I love documentaries and will watch almost any type of doc, as long as the subject is somewhat interesting.
I had a preliminary list of about 20 titles and worked to narrow it down. A few that were difficult to cut, but eventually fell by the wayside: Waiting for 'Superman', Fahrenheit 9/11, Super Size Me, and Encounters at the End of the World.
Don't forget to check out Kyle's blog for his list, too!
1. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father
I wrote about this wonderful and emotional doc once before, in Part 3 of my Favorite Films series. I recommend anyone and everyone to give it a shot - I watched it for the first time about 8 years ago and it has stayed with me ever since.
2. Young@Heart
Some documentaries are about serious issues and hard hitting topics, but most of my favorites are not. Young@Heart is a perfect example of how a simple subject - an elderly chorus who perform rock covers - can be covered in such a way to make an entertaining and emotional film. The cast of characters followed by the filmmakers are interesting, engaging, and memorable. These old timers aren't content to just sit around the house - or the nursing home - and wait for their time to be over, instead they devote as much energy as possible practicing and performing their music for their adoring fans. Part of the charm of Young@Heart is the great music - including covers of tunes from Hendrix, Bowie, The Ramones, Coldplay, James Brown, Sonic Youth, and Bob Dylan - but most of my enjoyment stemmed from getting to know these exceptional elders of society. Since Young@Heart only has 3,500 ratings on IMDb, it appears not many people have seen this wonderful little film. I'm happy to be one of them, as it's one of the best viewing experiences I've had. Of course, since many of them are well into advanced age and already not in the best of health, there are some sad moments. I'm not ashamed to admit I cry every time I watch the film and if you can watch Fred Knittle's rendition of "Fix You" without bawling, then you're a stronger person than I.
3. The Kid Stays in the Picture
Robert Evans was many things. Writer. Actor. Producer. Womanizer. Drug addict. He's most famous for running Paramount studios in the 70's and producing some of the most acclaimed films of that era - Chinatown, The Godfather, The Godfather Part II, and Marathon Man are among his credits - but I think his best talent was being a storyteller. If you've ever heard him in an interview, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't, there are lots of great examples on YouTube. His autobiography book, The Kid Stays in the Picture, is one of my favorite biographies (and I read a lot of them) and the film adapted from that book is nearly as impressive. Evans narrates his life story - or, more aptly, the highlights as no 90 minute film could cover his impressive life in its entirety - as pictures from his archives seem to float through the screen. Still pictures are used in such a way that they appear to be almost video-like in quality. It's a technique I've seen used since in other documentaries, but I first saw it expertly used in The Kid Stays in the Picture. Evans' story is one of hard work, determination, genius, ego, excess, greed, infidelity, and staying power. He worked his way up from "half-assed" actor to executive, saw his career go down the toilet, and then experienced a revival late in life, which I was pleased to see.
4. Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, A Tale of Life
Werner Herzog is an amazingly interesting man and I could listen to his smooth, rhythmic voice for hours. I've only seen a handful of his films - all documentaries, though I'd like to dive into his fiction work, too - but they have all been unique, inspiring works. Into the Abyss is the best of the bunch. The film profiles Michael Perry, a death row inmate in Texas who was convicted with killing one woman and suspected of two more murders. This film is different than most docs of this nature, in that Herzog doesn't really dwell on Perry's guilt or innocence or even the details of the murders or the trial - those aspects seem unimportant to Herzog. He'd rather discuss the people involved, their backstories, and the social context that may have played a part in how everything came to happen. This film actually started as a larger piece, profiling five death row inmates, but Herzog decided to focus only on Perry. The rest of those stories were presented as television miniseries (consisting of four, 50 minute episodes) entitled On Death Row. I'd highly recommend watching that, as well.
5. The Cove
The Cove is an extremely effective documentary. Effective in the sense that it's nearly impossible to not be drawn in, upset over what you see, and then demand that some changes occur to remedy the problem. The basic premise, that tens of thousands of dolphins are killed in Japan each year, is bad enough - you don't even need to be animal lover to see that - but the various subplots, including the dangerous levels of mercury in the dolphin meat which is consumed throughout Japan and the government aiding and helping to cover up the crimes, are disturbing, too. Because the cove where the slaughter takes place is guarded and shielded from view, there are sequences of spy-like maneuvers being done, trying to capture as much video evidence as possible. The results are both thrilling and sickening. The filmmakers and onscreen activists are obviously deeply invested in their fight against this unnecessary slaughter and their emotions rubbed off on me, as well. By the end of the film, I was a crying mess and I was immensely thankful that I don't eat anything coming from Japan's waters.
6. Fuck
Fuck is not a documentary for people easily offended by "vulgar" language. Thankfully, I am not one of those people and thoroughly loved this film about freedom of speech and censorship. The word "fuck" is easily my favorite curse word - like Sam Donaldson says in the film, it's just so damned versatile and rolls off the tongue - but that's not the only reason this doc ranks among my favorites. It contains great interviews with interesting people, like Billy Connelly, John Waters, Kevin Smith, Alanis Morissette, Hunter S. Thompson (in his last recorded interview before his suicide), Ice-T, Drew Carey, and even Pat Boone. In addition to celebrities, scholarly types are also interviewed and give their take on the word and its influence and cultural relevance. There are also some really good animated sequences and a lot of fun music - most of the tracks utilize the titular word in some way. Fuck talks about important issues, but does so in a fun and entertaining way.
7. Side by Side
The process of making movies is always changing. From silent to talkies, from black and white to color, from practical effects to CGI. One of the most recent drastic changes is the advent of digital filmmaking, which has slowly grown over the last 20 years to overtake photo-chemical film as the standard. This documentary, produced by and starring Keanu Reeves of all people, examines the histories and techniques of both methods. Reeves interviews all sorts of people connected to filmmaking, from actors and directors to cinematographers and engineers, to get their thoughts and feelings about the subject. Some are staunch supporters of film and avoid all digital intermediaries. Others love the flexibility (both artistically and financially) of digital and vow never to return to film. It's an interesting discussion and I loved learning about the history and processes involved with each method.
8. Life Itself
I love Roger Ebert. I have for quite a long time, ever since discovering his television program At the Movies in the early 90's. His onscreen relationship with Gene Siskel was a joy to watch and I always appreciated his insight into films, even if I didn't particularly agree with him. I read his memoir, on which Life Itself is based, and it is one of the best books of its kind. It's funny, inspirational, informative, and heartbreaking and the film matches it and, at times, exceeds it. Ebert was very ill for the last part of his life and the doc does a great job at conveying his attitudes about life, death, and (most importantly) love. This film is practically a love story, between Ebert and his longtime wife, Chaz, but also tells the story of his upbringing, early career, rise to prominence, and personal life. This is not a white washed retelling of Ebert's life. He insisted that they show his whole life, warts and all, so we get to see him at his best and worst. The ending, filmed as he was struggling through surgery after surgery, includes his death and was a hard thing to handle. When Ebert died in April of 2013, it felt as though a member of my own family had passed. I had been watching him and reading his work for so long. Watching Life Itself during the summer of 2014, it felt as though he had died all over again.
9. This Film Is Not Yet Rated
Yet another movie related documentary, but what can I say? I love movies, so it just stands to reason some of my favorite docs would cover my favorite hobby. This Film is Not Yet Rated is about the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), it's effects on American film productions, and censorship. The film covers a lot of topics, but focuses its energy on the makeup of the MPAA board and how they make their decisions about rating certain films. The aspect that intrigued me the most is how the board members are anonymous and have to have no specific qualifications to serve. Kirby Dick, the film's director, had several run-ins with the MPAA during the rating process and those interactions are included in the doc, providing an interesting first hand look at how screwed up this process really can be. This Film is Not Yet Rated features some great interviews with people like Maria Bello, Wayne Kramer, Kimberly Pierce, Kevin Smith, John Waters, Matt Stone, and Darren Aronofsky. All of these individuals have had previous issues with the MPAA and some have really enlightening stories to tell. I think it's a must watch for any film fan interested in how movies are rated, marketed, and distributed.
10. I Am Santa Claus
This is easily the least popular film on this list, I'm sure, but that doesn't detract from it's quality. I am Santa Claus is a fascinating look at the lives of four different men who are professional Santas during the holidays and how they spend the rest of their year. One is a real estate agent, another works at a sex club, another is a BBQ chef, and the last is retired. Mick Foley, the retired professional wrestler/actor/writer, has always been obsessed with Santa and wants to see if he has what it takes to don the suit and entertain families. The men profiled in I Am Santa Claus are not perfect - one of them is quite far from that standard, in fact - but they are all interesting and dynamic people with some great stories to tell. The film - directed, filmed, produced, and edited by Tommy Avallone - is at times hilarious and heartwarming. I'd highly recommend it at any time of the year!
HM: Making a Murderer
This is the first time I've included an "Honorable Mention" spot on any of these lists, but I have good reason. Since Making a Murderer is technically a series and not a film, I didn't think it was fair to rank it among the rest. It had 10 hours to develop its story and make an impact, so it's not really a fair fight. But I couldn't discuss my favorite documentaries without mentioning it, either. No film since Dear Zachary has had such an emotional impact on me like Making a Murderer did. It's been over six weeks since I finished watching it, but I still think about the cases of Steven Avery and Brandon Dassey every day. And I still am angry and disturbed by what I saw happen to them. By default, all documentaries are biased in some regard and Making a Murderer is probably a little more biased than most, but that doesn't detract from its powerful message or the excellent technical skills which made this beautiful, engaging, thought provoking, and haunting film. If it was in direct competition with the others on this list, it would rank at #2.
There's my list! Are any of these among your favorites? Do you have any docs to recommend to me? I'm always on the lookout for something new. Thanks for reading and feel free to leave comments!
Next week's list: Part 7 of my Favorite Films.
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