Channel 4's "50 Greatest Documentaries"
The 50 Greatest Documentaries was a Channel 4 television programme which was broadcast on 9 October 2005 and was narrated by British actress, Zoë Wanamaker. The list was compiled based on the nominations submitted to Channel 4 by a series of factual filmmakers.
Some entries are imperfect as explained within their description and numbers 34 - "Signs of the Times" (1992) and 35 - "An Impossible Job: Graham Taylor" (1993) are unfortunately totally absent as there is no entry in IMDb for them.
Some entries are imperfect as explained within their description and numbers 34 - "Signs of the Times" (1992) and 35 - "An Impossible Job: Graham Taylor" (1993) are unfortunately totally absent as there is no entry in IMDb for them.
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- DirectorPaul AlmondStarsDouglas KeayBruce BaldenJacqueline BassettIn this the first installment, we get a chance to meet some of the individuals who took on the responsibility of the 7 Up project, 21-years-ago - Tony, Bruce, Suzi, Nick and Peter.This is for the entire "Up" series; Seven Up! (1964), Seven Plus 7 (1970), 21 Up (1977), 28 Up (1984), 35 Up (1991), 42 Up (1998) & 49 Up (2005). Another instalment is due in 2012.
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsSimon YatesJoe SimpsonBrendan MackeyThe true story of two climbers and their perilous journey up the west face of Siula Grande in the Peruvian Andes in 1985.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreCharlton HestonMarilyn MansonFilmmaker Michael Moore explores the roots of America's predilection for gun violence.
- StarsLaurence OlivierAverell HarrimanAnthony EdenA groundbreaking 26-part documentary series narrated by the actor Laurence Olivier about the deadliest conflict in history, World War II.
- DirectorAndrew JareckiStarsArnold FriedmanJesse FriedmanDavid FriedmanDocumentary on the Friedmans, a seemingly typical, upper-middle-class Jewish family whose world is instantly transformed when the father and his youngest son are arrested and charged with shocking and horrible crimes.
- DirectorPatrick CollertonStarsEdna KennedyJonny KennedyNell McAndrewA year ago, 36-year-old Jonny Kennedy died. He had a terrible genetic condition called Dystrophic Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB) - which meant that his skin literally fell off at the slightest touch, leaving his body covered in agonizing sores and leading to a final fight against skin cancer. In his last months Jonny decided to work with filmmaker Patrick Collerton to document his life and death, and the result was a film, first broadcast in March, that was an uplifting, confounding and provocatively humorous story of a singular man. Not shying away from the grim reality of EB, the film was also a celebration of a life lived to the full.
- StarsDavid AttenboroughDavid Attenborough's groundbreaking study of the evolution of life on our planet.
- DirectorMichael MooreStarsMichael MooreGeorge W. BushBen AffleckMichael Moore's view on what happened to the United States after September 11 and how the Bush Administration allegedly used the tragic event to push forward its agenda for unjust wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
- DirectorLeon GastStarsMuhammad AliGeorge ForemanDon KingBoxing documentary on the 1974 world heavyweight championship bout between defending champion, George Foreman, and the underdog challenger, Muhammad Ali.
- StarsMichael KitchenTamara Czartoryski-BorbonDonna BerlinEntertaining transformational battles against the odds. Intrepid volunteers are plucked from their natural habitat and given just four weeks to master a skill well enough to fool a panel of expert judges.
- DirectorSteve JamesStarsWilliam GatesArthur AgeeEmma GatesA film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.
- StarsGeorge CarmanJulian ManyonSAS execute 3 unarmed IRA Volunteers in Gibraltar. Witnesses discuss the British Military cover up.
- DirectorNick BroomfieldStarsNick BroomfieldEugene Terre'BlancheJ.P. MeyerFrom the award-winning Director Nick Broomfield, The Leader, His Driver, and the Driver's Wife portrays the sinister and comic sides of Eugene Terre'Blanche, leader of the neo-Nazi AWB Afrikaner Party in South Africa.
- DirectorKevin MacdonaldStarsMichael DouglasAnkie SpitzerJamal Al GasheyThe Palestinian terrorist group Black September holds Israeli athletes hostage at the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich.
- DirectorPaul HamannStarsBobby ButlerDonald CabanaMelanie ChristopherFourteen Days in May is a documentary film directed by Paul Hamann and originally shown on television by the British Broadcasting Corporation in 1987. The programme recounts the final days before the execution of Edward Earl Johnson, an American prisoner convicted of rape and murder and imprisoned in the Mississippi State Penitentiary. Johnson protested his innocence and claimed that his confession had been made under duress. He was executed in Mississippi's gas chamber on 20 May 1987.
- StarsTerry WilkinsKaren WilkinsTom Bernes"The Family" (1974) is one of the first "reality" shows in the history of television. Modelled after the US TV series "An American Family (1972), this 12-part series documents the daily life of a working-class family from Reading, UK.
- DirectorHarry WattBasil WrightStarsArthur ClarkJohn GriersonStuart LeggShows the special train on which mail is sorted, dropped and collected on the run, and delivered in Scotland overnight.
- StarsSamuel WestAdolf BuchnerJutta RüdigerAn examination of how a cultured people could have allowed Adolf Hitler's rise to power.
- DirectorMorgan SpurlockStarsMorgan SpurlockDaryl IsaacsChemeeka WalkerWhile examining the influence of the fast food industry, Morgan Spurlock personally explores the consequences on his health of a diet of solely McDonald's food for one month.
- StarsRobin EllisSlobodan MilosevicFranjo TudjmanThis captivate documentary covers the struggles of the Yugoslavian people during the collapse of their country, and the subsequent wars to finally find hope with the signing of the Final Peace Accords.
- StarsNikolay DrozdovKenneth BranaghAvery BrooksDocumentary-style series about the era of the dinosaurs, mixing real locations and CGI.
- DirectorNick BroomfieldJoan ChurchillStarsAileen WuornosNick BroomfieldTerry Humphreys-SlayNick Broomfield's second documentary about serial killer Aileen Wuornos, focusing on her mental state on death row.
- DirectorPhil AglandStarsLisa LuFollowing the lives of ordinary Chinese residents of the old quarter of a city. A kindly doctor, a disabled child 'little sparrow' gossiping elderly ladies and middle makers. A fascinating and gentle series from film maker Phil Angland.
- DirectorAlan YentobStarsDavid BowieBBC documentary showing David Bowie looking back on his Ziggy Stardust character during his Diamond Dogs tour.
- StarsJeremy VineMark DalyThis entry is for the 2003 documentary "The Secret Policeman" for which this is a sequel, however there is no IMDb page for the original.
- StarsEleanor BronHeather DavidsonJohn DavidsonInfluential 1989 documentary which explores the struggles of a Scottish teenager to live with Tourettes syndrome.
- CreatorJules VerneStarsMichael PalinBasil PaoChris CollinsMichael Palin attempts to copy the exploits of fictional character Phileas Fogg, by trying to travel around the world (without flying) in 80 days.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsRandall AdamsDavid HarrisGus RoseA film that successfully argued that a man was wrongly convicted for murder by a corrupt justice system in Dallas County, Texas.
- StarsSamantha FoxOlivia WilliamsKen LorimerDuring the first week of this reality series, the new wife must adhere to exactly the same rules and lifestyle of the wife she is replacing. Each wife leaves behind a house manual which explains her role in the family and the duties she holds. This almost always determines what rules the wives will apply at the "rules change ceremony". During the second week, the new wives are allowed to establish their own rules, and their new families must adhere to these new household rules. It usually takes a while for the families to adjust to this policy, meanwhile the wives disburse a sum of money to the family they have become involved with, to do what the wives see fit to spend it on. At the end of the two weeks, the two couples all meet together for the first time, and the wives, along with their husbands, discuss how they felt about the two weeks. This often descends into personal insults and has degenerated into violence at least twice. More often than not, however, both families reach toward a middle ground and express that they have learned from the experience. Sometimes, the table meeting is a very heartfelt and emotional time for the two families who sometimes have complete and mutual respect for each other. A few weeks later, the cameras return to record what changes have occurred since the wife swap.
- StarsSimon SchamaMichael KitchenSamuel WestA comprehensive historical survey of the British Isles.
- StarsGilles KepelWilliam KristolMelvin GoodmanA series of three documentaries about the use of fear for political gain.
- DirectorJeffrey BlitzStarsAngela ArenivarUbaldo ArenivarJorge ArenivarSpellbound follows eight teenagers on their quest to win the 1999 National Spelling Bee.
- DirectorPeter WatkinsStarsMichael AspelPeter GrahamDave BaldwinA docudrama depicting a hypothetical nuclear attack on Britain.
- DirectorMichael WadleighStarsJoan BaezRichie HavensRoger DaltreyOscar-winning musical chronicle that brilliantly captures the three-day rock concert and celebration of peace and love that became a capstone for the Sixties.
- StarsSean BarrettVeronika HyksEva HartSeries documenting the history of the twentieth century through the testimony of those who lived through it.
- DirectorCassian HarrisonStarsSaira ShahBritish journalist Saira Shah travels to Afghanistan with a camera crew to document the realities of life under the Taliban. Filmed just months prior to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the footage reveals the chilling brutality of a fledgling government made up of radicalized followers of Osama bin Laden.
- DirectorBrian HillA documentary film crew go into Feltham young offenders prison where the teenagers who left are 75% likely to re-offend. The film talks to a handful of inmates about life in prison and how they got there in the first place. Oh yeah - and it's a musical!
- StarsRobert WinstonAndrew BlackallPhillippaThe BBC explores the human body from the inside out as never before.
- StarsDavid BaldockBrian CaddyJoe CahillExtended edition investigating the safety of the convictions of the Birmingham Six.
- DirectorFax BahrGeorge HickenlooperEleanor CoppolaStarsDennis HopperMartin SheenMarlon BrandoDocumentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.
- DirectorRobert J. FlahertyStarsAllakariallakAlice NevalingaCunayouIn this silent predecessor to the modern documentary, film-maker Robert J. Flaherty spends one year following the lives of Nanook and his family, Inuits living in the Arctic Circle.
- DirectorMolly DineenStarsHarry HookHilary HookDocumentary about Colonel Hilary Hook, formerly of the Indian cavalry and leader of extravagant safaris in Kenya. Hook returned home to England after being evicted from his home in the Kenya Hills, and is finding it hard to readjust to the English way of life.
- StarsKenneth ClarkIan RichardsonRonald LaceySir Kenneth Clarke walks through the ages exploring the glorious rise of civilization in Western man.
- DirectorPaul WatsonStarsBarbara PointonA chronicle of four years in the life of Malcolm and Barbara Pointon, charting Malcolm's descent into Alzheimer's dementia and Barbara's tireless care for a once-loving husband who now scarcely recognizes her.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsRobert McNamaraJohn F. KennedyFidel CastroThe story of America as seen through the eyes of the former Secretary of Defense under President John F. Kennedy and President Lyndon B. Johnson, Robert McNamara.
- DirectorWill YappStarsLouis TherouxJimmy SavileMichael BuerkLouis Theroux spends some time with the eccentric broadcaster and charity fundraiser Sir Jimmy Savile and attempts to get behind the public persona.