Ah, lists. I’m personally a fan, but I know a lot of people hate them. In many cases I think the fun of compiling them might actually outweigh the worth of reading them, but every now and again you come across a list that hits your sweet spot while opening your eyes to some new films. Paste Magazine’s Top 25 documentaries of the decade isn’t really one of those lists, but it’s not totally terrible either. They hit pretty much all of the crowd pleasers and were sure to include a fair amount of socially conscious docs, but didn’t really throw any curve balls. Maybe The Devil and Daniel Johnston, The White Diamond or The Glenaers and I (which I actually haven’t seen) could be considered somewhat inspired choices? I don’t know. What do you think? Is Supersize Me worthy of mention on this list? Is Man on Wire really the best doc of the decade? Check out the full list below and share your thoughts in the comments. Also, this reminds me that I’ve been working on a list of 50 recommended docs for the The Documentary Blog. I’ll have to get to work on that!
25. Food, Inc. (2009)
24. Dig! (2004)
23. Gleaners and I (2000)
22. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (2006)
21. No End In Sight (2007)
20. No Direction Home (2005)
19. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
18. Anvil: The Story of Anvil (2008)
17. The White Diamond (2004)
16. God Grew Tired of Us (2007)
15. Super Size Me (2004)
14. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
13. Jesus Camp (2006)
12. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
11. Born into Brothels (2004)
10. Waltz with Bashir (2008)
9. Murderball (2005)
8. Spellbound (2002)
7. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)
6. King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
5. Bowling For Columbine (2002)
4. The Fog of War (2003)
3. Grizzly Man (2005)
2. Iraq in Fragments (2007)
1. Man On Wire (2008)
Man On Wire at number one? Really? I wouldn’t even put it at number 50 and certainly not above The Fog of War and Grizzly Man. Furthermore where is Fahrenheit 9/11, Encounters at the End of the World, Street Fight, Standard Operating Procedure, Dogtown and Z-boys, My Kid Could Paint That, Jimmy Carter: Man From The Plains, Tyson, etc…
not a horrible list and i actually like that Wire, Levees, and Kong place high. there are a few of them i haven’t yet caught (Friedmans, Anvil!, The Devil, Dig!, Diamond). there are a few that are dull and/or pedestrian (Iraq, Spellbound, Brothels, Truth, God, Food) and a few that just don’t do it for me (Fog, Columbine, No End, Super Size). also not such a fan of Ian’s Encounters, SOP, 9/11, and definitely not of Tyson.
i prefer moore’s Sicko to the two named. i’d also add Los Angeles Plays Itself. i should see it again, but i would add this year’s The Horse Boy. i’d also move Gleaners way up.
as far as socially conscious docs outside of moore, i’d think of including The Corporation, and i really enjoyed The Yes Men Fix the World though don’t think i could Top 25 it for the decade, same goes for No Impact Man
Uh…
Dear Zachary?
The Cove?
otherwise a solid list.
Jesus Camp? Really? Interesting look into a different world, but certainly not a Top 25 film…
i’ll add Rembrandt’s J’accuse and Operation Filmmaker
Cool list. Gonna check out Man on Wire as soon as I can. I’m not a big documentary fan, but I quite liked a.k.a Tommy Chong. =)
Found your blog when I googled my way to your WW2 list. Nice to put Ilsa on that list!
taxi to the dark side????
Inconvenient truth? One it was so boring – basically a filmed slideshow. Two – the science is so questionable that it has to be sold in the UK with a disclaimer saying that the science is disputed and cannot be taken as fact. There are alarming irregularities with what Al Gore presented and how he presented them. I think the hype surrounding it blinded people to reality of what they saw.
Hey, thanks for this great list! I caught ‘Man on Wire’ last week and it was so freaking rad! I wouldn’t have known about it if I didn’t listen to the podcast. Way to go!
LOOSE CHANGE final cut
taxi to the dark side won an academy award for best doc, who is responsible for this list…G.W…is that you wtf?