25 more mind blowing documentaries
1-5: Art and artists
6-10: War
11-15: Crime
16-25: Music
6-10: War
11-15: Crime
16-25: Music
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25 titles
- DirectorJessica YuStarsHenry DargerDakota FanningLarry PineA documentary on Henry Darger, visionary artist, janitor, and novelist.One of the most unique artists of the 20th century gets a fitting tribute in this beautifully made documentary. If you don't know Henry Darger, this movie is a really good start point.
- DirectorJeff MalmbergStarsMark HogancampEmmanuel NnejiEdda HogancampDocumentary about Mark Hogancamp. After a vicious attack leaves him brain-damaged and broke, Mark seeks recovery in "Marwencol", a 1/6th scale World War II-era town he creates in his backyard. Inspired the movie Welcome to Marwen (2018)This film really shows the power that art can have in recovering from past traumas.
- DirectorBanksyStarsBanksyMr. BrainwashSpace InvaderFollowing the style of some of the world's most prolific street artists, an amateur filmmaker makes a foray into the art world.It's a good one. Deserves the attention it's gotten.
- DirectorAaron RoseJoshua LeonardStarsJulian Bennett HolmesThomas CampbellShepard FaireyThis documentary follows the lives and careers of a collective group of Do-it-yourself artists and designers who inadvertently affected the art world.So many great artists who all came from a single place and time. Watch out for Harmony Korine's brief appearance where he spins sh!t absolutely hilariously.
- DirectorMichael W. DeanStarsRon AshetonMike BonerLynn BreedloveThis documentary features interviews with Ian MacKaye (Fugazi), J Mascis (Dinosaur jr.), John John Jesse (Demonic Erotic painter), Jim Rose (Jim Rose Sideshow), Jim Thirwell (Foetus), Lydia Lunch, Mike Watt (Minutemen), Richard Kern (Filmmaker), Ron Asheton (Stooges), Madagin Shive (Bonfire Madagin), Dave Brockie (Gwar) and many others. The 60-minute film explores the methods and motivations of independent American artists working in different genres and mediums. "DIY or Die" profiles a fascinating group of icons and unknowns working in various media including print, film, graphic art, performance art and music.I found this doco when I was about 15-16 and it's been a constant source of inspiration since. I love the way that lesser known and the more established artists are given the same gravitas.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsAlex GibneyBrian Keith AllenMoazzam BeggAlex Gibney exposes the haunting details of the USA's torture and interrogation practices during the War in Afghanistan.Alex Gibney is probably the most consistent doco makers working these days. Maybe this film had more relevance 5 years ago, but it still deserves watching.
- DirectorMat WhitecrossMichael WinterbottomStarsRiz AhmedFarhad HarunWaqar SiddiquiPart drama, part documentary, The Road to Guantánamo focuses on the Tipton Three, a trio of British Muslims who were held in Guantanamo Bay for two years until they were released without charge.Part-doco, part recreation. This film is harrowing.
- 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.Upfront, honest. My favourite documentary about war.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsMegan Ambuhl GranerJaval DavisKen DavisErrol Morris examines the incidents of abuse and torture of suspected terrorists at the hands of U.S. forces at the Abu Ghraib prison.Errol Morris' has a camera called the interrotron that allows the interviewee to speak face on to the camera whilst seeing the directors face. This film is the most effective use of that technique in my opinion.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsDonald RumsfeldErrol MorrisFormer United States Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, discusses his career in Washington D.C. from his days as a congressman in the early 1960s to planning the invasion of Iraq in 2003.Rumsfeld makes me sick. Still, this is a fascinating movie.
- DirectorAlex GibneyStarsAlex GibneyTerry KohutGary SmithAlex Gibney explores the charged issue of pedophilia in the Catholic Church, following a trail from the first known protest against clerical sexual abuse in the United States and all the way to the Vatican.An incredible story expertly handled by master director Alex Gibney.
- DirectorAndrew JareckiStarsArnold FriedmanJesse FriedmanDavid FriedmanDocumentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.A companion piece to Mea Maxima Culpa of sorts. Just in case you wanna have the most depressing movie marathon ever.
- 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.Errol Morris' first great film. Everyone should see it.
- DirectorAmy BergStarsJason BaldwinDamien Wayne EcholsJessie MisskelleyAn examination of a failure of justice in the case against the West Memphis Three.I watched all three paradise lost (same case, same story) films prior to watching this, but i'd recommend to others to start here.
- DirectorAbbas KiarostamiStarsHossain SabzianMohsen MakhmalbafAbolfazl AhankhahThe true story of Hossain Sabzian, a cinephile who impersonated the director Mohsen Makhmalbaf to convince a family they would star in his so-called new film.Kinda sweet and funny. Kiorastami's only doco as far as I know.
- DirectorHans FjellestadStarsCharlie ClouserHerbert DeutschKeith EmersonBob Moog shaped musical culture with some of the most inspiring electronic instruments ever created. This "compelling documentary portrait of a provocative, thoughtful and deeply sympathetic figure" (New York Times) peeks into the inventor's mind and the worldwide phenomenon he fomented.More a film about the man than the instrument and all the better for it. What a top bloke!
- DirectorDamani BakerAlex VlackStarsBill WithersClarence AvantBenorce BlackmonA portrait of soul legend Bill Withers.I've loved Bill Withers since I was super young and always just assumed that he'd died in the 80's because of the lack of releases after. Turns out he's a man of integrity who just got sick of working in an industry that has none.
- DirectorJ.L. AronsonStarsSteve AlbiniBrandon EbelDavid Garland"Danielson: a Family movie" is a documentary about unbridled creativity vs. accessibility, Christian faith vs. popular culture, underground music vs. survival, and family vs. individuality. The film follows Daniel Smith, an eccentric musician and visual artist, as he leads his four siblings and best friend to indie rock stardom, eventually facing the struggle to become viable as a solo act. Along the way he mentors an unknown singer-songwriter named Sufjan Stevens whose own subsequent success stands in stark contrast to the music world's uneasy reception of Danielson just a few years prior. Makes use of collage, direct cinema and animation.Christianity, costumes and weird ass indie rock cross over in this film. Well worth watching.
- DirectorMark James ButcherStarsNick LarkinsThis raw and vital filmed souvenir interviews the musicians around in 2006, Melbourne sonic explorers such as Robin Fox and Rod Cooper, and scene stalwarts including Ross Knight (Cosmic Psychos), Bruce Milne (founder of Au-Go-Go Records, In-Fidelity Records) and Roland S. Howard (Boys Next Door, The Birthday Party). A veritable roll call of live performance footage comes from the likes of The Dirty Three, The Stabs, Bored!, I Spit on your Gravy, The Sailors, Love of Diagrams, Pisschrist and MUCH more.The film that first made me consider moving to Melbourne. A document of a time and place and the music it fostered.
- DirectorRichard LowensteinLynn-Maree MilburnStarsRowland S. HowardGenevieve McGuckinNick CaveFrom myth to legend Rowland Howard appeared on the early Melbourne punk scene like a phantom out of Kafkaesque Prague or Bram Stoker's Dracula. A beautifully gaunt and gothic aristocrat, the unique distinctive fury of his guitar style shot him directly into the imagination of a generation. He was impeccable, the austerity of his artistry embodied in his finely wrought form, his obscure tastes and his intelligently wry wit. He radiated a searing personal integrity that never seemed to tarnish. Despite the trials and tribulations of his career, in an age of makeover and reinvention, Rowland Howard never 'sold out'. With recent and moving interviews, archival interviews and other fascinating and original footage, AUTOLUMINESCENT traces the life of Rowland S Howard. Capturing moments with the man himself and intimate missives from those who knew him behind closed doors; words and images etch light into what has always been the mysterious dark.A tribute to one of Australia's greatest musicians. A man often replicated but never matched.
- DirectorDarcy MaineStarsSteve AlbiniNick CaveWarren EllisThe Dirty Three are the rough and ready jewels in the crown of Australian rock and roll history. Born from the need to put food on the table and spawned from the intensely collaborative local Australian music scene in the 80's and early 90's, the Dirty Three pioneered the instrumental rock and roll music scene in Australia with their cathartic, sometimes violent and always spellbinding brand of music. Within a few short years, they achieved local and international success and left Australian shores to take their Music to the world. To this day the band continues to tour the world and serve the music that they see as a real, living and breathing thing that chooses the Dirty Three's custodianshipI love D3 so I'm biased but I think there's a lot to be taken from this one for fans and non-fans alike.
- DirectorGreg 'Freddy' CamalierStarsRick HallAretha FranklinKeith RichardsA documentary that celebrates Rick Hall, the founder of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and the signature sound he developed in songs such as "I'll Take You There", "Brown Sugar", and "When a Man Loves a Woman".If you liked standing in the shadows of motown, you'll love this one.
- DirectorSini AndersonStarsKathleen HannaCarrie BrownsteinKim GordonA look at the life of activist, musician, and cultural icon Kathleen Hanna, who formed the punk band Bikini Kill and pioneered the "riot grrrl" movement of the 1990s.Kathleen Hanna was an idol of mine as a teenager and hopefully through this movie, will be one to teenagers everywhere for years to come
- DirectorTerry ZwigoffStarsHoward ArmstrongTed BoganYank RachellAbout the obscure country-blues musician and idiosyncratic visual artist Howard "Louie Bluie" Armstrong, member of the last known black string band in America.What a movie! Damn! Hell good! Much wow!
- DirectorMatt WolfStarsBob BlankErnie BrooksDavid ByrneDirector Matt Wolf's critically acclaimed documentary examines the life and work of Arthur Russell, an influential singer, songwriter, cello player and disco auteur who died tragically in 1992.A delicate bio of a delicate man.