Top 20 Documentary Films of the Century (So Far)

it's a beautiful day in this neighborhood a beautiful day for a neighbor would you be mine could you be mine welcome to watch mojo and today we're counting down our picks for the top 20 documentary films of the century so far they too will climb out of the water and they will march for this list we're looking at the greatest and most tantalizing documentaries released in or after the year 2000. we'll only be including feature feature-length documentaries so mini-series will not be included which of these is your favorite let us know in the comments below number 20 an inconvenient truth the assumption is something like this the earth is so big we can't possibly have any lasting harmful impact on the earth's environment and maybe that was true at one time but it's not anymore few documentaries have the impact of an inconvenient truth the movie which chronicles al gore's attempts at raising awareness about global warming was a massive success in 2006 it won the oscar for best documentary feature and made the climate change phenomenon a worldwide talking point as its title suggests it introduced many horrific truths to millions of people and is currently shown in schools around the world in a joint poll by oxford university and the nielsen company 74 of respondents said they had altered their daily habits to help curb the ongoing issue in many ways an inconvenient truth helped change the world it's just human nature to take time to connect the dots i know that but i also know that there can be a day of reckoning when you wish you had connected the dots more quickly number 19 amy on july 23 2011 singer songwriter amy winehouse tragically passed away from alcohol poisoning at the age of 27. four years later producer james gay rhys released amy a documentary chronicling her life and unfortunate battles with substance abuse the documentary touches on many fascinating subjects including fame addiction and the power of music it also portrays winehouse as a richly human and ultimately tragic figure amy is a celebration of an icon but it also doesn't shy away from the darker aspects of celebrity it's all the better and all the more memorable for it [Music] number 18 inside job who knew the 2008 financial crisis could be so entertaining it's led to a slew of great material among them the oscar-winning the big short inside job documents the financial crisis in detail and like the big short it does so with ease a real engineer built bridges a financial engineer built build dreams and you know when those dreams turn out to be nightmares other people pay for it it's hard to make complex wall street finances easy to understand for the common viewer and it's even harder to make it enjoyable to watch luckily inside job does just that the documentary presents its material with confidence and its hostile tone is perfect for tearing down or attempting to tear down the corrupt financial systems at play and they have a very refined uh understanding that i think became more resp more refined is the crisis um proceeded so forgive me but that's clearly not true i mean what do you mean that's not true it's certainly not easy viewing but it is essential for anyone with a modicum of interest in finances or the historic crisis number 17 sound and fury produced and directed by josh aronson sound and fury is a gorgeous documentary about the deaf community it follows an extended family that suffers from deafness brothers peter and chris artinian have deaf children and they both learn about the possibility of cochlear implants they and their extended family begin arguing about the benefits of the surgery the importance of the deaf community and what getting an implant would mean for the proud deaf culture the documentary depicts a nuanced debate about a sensitive topic and does so through the portrayal of a likable and sympathetic family it has something important to say and it says it with unbridled emotion deaf culture is something to value and cherish it's my culture if your hearing culture was wiped out hearing people would cry and feel lost well so would i number 16. citizen four mass surveillance is one of the biggest talking points of the current generation and it's terrifyingly depicted in citizen four you know we all have a stake in this this is our country and the balance of power between the citizenry and the government is becoming that of the the ruling and the ruled as opposed to actually you know the elected and the electorate okay part documentary part political thriller citizen iv follows edward snowden's whistleblowing of the nsa spying scandal the documentary has a very fly on the wall approach with producer laura poitras meeting snowden in hong kong hotel room and learning first hand of the surveillance's extent along the way snowden attempts to acquire asylum and poitras grows paranoid about being watched the documentary doesn't only reveal horrifying truths about government overreach but does so while presenting a very real and very exciting political spy thriller there is no other documentary like it number 15. dear zachary a letter to a son about his father charismatic opinionated i have to point out he was short but he was a giant of a man really a good storyteller he was completely selfless watching dear zachary is an exercise in frustration and it certainly tests one's emotional limits the doc began as a home movie by kurt kenny who wished to memorialize his friend andrew bagby for bagby's son zachary i grabbed a digital video camera a 16 millimeter wind-up movie camera and an old and nikon off on a quest to bring your dad back to life bagby was killed before zachary was born and his ex-girlfriend shirley turner became the prime suspect the story goes in many unexpected directions and the documentary slowly takes on a bigger and much more substantial life than kenny could have possibly envisioned what begins as a normal home movie honoring a loved one quickly spirals into a heartbreaking tale about mental illness and legal injustice it's emotional it's powerful and it's utterly confounding zachary you're a lucky little boy and you're an unfortunate little boy your father who you'll never know was such an amazing guy and he touched so many people in such a short period of time number 14 free solo this is a fascinating documentary both about rock climbing and the documentary process itself made by jimmy chin and elizabeth chai vasarelli free solo chronicles alex honold's attempts to climb yosemite's el capitan without the use of traditional climbing equipment this is what the climbing community refers to as a free solo climb it's hard to not imagine your friend alex soloing something that's extremely dangerous and you're making a film about it which might put undue pressure on him to do something and him falling through the frame to his death the documentary is also about the documentary itself as the filmmakers discuss things like how to film honold without distracting him or interfering in the climb this unique concoction makes free solo a refreshing viewing experience and both the filmmaking and athletic feats on display are nothing short of astounding [Music] number 13 this is not a film a creative mix between documentary and video diary this is not a film was shot by iranian filmmaker jafar panahi back in march of 2010 panahi was arrested owing to the content of his films and the government charged him with creating propaganda kanahi was banned from filmmaking and sentenced to house arrest and it was here that he made this is not a film partially shot on an iphone the documentary chronicles panahi's daily life under house arrest and his thoughts on modern iranian cinema because he was not allowed to make films this is not a film was secretly recorded and smuggled out of iran on a flash drive it's a captivating little documentary about an artist who refuses to be silenced number 12. the fog of war produced and directed by errol morris the fog of war serves as an intimate look into the life and personal philosophies of former secretary of defense robert mcnamara mcnamara served under presidents kennedy and johnson and was one of the primary architects of the vietnam war this documentary consists of archival footage and a 20-hour interview with an 85-year-old mcnamara the result is a tantalizing glimpse into one of modern history's most divisive military figures it's a humanizing story a treatise on war and a first-hand glance into the complexities of managing vietnam we shall not cease from exploring and at the end of our exploration we will return to where we started and know the place for the first time that's in a sense where i'm beginning to be number 11 faces places a cute french documentary faces places was created by artists and yes valda and jr the two embark on a trip across rural france and visit numerous small towns where they proceed to take portraits of the residents the documentary is many things at once and it is a masterpiece because of it it's a charming ode to art the creation process and the ways in which it brings people together it's also a cute road trip movie about two friends and it's all bound by the undeniable communal power of small town living it's a documentary about communities both of the artistic and personal varieties number 10. bowling for columbine arguably michael moore's masterpiece bowling for columbine was released three years after the infamous school shooting in the documentary that made moore an international star he explores the nature of violence the reasons behind columbine and the enthusiastic gun culture within the united states if guns were if if more guns made people safer then america would be one of the safest countries in the world it isn't it's the opposite the documentary raises a number of difficult questions surrounding gun violence many of which were only beginning to be asked around the turn of the millennium bowling for columbine also features a number of exceptional sequences like moore receiving a hunting rifle from a bank and taking two columbine survivors to kmart to refund the bullets lodged in their bodies here's the nine millimeters these are the bullets that are in both richard and in mark's body right now no one wants to think about teen violence but moore forces us to face the issue head on with his outstanding documentary number nine taxi to the dark side back in 2002 an afghan taxi driver named dillawar was taken to an american military complex in afghanistan and tortured for several days as he was falsely suspected of participating in a rocket attack delaware eventually passed away from his extensive injuries leaving behind a wife and daughter 15 american soldiers were charged with his mistreatment and death many of whom were subsequently acquitted five years after dilloire's passing taxi to the dark side was released chronicling his unfortunate experience in the case of delaware he was subjected to certainly cruel and unusual punishment and ultimately he was subjected to torture because he died the film not only explores his personal story but also american torture policy and the glorification of torture in film and television many wars receive exceptional documentaries and for the war on terror that documentary is taxi to the dark side then all of a sudden you start looking at these people as less than human and you start doing things to them you would never dream of and that's where it got scary number eight cave of forgotten dreams werner herzog has directed many wonderful documentaries including into the abyss and grisly man the mere presence of his name is a stamp of guaranteed quality but perhaps his finest work is 2010's cave of forgotten dreams which chronicles the majesty and history of chauvet cave we should note that the artist painted this bison with eight legs suggesting movement almost a form of proto-cinema found in southeastern france chauvet cave contains world famous prehistoric art with many animal paintings going back 30 000 years the art is some of the oldest ever discovered and herzog interviews the likes of historians and scientists to help portray the importance of the site i think what's extremely important is that we realize that archaeology today is not a heroic adventure with spades and picks but high-tech scientific work that's done with incredible detail the 3d photography also proves breathtakingly gorgeous accurately capturing the subtle contours of the cave that the painters utilized in their art number 7. exit through the gift shop not much is known about street artist banksy but he is the person behind exit through the gift shop a documentary about the wonders and joys of street art the film follows mr brainwash real name tsiarige an la based street artist who took major inspiration and guidance from banksy the brand wash that's why i call myself mr brainwash it's because everything that i do somewhere brainwash your face banksy even appears in the film his face and voice obscured to protect his identity i mean i always used to encourage everyone i met to make art i used to think everyone should do it i don't really do that so much anymore exit through the gift shop is not only an intimate glimpse into the world of street art it also contains a fascinating protagonist in mr brainwash who helps guide us through the interesting subculture with humanity and incredible passion number six blackfish the first nations people and the old fishermen on the coast they call them blackfish they're an animal that possesses great spiritual power and not to be meddled with in 2009 a documentary titled the cove was released which details japanese dolphin hunting it was a big hit and seemed to kick off a string of similar documentaries one of which was 2013's blackfish blackfish concerns itself with captive killer whales and its theme is told through the personal story of seaworld orlando's tilikum the documentary argues that captivity breeds violence and resentment within the killer whales and it uses tilikum as an example as he was involved in three separate deaths throughout his time as a show whale those are not your whales you know you love them and you think i'm the one that touches them feeds them keeps them alive gives them the care that they need they're not your whales they own them while the documentary is exceptionally hard to watch it is essential viewing for anyone interested in animal rights and helped permanently tarnish the legacy of sea world and other similar attractions they're amazingly friendly and understanding and intuitively want to be your and to this day there's no record of an orca doing any harm to any human in the wild number five they shall not grow old like peter jackson's lord of the rings trilogy they shall not grow old is a perfect marriage of breathtaking filmmaking and heartfelt storytelling the documentary serves as a personal glimpse into world war one using primarily unseen footage sourced from the archives of the imperial war museum jackson and his team of talented filmmakers cleaned up and colorized the footage while fixing the old timey frame rate and by adding realistic sound effects in post they were able to enliven and modernize century-old film footage i can't remember anything more nerve-wracking than the continuous shelling without stop day and night never before has the first world war been displayed so personally and so beautifully and the documentary proves jackson once again as one of the leading filmmaking talents of our time number four jiro dreams of sushi even if you couldn't care less about sushi jiro dreams of sushi proves an engrossing documentary he follows jiro ono a japanese chef who is world renowned for his delightful sushi not only did he innovate various forms of sushi preparation he also owns and operates sukiyaba shijiro which was the first sushi restaurant to receive three michelin stars the documentary is a humanizing glimpse into the life of a sushi master following his revelatory practices devoted family and restaurant management for many good food is a form of art and with this beautiful documentary jiro's art has been captured for posterity watching it is almost as good as one of his roles almost [Music] so let's look at the statistics the united states is home to five percent of the world's population but 25 of the world's prisoners think about that ironically named after the 13th amendment 13th makes the argument that slavery has continued into the 21st century through various targetings of the african-american community these include the war on drugs mass incarceration of african americans and convict leasing so many aspects of the old jim crow are suddenly legal again once you've been branded a felon and so it seems that in america we haven't so much ended racial caste but simply redesigned it the startling documentary was created by selma's eva duvernay who peppers it with many tragic personal tales and some horrifying statistics it makes many convincing arguments while telling its story and it experienced a surge in popularity and topicality in the midst of the george floyd protests thirteenth is a harrowing documentary about the seemingly endless racial tensions in america and it's tinged with both sorrow and regret number 2 man on wire on the morning of august 7 1974 french high wire artist philippe petzi made eight trips between the twin towers of the world trade center he was over 1300 feet in the air and while the towers were still under construction but she was technically trespassing and was arrested following the event luckily these charges were dropped on the condition that put c perform in central park this brilliant high-wire act is captured and dramatized in james marsh's man-on-wire the documentary tells its engrossing story through a variety of methods including dramatizations archival footage and retrospective interviews with those involved to refuse to taper yourself to rules to refuse your own success to refuse to repeat yourself to see every day every year every every idea as a as a true challenge and then you are going to live your life on a tight rope man on wire is captivating telling a thrilling story about one of new york's greatest performance pieces before we unveil our top pick here are some honorable mentions super size me a very popular documentary about the dangers of fast food hello yeah could i get the uh double quarter pounder with cheese meal i think i'm gonna have to go supersize food inc a shocking glimpse into the agribusiness and nasty farming practices there are no seasons in the american supermarket now they're tomatoes all year round grown halfway around the world picked when it was green and ripened with ethylene gas waltz with bashir a gorgeous concoction of animation documentary and war drama [Music] [Music] i am not your negro detailing the history of racism in america from an unfinished james baldwin manuscript to be a pessimist means that you have agreed that human life is an academic matter so i'm forced to be an optimist i'm forced to believe that we can survive whatever we must survive icarus an eye-opening and thrillingly told glimpse into an international doping scandal if this guy had passed whatever it is 500 doping tests over his entire career clearly this system didn't work before we continue be sure to subscribe to our channel and ring the bell to get notified about our latest videos you have the option to be notified for occasional videos or all of them if you're on your phone make sure you go into your settings and switch on notifications number one the act of killing filmmaker joshua oppenheimer is dedicated to the indonesian genocide of 1965 and 66 and has made two documentaries about the grotesque subject the second was 2014's the look of silence which serves as a fantastic companion piece to the iconic original the hardest stories make for the greatest documentaries and this is proven in the act of killing kamihara oppenheimer's documentary primarily follows anwar congo an indonesian gangster who was personally active in the genocide he's asked by oppenheimer to recount his experiences through the expression of film and he subsequently tells horrifying stories through various styles of home movies the documentary features both a unique structure and a perplexing villain protagonist who grapples with his violent past it is unlike anything else has do you agree with our picks check out this other recent clip from watchmojo and be sure to subscribe and ring the bell to be notified about our latest videos [Music]

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Keywords: 13th, Film, History, Movies, an inconvenient truth, best docs, best documentaries 2000s, best documentaries 2010s, best documentaries of the century, best documentaries of the decade, best documentaries of the year, best documentary, best movies, blackfish, citizenfour, documentary, jiro dreams of sushi, list, mojo, oscar winning documentaries, the act of killing, top 10, watch mojo, watchMojo, documentaries, best documentaries, Documentary movies list, Best documentaries of all time

Id: 0Pccu4VS_I4

Length: 24min 57sec (1497 seconds)

Published: Mon Apr 11 2022