10. Best American Documentaries 1
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- DirectorFrank CapraAnatole LitvakStarsWalter HustonVictor Bulwer-LyttonKai-Shek ChiangThe official World War II US Government film statement defining the various enemies of the Allies and why they must be fought.
- DirectorJohn BoultingRoy BoultingFrank CapraStarsLeo GennBurgess MeredithBernard MilesDocumentary made by the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
- DirectorGarson KaninCarol ReedStarsDwight D. EisenhowerLeslie BanksWinston ChurchillA documentary account of the allied invasion of Europe during World War II compiled from the footage shot by nearly 1400 cameramen.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsJoseph GoebbelsHermann GöringRudolf HessProduced and presented as evidence at the Nuremberg war crimes trial of Hermann Göring and twenty other Nazi leaders.
- DirectorLionel RogosinStarsRay SalyerGorman HendricksFrank MatthewsBy focusing on the lives of three down-and-out alcoholic transients, the film creates a wrenching portrait of the tragic hopelessness of life on "The Bowery" in New York City.
- DirectorRobert DrewStarsRobert DrewHubert H. HumphreyMuriel Buck HumphreyCinéma vérité feature that follows presidential hopefuls John F. Kennedy and Hubert H. Humphrey during the 1960 Wisconsin primary.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsMarilyn MonroeRock HudsonLauren BacallAnthology of excerpts from Marilyn Monroe's 20th Century-Fox output, narrated by Rock Hudson, and created as a cinematic eulogy to Monroe, who died the year before.
- DirectorRobert DrewStarsJames LipscombJohn F. KennedyGeorge WallaceGovernor George Wallace will not let two black students into an Alabama school, against the wishes of President Kennedy. Loud shouts come from both sides of the issue as JFK stands by his decisions.
- DirectorEmile de AntonioStarsJohn G. AdamsRoy M. CohnRay JenkinsAn unfiltered, unflinching document of the notorious 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings, compiled entirely from raw TV footage (with no narration, music, or added scenes).
- DirectorBruce BrownStarsRobert AugustMichael HynsonLord James BlearsThe crown jewel to ten years of Bruce Brown surfing documentaries. Brown follows two young surfers around the world in search of the perfect wave, and ends up finding quite a few in addition to some colorful local characters.
- DirectorPaul MorrisseyAndy WarholStarsBrigid BerlinRandy BorscheidtChristian PäffgenLacking a formal narrative, Warhol's art house classic follows various residents of the Chelsea Hotel in 1966 New York City, presented in a split screen with a single audio track in conjunction with one side of screen.
- DirectorBarbara ConnellBill JerseyStarsErnie ChambersRay CristensenBill YoungdahlDuring the civil rights movement, a Lutheran minister in Nebraska sets out to integrate his church.
- DirectorShirley ClarkeStarsJason HollidayShirley ClarkeCarl LeeBlack gay prostitute Jason Holliday is rigorously interviewed on his story and character, revealing nuanced truths about life and art.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanDocumentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside the Massachusetts Correctional Institution Bridgewater where people stay trapped in their madness.
- DirectorWilliam GreavesStarsPatricia Ree GilbertDon FellowsJonathan GordonFilmmaker William Greaves auditioned acting students for a fictional drama, while simultaneously shooting the behind-the-scenes drama taking place.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanDocumentary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman takes us inside Northeast High School as a fly on the wall to observe the teachers and how they interact with the students.
- DirectorEmile de AntonioStarsHarry S. AshmoreDaniel BerriganJoseph ButtingerA documentary chronicling the background to, and history of, the Vietnam War.
- DirectorAlbert MayslesDavid MayslesCharlotte ZwerinStarsPaul BrennanCharles McDevittJames BakerFour dogged door-to-door Bible salesmen travel from Boston to Florida on a seemingly futile quest to sell luxury editions of the Good Book to working-class Catholics.
- DirectorJonas MekasStarsTimothy LearyEd EmshwillerFranz FuenstlerA chronogical about life including self, family, friend, couple and idol in 6 reels
- DirectorSidney LumetJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsHarry BelafonteRuby DeeBen GazzaraFollows Martin Luther King's life and decades-long civil rights activism.
- DirectorFrederick WisemanFrederick Wiseman observes basic training at Fort Knox, Kentucky in the Vietnam era. Recruits are seen receiving instructions on everything from brushing their teeth to killing enemy soldiers in hand-to-hand combat.
- DirectorJim KleinJulia ReichertStarsJessica JonesFocuses on the socialization of American females. It tells the story of six women and girls. The first film to emerge from the modern women's movement in the early 1970s.
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsJohn FordPeter BogdanovichOrson WellesA documentary on the life and films of director John Ford.
- DirectorPeter DavisStarsTin ChanChau DiemNgo Dinh DiemA startling and courageous landmark documentary that unflinchingly confronted the United States' involvement in Vietnam at the height of the controversy that surrounded it.
- DirectorLarry WardStarsBothwell BrowneCharles ChaplinLillian Gish"The Moving Picture Boys in the Great War" (1975) is a compilation documentary narrated by Lowell Thomas, illustrating changing attitudes toward the war and its participants, as well as toward the movies themselves. Winner, Gold Medal, 1975 Chicago Film Festival.