Top Twenty Documentaries of All-Time
The following is a list of the the top twenty documentaries of all-time - as determined in 2002 by the International Documentary Association.
- To determine the availability of a title simply click on it's corresponding catalog record hyperlink.
Titles in Ranked Order
- 1. Bowling for Columbine (2003)
HV7436 .B68 2003 VIDEO West Media- Documentary on guns and violence in the United States. (catalog record)
- 2. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
- HV6533 .T4 T452 2000 VIDEO West Media
- A documentary about the conviction and imprisonment of Randall Adams for the killing of a Dallas policeman. Presents an investigation and reconstruction of the murder and looks at the cases for Adams who was imprisoned for the murder, versus the case for Harris who accused Adams of the murder. (catalog record)
- This title is also a National Film Registry selection.
- 3. Roger and Me (1989)
HC108 .F55 R65 2003 DVD West Media- A documentary about Flint, Michigan native Michael Moore and his efforts to meet with General Motors' president Roger Smith in order to persuade the executive to visit Flint, a city which is economically depressed due to the closure of a General Motors plant. (catalog record)
- 4. Hoop Dreams (1994)
- GV884 .A1 H66 2005 DVD West Media
- This documentary follows two inner-city basketball phenoms' lives through high school as they chase their dreams of playing in the NBA. (catalog record)
- 5. Salesman (1968)
- HF5441 .M39x 1988 VIDEO West Media
- A documentary feature film in cinéma vérité style which closely follows the activities of four door-to-door Bible salesmen on their routes. (catalog record)
- This title is also a National Film Registry selection.
- 6. Nanook of the North (1922)
- E99 .E7 N3x 1989 VIDEO West Media
- Presents a documentary on the life of an Eskimo family pitting their strength against a vast and inhospitable Arctic. Juxtaposes their struggle for survival against the elements with the warmth of the little family as they go about their daily affairs. (catalog record)
- This title is also a National Film Registry selection.
- 7. Night and Fog (1955)
- D805 .G3 N84 2003 DVD West Media
- Ten years after the liberation of the Nazi concentration camps, this piece documents the abandoned grounds of Auschwitz and Majdanek. One of the first cinematic reflections on the horrors of the Holocaust and contrasts the stillness of the abandoned camps' quiet, empty buildings with haunting wartime footage. (catalog record)
- This title is also a UNESCO Tolerance in Film selection.
- 8. Harlan County, USA (1976)
- HD5325 .M63 1973 .H37x 1989 VIDEO West Media
- Documents the 1973 Kentucky coal miner's strike against the operators of the Brookside mine and the Duke Power Company which resulted from the company's refusal to honor the union's national contract with the United Mine Workers of America. (catalog record)
- This title is also a National Film Registry selection.
- 9. Grey Gardens (1976)
- CT274 .B425 G74x 1988 VIDEO West Media
- Grey Gardens captures the haunting relationship between Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter, Little Edie. Two endearing recluses happen to be aunt and first cousin to Jackie Onassis. They feed cats and raccoons while they rehash the past behind the walls of the East Hampton mansion. (catalog record)
- 10. The Civil War (1989)
- E468 .C62x 1990 VIDEO v.1-9 West Media
- First full scale film history of the Civil War. Follows the events of the war in a chronological order using thousands of eloquent photographs and paintings with the words of those who lived through the war.
- Episodes: 1. The cause: 1861, 2. A very bloody affair: 1862, 3. Forever free: 1862, 4. Simply murder: 1863, 5. The universe of battle: 1863, 6. Valley of the shadow of death: 1864, 7. Most hallowed ground: 1864, 8. War is all hell: 1865, 9. The better angels of our nature: 1865. (catalog record)
- 11. Crumb (1994)
- PN1997 .C8733 1998 DVD West Media
- Explore's the mind of underground artist/cartoonist R. Crumb, creator of Zap Comix, Mr. Natural and Fritz the Cat. (catalog record)
- 12. Gimme Shelter (1970)
- ML421 .R64 G472 2000 DVD West Media
- A documentary on the Rolling Stones' 1969 tour of the United States, including a performance at Madison Square Garden and a free concert at the Altamont Speedway in California where violence broke out between fans and Hell's Angels who were providing security. Includes performances by Ike and Tina Turner, the Jefferson Airplane and the Flying Burrito Brothers. (catalog record)
- 13. 7 Up Series (1964)
- Title is on-order for Fletcher Library.
- Begins in 1963 by interviewing 14 British seven-year-olds of diverse backgrounds about their hopes for the future. Return interviews are then conducted with these same subjects in 1970, 1977, 1984, 1991 and 1999.
- 14. Fast, Cheap, and Out of Control (1997)
- CT9990 .F37x 1998 VIDEO West Media
- Acclaimed filmmaker Errol Morris paints a fascinating portrait of four obsessed eccentrics. Morris weaves interviews with a wild animal trainer, a topiary gardener, a robot designer and an expert on the naked mole rat together with old movies, cartoons and stock footage for a compelling, kaleidoscopic look at the very thin line which separates madness from genius. (catalog record)
- 15. Titicut Follies (1967)
- HV8742 .U52 T59x VIDEO West Media
- Filmed at the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater, this documentary shows harsh scenes of the life and treatment of the criminally insane inmates. Shows scenes of the daily life of the men, interspersed with shots from the inmates' talent show. (catalog record)
- 16. When We Were Kings (1996)
- GV1132 .W445 1997 DVD West Media
- It's 1974, Muhammed Ali is 32 and thought by many to be past his prime. George Forman is ten years younger and the Heavyweight champion of the world. Promoter Don King wants to make a name for himself and offers both fighters five million dollars apiece to fight one another, and when they accept, King has only to come up with the money. He finds a backer in Mobutu Sese Suko, the dictator of Zaire and the "Rumble in the Jungle" is set. (catalog record)
- 17. American Movie (1999)
- PN1995.9 .P7 A44x 2000 VIDEO West Media
- Documentary of the two-year effort by Mark Borchardt to finish his no-budget horror film "Coven." (catalog record)
- 18. Shoah (1985)
- D810 .J4 S48x 1986 VIDEO v.1-5 West Media
- The Nazi extermination of Jews is examined through interviews of survivors, witnesses and perpetrators and through footage of the sites of the death camps and environs as they appear today.Those interviewed include Jewish survivors of the death camps and the Warsaw ghetto uprising, Polish farmers and villagers who lived near the camps and Nazis who worked in the camps and the ghettos. (catalog record)
- This title is also a UNESCO Tolerance in Film selection.
- 19. The Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
- PN1995.9 .E96 C44x 1997 VIDEO West Media
- An experimental film which uses numerous cinematic techniques (split screens, multiple superimpositions, variable speeds, et cetera) to present a dawn to dusk view of the Soviet Union to study the relation between cinema and reality. (catalog record)
- 20. Sherman's March: A Meditation on the Possibility of Romantic Lovein the South During an Era of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation (1986)
- PN1998.3 .M23 S54x VIDEO West Media
- Ross McElwee's quest for true romance takes him along General Sherman's Civil War march with laughable results. (catalog record)
- This title is also a National Film Registry selection.
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