The best Willem Dafoe’s documentary movies

Willem Dafoe

Willem Dafoe

22/07/1955 (68 años)
William James "Willem" Dafoe (born July 22, 1955) is an American actor. He is known for his distinct gravelly voice, and has received multiple accolades, including nominations for four Academy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards. He has frequently collaborated with filmmakers Paul Schrader, Abel Ferrara, Lars von Trier, Julian Schnabel, and Wes Anderson. Dafoe was an early member of experimental theater company The Wooster Group, where he acted in several productions. He made his film debut in Heaven's Gate (1980), but was fired during production. He had his first leading role in the outlaw biker film The Loveless (1982) and then played the main antagonist in Streets of Fire (1984) and To Live and Die in L.A. (1985). He received his first Academy Award nomination for his role as Sergeant Elias Grodin in Oliver Stone's war film Platoon (1986). In 1988, Dafoe played Jesus in Martin Scorsese's The Last Temptation of Christ and starred in Mississippi Burning, both of which were controversial. Following small roles in Born on the Fourth of July (1989) and Wild at Heart (1990), he began a six-film collaboration with director Paul Schrader with the drama Light Sleeper (1992). He starred in the critically panned erotic thriller Body of Evidence (1993) and then co-starred in Clear and Present Danger (1994), The English Patient (1996), Speed 2: Cruise Control (1997), and The Boondock Saints (1999). After receiving his second Academy Award nomination for portraying Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire (2000), Dafoe played Norman Osborn in the superhero film Spider-Man (2002), the villains in Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) and XXX: State of the Union (2005), and Carson Clay in the film Mr. Bean's Holiday (2007). In 2009, he starred in the experimental film Antichrist, one of his three films with Lars von Trier. Dafoe then appeared in The Fault in Our Stars, John Wick, The Grand Budapest Hotel (all 2014), The Great Wall (2016), Murder on the Orient Express (2017), The Florida Project (2017), for which he received his third Academy Award nomination, Aquaman (2018) and The Lighthouse (2019). He has also had voice-over roles in Finding Nemo (2003), its sequel Finding Dory (2016), and Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009), voice and motion capture roles in John Carter (2012) and Death Note (2017), and vocal contributions to the video games Spider-Man (2002), Finding Nemo (2003), James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (2004), and Beyond: Two Souls (2013). Dafoe has portrayed several real-life figures, including T.S. Eliot in Tom & Viv (1994), Pier Paolo Pasolini in Pasolini (2014), Vincent van Gogh in At Eternity's Gate (2018), for which he received an Academy Award for Best Actor nomination, his first in that category, and Leonhard Seppala in Togo (2019). Dafoe has dual citizenship of the United States and Italy. Description above from the Wikipedia article Willem Dafoe, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy
8.6/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 04/05/2010
  • Character: (archival footage)
For decades, Freddy Krueger has slashed his way through the dreams of countless youngsters, scaring up over half a billion dollars at the box office across eight terrifying, spectacular films.

Love, Antosha

Love, Antosha
8.1/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 02/08/2019
  • Character: Self
From a prolific career in film and television, Anton Yelchin left an indelible legacy as an actor. Through his journals and other writings, his photography, the original music he wrote, and interviews with his family, friends, and colleagues, this film looks not just at Anton's impressive career, but at a broader portrait of the man.

Overnight

Overnight
7/10
Alternately hilarious and horrifying, Overnight chronicles one man's misadventures of making a Hollywood movie. It starts out as a rags to riches story as Troy Duffy, a Boston-bred bartender, sells his first screenplay for The Boondock Saints.

Babenco: Tell Me When I Die

Babenco: Tell Me When I Die
7.3/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 26/11/2020
  • Character: Self
Besieged by cancer and nearing the end, the genius Argentine-Brazilian filmmaker Héctor Babenco (1946-2016) asks Bárbara Paz, his wife, for one last wish: to be the protagonist of his own death.

Mountain

Mountain
7.2/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 30/11/2017
  • Character: Narrator (voice)
An epic cinematic and musical collaboration between SHERPA filmmaker Jennifer Peedom and the Australian Chamber Orchestra, that explores humankind's fascination with high places.

Friedkin Uncut

Friedkin Uncut
7.1/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 05/11/2018
  • Character: Himself
An introspective insight into the life and artistic journey of William Friedkin, an extraordinary and offbeat director of cult films such as The French Connection, The Exorcist, Sorcerer, Cruising, To Live and Die in L.A. and Killer Joe. For the first time Friedkin opens up, guiding the audience on a fascinating journey through the themes and the stories that have influenced his life and his artistic career.

On the Set: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

On the Set: The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
6.7/10
A making-of featurette for Wes Anderson's 2004 film.

Wim Wenders, Desperado

Wim Wenders, Desperado
7.2/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 16/07/2020
  • Character: Self
"Wings Of Desire" and "Buena Vista Social Club", "Paris, Texas" and "The State Of Things": Wim Wenders is considered one of the pioneers of New German Cinema and one of the most important and influential representatives of contemporary cinema. With never before shown archive material and extraordinary encounters with companions and contemporary witnesses such as Francis Ford Coppola, Willem Dafoe, Andie MacDowell, Hanns Zischler, Patti Smith and Werner Herzog, this documentary provides unique insights into the life and work of one of the most multifaceted artists of our times. Renowned documentary filmmaker Eric Friedler ("It Must Schwing. The Blue Note Story") and his co-director Andreas Frege were given the exclusive opportunity to portray Wenders for this film. From Dusseldorf to Paris, and all the way to the desert of Texas, the film traces iconic locations and decisive moments in Wenders' work as director, producer, photographer and author.

Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait

Julian Schnabel: A Private Portrait
6.8/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 05/05/2017
  • Character: Himself
A chronicle of the personal life and public career of the celebrated artist and filmmaker Julian Schnabel.

Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal

Matthew Gray Gubler's Life Aquatic Intern Journal
7.9/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 09/05/2005
  • Character: Himself
Documentary created by Matthew Gray Gubler during, and about, his time on the set of The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou. (Released in 2005)

A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'

A Tour of the Inferno: Revisiting 'Platoon'
7.4/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/01/2001
  • Character: Himself
A documentary about the making of Oliver Stone's Vietnam War film, Platoon (1986).

Rockets Redglare!

Rockets Redglare!
7.4/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 02/05/2003
  • Character: Himself
A portrait of Rockets Redglare, the morbidly obese fixture of New York's underground until his death in 2001. Rockets was the sometimes bodyguard/drug dealer of Sid Vicious and Jean Michel Basquiat, as well as a talented stand-up comic and character actor who left his indelible mark wherever he went. This film chronicles Rockets' last days, hunting for methadone in Puerto Rico and telling stories from his past.

Fukushima: A Nuclear Story

Fukushima: A Nuclear Story
7.2/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/01/2015
  • Character: Narrator
A powerful documentary that sheds some light on what really happened at the Fukushima nuclear power plant after the 2011 earthquake and the tsunami that immediately followed. A powerful documentary - shot from March 11th, 2011 through March 2015 - that sheds some light on what really happened at the Fukushima nuclear power plant after the 2011 earthquake and the tsunami that followed.

This Is an Adventure

This Is an Adventure
6.9/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 10/05/2005
  • Character: Himself
During production on the film "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou", documentary filmmakers followed the cast and crew of a film which depicts other documentary filmmakers who follow animal life. In this film, we get a first hand look at the sets and come very close to many of the cast and crew members at work, especially Bill Murray and Wes Anderson.

Voom Portraits

Voom Portraits
Iconic artist and theater director Robert Wilson has created a series of video portraits of celebrities, ordinary people and animals called "VOOM Portraits." Known for his glacier-paced theatrical productions with Tom Waits and Lou Reed, Wilson's now bringing his aesthetic to a video format. The recent developments in HD technology have allowed Wilson to create something like a precise hybrid of still photography and motion pictures. Actors such as Brad Pitt (as a crazy person on the streets in the rain), Isabelle Huppert (as Greta Garbo), Steve Buscemi (as a mad butcher chewing gum on a variety show), Robert Downey Jr. (as a dreaming corpse in a Rembrandt painting), and Winona Ryder (as Winnie, the main female character in Samuel Beckett’s Happy Days, buried up to her neck in sand) were asked to “think of nothing" and move slowly and steadily to collaborate in Wilson's vision of who they might be.

Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam

Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
7.9/10
  • Genre: DocumentaryWar
  • Release: 01/10/1987
  • Character: Elephant Grass (voice)
Real-life letters written by American soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines during the Vietnam War to their families and friends back home. Archive footage of the war and news coverage thereof augment the first-person "narrative" by men and women who were in the war, some of whom did not survive it.

Sportin' Life

Sportin' Life
5.6/10
Sportin’ Life is the sixth incarnation of the international art project Self, curated by Saint Laurent’s creative director, Anthony Vaccarello. This project is an artistic commentary on society while emphasizing the complexity of various individuals through the eyes of artists who evoke the Saint Laurent attitude of confidence, individuality and self-expression. The documentary is an exploration into the sources and personal history of creativity, the essential life of an artist. Raw and sharp, it has the feeling of a moment in time that is still happening. Abel Ferrara’s intimate and lush look at his own life, his world refracted through his art – music, filmmaking, his collaborators and inspirations such as Ferrara’s early works and his creative partnerships with Willem Dafoe, Joe Delia, Paul Hipp and the musicians who inspired this work.

Cannes: All Access

Cannes: All Access
6.1/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 27/10/2007
  • Character: Self
From its simple beginnings in 1939 in a sleepy beach town in the south of France, the prestigious Cannes Film Festival has become the must-attend red carpet event of the year. Filmmaker Richard Schickel's fascinating documentary captures the glitz and glamour of the festival's incredible 60-year run with archival footage and unforgettable moments. Hollywood's biggest names including Clint Eastwood, Martin Scorsese, Sharon Stone and Harvey Weinstein talk about the politics, madness, and thrills of competing for one of the industry's highest honors - the coveted Palme d'Or - and what it's like to be at the most fabulous festival by the sea.

River

River
7.1/10
A cinematic and musical odyssey that explores the remarkable relationship between humans and rivers. Throughout history, rivers have shaped our landscapes and our journeys; flowed through our cultures and dreams. RIVER takes its audience on a journey through space and time; spanning six continents, and drawing on extraordinary contemporary cinematography, including satellite filming, the film shows rivers on scales and from perspectives never seen before. Its union of image, music and sparse, the poetic script will create a film that is both dream-like and powerful, honouring the wildness of rivers but also recognizes their vulnerability.

Abel/Asia

Abel/Asia
4.2/10
  • Genre: Documentary
  • Release: 01/01/1998
  • Character: Himself (archival footage)
Behind the scenes mini-doc from Asia Argento on Abel Ferrara during the filming of New Rose Hotel.

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