Holy shit, the year is almost over! That means it’s time once again to look back at all of the great films of the past 12 months (or longer, depending on whether or not you caught a 2011 release at a festival in 2010) and rank them. It seems every year, right around summer time, people start complaining that it’s been a “bad year for film”. While it was starting to look like that might be the case, we’re now well beyond the uninspired rut of R rated comedies and comic book movies that made up the blockbuster season (it was definitely a bad year for good blockbusters) and things look much brighter. I think it’s been a great year for film.

I had trouble putting together a top 10 list of docs, so I decided to expand mine to 20 (the top ten films are accompanied by brief notes on why I enjoyed those films). I should note that there are a few releases that’ve been popping up on best of the year lists (particularly Tabloid and Cave of Forgotten Dreams) that aren’t on mine. These films were included on my 2010 list as I’d seen them that year at TIFF. I also have a few releases on my list that technically premiere last year, but didn’t receive a wide theatrical release (or other form of distribution) until this year. So be it. And of course, there are a ton of films I didn’t get to see and couldn’t consider. Finally, I’m happy that our good friend Charlotte Cook has taken some time to put together her list of favourite films as well, which you will find at the bottom of the post.

I generally find it pretty tough ordering films on these lists, so there are many spots that are probably interchangeable. Having said that, I think I’m pretty satisfied with what I’ve got here and I’m definitely looking forward to what 2012 has to offer. Please feel free to ream me out in the comments for missing that great underlooked film or for my list being too North American-centric. Seasons greetings and happy new year to you all!

20. Fake It So Real
Directed by Robert Greene

19. The Harvest
Directed by Gabriel Deloach

18. Beats, Rhymes & Life: The Travels of a Tribe Called Quest
Directed by Michael Rapaport

17. Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure
Directed by Matthew Bate

16. The Real Rocky
Directed by Jeff Feuerzeig

15. Position Among the Stars
Directed by Leonard Retel Helmrich

14. Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop
Directed by Rodman Flender

13. Into the Abyss
Directed by Werner Herzog

12. Bill Cunningham New York
Directed by Richard Press

11. Bombay Beach
Directed by Alma Har’el

10. Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory
Directed by Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky

The only thing working against Paradise Lost 3 is the fact that the first third of the film has to take the time to recap the previous 2. For fans, this might feel strained, but ultimately seeing this film in theatres and getting back into the details of this case was exhilarating and infuriating all over again. It’s a great cap on an important series of documentary films. I’m excited to see the full version with the additional footage in January.

9. Undefeated
Directed by Daniel Lindsay, T.J. Martin

Undefeated isn’t necessarily groundbreaking, but it does a great job at playing in the sports drama universe and making good use of all of the tropes connected to these types of films. I’m not a sports guy, but I LOVE sports films and this one certainly delivered. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house during the final scene of this film.

8. Life in a Day
Directed by Kevin MacDonald

Life in a Day seemed like it could be a disaster but I was pretty blown away by the results of this simple concept. While most of the footage might not be mind blowing on its own, it’s weaved together in such a way that there’s a basic loose narrative that features a some humour, drama, horror, and every other possible result of a one day on earth around the world. The resulting footage is evidence of a universal language of cinema.

7. Convento
Directed by Jarred Alterman

Convento celebrates creativity and imagination both in its subject matter and the way in which director Jarred Alterman handles the material. It’s beautifully shot and a truly unusual viewing experience that showcases the creepy and fantastic artwork of its main character. Convento is a real life fantasy film that’s unlike any documentary film I’ve seen this year.

6. The Interrupters
Directed by Steve James

Steve James’ The Interrupters might be an issue film at heart, but it’s an awareness of the importance of great characters and dramatic storytelling that elevates it beyond your typical news magazine piece. It’s an epic drama that many have compared to HBO’s The Wire, which I think is a pretty fair assessment. It’s a powerful film that succeeds in large part due to some extremely skilled editing and James’ ability to gain incredible access to his subjects.

5. Abendland
Directed by Nikolaus Geyrhalter

Nikolaus Geyrhalter returns with his brand of austere observational filmmaking that seems to be inspired more by Stanley Kubrick than any of the cinema verite masters. In Abendland, he captures Europe at night, exploring both the familiar and the alien as he captures various aspects of Western life. I don’t think the film is for everyone, but the rapid changing settings (and the intentional structure of sequences) was a lot of fun to watch and beautifully realized on screen.

4. Buck
Directed by Cindy Meehl

I wasn’t sure what to expect with Buck and I sort of had my guard up assuming it might be a sappy, manipulative tear jerker. While it definitely is a tear jerker, it’s a truly wonderful film featuring a great character who’s complexity runs much deeper than ‘the real Horse Whisperer’. It looks pretty beautiful as well.

3. The Arbor
Directed by Clio Barnard

Not only is the family drama on display in The Arbor completely enthralling, the presentation is truly exciting and pushes the boundaries of non-fiction filmmaking. Using audio interviews with the real subjects lip synched by actors, director Clio Barnard manages to play with recreations and other storytelling techniques in a way that was completely new to me and truly inspiring.

2. Senna
Directed by Asif Kapadia

I went in to Senna knowing nothing about the man or the story, so it was a completely fresh experience for me. This was definitely a bonus as they story is rich in drama and even though the climax is telegraphed, it was a thrilling and suspenseful experience. Director Asif Kapadia masterfully constructs this story through stock footage to create an experience that feels immediate and visceral.

1. Project Nim
Directed by James Marsh

James Marsh has perfected his brand of retrospective documentary filmmaking, telling stories of the past in a way which makes them feel as though they’re unfolding in real time on-screen. He indulges in cinematic conventions, using reenactments to create an entertaining and emotional experience that celebrates both non-fiction storytelling and the craft of filmmaking. Project Nim (along with many other films on this list) defies the label ‘documentary film’ and succeeds on its own merits as pure cinema.

Honourable Mentions:

Liberia ’77, Fightville, Corman’s World, Rebirth, Page One: Inside the New York Times, Urbanized, Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Files, Whore’s Glory, Dragonslayer

Charlotte’s List:

“As per every year I have to be difficult and this list is in no order, I don’t like to put one film above or below the other. There are a huge amount I know I’m missing, but these are the films that really stuck with me. I would like to note that there are a lot of films towards the end of the year, those that played at TIFF especially, that I haven’t had a chance to see as I’ve been busy screening next year’s films. Nevertheless all of these films I adore, and would highly recommend checking out if you haven’t seen them yet.”

Convento
The Interrupters
Justin Bieber Never Say Never
Beats Rhymes and Life
This Is Not A Film
Hell and Back Again
Senna
Black Power Mixtape 1967-1975
Bombay Beach
We Were Here

Honourable Mentions: Resurrect Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Files, Life in a Day, Becoming Chaz, Give Up Tomorrow, You’ve Been Trumped, Page One: Inside the New York Times, Sound It Out, Price of Sex, Bobby Fischer Against the World.

Others I consider last year, but would love to mention: Nostalgia for the Light, The Arbor.

DISCLAIMER: This post is sponsored by Lionsgate, but all thoughts are our own.

The DVD of Martin Scorsese’s documentary George Harrison: Life in the Material World has been released in the UK and is set to come out in the near future here in North America. I’ve yet to see the film, but I thought (with a little convincing from the fine folks at Lionsgate) that it would be fun to recommend five other great docs that profile musicians. There are TONS of music inspired documentaries to choose from, but I thought I would focus on the ones that look at a single musician and reveal something about that person beyond their songwriting talents. What are some of your favourite docs on musicians? Let us know in the comments section!

LONELY BOY
Canada, 1962
Directed by Wolf Koenig & Roman Kroitor

Considered to be a cinema vérité classic, Lonely Boy is a candid look at a young Paul Anka, navigating the world of teenage pop stardom. He’s charming, handsome, and certainly knows how to treat his female fans, but he wasn’t always icon material. His personal manager, Irvin Feld, talks about ‘grooming’ Anka. “Paul’s features are excellent. His eyes are great. He has a great mouth.” Yet they still felt the need to adjust his nose with a little bit of plastic surgery. It’s a truly unique look at the creation of a pop icon. The film also gives us a transparent look at the filmmaking process as there is always a sense of the director’s influence on the scene. At one point, Anka gives the owner of the famous Copacabana a gift, which is met with a kiss on the cheek. Offscreen we hear one of the director’s request that the kiss be taken again due to camera issues, which is met with a great laugh from the subjects. A great piece of non-fiction filmmaking (and it’s Canadian!)

THE DEVIL AND DANIEL JOHNSTON
USA, 2005
Directed by Jeff Feuerzeig

I’ve gone on about my love of The Devil and Daniel Johnston quite a bit around here and my thoughts still stand. It’s got everything. It’s beautifully filmed, the characters are compelling, it’s emotionally devastating, and it’s got dramatic twists and turns. I remember hearing about the film when it first started playing festivals and I had my reservations, expecting something more along the lines of a poorly crafted fan-service fluff piece. Boy was I wrong. I was also caught off guard by how little I knew about Daniel Johnston’s personal issues and just show much I would get caught up in this unique underdog story. It’s truly a beautiful film and I recommend it to everyone.

KURT COBAIN ABOUT A SON (2006)
Directed by AJ Schnack

AJ Schnack’s portrait of Kurt Cobain is probably the least traditional biopic on this list, but it’s certainly one of the most beautiful. Narrated by Cobain himself, using audio interview clips collected by journalist Michael Azerrad, About a Son gives us an intimate look at the life of a rockstar who struggled with the responsibilities and expectations of being a music icon. Set against images of the towns in which Cobain grew up, Schnack’s film avoids biopic cliche’s by keeping things grounded in a sense of intimacy and honesty, presenting Cobain’s story quite literally in his own words. Nirvana fans should be thankful to have been treated with such a thoughtful presentation and a respectful treatment of this tale of a reluctant music legend.

THEREMIN: AN ELECTRIC ODYSSEY (1994)
Directed by Steven M. Martin

Okay, so this one is sort of thinking outside the box as Leon Theremin was an inventor, not a musician. However, he was responsible for one of the strangest instruments ever, the Theremin. If you’re not familiar with the eerie, warbly sounds it generates, you might want to refer to almost any sci-fi film produced in the 1950′s or take another listen to The Beach Boys Good Vibrations. Beyond his contribution to the music world, Theremin’s life plays like a whacked out espionage movie. He invented super-secret spy microphones for the KGB, was rumoured to have been kidnapped by Soviet Officials, and spent prison time in sharashka, a secret laboratory in the Russian gulag. It’s a great story that contains some pretty unusual performances thanks to Theremin and his orchestra of theremin players.

HATED: GG ALLIN AND THE MURDER JUNKIES (1994)
Directed by Todd Phillips

Todd Phillips (The Hangover, Due Date) NYU student film was a fascinating and hilarious documentary about one of the most disgusting, loathsome, and untalented figures in music history: GG Allin. The film attempts to understand Allin’s anarchistic attitude and propensity for violence and chaos, but really ends up working as a real life Spinal Tap with flashes of sadness throughout. It isn’t particularly deep or well made, but it’s definitely an interesting look at the early beginnings of a director who would go on to film some of the biggest mainstream comedies in Hollywood. You can watch the entire film embedded above. Definitely NSFW!

Martin Scorsese’s “George Harrison: Living in the Material World” is now available on DVD in the UK and will soon be available on DVD in North America. Check out the trailer below.

Last year we gave you ten documentaries to look out for in the coming year. Due to documentary releases being varied in their timing and method we’ve decided to do something a little different this year. We asked a group of people who work in the documentary industry in different capacities, and who often watch documentaries for a living, to give you their recommendations for the year. There was little criteria and so the lists range from those having recently played at festivals to those that will be released on DVD or broadcast this year. We are extremely grateful to all who took part and really hope you can take some great recommendations from the lists.

I also can’t help but mention that this year will see the premiere of Beauty Day, the first feature by the Editor of The Documentary Blog, Jay Cheel. Stay tuned to the blog for updates, and the film’s site here.

Sean’s list is up first and the rest are after the jump.

Sean Farnel, Director of Programming at HotDocs

THE PIPE
TABLOID
THE GOOD LIFE
THE INTERRUPTERS
VODKA FACTORY
ALL FOR THE GOOD OF THE WORLD AND NOSOVICE
NEW CASTLE
REDEMPTION OF GENERAL BUTT NAKED
FOREIGN PARTS
THE FORGOTTEN SPACE

Sky Sitney, Festival Director of Silverdocs

List is in alphabetical order:
1. 12th & DELAWARE
2. A FILM UNFINISHED
3. BUDRUS
4. INSIDE JOB
5. LAST TRAIN HOME
6. MARWENCOL
7. STEAM OF LIFE
8. SWEETGRASS
9. THE OATH
10. THE WOMAN WITH THE 5 ELEPHANTS

Jeff Deutchman, Director/Curator of 11/04/08 and Acquisitions Manager at IFC Films (check out our podcast with Jeff here)

1) Nostalgia for the Light (Icarus releasing in the US some time in 2011)
2) Cave of Forgotten Dreams (IFC releasing in the US on April 29)
3) His & Hers (premiering on Sundance Channel in various European territories in 2011)
4) The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu (Icarus releasing in the US some time in 2011)
5) Bill Cunningham New York (Zeitgeist releasing in the US some time in 2011)
6) The Arbor (Strand releasing in the US some time in 2011)

Basil Tsiokos, Documentary Programming Associate for the Sundance Film Festival

List One (perhaps more under the radar titles):
AS LILITH
CINEMA KOMUNISTO
DIVINE PIG
DONOR UNKNOWN
FAMILY INSTINCT
HOW I FILMED THE WAR
KATI WITH AN I
THE PEDDLER
SECRETS OF THE TRIBE
VLAST (POWER)

List Two (have generated press, but don’t miss)
THE DISAPPEARANCE OF MCKINLEY NOLAN
DOUBLE TAKE
THE GOOD LIFE
HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT’S INFERNO
INTO ETERNITY
THE INVENTION OF DR NAKAMATS
THE SOUND OF MUMBAI: A MUSICAL
SUMMER PASTURE
THIS WAY OF LIFE
WHEN WE WERE BOYS
(Note: We at the Documentary Blog also recommend checking out the film Basil co-produced last year, THE CANAL STREET MADAM)

Christopher Campbell, writer for Cinematical
(check out his excellent column Doc Talk)

Cave of Forgotten Dreams
Into Eternity
Armadillo

David Wilson, Co-Director of the True/False Film Festival

Ten movies that you should see in 2011

Tabloid
Project NIM
The Interrupters
Marathon Boy
Armadillo
Putty Hill
The Arbor
Benda Bilili
Bocca Del Lupo
Foreign Parts

Ten Movies that People Will Be Talking About One Year From Today

Dragonslayer
Marathon Boy
Family Instinct
Project NIM
To Be Heard
Better This World
Girl Model
Low and Clear
The Interrupters
To Hell & Back

Martijn te Pas, Programme Department Coordinator for IDFA

El Sicario Room 164
Nostalgia for the Light (Nostalgia de la Luz)
The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu
Coming Home
Patria o Muerte (Vitaly Mansky)

It seems like only a year ago we were counting down our top 10 documentaries of 2009 here at The Documentary Blog. Boy, how time flies. Now, almost four years later, we present to you our top 10 films of 2010. While some argued this was a weak year for films, I found it pretty tough to narrow down my lists — both fiction and non-fiction — to 10 choices (you’ll find a good number of honourable mentions spread throughout this post). This year we’ve got four lists; my own (Jay’s), Charlotte’s, Sean’s and Josh’s. Thanks to some scattered festival runs and extended release dates, it can be tough figuring out what technically counts as a 2010 release. We’ve decided to set our own personal list guidelines so don’t be surprised if our choices look fairly different. Be sure to join in the discussion in the comments section and share your own personal top tens and let us know if you agree or disagree with our take on 2010. You’ll find our lists after the jump. Happy new year!!

JAY’S TOP 10

My top ten list consists of films I’d either seen at festivals throughout 2010 or had received a theatrical release sometime throughout the year. You’ll notice films like Best Worst Movie and Winnebago Man — both of which appear on other lists in this post — were already included on my list last year. Not too complicated, right? Here it goes:

1. Happy People: A Year in the Taiga
2. Tabloid
3. Into Eternity
4. Last Train Home
5. Sweetgrass
6. Exit Through the Gift Shop
7. Cropsey
8. Boxing Gym
9. Caves of Forgotten Dreams
10. Life With Murder

Honourable Mentions: Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo, Armadillo, Gasland, The Oath, Cool It, Catfish, Waste Land, 12th & Delaware, Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow, Arsy-Versy, The Invention of Dr NakaMats, The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia

CHARLOTTE’S TOP 10

2010 has been an incredible year for documentaries and I feel as though I’ve seen some of the documentaries I’ll consider my favourites for many years to come. My list comprises of the films I adored this year that premiered within 2010 (I think) which discounts films like The Red Chapel, Kings of Pastry and Last Train Home which made my list last year. I always struggle with lists as I find it so hard to put films up against one another so please just see this as my favourite ten documentaries of the year not in order of particular preference.

1. The Oath
2. 12th & Delaware
3. Into Eternity
4. Tabloid
5. Nostalgia for the Light
6. Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff
7. A Man Came and Took Her
8. The “Socalled” Movie
9. The Regretters
10. Happy People: Year in the Taiga

Honourable Mentions: 11/4/08, A Small Act, Hubble 3D, If God Is Willing and da Creek Don’t Rise, Armadillo, The Invention of Dr NakaMats , Restrepo, Sex Magic, Manifesting Maya, Steam of Life, Life with Murder, Typeface, GasLand, Talhotblond , Separado!, War Don Don, Enemies of the People, Arsy-Versy

SEAN’S TOP 10

1. Catfish
2. Exit Through the Gift Shop
3. Tabloid
4. GasLand
5. Cropsey
6. Best Worst Movie
7. The Invention of Dr NakaMats
8. Into Eternity
9. Restrepo
10. 12th & Delaware

JOSH’S TOP 10

Release dates for independent make end-of-year lists tricky, so rules always play a big part in how I form my lists. For this one, I’m discounting festivals altogether and sticking to films that either played theatrically, on television, or went straight to DVD in 2010. That is especially good this year because I had a film of my own that premiered at the end of 2009 and played the festival circuit in 2010, but since we aren’t getting our theatrical release until 2011, I can hold off a while longer on the awkward and unethical recommendation of my own film. I should also mention that I have not seen all of the year’s supposed best documentaries. Among the notable omissions are Armadillo, Client 9, Genius Within, Inside Job, The Kids Grow Up, La Danse, Precious Life, Presumed Guilty, The Thorn in the Heart, and Waste Land. Disclaimers out of the way, here are my top ten documentaries of 2010:

1. Alamar
2. Marwencol
3. Exit Through the Gift Shop
4. A Film Unfinished
5. Best Worst Movie
6. Last Train Home
7. The Oath
8. 45365
9. Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo
10. 12th & Delaware

Honorable Mentions: American Radical, Czech Peace, The Elephant In the Living Room, Gasland, Google Baby, Restrepo, Smile ‘Til It Hurts, The Tillman Story, The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia, and Winnebago Man.

Hurrah, the challenge is over!

To give a bit of background to this foolish endeavor, last November I began making a note of the films I was watching largely because I have a memory like a sieve and I couldn’t keep track, especially after festivals in which you can power through 20-30 films in a batch. At one foolish moment, possibly slightly prompted by minor OCD and an immense love for lists, I counted the number of films I’d seen so far. It was more than I expected and so I became curious as to how easy it would be to try and aim for 500 in a year. Turns out it is and it isn’t.

Working as a programmer gives me an advantage as it’s a huge part of my job to watch films, but what I realised was that I tend to re-watch the same films often, especially when it comes to films I want to screen. From a festival viewing to another look at work to the screening itself, I can easily watch the same film 3 or 4 times in a few months. I also hit a hurdle when I was due to finish on November 13th during CPH:DOX, but my computer died and it looked like there was no way of making the deadline. This turned into a blessing as, after discounting the first two weeks and substituting two extra, I could actually enjoy the film festival rather than being holed up in the screening library.

There is no real purpose behind the challenge other than curiosity and it’s been an interesting experience. It has forced me to look for films I might not otherwise have watched as easily, and catch up on so many films I’d always meant to watch.

The criteria was set by other people to whom I mentioned the challenge.  Re-viewings of the same film within the year didn’t count (of those there were 40+).  Duration was a tricky prospect and there was mixed opinion – as docs come in various shapes and sizes, I went for around an hour being the cut-off (there were another 40+ films of less than an hour). The ratio is 286 documentaries to 214 fiction films. All in all I think I hit 504 in the 365 day period but this is the list up to the point I got to 500.

By no means do I think this is anything but uber geeky more than it is achievement, and this guy‘s similar challenge whoops mine’s ass, but if you’re interested the list is below -

1. !Women Art Revolution (Hershman-Leeson, 2010)
2. 11/4/08 (Deutchman, 2009)
3. 1968 (2008)
4. 12th & Delaware (Ewing & Grady, 2010)
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968)
6. 21 Below (Buck, 2009)
7. 4.3.2.1 (Clarke & Davis, 2010)
8. 49 Up (Apted, 2005)
9. 50 First Dates (Segal, 2004)
10. 51 Birch Street (Block, 2005)
11. 500 Days of Summer (Webb, 2009)
12. 7 Days (Grou, 2010)
13. 8: The Mormon Proposition (Cowan & Greenstreet, 2010)
14. Abel Raises Cain (Abel & Hockett, 2005)
15. Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (Shadyac, 1994)
16. Act of God (Baichwal, 2009)
17. Actuality: The Art and Life of Allan King (Cuff, 2006)
18. Adaptation (Jonze, 2002)
19. A Film Unfinished (Hersonski, 2009)
20. Africa’s Last Taboo (Barnwell, 2010)
21. Africa United (Gardner-Paterson, 2010)
22. After the Apocalypse (Butts, 2010)
23. All the Real Girls (Green, 2003)
24. The Agronomist (Demme, 2003)
25. A Man Came and Took Her (Niestroj and Przybyl, 2010)
26. A Married Couple (King, 1969)
27. The American Astronaut (McAbee, 2001)
28. American Movie (Smith, 1999)
29. American Psycho (Harron, 2000)
30. American: The Bill Hicks Story (Harlock & Thomas, 2009)
31. And Everything is Going Fine (Soderbergh, 2010)
32. Anne Perry – Interiors (Linkiewicz, 2009)
33. Animalicious (Lewis, 1999)
34. Another Green World (Roberts, 2010)
35. Antoine (Bari, 2009)
36. Anvil! The Story of Anvil (Gervasi, 2008)
37. The Arbor (Barnard, 2010)
38. Armadillo (Metz Pedersen, 2010)
39. A Serious Man (Coens, 2009)
40. A Single Man (Ford, 2009)
41. A Small Act (Arnold, 2010)
42. Assault on Precinct 13 (Carpenter, 1976)
43. Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (Roach, 1997)
44. Autumn Gold (Tenhaven, 2010)
45. Avatar (Cameron, 2009)
46. A Woman Under the Influence (Cassavetes, 1974)
47. Baby Mama (McCullers, 2008)
48. Back to the Future (Zemeckis,1985)
49. Backyard (McElwee, 1984)
50. Bad Girls Go to Hell (Wishman, 1965)
51. Badlands (Malick, 1973)
52. The Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call – New Orleans (Herzog, 2009)
53. Baker Boys: Inside the Surge (Konwiser, 2010)
54. Balangay (Sanchez & Fardig, 2010)
55. Bastardy (Courtin-Wilson, 2008)
56. Batman Begins (Nolan, 2005)
57. The Battle for Barking (Fairrie, 2010)
58. Battle for Marjah (Anderson, 2010)
59. The Battle of Chile: The Insurrection of the Bourgeoisie (Guzmán, 1975)
60. The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms (Lourié, 1953)
61. Beautiful Losers (Rose & Leonard, 2008)
62. Beetle Juice (Burton, 1988)
63. Before Sunset (Linklater, 2004)
64. Best Worst Movie (Stephenson, 2009)
65. Bhutto (Baughman, 2010)
66. Big (Marshall, 1988)
67. Big River Man (Maringouin, 2009)
68. The Birds (Hitchcock, 1963)
69. Black Christmas (Clark, 1974)
70. Black Power Salute (Small, 2008)
71. Black Sabbath (Bava, 1963)
72. Black Sun (Tarn, 2005)
73. Blades of Glory (Gordon & Speck, 2007)
74. Blue Valentine (Cianfrance, 2010)
75. Boogie Nights (Anderson, 1997)
76. The Bounty Hunter (Tennant, 2010)
77. Boy (Cohen, 2010)
78. The Boys of Baraka (Ewing & Grady, 2005)
79. The Break-Up (Reed, 2006)
80. Brooklyn’s Finest (Fuqua, 2009)
81. The Brothers Bloom (Johnson, 2008)
82. Brother’s Keeper (Berlinger & Sinofsky, 1992)
83. Bruno (Charles, 2009)
84. Bullitt (Yates, 1968)
85. Burden of Dreams (Blank, 1982)
86. The Burger & the King: The Life & Cuisine of Elvis Presley (Marsh, 1996)
87. By The People: The Election of Barack Obama (Rice & Sams, 2009)
88. Cameraman: The Life and Work of Jack Cardiff (McCall, 2010)
89. Camp Victory, Afghanistan (Dysinger, 2010)
90. The Canal Street Madam (Yates, 2010)
91. Candyman: The David Klein Story (Botes, 2010)
92. Cane Toads: An Unnatural History (Lewis, 1988)
93. Capturing Reality (Ferrari, 2008)
94. Casino Jack and the United States of Money (Gibney, 2010)
95. Catfish (Joost & Schulman, 2010)
96. Charleen or How Long Has This Been Going On? (McElwee, 1980)
97. Children of Men (Cuarón, 2006)
98. Chop Suey (Weber, 2001)
99. Citizen Black (Melnyk, 2004)
100. Collapse (Smith, 2009)
101. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (Clooney, 2002)
102. Cool Hand Luke (Rosenberg, 1967)
103. Cop Out (Smith, 2010)
104. Copyright Criminals (Franzen & McLeod, 2009)
105. Countdown to Zero (Walker, 2010)
106. The Cove (Psihoyos, 2009)
107. The Crazies (Romero, 1973)
108. The Crazies (Eisner, 2010)
109. Crazy Love (Klores, 2007)
110. Daft Punk’s Electroma (Bangalter & De Homem-Christo, 2006)
111. The Darjeeling Limited (Anderson, 2007)
112. The Dark Knight (Nolan, 2008)
113. Darkman (Raimi, 1990)
114. Darkon (Meyer & Neel, 2006)
115. Dark Star (Carpenter, 1974)
116. Date Night (Levy, 2010)
117. David Holzman’s Diary (McBride, 1967)
118. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (Kuenne, 2008)
119. Death for Five Voices (Herzog, 1995)
120. A Decade Under the Influence (Demme & LaGravenese, 2003)
121. Defamation (Shamir, 2009)
122. Deliver Us from Evil (Berg, 2006)
123. DeLorean (Hegedus & Pennebaker, 1981)
124. Demons (Bava, 1985)
125. Devil’s Playgound (Walker, 2002)
126. The Dhamma Brothers (Kukura, Phillips & Stein, 2008)
127. Dirty Pictures (Sauret, 2010)
128. Dogtooth (Lanthimos, 2009)
129. Dominick Dunne: After the Party (de Garis & Jolley, 2008)
130. Donnie Brasco (Newell, 1997)
131. Donnie Darko (Kelly, 2001)
132. Drifters (Grierson, 1929)
133. The Dry Land (Williams, 2010)
134. Durakovo: Village of Fools (Kirtadze, 2007)
135. Eagle vs Shark (Waititi, 2007)
136. Easier with Practice (Alvarez, 2009)
137. Easy Riders, Raging Bulls (Bowser, 2003)
138. The Edge of Dreaming (Hardie, 2010)
139. Election (Payne, 1999)
140. Elvis (Carpenter, 1979)
141. Encounters at the End of the World (Herzog, 2007)
142. The End (Collins, 2008)
143. Enemies of the People (Lemkin & Sambath, 2010)
144. Erasing David (Bond, 2009)
145. Escape from L.A. (Carpenter, 1996)
146. Escape from New York (Carpenter, 1981)
147. The Evil Dead (Raimi, 1981)
148. Evil Dead II (Raimi, 1987)
149. Examined Life (Taylor, 2008)
150. Excalibur (Boorman, 1981)
151. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
152. The Exorcist (Friedkin, 1973)
153. Fantastic Mr Fox (Anderson, 2009)
154. Farewell (Mensink, 2010)
155. Fargo (Coen, 1996)
156. Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (Morris, 1997)
157. Fireflies in the Garden (Lee, 2008)
158. The Five Obstructions (Leth & Von Trier, 2003)
159. Flag Wars (Poitras & Bryant, 2003)
160. Flash Gordon (Hodges, 1980)
161. The Flaw (Sington, 2010)
162. The Fog (Carpenter, 1980)
163. Following (Nolan, 1998)
164. Forgetting Sarah Marshall (Stoller, 2008)
165. For Neda (Thomas, 2010)
166. Four Eyed Monsters (Buice & Crumley, 2005)
167. Four Lions (Morris, 2010)
168. Frat House (Phillips & Gurland, 1998)
169. Freakonomics (Ewing, Gibney, Gordon, Grady, Jarecki & Spurlock, 2010)
170. Freaks (Browning, 1932)
171. Freedom Riders (Nelson, 2009)
172. Fuck (Anderson, 2005)
173. Funny People (Apatow, 2009)
174. GasLand (Fox, 2010)
175. Gates of Heaven (Morris, 1978)
176. General Orders No. 9 (Persons, 2009)
177. Genius Within: The Inner Life of Glenn Gould (Hozer & Raymont, 2009)
178. Get Him to the Greek (Stoller, 2010)
179. Get Low (Schneider, 2009)
180. Ghostbusters (Reitman, 1984)
181. Ghosts of Attica (Lichtenstein, 2001)
182. Gigantic (A Tale of Two Johns) (Schnack, 2002)
183. Gimme Shelter (Maysles, Maysles & Zwerin, 1970)
184. The Girlfriend Experience (Soderbergh, 2009)
185. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Oplev, 2009)
186. God’s Angry Man (Herzog, 1980)
187. Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (Gibney, 2008)
188. Good Fortune (Van Soest, 2009)
189. Good Hair (Stilson, 2009)
190. Good Night, and Good Luck (Clooney, 2005)
191. Greaseball Challenge (Mellegard, 2007)
192. Great Wall of Sound (Zobel, 2007)
193. Greenberg (Baumbach, 2010)
194. Gremlins 2: The New Batch (Dante, 1990)
195. Grizzly Man (Herzog, 2005)
196. Grosse Point Blank (Armitage, 1997)
197. Groundhog Day (Ramis, 1993)
198. Hackers Wanted (Bozzo, 2010)
199. Hamlet 2 (Fleming, 2008)
200. Hannah Takes the Stairs (Swanberg, 2007)
201. Happy People: Year of the Taiga (Vasyukov, 2010)
202. Hard Eight (Anderson, 1996)
203. Hell House (Ratliff, 2001)
204. Hesher (Susser, 2010)
205. Hold Me Tight, Let Me Go (Longinotto, 2007)
206. Homeless (Johnsen, 2010)
207. Home Alone (Columbus, 1990)
208. Hopscotch (Neame, 1980)
209. Hot Tub Time Machine (Pink, 2010)
210. Howl (Epstein & Friedman, 2010)
211. Hubble 3D (Myers, 2010)
212. Human Terrain (Der Derian, Udris & Udris, 2010)
213. Humpday (Shelton, 2009)
214. Hunger (McQueen, 2008)
215. The Hunger Season (Finzi, 2009)
216. The Hurt Locker (Bigelow, 2008)
217. Hustle & Flow (Brewer, 2005)
218. Hype! (Pray, 1996)
219. I Am Trying to Break Your Heart (Jones, 2002)
220. The Ice Storm (Lee, 1997)
221. If God Is Willing and da Creek Don’t Rise (Lee, 2010)
222. I Heart Huckabees (Russell, 2004)
223. The Illusionist (Chomet, 2010)
224. Imaginary Landscapes (Cardazzo & Ward, 1989)
225. I’m Still Here (Affleck, 2010)
226. Inception (Nolan, 2010)
227. Incident at Loch Ness (Penn, 2004)
228. Inglourious Basterds (Tarantino, 2009)
229. Innerspace (Dante, 1987)
230. Inside Man (Lee, 2006)
231. Insomnia (Nolan, 2002)
232. In the Loop (Iannucci, 2009)
233. In the Realms of the Unreal (Yu, 2004)
234. Intimate Stranger (Berliner, 1991)
235. Into Eternity (Madsen, 2010)
236. The Invention of Dr NakaMats (Astrup Schröder, 2010)
237. I.O.U.S.A. (Creadon, 2008)
238. Iraq in Fragments (Longley, 2006)
239. I Shot My Love (Heymann, 2009)
240. It Felt Like a Kiss (Curtis, 2009)
241. I Think We’re Alone Now (Donnelly, 2008)
242. It Might Get Loud (Guggenheim, 2008)
243. Jazz on a Summer’s Day (Avakian & Stern, 1960)
244. Jaws 2 (Szwarc, 1978)
245. Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (Davis, 2010)
246. Jennifer’s Body (Kusama, 2009)
247. Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work (Stern & Sundberg, 2010)
248. The Joneses (Borte, 2009)
249. Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (Nelson, 2006)
250. Kick-Ass (Vaughn, 2010)
251. The Kids Grow Up (Block, 2009)
252. The Killer Inside Me (Winterbottom, 2010)
253. Killers (Luketic, 2010)
254. King of Kong (Gordon, 2007)
255. Krull (Yates, 1983)
256. La danse – Le ballet de l’Opéra de Paris (Wiseman, 2009)
257. Lake of Fire (Kaye, 2006)
258. Lars and the Real Girl (Gillespie, 2007)
259. The Last American Freak Show (Butchins, 2008)
260. The Last Cigarette (Keraudren & Rafferty, 1999)
261. Last Train Home (Fan, 2009)
262. Learning Gravity (aka the Undertaking) (Black, 2007)
263. Lessons of Darkness (Herzog, 1992)
264. Leviathan (Cosmatos, 1989)
265. Life During Wartime (Solondz, 2009)
266. Life with Murder (Kastner, 2010)
267. Lightning Over Water (Ray & Wenders, 1980)
268. The Limits of Control (Jarmusch, 2009)
269. Little Shop of Horrors (Oz, 1986)
270. Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup (Avery, 2009)
271. Louis C.K.: Hilarious (Louis C.K., 2010)
272. Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country (Dorr & Kaplan, 1993)
273. Lucky (Blitz, 2010)
274. Made in Pakistan (Khan, 2009)
275. Magnolia (Anderson, 1999)
276. Manda Bala (Send a Bullet) (Kohn, 2007)
277. Mandela: Son of Africa, Father of a Nation (Gibson & Menell, 1996)
278. Mandelson: The Real PM? (Rothschild, 2010)
279. Manhattan (Allen, 1979)
280. Manic (Melamed, 2001)
281. The Marc Pease Experience (Louiso, 2009)
282. Marie Antoinette (Coppola, 2006)
283. Marwencol (Malmberg, 2010)
284. Memento (Nolan, 2000)
285. Men in Black (Sonnenfeld. 1997)
286. The Men Who Stare at Goats (Heslov, 2009)
287. MicMacs (Jeunet, 2009)
288. Misha Versus Moscow (Philp, 2009)
289. The Mist (Darabont, 2007)
290. The Monster Squad (Dekker, 1987)
291. Moon (Jones, 2009)
292. Moving Midway (Cheshire, 2007)
293. Mugabe and the White African (Bailey & Thompson, 2009)
294. Murder on a Sunday Morning (de Lestrade, 2001)
295. Must Read After My Death (Dews, 2007)
296. My Best Fiend (Herzog, 1999)
297. My Kid Could Paint That (Bar-Lev, 2007)
298. My Kidnapper (Henderson & Horne, 2010)
299. My Perestroika (Hessman, 2010)
300. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done (Herzog, 2009)
301. My Trip to Al-Qaeda (Gibney, 2010)
302. The Natural History of the Chicken (Lewis, 2000)
303. Network (Lumet, 1976)
304. New Kings of Nigeria (Stopford, 2010)
305. New Moon (Weitz, 2009)
306. New World Order (Meyer & Neel, 2009)
307. Nico Icon (Ofteringer, 1995)
308. Nightmare City (Lenzi, 1980)
309. Nobody’s Business (Berliner, 1996)
310. No Country for Old Men (Coen & Coen, 2007)
311. No Distance Left to Run (Lovelace & Southern, 2010)
312. North by Northwest (Hitchcock, 1959)
313. Nostalgia for the Light (Guzmán, 2010)
314. Notebook on Cities and Clothes (Wenders, 1989)
315. Not Quite Hollywood (Hartley, 2008)
316. Nude on the Moon (Phelan & Wishman, 1961)
317. The Oath (Poitras, 2010)
318. Objectified (Hustwit, 2009)
319. Ocean’s Twelve (Soderbergh, 2004)
320. Ocean’s Eleven (Soderbergh, 2001)
321. ODDSAC (Perez, 2010)
322. Oil City Confidential (Temple, 2009)
323. One Day in September (Macdonald, 1999)
324. Only When I Dance (Finzi, 2009)
325. The Order of Myths (Brown, 2008)
326. Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar (1995)
327. Out of the Ashes (Albone, 2010)
328. Over Your Cities Grass Will Grow (Fiennes, 2010)
329. Paper Heart (Jasenovec, 2009)
330. Paranormal Activity (Peli, 2007)
331. Paris, je t’aime (2006)
332. Parking Lot Movie (Eckman, 2010)
333. The Peddler (Yurkovich, 2010)
334. Pee-wee’s Big Adventure (Burton, 1985)
335. The People vs. George Lucas (Philippe, 2010)
336. Pirahna 3D (Aja, 2010)
337. Player Hating: A Love Story (Hadleigh-West, 2009)
338. Playtime (Tati, 1967)
339. Plunder: The Crime of Our Time (Schecter, 2009)
340. The Pool (Smith, 2007)
341. Portrait of Jason (Clarke, 1967)
342. Pray the Devil Back to Hell (Reticker, 2008)
343. The Prestige (Nolan, 2006)
344. Prince of Persia (Newell, 2010)
345. Project Grizzly (Lynch, 1996)
346. Prom Night in Mississippi (Saltzman, 2008)
347. Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960)
348. Public Enemies (Mann, 2009)
349. Pucker Up (Davis & Heilbroner, 2005)
350. Rat (Lewis, 1998)
351. The Real Revolutionaries (Crowder, 2009)
352. Re-Animator (Gordon, 1985)
353. The Red Chapel (Brügger, 2009)
354. The Regretters (Lindeen, 2010)
355. Reputations: Billie Holiday (Turnbull, 2001)
356. Rescue Dawn (Herzog, 2006)
357. Resolved (Whiteley, 2007)
358. Restrepo (Hetherington & Junger, 2010)
359. Richie Rich (Petrie, 1994)
360. Riot On! (Finn, 2004)
361. The Road (Hillcoat, 2009)
362. Room 666 (Wenders, 1982)
363. Rules of Attraction (Avary, 2002)
364. The Runaways (Sigismondi, 2010)
365. Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage (Dunn & McFadyen, 2010)
366. Salesman (Maysles, 1968)
367. Schlock! The Secret History of American Movies (Greene, 2001)
368. Scientists Under Attack (Verhaag, 2009)
369. Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (Wright, 2010)
370. Second Skin (Carlos Pineiro-Escoriaza, 2008)
371. The Secret in Their Eyes (Campanella, 2009)
372. Secrets of the Tribe (Padilha, 2009)
373. Separado! (Goch, 2009)
374. Sergio (Barker, 2009)<
375. Se7en (Fincher, 1995)
376. Sex Magic, Manifesting Maya (Liebman & Schell, 2010)
377. Shallow Hal (Farrelly & Farrelly, 2001)
378. Shaun of the Dead (Wright, 2004)
379. She Hate Me (Lee, 2004)
380. Shelter in Place (Nelson, 2009)
381. Sherman’s March (McElwee, 1986)
382. She’s Out of My League (Field Smith, 2010)
383. The Shock Doctrine (Winterbottom & Whitecross, 2009)
384. Shooting Robert King/Blood Trail (Parry, 2008)
385. Shouting Fire: Stories from the Edge of Free Speech (Garbus, 2009)
386. Shutter Island (Scorcese, 2010)
387. Sick: The Life & Death of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist (Dick, 1997)
388. Silent Running (Trumbull, 1972)
389. Sins of My Father (Entel, 2009)
390. Sir! No Sir! (Zeiger, 2005)
391. Sisters in Law (Longinotto & Ayisi, 2005)
392. SlamNation (Devlin, 1998)
393. Slaughterhouse-Five (Hil, 1972)
394. Small Town Gay Bar (Ingram, 2006)
395. Small Wonders (Abecassis, 2010)
396. Smash his Camera (Gast, 2010)
397. Snow Angels (Green, 2007)
398. The “Socalled” Movie (Beitel, 2010)
399. The Social Network (Fincher, 2010)
400. Somewhere (Coppola, 2010)
401. So Much So Fast (Ascher & Jordan, 2006)
402. Sons of Perdition (Measom & Mertem, 2010)
403. Soul Power (Levy-Hinte, 2008)
404. Soundtrack for a Revolution (Guttentag & Sturman, 2009)
405. Southern Comfort (Davis, 2001)
406. South of the Border (Stone, 2009)
407. Soylent Green (Fleischer, 1973)
408. Speed Racer (Wachowski, 2008)
409. Splice (Natali, 2009)
410. Spread (Mackenzie, 2009)
411. Spun (Åkerlund, 2002)
412. The Spy Factory (Bamford, 2009)
413. The Squid and the Whale (Baumbach, 2005)
414. Stalin Thought of You (McNeer, 2009)
415. Standard of Perfection: Show Cats (Lewis, 2006)
416. Standard of Perfection: Show Cattle (Lewis, 2006)
417. Standard Operating Procedure (Morris, 2008)
418. Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (Harlan, 2001)
419. Starsuckers (Atkins, 2009)
420. Star Trek (Abrams, 2009)
421. State of Play (MacDonald, 2009)
422. Steal This Film (2006)
423. Steal This Film II (King, 2007)
424. Steam of Life (Berghäll & Hotakainen, 2010)
425. Stevie (James, 2002)
426. Stolen (Ayala & Fallshaw, 2009)
427. Stop-Loss (Peirce, 2008)
428. Stop Making Sense (Demme, 1984)
429. The Story of Furious Pete (Tsioutsioulas, 2010)
430. Submarine (Ayoade, 2010)
431. Sunshine (Boyle, 2007)
432. Sweethearts of the Prison Rodeo (Beesley, 2009)
433. The Swing Thing
434. Sync or Swim (Williams, 2010)
435. Sympathy for Delicious (Ruffalo, 2010)
436. Tabloid (Morris, 2010)
437. Taking Woodstock (Lee, 2009)
438. Talhotblond (Schroeder, 2009)
439. Teenage Paparazzo (Grenier, 2010)
440. Tell Them Who You Are (Wexler, 2004)
441. Thelonious Monk: Straight, No Chaser (Zwerin, 1988)
442. There Will Be Blood (Anderson, 2007)
443. They Live (Carpenter, 1988)
444. Thin Blue Line (Morris, 1988)
445. THX 1138 (Lucas, 1971)
446. The Tillman Story (Bar-Lev, 2010)
447. ‘Tis Autumn: The Search for Jackie Paris (De Felitta, 2006)
448. Titicut Follies (Wiseman, 1967)
449. The Thing (Carpenter, 1982)
450. The Toxic Avenger (Herz & Kaufman, 1984)
451. Transformers (Bay, 2007)
452. The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom (Curtis, 2007)
453. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Huston, 1948)
454. Trembling Before G-d (Dubowski, 2001)
455. Tremors (Underwood, 1990)
456. Trinity and Beyond: The Atomic Bomb Movie (Kuran, 1995)
457. Tron (Lisberger, 1982)
458. Trouble the Water (Deal & Lessin, 2008)
459. Troy (Peterson, 2004)
460. The Trouble with Pirates (Rogan, 2010)
461. Twelve Monkeys (Gilliam, 1995)
462. Twilight (Hardwicke, 2008)
463. The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (Slade, 2010)
464. Typeface (Nagan, 2009)
465. Tyson (Toback, 2008)
466. Up (Docter & Peterson, 2009)
467. Up the Yangtze (Chang, 2007)
468. Valentine’s Day (Marshall, 2010)
469. Video Fool for Love (Gibson, 1996)
470. Vinyl (Zweig, 2000)
471. Visual Acoustics (Bricker, 2008)
472. Waging Peace: Canada in Afghanistan (Fitoussi , 2010)
473. Waiting (McKittrick, 2005)
474. Waiting for Superman (Guggenheim, 2010)
475. War Don Don (Richman Cohen, 2010)
476. War Games (Jablonski, 2009)
477. The War is Over (Panov, 2009)
478. Warrendale (King, 1967)
479. Wasteland (Walker, 2010)
480. The Way We Get By (Gaudet, 2009)
481. The Weather Underground (Green & Siegel, 2002)
482. Weird Science (Hughes, 1985)
483. Welcome to the Rileys (Scott, 2010)
484. When I Rise (Hames, 2010)
485. When We Were Kings (Gast, 1996)
486. Where the Wild Things Are (Jonze, 2009)
487. Whip It (Barrymore, 2009)
488. The White Diamond (Herzog, 2004)
489. Wicker Park (McGuigan, 2004)
490. Wings of Hope (Herzog, 2000)
491. Winnebago Man (Steinbauer, 2009)
492. Winter’s Bone (Granik, 2010)
493. The Wonderful World of Dogs (Lewis, 1990)
494. The Wonderful World of Louis Armstrong (Akomfrah, 1999)
495. Wordplay (Creadon, 2006)
496. The Wrestler (Aronofsky, 2008)
497. The Yes Men Fix the World (Bichlbaum, Bonanno & Engfehr, 2009)
498. Youth in Revolt (Arteta, 2009)
499. Z Channel (Cassavetes, 2004)
500. Zoo (Devor, 2007)

I’m always cautious when using the term ‘guilty pleasure’. It’s an overused phrase often meant to describe those ‘so-bad-they’re-good’ genre movies that just don’t fit into any other critical description. I’m of the mind that if I like a film, I have no reason to feel guilty about it. That said, within the non-fiction world I do think there are films that could literally fall under this classification. They’re those documentaries that push ethical boundaries, walking the fine line between exploitation and entertainment. This list looks at five films that I’ve found entertaining or fascinating in one way or another yet might have felt a little guilty for enjoying. They’re not necessarily bad films, they’re just subversive non-fiction experiences that raise the question “What journalistic responsibilities does a documentary filmmaker hold?”

CATFISH
Directed by Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman

This section is taken from my full review of Catfish, which you can read here.

SPOILERS AHEAD

Overall, my theatrical experience with Catfish was a fairly positive one. I found myself completely caught up in the story and at times, experiencing actual anxiety during some of the key revelatory sequences. The way in which the last forty minutes of the film reveals itself is both fascinating and sad. It wasn’t until I had had some time away from the film that I started to rethink my experience, questioning the overall purpose of the film and how the filmmakers might have gone about capturing this unusual chain of events on camera. Any reservations I have basically come down to the fact that I don’t totally buy the idea of the lead character, Nev, falling so hard and so fast for this online girl he’s never met. I do think all of the events that unfold in the second half of the film are real, I’m just not sure that I believe the guys were as naive as they made themselves out to be. Rather than killing the suspense (and the film) by simply googling a few names and resolving the mystery in the first ten minutes (like most people with any sort of experience with the internet would do), they toy with this mystery woman under the guise of a budding online romance. Maybe I would’ve found the whole thing easier to swallow if their intentions were clear from the start; to solve a mystery. But to what end? I’m still trying to figure out the overall purpose of the film beyond simply being an engaging, sensational mystery. I can’t help but feel this cautionary tale warning that ‘things aren’t always as they seem on the internet’ is about 10 years too late. I would imagine the idea someone assuming a false identity online is quite obvious to anyone with even the most remote computer experience (especially the web savvy twenty-somethings in this film). Its the information age equivalent of ‘if placed over head, plastic bag may cause asphyxiation or even death’.

I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about Angela’s role in this whole thing. Part of me thinks she was manipulated and exploited but she’s certainly guilty of her own brand of deception. I guess I just get uncomfortable with the idea that the filmmakers might be trying to make an example of her. There’s a point in which they say they’re concerned about embarrassing her, but Nev contradicts this in a scene where he asks Angela to speak in her ‘Meghan’ voice. It’s a self-aware and truly uncomfortable moment that’s more accusatory than exploratory. It was revealed on this weeks episode of 20/20 — dedicated to exploring Catfish — that Angela is schizophrenic. Does this change anything? Did the filmmakers knowingly take advantage of a mentally ill woman? She says she doesn’t feel like she was exploited, but what about her husband? He didn’t agree to be interviewed for the special, so I imagine he might be having mixed feelings about appearing in a documentary distributed by Universal Studios. That said, who am I to judge whether or not these people are mentally capable of knowing whether or not they’re being taken advantage of? Maybe it’s presumptuous to stand up for someone who’s perfectly fine with being a part of a film like Catfish.

Catfish is one of the more troubling, complex and ultimately fascinating films of the year. While I don’t think it’s particularly deep or worthy of some of the praise it’s been receiving, it’s no doubt one of the more engaging documentaries I’ve seen in some time and has definitely started some interesting conversations. I will definitely be revisiting it in the future in hopes of coming to some kind of decision on whether or not I feel it’s an example of daring, subversive non-fiction filmmaking or merely an extension of sensational reality television. Either way, it was a great mystery at the expense of the participants; the true definition of a ‘guilty pleasure’.

AFRICA ADDIO
Directed by Gualtiero Jacopetti & Franco Prosperi

In many ways, Africa Addio is a beautiful, mesmerizing piece of filmmaking that embraces the concept of non-fiction as a truly cinematic experience. Director’s Gualtiero Jacopetti and Franco Prosperi single handedly invented the ‘shockumentary’ with their travelogue film ‘Mondo Cane’: a sometimes humorous and often grotesque piece of exploitation cinema that had a surprising amount of success, spawning a sequel and a series of Mondo rip-offs (including the notorious Faces of Death). While Africa Addio contains a great deal of artistry, it still revels in the same sort of graphic and sensational material that’s likely to turn most viewers’ stomachs. Upon its release, the film drew controversy with accusations of racism (the assertion that white, British colonials were the only thing keeping the people of Africa from killing each other) and even charges of on-screen murder. Director Gualtiero Jacopetti was actually tried in Italy for allegedly paying a soldier to execute a man on camera (he was acquitted). It’s definitely a complicated viewing experience.

While the film clearly stages some of its sequences, there’s still a great deal of harrowing and disturbing footage that’s truly genuine. In one sequence, the directors managed to capture some of the only footage of the Zanzibar Revolution, filming mass graves of slaughtered Arabs from their airplane. They’re clearly attempting to offer some critical social commentary through the portrayal of on-screen carnage but in the end, it doesn’t feel totally sincere. A combination of misguided narration and some exploitive directorial choices usually end up undercutting their message. For example, a huge chunk of the film is spent documenting the needless mass slaughter of African wildlife through poaching and game hunting. While the footage is extremely powerful and grotesque, the temptation to push the limits of taste is too great. The graphic death of an elephant is taken to the extreme with a horrific image of a fetus being cut from its stomach–an unnecessary footnote. Still, I can’t help but be completely mesmerized by the imagery and craft on display throughout the film. Africa Addio consistently walks the line between photo journalism and exploitation cinema.

It’s worth noting that there are three versions of the film, two of which run at around two and a half hours. The original Italian language cut is supposedly the least inflammatory and most accurately represents the intentions of the filmmakers. Meanwhile, the English language version includes a smarmy narrator and some tasteless, poorly over-dubbed dialogue added into documentary sequences. Finally, an 80 minute version of the film retitled ‘Africa Blood and Guts’ was released to capitalize on the horrific images, practically eliminating any political elements of the original cut.

I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW
Directed by Sean Donnelly

There are some moments in Sean Donnelly’s unsettling stalker-doc I Think We’re Alone Now that truly made me wish I could hide my face in embarrassment. Two men (one with Asberger’s Syndrome and the other an intersexual) openly and emphatically describe their obsession with 80′s pop star Tiffany. While I found the subjects completely fascinating, I couldn’t help but feel they were almost TOO open. Their comfort on camera almost seems to stem from their social disorders rather than any sort of deep, trusting relationship with the director. It almost makes me feel like a sitcom Mom accidentally stumbling upon her kids open diary. They just don’t seem to realize how crazy they sound. If that’s not awkward enough, Donnelly manages to arrange a meeting between the two at a Tiffany concert, resulting in some truly uncomfortable bickering and jealousy. Aside from highlighting the already clearly bizarre behaviour of these men, I’m not really sure the scene adds much to the film overall. I Think We’re Alone Now walks a fine line between sincere curiosity and exploitation but, guilty as charged: I found it fascinating.

SICK: THE LIFE & DEATH OF BOB FLANAGAN, SUPERMASOCHIST
Directed by Kirby Dick

Kirby Dick’s Sick is a bit of an oddity on this list because I really don’t think the filmmaking is in any way exploitive or sensational. That said, there’s no denying that Bob Flanagan, the ‘star’ of the piece, indulges in self-exploitation and self-sensationalizing. It’s actually the major conceit of the film: a man with cystic fibrosis eases the pain of dying through the his sadomasochistic performance art. Dick’s camera is simply responsible for capturing the story and the images which, at times, are excruciatingly tough to sit through. If you’ve seen the film, we’re probably both thinking of a particular moment that’s fairly gruesome. It’s a scene in which *SPOILER ALERT* Flanagan nails his penis to a board. In close up. With blood dripping. On the camera. There’s no denying that it’s a stomach turning moment, but the scene that really got to me was Bob’s last moments in his hospital bed as he slowly succumbs to his disease. It’s such an intimate moment that you almost feel like you shouldn’t be watching but, in the end, it’s perfectly in line with Bob’s exhibitionistic lifestyle. In fact, he would only agree to taking part in the project if his death was captured and included in the final film.

JEFFTOWNE
Directed by Daniel Kraus

Jefftowne is what happens when Troma Studios distributes a documentary (for the record, I love Troma). Director Daniel Kraus chronicles the life and times of Jeff Towne, a man with down syndrome who regularly indulges in the finer things in life: beer, wrestling, and pornography. I suppose the idea is to subvert the traditional ideas associated with people with disabilities, humanizing a guy who most people might just feel sorry for. In reality, Jeff is a bit of a manipulative, mischievous dude who seems to knowingly take advantage of the sympathy of others–especially the girls. He lives with his adoptive grandmother who reveals to the camera that Jeff was actually the child of two first cousins, explaining his physical disorders. There’s also an extremely embarrassing moment in which the delusional grandmother explains a ‘money deal’ that she’s working on with a ‘publishing company’. It turns out she’s been receiving regular letters from the Publisher’s Clearing House and believes she is a part of an 11 million dollar moneymaking deal.

There’s a moment where a friend of Jeff’s says that people are too nice to him; that he knowingly takes advantage of their kindness and they give him whatever he wants because they think he’s stupid. This side of Jeff definitely comes out in the film and almost makes you wonder if accusations of exploitation might simply be the result of a knee-jerk reaction to a film about someone with a mental disability. Maybe it’s more of a litmus test for the audience and their own politically correct sensibilities. At times it’s a bit of a freakshow, but Jefftowne isn’t a worthless experience. It feels like a real life Harmony Korine film that has some wonderful moments but is perhaps a bit misguided in places. I’m cautious in passing judgement on the real life relationship between Jeff and director Daniel Kraus. I’m sure there’s a sincere friendship there but it’s not surprising that his portrait of Jeff might draw criticism. The exploitive nature of Jefftowne almost feels unintentional, resulting from some inexperienced, clumsy filmmaking.

HONOURABLE MENTION:

CHICKENHAWK
Directed by Adi Sideman

I haven’t actually seen Chickenhawk but based on this ten minute YouTube preview, it seems like it could easily have a spot on this list. (Thanks to James for bringing this one to my attention. You have wonderful taste my friend.)

1. In Search of Memory

In Search of Memory looks at the life and career of neuro-scientist Eric Kandel who won the Nobel Prize for his groundbreaking research on the physiology of the brain’s storage of memories. It looks to be part-autobiography, part-lecture as Kandel explains his journey into his personal journey into his exploration of memory.

In Search of Memory is playing at the IFC Center in NYC.
Directed by Petra Seeger
website

2. Highrise

Highrise has, hands down, the snazziest website I have ever seen for a documentary. That’s possibly because it isn’t just a documentary, it’s more of a multimedia onslaught. Made by the NFB’s filmmaker-in-residence Katerina Cizek, using a 360° camera, it explores the human experience in global vertical suburbs. The film will be released as a feature-length web documentary but the project is actually many documentaries, photo exhibits and lectures. Their website states that they are trying to find out how documentary can help re-invent our cities at their edges, and if it looks this good why not?

website

3. Restrepo

Restrepo comes from Sebastian Junger (Vanity Fair writer and Author of A Perfect Storm) and renowned war photographer Tim Hetherington who have collaborated in print for a long time. Considering this, the official synopsis is unsurprisingly incredibly dramatic and so it’s better that I go with that than try and do a better job:

Restrepo is a feature-length documentary that chronicles the deployment of a platoon of U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan’s Korengal Valley. The movie focuses on a remote 15-man outpost, “Restrepo,” named after a platoon medic who was killed in action. It was considered one of the most dangerous postings in the U.S. military. This is an entirely experiential film: the cameras never leave the valley; there are no interviews with generals or diplomats. The only goal is to make viewers feel as if they have just been through a 90- minute deployment. This is war, full stop. The conclusions are up to you.

Sundance have posted a Meet the Artists with the filmmakers which gives some insight into their filmmaking process:

4. Prodigal Sons

Prodigal Sons is one of the most turbulent documentaries I’ve seen in the last few years and deserves a full review (which I’ll hopefully get to soon). It is a story which twists and turns to extreme degrees throughout and is a great example of a story that began going down one path only to be flipped completely upside down as the film was being made.

Official synopsis: Returning home to a small town in Montana for her high school reunion, filmmaker Kimberly Reed hopes for reconciliation with her long-estranged adopted brother, Marc. But along the way she uncovers stunning revelations, including his blood relationship with Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth, intense sibling rivalries and unforeseeable twists of plot and gender that forces them to face challenges no one could imagine.

Prodigals Sons will have a US theatrical release starting in February and I highly recommend it.

5. 12th & Delaware

Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, the directors of Jesus Camp, will be premiering their latest film at Sundance. The film was shot in the year abortion provider Dr. George Tiller was murdered in his church and looks at a street in Fort Pierce, Florida which has an abortion clinic located on one side and a pro-life office on the other. Showing the stories of the women counseled in each office as to the right choice to make and the staff who tackle the risks of their jobs this will certainly be a controversial watch.

Trailer

Related side note: Heidi Ewing, Rachel Grady, Alex Gibney, Eugene Jarecki and Morgan Spurlock have also collaborated this year on a documentary adaptation of the best-selling book Freakonomics with the enticing tagline ‘some of the world’s most innovative documentary filmmakers will explore the hidden side of everything’. The film is currently listed as in post-production but will no doubt be definitely keeping an eye out for.

6. Casino Jack and the United States of Money

Casino Jack is the story of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff who appears to be one of those characters whose reality may live up to his myth. From the official synopsis we are promised ‘a tale of international intrigue with Indian casinos, Russian spies, Chinese sweatshops, and a mob-style killing in Miami, this is the story of the way money corrupts our political process.’

This the new documentary from Alex Gibney (Gonzo, Taxi to the Dark Side, Enron) and it will have its world premiere as part of the US Documentary competition at Sundance. Gibney is one of those directors who is a guaranteed draw for me, his subject matter is always varied and I really enjoy his interesting use of techniques, especially motion graphics and typography.

Trailer

7. Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child

Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat is probably most notably known on screen in Julian Schnabel’s “Basquiat,” with Jeffrey Wright in the title role. This time we see Basquiat in documentary form and as a labour of love project by Tamra Davis, who met the artist in 1983, and interviewed him on camera in 1988 (two years before his death at age 27, from a heroin overdose). Davis kept the footage in a drawer until now, not wanting to feel she was cashing in on the tragedy. After being persuaded that the footage was of important historical significance she began to compile the film.

Basquiat was a renowned graffiti artist under his assumed identity ‘Samo’ and was part of the late 1970s art scene that cultivated a close personal friendship, and numerous collaborations, with Andy Warhol. Described as a mixture of archival footage and insider interviews, the one aspect that will stand out is being able to hear Basquiat in his own words for the first time.

8. Lucky

Lucky follows the journeys of people who have won the lottery and how they handle their life-changing windfalls. Jeffrey Blitz, director of Spellbound and Rocket Science, allows us to go beyond our own daydream masterplans of how we’d spend a lottery win and see whether people who have actually won have had their ‘dreams come true’.

Official synopsis: Dreaming of winning the lottery is as American as apple pie. Millions of Americans spend billions of dollars each year hoping to come up a winner. But what happens to the lucky few who actually pull a winning ticket? Lucky crisscrosses the country, examining a handful of past lottery winners as they navigate their newly found riches and a couple of extremely determined hopefuls. The winners’ lives are undoubtedly changed forever but not necessarily in the ways we may expect. Life becomes complicated as attorneys, hired security guards, jealous friends, scheming family members, and desperate pleas for help from strangers pepper their new existence. Veteran director Jeffrey Blitz has skillfully crafted a revealing look at the way one’s identity is undoubtedly turned upside down after the big payout. Thoroughly involving, Lucky cleverly strips off the veneer and shatters our perceptions about the ultimate American dream.

Trailer

Jeffrey Blitz: Meet the Artists

9. The Oath

Laura Poitras has made the second part of her planned documentary trilogy (the first being the excellent, Oscar-nominated, My Country, My Country) with this year’s The Oath. Poitras is a really interesting filmmaker who doesn’t shy away from difficult subject matter and I also can’t help but love the idea of a documentary trilogy.

Official synopsis: Unraveling like a lush, gripping novel that constantly subverts expectations, The Oath is the interlocking drama of two brothers-in-law, Abu Jandal and Salim Hamdam, whose associations with al Qaeda in the 1990s propelled them on divergent courses. The film delves into Abu Jandal’s daily life as a taxi driver in Sana’a, Yemen, and Hamdan’s military tribunal in Guantanamo Bay prison. Abu Jandal and Hamdan’s personal stories—how they came to serve as Osama bin Laden’s bodyguard and driver respectively—act as prisms through which to humanize and contextualize a world the Western media demonizes. As Hamdan’s trial progresses, his military lawyers challenge fundamental flaws in the court system. As charismatic Abu Jandal dialogues with his son, Muslim students, and journalists, he generously unveils the complex evolution of his belief system since 9/11.

Trailer

10. Waiting for Armageddon

I’m not sure I should admit that I have been waiting for someone to make a feature-length documentary about Evangelicals but, well, I have. As someone who certainly wont be taken when the Rapture happens I’m really looking forward to hearing a variety of opinions on this particular theology.

Synopsis: Waiting for Armageddon delves into the heart of America’s 50-million member Evangelical community, using intimate portraits and archival footage to explore how literal belief in Biblical prophecy -including the Rapture and Armageddon – exerts a dangerous influence on U.S. relations in the Middle East.

Directed by Kate Davis, David Heilbroner, Franco Sacchi

This is it. The end of the lists. Finally! So the other day I posted the best documentaries of the decade as selected by a group of acclaimed documentary filmmakers. Now, we’ve got The Documentary Blog’s own top 50 docs of the decade. I was originally aiming for 25 but I just couldn’t cut it down, so 50 will have to do. Let me stress that this list represents my own personal opinion and nothing more. Hopefully some people can use this as a starting point to check out some great films. Feel free to share your own lists in the comments and let me know what I missed! One thing’s for sure; it has been a great decade for documentaries!

50. Rize (LaChapelle, 2005) — Trailer
49. The Smashing Machine (Hyams, 2002) — Trailer
48. Lost in La Mancha (Fulton & Pepe, 2002) — Trailer
47. Dig! (Timoner, 2004) — Trailer
46. Protagonist (Yu, 2007) — Trailer
45. Ring of Fire: The Emile Griffith Story (Berger & Klores, 2005) — Trailer
44. Bowling for Columbine (Moore, 2002)
43. Rank (Hyams, 2006) — Trailer
42. Our Daily Bread (Geyrhalter, 2005) — Trailer
41. Helvetica (Hustwit, 2007) — Trailer
40. New World Order (Meyer & Neel, 2009) — Trailer
39. Best Worst Movie (Stephenson, 2009) — Trailer
38. The Cove (Psihoyos, 2009) — Trailer
37. Kurt Cobain: About a Son (Schnack, 2006) — Trailer
36. Tyson (Toback, 2008) — Trailer
35. Anvil! The Story of Anvil (Gervasi, 2008) — Trailer
34. When the Levee’s Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (Lee, 2006)
33. Bus 174 (Padilha & Lacerda, 2002)
32. God Grew Tired of Us (Quinn & Walker, 2006) — Trailer
31. The Bridge (Steel, 2006) — Trailer
30. Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (Kuenne, 2008) — Trailer
29. 9/11 (Hanlon, Klug & Naudet, 2002) — Clip
28. The White Diamond (Herzog, 2004) — Clip
27. Deep Water (Osmond & Rothwell, 2006) — Trailer
26. Jonestown: The Life and Death of Peoples Temple (Nelson, 2006) — Trailer
25. Murder on a Sunday Morning (de Lestrade, 2001)
24. Hell House (Ratliff, 2001) — Trailer
23. Dark Days (Singer, 2000) — Trailer
22. Billy the Kid (Venditti, 2007) — Trailer
21. Crazy Love (Klores & Stevens, 2007) — Trailer
20. Young @ Heart (Walker & George, 2007) — Trailer
19. Fog of War (Morris, 2003) — Trailer
18. Zoo (Devor, 2007) — Trailer
17. Stevie (James, 2002) — Trailer
16. Man on Wire (Marsh, 2008) — Trailer
15. Spellbound (Blitz, 2002) — Trailer
14. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (Gordon, 2007) — Trailer
13. This American Life (Series) (Glass, 2007) — Trailer
12. Standard Operating Procedure (Morris, 2008) — Trailer
11. Touching the Void (Macdonald, 2003) — Trailer
10. Lake of Fire (Kaye, 2006) — Trailer
9. Metallica: Some Kind of Monster (Berlinger & Sinofsky, 2004) — Trailer
8. Encounters at the End of the World (Herzog, 2007) — Trailer
7. Manda Bala (Send a Bullet) (Kohn, 2007) — Trailer
6. The Staircase (de Lestrade, 2004) — Clip
5. Capturing the Friedmans (Jarecki, 2003) — Trailer
4. The English Surgeon (Smith, 2007) — Trailer
3. Paradise Lost 2: Revelations (Berlinger & Sinofsky, 2000) — Clip
2. The Devil and Daniel Johnston (Feuerzeig, 2005) — Trailer
1. Grizzly Man (Herzog, 2005) — Trailer

10. Winnebago Man
Directed by Ben Steinbauer

Not only is Winnebago Man hilarious, but it’s a great look at the relationship between the documentarian and the subject. Ben Steinbauer and Jack Rebney make a great on-screen duo and I sort of got caught up in watching Ben attempt win Jack’s affection.

9. Waterlife
Directed by Kevin McMahon

At a time when the non-fiction world might seem a little over-saturated with environmental films, Kevin McMahon’s Waterlife manages to balance craft and storytelling with an informative and scary look at the environmental decline of the great lakes. It sort of plays like a road trip film; travelling from lake to lake we meet the people who are affected by the polluting of the last great supply of fresh water on Earth.

8. Objectified
Directed by Gary Hustwit

Objectified continues the clean, talking heads apprach that Gary Hustwit established in Helvetica, only this time he looks at design. There’s something wonderful about watching world renowned professionals talk passionately about their abilities.

7. Tyson
Directed by James Toback

James Toback’s long time friendship with Mike Tyson paved the way for this candid, hilarious and sometimes sad look at one of the strangest characters in professional sports. The film is mostly talking heads intercut with stock footage, but Tyson’s storytelling is completely enthralling. A great follow up to the Rocky marathon I held last weekend.

6. Collapse
Directed by Chris Smith

While most have been caught up by the ‘facts’ outlined by Mike Ruppert, I thought Chris Smith’s Collapse played as a great character study. As a huge American Movie fan, this was a must see for me. Smith seems to be channeling Errol Morris this time around and he still has an eye for great characters.

5. New World Order
Directed by Andrew Neel and Luke Meyer

Finally, a film about conspiracy theorists that doesn’t focus on the theories. Andrew Neel and Luke Meyer are the guys who brought us Darkon a few years back, and now they’ve managed to re-examine the idea of every day folks who live in imaginary worlds. This time, it’s Alex Jones and the 9-11 truthers. The film is fairly objective and manages to treat the subjects with respect, but there’s definitely some quirky stuff on display here.

4. Trouble the Water
Directed by Carl Deal and Tia Lessin

It might not be as definitive as Spike Lee’s look at Katrina, but Trouble the Water definitely captures the more intimate angle of disaster. Home video footage makes up the majority of this film, and boy are there some amazing images. An interesting look at how Katrina affected people’s lives on a personal level.

3. Best Worst Movie
Directed by Michael Stephenson

More than just a fan film, Best Worst Movie follows Troll 2 star George Hardy as he embraces the cult status he has achieved. It’s a hilarious look at fame, fandom and family. The three f’s. And for those who are curious, I haven’t seen Troll 2 and I was still entertained by this film.

2. The Cove
Directed by Louie Psihoyos

Although I’m not entirely sure this film’s energy was focused in the right direction — more responsibility should’ve been placed on theme park audiences for supplying the ‘demand’ in ‘supply and demand’ — there’s no doubt the Cove is an emotional, thrilling and engaging cinematic experience.

1. Anvil! The Story of Anvil
Directed by Sacha Gervasi

This movie is just so watchable and loveable. I don’t know that it’s the best made film of the decade, but it certainly deserves to be recognized for its success as a character driven documentary. It’s hilarious and heartwarming; two words that are rarely used to describe non-ficiton films that don’t star penguins.

Honourable Mentions:

Art & Copy
Directed by Doug Pray

Burma VJ
Directed by Anders Østergaard

Reporter
Directed by Eric Daniel Metzgar

45365
Directed by Bill Ross and Turner Ross

Rip! A Remix Manifesto
Directed by Brett Gaylor

Kings of Pastry
Directed by Chris Hegedus and D.A. Pennebaker

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)

Current.com and The Rotten Tomatoes Show have been getting a lot of interesting directors and actors to pick their top 5 movies in a short video segment called Five Favorite Films. This week’s guest is documentary filmmaker Errol Morris. I’ve listed his picks below… interesting to note: only one is a documentary!

5. Detour (Dir. Edgar Ulmer)
4. The Fallen Idol (Dir. Carol Reed)
3. Psycho (Dir. Alfred Hitchcock)
2. Sullivan’s Travels (Dir. Preston Sturges)
1. The Emperor’s Naked Army Marches On (Dir. Kazuo Hara)

On a related note, Errol Morris also recently wrote a 7-part series of articles for The New York Times about master of forgery Han van Meegeren. It seems thorough and exhaustive as only Errol Morris can be.