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Movies: Best "documentary" Movies

A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional motion picture intended to "document reality, primarily for instruction, education or maintaining a historical record". Bill Nichols has characterized the documentary in terms of "a filmmaking practice, a cinematic tradition, and mode of audience reception [that remains] a practice without clear boundaries". Early documentary films, originally called "actuality films", briefly lasted for one minute or less. Over time, documentaries have evolved to become longer in length and to include more categories. Some examples are educational, observational and docufiction. Documentaries are very informative, and are often used within schools as a resource to teach various principles. Documentary filmmakers have a responsibility to be truthful to their vision of the world without intentionally misrepresenting a topic. Social media platforms (such as YouTube) have provided an avenue for the growth of the documentary-film genre. These platforms have increased the distribution area and ease-of-accessibility. ()

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210 movies found (page 1/7):

STILL: A Michael J. Fox Movie(2023)

1h 35min | Documentary
3.8/5 (with 49 votes)

A short kid from a Canadian army base becomes the international pop culture darling of the 1980s—only to find the course of his life altered by a stunning diagnosis. What happens when an incurable optimist confronts an incurable disease?

Directed by Davis Guggenheim - With Michael J. Fox

The Conspiracy(2012)

NR
| 1h 25min | Horror, Thriller
3.0/5 (with 95 votes)

A documentary about conspiracy theories takes a horrific turn after the filmmakers uncover an ancient and dangerous secret society.

The Lovers' Guide: Igniting Desire(2011)

1h 5min | Documentary
3.6/5 (with 3 votes)

The Lover’s Guide 3D is the latest in the best selling series of sex education DVDs that help to educate consenting adults in the pleasures of love making. By imparting knowledge of how the body works along with how to stimulate your partners desires by being attentive to their needs, showing you specific techniques and maintaining a clear open approach to the subject matter, the documentary manages to inform and express without the need to be graphic. By advocating safe sex within a loving relationship and an emphasis on increasing desire and sustaining sex, this educational tool should appeal to those starting out or those already in a stable relationship.

The ABCs of Book Banning(2024)

27min | Documentary
2.9/5 (with 6 votes)

In recent years, more than 2,500 books have been removed from school districts around the US, labeled as banned, restricted, or challenged, and made unavailable to millions of students. By no accident, the themes targeted are the usual scapegoats of the American Right—LGBTQ+ issues, Black History, and women’s empowerment—impeding the power of future generations to develop their own thoughts and opinions on critical social issues. By weaving together a lyrical montage of young readers and authors, THE ABCs OF BOOK BANNING reveals the voices of the impacted parties, and inspires hope for the future through the profound insights of inquisitive youthful minds.

Directed by Trish Adlesic, Sheila Nevins

Star Wars: The Legacy Revealed(2007)

1h 31min | Documentary
3.6/5 (with 19 votes)

Film-makers and academics discuss the use of mythology in Star Wars and the impact of the films on society.

My Daughter's Killer(2022)

1h 23min | Documentary
3.2/5 (with 21 votes)

A father fights for decades to bring his daughter's killer to justice in France and Germany before taking extreme measures.

Celebrating Marvel's Stan Lee(2019)

3.7/5 (with 7 votes)

Filmed in part in front of a live audience at The New Amsterdam Theater in New York City, this Stan Lee tribute takes viewers on an action-packed journey throughout the life of Lee and across the Marvel Universe, sharing never-before-seen interviews and archive footage with Lee himself from deep within the Marvel and ABC News archives.

David Bowie: Five Years(2013)

1h 30min | Documentary, Music
3.7/5 (with 21 votes)

Featuring a wealth of previously unseen archive, this film looks at how Bowie continually evolved: from Ziggy Stardust to the Soul Star of Young Americans, to the ‘Thin White Duke’. It explores his regeneration in Berlin with the critically acclaimed album Heroes, his triumph with Scary Monsters and his global success with Let’s Dance. With interviews with all his closest collaborators, David Bowie - Five Years presents a unique account of why Bowie has become an ‘icon of our times’.

Command and Control(2016)

1h 32min | Documentary
3.4/5 (with 14 votes)

September 18, 1980, 6:25 p.m., Titan II base in Damascus, Arkansas. On this fateful night an explosion kills an Air Force member and transforms the lives of everyone on the base. Honing in on a single case of so-called “human error”, Command and Control juxtaposes precision on a minute scale against the gargantuan risks inherent in the United States’ aggressive nuclear proliferation policy during the Cold War.

Directed by Robert Kenner

Charles Manson: The Final Words(2017)

3.5/5 (with 1 vote)

Narrated by musician and director Rob Zombie, the documentary focuses on the Manson family murders told from Manson’s perspective using never-before-seen case files, pictures and exclusive interviews with Manson himself from inside California State Prison. Charles Manson: The Final Words includes Manson’s eerie and disturbing conversations about modern society, justice, his decades behind bars, the Bernard Crowe shooting and the murders along with digitally restored audio recordings from the original investigations to reconstruct a path of events that led to the brutal slayings of movie star Sharon Tate and four of her friends on August 8, 1969 in addition to the murders of Gary Hinman and Donald “Shorty” Shea.

John McCain: For Whom the Bell Tolls(2018)

1h 44min | Documentary
3.4/5 (with 6 votes)

In-depth look at the life of John McCain, from his time as a POW in Vietnam to his three decades of service in the US Senate.

Tom Cruise: The Last Movie Star(2023)

1h 15min | Documentary
4.0/5 (with 1 vote)

Tom Cruise - actor, producer, daredevil. The face of Hollywood in the 1980s, after a mid-career meltdown, his future looked in doubt. But through a single-minded commitment to entertaining audiences worldwide, he has risked life and limb and fought his way back to the very top. In an entertainment world dominated by superheroes and fantasy franchises, he stands alone… the last movie star.

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Fellini: A Director’s Notebook(1969)

3.4/5 (with 9 votes)

Fellini discusses his views of making motion pictures and his unorthodox procedures. He seeks inspiration in various out of the way places. During this film viewers go with him to the Colisseum at night, on a subway ride past Roman ruins, to the Appian Way, to a slaughterhouse, and on a visit to Marcello Mastroianni's house. Fellini also is seen in his own office interviewing a series of unusual characters seeking work or his help.

Chop & Steele(2022)

1h 21min | Documentary, Comedy
4.0/5 (with 1 vote)

From the award-winning filmmakers behind Winnebago Man, Chop and Steele is a feature length comedy documentary about childhood friends turned professional comedians, Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett, the founders of the Found Footage Festival. When Nick and Joe book their gag strongman routine on unsuspecting morning news shows, their pranks go viral and land them in federal court with a vengeful media conglomerate. The stress of the lawsuit and pressure to continue their pranks threatens their livelihood and tests their lifelong friendship.

Blackadder: The Lost Pilot(2023)

1h 1min | Documentary, Comedy
3.5/5 (with 2 votes)

Sir Tony Robinson takes a journey back in time to find out where Blackadder really began, and to uncover the story of the previously-unseen pilot episode.

A Documentary on the Making of 'Gore Vidal's Caligula'(1981)

1h 2min | Documentary, History

- No description / details available yet. -

Wolfgang(2021)

1h 18min | Documentary
3.8/5 (with 5 votes)

An intimate portrait of the life and work of the original "celebrity chef" Wolfgang Puck.

Directed by David Gelb

The Real Anthony Fauci(2022)

1h 51min | Documentary
3.7/5 (with 6 votes)

Different experts make a stand against today's putatively criminal and harmful health system, focusing on Anthony Fauci and his role in the shaping of the AIDS and COVID-19 epidemics. The Real Anthony Fauci - based on the book by Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre(1989)

A study of the Group Theatre, a company that changed the face of American drama. The Group was founded in 1931 by Cheryl Crawford, Harold Clurman and Lee Strasberg, who were strongly influenced by the naturalistic acting of Konstantin Stanislavski’s Moscow Art Theatre.

The Fabric of the Cosmos(2011)

5.0/5 (with 1 vote)

Brian Greene takes us on a ride explaining the latest happenings in the world of Physics, and trying to explain What is Space, What is Time, The World of Quantum Physics and whether we live in Universe or a Multiverse.

Henry Kissinger: Secrets of a Superpower(2008)

1h 30min | Documentary

Though Henry Kissinger is often giving short statements to the media, he refuses detailed interviews about his own life. Now he has agreed to answer questions about his person in an extensive documentary.

Algeria from Above(2015)

1h 27min | Documentary
4.7/5 (with 3 votes)

Algeria from above is the first documentary made entirely from the sky on Algeria. Through the eye of the famous Yann Arthus-Bertrand this documentary vividly depicts this great country, and its vibrant cultural and natural treasures. From North to South and from West to East, it shows us the entirety of Algeria, lives in the large hectic coastal cities, Atlas mountains, oases of the Sahara or gentle hills of the Sahel. With a rich past that seems to have crossed all civilizations, and a territory where all natural environments amalgamate, Algeria appears here in all its diversity and its unity.

David Beckham: Infamous(2022)

1h 9min | Documentary
2.5/5 (with 1 vote)

David Beckham, a household name, footballing icon and at one point the most hated man in England. A comprehensive look at David Beckham's footballing career focusing on his England redemption, World Cup dreams, trial by media and becoming brand Becks. From humble beginnings in Leytonstone to achieving England's most capped outfield player, winning the illustrious treble and becoming the highest-paid player of all time, Beckham truly is a modern-day phenom. Taking on brand deals and appearances Beckham became the most commercially valuable player in the world playing for Goliaths, Manchester United, Real Madrid and AC Milan. There is no doubting the commercial success of brand Becks and when a player wins as much silverware as Beckham, there's no doubting their playing career either.

Gateways to the Mind(1958)

58min | Documentary

The film presents how the human body recognizes and becomes aware of its surroundings. The various information pathways to the brain such as sight, sound, smell, taste and touch are explored in a accurate but simple manner via human impression and cartoon characters!

Scénario du film Passion(1982)

54min | Documentary
2.6/5 (with 4 votes)

Godard constructs a lyrical study of the cinematic and creative process by deconstructing the story of his 1982 film Passion. “I didn’t want to write the script,” he states, “I wanted to see it.” Positioning himself in a video editing suite in front of a white film screen that evokes for him the “famous blank page of Mallarmé,” Godard uses video as a sketchbook with which to reconceive the film. The result is a philosophical, often humorous rumination on the desire and labor that inform the conceptual and image making process of the cinema.

Directed by Jean-Luc Godard

A Storm Foretold(2023)

1h 30min | Documentary
3.0/5 (with 1 vote)

The United States of America. It is Wednesday, January 6, 2021. A historic election campaign has divided the country. Now, US congressmen are gathered in parliament at the Capitol. They are about to approve the election result and declare Joe Biden the winner of the presidential election. Meanwhile, less than a mile away, the outgoing Donald Trump is speaking. Thousands of his followers are gathered. Power has been stolen, Trump repeats from the rostrum. He urges the crowd to march towards Capitol to protest. A few hours later, 5 people are killed and 141 wounded. With Trump's political godfather, Roger Stone, as the film's central character the film documents how Trump's presidential period had to find its logical end point in The Storm at the Capitol.

Directed by Christoffer Guldbrandsen - With Roger Stone, Donald Trump

The House on Coco Road(2016)

1h 19min | Documentary
3.4/5 (with 2 votes)

An intimate documentary exploration of heritage and history against the backdrop of a brewing Afro-centric revolution as the U.S. government prepares to invade the island nation of Grenada. First hand accounts from activists Angela Davis, Fania Davis and Fannie Haughton weave together director Damani Baker’s family portrait of utopian dreams, resistance and civil unrest with a film score composed by music luminary Meshell Ndegeocello.

On the Edge of 'Blade Runner'(2000)

52min | Documentary
3.7/5 (with 4 votes)

This is the rare UK Channel 4 documentary about Blade Runner, giving insights into it's history with interviews of Ridley Scott, the writers and nearly all the cast. Interviews with production staff, including Ridley, give details into the creative process and turmoil during preproduction. Stories from Paul M. Sammon and Fancher provide insight into Philip K. Dick and the origins of Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Interweaved are cast interviews with the notable exceptions of Harrison Ford and Sean Young. Through these interviews we get a sense of how difficult and frustrating the film was to make as a result of an exacting director without allies and hot, wet, smoggy conditions; which added to the high pressure atmosphere everyone increasingly felt as the film went over budget. There is also a tour of some locations, most notably the Bradbury Building and the Warner Brothers backlot that was the LA 2019 streets, which look very different from Ridley's dark version.

For Love(2022)

1h 30min | Documentary
3.8/5 (with 1 vote)

In this searing documentary, Indigenous people share heartbreaking stories that reveal the injustices inflicted by the Canadian child welfare system.

Mon Clown(2008)

4.0/5 (with 1 vote)

Documentary from France's TV channel Canal+ about the making of the 2007 film 'La Vie en Rose' and Marion Cotillard's road to the Oscar for her performance as French singer Édith Piaf.

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