Cinéma vérité is a prominent style of documentary filmmaking that can claim several cinematic masterpieces, not least Salesman, still considered by many to be one of the finest films of the 1960s.The main tenet of vérité cinema is the employment of cinematic and technical devices to portray the truth as objectively as possible. Documentaries of this nature are based on the unstaged presentation of an event that would be occurring whether the documentarian were there or not.

An example of Direct Cinema, in Frederick Wiseman's Boxing Gym (2010) a balletic portrait of a fitness institution.

Written by Wilson McLachlan. Additions written by Mike Dawson. Presented by Mike Dawson.

DVD special features are often filled (or perhaps the correct word is “littered”) with ‘Making of’ documentaries, these frequently self-congratulatory gigabyte fillers are present to help sell the film in question, something to list on the back of the DVD to help convince the viewing public to part with their hard earned cash for the disc in question.

Al Pacino is best known for his work on classic 1970’s American films like The Godfather Part I and II, Dog Day Afternoon and Serpico amongst others. Later in life he has created memorable characters in other films such as Heat, Carlito’s Way, and City Hall.

Al Pacino is probably best known for his film acting in 1970's classics like The Godfather and Dog Day Afternoon. What might surprise you is that he also directs and what might surprise you more is the sort of film he likes to direct.

With over sixty episodes of Left Field Cinema it is high time for an exploration of the often incredible world of Documentary features. Incredible because often the stories told by these film makers are more astounding, more far-fetched, more emotionally involving, more shocking and more engaging than the works of fiction which more commonly clutter our multiplexes. The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons From the Life of Robert S. McNamara is one such documentary.

The first in the Left Field Cinema Documentary Milestone series. Up for examination is Errol Morris' extended interview with the former U.S. Secretary of Defense, Robert Strange McNamara.