comment #1

Jack South P.I. says ...

The Thin Blue Line. Best ever.

comment #2

Santo says ...

No Frederick Wiseman stuff either.

comment #3

Scott Feinberg says ...

[Jeff to Scott -- corrected, thanks.]

comment #4

johnc says ...

The complete omission of Frederick Wiseman's work is the real crime here. Without "High School" or "Hospital" or "Law and Order" or "Welfare" or any of the others the list is just ridiculous.

comment #5

115thDreamer says ...

The lack of anything by Errol Morris has to immediately relegate this to the "not to be taken seriously" file, I'm afraid. I mean, come on. What's next? A "Best Gangster Pictures" list with nothing by Scorcese?

I actually like Vanity Fair, but Good Lord, try again, please. They've got a lot of the standard stuff you'd expect here, but it's one of those lists that looks like it was compiled by looking at other people's lists ("What's the 4-hour deal about the French occupation?.....oh, yeah, 'Sorrow and the Pity'...put that on there...what? no, I've never seen it...."). But, hey, they've got the Nazi propaganda genre covered, so you've got to give them that.

comment #6

JoeGreenia says ...

American Movie is one I have an enormous amount of affection for. I'd have no problem bumping Paris is Burning off this list to create a slot. Same with The Last Waltz or Hearts of Darkness even.

Am I reading this list right? Can there be no Errol Morris on it? I was going to say they have to give Herzog some kind of mention, but no Morris?

comment #7

insidah says ...

Wow, the Harvey Milk doc is amazing. I am officially boycotting their stupid list because of this omission.

comment #8

Doug Pratt says ...

Leaving out Wiseman is ridiculous, but it is time to admit that Fahrenheit 911 is not a very good film. It was an important movie when it came out, as it crystalized the national sentiment, but it was also rushed into release and is poorly crafted--really just sort of thrown together. If George Bush actually sat in that chair for 7 minutes before doing anything, why not, in a corner of the screen while rest of the documentary is going on, show him there, with a clock ticking off the seconds underneath him?

comment #9

pchu says ...

American Movie would have been on my list

comment #10

berg says ...

who wrote that list? Simon Pegg? add Man on Wire, sub American Job for American Movie ...

comment #11

televisiontears says ...

115th Dreamer is absolutely right. Personally, I would've pushed for The Fog of War. Morris' technique of letting subjects speak directly to the camera sent chills down my spine in that film. Some call it dishonest, but it's incredibly effective. When McNamara was pouring out what's left of his heart out directly to me, I couldn't move.

I would love to see Eleven Lessons From the Life of Donald Rumsfeld somewhere down the line. That is, if he's learned any.

comment #12

televisiontears says ...

One too many "out"s. Whoops.

comment #13

BurmaShave says ...

TRIUMPH OF THE WILL? A great film technically, but not exactly what I would call a documentary.

comment #14

Joshua Mooney says ...

It's nice to see that "Brother's Keeper" is still noticed by someone. But, as has been suggested, this is a crap list put together 15 minutes before press time by "assistant editors." TWO by Riefenstahl, but no Morris ("Gates of Heaven," "Fog of War")? TWO by Michael Moore, but no Wiseman ("Titicut Follies") or Barbara Kopple ("Harlan County")? And what about Demme's "Cousin Bobby"? As timely a doc for the autumn of '08 as any! Well, I used to expect better from VF, but that was a long time ago. Hardly a list for the ages.

comment #15

lazespud says ...

I feel like such a nerd having seen 23 of these. It's always hard choosing the best movies in this and that genre, but there are some obvious ommissions as mending before:

Ummm no Errol Morris? No Thin Blue Line? You could argue that it is the most import doc of the last thirty years, both because it ushered in the modern era of documentary filmmaking (with it's recreations and cinematography), and especially with it's subject matter.

What about Touching the Void?
No Frederick Wiseman? No titicut follies?
Though I love Herzog docs, what about the doc ABOUT Herzog; Burden of Dreams?
It's basically a TV doc, but what about Eyes on the Prize?
Woodstock?
Best Boy?
The one/two punch of American Movie and Hands on a Hard Body (maybe with Heavy Metal Parking Lot thrown in as a short subject)

Of course the list continues to perpetuate the myth that Eleanor Coppolla was a director on Hearts of Darkness.

And of course, as wells says, the biggest missing flick is obviously Harvey Milk.

We're I to cut movies to make room, I'd start with the Last Waltz, move on to Bowling For Columbine (a great movie ruined by that Charlton Heston gimmick at the end), then I'd cut the kid stays in the picture, I haven't seen Man of Aran, Point of Order, or Paris is Burning, but one of them has to suck enough to make room for some of these other flicks.

I'm joking of course; it's not a bad list, it's just weird and smells like the writers just literally forgot about some of the movies out there.

comment #16

TVMCCA says ...

Would add de Antonio's MILLHOUSE: A WHITE COMEDY and Peter Davis' HEARTS AND MINDS--subtracting (sorry, Greydon Carter) THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE and BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE.

comment #17

TVMCCA says ...

This is the tally as of 11:02 p.m. PDT as to VANITY FAIR voters on the mag's list of 25:
"Brother’s Keeper,” directed by Joel Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky (1992) 1% (32 votes)

“Paris is Burning,” directed by Jennie Livingston (1991)

“Capturing the Friedmans,” directed by Andrew Jarecki (2003) 4% (131 votes)

“Hoop Dreams,” directed by Steve James (1994) 15% (463 votes)

“Crumb,” directed by Terry Zwigoff (1994) 6% (191 votes)

“Gimme Shelter,” directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin (1970) 2% (71 votes)

“The UP Series,” directed by Michael Apted (2007) 3% (105 votes)

“Olympia,” directed by Leni Riefenstahl (1938)

“Man of Aran,” directed by Robert Flaherty (1934)

“Nanook of the North,” directed by Robert Flaherty (1922) 2% (61 votes)

"Point of Order,” directed by Emile de Antonio (1964)

“Triumph of the Will,” directed by Leni Riefenstahl (1935) 3% (106 votes)

“Harlan County USA,” directed by Barbara Kopple (1976) 2% (56 votes)

“The Kid Stays in the Picture,” directed by Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen (2002) 3% (86 votes)

“Bowling for Columbine,” directed by Michael Moore (2002) 14% (432 votes)

“No End in Sight,” directed by Charles Ferguson (2007) 2% (55 votes)

“When We Were Kings,” directed by Leon Gast (1996) 4% (126 votes)

“Hearts of Darkness: a Filmmaker’s Apocalypse,” directed by Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper and Eleanor Coppola (1991) 7% (216 votes)

“Grey Gardens,” directed by Ellen Hovde and Albert Maysles (1975) 2% (70 votes)

“Shoah,” directed by Claude Lanzmann (1985) 2% (71 votes)

“The Last Waltz,” directed by Martin Scorsese (1978) 7% (209 votes)

“The Sorrow and the Pity,” directed by Marcel Ophuls (1971) 1% (37 votes)

“Sherman's March,” directed by Ross McElwee (1986) 1% (44 votes)

“Don't Look Back,” D.A. Pennebaker (1967) 6% (196 votes)

“Fahrenheit 9/11,” directed by Michael Moore (1994) 9% (265 votes)

Total Votes: 3092

comment #18

TVMCCA says ...

Sorry, here's a more correct vote count:
Crumb,” directed by Terry Zwigoff (1994) 6% (191 votes)

“Gimme Shelter,” directed by Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin (1970) 2% (71 votes)

“The UP Series,” directed by Michael Apted (2007) 3% (105 votes)

“Olympia,” directed by Leni Riefenstahl (1938)

“Man of Aran,” directed by Robert Flaherty (1934)

“Nanook of the North,” directed by Robert Flaherty (1922) 2% (61 votes)

"Point of Order,” directed by Emile de Antonio (1964)

“Triumph of the Will,” directed by Leni Riefenstahl (1935) 3% (106 votes)

“Harlan County USA,” directed by Barbara Kopple (1976) 2% (56 votes)

“The Kid Stays in the Picture,” directed by Nanette Burstein and Brett Morgen (2002) 3% (86 votes)

“Bowling for Columbine,” directed by Michael Moore (2002) 14% (432 votes)

“No End in Sight,” directed by Charles Ferguson (2007) 2% (55 votes)

“When We Were Kings,” directed by Leon Gast (1996) 4% (126 votes)

“Hearts of Darkness: a Filmmaker’s Apocalypse,” directed by Fax Bahr, George Hickenlooper and Eleanor Coppola (1991) 7% (216 votes)

“Grey Gardens,” directed by Ellen Hovde and Albert Maysles (1975) 2% (70 votes)

“Shoah,” directed by Claude Lanzmann (1985) 2% (71 votes)

“The Last Waltz,” directed by Martin Scorsese (1978) 7% (209 votes)

“The Sorrow and the Pity,” directed by Marcel Ophuls (1971) 1% (37 votes)

“Sherman's March,” directed by Ross McElwee (1986) 1% (44 votes)

“Don't Look Back,” D.A. Pennebaker (1967) 6% (196 votes)

“Fahrenheit 9/11,” directed by Michael Moore (1994) 9% (265 votes)

Total Votes: 3092

comment #19

TVMCCA says ...

Don't know why after two tries the entire list won't print, but those films without vote tallies gathered less than one percent.

comment #20

worrywort says ...

In 2002, members of the International Documentary Association created a top 20. Here's how that looked.

1. Bowling for Columbine
2. The Thin Blue Line
3. Roger & Me
4. Hoop Dreams
5. Salesman
6. Nanook of the North
7. Night and Fog
8. Harlan County, USA
9. Grey Gardens
10. The Civil War
11. Crumb
12. Gimme Shelter
13. 7 Up Series
14. Fast, Cheap and Out of Control
15. Titicut Follies
16. When We Were Kings
17. American Movie: The Making of Northwestern
18. Shoah
19. The Man With a Movie Camera
20. Sherman's March

comment #21

worrywort says ...

i see they did a revision in 05, but you can google that.

comment #22

worrywort says ...

edit; 5 years later

comment #23

Som12H8 says ...

Why no mention of Lake of Fire? The last fifteen minutes alone blows anything else out of contention imo, except maybe The Thin Blue Line.

comment #24

fran phelan says ...

My favorite was Standing In The Shadow's of Motown- great film that spotlighted the Funk Brothers- who played on almost every Motown song- highlighting the genius bass player James Jamerson- the frst inductee in the RRHOF for side men

comment #25

Mark B says ...

I'll echo what others have said. You cannot have a top FIVE list, much less a top TWENTY-FIVE list, without including an Errol Morris film. My personal vote would be THIN BLUE LINE, but others of his could certainly justifiably be listed as well. He's a true modern innovator of documentary film and absolutely must be included in some way for the list to be worth its weight in salt.

comment #26

SpinDozer says ...

From the digital bits...

In announcement news today, Image Entertainment has just set Werner Herzog's critically-acclaimed documentary, Encounters at the End of the World, for release on both DVD and Blu-ray Disc on 11/18 (SRP $27.98 and $35.98). The DVD will be a 2-disc set. Both versions will include audio commentary with Herzog, producer Henry Kaiser and cinematographer Peter Zeitlinger, as well as 4 featurettes (including Under the Ice, Over the Ice, Dive Locker Interview: Werner Herzog Talks with Rob Robbins and Henry Kaiser, South Pole Exorcism and Seals and Men and Jonathan Demme Interviews Werner Herzog).

I have never seen a Hertzog doc...yeah, I know.