Movie Poll: What’s Your Favorite “Fake Documentary” Film?

02.01.12 | Edward Frebowitz | Movie PollsPrint this Post

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  • Tito Pannaggi

    Have none of you seen D.J. Webster's "The Dark Side of the Moon" (1990)?

    Unbelivable!

  • Susan

    This one scared my kid so much, I couldn't get him to sleep for weeks. I decided to watch it with him early on, so that I could prove it was only a movie.....but then I joined him in his insomnia and we both wanted to sleep with my poor husband. That kid kicked in his sleep....it wasn't a good time....but we all loved that movie.

  • Susan

    My son saw the Blair Witch Project at a "friend's" house before we climbed into bed with Poor Old Dad.

  • Lloyd Kay

    FORGOTTEN SILVER BY PETER JACSON IS GREAT. A MUST SEE. GET IT ON NETFLIX.

    • Leo

      BRAVO! Great film. At least one very intelligent friend said, "That's so sad" until I explained it's a mockumentary.

  • srickcrump

    You missed the 2011 movie "Apollo 18." That was pretty good.

  • Blair Kramer.

    I don't care one bit for the work of Michael Moore, but every ersatz "documentary" he's every done is FAKE!

    • George Matusek

      Good call, Blair, on Michael Moore! They're intended to be docs, not mock-docs, but they skew in the direction of mockumentary ambience. What objective facts or viewpoints he presents tend to sabotaged by his grandstanding.

      • Frank2

        The Michael Moore films are not documentaries at all; they're essays -- personal, subjective, imperfect and straight to the point.

  • Luther

    "The Rutles: All You Need is Cash" would have received my vote. From cast, to cameos, to clever song parodies, it is the best fake documentary I've ever seen.

    • Georgiann

      Me too! I was looking for that one. I can't believe it's not on the list! It's great!

    • RMac

      There were two actually, the second one not nearly as good. Neil Iness who worked very closley with Monty Python on The Meaning of Life and was the genius behind the Bonzo Dog Band with hits like Urban Space Man was one of the main players and wrote much of the music.

  • Kenneth Morgan

    I'll second the comment on "The Rutles". For an even better experience, watch it, then watch the serious documentary "The Compleat Beatles" (made years afterwards) and look for the similarities.

    • Joe H

      I, too, would have voted for 'The Rutles' - and I also enjoy watching it back-to-back with 'The Compleat Beatles'!

  • Andy Hasselbach

    The Last Polka, starring The Schmenge Brothers (John Candy and Eugene Levy). Funniest ever.

  • Darrell McCoy

    How about the one made in the mid 70's, think it's called "Legend of Boggy Creek". As a 6 yr. old I believe it was ALL real, even though I think my brother said it was made up. Went to bed with the covers over my head!

  • Rob in L.A.

    I'd like to put in a good word for 2004's "Mail-Order Wife."

  • mickey

    Waiting for Guffman then Spinal Tap, Best In Show, A Mighty Wind. I watched the Blair Witch project when it first came out on DVD and found it to be one of the most annoying and boring movies ever made. I couldn't understand why it did so well. And I love horror movies. But I thought as a movie IT was horrible.

    • Anne

      You are so correct! It's a pretty good movie about some people who got lost in the woods, but scary? C'mon...

  • Woody

    Capricorn One (1977), a faked Mars mission with the astronaunts at a remote location until the mission was to end.

    Great cast.

    • karlene

      absolutely!!!

  • frank pienkosky

    "Blair Witch....".a hugely effective con job...

  • Tintwistle

    Like others (above), I would have voted for "The Rutles," had it been one of the choices. "The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash" just has that special Eric Idle/Monty Python touch. Still, "Take the Money and Run" is a very worthy runner-up, in my estimation.

  • jaime

    Zelig by far,one of Woody Allen`s most inventive feature.

  • fred buschbaum

    I voted for Zelig, (Yeah, I know, I'm one of the 5 people who never saw Blair Witch). Most of these, I never thought of them as documentaries, (just poor films). As to Micheal Moore, Does he really believe that all of us are that stupid?

  • Joescarp

    I voted for "A Mighty Wind" because, in addition to being hilarious, it had some great made-up folk songs.

  • Andy Hasselbach

    Let's not forget the cheesy "Alien Autopsy." The producer claimed that this was gen-u-ine 1940's era military film stock, but refused to give any details.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=585923947 Patricia Parker

    I can't decide which Christopher Guest film to choose. Spinal Tap and Best in show are my faves, but A mighty Wind was great to.

  • Designer

    Probably one of the best serious dramatized documentaries was "Conspiracy", a re-creation of the Wannsee meeting where Nazi officials put together the "final solution". It starred Kenneth Branagh and Michael Tucci with a host of others, mostly British, stars including Colin Firth. This was chilling in its banality when one considers the subject and the ultimate results. A must see for anyone seriously interested in the events of the Third Reich.

  • Linda

    You completely overlooked Reefer Madness.

  • stan

    What? No Micheal Moore films.

    • Woody

      I second Stan.

  • Greg

    "All You Need Is Cash" with The Rutles has my vote.

    • Jen

      The Rutles would've been my pick as well.

  • r-gordon-7

    I voted for "Zelig" as best on the list, but first choice would go for "The Last Polka" followed by "The Rutles" if either had been listed...

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1216178417 Cathi Kurvink

    I'm glad to see "Series 7" on this list, even if it is polling in last place. That can only be because nobody's ever heard of it. I recommend it highly!

  • Barbara Lamb

    Werner Herzog's "Incident at Loch Ness" would top my list!

    • Tim

      Ha! Yeah,I agree. I actually thought it was legit till seeing a few minutes..*L*

  • Louis

    I have not seen or heard of most on the list, so
    I did not vote!

  • Dana Rich

    I'd have to agree with several people who have commented. "The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash" I cannot believe it's not on the list of choices.

  • Michael Allen

    What about Forgotten Silver by Peter Jackson. It was about Colin MacKenzie who was a director of movies back in the Silent Era. He did this for a television channel *down under* & when it was show is was presented without any warning it was a fake documentary. It is a classic. I have it on DVD & have watched it many a time....

  • Michael Oldfield

    I,too, would cast a vote for "The Rutles" and for a lesser-known British mock-doc called "Sir Norbert Smith" which follows the career of a bad English actor through films of the 1930's, wartime propaganda, Shakespearean roles, a take-off on "The Wild Geese" and the "Carry On" films.
    Harry Elton was the star and the writer of this very funny film.

  • Kenneth Morgan

    I recently saw another good candidate for this list: the made-for-TV "Pat Paulsen for President", a mockumentary about Paulsen's "campaign" in 1968. It's funny, well-written and even has narration by Henry Fonda.

  • Steve in Sedona

    I'm not a big Spike Lee fan, but "C.S.A." was fascinating.

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=810469075 COCHISE Miller

    What about Orson Welles' F IS FOR FAKE?

  • John Thomas

    There was a movie that was made for HBO or one of the other cxable channels called Countdown To Looking Glass that shows the domino effect that can happen and lead to nuclear war. It was shown like a newcast. It was scary because if you heard it from another room you would wonder it was a real news cast.

    • frank pienkosky

      yeah, I remember "Looking Glass..."...not as far fetched as you might think...at the time the Russians had invaded Afghanistan and were threatening the oil fields...our response would almost certainly would have been as depicted [nuclear]...thats when we built the base at Diego Garcia....3 guesses what they [still] have stashed there...another one, that was similiar was "Special Bulletin"...it culminated with the destruction of Charleston SC....

  • Steve in Sacramento

    I haven't seen all of these, but I love Spinal Tap--one of my all-time faves! Great comedic performances, and so many quotable lines. Long live the Tap!

  • Chad D.

    Best in Show, I believe, is the best on this list! What a funny movie about dogs and their eccentric owners!! My dad and I were laughing so hard at times, we were crying!! I wish that group would do another one. I have not seen the "Hollywood" themed movie that they made a while back. Is that good??

  • Lorraine M.

    This was unexpectedly tough!

    The frighteningly gifted Christopher Guest is either the secret ingredient or driving force behind many of these choices, and though I loved "This is Spinal Tap," "Waiting for Guffman," "A Mighty Wind" and "Best In Show," my heart belongs to Woody Allen's inspired "Take the Money and Run" right down to Jackson Beck's hilarously melodramatic narration.

    • RMac

      That makes him the clear majority winner.

  • Rob in L.A.

    I'd also like to put in a good word for perhaps the most influential mockumentary ever made: "Kid Auto Races at Venice" (1914), the fake newsreel that introduced Charlie Chaplin's character of the Little Tramp.

  • jim

    Really, folks, this is supposed to be about movies; the pointless attacks on Michael Moore are completely out of place. And he has more courage in his little finger than some of you have in your whole brains.

    • john mulrenin

      THANK YOU,JIM!

      • Fred

        Yes, Mr. Moore is courageous enough to not let facts and the truth get in his way.

  • KC

    To me the scary one was "Bob Roberts"

  • http://www.facebook.com/bryan.ruffin Bryan Ruffin

    I saw Blair Witch, I thought it was just about the silliest movie I have ever seen. I did not like it at all!

  • Kerry

    Oddly enough, the only movie on the list I've ever seen is 'Series 7' which I enjoyed and thus voted for. I've heard of several of the others - just never made the time. Maybe I should give them a try ;-)
    (And y'all should check out Series 7... it's a hoot!)

  • Richard V

    I just HATE all the WW2 docs that use SBD Dauntless dive bombers as Japanese plans. I turn them off as soon as you see the SBDs with the meatballs on them.

  • John Morris

    Why can't we vote on "Earth in the Balance"? That's a classic fake documentary film.

  • Gerald RR

    Wasn't "War of the Worlds" presented as a Fake Documentary in 1953 ?.

    • http://www.moviesunlimited.com Gary Cahall

      Gerald, it sounds like you're confusing the 1953 Paramount War of the Worlds, which was a straight sci-di drama, with Orson Welles' 1938 radio adaptation, the faked news broadcast that caused a national panic.

  • jr

    no end in sight = fergeson

  • RMac

    My weeding video. Sorry, actually it has to Spinal Tap. I was even able to work parts of this film into my annual Intelligence Training of aircrew. It helped greatly to enliven up the event and everyone and I mean everyone from the youngest to the oldest knew this film.

    STONEHENGE!

  • Richard

    What about "An Inconvenient Truth"?

    • Fred

      There should be a documentary about Al Gore and Michael Moore and call it "The Truth Is Inconvenient"

  • David Alan

    I like "Day of the Jackal"

  • http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1594391088 Clark Weichmann

    It seems like only eight of us actually saw David Holzman's Diary. This was before video; I saw it in a college film class. It so convinced the audience that it was real that when credits rolled at the end those not shocked into silence booed. Not at the film, but at the deception. We all so wanted it to be real.

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