Image via Getty/MIchael Buckner
In the dawn of the superhero movie, it seems like the art of documentary filmmaking has gotten lost in the hustle and bustle of fictitiously saving the world. Despite breaking into the movie-genre realm back in 1922 with Nanook of the North, documentaries have often been cast aside by pop culture fanatics and movie critics as dramas, comedies, and action films constantly come out on top at the box office.
Luckily, in the age of social media hype and video streaming, documentaries are finally having the moment they’ve long deserved. With countless docuseries and original films made by TV giants like Netflix and HBO, the documentary genre has expanded into a phenomenon covering everything from tales of true crime to the most recent exposé, Leaving Neverland, covering the abuse allegedly suffered by young men at the hands of Michael Jackson.
There are endless possibilities when it comes to choosing a documentary subject, but nothing gets our motors running like learning about our favorite celebrities through the eye of a filmmaker. Whether we watch for education or entertainment, whether we’re left crying or smiling, there’s always something to take from the well-made profile of an icon. Here’s a list of the best celebrity documentaries.
McQueen (2018)
Director: Ian Bonhôte, Peter Ettedgui
Examining the life of legendary designer Alexander McQueen, this 2018 documentary depicts the makings of an extraordinary life and career cut short. McQueen is a thoughtful and humanizing look at the man who both rocked the fashion world with his bizarre taste and struggled as an isolated artist before taking his own life in 2010.
Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
Director: Morgan Neville
Academy Award-winning documentarian Morgan Neville knew exactly what the world needed when he unleashed Won’t You Be My Neighbor?— that is, a good dose of pure kindness from a beloved pop culture icon. Chronicling the life of Fred Rogers, a.k.a. Mr. Rogers, the 2018 film explores the man who came to be a relic of television with his show Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, and the legacy of his work as a compassionate child educator. From his earliest work to the production behind his 30-plus year run on TV, Fred Rogers’ life is respectfully laid out piece by piece in the film that re-sparked a love for the documentary genre last year.
King in the Wilderness (2018)
Director: Peter Kunhardt
Documenting the last years of Martin Luther King Jr.’s life, King in the Wilderness is a portrait of Dr. King’s work as an activist during the Civil Rights Movement up until his assassination in 1968. Director Peter Kunhardt takes a deep and macabre look at the threats King endured and reminds viewers that the Doctor’s work was both revolutionary and dangerous.
Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (2017)
Director: Chris Smith
Jim Carrey took his role as the experimental and eccentric comedy legend Andy Kaufman in the Man on the Moon, to the next level by turning himself into Kaufman both physically and mentally. Chris Smith’s documentary Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond compiles over 100 hours of behind the scenes footage from Carrey’s Golden Globe-winning work as Kaufman, and exposes the dedication that led to a certain toxicity in the creation of a biopic.
Amy (2015)
Director: Asif Kapadia
Filmmaker Asif Kapadia took on the life of one of music’s most beloved musicians gone too soon with Amy. With a growing music career and a tumultuous personal life, the Grammy-winning Amy Winehouse charmed the world with her soulful voice. While the world continues to mourn her, Kapadia unravels the complications of her relationship with fame and how her brief but successful career impacted the music industry.
Love, Gilda (2018)
Director: Lisa Dapolito
In an homage to the life of a groundbreaking female comic, Love, Gilda documents the life of original Saturday Night Live cast member Gilda Radner through her own journals, audiotapes, and videotapes. With testimonies from her close friends and diary readings by some of today’s biggest comedians, this doc is not only a tribute to Radner’s career but a reflection of her ability to break through in a male-dominated industry with her unique charm, and her struggle to find herself.
Jane Fonda in Five Acts (2018)
Director: Susan Lacy
Long before she reunited with Lily Tomlin for Grace and Frankie on Netflix, Jane Fonda was protesting wars, being blacklisted from Hollywood, and working on her fitness. With a career full of both success and controversy, Fonda made a name for herself as an actress and activist, and Jane Fonda in Five Acts perfectly deconstructs the complicated chapters of her life while honoring the accomplishments (and setbacks) that made her a mogul.
I Am Ali (2014)
Director: Clare Lewins
You don’t cop a nickname like “The Greatest” without breaking a few rules (and possibly, noses). I Am Ali is the 2014 profile of Muhammad Ali, the Olympic gold medalist boxer who became the most revered sports figure of the 20th century with his poeticism, activism, and athleticism. Over the span of his 20-plus year career, Ali set records in boxing, while making headlines with his strong will and political activism. Featuring fellow heavyweights like Mike Tyson and George Foreman, I Am Ali is a true tribute to the successful career of a sports legend with an intimate look at Ali outside of the ring.
Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold (2017)
Director: Griffin Dunne
In a profile directed by her own nephew, the work and life of acclaimed journalist Joan Didion is examined in Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold. Starting her work with Vogue in the 1950s, Didion grew to become one of the most prolific writers in history with her, thanks to her mastery of narrative non-fiction storytelling. The Netflix original documentary is both a powerful recollection of her work in journalism, and a touching look at how she managed to cope with the loss of her husband and daughter in the span of less than two years.
Exit Through The Gift Shop (2010)
Director: Banksy
Though his entire career as a street artist has been based around anonymity, Banksy directed this experimental documentary following French immigrant Thierry Guetta, who eventually finds fame in street art himself while living in Los Angeles. In a bizarre sequence of events, Guetta’s obsession with filming every part of his day leads him to working with Banksy on a joke that nobody else seems to be in on. The strange chronicles of this odd pairing teach viewers more about Banksy than ever before, and will make you think harder than your typical documentary film.