Documentaries
"Life caught unawares," that's how Soviet filmmaker Dziga Vertov defined the principle and art of documentary in the thirties. Yet the documentary has taken so many forms over the past century that it is too simple to call it the mere recording of reality.
| Spine # | Title | Director | Country | Year | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 123 |
|
Grey Gardens | David Maysles, Albert Maysles, Ellen Hovde, and Muffie Meyer | United States, | 1976 |
|
Agnès de ci de là Varda | Agnès Varda | France, | 2011 | |
|
All That Breathes | Shaunak Sen | United Kingdom, | 2022 | |
| 1210 |
|
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed | Laura Poitras | United States, | 2022 |
| 617 |
|
And Everything Is Going Fine | Steven Soderbergh | United States, | 2010 |
|
. . . And the Pursuit of Happiness | Louis Malle | France, | 1986 | |
| 425 |
|
Antonio Gaudí | Hiroshi Teshigahara | Japan, | 1984 |
|
The Beaches of Agnès | Agnès Varda | France, | 2008 | |
| 361 |
|
The Beales of Grey Gardens | Albert Maysles and David Maysles | United States, | 2006 |
| 477 |
|
Bergman Island | Marie Nyreröd | Sweden, | 2006 |
|
Black Panthers | Agnès Varda | France, | 1970 | |
| 699 |
|
A Brief History of Time | Errol Morris | United States, | 1991 |
| 866 |
|
Buena Vista Social Club | Wim Wenders | United States, | 1999 |
| 287 |
|
Burden of Dreams | Les Blank | United States, | 1982 |
| 789 |
|
Burroughs: The Movie | Howard Brookner | United States, | 1983 |
| 853 |
|
Cameraperson | Kirsten Johnson | United States, | 2016 |
| 128 |
|
Carl Th. Dreyer—My Metier | Torben Skjødt Jensen | Denmark, | 1995 |
| 648 |
|
Chronicle of a Summer | Jean Rouch and Edgar Morin | France, | 1961 |
|
Come On Children | Allan King | Canada, | 1972 | |
| 256 |
|
A Constant Forge | Charles Kiselyak | United States, | 2000 |
| 533 |
|
Crumb | Terry Zwigoff | United States, | 1995 |
|
Daguerréotypes | Agnès Varda | France, | 1975 | |
| 895 |
|
David Lynch: The Art Life | Jon Nguyen, Rick Barnes, and Olivia Neergaard-Holm | United States, | 2016 |
| 1111 |
|
Dick Johnson Is Dead | Kirsten Johnson | United States, | 2020 |
| 786 |
|
Dont Look Back | D. A. Pennebaker | United States, | 1967 |
|
Dying at Grace | Allan King | Canada, | 2003 | |
|
Faces Places | Agnès Varda and JR | France, | 2017 | |
| 1141 |
|
Faya dayi | Jessica Beshir | Ethiopia, | 2021 |
| 892 |
|
Festival | Murray Lerner | United States, | 1967 |
| 288 |
|
F for Fake | Orson Welles | United States, | 1975 |
| 42 |
|
Fishing with John | John Lurie | United States, | 1992 |
| 54 |
|
For All Mankind | Al Reinert | United States, | 1989 |
| 751 |
|
Gates of Heaven | Errol Morris | United States, | 1978 |
| 153 |
|
General Idi Amin Dada: A Self-Portrait | Barbet Schroeder | France, | 1974 |
| 99 |
|
Gimme Shelter | David Maysles, Albert Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin | United States, | 1970 |
|
The Gleaners and I | Agnès Varda | France, | 2000 | |
|
The Gleaners and I: Two Years Later | Agnès Varda | France, | 2002 | |
|
God’s Country | Louis Malle | United States, | 1985 | |
| 334 |
|
Harlan County USA | Barbara Kopple | United States, | 1976 |
| 156 |
|
Hearts and Minds | Peter Davis | United States, | 1974 |
| 289 |
|
Hoop Dreams | Steve James | United States, | 1994 |
|
Hotel Monterey | Chantal Akerman | United States, | 1972 | |
|
Humain, trop humain | Louis Malle | France, | 1973 | |
| 212 |
|
Ingmar Bergman Makes a Movie | Vilgot Sjöman | Sweden, | 1962 |
| 828 |
|
Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words | Stig Björkman | Sweden, | 2015 |
| 988 |
|
The Inland Sea | Lucille Carra | United States, | 1991 |
|
Jane B. par Agnès V. | Agnès Varda | France, | 1988 | |
| 169 |
|
Jimi Plays Monterey & Shake! Otis at Monterey | Chris Hegedus… | United States, | 1986 |
| 808 |
|
The Kennedy Films of Robert Drew & Associates | Robert Drew | United States, | |
| 340 |
|
Koko: A Talking Gorilla | Barbet Schroeder | France, | 1978 |
| 640 |
|
Koyaanisqatsi | Godfrey Reggio | United States, | 1983 |
|
Land of Milk and Honey | Pierre Etaix | France, | 1971 | |
| 1118 |
|
The Last Waltz | Martin Scorsese | United States, | 1978 |
| 737 |
|
Les Blank: Always for Pleasure | Les Blank | United States, | 1968 |
| 532 |
|
Louie Bluie | Terry Zwigoff | United States, | 1985 |
|
Love Meetings | Pier Paolo Pasolini | Italy, | 1964 | |
|
Lynch/Oz | Alexandre O. Philippe | United States, | 2022 | |
| 264 |
|
The Making of Fanny and Alexander | Ingmar Bergman | Sweden, | 1982 |
|
A Married Couple | Allan King | Canada, | 1969 | |
|
Memory for Max, Claire, Ida and Company | Allan King | Canada, | 2005 | |
| 1061 |
|
Minding the Gap | Bing Liu | United States, | 2018 |
| 168 |
|
Monterey Pop | D. A. Pennebaker | United States, | 1968 |
| 1192 |
|
Moonage Daydream | Brett Morgen | United States, | 2022 |
|
Mur Murs | Agnès Varda | France, | 1981 | |
|
My Crasy Life | Jean-Pierre Gorin | United States, | 1992 | |
| 33 |
|
Nanook of the North | Robert Flaherty | United States, | 1922 |
| 642 |
|
Naqoyqatsi | Godfrey Reggio | United States, | 2002 |
|
News from Home | Chantal Akerman | France, | 1976 | |
| 197 |
|
Night and Fog | Alain Resnais | France, | 1955 |
|
Orlando, My Political Biography | Paul B. Preciado | France, | 2023 | |
| 1018 |
|
Paris Is Burning | Jennie Livingston | United States, | 1990 |
|
Phantom India | Louis Malle | France, | 1969 | |
| 644 |
|
Pina | Wim Wenders | Germany, | 2011 |
| 805 |
|
A Poem Is a Naked Person | Les Blank | United States, | 1974 |
|
Place de la République | Louis Malle | France, | 1974 | |
|
Poto and Cabengo | Jean-Pierre Gorin | United States, | 1980 | |
| 641 |
|
Powaqqatsi | Godfrey Reggio | United States, | 1988 |
| 1062 |
|
Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story by Martin Scorsese | Martin Scorsese | United States, | 2019 |
|
Routine Pleasures | Jean-Pierre Gorin | United States, | 1986 | |
| 122 |
|
Salesman | David Maysles, Albert Maysles, and Charlotte Zwerin | United States, | 1969 |
|
Sans Soleil | Chris Marker | France, | 1983 | |
| 1030 |
|
Scorsese Shorts | Martin Scorsese | United States, | |
| 663 |
|
Shoah | Claude Lanzmann | France, | 1985 |
| 1079 |
|
Streetwise | Martin Bell | United States, | 1984 |
| 753 |
|
The Thin Blue Line | Errol Morris | United States, | 1988 |
| 1109 |
|
Time | Garrett Bradley | United States, | 2020 |
| 557 |
|
The Times of Harvey Milk | Robert Epstein | United States, | 1984 |
| 1080 |
|
Tiny: The Life of Erin Blackwell | Martin Bell | United States, | 2016 |
| 155 |
|
Tokyo Olympiad | Kon Ichikawa | Japan, | 1965 |
|
Tongues Untied | Marlon Riggs | United States, | 1989 | |
|
Total Balalaika Show | Aki Kaurismäki | Finland, | 1994 | |
| 1039 |
|
Town Bloody Hall | Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker | United States, | 1979 |
| 689 |
|
Trances | Ahmed El Maanouni | Morocco, | 1981 |
|
Uncle Yanco | Agnès Varda | France, | 1968 | |
|
Varda by Agnès | Agnès Varda | France, | 2019 | |
| 1164 |
|
The Velvet Underground | Todd Haynes | United States, | 2021 |
| 752 |
|
Vernon, Florida | Errol Morris | United States, | 1981 |
| 1081 |
|
Visions of Eight | Miloš Forman, Kon Ichikawa, Claude Lelouch, Juri Ozerov, Arthur Penn, Michael Pfleghar, John Schlesinger, and Mai Zetterling | United States, | 1973 |
|
Vive le Tour | Louis Malle | France, | 1962 | |
| 602 |
|
The War Room | Chris Hegedus and D. A. Pennebaker | United States, | 1993 |
|
Warrendale | Allan King | Canada, | 1967 | |
| 998 |
|
When We Were Kings | Leon Gast | United States, | 1996 |