Flights are underrated for cinema. No domestic distractions. Nowhere else to be. The altitude helps, somehow. This is a list worth saving for the gate.
Go back far enough and you find films that had no idea they'd become classics. The 80s and 90s produced more of them than any other era.
Documentaries work when they trust their subjects. The best ones get out of the way and let reality speak.
A paralysingly beautiful documentary with a global vision—an odyssey through landscape and time—that attempts to capture the essence of life.
Where does voguing come from, and what, exactly, is throwing shade? This landmark documentary provides a vibrant snapshot of the 1980s through the eyes of New York City's African American and Latinx Harlem drag-ball scene. Made over seven years, PARIS IS BURNING offers an intimate portrait of rival fashion "houses," from fierce contests for trophies to house mothers offering sustenance in a world rampant with homophobia, transphobia, racism, AIDS, and poverty. Featuring legendary voguers, drag queens, and trans women — including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, Dorian Corey, and Venus Xtravaganza.
Takes us to locations all around the US and shows us the heavy toll that modern technology is having on humans and the earth. The visual tone poem contains neither dialogue nor a vocalized narration: its tone is set by the juxtaposition of images and the exceptional music by Philip Glass.
Some films don't just tell stories — they change what stories can be. These are the ones that shifted what came after them.
A great documentary is one you find yourself thinking about weeks later. These qualify.