Essential documentaries about film directors and filmmaking
A selection of great documentaries about important film directors and the process of filmmaking.
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- DirectorChris MarkerStarsShigehiko HasumiChris MarkerAkira KurosawaA documentary that shows the production of Ran and discusses the film techniques of Kurosawa himself.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleThe love-hate relationship between Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski, the deep trust between the director and the actor, and their independently and simultaneously hatched plans to murder one another.
- DirectorLes BlankStarsWerner HerzogKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleA documentary following German auteur Werner Herzog as he deals with difficult actors, bad weather and getting a boat over a mountain, all in an effort to make his film Fitzcarraldo (1982).
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsPeter MedakJoe DunneSimon van der BorghA comedy genius, a hot new director and a 17th Century pirate film. What could possibly go wrong?
- DirectorKaneto ShindôStarsTakako IrieDaisuke ItôKyôko KagawaA documentary film on the life and works of director Kenji Mizoguchi.
- DirectorRon MannStarsMichael MurphyRobert AltmanKathryn ReedA look at the life and work of American film-maker Robert Altman.
- DirectorFax BahrGeorge HickenlooperEleanor CoppolaStarsDennis HopperMartin SheenMarlon BrandoDocumentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.
- DirectorPaul JoyceStarsMark KermodeRoy BairdMichael BradsellHell on Earth is about Ken Russell's 1971 film, The Devils which is one of the most controversial films ever made. Included are chats with Russell as well as films stars Goergina Hale and Murray Melvin. Also included are scenes which were cut from the release for being too controversial.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsJohn FordPeter BogdanovichOrson WellesA documentary on the life and films of director John Ford.
- DirectorMichele SoaviStarsDario ArgentoRomano AlbaniFiore ArgentoDocumentary on horror/mystery film maker Dario Argento. Features an in-depth interview with Argento and covers his work from 1969 to 1985.
- DirectorCraig McCallStarsJack CardiffMartin ScorseseKirk DouglasIn 2001 Jack Cardiff (1914-2009) became the first director of photography in the history of the Academy Awards to win an Honorary Oscar. But the first time he clasped the famous statuette in his hand was a half-century earlier when his Technicolor camerawork was awarded for Powell and Pressburger's Black Narcissus. Beyond John Huston's The African Queen and King Vidor's War and Peace, the films of the British-Hungarian creative duo (The Red Shoes and A Matter of Life and Death too) guaranteed immortality for the renowned cameraman whose career spanned seventy years.
- DirectorSami SaifStarsHarriet AnderssonLauren BacallPaul BettanyThis film depicts the intense drama that takes place during the making of Dogville. Lars von Trier and Nicole Kidman work through this creative process under very extreme conditions.
- DirectorMartina KudlácekStarsMiriam ArshamStan BrakhageChao Li ChiDocumentary about the life of avant-garde filmmaker Maya Deren, who led the independent film movement of the 1940s.
- DirectorRuben GevorkyantsStarsSergei ParajanovAndrei TarkovskyA bunch of stories, portraits and images about people of amazing destinies, including Parajanov and Tarkovsky, merging into a non-traditional and polemic image of Armenia.
- DirectorFrank PavichStarsAlejandro JodorowskyMichel SeydouxH.R. GigerThe story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.
- DirectorAlex CoxStarsBernardo BertolucciFrancis Ford CoppolaMike HodgesA profile and history of film director Akira Kurosawa.
- DirectorJennifer M. KrootStarsGeorge KucharMike KucharDan CarboneThe definitive documentary about the zany, underground filmmaking twins, George and Mike Kuchar.
- DirectorJason S.StarsJay AasengJeremy AlterDavid LynchCompiled from over two years of footage, the film is an intimate portrait of David Lynch's creative process as he completes his latest film, Inland Empire (2006). We follow Lynch as he discovers beauty in ideas, leading us on a journey through the abstract which ultimately unveils his cinematic vision. The director of the documentary immersed himself in David Lynch's world; living and working at Lynch's home. His unobtrusive style has captured a personal side of David Lynch not seen before. The film reveals Lynch not only as one of the most original and compelling directors of contemporary film but also as an artist who continues to explore and experiment in countless mediums. We witness his "hands on" approach to painting, sculpting, music and screenwriting. His enthusiasm is infectious; inspiring us to tap into the well of creativity that Lynch believes we all have.
- DirectorLaurent BouzereauStarsMartin ScorsesePaul SchraderPeter BoyleTo highlight Taxi Driver's 38th anniversary, this 70-minute documentary delves into the making of Scorsese's film and highlights the many contributions put forth by Taxi Driver's ensemble of talented actors and artisans.
- DirectorJoey FigueroaZak KnutsonStarsJohn MiliusEthan MiliusAmanda MiliusA look at the life of filmmaker John Milius.
- DirectorPaul JoyceStarsMichael JaystonPaul MayersbergRoger PulversProfile of Japanese filmmaker Nagisha Oshima, featuring interviews with Paul Mayersberg, Donald Richie, Roger Pulvers and Oshima himself.
- DirectorMark HartleyStarsPhillip AdamsGlory AnnenChristine AmorThe story of the Australian exploitation genre cinema of 1970s and 80s.
- DirectorHoward HillStarsCarla LeonePiero De BernardiEnrico MedioliPersonalities, enthusiasts, actors, writers and others take a look back at Sergio Leone's final film "Once Upon a Time in America", sharing good stories and also sad ones about one of the most important epics of all time. James Woods and the screenwriters talk about their personal experiences with the legendary director while admirers, like Quentin Tarantino, open up about Leone's influence in their filmmaking. And of course, there's time to cover the infamous topic on the shameful butchering of the film in U.S. at the time of its release, in 1984, which caused not only the uproar from audiences and critics, but also hurt very deeply its most excited creator: the director, who devoted several years in its making.
- DirectorLeslie MegaheyStarsPeter BogdanovichCharlton HestonMicheál MacLiammóirA two-and-a-half hour documentary retrospective on the career of Orson Welles.
- DirectorRodney AscherStarsBill BlakemoreGeoffrey CocksJuli KearnsAn exploration of various interpretations of Stanley Kubrick's horror film, The Shining (1980).
- DirectorRay GreeneStarsRay GreeneRoger CormanDavid F. FriedmanA look at several legendary 'exploitation' film-makers from the golden days of drive-in movies, and how they had a lasting effect on the movie landscape in general.
- DirectorJean-Marc LamoureStarsErika BókZolt CholnokyKata CziglerAn illuminating and extremely rare documentary profile of one of the great filmmakers of our time, Bela Tarr. Filmed during the production of The Turin Horse, his final film, Tarr Bela: I Used To Be A Filmmaker features clips, behind-the-scenes footage and interviews with longtime collaborators such as Mihaly Vig, Erika Bok and Tarr's wife and co-director Agnes Hranitzky.
- DirectorNanette BursteinBrett MorgenStarsRobert EvansEddie AlbertPeter BartDocumentary about legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans (the film shares the same name as Evans's famous 1994 autobiography).
- DirectorSamantha FullerStarsJames FrancoJennifer BealsBill DukeFriends and admirers of iconoclastic film director Sam Fuller read from his memoirs.
- DirectorPaul JoyceStarsSam PeckinpahAlan SharpKatherine HaberThis straight-talking program seeks to understand the enigmatic and controversial Sam Peckinpah, whose violent films such as The Wild Bunch and Straw Dogs had a telling effect on the cinema of the 1970s and 80s. Those who knew and worked with him, including actor James Coburn, actress Ali MacGraw, his associate Katherine Haber, his cousin Bob Peckinpah, and several screenwriters and producers, examine his life in an attempt to separate the man from the persona. Clips from key films reinforce this detailed discussion of Peckinpah's art and a fixation on violence that still permeates Hollywood today.
- DirectorArnold GlassmanTodd McCarthyStuart SamuelsStarsConrad L. HallJohn BaileyVilmos ZsigmondCameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography, illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from The Birth of a Nation (1915) to Do the Right Thing (1989).
- DirectorJon RonsonStarsJon RonsonAnthony FrewinJan HarlanJon Ronson is asked by the widow of Stanley Kubrick to investigate the contents of about a thousand boxes left by Kubrick, shown to contain materials reflecting the work Kubrick did after the release of Barry Lyndon (1975) in 1975.
- DirectorJørgen LethLars von TrierStarsClaus NissenMajken Algren NielsenDaniel Hernandez RodriguezFilmmaker Lars Von Trier challenges Jørgen Leth, the filmmaker behind The Perfect Human (1967), to remake his classic short under circumstances of increasing constraint.
- DirectorRoberto DavideStarsNeil BartlettCraig LapperDavid ForgacsA documentary that tells a story of who Pasolini was, his beliefs, why he made Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975), and what happened in the UK when the film was released in 1977.
- DirectorAndré BarcinskiIvan FinottiStarsJosé Mojica MarinsConceição MarinsIsaac FlorThe first documentary on José Mojica Marins's (the legendary Zé do Caixão or Coffin Joe) life and work. The film tells Mojica's history, from his poor childhood in Vila Anastácio, São Paulo (Brazil), until his success abroad in the '90s.
- DirectorTony MontanaMark Brian SmithStarsTroy DuffyJeffrey BaxterChris BrinkerA documentary on the rise and stumble of Troy Duffy, the bartender-cum-filmmaker who was swept up by Miramax's Harvey Weinstein to turn his script for The Boondock Saints into a feature film.
- DirectorGiuseppe BertolucciStarsFranco MerliPier Paolo PasoliniSalò Cast & CrewWe are on the set of "Salò or the 120 days of Sodom". Pasolini lets a small camera team led by the journalist Gideon Bachmann follow him around engaging him in a long and extraordinary interview/conversation. The interview turns into a long, clear-sighted and violent attack on society that accompanies photos of the set in a surprising juxtaposition of film and reality, revealing Pasolini's metaphorical portrait of modernity.
- DirectorJan HarlanStarsKatharina KubrickMalcolm McDowellStanley KubrickThe career and life of Stanley Kubrick is explored through pictures, clips from his films, his old home movies, comments from his colleagues and a narration by Tom Cruise.
- DirectorKent JonesMartin ScorseseStarsMartin ScorseseElia KazanElias KoteasA documentary on the late Elia Kazan.
- DirectorPamela B. GreenStarsJodie FosterAlice GuyPamela B. GreenPamela B. Green's energetic film about pioneer filmmaker Alice Guy-Blaché is both a tribute and a detective story, tracing the circumstances by which this extraordinary artist faded from memory and the path toward her reclamation.
- DirectorRüdiger SuchslandStarsRüdiger SuchslandRike SchmidHans Henrik WöhlerRüdiger Suchsland examines German cinema from 1933, when the Nazis came into power, until 1945 when the Third Reich collapsed.
- DirectorTony ZierraStarsLeon VitaliRyan O'NealBrian CapronA documentary about how English actor Leon Vitali came to work as an assistant to American filmmaker Stanley Kubrick for over 30 years.
- DirectorMorgan NevilleStarsAlan CummingPeter BogdanovichOja KodarIn the final fifteen years of the life of legendary director Orson Welles, he pins his Hollywood comeback hopes on a film, The Other Side of the Wind (2018), in itself a film about an aging film director trying to finish his last great movie.
- DirectorPeter MiddletonJames SpinneyStarsPearl MackieJeff RawlePaul RyanA look at the life and work of Charlie Chaplin in his own words featuring an in-depth interview he gave to Life magazine in 1966.
- DirectorKier-La JanisseStarsLinda HaydenIan OgilvyKevin KölschA thorough overview and dissection of the subgenre of 'folk horror, ' with contributions from many of the major creators and clips from cinema all over the world.
- DirectorDaniel RaimStarsJohn BaileyKevin BrownlowSteve GainerTCM production exploring the invented, and inventive, techniques of early cinematographers, and their impact on filmmaking from the earliest films to those of present day.
- DirectorDaniel BirdStarsAndrzej ZulawskiMarie-Laure ReyreFrederic TutenAbout the making of Andrzej Zulawski's Possession. Featuring director Andrzej Zulawski, producer Marie-Laure Reyre, cameraman Andrzej Jaroszewicz and co-writer Frederic Tuten. Also features artwork by Enki Bilal and music by Ashtray Navigations.
- DirectorKuba MikurdaStarsMalgorzata BraunekAndrzej J. JaroszewiczAndrzej SewerynThe year 1975. After a few years of forced immigration, the young director Andrzej Zulawski returns to Poland. His situation in Poland is uncertain. What's worse, his family disintegrates: his wife Malgorzata Braunek files for divorce. To strengthen his position Zulawski takes on a titanic task: he plans to make On the Silver Globe, a science fiction epic and the biggest film in the history of the Polish cinema. If he succeeds, he'll win his place in the pantheon of the Polish directors. If he fails, his career in Poland will be over.