IDA Members Pick 25 Top Docs Ever: Hoop Dreams is Number One

Steve James' HOOP DREAMS, the 1994 epic nonfiction tracing the high school basketball careers of two inner-city Chicago teens, was tops on the International Documentary Association's recently announced list of the top 25 documentaries of all time, as voted on by its members in celebration of the organizations 25th anniversary from an original ballot that included 700 films.

As polls like this often go, recent releases figured heavily in the mix, with a full 2/5 of the titles having come out since 2002.  Last year's Oscar winner, AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, landed surprisingly high at number 6, while Morgan Spurlock's entertaining fast food polemic SUPER SIZE ME (2004) placed ahead of documentary classics DON'T LOOK BACK (1967), SALESMAN (1968) and SHERMAN'S MARCH (1986).

SALESMAN was one of three titles from the David and Albert Maysles to make the all-time list - GIMME SHELTER (1970)  and GREY GARDENS (#16) were the others, thus tying the brothers Maysles with Michael Moore for filmmakers with the most films on the list.

The IDA has key crew credits for each of the films, plus synopses and essays, at their website.  As indieWIRE is reporting, Netflix has been a presenting sponsor of the IDA's program:

"The company indicated that the majority of the 700 films on the original ballot are available on their service, with the exception of #19, Frederick Wiseman's "Titicut Follies," which has never been released commercially and is only available for educational purposes."

Although I tend to think of these kinds of lists as entertaining exercises (and why not, on your anniversary, look back with some level of nostalgic pride for your successes), at least a few of my blogging compatriots have brought the hammer down upon this list.

SHAME! cries Anthony Kaufman:

"Shame on the International Documentary Association for going the facile way of the American Film Institute, with their incessant, ultimately meaningless, hierarchical lists that do more to raise the profile of the organizations and their sponsors -- in this case Netflix, provider of screeners -- than really shine a light on the best of movies.

Of course, it's not the "best" of anything here, but a few great documentaries, sprinkled in with several recent, high-profile documentaries that just happen to be on IDA members's minds...I wonder if the list is more disparaging for IDA members -- who are to blame for the votes -- than the organization itself. I would also imagine that the INTERNATIONAL Documentary Association members might have more discriminating and worldly tastes: Why is only Alain Resnais's "Night and Fog" (down low at #23) the only foreign-language doc? Ugh."

Karina Longworth takes note of the list's decidedly white-male dominance:

"Predictably, the list isn’t very interesting–as is usually the case with these things, it’s very American and very weighed towards recent releases. Box office hits and Oscar winners are well represented; non-white people are represented as subjects, but not so much as makers; there’s one film on this list directed by a woman, and another one about women. Michael Moore, Errol Morris and the Maysles own a full third of the list real estate between them."

**Just a note to add that the Maysles films in question each have at least one female filmmaker listed as co-director, including two appearances by Charlotte Zwerin.

Four and a half years ago, the IDA released a list of the top 20 Docs (celebrating their 20th anniversary).  While many of the films on the lists are the same, it's interesting to note the films that fell off (including NANOOK OF THE NORTH, 7 UP, AMERICAN MOVIE and SHOAH) as well as those that made the list this time (DON'T LOOK BACK, KOYAANISQATSI and WOODSTOCK).  Earlier this year, Boston's Chlotrudis Society came up with a list of 100 nonfiction films.

Here's the IDA's list of the Top 25 documentaries of all-time:

#1. HOOP DREAMS (1994)
Directed by Steve James

#2. THE THIN BLUE LINE (1988)
Directed by Errol Morris

#3. BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE (2002)
Directed by Michael Moore

#4. SPELLBOUND (2002)
Directed by Jeffrey Blitz

#5. HARLAN COUNTY, U.S.A. (1976)
Directed by Barbara Kopple

#6. AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH (2006)
Directed by Davis Guggenheim

#7. CRUMB (1994)
Directed by Terry Zwigoff

#8. GIMME SHELTER (1970)
Directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles & Charlotte Zwerin

#9. THE FOG OF WAR (2003)
Directed by Errol Morris

#10. ROGER & ME (1989)
Directed by Michael Moore

#11. SUPER SIZE ME (2004)
Directed by Morgan Spurlock

#12. DON'T LOOK BACK (1967)
Directed by DA Pennebaker

#13. SALESMAN (1968)
Directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin

#14. KOYAANISQATSI (1983)
Directed by Godfrey Reggio

#15. SHERMAN'S MARCH (1986)
Directed by Ross McElwee

#16. GREY GARDENS (1976)
Directed by Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer

#17. CAPTURING THE FRIEDMANS (2003)
Directed by Andrew Jarecki

#18. BORN INTO BROTHELS (2004)
Directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman

#19. TITICUT FOLLIES (1967)
Directed by Frederick Wiseman

#20. BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB (1999)
Directed by Wim Wenders

#21. FAHRENHEIT 9/11 (2002)
Directed by Michael Moore

#22. WINGED MIGRATION (2002)
Directed by Jacques Perrin

#23. GRIZZLY MAN (2005)
Directed by Werner Herzog

#24. NIGHT AND FOG (1955)
Directed by Alain Resnais

#25. WOODSTOCK (1970)
Directed by Michael Wadleigh

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