HBO Documentary Films

"An ecstatic voyage through the creative and spiritual universe of David Bowie, Moonage Daydream is a fittingly unclassifiable tribute to the shape-shifting rock iconoclast and his singular sound and vision. Exploding the conventions of the music documentary, director Brett Morgen remixes dazzling, never-before-seen footage of the artist throughout his career, reveling in his otherworldly presence while revealing the restless philosophical inquiry...

The two-part documentary LEAVING NEVERLAND explores the separate but parallel experiences of two young boys, James “Jimmy” Safechuck, at age ten, and Wade Robson, at age seven, both of whom were befriended by Michael Jackson. They and their families were invited into his wondrous world, entranced by the singer’s fairy-tale existence as his career reached its peak. Through gut-wrenching interviews with Safechuck, now 37, and Robson, now 41, as...

Four acts document distinct perspectives on the pivotal events that preceded and followed Katrina's passage through New Orleans, a catastrophe during which the divide between race and class lines has never been more pronounced.

From journalist/producer/director Perri Peltz (HBO’s Risky Drinking), WARNING: THIS DRUG MAY KILL YOU takes an unflinching look at the devastating effects of opioid addiction in the U.S., profiling four families who have seen their lives tragically changed by abuses involving their loved ones, whose addictions arose due to doctors’ prescriptions of dangerous painkillers. Through the personal and emotional stories of those who have dealt...

In 1989, on the floor of Congress, Senator Jesse Helms implored America to “Look at the pictures,” while denouncing the controversial art of Robert Mapplethorpe, whose photographs pushed social boundaries with their frank depictions of nudity, sexuality and fetishism – and ignited a culture war that rages to this day. More than 25 years later, the HBO Documentary Films presentation MAPPLETHORPE: LOOK AT THE PICTURES does just that, taking an...

Directed by the Emmy®-nominated team of Ricki Stern and Annie Sundberg, and produced in association with The Boston Globe, this feature documentary revisits the April 15, 2013 bombings at the Boston Marathon through the prism of individuals whose lives were forever changed by the attacks. The film covers the events of Marathon Day 2013, through the sentencing of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev two years later and concludes on Marathon Day 2016. Built...

Girl next door, sex kitten, fitness tycoon, high-profile activist, Oscar®-winner: Jane Fonda has lived a life marked by controversy, tragedy and transformation, and she's done it all in the public eye. This exclusive HBO documentary, directed and produced by the acclaimed filmmaker Susan Lacy, draws on 21 hours of recent interviews with Fonda, who speaks candidly and frankly about her life, her loves, her causes, and her missteps. She explores the...

Tells the story of the Japanese invasion of Nanking, China in the early days of World War II and focuses on the efforts of a small group of unarmed Westerners who established a Safety Zone where over 200,000 Chinese found refuge. Told through deeply moving interviews with Chinese survivors, archival footage, and chilling testimonies of Japanese soldiers, interwoven with staged readings of the Westerners' letters and diaries.

Analyzes and discusses so called "frivolous law suits" and the impact of tort reform on the United States judicial system. Discusses several cases and relates each to tort reform in the U.S.: Liebeck v. McDonald's Restaurants (public relations campaign to instigate tort reform); Colin Gourley's malpractice lawsuit and caps on damages; the prosecution of Mississippi Justice Oliver Diaz and judicial elections; Jamie Leigh Jones v. Halliburton Co. and...

The Birmingham Campaign was launched in 1963. Martin Luther King Jr. and other activists were soon jailed, but it was the participation of the children that advanced the momentum of the Birmingham movement. They marched alongside the adults and were taken to jail with them as well. Because the 16th St. Baptist Church was close to the downtown area, it was an ideal location to hold rallies and meetings. On Sunday morning, Sept. 15, 1963, dynamite planted...