Documentary films constitute a major part of film history. Cinema's origins lie, arguably, more in non-fiction than fiction, and documentary represents the other - often submerged and barely visible - 'half' of cinema history. Historically, documentary cinema has always been an important point of reference for fiction cinema, and the two have often overlapped. Over the last two decades, documentary cinema has enjoyed a revival in critical and commercial success.
100 Documentary Films is the first book to offer concise and authoritative individual critical commentaries on some of the key documentary films - from the Lumière brothers and the beginnings of cinema through to recent films such as Bowling for Columbine and When the Levees Broke - and is global in perspective. Many different types of documentary are discussed, as well as films by major documentary directors, including Robert Flaherty, Humphrey Jennings, Jean Rouch, Dziga Vertov, Errol Morris, Nick Broomfield and Michael Moore. Each entry provides concise critical analysis, while frequent cross reference to other films featured helps to place films in their historical and aesthetic contexts.
Barry Keith Grant is Professor of Film Studies and Popular Culture at Brock University, Ontario, Canada. He is the author of Film Genre: From Iconography to Ideology (2007), Voyages of Discovery: The Cinema of Frederick Wiseman (1992) and co-author, with Steve Blandford and Jim Hillier, of The Film Studies Dictionary (2001).
Jim Hillier is Visiting Lecturer in Film at the University of Reading. He is the author of The New Hollywood (1993), the co-author of The Film Studies Dictionary (2001) and, with Alan Lovell, of Studies in Documentary (1972). His edited books include American Independent Cinema (2001) and two volumes of the English translation of the selected Cahiers du cinema (1985, 1986).
'The first book to offer concise and authoritative individual critical commentaries on some of the key documentary films.' - Sight & Sound
Acknowledgments
Introduction
A Propos de Nice, Jean Vigo, France 1930
The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes, Stan Brakhage, US 1971
The Atomic Café, Jane Loader/Kevin Rafferty, US 1982
The Battle of Chile/La Batalla de Chile, Patricio Guzman, Venezuela-France-Cuba 1975-1979)
Berlin: Symphony of a Great City/Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt, Walter Ruttmann, Germany 1927
Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore, US 2002
A British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible (Ken Russell, UK 1989)
British Sounds, Jean-Luc Godard/ Jean-Henri Roger, UK 1969
Bus 174, José Padilha, Brazil 2002
Cane Toads: An Unnatural History, Mark Lewis, Australia 1988
Le Chagrin et la pitié/The Sorrow and the Pity, Marcel Ophüls, Fr-Switz-W Ger, 1968
Chronique d'un été/Chronicle of a Summer, Jean Rouch/Edgar Morin, France 1961
Close Up, Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1990
Coal Face, Alberto Cavalcanti, UK 1935
Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment, Robert Drew, US 1963
Daughter Rite, Michelle Citron, US 1979
David Holzman's Diary, Jim McBride, US 1967
Dead Birds, Robert Gardner, US 1965
A Diary for Timothy, Humphrey Jennings, UK 1945
Dont Look Back, D.A. Pennebaker, US 1967
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On, Hara Kazuo, Japan 1987
Être et avoir, Nicolas Philibert, France 2002
The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty, Esfir Shub, USSR 1927
Farrebique, ou les quatres saisons, Georges Rouquier, France 1946
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control, Errol Morris, US 1997
For Freedom, Hossein Torabi, Iran 1979
Forgotten Silver, Peter Jackson, NZ 1995
Les Glâneurs et la glâneuse/The Gleaners and I, Agnès Varda, France 2000
Grey Gardens, Albert & David Maysles/Ellen Hovde/Muffie Meyer, US 1975
Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog, US 2005
Handsworth Songs, John Akomfrah, 1986
Happy Mother's Day, Richard Leacock/Joyce Chopra, US 1963
Harlan County USA, Barbara Kopple, US 1976
Harvest of Shame, David Lowe, US 1960
Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam, Nick Broomfield, UK 1995
Hoop Dreams, Steve James, US 1994
Hour of the Furnaces/La Hora de los hornos, Octavio Getino/Fernando E. Solanas, Argentina 1968
Housing Problems, Edgar Anstey/Arthur Elton, UK 1935
Las Hurdes/Land Without Bread, Luis Buñuel, Spain 1933
I for India, Sandhya Suri, UK-Germany 2005
In the Year of the Pig, Emile De Antonio, US 1968
Jazz, Ken Burns, US 2001
Kon Tiki, Thor Heyerdahl, Norway 1950
Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance, Godfrey Reggio, US 1982
Lessons in Darkness/Lektionen in Finisternis, Werner Herzog, Ger-France-UK 1992
Let There Be Light, John Huston, US 1946
The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter, Connie Field, US 1980
Lonely Boy, Wolf Koenig/Roman Kroiter, Canada 1962
Lost Lost Lost, Jonas Mekas, US 1976
Lumière programme, Auguste & Louis Lumière, France 1895
Les Maitres Fous/The Mad Masters, Jean Rouch, France 1955
Manhatta, Charles Sheeler/Paul Strand, US 1921
The Man with a Movie Camera, Dziga Vertov, USSR 1929
Man of Aran, Robert Flaherty, UK 1934
March of the Penguins/La Marche de l'empereur, Luc Jacquet, France 2005
A Married Couple, Allan King, Canada 1969
Minamata, Tsuchimoto Noriaki, Japan 1971
My Winnipeg, Guy Maddin, Canada 2007
Nanook of the North, Robert Flaherty, US 1922
Native Land, Leo Hurwitz/Paul Strand, US 1942
Necrology, Standish Lawder, US 1971
New Earth/Nieuwe gronden, Joris Ivens, Netherlands 1934
News from Home, Chantal Akerman, France-Belgium-West Germany 1976
North Sea, Harry Watt, UK 1938
Nuit et brouillard/Night and Fog, Alain Resnais, France 1955
Not a Love Story: A Film about Pornography, Bonnie Sherr Klein, Canada 1981
One Man's War/La Guerre d'un seul homme, Edgardo Cozarinsky, France, 1982
Paris is Burning, Jennie Livingston, US 1990
People on Sunday/Menschen am Sonntag, Robert Siodmak, Edgar G.Ulmer, Germany 1929
The Plow that Broke the Plains, Pare Lorentz, US 1936
Portrait of Jason, Shirley Clarke, US 1967
Primary, Robert Drew, US 1960
Primate, Frederick Wiseman, US 1974
Les Racquetteurs/The Snowshoers, Michel Brault/Gilles Groulx, Canada 1958
Roger and Me, Michael Moore, US 1989
Salesman, Albert & David Maysles/Charlotte Zwerin, US 1969
Le Sang des bêtes, Georges Franju, France 1949
Sans soleil/Sunless, Chris Marker, France1983
79 Primaveras/79 Springs, Santiago Alvarez, Cuba 1969
Shipyard, Paul Rotha, UK 1935
Shoah, Claude Lanzmann, France 1985
El Sol del membrillo/The Quince Tree Sun/The Dream of Light, Victor Erice, Spain 1992)
The Spanish Earth, Joris Ivens, US 1937
Surname Viet Given Name Nam, Trinh T. Minh-ha, US 1989
Talking Heads, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Poland, 1980
The Thin Blue Line, Errol Morris, US 1988
This is Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner, US 1984
Time Indefinite, Ross McElwee, US 1994
Titicut Follies, Frederick Wiseman, US 1967
Tongues Untied, Marlon Riggs, US 1990
Triumph of the Will/Triumph des Willens, Leni Riefenstahl, Germany 1935
Truth or Dare, Alek Keshishian, US, 1991
Turksib, Victor A. Turin, USSR 1929
Very Nice, Very Nice, Arthur Lipsett, Canada 1961
Waiting for Fidel, Michael Rubbo, Canada 1974
The War Game, Peter Watkins, UK 1965
We Are the Lambeth Boys, Karel Reisz, UK 1958
When the Levees Broke, Spike Lee, US 2006
Why We Fight: Prelude to War, Frank Capra, US 1943
Woodstock, Michael Wadleigh, US 1970
Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait, Douglas Gordon/Philippe Parreno, France-Iceland 2006
BARRY KEITH GRANT is Professor of Film Studies and Popular Culture at Brock University in Ontario, Canada. He is the author, co-author or editor of more than a dozen books on film, and his work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Most recently Professor Grant served as the Editor-in-Chief of the comprehensive 4-volume Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film.
JIM HILLIER was Senior Lecturer in Film in the Department of Film, Theatre and Television at the University of Reading until his retirement in 2006, having worked in the Education Department of the British Film Institute during the 1970s. He is the author, co-author, editor or co-editor of several books on film, and has contributed chapters to many anthologies and articles to a variety of film journals.
Description
Documentary films constitute a major part of film history. Cinema's origins lie, arguably, more in non-fiction than fiction, and documentary represents the other - often submerged and barely visible - 'half' of cinema history. Historically, documentary cinema has always been an important point of reference for fiction cinema, and the two have often overlapped. Over the last two decades, documentary cinema has enjoyed a revival in critical and commercial success.
100 Documentary Films is the first book to offer concise and authoritative individual critical commentaries on some of the key documentary films - from the Lumière brothers and the beginnings of cinema through to recent films such as Bowling for Columbine and When the Levees Broke - and is global in perspective. Many different types of documentary are discussed, as well as films by major documentary directors, including Robert Flaherty, Humphrey Jennings, Jean Rouch, Dziga Vertov, Errol Morris, Nick Broomfield and Michael Moore. Each entry provides concise critical analysis, while frequent cross reference to other films featured helps to place films in their historical and aesthetic contexts.
Barry Keith Grant is Professor of Film Studies and Popular Culture at Brock University, Ontario, Canada. He is the author of Film Genre: From Iconography to Ideology (2007), Voyages of Discovery: The Cinema of Frederick Wiseman (1992) and co-author, with Steve Blandford and Jim Hillier, of The Film Studies Dictionary (2001).
Jim Hillier is Visiting Lecturer in Film at the University of Reading. He is the author of The New Hollywood (1993), the co-author of The Film Studies Dictionary (2001) and, with Alan Lovell, of Studies in Documentary (1972). His edited books include American Independent Cinema (2001) and two volumes of the English translation of the selected Cahiers du cinema (1985, 1986).
Reviews
'The first book to offer concise and authoritative individual critical commentaries on some of the key documentary films.' - Sight & Sound
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
A Propos de Nice, Jean Vigo, France 1930
The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes, Stan Brakhage, US 1971
The Atomic Café, Jane Loader/Kevin Rafferty, US 1982
The Battle of Chile/La Batalla de Chile, Patricio Guzman, Venezuela-France-Cuba 1975-1979)
Berlin: Symphony of a Great City/Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt, Walter Ruttmann, Germany 1927
Bowling for Columbine, Michael Moore, US 2002
A British Picture: Portrait of an Enfant Terrible (Ken Russell, UK 1989)
British Sounds, Jean-Luc Godard/ Jean-Henri Roger, UK 1969
Bus 174, José Padilha, Brazil 2002
Cane Toads: An Unnatural History, Mark Lewis, Australia 1988
Le Chagrin et la pitié/The Sorrow and the Pity, Marcel Ophüls, Fr-Switz-W Ger, 1968
Chronique d'un été/Chronicle of a Summer, Jean Rouch/Edgar Morin, France 1961
Close Up, Abbas Kiarostami, Iran, 1990
Coal Face, Alberto Cavalcanti, UK 1935
Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment, Robert Drew, US 1963
Daughter Rite, Michelle Citron, US 1979
David Holzman's Diary, Jim McBride, US 1967
Dead Birds, Robert Gardner, US 1965
A Diary for Timothy, Humphrey Jennings, UK 1945
Dont Look Back, D.A. Pennebaker, US 1967
The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On, Hara Kazuo, Japan 1987
Être et avoir, Nicolas Philibert, France 2002
The Fall of the Romanov Dynasty, Esfir Shub, USSR 1927
Farrebique, ou les quatres saisons, Georges Rouquier, France 1946
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control, Errol Morris, US 1997
For Freedom, Hossein Torabi, Iran 1979
Forgotten Silver, Peter Jackson, NZ 1995
Les Glâneurs et la glâneuse/The Gleaners and I, Agnès Varda, France 2000
Grey Gardens, Albert & David Maysles/Ellen Hovde/Muffie Meyer, US 1975
Grizzly Man, Werner Herzog, US 2005
Handsworth Songs, John Akomfrah, 1986
Happy Mother's Day, Richard Leacock/Joyce Chopra, US 1963
Harlan County USA, Barbara Kopple, US 1976
Harvest of Shame, David Lowe, US 1960
Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam, Nick Broomfield, UK 1995
Hoop Dreams, Steve James, US 1994
Hour of the Furnaces/La Hora de los hornos, Octavio Getino/Fernando E. Solanas, Argentina 1968
Housing Problems, Edgar Anstey/Arthur Elton, UK 1935
Las Hurdes/Land Without Bread, Luis Buñuel, Spain 1933
I for India, Sandhya Suri, UK-Germany 2005
In the Year of the Pig, Emile De Antonio, US 1968
Jazz, Ken Burns, US 2001
Kon Tiki, Thor Heyerdahl, Norway 1950
Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance, Godfrey Reggio, US 1982
Lessons in Darkness/Lektionen in Finisternis, Werner Herzog, Ger-France-UK 1992
Let There Be Light, John Huston, US 1946
The Life and Times of Rosie the Riveter, Connie Field, US 1980
Lonely Boy, Wolf Koenig/Roman Kroiter, Canada 1962
Lost Lost Lost, Jonas Mekas, US 1976
Lumière programme, Auguste & Louis Lumière, France 1895
Les Maitres Fous/The Mad Masters, Jean Rouch, France 1955
Manhatta, Charles Sheeler/Paul Strand, US 1921
The Man with a Movie Camera, Dziga Vertov, USSR 1929
Man of Aran, Robert Flaherty, UK 1934
March of the Penguins/La Marche de l'empereur, Luc Jacquet, France 2005
A Married Couple, Allan King, Canada 1969
Minamata, Tsuchimoto Noriaki, Japan 1971
My Winnipeg, Guy Maddin, Canada 2007
Nanook of the North, Robert Flaherty, US 1922
Native Land, Leo Hurwitz/Paul Strand, US 1942
Necrology, Standish Lawder, US 1971
New Earth/Nieuwe gronden, Joris Ivens, Netherlands 1934
News from Home, Chantal Akerman, France-Belgium-West Germany 1976
North Sea, Harry Watt, UK 1938
Nuit et brouillard/Night and Fog, Alain Resnais, France 1955
Not a Love Story: A Film about Pornography, Bonnie Sherr Klein, Canada 1981
One Man's War/La Guerre d'un seul homme, Edgardo Cozarinsky, France, 1982
Paris is Burning, Jennie Livingston, US 1990
People on Sunday/Menschen am Sonntag, Robert Siodmak, Edgar G.Ulmer, Germany 1929
The Plow that Broke the Plains, Pare Lorentz, US 1936
Portrait of Jason, Shirley Clarke, US 1967
Primary, Robert Drew, US 1960
Primate, Frederick Wiseman, US 1974
Les Racquetteurs/The Snowshoers, Michel Brault/Gilles Groulx, Canada 1958
Roger and Me, Michael Moore, US 1989
Salesman, Albert & David Maysles/Charlotte Zwerin, US 1969
Le Sang des bêtes, Georges Franju, France 1949
Sans soleil/Sunless, Chris Marker, France1983
79 Primaveras/79 Springs, Santiago Alvarez, Cuba 1969
Shipyard, Paul Rotha, UK 1935
Shoah, Claude Lanzmann, France 1985
El Sol del membrillo/The Quince Tree Sun/The Dream of Light, Victor Erice, Spain 1992)
The Spanish Earth, Joris Ivens, US 1937
Surname Viet Given Name Nam, Trinh T. Minh-ha, US 1989
Talking Heads, Krzysztof Kieślowski, Poland, 1980
The Thin Blue Line, Errol Morris, US 1988
This is Spinal Tap, Rob Reiner, US 1984
Time Indefinite, Ross McElwee, US 1994
Titicut Follies, Frederick Wiseman, US 1967
Tongues Untied, Marlon Riggs, US 1990
Triumph of the Will/Triumph des Willens, Leni Riefenstahl, Germany 1935
Truth or Dare, Alek Keshishian, US, 1991
Turksib, Victor A. Turin, USSR 1929
Very Nice, Very Nice, Arthur Lipsett, Canada 1961
Waiting for Fidel, Michael Rubbo, Canada 1974
The War Game, Peter Watkins, UK 1965
We Are the Lambeth Boys, Karel Reisz, UK 1958
When the Levees Broke, Spike Lee, US 2006
Why We Fight: Prelude to War, Frank Capra, US 1943
Woodstock, Michael Wadleigh, US 1970
Zidane: a 21st Century Portrait, Douglas Gordon/Philippe Parreno, France-Iceland 2006
Authors
BARRY KEITH GRANT is Professor of Film Studies and Popular Culture at Brock University in Ontario, Canada. He is the author, co-author or editor of more than a dozen books on film, and his work has appeared in numerous journals and anthologies. Most recently Professor Grant served as the Editor-in-Chief of the comprehensive 4-volume Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film.
JIM HILLIER was Senior Lecturer in Film in the Department of Film, Theatre and Television at the University of Reading until his retirement in 2006, having worked in the Education Department of the British Film Institute during the 1970s. He is the author, co-author, editor or co-editor of several books on film, and has contributed chapters to many anthologies and articles to a variety of film journals.
|