Top 25 DVDs
As of December 31, 2011

1. 49 UP

Eames: The Architect and the Painter
Narrated by James Franco, Eames: The Architect and the Painter tells the story of two of America's most important designers, the husband-and-wife team of Charles and Ray Eames.


2.

Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune
From youthful idealism to rage to pessimism, the arc of Phil Ochs' life paralleled that of the times, and the righteous indignation that drove his music also drove him to despair. With Joan Baez, Pete Seeger, Sean Penn and others.


3.

Circo
Gorgeously filmed along the back roads of rural Mexico and set to the music of Calexico, Circo follows the Ponce family’s hardscrabble circus as it struggles to stay together as the fate of this century-old family tradition hangs in the balance.

4.

Hey, Boo: Harper Lee & To Kill a Mockingbird
Hey, Boo explores the To Kill a Mockingbird phenomenon and unravels some of the mysteries surrounding Harper Lee. It also brings to light the context and history of the novel's Deep South setting and the social changes it inspired after publication.


5.

Making the Boys
This documentary explores the legacy of “The Boys in the Band” - the first ever gay play and subsequent Hollywood movie to successfully reach a mainstream audience. With Edward Albee, Mart Crowley, Dominick Dunne, Tony Kushner and more.


6.

Living in Emergency
Set in war-torn Congo and Liberia, Living in Emergency interweaves the stories of four volunteers with Doctors Without Borders as they struggle to provide emergency medical care under the most extreme conditions.


7.

For the Bible Tells Me So
This provocative, entertaining documentary brilliantly reconciles homosexuality and Biblical scripture, and in the process reveals that religious anti-gay bias is based almost solely upon an often malicious misinterpretation of the Bible.


8. 49 UP

Kings of Pastry
When D.A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus turn their sights on the competition for the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (MOF), France’s top pastry prize, there is edge-of-the-seat drama as the chefs deliver their fantastical desserts to the table.


9.

Bonhoeffer
A film by Martin Doblmeier. The German theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer was one of the first, and strongest, voices of resistance to Adolf Hitler. He joined the unsuccessful plots to assassinate Hitler and was executed three weeks before the end of the war.


10.

Dive!
Inspired by a curiosity about society's habit of sending edible food straight to landfills, this award-winning documentary follows filmmaker Jeremy Seifert and friends as they dumpster dive in the gated garbage receptacles of Los Angeles' supermarkets.


11.

Jane's Journey
Jane's Journey is an inspiring portrait of the private person behind the world-famous icon Jane Goodall, whose 45 year study of wild chimpanzees in Africa is legendary. With Jane Goodall, Pierce Brosnan, Kofi Annan, Angelina Jolie & more.

12.

Alice
A Film by Jan Svankmajer. The Czech master animator creates a surrealist dream universe with his interpretation of Lewis Carroll's classic tale of childhood, Alice in Wonderland.


13.

The Goebbels Experiment
Kenneth Branagh reads from the diaries of Hitler’s propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. A rare and chilling glimpse into a brilliant but toxic mind, punctuated with rare clips from German film and television archives.


14.

Directors: Life Behind the Camera
Directors: Life Behind the Camera features thirty-three legendary directors who reveal intimate and in-depth knowledge about the art of filmmaking and their own careers. Featuring Scorsese, Altman, Lucas and many more!


15.

4th & Goal
The Blind Side meets Hoop Dreams in this epic tale of six young football players in their quest to join the most elite club in professional sports: the NFL. Who will make it and why?

16.

Inside the Third Reich Box Set
Four provocative, astonishing documentaries about Nazi Germany: Firestorm, The Reich Underground, Television Under the Swastika and The Goebbels Experiment.

17.

Forgiving Dr. Mengele
Eva Kor and her sister were victims of the infamous Nazi doctor Josef Mengele at Auschwitz. Haunted ever since, something shocking occurs: Eva finds the power to forgive him. But not everyone is ready to forgive the unforgivable.


18.

Dancing Dreams
In 2008, world-famous dancer and choreographer Pina Bausch selected 40 teenagers who had never heard her name to be part of her dance piece Contact Zone. For 10 months, the dancers discover Bausch’s genius and their own bodies.


19.

The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
This Oscar nominated documentary is the story of Daniel Ellsberg, a Pentagon official, who in 1971 concluded that the Vietnam War was based on decades of lies and leaked top secret documents to The New York Times.


20.

Howard Zinn: You Can't Be Neutral on a Moving Train - Commemorative Edition
A new Commemorative Edition of our best-selling DVD, Howard Zinn: You Can't be Neutral on a Moving Train, featuring over an hour of new bonus materials including speeches, college talks, interviews, and excerpts with Studs Terkel.


21.

The Art of Filmmaking
This collector's edition box set features five documentaries: Tales from the Script, Directors: Life Behind the Camera, Capturing Reality: The Art of Documentary, Light Keeps Me Company and Lavender Limelight: Lesbians in Film.


22.

Strangers in Good Company
A Film by Cynthia Scott. The surprising hit about seven old women stranded at a deserted farmhouse miles from civilization who turn a crisis into a magical time of humor and spirit.


23. 49 UP

Ballerina
In the grand tradition of the Ballets Russes comes this portrait of five Russian ballerinas from the Mariinsky Theatre. From the backstage studio to stages around the world, Ballerina captures the sublime beauty of ballet in all its resplendent glory.


24.

Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven
An intimate portrait of Le Cirque founder Sirio Maccioni and his three sons to whom he will one day leave his formidable culinary legacy, Le Cirque: A Table in Heaven is the fascinating story of a family business caught in the world’s spotlight.


 
25.

Plastic Planet
This feisty yet informative documentary takes us on a journey around the globe to reveal the far-flung reach of plastic, and shed light on how it affects our environment, our bodies, and the health of future generations.