7 Must See Filmmaking Documentaries

From a young age I always loved filmmaking documentaries.

 

Initially it was the excitement of seeing behind the curtain of films I enjoyed, which I still do, but as I grew older and wanted to write and direct films they became a source of inspiration and education.

 

Whilst there are plenty of featurettes and ‘making of’ videos available online, produced as a standard marketing requirement for studio and often indie films, I particularly like longer format ones that delve into the filmmaking process in greater detail.

 

Here’s a list of some of my favourite filmmaking documentaries.

 

As a film student in the 90’s I worked in a video store and was obsessed with this documentary, in fact there was a period where I would play it on the instore TV every shift I worked. As an aspiring writer/director I found this documentary fascinating, inspiring, terrifying and funny.

 

To quote John Milius, the co writer  “I wrote 10 drafts of Apocalypse Now…it was only because the director was insane that it ever got made”.

 

The production problems of Apocalypse Now are legendary as the scope of the production sprawled from a 16 week shoot to over 9 months. Everyday a new problem would arise that thwarted the production which nearly ended Coppola’s career and sanity.

 

As fate would have it, Hearts Of Darkness, released 12 years after Apocalypse Now, wasn’t actually planned as a documentary. It started out as Coppola giving his wife Eleanor “something to do” whilst on location in the Philippines by filming some promotional footage.  However she decided to secretly record a series of conversations with Francis for her diary which intimately capture his daily struggle as the production unravelled.

 

Hearts Of Darkness is a fascinating look at the film making process in the context of a huge Hollywood production. Full of great insights, interviews and footage it charts the evolving process of writing the screenplay, the mammoth creative and logistical problems faced during production through to a brief look at the premiere. 

 

Considering Eleanor recorded and filmed hundreds of hours of interviews and film, hopefully in the future a follow up documentary will be made.

 

‘Dawn Of The Dead’ is one of my favourite films and was one of three films I saw when I was young that made me want to be a director so I have a soft spot for ‘Document Of the Dead’ and watch it at least once a year.  Whilst not for everybody, unless you love horror or independent filmmaking, it’s one of the most unique ‘making of’ documentaries as it was created by Roy Frumkes, a lecturer at New York School Of Visual arts, to teach students about independent filmmaking.

 

‘Dawn Of The Dead’ is the sequel to Romero’s notorious and hugely successful ‘Night Of The Living Dead’.  During the production Frumke’s spent several days on location capturing the inner workings of a film being made outside the Hollywood system.  He conducted in depth interviews with the cast and crew covering all aspects of filmmaking including screenwriting, cinematography, special effects makeup, editing and the distribution process. It also delves into the techniques used in Romero’s earlier work and serves as a time capsule of a bygone era of indie film making. 

 

I managed to see ‘Visions Of Light’ on the big screen when it was released in 1992 and it’s sheer beauty and magnitude was mesmerising. 

 

Released for the 100 year anniversary of the invention of cinema, it features cinematographers discussing the art and craft of using lights and cameras to tell a story.  The fascinating journey through the visual  history of cinema is captivating and truly captures the magic of cinema as a cultural phenomenon and the preeminent art form of the last 130 years.  

 

Delving into styles as varied as black and white silent films to modern colour epics and covering multiple genres including war, thrillers, comedy, gangster and intimate character studies.

 

You come away from the experience with a long list of ‘must see films’ that are featured in the doco. For me it was the first time I saw clips from Bertoluci’s ‘The Conformist’, the cinematography by Vittorio Starraro was breathtakingly evocative and made me fall in love with the film which is still one of my all time favourites.

 

I only discovered ‘Overnight’ this year and what a trip it is.  It should be an inspiring rags to riches story but it turns out to be a cautionary tale of the dangers of ego versus the virtue of humility.   

 

Troy Duffy was working at a dive bar in LA in 1997 where he wrote a screenplay called ‘The Boondock Saints’. He managed to get it into the hands of Harvey Weistein, at the height of his powers, who not only bought the script for $300,000, he agreed to let Duffy direct the film with a budget of $15 million.  Duffy’s band were given a record deal and the right to produce the film’s soundtrack and for good measure Weistein bought the dive bar and elevated Duffy to manage it. In short, Duffy was given an opportunity that any aspiring musician or filmmaker would die for and he blew it all spectacularly. 

 

What ensues is an extraordinary character study of a young man destroying a golden opportunity through sheer arrogance. Rather than being grateful, working hard to make the best film possible or even nervous about the responsibility, Duffy perceives himself as a big Hollywood player and becomes belligerent, abusive, deceptive and even tries to screw his band mates over in their recording deal.  

 

Due to Duffy’s conduct ‘The Boondock Saints’ was dropped by Miramax and Duffy but he managed to get the film made through other means with a smaller budget. However he encountered further problems with distribution as he’d been black listed by Weistein and despite years later ‘The Boondock Saints’ finding success on DVD, there’s a final irony and poetic twist awaiting Duffy. 20 years after being offered the chance of a lifetime deal Duffy has only managed to make 3 features, the last was in 2020 as the writer. 

 

For the release of the original ‘Alien Trilogy’ DVD Box Set, Fox produced three in depth official documentaries charting the productions of ‘Alien’, ‘Aliens’ and ‘Alien 3’.  Each film has a distinct feel to it and vastly different approach to production, in part for having different directors, but also due to the different types of stories being told. 

 

Totalling over 7 hours, the doco series gives an incredible insight into all aspects of making major Hollywood productions, from writing a screenplay in the  studio system, creating the visuals, practical effects and casting. Each production encountered major difficulties which are examined in great depth including writers and directors being fired, large crews unhappy with the production conditions and producers working on tight schedules and limited budgets relative to a typical studio film.  What is unique about the series is there is time dedicated to the post production process, particularly in ‘Aliens’, with a focus on sound design and the difficulties composing the music when the picture edit hasn’t been completed.