Best Canadian documentary movies
A curated collection of popular documentary movies from Canada.
The Real Inglorious Bastards (2012)
The Real Inglorious Bastards (2012)
The truth is way stranger than fiction,” muses one interviewee in this unbelievable true account of an incredible war time saga. As the Second World War was coming to a close, the US Office of Strategic Services trained and parachuted two Jewish refugees and a German deserter deep into Nazi occupied Austria. Through vivid first-person accounts, re-enactments, archival footage and learned commentary, the film reveals how their efforts disrupted a vital supply route between Germany and the Italian front to bring about the surrender of Innsbruck to Allied Forces. Their unbelievable adventure has a finale that beats any Hollywood movie hands down — but a story so powerful that it became the basis for Quentin Tarantino’s mega hit.
The Great Martian War 1913–1917 (2013)
The Great Martian War 1913–1917 (2013)
Documentary-drama recounting the Martian War of 1913–1917. Europe was on tenterhooks in the 2nd decade of the 20th century, everyone was expecting a Great War between the major European powers. But then, in 1913, something crashed into the forests of SW Germany. Troops were sent to investigate but were wiped out. Martian fighting machines began making their way across Western Europe and the countries of Europe combined forces to resist them. With aspects taken from ‘The War of the Worlds’ by H.G. Wells and from WWI itself, this dramatisation presents a documentary style look at events as they unfolded and the effect they had of our world today. Lots of references to real events including the mass attacks and defeats as men were thrown against machines on the Western front, the Christmas truce and the Angel of Mons, America's isolationism and late entry into the conflict, the worldwide Spanish flu epidemic that killed more people than the war, and many other things.
Chaos on the Bridge (2014)
Chaos on the Bridge (2014)
Canadian acting legend William Shatner takes viewers inside the creation of Star Trek: The Next Generation, the bold attempt in 1986 to recreate the success of the original television series, in which Shatner played Captain James T. Kirk.
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008)
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008)
At 14, best friends Robb Reiner and Lips made a pact to rock together forever. Their band, Anvil, hailed as the "demi-gods of Canadian metal" influenced a musical generation that includes Metallica, Slayer, and Anthrax. Following a calamitous European tour, Lips and Robb, now in their fifties, set off to record their 13th album in one last attempt to fulfill their boyhood dreams.
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005)
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey (2005)
The film discusses the traits and originators of some of metal's many subgenres, including the New Wave of British Heavy Metal, power metal, Nu metal, glam metal, thrash metal, black metal, and death metal. Dunn uses a family-tree-type flowchart to document some of the most popular metal subgenres. The film also explores various aspects of heavy metal culture.
Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage (2010)
Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage (2010)
An in-depth look at the Canadian rock band Rush, chronicling the band's musical evolution from their progressive rock sound of the '70s to their current heavy rock style.
Shine a Light (2008)
Shine a Light (2008)
Martin Scorsese and the Rolling Stones unite in "Shine A Light," a look at The Rolling Stones." Scorsese filmed the Stones over a two-day period at the intimate Beacon Theater in New York City in fall 2006. Cinematographers capture the raw energy of the legendary band.
Iron Maiden: Flight 666 (2009)
Iron Maiden: Flight 666 (2009)
Heavy metal band Iron Maiden's 2008 Somewhere Back in Time World Tour. This concert recording accompanies the documentary film "Iron Maiden: Flight 666". The 16 songs performed were filmed live in 16 different cities giving you the full experience of the live power of Maiden and their fans all around the globe.
Global Metal (2008)
Global Metal (2008)
In GLOBAL METAL, directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn set out to discover how the West's most maligned musical genre - heavy metal - has impacted the world's cultures beyond Europe and North America. The film follows metal fan and anthropologist Sam Dunn on a whirlwind journey through Asia, South America and the Middle East as he explores the underbelly of the world's emerging extreme music scenes; from Indonesian death metal to Chinese black metal to Iranian thrash metal. GLOBAL METAL reveals a worldwide community of metalheads who aren't just absorbing metal from the West - they're transforming it - creating a new form of cultural expression in societies dominated by conflict, corruption and mass-consumerism.
Tokyo Idols (2017)
Tokyo Idols (2017)
This exploration of Japan's fascination with girl bands and their music follows an aspiring pop singer and her fans, delving into the cultural obsession with young female sexuality and the growing disconnect between men and women in hypermodern societies.
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band (2020)
Once Were Brothers: Robbie Robertson and The Band (2020)
A confessional, cautionary, and occasionally humorous tale of Robbie Robertson's young life and the creation of one of the most enduring groups in the history of popular music, The Band.
Hate to Love: Nickelback (2024)
Hate to Love: Nickelback (2024)
Nickelback is one of the most successful acts in music history — they're also the number one band haters love to hate. This intimate portrait surveys the Canadian stadium rockers' rollercoaster career.
Super Duper Alice Cooper (2014)
Super Duper Alice Cooper (2014)
Emerging from the Detroit music scene of the 1970s in a flurry of long hair and sequins, Alice Cooper restored hard rock with a sense of showmanship, while simultaneously striking fear into the hearts of Middle America with the chicken-slaughtering, dead-baby-eating theatrics that would cement his identity as a glam metal icon. Meticulously crafted from rare archival footage, Super Duper Alice Cooper tells the story of the man behind the makeup, Vincent Furnier, the son of a preacher, who got caught in the grip of his own monster.
Cirque du Soleil: Alegria (2001)
Cirque du Soleil: Alegria (2001)
Alegría is a mood, a state of mind. The themes of the show, whose name means "jubilation" in Spanish, are many. Power and the handing down of power over time, the evolution from ancient monarchies to modern democracies, old age, youth - it is against this backdrop that the characters of Alegría play out their lives. Kings' fools, minstrels, beggars, old aristocrats and children make up its universe, along with the clowns, who alone are able to resist the passing of time and the social transformations that accompany it.
The Tragically Hip - Long Time Running (2017)
The Tragically Hip - Long Time Running (2017)
A documentary chronicling The Tragically Hip during the emotional lead up through to the epic last show of the iconic Canadian band's now legendary 2016 tour.
I Dream of Wires (2014)
I Dream of Wires (2014)
An independent documentary film about the phenomenal resurgence of the modular synthesizer — exploring the passions, obsessions and dreams of people who have dedicated part of their lives to this esoteric electronic music machine. Inventors, musicians, and enthusiasts are interviewed about their relationship with the modular synthesizer — for many, it's an all-consuming passion.
Johnny Cash: American Rebel (2015)
Johnny Cash: American Rebel (2015)
Johnny Cash: American Rebel is built around 12 essential Johnny Cash tracks spanning four decades that each deliver the passion, musicality and messages against war, injustice, racism and prejudice, including “Folsom Prison Blues,” “Jackson,” “San Quentin,” “Man in Black,” “Sunday Morning Coming Down,” “Ring of Fire” and “Hurt.” Each song illustrates a chapter in his life, as well the story of an ever-changing America from the 1950s to modern day, as told through interviews, archival concert footage, photographs and personal artifacts from the Cash family.
Death by Metal (2016)
Death by Metal (2016)
Here comes DEATH's probing and pulsing rock doc, DEATH BY METAL, pulling back the palm fronds of DEATH's origins in Altamonte Springs, Florida, and latching a narrative hook into the headstrong Chuck Schuldiner juggernaut for fifteen gratifying if sometimes frustrating years. As the baby steps become giant leaps, the stable of supporting players grows and continually shines in its own devious light.
Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind (2019)
Gordon Lightfoot: If You Could Read My Mind (2019)
From the song he refuses to perform to his admiration for Drake, a songwriting legend reflects on his lyrics and longevity with candour and humour. At 80 years young (and currently recording another album), Gordon Lightfoot continues to entertain and enlighten. Personal archive materials and studio sessions paint an intimate picture of an artist in his element, candidly revisiting his idealistic years in Yorkville's coffeehouses, up through stadium tours and the hedonistic '70s.
Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World (2017)
Rumble: The Indians Who Rocked the World (2017)
Documentary about the role of Native Americans in popular music history, a little-known story built around the incredible lives and careers of the some of the greatest music legends.
You Are Here: A Come From Away Story (2019)
You Are Here: A Come From Away Story (2019)
When all North American air traffic was grounded after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, over six thousand passengers from all over the world were stranded in the tiny community of Gander, Newfoundland. For five days the people of Gander housed, fed, clothed, and entertained their homesick visitors, creating a lasting memory for the waylaid passengers and forming a unique bond that continues to this day between the people of Gander, and the ‘come from aways’.
Inni (2011)
Inni (2011)
Inni is a live motion picture and album by Icelandic band Sigur Rós released in 2011.The concert footage was directed by Vincent Morisset and filmed at the Alexandra Palace in 2008. It was released on 7 November 2011 on various formats, including vinyl, DVD, Blu-ray and CD. Theatrical versions are also being shown around the world from late 2011. The songs played within are Ný batterí, Svefn-g-englar, Fljótavík, Inní mér syngur vitleysingur, Sæglópur, Festival, E-Bow, Popplagið and Lúppulagið. The bonus material contains All Allright, Glósóli, Hafsól and Við spilum endalaust.
The Tragically Hip - A National Celebration (2016)
The Tragically Hip - A National Celebration (2016)
When it was announced in May of 2016 that lead singer Gord Downie had been diagnosed with terminal brain cancer, the band decided that they would do one final run of 15 dates across Canada. A National Celebration was the final show of the Tragically Hip's Man Machine Poem Tour recorded on August 20th, 2016 at the K-Rock Centre in their home town of Kingston Ontario. Originally aired live by CBC across all platforms, the concert was experienced by an estimated one-third of Canadians, among the biggest events in the country's broadcast history.
Swans: Where Does a Body End? (2019)
Swans: Where Does a Body End? (2019)
From their roots as a brutal, confrontational industrial band, through breakups and chaos, to their odds-defying current status as one of the most accomplished and ambitious bands in the world, one whose concerts are more like ecstatic rituals than nostalgic trips. SWANS has always been a collection of singular performers, but there's been one constant since its formation in 1982--singer, songwriter Michael Gira. 'Where Does a Body End?' is a SWANS documentary with unfettered access to hundreds of hours of Gira/SWANS archives of never-seen-before recordings, videos, and photographs. An unfiltered story of a life in the arts, frequent difficulty spanning decades without a safety net, creating work because Gira says "What else am I going to do?"
Triumph: Rock & Roll Machine (2021)
Classic Albums: Rush - 2112 & Moving Pictures (2010)
Classic Albums: Rush - 2112 & Moving Pictures (2010)
2112 was the album that saw Rush break through to major chart success, going to No.1 in their native Canada and Top 75 in the USA where it would eventually be certified triple platinum. Moving Pictures opened them to a mass audience for the first time and remains the biggest selling album of their career. It also went to No.1 in Canada and went quadruple platinum there while hitting No.3 in both the UK and USA. Rush members Geddy Lee, Alex Lifeson and Neil Peart talk us through the making of the albums, together with original producer Terry Brown via interviews, demonstrations, archive videos and use of the original multi-track tapes.
How to Change the World (2014)
How to Change the World (2014)
In 1971, a group of friends sail into a nuclear test zone, and their protest captures the world's imagination. Using never before seen archive that brings their extraordinary world to life, How To Change The World is the story of the pioneers who founded Greenpeace and defined the modern green movement.
Reel Injun (2010)
Reel Injun (2010)
The evolution of the depiction of the various Native American peoples in cinema, from the silent era to the present day: how their image on the screen has changed the way to understand their history and culture.
The Weight of Chains (2010)
The Weight of Chains (2010)
The Weight of Chains is a Canadian documentary film that takes a critical look at the role that the US, NATO and the EU played in the tragic breakup of a once peaceful and prosperous European state - Yugoslavia. The film, bursting with rare stock footage never before seen by Western audiences, is a creative first-hand look at why the West intervened in the Yugoslav conflict, with an impressive roster of interviews with academics, diplomats, media personalities and ordinary citizens of the former Yugoslav republics. This film also presents positive stories from the Yugoslav wars - people helping each other regardless of their ethnic background, stories of bravery and self-sacrifice.
Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz (2018)
Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz (2018)
A fascinating portrait of Ben Ferencz, the last surviving Nuremberg Trial prosecutor, who continues to wage his lifelong crusade in the fight for law and peace.