Best Documentaries of 2019

Thanks, Jeffrey Wells over at Hollywood-Elsewhere for the heads up that a few days ago the Broadcast Film Critics Association announced its Best Documentary nominations.

10 Nominees for Best Documentary Feature

American Factory, Apollo 11, The Biggest Little Farm, The Cave, Honeyland, The Kingmaker, Knock Down the House, Leaving Neverland, Maiden, One Child Nation, They Shall Not Grow Old

Not a bad bunch, but there are some missing titles. Maybe a good blueprint for them should have been my own list of the year’s best docs.

World of Reel’s best Docs of 2019

(1) Midnight Family (2) David Crosby: Remember My Name (3) American Dharma (4) They Shall Not Grow Old (5) Hail Satan (6) Rolling Thunder Revue: A Bob Dylan Story (7) Ask Dr. Ruth (8) American Factory (9) Cold Case Hammerskjold (10) Everybody's Everything (11) Fyre (12) Diego Maradona (13) Love, Antosha (14) The Amazing Jonathan Documentary (15) Honeyland (16) Midnight Traveller (17) For Sama

It’s been another incredible year for non-fiction cinema.

May el-Toukhy’s ‘Woman Unknown’ Wins the Golden Lion at Venice — Surprise!

The short version: "Woman Unknown" was a compromise. The jury deadlocked over "Possible Love" and "NAZA," not able to com to terms, fell back on their #3, May el-Toukhy's film.

Cory Finley's 'Reasonable People,' Starring Paul Rudd and Sam Rockwell, Shoots This Fall

Cory Finley, a talented filmmaker, has directed three films so far: "Thoroughbreds" (2017), "Bad Education” (2020), and "Landscape with Invisible Hand.”

Bassam Tariq Says Making ‘Blade' at Marvel Was ‘“a Different Thing”: “Somebody Else Is Running This”

Bassim Tariq was the first one in the chair. The "Mogul Mowgli" director spent two years building out the Mahershala Ali vehicle before exiting in 2022, and he's now letting the air out on this one.

‘The Family Stone’ Sequel Greenlit at Searchlight, Fall Shoot, Reunites the Entire Cast — Except Diane Keaton

Claire Danes, Rachel McAdams, Dermot Mulroney, Craig T. Nelson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Luke Wilson, Tyrone Giordano, Elizabeth Reaser, Paul Schneider, and Brian White will all be back.

Critics Are Fighting About ‘Fjord’ at TIFF; Sebastian Stan: “Not A MAGA Movie”

I was curious how Cristian Mungiu's "Fjord" would be received this fall. The Palme d'Or winner has become a culture-war flashpoint, and critics are more split on it than you might expect.

August 19, 2019

3-Hour ‘Midsommar' Director's Cut Screened in NYC

This year’s 12th edition of the Scary Movies festival at Film at Lincoln Center premiered Ari Aster’s extended version of “Midsommar” this past Saturday.

Joaquin Phoenix Reuniting with Mike Mills for Next Film, Shooting in January 2027

Phoenix is set to reunite with Mills on this next film, which is being distributed by A24 and starts shooting January 2027. This will be Phoenix’s first film since “Eddington.”

Paul Thomas Anderson Has Already Chosen His Next Film, Jonny Greenwood Says

“Paul is getting close to pressing the button on the next film, I believe, and I’m already trying to learn a new instrument that would be central to it,” Greenwood tells Screen Daily.

Ridley Scott Says “I Didn’t Say That” After Calling ‘The Dog Stars’ His Best Movie Since ‘The Martian’

In June 2026, Scott told The Buyer that “The Dog Stars” is “probably the best movie I’ve done since The Martian.” He’s now denying he ever said that.

Todd Field-Written ‘The Girls’ Sets Antoneta Alamat Kusijanovic to Direct, November Shoot

Cinephiles another Todd Field movie, and although we might have to wait for his next directorial effort, “The Girls” will have to suffice for now.

Fritz Lang’s ‘M’ Tops the Best Films of the 1930s, According to 100+ Critics

We’ve gone through the decades. The ‘40s ‘50s, ‘60s, ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s, ‘2000s, and ‘2010s. — all revisited, argued over. Now, here are the results for the best films of the 1930s.

Critics Poll: ‘Citizen Kane' Named Best Film of the 1940s

The results are in, and according to critics, this decade filled with cinematic riches did not have a better film than Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane.” Nobody should be surprised by this result. “Citizen Kane” changed cinema forever.

Critics Poll: ‘Vertigo’ Named Best Film of the 1950s, Over 120 Participants

It was a closer race than anticipated, but Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” has topped our best of the ’50s poll, besting Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen’s “Singin’ in the Rain” by just two votes.

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