We’re living in the era of peak documentary. That’s different from a golden age of documentary, mind you. Yes, with the content avalanche of streaming services, it seems like film studios are churning out more docs than ever before, and that’s produced quite a few good ones. But the rush has also created a visual and narrative sameness, with many docs having all the artfulness of a corporate training video.
All that is to say that creating a truly great, lasting documentary requires a lot more than stringing together a few talking heads with bits of archival footage. The best docs don’t just tell true stories: they aim to make us understand the world around us and the people who live in it, and sometimes even rethink our ideas of ourselves. From David Byrne in an oversized suit to Andy Warhol staring at the Empire State Building for eight hours, here are our picks for the best documentaries ever made.
Written by Joshua Rothkopf, Cath Clarke, Tom Huddleston, David Fear, Dave Calhoun, Phil de Semlyen, Andy Kryza, David Ehrlich and Matthew Singer
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