The 15 Greatest Documentaries

These are the considerations for the best documentaries of all time. Regardless of the genre we attempt to confine it in, sometimes reality is greater than fiction.
Support us on Patreon:
/ cinemacartography
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 Introduction
2:09 Number 15
6:52 Number 14
11:37 Number 13
16:36 Number 12
22:01 Number 11
27:11 Number 10
31:49 Number 9
36:50 Number 8
41:37 Number 7
46:23 Number 6
49:52 Number 5
55:04 Number 4
1:01:29 Number 3
1:07:09 Number 2
1:12:24 Number 1
For business inquiries: [e-mail]

[@yalpertem_]

The films mentioned: 15. Titicut Follies (1967) 14. Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968) 13. De fem benspænd (2003) 12. The Thin Blue Line (1988) 11. Cabra Marcado Para Morrer (1984) 10. The Killing of America (1981) 9. Grizzly Man (2005) 8. Tiexi qu (2002) 7. Hoop Dreams (1994) 6. As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000) 5. O.J.: Made in America (2016) 4. Nema-ye Nazdik (1990), Close-Up Long Shot (1996) 3. The Act of Killing (2012) 2. Shoah (1985) 1. American Movie (1999)

[@PatrickWDunne]

Thin Blue Line is way too low

[@mortystraphouse5077]

@@PatrickWDunnetrue but good list

[@stephengehly2319]

Dear Zachary should be on this list

[@gilsimhon9251]

thank you list maker

[@GR-kt4le]

Thank you

[@jamiegidley4887]

I am so happy you guys allow comments now because this comment section is gonna have some banger documentary recs

[@litcrit1624]

I met Mark at a screening of “Coven” at the Oriental Theater and, quite simply, he just *is* that person - and that feeling that American Movie gives me. Thank you for sharing this with your channel and making me tear up in the middle of a gray March 2024.

[@annettelouise6781]

Documentary lists are usually the same old stuff we have seen. Thank you for such a different selection!

[@thirdpigeon2676]

What an unexpected joy to see American Movie on here

[@baphometjr801]

Your videos bring me joy, pain, sadness, truth, lies, fear, and strength... Please keep doing what you are doing.

[@marxxthespot]

🎯

[@Kavilion]

For anyone wondering, the song you’re curious about is called Gymnopedie No. 1

[@cierajones3598]

If your into your synth - the Gary Numan Version is hauntingly beautiful x

[@phat7711]

Your a bloody saviour man, I swear to allah and a the Heavenly Father that for at least 3 years I have been Shazamming and searching endlessly like a wedding ring to a night worker.

[@mulletjunky]

My life changed when I found Erik Satie’s music.

[@antoinepetrov]

I thought everyone knew Satie

[@marcomlott9099]

I love Erik Satie's music so much.

[@Andimkundim]

Streetwise (1984) is one of my favourites

[@davidlebow6455]

That’s a great one!!!

[@arth1234]

I've been watching your videos for years, and just wanted to thank you from the bottom of my heart for all the beauty you've shared.

[@4Kjonas]

i love that the #1 spot is so wholesome

[@floydianpink2524]

Thank you for this, I have seen around half of these movies and I will endeavour to seek the rest out. Great content as always.

[@mrgeorgeroots4643]

If I could throw my two cents in. Go look up a documentary 'The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On' (1987). Follows a Japanese Anarchist in his 60's, who when younger was 1 of only 4 survivors (in a squad of 300+) who survived months of starvation in the jungle after Japans' surrender in WW2. Some 40 years later he seeks out across the country previous squad leaders, and regardless if they've changed alias' or their too old or ill to remember he wants them to confess their actions on camera that resulted in either firing squad death penalties or cannabilism of their fellow soldiers. If they don't he beats them up on camera, most of the time in their own living rooms with no inteference from camera crew. It's a staggering work that captured all the pain, anger and outrage of its subject matter, you'll find yourself never condoning his behaviour, but absolutely understanding why this individual acts and feels the way he does. Obviously heavy stuff, but anyone whose seen 'The Act of Killing' (2012) and are looking for something on par must absolutely seek this one out!

[@mrgeorgeroots4643]

Also my favourite Documentary. Alain Resnais' "Night & Fog" (1956), A 32 min short filmed in the holocaust camps 10 years after the liberation. You see all the weeds grown through the pavement, warehouses of hair and abandoned belongings and all the dried blood on the floors and walls of Mengeles' horror surgery. All this whilst the narrator speaks some of the most haunting and beautiful soliloquies of mankinds failure to learn from this and the brutalities of history. François Truffaut declared it the greatest movie ever made, and it's never not moved me to tears.

[@mrmogford8117]

What a crazy film that truly is love it

[@buttguts]

Was surprised this one did not make the list. It’s the heaviest

[@JJJackson777]

sounds great, what a legend

[@JJJackson777]

​@@mrgeorgeroots4643 fairly certain Michael Haneke said Night & Fog was the only film about the holocaust he didn't find to be offensive or exploitative

[@goldernbtatenun]

Number 7 & 6 have been in my watchlist, now the rest are as well. I also only realized at the end this was just uploaded. Great work!

[@Menapho]

Thanks for this one!! I’ve been looking for some unique docs to add to my library. Though there can never be a GOAT list in anything. I do enjoy the banter of such discussions. I look forward to getting eyes on the ones I’ve not seen.

[@sentinelav]

That ending with American Movie has me cackling. Definitely about to go watch it. Thanks for championing art.

[@yammerrryeet511]

I believe that dear Zachary is the greatest documentary. It’s so personal and heart breaking. And watching it slowly take shape and evolve over the time it was filmed is extraordinary.

[@megamcee]

That was wicked, man

[@pommelhorsepommelhorse8731]

Thank you for including Hoop Dreams. I was one of the 2 main location sound recordists as well as the composer of the Dream Theme music you include in this clip. During the several years we all worked on the film, it often seemed it would never end or even ever see the light of day. It is now 30 years later and its still with us. I still get emails and posts about where to find the piece of music I wrote for the film. I don't own the rights to it but I have posted several of my compositions on YT. Here's a link for anyone who might be interested. Peace. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bmrIq2WFgLGlgrs

[@danjperlman]

One of the best films I’ve ever seen. Awesome you worked to make it happen.

[@marxxthespot]

Bravo 👏👀 So great to see you back in your wheelhouse as the last guardian of film scholarship. If there were lists of the best, “best of’s” you’d top every single list. Of course you skipped a ton of earth shattering documentaries but you are the only one courageous enough to do that so you can expose us to things we’ve never heard of… and for that I am forever grateful to you🙏🌞 I can’t resist plugging one documentary that I randomly watched under my covers on my iPad during the pandemic that haunts me to this day and caused me to randomly burst into tears for three days after watching it (my wife thought I was having a nervous breakdown.) That movie is Cameraperson (2016) by Kirstin Johnson. I guess you could call it a found footage documentary of her outtakes as a camera person. It proved my theory that the most powerful moments ever captured on film ended up on the cutting room floor. I have come to call it the bookend to the film classic that arguably started it all, Man With A Movie Camera (1929)

[@derektran9404]

I love that The Thin Blue Line made the list.

[@danielbarrero2815]

Fantastic video!

[@ellap.8514]

One of the most heartbreaking and powerful documentary that I have ever watched is "Wh0res' glory" by Michael Glawogger, stuck in my head and heart for years

[@mrink8822]

I always love when you do a best of, cause it's a great reconditioned

[@evilroy6568]

This is the best channel on KZbin

[@Wisedoggooddog]

Love your analysis, we need more lists 😫

[@rk9atx]

Glad that some of my favorites are on the list and many that i've never seen.

[@MpowerdAPE]

Thank you for this

[@josephm.benoit9202]

Sometimes, the act of appreciation reveals a humanity that is deeper than the act of creation seeks to display. Thank you for your expertise, in film criticism, and in loving admiration.

[@faceofdoomness]

Dang, these are all documentaries that I’ve been collecting as physical media over the last few years that I haven’t had the time to watch and absorb fully yet... (I have watched 14 - 12 already but are likely due a rewatch. And I don’t have 9 yet…) Really appreciate your comprehensive list. And while I’m here, I wanted to list several more that I’ve been meaning to watch: 7 - 63 Up (1964 -2019): A Series of British documentaries with Interviews with kids that get interviewed again every 7 years. The last of these is when the interviewees have reached the age of 63. The House is Black (1962): Iranian documentary set in a leper colony filmed by a renowned feminist poet who imbues footage of people with leprosy with divinity. Hearts and Minds (1974): filmed during the Vietnam War, Peter Davis juxtaposes the US Military’s reasoning for the war with footage of the war and interviews and testimonials from Vietnamese civilians. The Battle of Chile (1975 - 1979): a multi-film chronicle of political tension and military coup in Chile. The story of the film’s production is worth its own in-depth documentary. Portrait of Jason (1967): the titular Jason is filmed and interviewed in all his glory as he recounts his life as a queer sex worker who has a personality to match his life. Resan / Le Voyage / The Journey (1987): a series of documentaries attempting to encapsulate the topic of Nuclear Weapons extensively interviewing people from multiple cultural, class, backgrounds. If you read my comment, thanks! And hope to see more folks talk about the documentaries in the youtube video and the ones I’ve yet to watch. Meanwhile, I’m gonna try to carve out consistent time in which to start watching any of these documentaries.

[@elonmusksellssnakeoil1744]

Man With a Movie Camera desperately needs to be on this list, along with For All Mankind.

[@WendyFLang]

❤😅😅😅

[@Jack-ob5vj]

Some other great docs that I love: Dear Zachary, Streetwise, Cameraperson, Man with a Movie Camera, Paradise Lost, Apollo 11, Koyaanisqatsi

[@user-io7nf3kp1z]

Amazing list. Thanks

[@UseTheLess00]

The title of the 6th entey almost brought me to tears. It is so pure it hurts

[@lionstandingII]

RIP Mike Shank...

[@THICCTHICCTHICC]

Harlan County USA is also a masterpiece that isnt mentioned here. Following a mining town striking against the mine for over a year.

[@Jybgame]

Knuckle (2011) always comes to mind when people ask me my fav doc. Idk if it would be on a top ten if i sat down and thought about all the docs i've seen. but it has always stuck with me

[@russellst.martin4255]

It's wild to me that your greatest ever documentary was filmed in locations I've spent time at and stars people I've seen around town.

[@helcornstonwall2825]

Great video

[@Phoeagdor]

Fantastic, great quality service. Consider offering your stuff to secondary schools, colleges. Your work is thorough, precise, short enough for bitsize learning. Well done, I wish you all the success. Consider crowd funding, to fund your own projects. So shines a good deed in a weary world. Shine on.

[@jimjamjones5335]

The opening to Shoah is one of the greatestest openings to a movie. Its a gut punch and haunting.

[@PatrickWDunne]

You know it's gonna be good when Hoop Dreams is in the thumbnail

[@AKoooooooo]

excellent video, as always. a few that come to mind that aren't mentioned here are Streetwise, Gates of Heaven, Harlan County USA, Common Threads, and The King of Kong. in recent years Honeyland and All the Beauty and the Bloodshed also stand out.

[@liltick102]

I always want to rewatch West of the Tracks- love that Panasonic Ez1 look too Made me feel towards that town how I feel watching Mizoguchi represent old Japan.

[@watch-Dominion-2018]

my list off the top of my head: 1. Dominion 2018 2. Blackfish 2013 3. Earthlings 2005 4. Sharkwater 2006 5. Home 2009 6. Baraka 1992 7. Free Solo 2018 8. They Shall Not Grow Old 2018 9. The Cove 2009 10. Seaspiracy 2021

[@mortystraphouse5077]

no Hoop Dreams? not a real list

[@watch-Dominion-2018]

never heard of it@@mortystraphouse5077

[@mandem3426]

They shall not grow old was great

[@corinnacybele]

Style Wars deserves a shout out, really helped spread graffiti culture around the world, and showed real respect to writers for the first time in mass media, and it was beautifully filmed to boot

[@anarchoautism]

Dark Days is one of my favourites Follows homeless people living in a New York subway who also served as the crew members and used the rail tracks as a makeshift dolly

[@liltick102]

Oh cool, I’m not at that part in the video but loved that one waaay before i fell in love with cinema, as a kid

[@lionstandingII]

Gimme Shelter and Salesman by the Maysles Brothers....C---sucker Blues by Robert Frank.....Sherman's March by Ross McElwee....Welfare and The Store or any film by Wiseman....Harlan County, USA by Barbara Kopple....There are others...and I'm thankful Michael Moore received no mention here....and...oh my...The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On by Kazuo Hara....

[@judithweiss6727]

ditto on Michael Moore

[@Asmr_World12345]

West of tracks is beautiful doccumentary

[@chazzcannon3614]

I love the Philip Glass background music.

[@markodjuric4282]

And no Koyaanisqatsi on the list?

[@tzirufim]

@@markodjuric4282 I think the connection hides in Thin Blue Line for which he also composed the soundtrack.

[@drivr8]

Fantastic.

[@JakeBodenhamer]

Hoop Dreams is such a good pick. The sequel, Hoop Reality, from 2007 is an underrated follow-up which picks up a decade later following how life has panned out, and follows a new up-and-comer from Chicago, Patrick Beverley, a current NBA player for the Milwaukee Bucks.

[@markodjuric4282]

I love documentaries done by Werner Herzog, Wim Wenders and Oliver Stone.

[@atomcraft4067]

Z for Zachary left a lasting impression as did Touching The Void. Nice to see the number 1 spot. One of my favourite and hopeful movies of all time.

[@margolynn5]

Loved it

[@loremipsum685]

Amazing underrated docu from Werner Herzog: Land of Silence and Darkness. One of the most profound scenes I've ever watched happens at the end.

[@davidbecker4155]

Excellent list. Brother's Keeper is the only one missing for me.

[@user-vf2du4ki4u]

I truly hope you understand the great ability you wield, these illustrious masterpieces are so incredibly potent in such rich substance, history, artistry, and above all else your compelling interpretations/perecptions that you manage to nonchalant articulate so compelling with such conviction. I praise your your work, your contribrution to film and awakeing of audiences.

[@joegross9915]

Great list; Hoops Dreams is a personal favorite and Shoah should be required viewing. I've seen several people mention it already but Harlan County USA is a notable absence, worth a watch. If I were to recommend just one addition to this list though, it would be When We Kings; I watch it every year and it never ceases to grab me.

[@gmg9010]

The Summer of Soul is my favorite documentary of all time.

[@THICCTHICCTHICC]

Have you seen The Amazonian Angel? It pretty much perfectly skirts the line between avant garde art movie and biographical documentary. I haven't seen anything else like it really.

[@honklerfinkelstein2113]

American Mad will always remain my favorite documentary just for inspiration alone. Surprised RLM hasn't covered it

[@tetleyT]

Very nice list. You know it's well considered when Hoop Dreams isn't listed as no. 1!

[@liltick102]

This is very much my own top 15 too- such amazing picks However.. a top docs list should also be a top 30... so many good ones are sidelined, agreeable as this is, some are too essential to leave unmentioned limiting to it to 15. Part 2 down the road would be cool- excellent picks though, beautiful and brilliant as usual commentary. Going to rewatch all 15 this week.

[@johnsailorsgoat]

I thought O.J.: Made in America was the best film of the 2010s. Thank you for making this. I haven't heard of about half of these!

[@waynechapman9823]

The only one of those that I have on DVD just happens to be "American Movie." Guess I'll be watching it tonight.

[@1000_Jeezai]

Great list, nice to see hoop dreams in there. Number 0. Is Canetoads: An Unnatural History & number -1. Is Manda Bala

[@kali3665]

The best TV documentaries were hosted and produced by James Burke (Connections, The Day the Universe Changed, After the Warming), or produced by Ken Burns (The Civil War, Unforgivable Blackness, Baseball).

[@liltick102]

Doing this video a little differently, watching each film as they’re mentioned, writing a summary review, then continuing.

[@mrmogford8117]

Have you ever seen a doc called ‘cannibal tours’? Brilliant underrated film

[@liltick102]

34:29 best quote from the film, I quote it a lot.

[@edwardduarte7393]

Hoop Dreams is great. Man on Wire. Exit through the Gift shop. Fog of War is great too. I need to see Shoah.

[@marcomlott9099]

I would add Paris is Burning and Genghis Blues to this list.

[@VDVision21]

Great list. I'm always going to say the most important documentary of our time is Earthings. (2005)

[@TheKaptainKombat]

There is always peace to be found amidst the chaos of this world, it’s not always convenient and often it requires conceding things will never just be as you wish they were. Life, in this sense, can be boiled down to how we decide to divvy up our limited energy as humans. What truly matters within those confines lies beyond my expertise, all I know is the pursuit of new to me knowledge makes this complex existence a little easier to digest.

[@yosconisi]

Some favorites of mine that did not make the list: - When We Were Kings kzbin.info/www/bejne/pqK1gZJrfZqdo7c - Gimme Shelter kzbin.info/www/bejne/rmi4pHWjltudqac - My Architect kzbin.info/www/bejne/Znnbc2x_qph7mMU

[@mrink8822]

It's a great list, but one documentary that I would add is f for fake by Orson Welles, it's great documentary, it's sort half documentary half movie, i am surprised you didn't include it, great list though

[@ricliquid]

Great list, but too many masterpieces missing. The Gleaners and I (Agnes Varda), Phantom India (very underrated Louis Malle docuseries), Abbas Kiarostami's early documentaries on first-graders, A married couple (Allan King), Streetwise, The Emperors naked army marches on, Cameraperson, Devil's Freedom (Mexico), This is not a film (Jafar Panahi), etc

[@dangerrayy]

Wild Wild Country was wild!! And so was Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse

[@stevencoffin328]

"The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On" (1987) is my favorite documentary.

[@safespacebear]

I really really really loved The Five Obstructions and recommend it to all my cinephile friends

[@macraghneall6883]

Crumb?

[@sonbendys7432]

Where is Sans Soleil???

[@i.hold.vertigo2329]

American Movie reminds me so much of Fubar.

[@robdielemans9189]

The 5 obstructions was great, not only as a documentary but of course as a cinematic feat and as an instruction for creatives when they reach a block, just impose restrictions and let the creative juices flow. I find Grizzly Man as well an overwhelmingly entertaining media product.

[@mvonballmo]

Could someone please let me know which piece of music is playing during "As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty"?

[@AbrasiousProductions]

I'm proud to say that my best friend is exactly like Mike Schank💕

[@theconfidentialreport]

Love this list! By the way, has anyone an idea where I can watch "As I was moving ahead I saw brief glimpses of beauty" ? I cannot find it anywhere.

[@ShaneRob93]

American Movie, man such a great choice. If you're ever doubting yourself, and need a jolt of creative inspiration then I highly recommend watching it.

[@JustARideProductions]

adam curtis, the power of nightmares

[@cierajones3598]

‘Searching for Sugar man’ is definitely up there for me x

[@kostajovanovic3711]

It is a great fairytale, not going to lie there

[@ChrisHoukal1]

American Movie has long been one of my favorite films. Hoping Chris Smith’s American Job gets a nice release someday. All too accurately described my late 90s experience, which was painful. Nevertheless love it.

[@waltercv]

Jesus Camp and Exit through the Gift Shop are also great.

[@tyrusquiroz8810]

White Noise by Antoine d'Agata (2019) is the best (documentary-adjacent) film I've seen, bar none.

[@BlueTruckWhiteGloves]

The 5ninthavenueproject is a good personal diary doc on late 80’s New York City

[@pteg80]

The Act of Killing is both fascinating and horrific in equal measure.

[@ellakosma4415]

Can someone please list the documentaries shown in the introduction? Thank you ✨

[@JJJackson777]

Jordorowskys Dune, Senna, The Act of Killing & many Louis Theroux documentaries come to mind

[@willieluncheonette5843]

didn't even mention the one that started it all. Robert Flaherty's Nanook of the North (1922) It is quite a ,lovely film by a GREAT director. Another great one is Man with a Movie Camera, an experimental 1929 Soviet silent documentary film, directed by Dziga Vertov

[@brandonhamaguchi]

I was not able to finish The Act of Killing a decade ago, too dark for me. Will try again soon.

[@ogabrielsalazar]

Eduardo Coutinho ❤