Top 40 Documentaries about films
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- DirectorFax BahrGeorge HickenlooperEleanor CoppolaStarsDennis HopperMartin SheenMarlon BrandoDocumentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.
- 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).
- DirectorKeith FultonLouis PepeStarsTerry GilliamJohnny DeppJeff BridgesTerry Gilliam's doomed attempt to get his film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018), off the ground.
- DirectorChristopher KenneallyStarsDerek AmbrosiMichael BallhausAndrzej BartkowiakThe documentary investigates the history, process and workflow of both digital and photochemical film creation.
- DirectorFrank PavichStarsAlejandro JodorowskyMichel SeydouxH.R. GigerThe story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.
- DirectorArnold GlassmanTodd McCarthyStuart SamuelsStarsConrad L. HallJohn BaileyVilmos ZsigmondCameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography, illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from The Birth of a Nation (1915) to Do the Right Thing (1989).
- DirectorWendy AppleStarsKathy BatesZach StaenbergJodie FosterDocumentary about the art of film editing. Clips are shown from many groundbreaking films with innovative editing styles.
- 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.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsJohn FordPeter BogdanovichOrson WellesA documentary on the life and films of director John Ford.
- DirectorCraig McCallStarsJack CardiffMartin ScorseseKirk DouglasIn 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston's The African Queen and King Vidor's War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsMartin ScorseseWorld-renowned director Martin Scorsese narrates this journey through his favorites in Italian cinema.
- 1985– 3h 12mNot Rated7.7 (5.3K)TV EpisodeDirectorRobert B. WeideStarsWoody AllenLetty AronsonMarshall BrickmanA documentary on Woody Allen that trails him on his movie sets and follows him back to Brooklyn as he visits his childhood haunts.
- DirectorNanette BursteinBrett MorgenStarsRobert EvansEddie AlbertPeter BartDocumentary about legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans (the film shares the same name as Evans's famous 1994 autobiography).
- 1995–19983h 45m8.5 (5.1K)TV EpisodeDirectorMartin ScorseseMichael Henry WilsonStarsMartin ScorseseAllison AndersKathryn BigelowMartin Scorsese describes his initial and growing obsession with films from the 1940s and 50s as the art form developed and grew with clips from classics and cult classics.
- DirectorMichel PascalSerge ToubianaStarsFanny ArdantOlivier AssayasAlexandre AstrucTwenty-six people - including two daughters, an ex-wife, his last lover, actors, fellow directors and writers, a neighbor, and boyhood friends - talk about François Truffaut. They discuss his attitudes toward wealth, his early writings about cinema, the undercurrent of violence in his films and his personality, the way he used and altered events in his life when making films, his search for a father (both artistic and biological), his relationship with his mother, the scenes in his films that cause a squirm of embarrassment, and his ultimate mysticism. Clips from a dozen of his films are included.
- DirectorMojtaba MirtahmasbJafar PanahiStarsJafar PanahiIgiMrs. GheiratIt's been months since Jafar Panahi, stuck in jail, has been awaiting a verdict by the appeals court. By depicting a day in his life, Panahi and Mojtaba Mirtahmasb try to portray the deprivations looming in contemporary Iranian cinema.
- DirectorJørgen LethLars von TrierStarsClaus NissenMajken Algren NielsenDaniel Hernandez RodriguezFilmmaker Lars Von Trier challenges Jørgen Leth, the filmmaker behind The Perfect Human (1967), to remake his classic short under circumstances of increasing constraint.
- DirectorSophie FiennesStarsSlavoj ZizekSlavoj Zizek examines famous films in a philosophical and a psychoanalytic context.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsJeffe AlperiRobert ChadwickCatherine E. CoulsonA collection of visionary director David Lynch's short films from the first 29 years of his career is accompanied by a special introduction to each film by the director himself.
- DirectorMichael MatessinoStarsJohn CarpenterDavid FosterBill LancasterA revealing and insightful look into the making of this underrated horror film.
- DirectorMami SunadaStarsHayao MiyazakiYumiko MiyoshiToshio SuzukiFollows the routines of those employed at Studio Ghibli, including filmmakers Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata, and Toshio Suzuki as they work to release two films simultaneously, The Wind Rises and The Tale of the Princess Kaguya.
- DirectorMiguel GomesStarsCrista AlfaiateMiguel GomesMartinho CerqueiraSome of the chapters from Arabian Nights are adapted to a modern Portugal in this epic.
- 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.
- DirectorPeter HansonStarsAllison AndersJane AndersonDoug AtchisonWar stories and life lessons from the industry's top writers.
- DirectorNoah BaumbachJake PaltrowStarsBrian De PalmaMark HamillAmy IrvingA documentary about writer and director Brian De Palma.
- DirectorWim WendersStarsChishû RyûWerner HerzogYûharu AtsutaMoved by the work of director Yasujirô Ozu, Wim Wenders travels to Japan in search of the Tokyo seen in Ozu's films.
- DirectorJane MagnussonHynek PallasStarsTomas AlfredsonWoody AllenWes AndersonA group of filmmakers visit Ingmar Bergman's house on the remote Swedish island of Faro to discuss his legacy.
- DirectorAnna Maria TatòStarsMarcello MastroianniRenato BertaManoel de OliveiraIn 1996, Marcello Mastroianni talks about life as an actor. It's an anecdotal and philosophical memoir, moving from topic to topic, fully conscious of a man "of a certain age" looking back. He tells stories about Fellini and De Sica's direction, of using irony in performances, of constantly working (an actor tries to find himself in characters). He's diffident about prizes, celebrates Rome and Paris, salutes Naples and its people. He answers the question, why make bad films; recalls his father and grandfather, carpenters, his mother, deaf in her old age, and his brother, a film editor; he's modest about his looks. In repose, time's swift passage holds Mastroianni inward gaze.
- DirectorTessa Louise-SaloméStarsLeos CaraxMehdi Belhaj KacemRichard BrodyThe image of a mysterious, solitary filmmaker - a cineaste maudit - who flees from both the media and the public, is unrelentingly bound to the figure of Leos Carax, in France. Elsewhere, the real focus is on his films and he is considered to be an icon of world cinema. Mr.X dives into the poetic and visionary world of an artist who was already a cult figure from his very first film. Punctuated by interviews and unseen footage, this documentary is most of all a fine-tuned exploration of the poetic and visionary world of Leos Carax, alias "Mr.X".
- DirectorMike MalloyStarsFranco NeroJohn SaxonHenry SilvaA documentary concerning the violent Italian 'poliziotteschi' cinematic movement of the 1970s which, at first glance, seem to be rip-offs of American crime films like DIRTY HARRY or THE GODFATHER, but which really address Italian issues like the Sicilian Mafia and red terrorism. Perhaps even more interesting than the films themselves were the rushed methods of production (stars performing their own stunts, stealing shots, no live sound) and the bleed-over between real-life crime and movie crime.
- DirectorSteve JamesStarsRoger EbertChaz EbertGene SiskelThe life and career of the renowned film critic and social commentator, Roger Ebert.
- DirectorAlex StapletonStarsRoger CormanMartin ScorseseQuentin TarantinoA documentary on DIY producer/director Roger Corman and his alternative approach to making movies in Hollywood.
- CreatorChris MooreStarsZachary QuintoNeal DodsonShane DawsonFollows two first-time directors who are given the opportunity to direct separate films adapted from the same original screenplay.
- DirectorMarina ZenovichStarsAndrew BraunsbergRichard BrennemanDouglas DaltonExamines the public scandal and private tragedy which led to legendary filmmaker Roman Polanski's sudden flight from the United States.
- DirectorArata ÔshimaStarsEllieMegumi KagurazakaFumi NikaidôDirected by Arata Oshima, son of rebel filmmaker Nagisa Oshima, who had praised Sono's early work before his passing, this documentary gives insight into the man, the poet, the painter, the scriptwriter, the husband and the boy who will eventually grow up to be the Sion Sono. Lineage, history and the past meeting the present are themes in this film in which Oshima connects the dots in Sono's creative life by taking the camera to the site of his upbringing and following the production of his most recent film The Whispering Star.
- DirectorP.J. LetofskyStarsOleg VidovMarina TarkovskayaTonino GuerraTarkovsky: Time Within Time explores the acclaimed Russian film director Andrei Tarkovsky through his diary to discover the man and the vision to which he aspires. While developing a film on Dostoievsky, he wrote, 'We must make a film about the man himself, about his personality, his god, his devil, his work'. Tarkovsky's story is told chronologically and we come to know the man himself, through his articulate assessments on love, art, and the struggles working within the Soviet Communist political system. Of his 7 ambitious films, 5 were made under the heavy hand of censors in the Soviet Union. He defected in 1984 to Italy with the help of acclaimed screenwriter Tonino Guerra. He directed 2 films in the West until his untimely death in 1986 at age 54 from cancer. Narrated by the renowned Russian actor Oleg Vidov, you become mesmerized as if Tarkovsky himself is speaking to you. Through a collection of rare film footage and photos from Marina Tarkovsky (sister), Andrei Konchalovsky, Tonino Guerra, Enrica Antonioni, and coupled with interviews from people who knew him best, we take you on a passionate journey to discover the life, love, and art of Andrei Tarkovsky in Moscow, Rome, Stockholm, and Sainte Genevieve des Bois outside Paris where he is buried.
- DirectorTony MontanaMark Brian SmithStarsTroy DuffyJeffrey BaxterChris BrinkerA documentary on the rise and stumble of Troy Duffy, the bartender-cum-filmmaker who was swept up by Miramax's Harvey Weinstein to turn his script for The Boondock Saints into a feature film.
- DirectorChinlin HsiehStarsTadanobu AsanoOlivier AssayasJingjing BaoA tribute from filmmakers and critics around the world to the Taiwan New Cinema movement in the 1980s.
- DirectorStevan RileyStarsMarlon BrandoStella AdlerBernardo BertolucciA documentary that utilizes hundreds of hours of audio that Marlon Brando recorded over the course of his life to tell the screen legend's story.
- DirectorKent JonesStarsMartin ScorseseOrson WellesVal E. LewtonMartin Scorsese narrates this tribute to Val Lewton, the producer of a series of memorable low-budget horror films for RKO Studios. Raised by his mother and his aunt, his films often included strong female characters who find themselves in difficult situations and who have to grow up quickly. He is best remembered for the horror films he made at RKO starting in 1942. Starting with only a title - his first was Cat People (1942) - he would meticulously oversee every aspect of the film's completion. Although categorized as horror films, his films never showed a monster, leaving it all to the viewers imagination, assisted by music, mood and lighting.
- DirectorChris SmithStarsMark BorchardtMike SchankTom SchimmelsDocumentary about an aspiring filmmaker's attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.
- DirectorJoey FigueroaZak KnutsonStarsJohn MiliusEthan MiliusAmanda MiliusA look at the life of filmmaker John Milius.
- DirectorAgnès VardaStarsLucien BossyLeance DebrossianMarcelle DebrossianPortraits of the people that occupy the small shops of the Rue Daguerre, Paris, where the filmmaker lived.