Looking for documentary recommendations

The Offer is not a documentary, it's a drama with actors.

For me, the late 70s through the 1980s and into the 1990s were the golden age of documentaries. There was rarely any money in docs, so many of these were real passion projects. Hoop Dreams (1994) Hype! (1996) Harlan County, USA (1976) Sherman's March (1986) Koyaanisqatsi (1982) The Thin Blue Line (1988) Manufacturing Consent (1992) The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey (1993) Stop Making Sense (1984) Style Wars (1983) The Atomic Cafe (1982) Streetwise (1984) Time Indefinite (1993) Bright Leaves (2003) Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers (1980) Lost, Lost, Lost (1976) Sans Soleil (1983) Crumb (1994) Hearts and Minds (1974) Wattstax (1973) Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991) Silverlake Life: The View from Here (1993) American Movie (1999) Personal Belongings (1996) Grey Gardens (1975) F for Fake (1973) Fast, C**** & Out of Control (1997) May have repeated one or two.

The Jinx on HBO is wild if you're into true crime stuff, and Free Solo made my palms sweat just watching it

OJ: Made in America is one of the best I’ve seen

Dark days. It’s about people living in abandoned subway tunnels of nyc in the 1990s

Grey Garden's (1975) Sherman's March (1985) Thin Blue Line (1988) Roger and Me (1989)

You have to see Grey Gardens

The Act of Killing. Amazing documentary

Cosmos a Spacetime Odyssey

A few of my favorites - Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles - Jiro Dreams of Sushi -King of Kong -Murderball

Anything that Louis Theroux has done is great.

Crip Camp is excellent. About the teen experiences of some key players in the disability rights movement in America.

Senna - it's my all time favorite documentary. You dont have to be a car racing fan to enjoy it.

The Cove. Blackfish. Class Action Park. Dear Zachary; A letter to a Son about his Father.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi - about Michellin star chef Jiro Ono & his ultimate passion: sushi.

Here's something prescient and currently very relevant: Adam Curtis's **HyperNormalisation**. It's slogan is "They Know We Know They Lie." And it's about the ghastly unspoken collusion between authoritarian-tending governments and many of their "subjects," both of which delude themselves with simplified false narratives just to keep the entire system from crashing and wiping out most people's lives. What's revealed is "How We Got To Where We Are Now" and why it seems so hard to actually cause real change in society, why we get mired in something akin to apathy. https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6156350/ (Check out the TRAILER on its IMDb page, LINKED above.) What makes the movie most unique is that it feels like a powerful video essay masquerading as a straightforward documentary.

I just saw a great doc last night, Lilith Fair: Building a Mystery. It was fascinating and had a lot of great music.

This one’s so underrated but funny to watch and it’s Quiet Riot: Well Now You're Here It’s so Spinal Tap-esque and also has some really interesting stuff to learn about the band even if you’re not into them. Console wars- explains the battle between Sega and Nintendo King of Kong- listen this is a classic!! The most diehard fans of a video game all in one documentary and the best drama I’ve seen in a documentary ever! 

Tickled is batshit crazy, in a good way.

A couple all time classics that should be on everyone’s list: American Movie - About a small time but big dreaming indie filmmaker trying to get his dream off the ground in 90s Wisconsin. The King of Kong - About the rivalry between two classic arcade gamers as they fight for the all time Donkey Kong world record

Idiocracy. 😉

One of the best (music) documentaries that I've seen was the [one on *The Wrecking Crew*](https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0DJCPQ9WD?). For those that don't know, they were a group of very talented in-demand artists that were a big part behind dozens of the biggest hits in Rock & Roll. They played on **30 US #1 hits**, over 60 US Top-10 hits, and dozens of other top 40 songs between 1962-1975, along with TV theme songs and movie soundtracks. Phil Spector’s “Wall of sound”, Elvis, The Beach Boys, Jan & Dean, The Righteous Brothers, The Byrds, The Mamas & Papas, The Supremes, Frank & Nancy Sinatra, The Association, The 5th Dimension, Gary Puckett, Paul Revere, Sonny & Cher, Captain & Tennille, The Grass Roots, Simon & Garfunkel, The Carpenters, The Partridge Family, The Monkees, and many, many, many more, all supported by The Wrecking Crew.

Vernon, Florida - Errol Morris Don’t research it, just watch it

Searching for Sugar Man is a great doc.

Ozzy Osbourne: No Escape from Now. Pretty sure it’s also on Paramount+

On Death Row if you're looking for something bleak.

**The Imposter** if you want a true crime documentary. It's pretty twisty and crazy, and I think it's best seen knowing as little about the story as possible. **Stories We Tell** is a touching documentary by actor/director Sarah Polley about her family history. **Class Action Park** is about an amusement park that was wild and had a bunch of safety issues. **Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno** is about about the making of a movie that didn't get finished. It has a lot of footage that was shot for the movie and screen test footage.

Light & Magic, about ILM.

Sick-O by Michael Moore. Excellent documentary comparing American health care to other countries

Anything by Errol Morris but if you like your documentaries mixed with a bit of theater of the absurd - try Vernon, Florida and Gates of Heaven to start with.

Icarus and the amazing Johnathon documentary. Both of these have incredible twists. Almost any of the espn 30 for 30s are very good in particular the one about the purchase of the New York islanders and the 4 part episode about the 86 Mets is great too.

F for Fake (1973), about forgery and deception. Handles its topic in more ways than one. Tavarataivas (2013) about a guy who puts all of his stuff in a storage and let's himself retrieve one item per day.

Jodorowsky's Dune. Especially if you're a film buff or enjoy sci-fi, Dune, or the Alien movies. But it's entertaining enough in its own right to be worth watching even if you're not. Alejandro Jodorowsky himself (an avant-garde filmmaker from the 70s) is one of the main talking heads in it, and he's a compelling character with a unique and memorable voice.

Three Identical Strangers is captivating

The Sparks Brothers

Jodorowsky's Dune. Dangerous Days. All Watched Over By Machines Of Loving Grace.

Chop & Steele

Free Solo Harlan County USA Woodstock 20 Feet from Stardom Spellbound Searching for Sugar Man

My two favorites are both available for free on YouTube -- "Civilization" (with Kenneth Clark) and "Byzantium" (with Simon Schama).

I watched A&E Biography a lot in the 90s and early 2000s. So well done. You might be able to find some episodes on YouTube.

Alone in the Wilderness (2004) About D*** Proeneke, the ultimate survivalist. Outdoor Boys also just visited his cabin and posted a video on it a couple months back. Gonzo (2008) Narrated by Johnny Depp, about the life of volatile writer Hunter S. Thompson.

[First Person](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLVmRJGCDzW4QL42BGfwC-QpMMl46zDGJ9) is a series of short documentaries by Errol Morris. All episodes can be seen on YouTube. He’s also got a number of great films to watch, most notably The Thin Blue Line (1988).

Peter and the farm

The Last Dance (Don’t have to be a basketball fan, I’m not really… So good!)

Hellier (it's on Youtube) The Bee Gees documentary that was on HBO

Peter and The Farm.

I see several of his films in others' responses, here, but Errol Morris. Also: Man On Wire Project Nim My Octopus Teacher

Casting JonBenet - one of the weirdest / form challenging docs I've ever seen. Really strange examination of our True Crime voyuerism.

Camera Person

I highly recommend Seven Dumpsters and a Corpse & Ryan (about Ryan Larkin).

'The Look of Silence.' It starts off a little slow, but once it gets going, it's amazing (and I don't even like documentaries).

Facing Ali Touching the Void

Man on wire Amy O j made in america

Good Hair by Chris Rock.

Check your local library for streaming services. Kanopy and Hoopla have a lot of docs if your area offers those

Murder in Monaco

Capturing the Freedman’s. King of Kong.

listen to my podcast on interview movies which are non fiction movies with onscreen interviewers.

"2000 meters to Andriivka" by Mstyslav Chernov.