Documentaries
Documentary Films, strictly speaking, are non-fictional, "slice of life" factual works of art, sometimes known as cinema verite. As films became more narrative-based, documentaries branched out and took many forms, some of which have been termed propagandistic or non-objective.
One of Alice's favourite sections, and due to the sheer size of this collection, we have split ioto a number of sub-sections. See side bars on left for more options. By scrolling below are you will be exposed to whole darn caboodle - all of Alice's documentaries.
Right: Werner Herzog directs "Burden of Dreams"
Olympia (1938)
8/10
Director: Leni Riefenstahl
A two-part record of the 1936 Berlin Olympics, highlighted by truly eye-popping cinematography, camera movement and editing. Leni Riefenstahl was inhi... Read more
The Spanish Earth (1937)
6.7/10
Director: Joris Ivens
In 1937 Joris Ivens directed THE SPANISH EARTH, a film designed to inform Americans about the Spanish Civil War and to raise funds for allies (the Loy... Read more
Man Of Aran (1934)
7.5/10
Director: Robert Flaherty
Flaherty's staggering award winning documentary "Man Of Aran" records the lives of the Aran islanders who reside just off Ireland's west coast in the... Read more
Triumph of the Will (1934)
7.5/10
Director: Leni Riefenstahl
Starring: Adolf Hitler
Leni Riefenstahl's breathtaking film record of the 1934 Nazi Nuremberg Rally is universally regarded as one of the most outstanding documentaries ever... Read more
90 Degrees South (1933)
8.6/10
Director: Herbert Ponting
Starring: Captain Robert Falcon Scott
A remarkable film that uses footage shot in 1913 of Captain Robert Scott's ill-fated voyage to the South Pole, the trek in which the British explorer... Read more
Un Chien Andalou / Land Without Bread ( Las Hurdes ) (1929)
Director: Luis Bunuel
Luis Bunuel's first film, the surrealistic masterpiece "Un Chien Andalou" ("An Andalusian Dog"), was based after an exchange of dreams with co-writer... Read more
Man With A Movie Camera (1929)
8.4/10
Director: Dziga Vertov
One of the most extraodinary films in the history of cinema. An exhilarating and often hilarious montage showing Moscow people at work and play and th... Read more
Grass (1925)
7.9/10
Director: Ernest B Schoedsack, Merian C Cooper
"King Kong" creators Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack risked their lives to make this monumental documentary about the Bakhtiari people of we... Read more
Haxan - Witchcraft Through The Ages (1922)
Director: Benjamin Christensen
Starring: Maren Pedersen, Emmy Schoenfield, Oscar Stribolt, Narrated by, William Burroughs
This semi-documentary opens with a series of medieval prints and follows with re-enactments of old legends concerning crones, evil-minded monks and th... Read more
Nanook of the North (1922)
7.7/10
Director: Robert Flaherty
Standing the test of time, this groundbreaking silent film detailing the harsh existence of an Eskimo tribe living on the shores of Canada's Hudson Ba... Read more