Anyone else been watching this? It is a five-part series airing Tuesdays on Current TV. This coming Tuesday will be the third episode of five.

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The list is supposed to be restricted to films from "the last couple of decades", although they have clearly fudged this a bit based on the inclusion of Tongues Untied.

The list so far:

50. Spellbound (Jeffery Blitz, 2002)
49. Madonna: Truth or Dare (Alek Keshishian and Mark Aldo Miceli, 1991)
48. The Kid Stays in the Picture (Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen, 2002)
47. One Day in September (Kevin Macdonald, 1999)
46. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (Werner Herzog, 1998)
45. The Decline of Western Civilization: The Metal Years (Part II, Penelope Spheeris, 1988)
44. Burma VJ (Anders Østergaard, 2008)
43. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (Spike Lee, 2008)
42. Catfish (Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, 2010)
41. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (Seth Gordon, 2007)
40. When We Were Kings (Leon Gast, 1996)
39. Biggie and Tupac (Nick Broomfield, 2002)
38. March of the Penguins (Luc Jacquet, 2005)
37. Inside Job (Charles Ferguson, 2010)
36. Taxi to the Dark Side (Alex Gibney, 2007)
35. Paragraph 175 (Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman, 2000)
34. Brother’s Keeper (Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, 1992)
33. Tongues Untied (Marlon Riggs, 1989)
32. Dogtown and Z-Boys (Stacy Peralta, 2001)
31. Jesus Camp (Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, 2006)

Update:

30. Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore, 2004)
29. Man On Wire (James Marsh, 2008)
28. GasLand (Josh Fox, 2010)
27. Tarnation (Jonathan Caouette, 2003)
26. Murderball (Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro, 2005)
25. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (Alex Gibney, 2005)
24. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (Joe Berlinger, Bruce Sinofsky, 1996)
23. The Eyes of Tammy Faye (Fenton Bailey, Randy Barbato, 2000)
22. Shut Up & Sing (Barbara Kopple, Cecilia Peck, 2006)
21. Exit Through the Gift Shop (Banksy, 2010)

Update #2:

20. Capturing the Friedmans (Andrew Jarecki, 2003)
19. Touching the Void (Kevin Macdonald, 2003)
18. Food, Inc. (Robert Kenner, 1008)
17. Street Fight (Marshall Curry, 2005)
16. Bus 174 (José Padilha, Felipe Lacerda, 2002)
15. Crumb (Terry Zwigoff, 2004)
14. Dark Days (Marc Singer, 2000)
13. The Fog of War (Errol Morris, 2003)
12. Bowling for Columbine (Michael Moore, 2002)
11. Paris Is Burning (Jennie Livingston, 1990)

Last Update:

10. Grizzly Man (Warner Herzog, 2005)
09. Trouble the Water (Carl Deal, Tia Lessin, 2008)
08. An Inconvenient Truth (Davis Guggengeim, 2006)
07. The Celluloid Closet (Rob Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman, 1995)
06. The War Room (D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus, 1993)
05. Supersize Me (Morgan Spurlock, 2004)
04. Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman, 2008)
03. Roger and Me (Michael Moore, 1989)
02. The Thin Blue Line (Errol Morris, 1988)
01. Hoop Dreams (Steve James, 1994)

A little Spurlock can go a long way for me but I have added a few titles to my Netflix queue so far from watching the first two episodes.

Based on the network it's airing on, is there any doubt what will be #1?

Hope to see Riding Giants up there.

Catfish? I thought that was fake?

if Hoop Dreams isn't #1, there is no justice in this world.

Little Dieter Needs To Fly is amazing, great doc. Should be higher!

I don't know that the numbers are meant to correspond with some sort or ranking, although it is safe to say that Hoop Dreams will be featured prominently.

fair enough.


can anyone suggest a good documentary on any serial killers? I've seen Aileen, and didn't care for it, and the closest thing I can ever find are A&E Biographies and cheap half hour TV segments. I'm talking about Bundy, Dahmer, Gein, Gacy or Ridgeway.

Riding Giants won't chart higher than Dogtown, so I don't think there is hope of seeing it on the list. That's a shame too, because it's the type of movie that makes you think you're doing everything wrong with your life.

And Hoop Dreams needs to be #1. It's one of the best films, fiction or non, ever made. In the previews for the overall show I saw Spurlock talking to Arthur Agee while walking down a street. From the two episodes that have already aired, it seems that he is doing interviews with people who correspond with the movies that end in a 1. #41 was King of Kong so he talked to Billy Mitchell. #31 was Jesus Camp and he talked to the young 'preacher' boy. If that continues, Hoop Dreams will be #21, #11, or #1. Surely it will end in the top spot.

Tongues Untied should be included, but not that high. It's too niche imo.

Spellbound and Jesus Camp aside not a bad list persay but this just looks like a list of the most well known documentaries excluding any panned ones.

King of Kong is entertaining, but it's as realistic as King Kong. Should be shown to journalism classes to demonstrate how bias can manipulate an audience.

Hoop Dreams was quite good but shouldn't be #1.

I would say one of the most important films, not just a documentary, is 'The Thin Blue Line'.

That would require them to wander another year further from the "last couple of decades" standard. However, it is safe to say that Errol Morris will appear somewhere on the list, perhaps even more than once.

The Fog of War is better than Thin Blue Line.

I kept seeing "Kid" on clearance at 99cent store (the VHS) and thought it was just junk, but it's actually a good documentary about the head of Paramount Studios.

March of the Penguins was good, but not great. worth watching though.


need to dig these out of my unwatched pile.


I think my favorite documentary (series) is Engineering an Empire, when the History Channel actually did history.

^ The Fog of War was terrific, but 'The Thin Blue Line' shows the power of film, and the ability film can play in real life.

I just don't think The Fog of War comes close to the importance of The Thin Blue Line.

Both are clearly well made, but The Thin Blue Line would have to be placed in front of Fog Of War.

Didn't the Thin Blue Line get a man released from prison? If so, that's powerful.

I'm excited to see the rest of the list. I'm also happy that I've seen most of the docs that have been listed so far!

I have to agree. Despite the "...to see before you die" in the show's title, the list is also very much a "...that were important/influential" in many ways. Madonna: Truth or Dare being on the list is a testament to that.

Capturing the Friedmans would also be an alright #1.


The Thin Blue Line is a great testament to the injustices of a small town court system, I just thought the story was very unrevealing and the conclusion was obvious. No new evidence was discovered, it merely shed light on an obvious oversight. IMO.

I don't watch a ton of documentaries, but the past couple I have watched I loved. The Cove is eye opening and edge of your seat entertainment that plays out like a thriller & God Grew Tired of Us was nothing short of amazing.

Billy Mitchell posting on the board?

At any rate, it's called "50 Documentaries to see before you die," not "greatest" or "most accurate." KoK is a blast to watch and I don't think I've seen anyone walk away disappointed.

Doubtful, but I'd LOVE to see Dear Zachary make the list.

Restrepo and Born Into Brothels are shoo-ins for the list. I will expect No End In Sight to make the list as well. At least one from Michael Moore will be on the list, probably Roger and Me.

agreed. that was one of the most emotional effective documentaries i've sat through, if not THE most.

Yeah, that doc is a punch to the gut.

I hope Crumb is on this list somewhere.