Favorite Documentaries

[LoathedVermin72]

There's nothing like a good documentary. They can be some of the most effortlessly watchable and entertaining movies around. But it seems like it's difficult to make one that is stylish and unique without coming off as pretentious; for all the documentaries I've seen and enjoyed, not many actually stand out as great films. But sometimes the material alone is compelling enough to make the film memorable. Anyway, what are you some of your favorites?

My favs:
-6 Days to Air: The Making of South Park
-After Porn Ends
-Anvil! The Story of Anvil
-Beyond the Mat
-Bigger Stronger Faster*
-Blackfish
-Burden of Dreams
-Catfish
-Cinerama Adventure
-The Cove
-Empire of Dreams: The Story of the Star Wars Trilogy
-Encounters at the End of the World
-Exit Through the Gift Shop
-Grizzly Man
-Hype! (This is probably my all-time favorite.)
-Imaginary Witness: Hollywood and the Holocaust
-Indie Game: The Movie
-Into the Abyss: A Tale of Death, a Tale of Life
-The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters
-Last Days Here
-LoudQUIETloud: A Film About the Pixies
-A Matter of Taste: Serving Up Paul Liebrandt
-Metallica: Some Kind of Monster
-Miss Representation
-Obscene
-Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills
-The Queen of Versailles
-Rank
-Religulous
-Senna
-Side by Side
-La Soufriere
-Stevie (Actually this might be my all-time favorite.)
-Trek Nation
-Until the Light Takes Us
-The White Diamond
-You're Gonna Miss Me: A Film About Roky Erickson

[E.H. Ruddock]

I enjoyed Man on Wire

[epilogue]

Man on Wire is fucking GREAT.

[epilogue]

I didn't like Exit Through the Gift Shop as much as others.

[The Argonaut]

top ten:
Grey Gardens (1975)
Las Hurdes (1933)
Dark Days (2000)
The Up Series (1964-)
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about his Father (2008)
For All Mankind (1989)
Sherman's March (1985)
God's Country (1984)
Boxing Gym (2010)
Close-Up (1990)

other contenders:
Le sang de bêtes (1949)
Les maîtres fous (1955)
Primary (1960)
Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)
American Boy: A Profile of Steven Prince (1978)
Making 'The Shining' (1980)
Burden of Dreams (1982)
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Tigrero: A Film that was Never Made (1994)
When We Were Kings (1996)
My Best Fiend: Klaus Kinski (1999)
The Subconscious Art of Graffiti Removal (2002)
Grizzly Man (2005)
The King of Kong (2007)
Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
My Perestroika (2010)
Mitt (2014)

[Farmer John]

A lot of my favs already mentioned, but I'll add:

Marwencol
Project Nim
Searching for Sugar Man

[Iholdthepain]

Electric Apricot: The Quest for Festeroo!

[nyquillyn]

Top 10:
Dear Zachary
Dark Days
How to Die in Oregon
Restrepo
Touching the Void
A Band Called Death
Bully
The Act of Killing
Roger and Me
Anvil: The Story of Anvil

Others:
Paradise Lost
The Revisionaries (Texas is a fucking scary place)
Deep Water
The Woman Who Wasn't There
Bones Brigade
Fightville
The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia
Cocaine Cowboys
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Best Worst Movie
Waiting for “Superman”
The Invisible War
The Best That Never Was
Blackfish
Man on Wire

[Orpheus]

Surprised that The Fog of War has not been mentioned yet as that's literally the first thing I thought of. That and Run Ricky Run from ESPN are two of my favorites.

[Farmer John]

I loved Catching Hell, that Steve Bartman cubs fan, foul ball espn doc. All those 30 for 30s are great.

[ABNorman]

-Beyond the Mat

[@SkitchP]

Standing in the Shadows of Motown

[BurtReynolds]

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

[epilogue]

Roman Polanski: Wanted and Desired

[epilogue]

Room 237 is pretty fantastic.

[epilogue]

Pretty As A Picture: The Art of David Lynch

[BurtReynolds]

Hype
Dig

[BurtReynolds]

Oh yeah, Last Days Here is a really good one.

[Dev]

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

this film really captures my lifestyle well.

[BurtReynolds]

Happy People: A Year in the Taiga

this film really captures my lifestyle well.

I'm jealous