'70s Documentaries Starring Sensational Public Figures

Documentary filmmakers often immerse themselves in delicate information about particular subjects. Their films sometimes become compelling works about famous or controversial people, stories discussing contentious themes, and insightful presentations of critical events.

"F for Fake" (1973)

"F for Fake" is the final directorial work of filmmaking legend Orson Welles, the man behind another controversial classic, "Citizen Kane." Capping off a successful but sensational career, this documentary focuses on notorious art forgeries, fraudulent autobiographies, and Welles's own bag of tricks in his career. The notorious fake-and-forgery stories of these people also spark the revisiting of many other controversial moments in history.

The film combines real-life and staged footage to tell the filmmaker's take on the manipulative side of filmmaking, literature, and other art forms. The trickery involved in creating artistic works becomes the driving force of the documentary. Using the aesthetics of cinema, Welles impressively crafts his arguments about the extremely close relationship between art and lying. The way "F for Fake" presents its scandalous real-life characters leads to a thought-provoking plot twist.

"Grey Gardens" (1975)

"Grey Gardens" follows the story of the eccentric and reclusive lives of Edith Bouvier Beale and Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale inside their filthy, decaying mansion. These mother-and-daughter characters are the infamous aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. Their East Hampton home becomes a topic of controversy in itself when the Suffolk County Board of Health orders them to clean up the house or be evicted.

Director David Maysles started "Grey Gardens" after being involved in an unfulfilled project about Jacqueline's sister. When he and his production team met the Beales, two celebrities because of their headline-making way of life, they decided to change the film's subject.

"All This and World War II" (1976)

Susan Winslow's "All This and World War II" is an eclectic musical and historical documentary. It juxtaposes Beatles songs performed by various musicians with 1940s war movies and actual newsreel footage from World War II.

Aside from its editing and musical score bringing wistful feelings about the era, its content blazed through a variety of intrigues with the way it visually traces the history of war. This leads to showcasing iconic personalities of the period such as Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill. It also features footage of Humphrey Bogart, Richard Burton, Neville Chamberlain, Dwight Eisenhower, Clark Gable, Bob Hope, and James Stewart, among many others.

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