With the big news from the Criterion Collection about the addition of Errol Morris documentaries to their library, fans of the genre have something to be happy about. There are few documentarians better than Morris working in film, and he has a number of films that could, and hopefully, will make an appearance in the Criterion Collection over the near future.
With that said, there are a lot of great documentaries already in the collection that fans can watch, from a film that remains one of the earliest examples of a documentary to one that tells the story of the making of a notorious film. Here is a look at some of the best documentaries the Criterion Collection has to offer.
“Nanook of the North”
Released in 1922, “Nanook of the North” is one of cinema’s earliest true documentaries. Robert J. Flaherty travelled to a subarctic post on the northeast border of the Hudson Bay, where he remained for 16 months, documenting the Eskimos that lived there. He showcased one particular Eskimo named Nanook, one of the most celebrated hunters in the tribe. The film was a great success, both critically and at the box office, despite many distributors’ insistence that no one would want to watch it.
“Salesman”
While Errol Morris remains one of cinema’s greatest documentarians, the Maysles brothers might be the best of them all. They have a number of films available in the Criterion Collection, including “Gimme Shelter,” “Grey Gardens” and “The Monterey Pop Film Festival.” The movie that kick started their career is also in the collection with “Salesman.” Albert was the cinematographer and David ran the sound, and the two focused on door-to-door Bible salesmen in their debut documentary. While not a topic that many believe might be successful, the main salesman’s life and doubts make for a gripping tale.
“Burden of Dreams”
In 1982, Werner Herzog made the movie “Fitzcarraldo.” Anyone who knows much about Herzog knows that he is a stickler for detail and will go to almost any length when making a movie. In the case of this movie, Herzog focuses on a man who wants to reach an area with unclaimed rubber he can sell to help him build an opera house. In order to do so, he has to have natives help pull his 320-ton steamer ship over a hillside to make it from one river to another. To make it realistic, Herzog shot the scene of men actually pulling a 30-ton ship over the hill. “Burden of Dreams” shows this five-year filmmaking journey.
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