Documentary Movies

In 1963, 22-year-old Bertrand Blier invited 11 of his peers to come to a film studio and talk about their lives. The record of what was said is a discussion…

Set in a leper colony in the north of Iran, The House is Black juxtaposes “ugliness,” of which there is much in the world as stated in the opening scenes,…

The first signs of autumn are seen in a landscape along a river. Some villagers are stacking a bed of stone blocks on the river-bank to avoid more eroding. Others…

Documentary about the most famous dribbler in Brazilian Soccer (some say in Soccer’s history!) at the zenith of his career, showing classic scenes of 1958 and 1962 World Cup. Garrincha…

A short documentary by Hiroshi Teshigahara about his father, the sculptor Sofu Teshigahara, preparing an exhibition.

A documentary consisting of a series of travelogue vignettes providing glimpses into cultural practices throughout the world intended to shock or surprise, including an insect banquet and a memorable look…

Still photographs and narration give an overview of the history of the American Indian.

A short documentary about the production of movie marquee art for cinemas in Prague.

Paris, summer 1960. Anthropologist and filmmaker Jean Rouch and sociologist and film critic Edgar Morin wander through the crowded streets asking passersby how they cope with life’s misfortunes.

Leo Hurwitz’s film, Here At The Water’s Edge, features the 1960 New York City’s waterfront. Made with photographer Charles Pratt, the film is a cinematic poem to the people who…

I bet you didn’t know that there are Many Moods of Skiing? Well come along and find out just how many moods there are in Warren Miller’s Many Moods of…

Events and athletes that characterized the 1960 Summer Olympics in Rome. From the absolute protagonist Wilma Rudolph, called the black gazelle, to Livio Berruti, the first white to win the…

In September, 1959, six Europeans leave Cook’s Bay on the southern coast of Dutch New Guinea, now West Papua or Irian Jaya, to trek north to the far side of…

Primary is a documentary film about the primary elections between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in 1960. Primary is the first documentary to use light equipment in order to…

This final True-Life Adventure would also appear to be one of the best, as we go into the South American jungle to observe the jaguar. Jungle Cat is more intimate…

At the end of the 1950s, French documentarian François Reichenbach spent eighteen months traveling the United States, documenting its diverse regions, their inhabitants, and their pastimes. The result is a…

Featuring archival footage from both German and UK sources, this documentary examines the defense of Britain during the early years of World War II.

“Mein Kampf” presents the raising and fall of the Third Reich, showing mainly the destruction of Poland and the life Hitler, which is told since he was a mediocre student…

Set at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival, this documentary mixes images of water and the town with performers and audience. The film progresses from day to night and from improvisational…

The work of a team of men who tackle a special British Road Services job in the treacherous terrain of the Scottish Highlands.

Donald Houston plays a Welshman who tells the story of what it’s like to live in small town Wales and how the train service helps.

A student work by Jiří Menzel, filmed during his second year at the FAMU film school. Views of old Prague and its tenement buildings, symbolizing the obsolete past, alternate with…

Blue Pullman is a 1960 short documentary film directed by James Ritchie, which follows the development, preparation and a journey from Manchester to London on new British Railways Blue Pullman…

Integration Report 1, Madeline Anderson’s trailblazing debut, was the first known documentary by an African American female director. With tenacity, empathy and skill, Anderson assembles a vital record of desegregation…

Behind the scenes of Darby O’Gill and the Little People.

Several stories depicting the landscapes and fauna of India are mixed with documentary footage.

Filmmaker Alain Resnais documents the atrocities behind the walls of Hitler’s concentration camps.

Seminal piece of documentary filmmaking by New Wave director Karel Reisz following the daily activities of members of the Lambeth Youth club in late-1950s London.

A short story narrated by an unknown British soldier who reveals his hopes, fears, and disillusionment while heading into battle against the German army.

Jan Schmidt and Pavel Juráček turn their attention to the problem of Czechoslovakia’s unloved cars in this whimsical documentary short.

A 10-minute portrait of modernist poet and de Andrade’s godfather, Manuel Bandeira, is clear in its affection for it subject, though like many New-Waveish films of the time, depicts the…

Documentary about influential Brazilian sociologist Gilberto Freyre, made in his country house in Apipucos, Pernambuco (Northeast Brazil).

Tongue-in-cheek look at the French Riviera, especially in summer when it overflows with tourists. Reviews its history and famous visitors; displays its faux-exotic buildings, its crowded beaches, its trees and…

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On October 13, 1957, cash was exchanged in the GDR (old bills 1:1 for new bills). The film reports on this event.

A short documentary on the chateaux of the Loire in France was commissioned by the French Tourist Bureau.

Impressions of the rue Mouffetard, Paris 5, through the eyes of a pregnant woman.

A documentary about the life of Jewish children forced to live in the Theresienstadt concentration camp.

Adaptation of Martin Armstrong’s poem about an elderly lady who becomes perturbed by something we can’t see. It becomes apparent that she is looking for her past, lost in a…