Gallery: We Pick the Year's 5 Most Intriguing Documentaries

  • Image may contain Human Person Clothing Apparel Edward Snowden and Man
    courtesy Laura Poitras
    01

    Citizenfour

    Most documentaries go back and piece together history after the fact. *Citizenfour* chronicles history as it happened. Director Laura Poitras was one of the handful of people NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden contacted to help him reveal the information he wanted the public to know, so she was there filming as the leaks happened.
  • Image may contain Human Person and Art
    Sony Pictures Classics
    02

    Jodorowsky's Dune

    The worst part about this movie is that after you finish watching it, you’ll be *so angry* we never got to see Alejandro Jodorowsky’s vision of *Dune* come to life. Watch it and you won't get FOMO, just some hardcore SFPWMOOT: So Fracking Pissed We Missed Out On This.
  • Image may contain Human Person Clothing Apparel Bob Steele and Helmet
    PF Productions
    03

    Particle Fever

    *Particle Fever* was one of the most heartwarming films of 2014. Which is strange, given its subject matter. It’s a documentary focused on the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, and the two enormous research teams competing to be the first to find the Higgs boson (known as the "God Particle," to the subjects’ annoyance) and, hopefully, answer some fundamental questions about the universe.
  • Image may contain Human Person and Shelf
    Starz Digital Media
    04

    To Be Takei

    Everyone loves George Takei and having a glimpse into his life as a gay rights activist and comics convention omni-presence in *To Be Takei* is just awesome. Seriously, tune in for the reminiscing about the *Star Trek* days and stay for the moments Takei spends at home with his husband, Brad.
  • Image may contain Furniture Human Person Indoors Bookcase Room Library Book and Shelf
    FilmBuff, Participant Media
    05

    The Internet's Own Boy

    When Aaron Swartz committed suicide in 2013 it was a huge loss for the internet activist community, and the world. Director Brian Knappenberger's documentary *The Internet's Own Boy* gets at the heart of just how big that loss is.
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