Documentary's about Film Making/Film Makers
These are documentary's from my collection that involve film making in some way. Some are about a single actor, director, etc.. others focus on a certain creative period, or a specific experience or event involving someone from the film community. There are many more doc's in this genre that I have yet to see but am well aware of. I will continue to add them as they become available to me.
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- DirectorKevin BrownlowStarsLindsay AndersonAlbert DieudonnéAbel GanceBBC documentary on the long and flamboyant career of French filmmaker Abel Gance.
- DirectorLes BlankStarsWerner HerzogKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleA documentary following German auteur Werner Herzog as he deals with difficult actors, bad weather and getting a boat over a mountain, all in an effort to make his film Fitzcarraldo (1982).
- DirectorRichard SchickelStarsSally FieldBarbara StanwyckHumphrey BogartSally Field hosts this thorough documentary about actress Barbara Stanwyck. Highlights include Ball of Fire (1941), Double Indemnity (1944) and Sorry, Wrong Number (1948).
- DirectorValerie A. RobinsStarsOtto PremingerBurgess MeredithSaul BassThe life and films of iconic producer. director, and actor Otto Preminger are depicted through clips from his films and interviews with co-workers.
- DirectorMichael EpsteinThomas LennonStarsRichard Ben CramerWilliam AllandThomas AndersonDocumentary about the battle between Orson Welles and William Randolph Hearst over Welles' Citizen Kane (1941). Features interviews with Welles' and Hearst's co-workers also as a relative complete bio of Hearst.
- DirectorPeter FitzgeraldStarsEva Marie SaintPatricia HitchcockErnest LehmanHosted by Eva Marie Saint, the film's leading lady, this 40-minute documentary of Alfred Hitchcock's only M-G-M film combines interviews (Martin Landau, Patricia Hitchcock, production designer Robert F. Boyle and screenwriter Ernest Lehman), movie clips and behind the scenes photos to make for a fascinating look at one of the silver screen's glowing gems. For fans of North by Northwest (1959) and Hitchcock aficionados, this is a must see treat.
- DirectorKevin BrownlowStarsKenneth BranaghForrest J. AckermanMichael F. BlakeLon Chaney, the silent movie star and makeup artist, renowned for his various characterizations and celebrated for his horror films, becomes the subject of this documentary.
- DirectorDavid RivaStarsBurt BacharachAndré G. BrunelinRosemary ClooneyThe films, affairs and struggles of the iconic star of The Blue Angel as told by Rosemary Clooney, Roger Corman, Deanna Durbin and many more.
- DirectorHugh Munro NeelyStarsCharlize TheronJeanine BasingerCari BeauchampAn exploration of actress Marion Davies, including her relationship with newspaper tycoon William Randolph Hearst and her life both before and after her movie career.
- DirectorJan HarlanStarsKatharina KubrickMalcolm McDowellStanley KubrickThe career and life of Stanley Kubrick is explored through pictures, clips from his films, his old home movies, comments from his colleagues and a narration by Tom Cruise.
- DirectorRichard SchickelStarsWoody AllenA series of interviews with Woody Allen interlaced with clips from his films.
- DirectorDavid StrohmaierStarsLowell ThomasFred WallerJim MorrisonA nostalgic and compelling look into the legendary three camera, three projector process that revolutionized motion pictures and led the industry into the widescreen era. Through actual Cinerama clips, rare behind the scenes footage and new interviews, CINERAMA ADVENTURE takes the viewer back to a lost era of movie showmanship, placing this American cinema phenomenon into historical perspective.
- DirectorDamian PettigrewStarsFederico FelliniRoberto BenigniLuigi 'Titta' BenziA look at Fellini's creative process. In extensive interviews, Fellini talks a bit about his background and then discusses how he works and how he creates. Several actors, a producer, a writer, and a production manager talk about working with Fellini. Archive footage of Fellini and others on the set plus clips from his films provide commentary and illustration for the points interviewees make. Fellini is fully in charge; actors call themselves puppets. He dismisses improvisation and calls for "availability." His sets and his films create images that look like reality but are not; we see the differences and the results.
- DirectorCarmen PicciniStarsWoody AllenFausto AncillaiRoberto BenigniInterviewed participants and clips shed light on: Whether Fellini used scripts or improvised. The extent to which actors made sounds on the set that were totally changed in dubbing. The casting of unusual looking people even in bit parts.
- DirectorKevin BrownlowMichael KloftStarsKenneth BranaghAdolf HitlerSydney ChaplinA look at the parallel lives of Charles Chaplin and Adolf Hitler and how they crossed with the creation of The Great Dictator (1940).
- DirectorTed DemmeRichard LaGraveneseStarsFrancis Ford CoppolaWilliam FriedkinRobert AltmanA documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.
- DirectorRichard SchickelStarsCharles ChaplinSydney PollackBill IrwinNarrated by Sydney Pollack, film critic Richard Schickel's dazzling two-hour plus documentary to one of the towering figures in film: Charles Chaplin. Hardcore Chaplin fans may not find much new material here, but more unfamiliar admirers will gain some valuable information about one of the most famous personalities of the 20th century. Schickel has constructed the documentary as a chronological survey of Chaplin's work, starting with his most significant shorts and covering all of his features. Schickel supports his narration with testimony from artists familiar with Chaplin's work and family members who offer personal insights into the comedian's life. The documentary plays down but doesn't ignore the controversies that swirled around Chaplin's private life. But the main focus is on the films. They include some of the best-loved movies of all time. Clips from "Kid Auto Races at Venice," the 1914 Keystone short in which Chaplin first used his Tramp costume, reveal a startlingly modern technique and sensibility, as if the filmmakers were predicting and mocking reality TV. Subsequent shorts show Chaplin refining his 'Little Tramp' character while absorbing the essentials of filmmaking. By the time he made "Easy Street," in 1917, Chaplin had perfected a combination of knockabout farce and Victorian sentiment that still proves irresistible. Chaplin's early features, including "The Kid," "The Gold Rush" and "City Lights," were such blockbuster hits that he could essentially ignore the coming of sound for almost a decade. Those making appearances on the program include Woody Allen, Richard Attenborough, Jeanine Basinger, Claire Bloom, Geraldine Chaplin. Sydney Chaplin, Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr., Milos Forman, Bill Irwin, Norman Lloyd, Marcel Marceau, David Raksin, David Robinson, Andrew Sarris, Martin Scorsese and Jeffrey Vance.
- 20031h 59mTV-147.5 (3.1K)DirectorKenneth BowserStarsMartin ScorseseDennis HopperPeter BogdanovichA look at 1970s Hollywood when it was known as New Hollywood, and the director was the star of the movie.
- DirectorWendy AppleStarsKathy BatesZach StaenbergJodie FosterDocumentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.
- DirectorRichard SchickelStarsMartin ScorseseCharles ScorseseCatherine ScorseseDirector Martin Scorsese discusses his life growing up in Manhattan and his filmmaking career.
- DirectorChristopher BirdKevin BrownlowStarsBuster KeatonJames KarenLouis B. MayerA documentary which explores movie comedian Buster Keaton's five years under contract at MGM, where personal problems and studio tyranny nearly destroyed him.
- DirectorJacques RichardStarsHenri AlekanCatherine AllégretJo AmorinLife and work of the founder of the Cinémathèque Française.
- DirectorChristopher BirdKevin BrownlowStarsJulie ChristieGreta GarboCharles BuschAn original documentary from Turner Classic Movies, narrated by Julie Christie
- DirectorChristopher BirdKevin BrownlowStarsAlec BaldwinMerian C. CooperDavid StrohmaierThis documentary explores the incredible life of Merian C. Cooper, from his time as a soldier and pilot in three different wars, to his exploits in Hollywood, as a director, producer and cinematic innovator.
- DirectorGisela GrischowVolker SchlöndorffStarsJean ArthurHumphrey BogartJames CagneyBilly Wilder discusses his life and films in interviews filmed by Volker Schlondorff over two weeks in 1988.