Documentary Movies

This documentary by Theo Kamecke from 1970 gives an indepth and profound look at the Apollo 11 mission to the moon. NASA footage is interspersed with reactions to the mission…

This documentary captures Elvis Presley on his 1972 American tour and includes rehearsals, interviews, archival television appearances and backstage moments. With Elvis at his most flamboyant, the film features well-known…

British progressive rock band Pink Floyd perform at the ancient Roman Amphitheater in the ruins of Pompeii, Italy in 1971. Although the band perform a typical live set from the…

A short film on the first Gay Pride March in San Francisco in 1971 the year after the Stonewall Riots. This film was lost for 50 years before it was…

A documentary about a political troupe headed by actors Jane Fonda and Donald Sutherland which traveled to towns near military bases in the US in the early 1970s. The group…

A documentary about the 1972 Winter Olympic Games in Sapporo, Japan.

A documentary on the work of sex-change specialist Dr. Leo Wollman, including interviews with Dr. Wollman and a few of his patients, with an illustrated lecture on the various aspects…

Documentary about the dancer Rudolf Nureyev.

James Earl Jones narrates this fascinating and moving documentary about the life of the assassinated black leader through various sources.

In the early ‘70s, founding member of Australian surf magazine Tracks, Albert Falzon, began filming off the North Coast of New South Wales, Hawaii, and Indonesia. He set out to…

An ode to rural France and the simple joys of life, Dominique Benicheti’s glorious masterpiece Cousin Jules captures the daily routine and rituals of Jules, a blacksmith, living with his…

Pseudo-documentary about black magic and the study of witchcraft with a rare appearance by real-life occultist Alex Sanders.

The Page family lives without electricity or running water deep in the Sussex woods. Amidst ever-growing modernity and industrialization, the family carries out chores, hunts pheasants, builds steam engines, and…

This film provides a unique view of Cuba’s leader, containing fascinating archive footage of the Bay of Pigs invasion and scenes of Che Guevara – alongside interviews with political prisoners.

Shot during the summer of 1970 at Fort Knox, Kentucky, Frederick Wiseman’s film Basic Training focuses on a group of men going through infantry training, showing how they are turned…

In 1970, a British film crew set out to make a straightforward literary portrait of James Baldwin set in Paris, insisting on setting aside his political activism. Baldwin bristled at…

A scientist explains how the savagery and efficiency of the insect world could result in their taking over the world.

Fred Hampton was the leader of the Illinois Chapter of the Black Panther Party. This film depicts his brutal murder by the Chicago police and its subsequent investigation, but also…

The first in a series of independent documentaries that Tsuchimoto made of the mercury poisoning incident in Minamata, Japan.

The astonishing true story of a zoo-born lion who found himself in the pet department of Harrods, then the cellar of an antique shop in London and, ultimately the wilds…

The legendary director/producer Warren Miller hits the slopes of Squaw, Whistler, and Japan with skiers like Jim McConkey, Roger Staub, Pepi Stiegler in one of his earliest surviving ski movies.

A television documentary on the life and career of British film director David Lean. Scenes of Lean directing are intercut with personal interviews in which the director explains his methods,…

A documentary by Werner Herzog exploring the different treatment accorded to the disabled in Germany and the USA.

On July 31, 1970, in Las Vegas, Nevada, Elvis Presley staged a triumphant return to the concert stage from which he had been absent for almost a decade. His series…

The study of crazy brilliance and flamboyant sincerity. a.k.a. Cassius Clay presents a fascinating look at the incredible life and achievements of one of the most courageous, outspoken and charismatic…

A behind-the-scenes documentary about the filming of the Federico Fellini film, “Satyricon.”

In 1970, right after the triumphant premiere of Stephen Sondheim’s groundbreaking concept musical Company, the renowned composer and lyricist, his director Harold Prince, the show’s stars, and a large pit…

In this explicit sex education film based on clinical research made by American and Swedish doctors, a panel of experts in the field of sex education discuss various aspects of…

An account of Italian film director Luchino Visconti’s travels in search for a young actor to portray the role of Tadzio in his 1971 adaptation of Thomas Mann’s novella Death…

A documentary chronicling the Beatles’ rehearsal sessions in January 1969 for their proposed “back to basics” album, “Get Back,” later re-envisioned and released as “Let It Be.”

Essay film from Czech director Vojtech Jasný on his home country.

Bergman interviews the locals of Fårö in this fascinating documentary. An expression of personal and political solidarity with the fellow inhabitants of his adopted home, the island of Fårö in…

Madeline Anderson’s documentary brings viewers to the front lines of the civil rights movement during the 1969 Charleston hospital workers’ strike, when 400 poorly paid Black women went on strike…

Robert Mitchum narrates an anti drug propaganda film.

This film memorializes the leader of Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, on the occasion of his death. It narrates the story of a life which is also the story of a…

In December 1967 a Cuban film crew led by Santiago Alvarez, the veteran polemicist, traveled to Hanoi. They shot the footage which constitutes this short documentary all in one day…

A panel of real-life doctors discuss sexual hangups, misconceptions, personal prejudices and the ignorance of individuals when it comes to matters sexual. Using on-screen recreations, topics such as petting, contraceptives…

Documentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside Northeast High School as a fly on the wall to observe the teachers and how they interact with the students.

Fellini discusses his views of making motion pictures and his unorthodox procedures. He seeks inspiration in various out of the way places. During this film viewers go with him to…

LAW & ORDER surveys the wide range of work the police are asked to perform: enforcing the law, maintaining order, and providing general social services. The incidents shown illustrate how…