friendly screenings and, for sensory-impaired...
- 9/19/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
As the curtain comes down on 2013, one noticeable theme runs through some of the most decorated films of the last 12 months: endurance. Tom Hanks confronted Somali pirates in Captain Phillips, Sandra Bullock found herself tumbling through the void in Gravity, and next week Robert Redford delivers an incredible, near-wordless performance as a man adrift at sea in All Is Lost.
There must be something in (or on and around) the water, because Hollywood has long held a fascination with perils such as these. From Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat to scary shark-fest Open Water and visual effects extravaganza Life of Pi, putting someone's mortality on the line makes for incredible drama.
With All Is Lost arriving in cinemas on December 26, Digital Spy takes a look at five notable survival movies that pushed their protagonists to their absolute limits...
Alive (1993)
Based on a true story, this film focused on a Uruguayan rugby...
There must be something in (or on and around) the water, because Hollywood has long held a fascination with perils such as these. From Alfred Hitchcock's Lifeboat to scary shark-fest Open Water and visual effects extravaganza Life of Pi, putting someone's mortality on the line makes for incredible drama.
With All Is Lost arriving in cinemas on December 26, Digital Spy takes a look at five notable survival movies that pushed their protagonists to their absolute limits...
Alive (1993)
Based on a true story, this film focused on a Uruguayan rugby...
- 12/19/2013
- Digital Spy
Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 19 Dec 2013 - 06:30
Our journey through the lesser-known films of the 2000s continues. This week, it's 2003...
It was the year that Arnold Schwarzenegger went from Terminator actor to Governor of California, and when The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King dominated the global box office with a gross of more than $1bn. 2003 was also the year the Wachowskis' Matrix trilogy thundered to a close, the year Freddy Krueger clashed with Jason Voorhees in, er, Freddy Vs Jason, and the year Pixar scored another hit with Finding Nemo.
But as you've probably gathered by now, 2003 was also a year of quite brilliant, less lucrative films. The movies we've included in this week's list were chosen for a variety of reasons - some were ignored in cinemas, while others were harshly treated by critics. Some were modestly popular or given awards on release,...
Our journey through the lesser-known films of the 2000s continues. This week, it's 2003...
It was the year that Arnold Schwarzenegger went from Terminator actor to Governor of California, and when The Lord Of The Rings: The Return Of The King dominated the global box office with a gross of more than $1bn. 2003 was also the year the Wachowskis' Matrix trilogy thundered to a close, the year Freddy Krueger clashed with Jason Voorhees in, er, Freddy Vs Jason, and the year Pixar scored another hit with Finding Nemo.
But as you've probably gathered by now, 2003 was also a year of quite brilliant, less lucrative films. The movies we've included in this week's list were chosen for a variety of reasons - some were ignored in cinemas, while others were harshly treated by critics. Some were modestly popular or given awards on release,...
- 12/18/2013
- by ryanlambie
- Den of Geek
Britain has had a huge impact on the film industry and is responsible for some of the greatest cinematic pieces ever shown. The Golden Age of British cinema is generally considered to be between the years 1945 to 1955, yet it appears as if the British film industry is currently in the middle of a renaissance with a surge of critically acclaimed films over the past twenty years.
This list is an attempt to commemorate those films, which in recent times have really sought to break the mould and put British cinema on the map. I have tried to be consistent in picking films that, as well as being excellent in themselves, have also done something truly unique either in the subject matter, in the way they are filmed or in their approach to a topic.
These films are my top five British films of the past twenty years. If you disagree...
This list is an attempt to commemorate those films, which in recent times have really sought to break the mould and put British cinema on the map. I have tried to be consistent in picking films that, as well as being excellent in themselves, have also done something truly unique either in the subject matter, in the way they are filmed or in their approach to a topic.
These films are my top five British films of the past twenty years. If you disagree...
- 11/24/2012
- by Chris O Connor
- Obsessed with Film
In 1922, Robert J. Flaherty gave us Nanook of the North, one of my favourite silent films and an early example of a snow movie--that is, a movie that wouldn't be what it is without its wintry landscape. In some films, snow is incidental--a pretty backdrop or a minor metaphor (like the snowfall that blankets the Bride's duel with O-Ren Ishii in Kill Bill Vol. I). In others, a snowy climate is central to the story or sometimes even a character in its own right. Here are 10 movies that each use ice, snow, and cold in a specific way; together, they collectively demonstrate the range one symbol can have.
As with a typical Pajiba Guide, many genres are represented (don't worry Nanook fans -- silent film, documentary, and Inuit culture are all covered below in some form). And as with a typical Guide, apologies must be made for omitting many more...
As with a typical Pajiba Guide, many genres are represented (don't worry Nanook fans -- silent film, documentary, and Inuit culture are all covered below in some form). And as with a typical Guide, apologies must be made for omitting many more...
- 2/18/2010
- by Dustin Rowles
Screened
Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- Serving up Imax-sized awe on a regular screen, "Touching the Void" is a harrowing dramatic recounting of an ill-fated 1985 climbing expedition in the Peruvian Andes.
The film is based on the international best seller of the same name by Joe Simpson, one of the two mountaineers who took on the treacherous Siula Grande peak and learned the hard way why it had been hitherto unclimbed, and it combines candid recollections and spectacularly photographed dramatic reconstructions to highly compelling effect.
While originally developed for television, the unique docudrama, which was recently picked up by IFC Films, should have no trouble drawing the "Into Thin Air"/"Shackleton" crowd.
Director Kevin Macdonald, who won an Oscar for his 2000 documentary "One Day in September", which chronicled the tragic hostage-taking of the Israeli Olympic team at the 1972 Munich Games, has found an interesting way to retell Simpson's story.
As Simpson and his climbing partner recount the events of almost 20 years ago in a studio, talking heads-style, a pair of actors (Brendan Mackey and Nicholas Aaron) play their young counterparts and all too convincingly relive the experience.
On the way down after ascending the challenging West Face of the Siula Grande, Simpson falls and shatters his leg. Still managing to proceed despite the tremendous pain and rapidly worsening weather conditions, Simpson sees his fortunes go from bad to worse when he suddenly finds himself dangling helplessly by a rope from a 100-foot ice cliff -- and threatening to drag Simon Yates down off the mountain along with him.
Yates, unable to see what has happened to his buddy or hear him yelling far below in the swirling blizzard, presumes the worst and ultimately makes the (still contentious) decision to cut the rope that is connecting them.
Yates eventually makes it back to base camp, while Simpson, who has fallen into a gigantic crevasse, somehow manages to crawl down off the mountain 3 1/2 days later in a state of rapidly advancing physical and psychological deterioration.
In theory, the constant flip-flopping between the real-life Simpson and Yates and the actors re-creating their nightmarish experience might have had the effect of distancing one from the drama. In fact, the opposite is the case.
The presence of the actual men provides an opportunity to convey their inner thoughts and motivations alongside the more physical aspects of their survival ordeal.
Factoring in Mike Eley's breathtakingly vivid photography and a virtuoso sound mix that completely envelops the viewer, it's enough to make you never again want to poke your head into the freezer.
Touching the Void
IFC Films
A Darlow Smithson production for FilmFour
Credits:
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Producer: John Smithson
Based on the book by: Joe Simpson
Executive producers: Robin Gutch, Charles Furneaux, Paul Trijbits
Director of photography: Mike Eley
Editor: Justine Wright
Music: Alex Heffes
Cast:
Joe Simpson: Brendan Mackey
Simon Yates: Nicholas Aaron
Running time -- 106 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Toronto International Film Festival
TORONTO -- Serving up Imax-sized awe on a regular screen, "Touching the Void" is a harrowing dramatic recounting of an ill-fated 1985 climbing expedition in the Peruvian Andes.
The film is based on the international best seller of the same name by Joe Simpson, one of the two mountaineers who took on the treacherous Siula Grande peak and learned the hard way why it had been hitherto unclimbed, and it combines candid recollections and spectacularly photographed dramatic reconstructions to highly compelling effect.
While originally developed for television, the unique docudrama, which was recently picked up by IFC Films, should have no trouble drawing the "Into Thin Air"/"Shackleton" crowd.
Director Kevin Macdonald, who won an Oscar for his 2000 documentary "One Day in September", which chronicled the tragic hostage-taking of the Israeli Olympic team at the 1972 Munich Games, has found an interesting way to retell Simpson's story.
As Simpson and his climbing partner recount the events of almost 20 years ago in a studio, talking heads-style, a pair of actors (Brendan Mackey and Nicholas Aaron) play their young counterparts and all too convincingly relive the experience.
On the way down after ascending the challenging West Face of the Siula Grande, Simpson falls and shatters his leg. Still managing to proceed despite the tremendous pain and rapidly worsening weather conditions, Simpson sees his fortunes go from bad to worse when he suddenly finds himself dangling helplessly by a rope from a 100-foot ice cliff -- and threatening to drag Simon Yates down off the mountain along with him.
Yates, unable to see what has happened to his buddy or hear him yelling far below in the swirling blizzard, presumes the worst and ultimately makes the (still contentious) decision to cut the rope that is connecting them.
Yates eventually makes it back to base camp, while Simpson, who has fallen into a gigantic crevasse, somehow manages to crawl down off the mountain 3 1/2 days later in a state of rapidly advancing physical and psychological deterioration.
In theory, the constant flip-flopping between the real-life Simpson and Yates and the actors re-creating their nightmarish experience might have had the effect of distancing one from the drama. In fact, the opposite is the case.
The presence of the actual men provides an opportunity to convey their inner thoughts and motivations alongside the more physical aspects of their survival ordeal.
Factoring in Mike Eley's breathtakingly vivid photography and a virtuoso sound mix that completely envelops the viewer, it's enough to make you never again want to poke your head into the freezer.
Touching the Void
IFC Films
A Darlow Smithson production for FilmFour
Credits:
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Producer: John Smithson
Based on the book by: Joe Simpson
Executive producers: Robin Gutch, Charles Furneaux, Paul Trijbits
Director of photography: Mike Eley
Editor: Justine Wright
Music: Alex Heffes
Cast:
Joe Simpson: Brendan Mackey
Simon Yates: Nicholas Aaron
Running time -- 106 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/24/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- IFC Films has snapped up "Touching the Void", a feature documentary about two mountain climbers who battle to survive an Andes trek. The pact saw IFC acquire all North American rights to "Void" and was concluded, appropriately enough, in the Colorado mountains last week at the Telluride Film Festival. Based on the best-selling book by mountaineer Joe Simpson, "Void" was directed by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald ("One Day in September"). The film follows a disastrous climbing expedition by Simpson and his partner Simon Yates in the Peruvian Andes. Yates risked his life to rescue Simpson when he gravely injured himself as the duo climbed an uncharted mountain face. The film is screening at the 30th anniversary Telluride fest before heading to the Toronto International Film Festival this month.
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.