What are the great documentary films that focus on historical events/figures? Obviously, people like Ken Burns' stuff a lot (and it's fashionable to bash him in equal meausure, which I'm cool with). I'm going to make my way back through the many volumed Eyes on the Prize--I've seen much of it in various chunks over the years, but probably never the whole thing in order.
Jeremy Issac's World at War and Cold War series. Sadly, the latter only briefly came out on VHS, not at all on DVD.
Shoah The Sorrow and the Pity Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie Night and Fog Are you only interested in docs that were "historical" in conception, or are you counting docs that were about current events when they were made but have since become historical items?
Here are a few of my favorites. Fog Of War Wonderful/ Horrible Life: Leni Riefenstahl These two...well, I think you can see the theme here. The Atomic Cafe I suppose you may need to be old enough to have lived through the Cold War to really feel the full punch of this. Still, a must see on the subject of the absurdity of Cold War paranoia-a good double feature with Dr. Strangelove. The Times of Harvey Milk Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment With hindsight, you might think it as a form of Camelot hagiography, but I think it holds up well and provides insight into Kennedy as he deals with George Wallace. Berkeley in the Sixties Besides being a very good film, I love that it shines the spotlight on Mario Savio. For some of you young cats out there who don't know who he was: [YOUTUBE]tcx9BJRadfw[/YOUTUBE]
Vietnam: A Television History http://www.museum.tv/archives/etv/V/htmlV/vietnamate/vietnamate.htm Link to the first episode.