Producers and Creatives
A list of documentaries depicting the arduous, methodical and creative process of producing movies in unconventional and innovative ways, often against the studio system.
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57 titles
- DirectorChuck WorkmanStarsOrson WellesSimon CallowChristopher WellesA look at the life and work of the great theatre, radio and film artist.
- DirectorMichael EpsteinThomas LennonStarsRichard Ben CramerWilliam AllandThomas AndersonDocumentary about the battle between Orson Welles and William Randolph Hearst over Welles' Citizen Kane (1941). Features interviews with Welles' and Hearst's co-workers also as a relative complete bio of Hearst.
- DirectorAviva SlesinStarsA. Scott BergBette DavisSamantha EggarA tribute to director William Wyler consisting of interviews and excerpts from his many classic films.
- DirectorTed HaimesStarsKevin SpaceyJonathan DemmeAlfred HitchcockThis documentary is a fascinating look at the cinematic genius of Alfred Hitchcock. Briefly covering much of his early British works, the film primarily focuses on his American classics, such as "Shadow of a Doubt", "Notorious", "Rear Window", "Vertigo", "Psycho" and "The Birds". The movie also covers his television years and neatly examines the Hitchcock signature touches, from his inevitable brief cameo to his famous MacGuffin. Kevin Spacey narrates, and there are interviews with his delightful daughter Pat as well as such film directors as Brian De Palma, Jonathan Demme, Curtis Hanson, Robert Altman, Ronald Neame and Peter Bogdanovich, along with cast and crew members Tippi Hedren, Joseph Stefano, Norman Lloyd, Robert F. Boyle, Teresa Wright and Janet Leigh.
- DirectorPaul MertonStarsPaul MertonKiri BloomMatthew EarleyPaul Merton looks at the British films of Alfred Hitchcock, the silent films and the early sound films.
- StarsRobert PowellRoy Ward BakerCharles BarrA brief profile of Alfred Hitchcock's work in Britain's film industry. This is a good introduction for those who are unfamiliar with Hitchcock's life.
- DirectorKent JonesStarsWes AndersonPeter BogdanovichDavid FincherFilmmakers discuss how Francois Truffaut's 1966 book "Cinema According to Hitchcock" influenced their work.
- DirectorNancy BuirskiStarsSidney LumetIn a never-before-seen interview filmed in 2008, three years before his death, Sidney Lumet discusses his life and career.
- DirectorChuck WorkmanStarsChantal AkermanRobert AltmanPeter BogdanovichAmidst a constant stream of hundreds of film clips, dozens of filmmakers voice their opinions on the titular question while primarily looking beyond the Hollywood mainstream to independent, experimental, documentary and avant-garde films.
- DirectorManel MayolCarles PratsStarsCarlos AguilarAlessandro AlessandroniDario ArgentoDespite his short filmography, Sergio Leone is considered one of the most important European directors. His westerns made a mark in the history of genre cinema and continue to influence new generations of film directors. This documentary hears testimony from his wife Carla, his scriptwriter Sergio Donati, director of photography Tonino Delli Colli, composers Ennio Morricone and Alessandro Alessandroni, as well as other personalities within the Italian film industry such as Damiano Damiani and Florestano Vancini. Leone's principal works are reconstructed in these interviews, with particular reference to the world famous "Trilogy of Dollars": "A Fistful of Dollars", "For a few dollars more", "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly". The son of a fine Italian silent movies director, Sergio Leone became the most prestigious assistant director in Italy. He made his debut as a director with "The Colossus of Rhodes", one of the last of the peplum film genre. He later achieved international recognition for his westerns and the film that kept him budy for the last few years of his life "Once Upon a Time in America".
- DirectorJean-François GiréStarsJean-Yves BertelootSergio LeoneBenito MussoliniThe destiny of Sergio Leone from his poor childhood in a neighborhood under fascism in Rome until his last film in America. This guided the filmmaker's personal life and career to create his epic antiheroes and spaghetti westerns.
- DirectorRob GoldbergStarsRichard DreyfussSteven SpielbergDavid FearA fascinating program that goes behind the scenes of Steven Spielberg's landmark 1975 film JAWS.
- DirectorLaurent BouzereauStarsSteven SpielbergPeter BenchleyDavid BrownExcellent and very detailed documentary on the making of a classic. Filled with appealing trivia, exhaustive interviews with cast and crew members, and never before seen footage.
- DirectorErik HollanderStarsSteve AltenJoe AlvesRoy ArbogastAfter three decades, Jaws continues to intrigue, thrill and frighten viewers. This documentary focuses on the many ways Jaws has helped to shape common elements of pop culture.
- DirectorRoy FrumkesStarsGeorge A. RomeroSusan TyrrellNicole PotterA documentary about George A. Romero's films, with a behind scenes look at Dawn of the Dead.
- DirectorMichael MatessinoStarsJohn CarpenterDavid FosterBill LancasterA revealing and insightful look into the making of this underrated horror film.
- DirectorAdam SimonStarsGeorge A. RomeroJohn CarpenterTom SaviniAn examination into the nature of 1960s-'70s horror films, the artists involved, and how they reflected contemporary society.
- DirectorGarry S. GrantStarsAdrienne BarbeauJohn CarpenterNick CastleChronicles the work of cult director John Carpenter through interviews with him and his associates, with emphases on the earlier work.
- DirectorMichael EpsteinStarsSteven BachHal AshbySandy Berke JordanAn inside look at the hectic production of Heaven's Gate (1980), the media circus that turned it into a synonym for movie flop and how it added to the tectonic change that occurred in Hollywood film studios after it infamously flopped.
- DirectorFax BahrGeorge HickenlooperEleanor CoppolaStarsDennis HopperMartin SheenMarlon BrandoDocumentary that chronicles how Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now (1979) was plagued by extraordinary script, shooting, budget, and casting problems--nearly destroying the life and career of the celebrated director.
- DirectorChris SmithStarsMark BorchardtMike SchankTom SchimmelsDocumentary about an aspiring filmmaker's attempts to finance his dream project by finally completing the low-budget horror film he abandoned years before.
- DirectorKeith FultonLouis PepeStarsTerry GilliamJohnny DeppJeff BridgesTerry Gilliam's doomed attempt to get his film, The Man Who Killed Don Quixote (2018), off the ground.
- DirectorLes BlankStarsWerner HerzogKlaus KinskiClaudia CardinaleA documentary following German auteur Werner Herzog as he deals with difficult actors, bad weather and getting a boat over a mountain, all in an effort to make his film Fitzcarraldo (1982).
- DirectorFrank PavichStarsAlejandro JodorowskyMichel SeydouxH.R. GigerThe story of cult film director Alejandro Jodorowsky's ambitious but ultimately doomed film adaptation of the seminal science fiction novel.