The best Jonathan Demme’s documentary movies
If you love cinema, you will share this ranking of the best Jonathan Demme’s movies, although you may have ordered them differently. In any case, we hope you love it and with a little luck discovering a movie that you still don’t know about Jonathan Demme.
Corman's World
7.6/10
A chronicle of the long career of American filmmaker Roger Corman, the most tenacious and ingenious low-budget producer and director in the US film industry, a pioneer of independent filmmaking and discoverer of new talent.
Jodie Foster, Hollywood Under the Skin
7.2/10
From her precocious status as a sex symbol to her consecration as a filmmaker, Jodie Foster's story is about a feminist struggle, albeit atypical, fought on and off the screen. This film sets out to retrace her remarkable journey within the Hollywood industry.
Richard Linklater: Dream Is Destiny
7.3/10
Highlighting one of the most innovative American directors, this film reveals the path traveled by the auteur from his small-town Texas roots to his warm reception on the awards circuit. Long before he directed Boyhood, Richard Linklater’s intense desire to create fueled his work outside the Hollywood system. Rather than leave Texas, he chose to collaborate with like-minded artists crafting modest, low-budget films in a DIY style. His ability to showcase realistic characters and tell honest stories was evident from his films, and others soon took notice of his raw talent.
Cousin Bobby
6.4/10
Robert Castle is the idealistic pastor of St. Mary's Episcopal Church in Harlem, and also the cousin of filmmaker Jonathan Demme. Demme's affectionate portrait of his cousin traces Castle's story, beginning with his first parish assignment, in New Jersey in the early 1960s, in an increasingly African-American-populated neighborhood rocked by violence and civil rights protests. The film raises intimate discussions of race, faith and family, while also showing Castle's daily routine as a pastor.
Inside the Labyrinth: The Making of 'The Silence of the Lambs'
7.5/10
A behind-the-scenes look at the making of this Oscar winning thriller, prepared for its tenth anniversary. Includes interviews with star Anthony Hopkins, as well as other members of the cast and crew, giving their views on the experience of creating this masterpiece of terror and suspense.
The Silence of the Lambs: The Inside Story
8.2/10
With interviews from cast and crew, including stars Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, and director Jonathan Demme, this feature-length documentary tells the story of how a film with a young director trained in B-movies and cheesy comedies managed to make one of the most chilling films in decades, and how a studio in the midst of collapse turned out a film that took the box office - and Oscars - by storm.
The Making of 'The Silence of the Lambs'
7.7/10
This brief throwback piece focused on interview snippets from Hopkins, Demme, Glenn, Foster, FBI agent John Douglas and another unnamed FBI agent.
Hitchcock - Shadow of a Genius
7.9/10
This documentary is a fascinating look at the cinematic genius of Alfred Hitchcock. Briefly covering much of his early British works, the film primarily focuses on his American classics, such as "Shadow of a Doubt", "Notorious", "Rear Window", "Vertigo", "Psycho" and "The Birds". The movie also covers his television years and neatly examines the Hitchcock signature touches, from his inevitable brief cameo to his famous MacGuffin.
People Like Us: Making 'Philadelphia'
7.3/10
10 years after the release of "Philadelphia", director Jonathan Demme, Tom Hanks, Denzel Washington and others discuss about the making of that film and it's important legacy through the years of being the first mainstream Hollywood film about dealing with the topic of Aids, revealing its impact on culture and society. Cast and crew talk about the inception of the project, the making of it and curious stories about one of the greatest hits of 1993.
One Foot on a Banana Peel, the Other Foot in the Grave: Secrets from the Dolly Madison Room
7.2/10
Secrets from the Dolly Madison Room This thoughts and feelings of gays with AIDS are revealed in this documentary set in a New York West Village clinic. One of the patients dies during the course of the film. The patients speak with candor and humor about their grave condition, about the support they give each other, and about their preparations for death. The outcome alternates between pathos and the upbeat.
