Sort by Popularity - Most Popular Movies and TV Shows tagged with keyword "film-history"

51. The Celluloid Closet (1995)

R | 102 min | Documentary, History

A documentary surveying the various Hollywood screen depictions of homosexuals and the attitudes behind them throughout the history of North American film.

Directors: Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman | Stars: Lily Tomlin, Tony Curtis, Susie Bright, Arthur Laurents

Votes: 7,527 | Gross: $1.51M

52. Forgotten Silver (1995 TV Movie)

53 min | Comedy

The film deals with the career of a supposedly forgotten pioneer of international cinema, Colin McKenzie, who was allegedly born in rural New Zealand in 1888.

Directors: Costa Botes, Peter Jackson | Stars: Peter Jackson, Jeffrey Thomas, Costa Botes, Leonard Maltin

Votes: 6,323 | Gross: $0.03M

53. As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (2000)

288 min | Documentary, Biography

Director Jonas Mekas provides an intimate glimpse of his personal life by constructing a feature length narrative from over 30 years of private home movie footage.

Director: Jonas Mekas | Stars: Jonas Mekas, Stan Brakhage, Robert Breer, Hollis Frampton

Votes: 1,475

54. Cantinflas (2014)

PG | 102 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama

The untold story of Mexico's greatest and most beloved comedy film star of all time, from his humble origins on the small stage to the bright lights of Hollywood.

Director: Sebastian del Amo | Stars: Óscar Jaenada, Michael Imperioli, Ilse Salas, Bárbara Mori

Votes: 4,187 | Gross: $6.37M

55. Best Worst Movie (2009)

Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary, Comedy

A look at the making of the film Troll 2 (1990) and its journey from being crowned the "worst film of all time" to a cherished cult classic.

Director: Michael Paul Stephenson | Stars: George Hardy, Pita Ray, Micki Knox, Tommy Bice

Votes: 8,531 | Gross: $0.10M

56. The Great Buster (2018)

Not Rated | 102 min | Documentary, Biography, Comedy

Documentary on the life and works of comic genius Buster Keaton, directed by Peter Bogdanovich.

Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Peter Bogdanovich, Dick Cavett, Frank Capra, Jim Curtis

Votes: 2,395 | Gross: $0.14M

57. The Death of Superman Lives: What Happened? (2015)

Not Rated | 104 min | Documentary, Sci-Fi

A documentary about the proposed 1998 Superman Lives feature film that would have starred Nicolas Cage.

Director: Jon Schnepp | Stars: Jon Schnepp, Charlie Oliver, Aaron Blossom, Joey Romero

Votes: 4,712

58. Growing Up with I Spit on Your Grave (2019)

102 min | Documentary

For the first time ever, explore the myths behind the controversial film I Spit on Your Grave (1978).

Director: Terry Zarchi | Stars: Camille Keaton, Meir Zarchi, Gunter Kleemann, Eron Tabor

Votes: 200

59. The Movie Orgy (2009)

420 min | Documentary, Comedy, History

A montage of 1950s B-movies, TV shows & vintage commercials create a nostalgic collage about aliens & monsters attacking America.

Director: Joe Dante | Stars: Ann-Margret, Ngo Dinh Diem, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Groucho Marx

Votes: 206

60. QT8: The First Eight (2019)

TV-MA | 103 min | Documentary

A documentary that focuses on the first 21 years of Quentin Tarantino's career and includes interviews with his frequent collaborators.

Director: Tara Wood | Stars: Zoë Bell, Louis Black, Bruce Dern, Robert Forster

Votes: 5,088 | Gross: $0.05M

61. Dinner for Five (2001–2005)

TV-MA | 30 min | Comedy, Talk-Show

Actor/Director Jon Favreau hosts an evening with four Hollywood friends (four different people or combinations of people each episode), who casually discuss the craft of acting and the business of celebrity over dinner.

Stars: Jon Favreau, Faizon Love, Peter Berg, Kevin James

Votes: 956

62. Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2018)

Not Rated | 103 min | Documentary, Biography, History

Pamela 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.

Director: Pamela B. Green | Stars: Jodie Foster, Alice Guy, Pamela B. Green, Catherine Hardwicke

Votes: 1,130 | Gross: $0.10M

63. Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003)

Not Rated | 169 min | Documentary, History

A documentary on how Los Angeles has been used and depicted in the movies.

Director: Thom Andersen | Stars: Encke King, Ben Alexander, Jim Backus, Brenda Bakke

Votes: 2,746

64. I Am Patrick Swayze (2019)

Not Rated | 92 min | Documentary, Biography

An inside look at the life of Patrick Swayze as told by the people who knew him best.

Director: Adrian Buitenhuis | Stars: Sam Elliott, Demi Moore, Patrick Swayze, Kelly Lynch

Votes: 1,031

65. Terror Nullius (2018)

54 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

A political revenge fable which offers an un-writing of Australian national mythology.

Director: Soda Jerk | Stars: Tony Abbott, Angry Anderson, Tom Burlinson, Stephen Curry

Votes: 95

66. Clint Eastwood: A Cinematic Legacy (2021)

PG-13 | 135 min | Documentary, Biography

As he enters his eighth decade in the movies, Warner Bros. celebrates this cinematic icon - actor, producer, director, master filmmaker - with 9 new documentaries covering the entire breadth of Eastwood's remarkable career.

Stars: Clint Eastwood, Jeff Teravainen, Morgan Freeman, Mel Gibson

Votes: 78

67. MGM: When the Lion Roars (1992)

Unrated | 360 min | Documentary

The history of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios.

Stars: Patrick Stewart, Samuel Marx, Joseph, Mickey Rooney

Votes: 725

68. The Pervert's Guide to Cinema (2006)

150 min | Documentary

Slavoj Zizek examines famous films in a philosophical and a psychoanalytic context.

Director: Sophie Fiennes | Star: Slavoj Zizek

Votes: 7,349

69. That's Sexploitation! (2013)

136 min | Documentary

This documentary reveals the untold story of American cinema's gloriously sordid cinematic past.

Directors: Donald A. Davis, David F. Friedman, Frank Henenlotter, Arthur King | Stars: David F. Friedman, Gal Friday, Frank Henenlotter, Albert Cadabra

Votes: 383

70. Sex and Buttered Popcorn (1989)

R | 74 min | Documentary

Actor Ned Beatty hosts a look at the genre known as "exploitation" films. Interviews with some of the producers and directors of these films are shown, along with scenes from and trailers for some of these films.

Director: Sam Harrison | Stars: Ned Beatty, David F. Friedman, Mildred Horn, Dan Sonney

Votes: 151

71. Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015)

PG-13 | 79 min | Documentary

Filmmakers discuss how Francois Truffaut's 1966 book "Cinema According to Hitchcock" influenced their work.

Director: Kent Jones | Stars: Wes Anderson, Peter Bogdanovich, David Fincher, Bob Balaban

Votes: 7,201 | Gross: $0.30M

72. Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words (2015)

Not Rated | 114 min | Documentary, Biography

A captivating look behind the scenes of the remarkable life of a young Swedish girl who became one of the most celebrated actresses of American and World cinema.

Director: Stig Björkman | Stars: Ingrid Bergman, Pia Lindström, Robertino Rossellini, Isotta Rossellini

Votes: 2,499 | Gross: $0.14M

73. Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016)

120 min | Documentary, History

The history of Dawson City, the gold rush town that had a historical treasure of forgotten silent films buried in permafrost for decades until 1978.

Director: Bill Morrison | Stars: Michael Gates, Kathy Jones-Gates, Roscoe 'Fatty' Arbuckle, Frank Barrett

Votes: 2,157 | Gross: $0.13M

74. Room 999 (2023)

86 min | Documentary

In 1982, Wim Wenders asked 16 of his fellow directors to speak on the future of cinema, resulting in the film Room 666. Now, 40 years later, in Cannes, director Lubna Playoust asks a new generation of filmmakers similar questions.

Director: Lubna Playoust | Stars: Wim Wenders, Audrey Diwan, David Cronenberg, Joachim Trier

Votes: 85

75. Side by Side (2012)

Not Rated | 99 min | Documentary

The documentary investigates the history, process and workflow of both digital and photochemical film creation.

Director: Christopher Kenneally | Stars: Derek Ambrosi, Michael Ballhaus, Andrzej Bartkowiak, Dion Beebe

Votes: 13,722 | Gross: $0.03M

76. Mondo Homo: A Study of French Gay Porn in the '70s (2014)

97 min | Documentary

Between 1975 and 1983 a new kind of film could be seen in French cinema : home-grown gay pornography. The films were shot in 16mm and most of them were passed and given certificates by the ... See full summary »

Director: Hervé Joseph Lebrun | Stars: François About, Philippe Vallois, Jean-Michel Sénécal, Piotr Stanislas

Votes: 18

77. Score (2016)

Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary, Music

A look at the cinematic art of the film musical score, and the artists who create them.

Director: Matt Schrader | Stars: Marco Beltrami, Jon Burlingame, Leonard Maltin, Bill Field

Votes: 4,880 | Gross: $0.10M

78. They'll Love Me When I'm Dead (2018)

TV-MA | 98 min | Documentary, Biography

In 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.

Director: Morgan Neville | Stars: Alan Cumming, Peter Bogdanovich, Oja Kodar, Orson Welles

Votes: 5,454

79. 100 Years of Warner Bros. (2023)

TV-MA | 232 min | Documentary, History

100 Years of Warner Bros. takes a historical look at the legacy of one of America's leading studios. The documentary explores the origin, evolution and endurance of Warner Bros. - from a family affair to a global juggernaut.

Stars: Morgan Freeman, Martin Scorsese, George Clooney, Christopher Nolan

Votes: 763

80. Elvis Presley: The Searcher (2018)

TV-PG | 205 min | Documentary, Biography, Music

Elvis Presley's evolution as a musician and a man.

Director: Thom Zimny | Stars: Steve Allen, Ann-Margret, Chet Atkins, Chris Bearde

Votes: 2,703

81. Hollywood (1980)

676 min | Documentary, Biography, History

The history of the American film industry in Hollywood during the Silent era.

Stars: James Mason, Colleen Moore, Byron Haskin, Viola Dana

Votes: 855

82. The People vs. George Lucas (2010)

Not Rated | 93 min | Documentary, Comedy

An examination of the widespread fan disenchantment with George Lucas.

Director: Alexandre O. Philippe | Stars: Joe Nussbaum, Daryl Frazetti, Doug Jones, Damian Hess

Votes: 4,882

83. Making Waves: The Art of Cinematic Sound (2019)

Unrated | 94 min | Documentary

An exploration of the history and emotional power of cinema sound, as revealed by legendary sound designers and visionary directors, via interviews, clips from movies, and a look at their actual process of creation and discovery.

Director: Midge Costin | Stars: Gary Rydstrom, Steven Spielberg, Teresa Eckton, Thomas A. Edison

Votes: 2,251

84. Hollywood Mouth 3 (2018)

109 min | Drama

A film buff learns something new about her family and encounters noir-like situations in Hollywood.

Director: Jordan Mohr | Stars: Heidi Appe, Anastasia Art, Barbara Bologna, Angelica Coralvine

85. Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies (2001)

Not Rated | 89 min | Documentary

A 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.

Director: Ray Greene | Stars: Ray Greene, Roger Corman, David F. Friedman, Maila Nurmi

Votes: 669

86. Histoire(s) du cinéma (1989–1999)

267 min | Documentary

An 8-part documentary chronicling the history of cinema, examining the history of the concept of cinema and how both relates to the 20th century.

Stars: Jean-Luc Godard, Alain Cuny, Julie Delpy, Sabine Azéma

Votes: 805

87. Filmworker (2017)

Not Rated | 94 min | Documentary, Biography

A documentary about how English actor Leon Vitali came to work as an assistant to American filmmaker Stanley Kubrick for over 30 years.

Director: Tony Zierra | Stars: Leon Vitali, Ryan O'Neal, Brian Capron, Mike Alfreds

Votes: 3,514 | Gross: $0.10M

88. 78/52 (2017)

Not Rated | 91 min | Documentary

An unprecedented look at the iconic shower scene in Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho (1960), the "man behind the curtain", and the screen murder that profoundly changed the course of world cinema.

Director: Alexandre O. Philippe | Stars: Marli Renfro, Alfred Hitchcock, Tere Carrubba, Alan Barnette

Votes: 3,874 | Gross: $0.04M

89. A Decade Under the Influence (2003)

R | 138 min | Documentary

A documentary examining the decade of the 1970s as a turning point in American cinema. Some of today's best filmmakers interview the influential directors of that time.

Directors: Ted Demme, Richard LaGravenese | Stars: Francis Ford Coppola, William Friedkin, Robert Altman, John G. Avildsen

Votes: 2,805 | Gross: $0.03M

90. Titans: The Rise of Hollywood (2022)

Drama

The story of immigrants who founded first Hollywood studios.

Stars: James M. Reilly, David Davino, Christina Leonardi, Grant Masters

Votes: 40

91. My Generation (I) (2017)

TV-PG | 85 min | Documentary, History

The cultural revolution that occurred in the 1960s England is explored in this documentary.

Director: David Batty | Stars: Michael Caine, David Bailey, Twiggy, Mary Quant

Votes: 2,168

92. Tales from the Gimli Hospital (1988)

72 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

While their mother is dying in the modern Gimli, Manitoba hospital, two young children are told a tale by their Icelandic grandmother about Einar the Lonely, his friend Gunnar, and the angelic Snjofridur in a Gimli of old.

Director: Guy Maddin | Stars: Kyle McCulloch, Michael Gottli, Angela Heck, Margaret Anne MacLeod

Votes: 1,475

93. Movie Magic (1994–1997)

30 min | Documentary, Short, History

Documentary series dealing with every aspect of special effects in movies, from low-budget make-up to multi-million-dollar computer-generated graphics. The clear presentation includes ... See full summary »

Stars: James Cameron, Richard Edlund, Rick Baker, Ken Ralston

Votes: 186

94. Reel Injun (2009)

Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary, Western

The history of the depiction of Native Americans in Hollywood films.

Directors: Neil Diamond, Catherine Bainbridge, Jeremiah Hayes | Stars: Adam Beach, Chris Eyre, Russell Means, John Trudell

Votes: 1,653

95. Harishchandrachi Factory (2009)

Not Rated | 96 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama

In 1913 India's cinema industry is born from Dadasaheb Phalke's efforts to make Raja Harishchandra (1913), India's first feature-length B&W silent film.

Director: Paresh Mokashi | Stars: Nandu Madhav, Vibhawari Deshpande, Atharva Karve, Mohit Gokhale

Votes: 2,706

96. Hello Cinema (1995)

75 min | Documentary, Comedy, Drama

Makhmalbaf puts an advertisement in the papers calling for an open casting for his next movie. However when hundreds of people show up, he decides to make a movie about the casting and the screen tests of the would-be actors.

Director: Mohsen Makhmalbaf | Stars: Shaghayeh Djodat, Behzad Dorani, Feizola Gashghai, Maryam Keyhan

Votes: 2,197

97. Film: The Living Record of Our Memory (2021)

120 min | Documentary

This documentary explores film through the voices of significant professionals who have contributed to make sure moving images survive and remain accessible.

Director: Inés Toharia Terán | Stars: Ann Adachi-Tasch, Laure Adler, Benjamin Chowkwan Ado, Janice Allen

Votes: 257

98. You Must Remember This (2014 Podcast Series)

History

A podcast focusing on the dark side of early Hollywood

Stars: Karina Longworth, Maggie Siff, Noah Segan, Craig Mazin

Votes: 86

99. Texas Chain Saw Massacre: The Shocking Truth (2000 Video)

75 min | Documentary

A documentary primarily focusing on the filming and release of the original Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Director: David Gregory | Stars: Matthew Bell, Robert A. Burns, Tobe Hooper, Kim Henkel

Votes: 699

100. Chuck Norris vs. Communism (2015)

Not Rated | 78 min | Documentary, Comedy, History

In the oppressive 1980s communist Romania, the smuggled VHS tapes of banned Hollywood films become an inspirational ray of hope. A hybrid feature about the magic of film and the power it has to change lives.

Director: Ilinca Calugareanu | Stars: Irina Margareta Nistor, Teodor Zamfir, Mircea Cojocaru, Vlad Craioveanu

Votes: 2,460