Documentary Movies

Many times during his presidency, Lyndon B. Johnson said that ultimate victory in the Vietnam War depended upon the U.S. military winning the “hearts and minds” of the Vietnamese people….

Filmmaker Martin Scorsese interviews his mother and father about their life in New York and family history back in Sicily.

When his wife, the outspoken feminist Miyuki Takeda, announced that she was leaving him in order to find herself, Kazuo Hara began this raw, intensely personal documentary as a way…

Various MGM stars from yesterday present their favorite musical moments from the studio’s 50 year history.

Filmmaker Barbet Schroeder shows the Ugandan dictator meeting his Cabinet, reviewing his troops, explaining his ideology.

Louis Malle presents his entertaining snapshot of the comings and goings on one street corner in Paris.

B.B. King, Joan Baez and other great artists gather for a show at Sing Sing Prison.

Animals Are Beautiful People (aka Beautiful People) is a 1974 nature documentary about the wildlife in Southern Africa. It was filmed in the Namib Desert, the Kalahari Desert and the…

A tongue-in-cheek documentary that goes “behind the scenes” during the production of Federico Fellini’s film “Amarcord” (1973).

Penthesilea, the first of six films made by Laura Mulvey and Peter Wollen, traverses thousands of years to look at the image of the Amazonian woman in myth. It asks,…

After a difficult break-up, Hockney is left unable to paint, much to the concern of his friends.

This documentary tells the story of Bruce Lee and his unsuccessful efforts to start a acting career in the U.S., he returned to Hong Kong where he became an international…

This documentary chronicles a summer in the life of firefighter and funny car racer Jim Dunn and his family.

Eight acclaimed filmmakers bring their unique and differing perspectives to the 1972 Summer Olympic Games held in Munich. The segments include Lelouch’s take on Olympic losers and their struggle to…

Documents the lives of infamous fakers Elmyr de Hory and Clifford Irving. De Hory, who later committed suicide to avoid more prison time, made his name by selling forged works…

Blurring the line between documentary and fiction, THE BLUES UNDER THE SKIN dramatizes the tumultuous relationship of a young couple (Onike Lee and Roland Sanchez) as they struggle to overcome…

Made shortly after his death, this documentary explores the brief life and remarkable legacy of guitarist Jimi Hendrix. After finding fame in the U.K., Hendrix brought his act back to…

JUVENILE COURT shows the complex variety of cases before the Memphis Juvenile Court: foster home placement, drug abuse, armed robbery, child abuse, and sexual offenses. The sequences illustrate such issues…

This feature-length documentary from Bill Mason imparts his affection for the big northern timber wolves and the pure-white Arctic wolves. Filmed over three years in the Northwest Territories, British Columbia,…

A concert film highlighted by performances from Marvin Gaye, Jerry Butler, and Roberta Flack.

Fiction and documentary mingle in a freewheeling portrait of Susan Superstar, a New York celebrity on a drug-fueled downward slide that mirrors Edie Sedgwick’s own self-destructive spiral.

Five boys and five girls ages 13 to 19 live on a farm for ten weeks, to be filmed, and to see what might emerge for each of them personally.

A documentary film about the Afro-American Woodstock concert held in Los Angeles seven years after the Watts riots. Director Mel Stuart mixes footage from the concert with footage of the…

A 1973 concert by Elvis Presley that was broadcast live via satellite on January 14, 1973. The concert took place at the Honolulu International Center in Honolulu and aired in…

An obituary for Victor Jara, the Chilean folksinger who was murdered in a football stadium by the military junta during the days of the September 1973 coup.

Essene is about daily life in a Benedictine monastery and the resolution of conflict between personal needs and the institutional and organizational priorities of the community. In the Order, where…

Self-directed combination of concert footage from 1966 onward, backstage footage and art film-like sequences.

A report on the National Black Political Convention held in Gary, Indiana, in 1972, a historic event that gathered Black voices from across the political spectrum, among them Jesse Jackson,…

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…

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…

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 Summer of 1971 the Glastonbury legend was born when the organisers decided to try and create a festival that would be a forerunner for an ‘alternative and utopian…

Portrait of Ingmar Bergman, made while he was working on The Touch, about his professional and private life in the early 1970s.

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…