Where can I find the best documentaries from the past 30 years or so?
July 18, 2013 12:38 AM Subscribe
The Oscar nominees would be natural candidates, but as of '93, Ebert was complaining that the selection committee was completely unqualified: http://www.rogerebert.com/festivals-and-awards/oscarvoters-slight-best-documentaries . (As an aside: do his criticisms apply to the Academy Award documentary nominating committee today?) Where else should I look for credible lists of the best documentaries made recently?
Going through the past winners of various documentary festivals would be a good start.
posted by mannequito at 1:03 AM on July 18, 2013
posted by mannequito at 1:03 AM on July 18, 2013
POV, the PBS documentary program, has a list of the top 25 (or a longer list of 100).
The IMDb keyword explorer includes documentary as a genre (and a whole bunch of user-created lists).
posted by dhartung at 3:14 AM on July 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
The IMDb keyword explorer includes documentary as a genre (and a whole bunch of user-created lists).
posted by dhartung at 3:14 AM on July 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
Rotten Tomatoes lists several documentaries in their "top reviewed of all time" section.
posted by chaiminda at 3:50 AM on July 18, 2013
posted by chaiminda at 3:50 AM on July 18, 2013
I found the IMDb genre explorer confusing when it came to sorting/limiting the results, so I took their public flat files, scripted something to select all films since 1980 with more than 1000 ratings and not marked as TV shows, sorted them by a Bayesian re-estimation of their rating, selected all documentaries from the list, and selected the top 250.
Then I took all those titles, looked up their Rotten Tomatoes entries via the API, eliminated IMDb entries with no RT entry, and re-sorted by the RT score times the IMDb Bayesian score.
This may leave some weird stuff on the list--I haven't removed concert films, stand-up comedy, etc., which IMDb sometimes counts as documentary. I also can't promise there are no errors in the RT lookup--they allow inexact matches. And who knows if I made any logic errors along the way.
If that sounds OK to you, here are the top 202 documentaries since 1980.
posted by Monsieur Caution at 4:30 AM on July 18, 2013 [36 favorites]
Then I took all those titles, looked up their Rotten Tomatoes entries via the API, eliminated IMDb entries with no RT entry, and re-sorted by the RT score times the IMDb Bayesian score.
This may leave some weird stuff on the list--I haven't removed concert films, stand-up comedy, etc., which IMDb sometimes counts as documentary. I also can't promise there are no errors in the RT lookup--they allow inexact matches. And who knows if I made any logic errors along the way.
If that sounds OK to you, here are the top 202 documentaries since 1980.
IMDb Histo Voters Score Bayesian RT RT * Bayes Title 0000001222 35374 8.2 8.164 98 8.001 Inside Job (imdb) 0000001321 9206 8.1 7.982 100 7.982 Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (imdb) 0000001222 8724 8.0 7.887 100 7.887 The Thin Blue Line (imdb) 0000001222 14683 8.1 8.023 98 7.863 The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (imdb) 0000001321 23363 7.9 7.859 100 7.859 Man on Wire (imdb) 0000001223 25989 8.4 8.344 94 7.843 The Cove (imdb) 0000001222 3542 8.1 7.836 100 7.836 The Times of Harvey Milk (imdb) 0000000233 27232 8.5 8.443 92 7.768 Senna (imdb) 0000001222 13054 8.0 7.922 98 7.764 Hoop Dreams (imdb) 0000000123 9227 8.4 8.253 94 7.758 Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (imdb) 0000001312 5416 7.9 7.744 100 7.744 Taxi to the Dark Side (imdb) 0000001322 19542 8.1 8.042 96 7.720 Searching for Sugar Man (imdb) 0000001222 6433 8.2 8.025 96 7.704 Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (imdb) 0000001321 3378 7.9 7.672 100 7.672 Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory (imdb) 0000001222 98559 8.0 7.989 96 7.669 Bowling for Columbine (imdb) 0000001312 5296 7.9 7.741 99 7.664 Deliver Us from Evil (imdb) 0000001321 10097 7.9 7.810 98 7.654 Anvil: The Story of Anvil (imdb) 0000001321 31240 8.0 7.966 96 7.647 Exit Through the Gift Shop (imdb) 0000001321 9803 7.8 7.717 99 7.640 Jiro Dreams of Sushi (imdb) 0000001311 2567 7.9 7.620 100 7.620 Burden of Dreams (imdb) 0000000113 3884 7.8 7.616 100 7.616 Shoah (imdb) 0000001222 5941 8.2 8.013 95 7.612 No End in Sight (imdb) 0000001223 6070 8.0 7.844 97 7.609 Stop Making Sense (imdb) 0000001321 13278 7.9 7.830 97 7.595 Capturing the Friedmans (imdb) 0000001223 3090 7.8 7.580 100 7.580 TT3D: Closer to the Edge (imdb) 0000001321 5089 7.7 7.569 100 7.569 Waste Land (imdb) 0000001213 2789 7.8 7.562 100 7.562 Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (imdb) 0000001321 9169 7.8 7.711 98 7.557 When We Were Kings (imdb) 0000001321 33107 7.9 7.871 96 7.556 Vals Im Bashir (imdb) 0000000223 2000 7.8 7.500 100 7.500 Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage (imdb) 0000002311 2632 7.7 7.480 100 7.480 The Atomic Cafe (imdb) 0000002211 18591 7.5 7.469 100 7.469 Roger & Me (imdb) 0000001321 2415 7.8 7.536 99 7.461 Bill Cunningham New York (imdb) 0000001311 26139 7.8 7.767 96 7.456 Food, Inc. (imdb) 0000001311 6865 7.8 7.686 97 7.455 Microcosmos: Le peuple de l'herbe (imdb) 0000001321 7517 7.7 7.606 98 7.454 Murderball (imdb) 0000001312 3711 7.6 7.451 100 7.451 Sound City (imdb) 0000001222 54207 8.0 7.980 93 7.421 Sicko (imdb) 0000000223 1017 7.9 7.404 100 7.404 The Act of Killing (imdb) 0000001222 8729 7.8 7.707 96 7.399 Le peuple migrateur (imdb) 0000001212 1635 7.7 7.396 100 7.396 4 Little Girls (imdb) 0000001321 18111 8.0 7.942 93 7.386 Touching the Void (imdb) 0000002311 7153 7.7 7.602 97 7.374 Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (imdb) 0000002310 3624 7.5 7.370 100 7.370 Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (imdb) 0000001211 2026 7.6 7.369 100 7.369 Brother's Keeper (imdb) 0000002311 6282 7.7 7.590 97 7.362 GasLand (imdb) 0000001321 1300 7.7 7.352 100 7.352 Street Fight (imdb) 0000001212 1754 7.6 7.346 100 7.346 Paris Is Burning (imdb) 0000001212 2851 7.7 7.492 98 7.342 For the Bible Tells Me So (imdb) 0000001222 10231 7.8 7.720 95 7.334 Crumb (imdb) 0000001212 1137 7.7 7.326 100 7.326 The Decline of Western Civilization (imdb) 0000000223 1109 7.7 7.321 100 7.321 White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki (imdb) 0000002211 2248 7.5 7.315 100 7.315 The Interrupters (imdb) 0000002212 1346 7.6 7.302 100 7.302 Hype! (imdb) 0000001312 6537 7.8 7.681 95 7.297 Marley (imdb) 0000002211 3143 7.4 7.279 100 7.279 The Invisible War (imdb) 0000001212 1138 7.6 7.273 100 7.273 Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers (imdb) 0000000114 1748 7.7 7.409 98 7.261 Chavez: Inside the Coup (imdb) 0000001222 4149 7.9 7.706 94 7.244 In the Shadow of the Moon (imdb) 0000001211 4208 7.7 7.546 96 7.244 Control Room (imdb) 0000001321 4090 7.7 7.543 96 7.241 One Day in September (imdb) 0000001311 4012 7.7 7.540 96 7.238 Dig! (imdb) 0000001321 1644 7.8 7.460 97 7.236 Burma VJ: Reporter i et lukket land (imdb) 0000002311 27812 7.8 7.769 93 7.225 Grizzly Man (imdb) 0000002311 7980 7.6 7.522 96 7.221 Bigger Stronger Faster* (imdb) 0000001222 13915 8.1 8.020 90 7.218 The Corporation (imdb) 0000001222 2334 8.1 7.740 93 7.198 For All Mankind (imdb) 0000000223 1976 7.8 7.498 96 7.198 Promises (imdb) 0000001211 5789 7.6 7.497 96 7.197 Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids (imdb) 0000012310 4734 7.4 7.313 98 7.167 Project Nim (imdb) 0000002311 9167 7.7 7.621 94 7.164 Encounters at the End of the World (imdb) 0000001211 3882 7.6 7.457 96 7.159 The Celluloid Closet (imdb) 0000002211 11284 7.5 7.451 96 7.153 Restrepo (imdb) 0000001223 18141 8.1 8.037 89 7.153 Koyaanisqatsi (imdb) 0000001411 2435 7.9 7.609 94 7.152 Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (imdb) 0000001321 7016 7.8 7.688 93 7.150 Indie Game: The Movie (imdb) 0000001213 2143 7.7 7.445 96 7.147 Nanking (imdb) 0000001312 2211 7.8 7.520 95 7.144 End of the Century (imdb) 0000001211 1824 7.5 7.288 98 7.142 In film nist (imdb) 0000001321 3368 7.9 7.671 93 7.134 Little Dieter Needs to Fly (imdb) 0000002311 1713 7.5 7.279 98 7.133 Marwencol (imdb) 0000001212 1163 7.6 7.276 98 7.130 The Devil Came on Horseback (imdb) 0000002311 5090 7.6 7.485 95 7.111 Side by Side (imdb) 0000001311 1582 7.7 7.390 96 7.094 Deep Water (imdb) 0000001222 2434 7.7 7.467 95 7.094 The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill (imdb) 0000002311 4155 7.7 7.545 94 7.092 Being Elmo: A Puppeteer's Journey (imdb) 0000002310 13133 7.5 7.458 95 7.085 The Imposter (imdb) 0000001311 2122 7.7 7.444 95 7.072 West of Memphis (imdb) 0000002311 1781 7.5 7.284 97 7.065 Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (imdb) 0000001211 7705 7.5 7.431 95 7.059 Pina (imdb) 0000001212 50882 7.6 7.587 93 7.056 An Inconvenient Truth (imdb) 0000002311 1602 7.6 7.331 96 7.038 The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers (imdb) 0000001212 2607 7.6 7.406 95 7.036 5 Broken Cameras (imdb) 0000001211 2660 7.7 7.481 94 7.032 My Winnipeg (imdb) 0000001222 1747 7.9 7.536 93 7.008 Lake of Fire (imdb) 0000002311 3783 7.5 7.375 95 7.006 The Filth and the Fury (imdb) 0000001213 3803 7.8 7.613 92 7.004 Sans soleil (imdb) 0000001222 7423 7.9 7.781 90 7.003 Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (imdb) 0000001312 1002 7.8 7.350 95 6.982 Charlie: The Life and Art of Charles Chaplin (imdb) 0000002311 1889 7.7 7.423 94 6.978 Visions of Light (imdb) 0000001322 2946 7.7 7.497 93 6.972 Riding Giants (imdb) 0000001222 1610 7.6 7.332 95 6.965 Marina Abramovic: The Artist Is Present (imdb) 0000012211 6485 7.3 7.247 96 6.957 Cave of Forgotten Dreams (imdb) 0000001312 1664 7.7 7.400 94 6.956 The House I Live In (imdb) 0000002311 2261 7.6 7.385 94 6.942 Not Quite Hollywood: The Wild, Untold Story of Ozploitation! (imdb) 0000012211 3509 7.4 7.289 95 6.925 Best Worst Movie (imdb) 0000001222 1370 7.7 7.362 94 6.920 Children Underground (imdb) 0000002311 3344 7.6 7.439 93 6.918 The Tillman Story (imdb) 0000001212 1915 7.7 7.426 93 6.906 Scratch (imdb) 0000002311 1111 7.6 7.268 95 6.905 One Life (imdb) 0000002311 1390 7.5 7.249 95 6.887 The Trials of Henry Kissinger (imdb) 0000002311 2420 7.5 7.325 94 6.885 The White Diamond (imdb) 0000001212 1120 7.7 7.323 94 6.884 Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (imdb) 0000002212 2612 7.7 7.479 92 6.881 Imagine: John Lennon (imdb) 0000012311 2077 7.4 7.238 95 6.876 The War Room (imdb) 0000012311 58785 7.4 7.392 93 6.875 Super Size Me (imdb) 0000001211 4169 7.7 7.545 91 6.866 Dark Days (imdb) 0000012310 1695 7.5 7.277 94 6.840 Woody Allen: A Documentary (imdb) 0000002311 7421 7.5 7.429 92 6.835 Dogtown and Z-Boys (imdb) 0000013310 7441 7.3 7.253 94 6.818 Lost in La Mancha (imdb) 0000001223 2023 8.3 7.837 87 6.818 The Last Lions (imdb) 0000002311 5668 7.5 7.410 92 6.817 Armadillo (imdb) 0000001322 5232 7.8 7.656 89 6.814 The Devil and Daniel Johnston (imdb) 0000002211 2347 7.6 7.391 92 6.800 Standing in the Shadows of Motown (imdb) 0000002311 1421 7.6 7.311 93 6.799 The Central Park Five (imdb) 0000001222 23543 8.1 8.051 84 6.763 The King of Kong (imdb) 0000001312 1255 7.7 7.345 92 6.757 An Unreasonable Man (imdb) 0000001222 3077 7.7 7.504 90 6.754 Young @ Heart (imdb) 0000002311 2457 7.6 7.398 91 6.732 The Weather Underground (imdb) 0000001212 1234 7.5 7.231 93 6.725 Paragraph 175 (imdb) 0000002211 9642 7.4 7.353 91 6.691 Buena Vista Social Club (imdb) 0000012211 2061 7.4 7.237 92 6.658 A Brief History of Time (imdb) 0000012211 4777 7.3 7.231 92 6.653 The Kid Stays in the Picture (imdb) 0000001322 1490 7.7 7.379 90 6.641 The White Stripes Under Great White Northern Lights (imdb) 0000001212 2058 7.6 7.371 90 6.634 Neil Young: Heart of Gold (imdb) 0000000123 1389 7.7 7.365 90 6.629 My Flesh and Blood (imdb) 0000002212 9142 7.6 7.531 88 6.627 Who Killed the Electric Car? (imdb) 0000002212 1119 7.6 7.270 91 6.616 Deep Sea (imdb) 0000001213 1255 7.7 7.345 90 6.611 New York Doll (imdb) 0000001222 2090 7.8 7.509 88 6.608 Waco: The Rules of Engagement (imdb) 0000012210 6870 7.3 7.249 91 6.597 Into the Abyss (imdb) 0000001311 6147 7.9 7.760 85 6.596 Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (imdb) 0000000223 18054 8.3 8.227 80 6.582 Baraka (imdb) 0000001212 1400 7.6 7.308 90 6.577 The Last Days (imdb) 0000002311 1818 7.4 7.223 91 6.573 Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest (imdb) 0000000016 2271 7.7 7.455 88 6.560 The Other Dream Team (imdb) 0000001222 4089 7.9 7.703 85 6.548 George Harrison: Living in the Material World (imdb) 0000002211 7896 7.4 7.344 89 6.536 Waiting for Superman (imdb) 0000002311 2358 7.5 7.321 89 6.516 Joe Strummer: The Future Is Unwritten (imdb) 0000001311 2635 7.8 7.552 86 6.495 The Pixar Story (imdb) 0000001212 3969 7.5 7.379 88 6.494 Shut Up & Sing (imdb) 0000002311 14763 7.5 7.462 87 6.492 Jesus Camp (imdb) 0000002211 10347 7.4 7.356 88 6.473 Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (imdb) 0000001311 2488 7.6 7.399 87 6.437 The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (imdb) 0000001212 3779 7.6 7.454 86 6.410 Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul (imdb) 0000002311 9471 7.6 7.533 85 6.403 Spellbound (imdb) 0000001312 2102 7.7 7.442 86 6.400 Hubble 3D (imdb) 0000002311 1391 7.6 7.307 87 6.357 Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (imdb) 0000002211 8732 7.4 7.349 86 6.320 The Road to Guantanamo (imdb) 0000001212 5118 7.5 7.402 85 6.292 Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (imdb) 0000002311 18979 7.5 7.470 84 6.275 This Film Is Not Yet Rated (imdb) 0000002311 8364 7.5 7.436 84 6.246 Tyson (imdb) 0000002211 1494 7.5 7.259 86 6.243 I.O.U.S.A. (imdb) 0000001222 7853 7.9 7.787 80 6.230 Why We Fight (imdb) 0000001212 92908 7.5 7.494 83 6.220 Fahrenheit 9/11 (imdb) 0000001212 4464 7.7 7.554 82 6.194 Collapse (imdb) 0000001223 7277 8.2 8.043 77 6.193 Samsara (imdb) 0000001321 1818 7.7 7.416 83 6.155 Bukowski: Born into This (imdb) 0000002211 1310 7.5 7.240 85 6.154 The Art of the Steal (imdb) 0000001212 3092 7.7 7.504 82 6.153 American: The Bill Hicks Story (imdb) 0000001212 1037 7.7 7.307 84 6.138 The Future of Food (imdb) 0000002311 5478 7.8 7.661 80 6.129 Mein liebster Feind - Klaus Kinski (imdb) 0000001312 1355 7.7 7.360 83 6.109 Klitschko (imdb) 0000001222 2399 7.8 7.535 80 6.028 Bill Cosby: Himself (imdb) 0000001211 9556 7.6 7.534 80 6.027 Life in a Day (imdb) 0000001222 2312 7.8 7.528 80 6.022 War Photographer (imdb) 0000002211 7067 7.5 7.426 80 5.941 It Might Get Loud (imdb) 0000002211 5386 7.3 7.237 82 5.934 Beyond the Mat (imdb) 0000001213 3044 7.7 7.502 79 5.927 Sharkwater (imdb) 0000001213 5866 7.7 7.583 78 5.915 Tupac: Resurrection (imdb) 0000001213 1022 7.7 7.304 80 5.843 Latcho Drom (imdb) 0000002211 3407 7.5 7.364 79 5.818 The Yes Men Fix the World (imdb) 0000012211 11494 7.3 7.268 80 5.814 Eddie Murphy Raw (imdb) 0000002211 2556 7.4 7.259 80 5.807 Standard Operating Procedure (imdb) 0000000123 13399 8.4 8.296 70 5.807 Home (imdb) 0000002311 1711 7.6 7.342 77 5.653 A Decade Under the Influence (imdb) 0000001223 1400 7.6 7.308 77 5.627 The War on Democracy (imdb) 0000002211 25750 7.3 7.285 75 5.464 Capitalism: A Love Story (imdb) 0000001311 6600 7.8 7.682 69 5.301 Cocaine Cowboys (imdb) 0000001212 39819 7.7 7.680 69 5.299 Religulous (imdb) 0000000123 1609 7.6 7.332 72 5.279 How to Make Money Selling Drugs (imdb) 0000001223 4488 8.0 7.800 67 5.226 Pearl Jam Twenty (imdb) 0000002212 2991 7.4 7.275 71 5.165 We Are Legion: The Story of the Hacktivists (imdb) 0000002212 2839 7.4 7.270 71 5.162 More Than a Game (imdb) 0000000124 2440 7.7 7.467 67 5.003 U2 3D (imdb) 0000001212 2379 7.6 7.393 67 4.953 Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead (imdb) 0000012211 2152 7.4 7.241 67 4.851 Deep Blue (imdb) 0000001212 10685 7.7 7.632 61 4.656 American Movie (imdb) 0000001212 2708 7.4 7.265 59 4.286 Forks Over Knives (imdb) 0000001321 1841 7.8 7.483 40 2.993 Stevie (imdb) 0000000115 2039 7.7 7.437 27 2.008 America: Freedom to Fascism (imdb) 0000001312 10332 7.9 7.812 21 1.641 Earth (imdb)
posted by Monsieur Caution at 4:30 AM on July 18, 2013 [36 favorites]
That pbs 100 list is great! Many thanks.
As it was published in December 2012, there have been a number of new documentaries that I think deserve to be on such a list.
First and foremost, this year's astonishing and remarkable documentary The Act of Killing.
posted by Mister Bijou at 4:37 AM on July 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
As it was published in December 2012, there have been a number of new documentaries that I think deserve to be on such a list.
First and foremost, this year's astonishing and remarkable documentary The Act of Killing.
posted by Mister Bijou at 4:37 AM on July 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
OK, Monsieur Caution's list will be hard to match, but here is something I have been using as a reference to look for great documentaries:
The 200 best documentaries
This list is compiled by Kevin Nelly and is very well done. In case you can't get the pdf at the link above, you can find it here.
A great documentary from 2012 is Chasing Ice.
Also, not to be overlooked, is the fantastic documentaries on offer at PBS Frontline. Truly a great source for in-depth exposés on all sorts of topics.
posted by Vindaloo at 4:57 AM on July 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
The 200 best documentaries
This list is compiled by Kevin Nelly and is very well done. In case you can't get the pdf at the link above, you can find it here.
A great documentary from 2012 is Chasing Ice.
Also, not to be overlooked, is the fantastic documentaries on offer at PBS Frontline. Truly a great source for in-depth exposés on all sorts of topics.
posted by Vindaloo at 4:57 AM on July 18, 2013 [1 favorite]
I'm in the biz and I go by the IDA awards and nominations.
posted by Ideefixe at 5:30 AM on July 18, 2013
posted by Ideefixe at 5:30 AM on July 18, 2013
The DGA's awards are also good, but the Oscars haven't gotten any better.
posted by Ideefixe at 5:35 AM on July 18, 2013
posted by Ideefixe at 5:35 AM on July 18, 2013
I've seen a lot of the movies on Mr. Caution's list, and it's a DAMNED good list. I'm copying it to keep right now.
posted by cnc at 1:02 PM on July 18, 2013
posted by cnc at 1:02 PM on July 18, 2013
Toronto has the annual Hot Docs film festival, and they keep an iTunes library of fan favourites.
posted by heatherann at 6:18 AM on July 19, 2013
posted by heatherann at 6:18 AM on July 19, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by DarlingBri at 12:44 AM on July 18, 2013