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Top Documentary Films

“Documentary film” is a broad category of visual expression that is based on the attempt, in one fashion or another, to “document” reality. (Wikipedia)

America: Freedom to Fascism

America - Freedom to FascismFormer rock & roll promoter and manager - turned - political activist Aaron Russo sets out to discover the truth behind the Internal Revenue Service in an eye-opening documentary filmed to find out if there is any existing law that requires Americans to pay an income tax. What Russo claims to uncover in his nonpartisan investigation is a systematic erosion of civil

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Thelonious Monk - Straight No Chaser

Thelonious Monk - Straight No Chaser (1988)Expanding on footage of Monk’s 1967 tour shot by Christian Blackwood, Charlotte Zwering (Gimme Shelter) has created the definitive filmic portrait of the master bop pianist-composer. This captivating DVD digs deeper into the life of the famously eccentric pianist-composer than the Ken Burns’s tepid coffeetable documentary Jazz ever thought to.

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Grey Gardens

Grey GardensAlbert and David Maysles, pioneers in the cinéma vérité movement of documentary filmmaking, chose for their subjects of this film a mother and daughter with celebrity connections. Edith Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edie (or, as they are called by the brothers, Big Edie and Little Edie) are aunt and cousin to Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. In the early ’70s, their 28 - room

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Neil Young - Heart of Gold

Neil Young - Heart of GoldIn this exquisite concert film directed by Jonathan Demme, Neil Young expresses modest hopes for his two-night stint at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium, the home of the original Grand Ole Opry. He states he wants to “play well, share the stage with my friends, and let the muse have us.” He succeeds magnificently, as does Demme, who keeps the music and

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Riding Giants

Riding GiantsThe set piece of this hyperbolic ode to surfing is Laird Hamilton’s 2000 trip to Tahiti, where a monster wave provided the opportunity for what the movie portentously calls “the most significant ride in surfing history.” If you’re inclined to regard the sport as important and its practitioners as heroic, you’ll likely enjoy this beautifully photographed documentary, which

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Standing in the Shadows of Motown

Standing in the Shadows of MotownSome unsung heroes of pop music get long-overdue recognition in Standing in the Shadows of Motown, a heartfelt documentary directed by Paul Justman. They called themselves the Funk Brothers, a talented group of a dozen or so musicians who were recruited by Berry Gordy from the jazz and blues clubs of Detroit to record the musical tracks for Gordy’s Motown label.

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Welcome Folks!

"Top Documentary Films" is basically "one man show" (driven by one enthusiast) and the content here is created with a passion for documentary films. The site is in open form and it is allowing readers to add comments about documentary films they like or dislike.

In so doing, I hope to provide a valuable resource to those with an interest in documentary films and in future I hope to help independent documentary filmmakers and festival coordinators promote their films and events.

"Top Documentary Films" attempts to provide information on documentaries by quoting reviews from trusted sources and placing links for more info about the documentary films. The site also offers trailers for the documentaries. In case you decide to buy your favorite documentary film, or you want to get some more information there are links to Amazon.com.

The site is running on WordPress platform, therefore it has blog characteristics. Documentaries are classified in categories and you can easily find what you are looking for. If you have any questions you can contact me here.

P.S. On the other hand you can watch free documentaries on-line at FreeDocumentarytFilms.com