1. Brad Pitt: More Than a Pretty Face (Brad Pitt, la revanche d'un blond)
Brad Pitt is a singular actor in Hollywood's glamorous world, breaking through his "playboy image" and embodying American cinema's renewal. At the beginning there was a humble Midwestern aware of being a smokescreen for the illusions of his time, who has managed to keep control of his image to better serve the most talented directors of our time. To name but a few: David Fincher, Quentin Tarantino, the Coen brothers, Terrence Malick, James Gray and soon Damien Chazelle. This documentary dives into the brain of a complex, brilliant and endearing personality, far from the cliché of a world-famous movie icon to discover the hidden side of the most handsome man in the world.
It has an average vote of 7.2 on TMDB.
2. Denzel Washington - Un modèle américain (Denzel Washington - Un modèle américain)
In 30 years of a deeply committed career and 50 roles, Denzel Washington, double-Oscar winner, placed the figure of the Black man in all its complexity at the heart of the American paradoxes: from Black activist, rebel soldier to gangster torn between violence and charity. Voted best actor of the 21st century by the New York Times a few months ago, Denzel Washington, 65, has risen to the top of American cinema. As an Actor, director and producer, he has shaken up a "color line" as immutable as it is subtle. Often identified with his characters, he reveals himself to be disconcerting and paradoxical. As if he were holding up a mirror to America in which all of its contradictions and failings were reflected. A documentary that chronicles the extraordinary career of the world-renowned African-American actor.
It has an average vote of 7.5 on TMDB.
3. Leonard Bernstein: A Genius Divided (Leonard Bernstein: Das zerrissene Genie)
One of the first US born conductors to receive worldwide fame, Leonard Bernstein is an exceptional composer and certainly not only due to The West Side Story. Instead of concentrating exclusively on his most famous work, Thomas von Steinaecker sets out to paint a complete picture of Bernstein. Thus, the documentary focusses on the American’s less known later works and on three compositions in particular: his Mass, the musical 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and the great final opera A Quiet Place. The film paints a vivid picture of the multitalented Bernstein, struggling with his role as composer and conductor, tackling the tension between successes and flops, between the politics of his time and his own liberal humanitarian claim. It looks back on Bernstein’s major achievements, such as his acclaimed conducting of Mahler and his involvement in the Young People’s Concerts, and it shows Bernstein’s work with young aspiring musicians as well as his political commitment.
It has an average vote of 9.8 on TMDB.
4. Grizzly Man
Werner Herzog's documentary film about the "Grizzly Man" Timothy Treadwell and what the thirteen summers in a National Park in Alaska were like in one man's attempt to protect the grizzly bears. The film is full of unique images and a look into the spirit of a man who sacrificed himself for nature.
It has an average vote of 7.531 on TMDB.
5. A Life On Screen: Stephen Fry
In this documentary, Stephen Fry tells the story behind his success, after presenting the BAFTAs for more than ten years. With an outstanding career in film and television which began with a chance meeting with comedy partner Hugh Laurie at Cambridge, he went on to create the outrageous Melchett in Blackadder and has become a firm favourite on BBC2 with the quite interesting quiz QI. Featuring a supporting cast of friends, including interviews with Michael Sheen, Hugh Laurie and Alan Davies.
6. Marlon Brando: An Actor Named Desire (Marlon Brando, un acteur nommé désir)
In his early days as an actor, Marlon Brando was a shy young man with theatrical ambitions, like many others; but his charisma and superb acting skills made him truly unique, so that the doors to the starry sky of Hollywood opened for him. However, his peculiar manners, political commitment and complicated love life always overshadowed his artistic success.
It has an average vote of 7.3 on TMDB.
7. Trintignant by Trintignant (Trintignant par Trintignant)
A portrait of a man of rare elegance and enigmatic charm, versatile and successful: Jean-Louis Trintignant, one of the most critically acclaimed French actors of the last sixty years, known for his numerous roles on stage and screen.
It has an average vote of 6.667 on TMDB.
8. Pablo Picasso: A Primitive Soul
(Pablo Picasso: A Primitive Soul)
It has an average vote of 6 on TMDB.
9. Too Macabre: The Making of Elvira, Mistress of the Dark
The story of Elvira's rise to pop culture royalty.
It has an average vote of 7.3 on TMDB.
10. Kunstkammer (Kunstkammer)
(Kunstkammer)
It has an average vote of 5 on TMDB.
11. Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love
When Marvin Hamlisch passed away in August 2012 the worlds of music, theatre and cinema lost a talent the likes of which we may never see again. Seemingly destined for greatness, Hamlisch was accepted into New York’s Juilliard School as a 6-year-old musical prodigy and rapidly developed into a phenomenon. With instantly classic hits ‘The Way We Were’ and ‘Nobody Does It Better’ and scores for Hollywood films such as The Swimmer, The Sting and Sophie’s Choice and the Broadway juggernaut A Chorus Line; Hamlisch became the go-to composer for film and Broadway producers and a prominent presence on the international Concert Hall circuit. His streak was staggering, vast, unprecedented and glorious, by the age of 31 Hamlisch had won 4 Grammys, an Emmy, 3 Oscars, a Tony and a Pulitzer prize: success that burned so bright, it proved impossible to match.
It has an average vote of 9 on TMDB.
12. The Ark of Lights and Shadows (Archa světel a stínů)
The forgotten story of Martin and Osa Johnson, rebel filmmakers and Kansas natives who made some of the first films in Africa in times when filming itself was more dangerous than lions or malaria.
13. Wonder: The Lives of Anna and Harlan Hubbard
What Henry David Thoreau did for two years Anna and Harlan Hubbard did for forty. Anna and Harlan lived life as few people in modern times have and in doing so inspired thousands. Wonder: The Lives of Anna and Harlan Hubbard , a new documentary by Morgan Atkinson, brings to life their adventures. Harlan was an artist, writer and naturalist born in northern Kentucky. Anna, a scholar and librarian from Grand Rapids, MI. They met in Cincinnati and began their life together in the mid-1940's by building a boat, then floating from Cincinnati to New Orleans. Their voyage lasted five years. They then settled on the banks of the Ohio River in rural Kentucky. In a house they built by hand, sustained by food they raised or caught, aided by no electricity or modern convenience, Anna and Harlan, met the world on their own terms and found deep meaning. Wonder considers their astonishing life of freedom and what it says to Americans today.
14. Marie Svobodová (Marie Svobodová)
(Marie Svobodová)
15. Creating a Character: The Moni Yakim Legacy
What do Jessica Chastain, Viola Davis, Patti LuPone and Alex Sharp have in common? They are but a few of the extraordinary actors who have studied under Moni Yakim at Juilliard, United States' greatest performing arts school. This compelling portrait of the master teacher - the sole remaining founder of the school's legendary Drama Division - takes us inside the drama classes where Moni and his wife Mina pour their love and passion into preparing the next generation of actors for the spotlight.
16. Controlling Britney Spears
Britney Spears has said that her conservatorship had become “an oppressive and controlling tool against her”. This New York Times investigation reveals much of how it worked, including an intense surveillance apparatus that monitored every move she made.
It has an average vote of 7.2 on TMDB.
17. Alberto Sordi, un italiano come noi (Alberto Sordi, un italiano come noi)
(Alberto Sordi, un italiano come noi)
It has an average vote of 1 on TMDB.
18. Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story
The first ever feature documentary about one of the most talented, accomplished and multi-faceted artists of the 20th Century. An exploration of Coward’s expansive career which features credits across the stage and screen, including Brief Encounter, Blithe Spirit, and Private Lives.
It has an average vote of 6.286 on TMDB.
19. Classic Albums: Amy Winehouse - Back to Black
The true story of how Amy Winehouse’s best known and most celebrated body of work came into being. Featuring previously unseen footage of Amy, new interviews with producers Mark Ronson and Salaam Remi, and the musicians who worked with Amy on the album, offering fresh insights into Amy’s remarkable gifts as a singer, songwriter, musician and performer
It has an average vote of 6.875 on TMDB.
20. Will There Really Be a Morning?
This is the story of actress Frances Farmer, her struggles with mental illness and involuntary confinement in an insane asylum.
It has an average vote of 7 on TMDB.
