As you’ll probably know by now I’m a huge fan of documentaries. It’s a genre I think doesn’t get enough attention when you compare it to movies with famous stars in them and that’s a shame. The great thing about documentaries is that it’s possible to find one about any subject. Which is also the case when it comes to film itself. The last couple of years I’ve seen a lot of them, dealing with various aspects of making movies and the movie industry itself. If you want to know more about what goes on behind the scenes, then this long list might be a nice start in discovering a lot.

Acting

Strictly Background (2007)

It’s probably something you won’t think about much, but each movie and tv show has background extras who make sure that the world the story is set in comes alive. I didn’t know, but getting such a part isn’t as easy as it looks. This documentary looks at actors and actresses who have played background roles. Through interviews and by following a couple of them you get a good idea of this subculture. It is a tough life with a lot of rejections, which some won’t be able to handle after a while.

Searching for Debra Winger (2002)

The title of this movie really doesn’t tell much about the subject of this documentary, but it’s a film in which Rosanna Arquette is looking for (as you’d probably guess) Debra Winger, an actress she didn’t see appearing in movies anymore. The subject matter is much broader though, because it deals with women in Hollywood. Arquette interviews a big number of well-known actresses (including Sharon Stone, Jane Fonda, Salma Hayek, Whoopie Goldberg, Melanie Griffith, Daryl Hannah, Holly Hunter, Frances McDormand, Gwyneth Paltrow, Robin Wright and Meg Ryan) to hear about their experiences and the negative sides of being a female in a male dominated industry. [My review]

I Know That Voice (2013)

There are a lot of actors who are really famous but won’t be recognised by anyone, simply because you never see them: voice actors. In this documentary the “most famous” within the industry talk about the pros en cons of the job and also do the voices which made them famous. [My review]

That Guy… Who Was in That Thing (2012) / That Gal… Who Was in That Thing: That Guy 2 (2015)

You probably know the feeling, that you see an actor or actress in a film and exclaim that you know them even though you have no idea what their name is. In these two documentaries (the first about men, the second about women) actors and actresses are interviewed who have played a lot of supporting roles and are recognised, but who people can’t name. The talk about how they ended up doing their work, what is expected from them and how they deal with fame.

Cinematography

Visions of Light (1992)

Do you know what a cinematographer does? Visions of Light gives a clear answer to that question. Not only by doing interviews with people like Michael Chapman (Raging Bull, Taxi Driver), Allen Daviau (E.T., Empire of the Sun) and Vilmos Zsigmond (The Deer Hunter, Close Encounter of the Third Kind) but also simply by showing, through various movie clips, how you can appreciate their work in the final product.

Finances

Hollywood Banker (2014)

If you’d like to learn more about the financial side of the movies that this documentary about Dutch banker Frans Afman is really worth checking out. It shows how the way he got money together for movies radically change the way they were financed. A fascinating, but also emotional documentary. [My review]

Movie studios

The Brothers Warner (2008)

Warner Bros might be one of the best known movie studios. This documentary tells the story about how these brothers (who actually weren’t called Warner) started their studio. [My review]

Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (2014)

Cannon Films was a unique company which was at the top of its game during the seventies and eighties. The studio was known for it low and medium budget movies. The quality of them usually didn’t seem important which made the Cannon movies unique. A fascinating look at a small part of movie history.

Corman’s World: Exploits of a Hollywood Rebel (2011)

If you think about B-movies than you can’t forget Roger Corman. He was responsible for discovering Jack Nicholson and directors like Martin Scorcese, James Cameron, John Landis, Francis Ford Coppola (and many others), but also for a lot of successful low budget movies.

Fog City Mavericks (2007)

Although this has some relation to movie studios, this has more to do with the independent spirit San Francisco has been responsible for. With interviews with Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Steve Jobs and many others it is an interesting historic lesson on what formed these men and the way they approach movies.

Reviews

Life Itself (2014)

Roger Ebert probably was the most famous movie reviewer alive. Thanks to his show At the Movies he became a celebrity, but he also had a lot of followers who almost religiously read his review each week. The last years of his life he battled cancer, which eventually cost him his voice. Documentary maker Steve James started making this film just before he passed away. The end result is a film which doesn’t only show his love for movies, but also the less pretty sides of his life. Well worth watching. [My review]

Editing

The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing (2004)

When you talk about making a movie you’ll probably think about filming and acting, but the end product is really formed during the editing. If that is done well it is invisible and The Cutting Edge shows what goes into it. A small change in cutting footage can have a huge impact on the feeling it creates.

Movie formats

Side by Side (2012)

Technological progress when it comes to movies goes quickly and one of the biggest changes in the industry is the introduction of digital filming. No long a physical films passes the lenses, but the light is not captured by a small chip. In Side by Side Keanu Reeves talks to various well-known directors, who each have their preference of shooting on film or digitally. It’s up to the viewer to eventually decide which one they prefer as this documentary doesn’t judge either format. [My review]

Rewind This (2013)

Nowadays we won’t think much about the format in which a movie is stored when watching it. Whether that’s a file on your computer, one stored in the cloud or on a physical disc. But it wasn’t always like that and it actually took quite a while before movie companies saw the potential of the consumer market. Rewind This is about the introduction of VHS and not only about how this was the first option to see movies outside the cable networks, but also how it opened the floodgates for a lot of cheap straight to video movies. [My review]

These Amazing Shadows (2011)

The fact that we are still able to watch really old movies is all possible through the work of various people making sure they aren’t lost to time. Physical film is a medium which can fall apart as time progresses and making sure that doesn’t happen a lot of work needs to be done. This documentary focusses on the National Film Registry and their valuable work. Through classic movie footage, conversations with people working on it, but also famous directors this is a must see for every movie lover. [My review]

Scripts

Tales from the Script (2009)

Before a film is made, there first has to be a script. Tales from the Script consists of interviews with various script writers, like Frank Darabont (o.a.The Green Mile, The Mist, Shawshenk Redemption) and Paul Schrader (Raging Bull, Taxi Driver) who talk about their experiences. [My review]

Special effects

Starz Inside: Fantastic Flesh (2008)

Although CGI has its place and is sometimes used very effectively, there are still times when I wish more practical effects were used. Fantastic Flesh looks back at a period before CGI and has several specialist talking about how they made practical effects happen. Unfortunately this is just a short documentary, but interesting if you want to know more about the subject. [My review]

Ray Harryhausen: Special Effects Titan (2011)

Stop motion animation has for a long time been the only way to bring big monsters and weird creatures to life. This has resulted in some classic moments like the fight between a man and seven skeletons in Jason and the Argonauts. This scene and many other moments, created by Ray Harryhausen are looked at.

Directing

The Director’s Chair (2014)

This is a title I have not seen yet, but which seems interesting. For his own TV channel director Robert Rodriguez interviews directors. Both Quentin Tarantino and John Carpenter talk about their movies. You can find them on Youtube.

The Chair (2014)

What happens if you ask two different directors to make a movie based on the same script? That’s the concept behind this show. Although I have not watched it, I’ve hear interesting things about it as it shows in details what kind of decisions a director needs to make, how scripts are changed, actors and locations are picked etc.

Movie history

The Story of Film: An Odyssey (2011)

If you want to start watching something from this long list than this is the one to begin with. This 15-part series looks at the development of the movie industry from its inception until now. Looking at the most important moments, not only of the American industry, but internationally. A series you’ll learn a lot from and which will expand you knowledge about films and various concepts used when making them.

A Personal Journey with Martin Scorcese Through American Movies (1995)

If you were to ask me the names of real movie nuts than Martin Scorcese is probably the second name I’d name after Tarantino. As the title already suggests Scorcese passionately talks for almost four hours about movies which are important to him, allowing you to learn a lot about American Film and about Scorcese himself. [My review]

Do you know any other movie related documentaries which are worth checking out?