TV Documentary Movies

The struggle to retain control over Jerusalem raged between Muslims and Christians, coming to a head in 1096 as an epic battle played out. This program uses state-of-the-art computer animation to bring the battle to life, creating a historically fascinating look at an epic tussle. ~ Carly Wray, Rovi

Liz Garbus (The Farm: Angola, USA) directed this documentary that takes a close look at death row inmate Wanda Jean Allen. What sets this film apart from the average examination of a death row appeal is that the convicted killer is a lesbian African-American. If the state of Oklahoma goes through with the sentence, she will become the first black woman to be killed by the state in almost a half century. Garbus interviews both Allen's legal team, as well as the parents of the victim. Since Allen certainly committed the act she has been convicted of, the legal drama hangs on if new evidence concerning Allen's mental state will sway the clemency board. This film was screened at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Bill Couturie's Last Letters Home: Voices of American Troops from Iraq features a variety of people reading correspondence sent from American soldiers serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom to their families. These words are set to images from the war. Couturie earned praise for his previous film about soldiers from letters serving during the Vietnam War. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Following their acclaimed documentary about a controversial death in a small town, Brother's Keeper, filmmakers Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky, explore another criminal case with even more complex strands. When the mutilated corpses of three eight-year-old boys are found near a wooded stream in West Memphis, AR, suspicion falls on a trio of young men, Jessie Miskelly Jr., Jason Baldwin, and Damian Wayne Echols. Stories that the men listened to hard rock music and fashioned themselves satanists fueled speculation of their involvement in the crime. Unlike Brother's Keeper, in which the citizens of the upstate New York town rallied to protect one of its own, an elderly man accused of killing one of his siblings, Paradise Lost portrays West Memphis as split on the question of guilt. Berlinger and Sinofsky offer equal time to both sides, but as this long and absorbing film rolls on, it becomes clear that they're skeptical of the prosecution's case, especially because it rests so heavily on an confession extracted from the mentally challenged Miskelly, and suspicious of the stepfather of one of the victims, who seems to relish the spotlight a bit too much. Paradise Lost 2: Revelations, a sequel, follows the case deeper into the appeals process. ~ Tom Wiener, Rovi

This edition of Biography, the long running documentary series from A&E, explores the life of the legendary Pocahontas. Born Matoaka, Pocahontas was a Powhatan historical figure; born in present-day Virginia. She reportedly interceded with her father, Chief Powhatan, to spare the life of John Smith of Jamestown colony. After adopting Christianity, she married John Rolfe and traveled to England in 1616. She died (possibly of smallpox) on the trip back. Through her son, Thomas Rolfe, she is an ancestor of the Randolph family of Virginia. Her folklore legend continues to this day as she is often represented in Indian legend and her story was adapted into a Disney production. ~ John Patrick Sheehan, Rovi

This film documents the careers of the country music legends The Carter Family. Part of the American Experience series, this film utilizes archival footage, photographs that belonged to the descendants of the people documented, and narration by the Academy Award-winning actor Robert Duvall. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Renowned director Martin Scorsese's documentary No Direction Home: Bob Dylan chronicles the career of the singer and songwriter during the tumultuous years between 1961 and 1966. Dylan allowed Scorsese to have access to hours of footage that had never before been made public, including a number of live performances, and footage of Dylan in the recording studio creating some of his landmark albums from the period. Dylan sits for an extensive interview, as does a variety of people who worked with him during this time period, including Joan Baez and fellow songwriter Pete Seeger. The film debuted on PBS stations around the country on September 26, 2005. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Victory in the Pacific documents the ending of the fighting in World War II's Pacific Theater. The film shows how the brutality and fatalities increased, and lays out the timeline of the various choices that led to the dropping of the atomic bomb -- the act that led most directly to the end of WWII. This video is part of the American Experience series. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

The documentary Clear the Skies explains how in the aftermath of the attack on the World Trade Center, fighter pilots were sent into the sky to ground every plane that was in the air. There were nearly 5,000 aircraft in the air that needed to be brought back down to the ground. The film includes interviews with pilots and government officials. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

Part of the Biography television series from A&E, this documentary reviews the career and personal life of actress Katherine Hepburn. Hepburn attained international fame as a strong character actress. Among many of her outstanding films was Woman of the Year, which saw the beginning of a 25-year professional and personal relationship with co-star Spencer Tracy. She won Oscars for Morning Glory, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?, The Lion in Winter, and On Golden Pond, and she is also remembered for her role in The African Queen. On Broadway she played Shakespearean roles in the 1950s, and enjoyed enormous success in the stage musical Coco. Her television work includes The Glass Menagerie, Love Among the Ruins, and Mrs. Delafield Wants to Marry. In 1991 she published Me: Stories of My Life.
~ John Patrick Sheehan, Rovi

While plenty of scientists have done research on the phenomenon of shark attacks, Dr. Erich Ritter has an unusual degree of experience in the subject. In 2002, while working with the Discovery Channel on a documentary on shark behavior, Ritter was given a severe bite on the leg by a bull shark weighing 350 pounds. The attack was caught on film (one of the very few times this has happened), and Ritter survived to tell about it in Anatomy of a Shark Bite, which examines not just the attack on the scientist, but the nature of sharks, how and why they approach their victims, and what he and his colleagues learned from the incident. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Film diarist Ross McElwee (Sherman's March) offers another personal examination of Southern history and life with Bright Leaves, a documentary tracing his own connection to North Carolina and its tobacco industry. McElwee is drawn to the subject after meeting his second cousin John, a film memorabilia collector, who shows McElwee an old Warner Bros. film from 1950, Bright Leaf, in which Gary Cooper stars (alongside Patricia Neal and Lauren Bacall) as a tobacco magnate who builds himself up from nothing only to lose everything to a rich, powerful, and ruthless Southern gentleman. The film reminds McElwee of the stories his father used to tell about his great grandfather, who built up a fortune in the tobacco business, but spent years, and tens of thousands of dollars, suing the Duke family (the most powerful tobacco growers in American history, and founders of Duke University) for stealing his famous "Durham Bull" brand. The battle ruined him and left the family bankrupt. McElwee decides to investigate the origins of the film, which leads him to explore his own connection to the tobacco industry. Even though his family is no longer in the business, McElwee feels guilty about his family's "contribution to global tobacco addiction." McElwee interviews cancer patients, including former patients of his late father, a surgeon. He also interviews several friends who smoke or who have ties to the tobacco industry. In focusing on Bright Leaf, he finds himself interviewing film historian Vlada Petric and actress Neal. All of this is intertwined with a very personal family history involving his relationship with his father, his son, and the whole issue of smoking. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi

Get ready for an up-close look at the world's oldest profession as HBO's America Undercover series takes you behind the scenes at the Moonlight Bunny Ranch -- Nevada's foremost modern brothel. All of your fantasies can come true at the Bunny Ranch, and if you're low on cash, they also accept major credit cards. So take a trip into the desert to a place where all of your deepest desires can become reality. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi