Movie Listings by Genre

Director: Barbara Kopple    More Info


 This documentary won the Oscar for its presentation of the explosive 1980s meatpackers' strike of the Hormel Company in Austin, Minnesota. The strike was over a wage cut and "Big Business'" oppression of its workers.

Director: Ken Burns    More Info
Starring: David McCullough

 This Ken Burns epic is told in nine episodes, each dealing with a phase of the war. Photos, letters, documents, and commentary by historians present not only the war itself, but puts it in perspective with what was going on in the world and in the country, including racial and social issues. A masterpiece.

Director: Don McGlynn    More Info
Starring: Martin Scorsese, Paul Schrader, Peter Bogdanovich, King Vidor, Dennis Hopper, Francis Ford Coppola, David Lynch, Robert De Niro, Orson Welles

 This documentary uses film clips and interviews to focus on artistic creations of some of Hollywood's motivated directors.

Director: Ellen Weissbrod    More Info
Starring: Quincy Jones, Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Miles Davis, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, Sarah Vaughan, Billy Eckstine, Herbie Hancock

 This documentary includes great footage of Jones on stage as well as interviews with Dizzy Gillespie, Lionel Hampton, Jesse Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Steven Spielberg, Barbra Streisand, and Oprah Winfrey.

Director: Jennie Livingston    More Info
Starring: Pepper Labeija, Willi Ninja, Kim Pendavis, Freddie Pendavis, Julie Carmen, Hillary Brooke

 This is an insightful look into the drag balls of black and Hispanic homosexuals in New York City.

Director: Joel L. Freedman    More Info
Starring: Robert Redford

 This documentary, narrated by Robert Redford, contrasts beautiful land claimed by Western Shoshone Indians with its value today as a U.S. government nuclear test site.

Director: Irving Saraf    More Info
Starring: Christine Lundquist, Frederick Matthews, David Burnakus, Ruth Ann Swensen, Shelly Sietz, Karl Saami

 This documentary won the Academy Award for Best Documentary, which consists of interviews with members of the chorus of the San Francisco Opera Company.

Director: Alek Keshishian    More Info
Starring: Madonna

 This film reveals an outrageous Madonna as she really is, on and off screen, during her "Blonde Ambition" tour.

Director: Chuck Workman    More Info
Starring: Andy Warhol, Holly Woodlawn, Dennis Hopper, Ultra Violet, Tom Wolfe, Sylvia Miles, Irving Blum, Paul Warhola, Fran Lebowitz, Shelley Winters

 Using interviews and pieces of art, Chuck Workman examines the artistry of Andy Warhol's work.

Director: Ron Fricke    More Info


 Beautiful photographs and the sounds of life and nature tell the entire story (no dialogue) as the relationship between man and his environment unfolds.

Director: Errol Morris    More Info
Starring: Stephen Hawking, Isobel Hawking, Janet Humphrey, Mary Hawking

 Physicist, genius Stephen Hawking's riveting book is brought to the screen. This is the story of the origin and evolution of the universe as Hawking theorized it must have been. Don't miss this one. Hawking, essentially completely physically disabled with ALS, narrates with synthesized voice, and communicates through a computer.

Director: Fax Bahr    More Info
Starring: Francis Ford Coppola, Eleanor Coppola, John Milius, Martin Sheen, Dennis Hopper, Robert Duvall

 During the filming of "Apocalypse Now" (based on Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness"), the project ran into many obstacles. This is the story of the "story behind the story."

Director: Barbara Hammer    More Info


 Well-known lesbian filmmaker Barbara Hammer brings a graphic history of homosexuality to the screen as four gay couples (both genders) are shown making love while the screen also shows history (and lack of the recognition by historians) associated with homosexuality–including interviews and discussions by the lovemakers.

Director: Barbara Trent    More Info
Starring: Elizabeth Montgomery

 Winner of the Academy Award for Best Documentary, this film–narrated by Elizabeth Montgomery–examines the roles of the United States Government and the media during the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989.

Director: Stephen Low    More Info


 This documentary, an IMAX production, tells the story of the famous "unsinkable" Titanic, using extremely high quality shots of the ship and debris resting on the ocean floor. A shorter version (40 minutes) of the movie is also out there.

Director: Gail Singer    More Info
Starring: Phyllis Diller, Whoopi Goldberg, Sandra Shamas, Jenny LeCoat, Mae West, Lucille Ball, Eve Arden, Fanny Brice, Carol Burnett, Carol Channing

 This film uses the documentary style to present short clips from comediennes' routines. Such diverse personalities as Phyllis Diller, Whoopi Goldberg, Mae West, and Lucille Ball are highlighted. The underlying theme is sexism in comedy–both on stage and behind the scenes.

Director: Nikita Mikhalkov    More Info
Starring: Anna Mikhalkov, Nikita Mikhalkov

 In order to make this political documentary, the Academy Award-winning Russian director, Nikita Mikhaldov, spent 12 years making movies of his daughter answering his questions. Her answers evolved, and Anna's growing maturity contrasts with the demise of the Soviet Union.

Director: Claude Chabrol    More Info
Starring: Michel Bouquet, Brian Cox

 Made exclusively from news footage, this documentary covers the time period of the Nazi occupation of France in World War II. It demonstrates the pro-Nazi stance of the Vichy led by Marshal Petain, including the propaganda campaign of the regime. The French version is narrated by Michel Bouquet, and the English-language version is narrated by Brian Cox.

Director: David Douglas    More Info
Starring: Rip Torn

 This IMAX documentary was featured at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum. Narrated by Rip Torn, it depicts the oil well fires following Operation Desert Storm in the Gulf War.

Director: Jeff Feuerzeig    More Info
Starring: Jad Fair, David Fair, Penn Jillette, Maureen Tucker

 Interviews, testimonials, and the music of the rock band, Half Japanese, are featured in this documentary tracing the evolution of Jad and David Fairs' music from 1977, when they first formed their alternative band.

Director: Joel T. Smith    More Info
Starring: James Caan, David Crosby, Peter Fonda, Larry Hagman, Judd Nelson, Lou Reed, Travis Tritt, Dwight Yoakam, Hoyt Axton

 This documentary, released to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Harley Davidson Company, features great film footage and interesting interviews.

Director: Susan Raymond    More Info


 Winner of an Academy Award for Best Documentary, this is the exceptional story of Stanton Elementary School in North Philadelphia. The dedicated Principal ensures that a quality education is provided to the children that live in a high-poverty area, and most come from one-parent families.

Director: Michelle Ohayon    More Info
Starring: Jodie Foster

 Jodie Foster narrates this documentary about homeless women who had been living respectable lives before their divorces or other troubles. Welfare is unacceptable to them; therefore, they must find other ways for survival. This is a pretty good look at a current problem in American society, though often unbalanced.

Director: Richard Wilson    More Info
Starring: Miguel Ferrer

 "It's All True" started as an Orson Welles documentary in 1942; however, it was never finished. This is the story of the trials and tribulations of Welles' efforts. Much of the footage was thought lost for decades before being found in the studio vault. Fascinating.

Director: Reinhard Jud    More Info


 This interesting documentary from Austria tells the story of James Ellroy, L.A. crime fiction (and non-fiction) writer. Later, he also became known from the film "L.A. Confidential." He also wrote "My Dark Places," which told of his investigation of his mother's murder in 1958. This film often uses Ellroy to tell his story.