Fine Line Features

And the winner is: “Hoop Dreams.”

Completing a monthlong countdown on Current TV titled “50 Documentaries to See Before You Die,” Morgan Spurlock will name the Top 10 in the final episode on Tuesday night. The widely beloved “Hoop Dreams,” Steve James’s 1994 film about high school basketball players in Chicago, seems like a noncontroversial choice at No. 1. (Though in its time it wasn’t even nominated for an Oscar for the best documentary feature.)

We are interested in your thoughts about Current’s selections, from “Hoop Dreams” on down to “Spellbound” at No. 50. (The entire list appears at the end of this post.) Is there a ranking or a choice you’d quibble with? Something missing? Let us know in the comments.

As he has throughout the mini-series, Mr. Spurlock points out in the finale that he had nothing to do with the selections. He takes particular pains to do so when introducing his own “Supersize Me” at No. 5. The choices were made by a panel that included Michael Renov, a University of Southern California film professor; Eddie Schmidt, president of the International Documentary Association; and Brian Graden, former president of programming for MTV Networks. (Mr. Graden’s participation was appropriate given how closely “50 Documentaries” as a television program followed the VH1 film-clip-and-talking heads pop-culture countdown model.) Another film that presented a possible conflict-of-interest issue, “An Inconvenient Truth” featuring Al Gore, the Current TV chairman, came in at No. 8.

The title “50 Documentaries to See Before You Die” carefully avoids the implication that these were the best 50 ever made, though Mr. Spurlock appears to be making a larger claim when he says on-screen, “These are the 50 documentaries you need to see before you die.” He is categorically wrong because nothing released before 1988 was included: no Frederick Wiseman, no Maysles brothers, no Michael Apted, no Emile de Antonio.

This focus on “the modern documentary” goes hand in hand with a relentless preference for the story-based or issue-based films that people now seem to think define the documentary field. It’s hard to imagine a more abstract or idea-based filmmaker like Andy Warhol or Chris Marker in this company. The emphasis throughout “50 Documentaries” is on content rather than form, brought home in Tuesday night’s finale when Mr. Spurlock sits down with Mr. James and his subjects, William Gates and Arthur Agee, and says, “I want to pick up where the movie left off.” “Hoop Dreams” may be No. 1, but it’s already old news.

50. Spellbound (2002)

49. Truth or Dare (1991)

48. The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)

47. One Day in September (1999)

46. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1998)

45. The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)

44. Burma VJ (2008)

43. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)

42. Catfish (2010)

41. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)

40. When We Were Kings (1996)

39. Biggie & Tupac (2002)

38. March of the Penguins (2005)

37. Inside Job (2010)

36. Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)

35. Paragraph 175 (2000)

34. Brother’s Keeper (1992)

33. Tongues Untied (1989)

32. Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)

31. Jesus Camp (2006)

30. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)

29. Man on Wire (2008)

28. Gasland (2010)

27. Tarnation (2003)

26. Murderball (2005)

25. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)

24. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)

23. The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000)

22. Shut Up & Sing (2006)

21. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)

20. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)

19. Touching the Void (2003)

18. Food, Inc. (2008)

17. Street Fight (2005)

16. Bus 174 (2002)

15. Crumb (1994)

14. Dark Days (2000)

13. The Fog of War (2003)

12. Bowling for Columbine (2002)

11. Paris Is Burning (1991)

10. Grizzly Man (2005)

9. Trouble the Water (2008)

8. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)

7. The Celluloid Closet (1995)

6. The War Room (1993)

5. Supersize Me (2004)

4. Waltz With Bashir (2008)

3. Roger & Me (1989)

2. The Thin Blue Line (1988)

1. Hoop Dreams (1994)