When sleep won't come, the worst thing to watch is something forgettable. You need a film absorbing enough to quiet a busy mind - but not so disturbing it keeps you awake for different reasons.
The 80s and 90s are where a lot of cinema's DNA was written. Films that set the templates still running today.
The best documentaries don't just inform - they change how you see something you thought you already understood.
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.
The best endings don't resolve - they resonate. You're still thinking about them on the way to bed. These qualify.
After watching a great documentary, the world looks slightly different. That's not a small thing.