ARTS 273 - Documentary Film - Fine Arts - Research Guides at Hudson Valley Community College

Films for Class

Night Mail (1936)
Night Mail is a 1936 English documentary film directed and produced by Harry Watt and Basil Wright, and produced by the General Post Office (GPO) film unit. The 24-minute film documents the nightly postal train operated by the London, Midland and Scottish Railway (LMS) from London to Glasgow and the staff who operate it.
Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
is an experimental 1929 Ukrainian Soviet silent documentary film, directed by Dziga Vertov, filmed by his brother Mikhail Kaufman, and edited by Vertov's wife Yelizaveta Svilova. Kaufman also appears as the eponymous Man of the film.
The River (1938)
The River is a 1938 short documentary film which shows the importance of the Mississippi River to the United States, and how farming and timber practices had caused topsoil to be swept down the river and into the Gulf of Mexico, leading to catastrophic floods and impoverishing farmers. It ends by briefly describing how the Tennessee Valley Authority project was beginning to reverse these problems.
The Plow That Broke the Plains (1936)
The Plow That Broke the Plains is a 1936 short documentary film that shows the cultivation of the Great Plains region of the United States and Canada following the Civil War and leading up to the Dust Bowl as a result of farmers' exploitation of the Great Plains' natural resources.
Why We Fight
'Why We Fight' is a 2005 documentary film by Eugene Jarecki about the military–industrial complex. The title refers to the World War II-era eponymous propaganda films commissioned by the U.S. Government to justify their decision to enter the war against the Axis Powers
Harvest of Shame
Item also loanable as DVD from the Marvin Library Circulating collection.
Harvest of Shame was a 1960 television documentary presented by broadcast journalist Edward R. Murrow on CBS that showed the plight of American migrant agricultural workers. It was Murrow's final documentary for the network; he left CBS at the end of January 1961, at John F. Kennedy's request, to become head of the United States Information Agency. An investigative report intended "to shock Americans into action," it was "the first time millions of Americans were given a close look at what it means to live in poverty" by their televisions
The Salesman
In an early example of cinema verite, filmmakers Albert and David Maysles followed door-to-door Bible salesmen on their rounds through Boston, transforming the footage into the 1968 feature-length film The Salesman. In this program, writer and editor Jack Kroll interviews the brothers about their direct cinema technique.
Vietnam: The Quiet Mutiny
John Pilger's first film, The Quiet Mutiny, made in 1970 for the British current affairs series World in Action, broke the sensational story of insurrection by American drafted troops in Vietnam
Outfoxed
This Robert Greenwald documentary, made during the George W. Bush Presidency, provides an in-depth look at Fox News. Showing extensive Fox News footage to illustrate and Roger Ailes' daily memos to reporters to illustrate its points, the film argues that Fox News pushes Republican talking points into the national consciousness, functioning as a propaganda organ. It takes us behind the scenes with interviews with former Fox reporters and employees.
Midnight Traveler (2019)
When the Taliban puts a bounty on Afghan director Hassan Fazili’s head, he is forced to flee the country with his wife and two young daughters. Capturing the family’s uncertain journey firsthand, Fazili documents their harrowing trek across numerous borders revealing the danger and uncertainty facing refugees seeking asylum juxtaposed with the unbreakable love shared amongst the family on the run.
Harlan County USA
Available to borrow from the Dwight Marvin Circulating Collection.
Harlan County, USA is a 1976 American documentary film covering the "Brookside Strike",[1] a 1973 effort of 180 coal miners and their wives against the Duke Power Company-owned Eastover Coal Company's Brookside Mine and Prep Plant in Harlan County, southeast Kentucky. It won the Academy Award for Best Documentary at the 49th Academy Awards.
Ken Burns: Brooklyn Bridge
Today it's a symbol of strength and vitality. A century-and-a-half ago, it was a source of controversy. Ken Burns' first major documentary examines the great problems and ingenious solutions that marked the construction of the Brooklyn Bridge. From conception to construction, the program traces the bridge's transformation from a spectacular feat of heroic engineering to an honored symbol in American culture.
4 Little Girls
In his documentary (and HBO) debut, renowned director/producer Spike Lee takes an in-depth look at one of America's most heinous crimes, a racially motivated bombing that may have been caused by -- and most definitely helped define -- the emerging civil-rights movement championed by Dr. Martin Luther King and others. 4 Little Girls is at once a moving human account by family members and friends of the four girls who perished in the September 15, 1963 bombing, as well as an important historical account of the forces that shaped race relations in Birmingham (called by King "the most thoroughly segregated city in the U.S.") and the nation in the 1960s.
They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)
On the centenary of the end of the First World War, Academy Award® winner Peter Jackson (The Lord of the Rings trilogy) presents an extraordinary new work showing the Great War as you've never seen it. Using state of the art technology to restore original archival footage that's more than 100 years old, Jackson brings to life the people who can best tell this story: the men who were there.
Roger & Me (1989)
Essay on General Motors plant closings in Flint, Michigan, which left thousands unemployed. The target for satire is GM chairman Roger Smith.
Blackfish
Blackfish tells the story of Tilikum, a performing killer whale that killed several people while in captivity. Along the way, director-producer Gabriela Cowperthwaite compiles shocking footage and emotional interviews to explore the creature’s extraordinary nature, the species’ cruel treatment in captivity, the lives and losses of the trainers and the pressures brought to bear by the multi-billion dollar sea-park industry.

This emotionally wrenching, tautly structured story challenges us to consider our relationship to nature and reveals how little we humans have learned from these highly intelligent and enormously sentient fellow mammals.
Summer of Soul (...or, when the revolution could not be televised)
In his acclaimed debut as a filmmaker, Ahmir "Questlove" Thompson presents a powerful and transporting documentary, part music film, part historical record, created around an epic event that celebrated Black history, culture, and fashion. Over the course of six weeks in the summer of 1969, just one hundred miles south of Woodstock, The Harlem Cultural Festival was filmed in Mount Morris Park (now Marcus Garvey Park). The footage was largely forgotten, until now. This documentary shines a light on the importance of history to our spiritual well-being and stands as a testament to the healing power of music during times of unrest, both past, and present.
The Last Truck: The Closing of a GM Plant
On December 23, 2008, the General Motors assembly plant in Moraine, Ohio, shut its doors, leaving 2,500 men and women without jobs. This program follows the final months of the plant through the eyes of workers cast adrift. Interviews reveal the emotional toll of losing not just a job, but a sense of self—as Kathy, a body shop employee and mother of three, mourns the loss of her GM family; as Popeye, a toolmaker, views the plant’s demise as the end of American industrial power; as Kate, a forklift operator, conjures the metaphor of a “gentle dragon” taking its last breath; and as Kim, an electrician, echoes the communal farewell that unfolds as the last truck rolls off the line.

Print textbook- available on reserve!

A New History of Documentary Film by Betsy A. McLane

Click to see if it's currently available at the Library for in-building use.

Documentaries on DVD

3 1/2 minutes, ten bullets

KF225.D86 A13 2015 DVD 1767

Let the Church Say Amen

PN1995.9.F67 L48 2005 DVD 416

Wordplay

GV1507.C7 W67 2006 DVD 1484

Harvest of Shame

PN4784.B75 E39 2005 DVD 1474

Quiet Rage: the Stanford Prison Study

IMC HV6089 .Q54 2004 DVD 74

In Search of Shakespeare

PR2894 .I49 2004 DVD 114

Andy Warhol

N6537.W28 A84 2006 DVD 679

The Last Waltz

M1630.18 .L37 2002 DVD 1476

Man on Wire

GV550.2.P47 M36 2008 DVD 1477

RBG

KF8745.G56 R34 2018 DVD 1915

Bowling for Columbine

HV7436 .B59 2003 DVD 60b

Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room

HD2741 .E57 2006 DVD 317

Miss Representation

P94.5.W65 M57 2012 DVD 1091

Fresh

IS494.5.S86 F747 2009 DVD 1047

Pressure Cooker

TX667 .P74 2010 DVD 1838

Scared Straight

HV7431 .S27 2003 DVD 1832

Blackfish

SF408.6.K54 B53 2013 DVD 1834

eBooks about Documentaries

A Journey Through Documentary Film

Michael Moore and the Rhetoric of Documentary

Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Digital Videos

Helpful Library Links

Ask a Librarian
Chat real-time with a librarian 24/7.
Cite Your Sources
Get citation help for your sources.
Building Hours
See when the Library building is open.

Web Services Librarian

Sierra Pasquale

she/they

Email Me

Contact:

MRV 141

518-629-7395

Films in our Streaming Databases

The Library subscribes to several online streaming databases, including the ones below. Use these databases to access a variety of materials, including film clips, series, and full-length features. For a complete list of the Library's streaming resources, see our Media Services page.

Swank Digital Campus This link opens in a new window
Fifty full-length feature films and documentaries including Academy Award winners, classics, and cult favorites. Public performance rights are included for HVCC so these films may be streamed in the classroom as well as at student events where no admission fee is charged.
Academic Video Online This link opens in a new window
More than 62,000 video titles spanning the widest range of subject areas including anthropology, business, counseling, film and more. AVON includes every kind of video material available with curricular relevance: documentaries, interviews, performances, news programs and newsreels, field recordings, commercials, and raw footage. Users will find thousands of award-winning films, including Academy®, Emmy®, and Peabody® winners as well as the most frequently used films for classroom instruction, plus newly released films and previously unavailable archival material.
Films on Demand This link opens in a new window
More than 30,000 individual videos across all subject areas from producers including BBC, HBO, History Channel, PBS, and dozens of others.

Recommended channels for Academic Video Online (AVON):

Recommended channels for Films on Demand (FOD):

Finding a Film Review

Film reviews are unique articles that evaluate and critique a specific film or films. In addition to analysis and reactions/opinions, critics may also include a recommendation. Links to good resources for finding film reviews are listed below.

Film Quarterly [journal via JSTOR]
Be sure to select "In this Journal" next to the search bar before running your search.

Gale OneFile: News
Search newspapers like the New York Times for reviews. Tip: search on the film title and the phrase "film review."

Movie Review Query Engine [website]
Search for reviews from a variety of sources; be sure to check for credibility!

OneSearch [HVCC search engine]
The Library's main database. Add details like the director or year to your search.

Fine Arts: ARTS 273 - Documentary Film

Films for Class

Print textbook- available on reserve!

Documentaries on DVD

eBooks about Documentaries

Crafting Truth

Documenting the Documentary

A Journey Through Documentary Film

Michael Moore and the Rhetoric of Documentary

Truth or Dare

Writing, Directing, and Producing Documentary Films and Digital Videos

Documentary

Documentary Film Festivals

Helpful Library Links

Web Services Librarian

Films in our Streaming Databases

Finding a Film Review

Research

Library Services

Quick Links

About