This Week In Documentary: 'Like Tears In Rain,' 'Last Take,' 'Twitter,' & 'Chaos'
Theatrical & Streaming Releases - New & Recommended - March 7-March 13, 2025
One of my favorite documentaries of the year so far — Grand Theft Hamlet — made its debut at the 2024 SXSW Film Festival. So did one of my favorite documentaries of last year: MoviePass, MovieCrash. So, I’m excited to see what comes out of the 2025 festival, which is kicking off this weekend. In the meantime, plenty of new documentaries are officially releasing over the next seven days, including the latest from Errol Morris, another series about Twitter (the last one was also among the best documentaries of 2024), and a true-crime documentary focused on the accidental killing of cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the set of the Alec Baldwin movie Rust.
Below, you’ll find this week’s highlights, listings, and coming attractions, including our Pick of the Week. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive more in-depth highlights and reviews in the future.
Nonfics Picks Of The Week: Like Tears In Rain (2024)
When an actor dies, they leave behind a legacy of their work on screen. But is that really who they were? An artist like Bob Dylan (at least in his younger years as depicted in Don’t Look Back) might say their work speaks for itself, and there’s no full understanding of the person behind the art anyway. Per the biographical documentary Like Tears in Rain, the actor Rutger Hauer was anything but the performances he left behind. He was the antithesis to his villainous roles, and he had never set out to be a movie star, so that side of his life, in general, wasn’t the center of his world.
The film is directed by Hauer’s goddaughter, Sanna Fabery de Jonge, who brings a certain closeness to the subject without the documentary feeling too personal. Although it begins with her delivering first-person narration, that’s quickly done away with. It’s not the most consistent documentary; the first half contains more archival home movie footage, while the second half gets more into talking heads discussing his career. Still, it’s never about how great Hauer was as an actor. It’s not the usual hagiographic celebrity celebration. Not that there’s much on the negative side, but it’s primarily about who Hauer was as a husband, a friend, and an adventurous soul, with some bits about his film work (Blade Runner included), which came natural to him.
Despite its flaws, I really enjoyed getting to know Hauer through Like Tears in Rain. He’s not the sort of actor who normally gets the full documentary treatment. Even then, it feels a bit incomplete (the film doesn’t go into his non-profit causes). But it’s something. And that’s important, given the idea raised by the titular quote. An 80-minute encapsulation of a life is nothing compared to all the moments lost in time. Hauer was no killer android, yet he appears to have shared a lot with his most famous character, Roy Batty, in terms of their desire to experience and observe. His humanity helped make him such a great actor, and no verbal praises of his performances are needed when a film like this reveals why, rather than simply making such claims.
Like Tears in Rain makes its U.S. debut exclusively on Viaplay on Thursday, March 13.
Other Documentary Highlights
Becoming Hitchcock: The Legacy Of Blackmail (2024) & The Great Buster (2018)
For those of you wanting documentaries that go more in-depth with a film artist’s work, Laurent Bouzereau’s Becoming Hitchock: The Legacy of Blackmail and Peter Bogdanovich’s The Great Buster both air on TCM this week, along with programs of their subject’s movies (titles listed below). The first one concerns Alfred Hitchcock’s style and its origins in his 1929 release Blackmail (ironically, TCM is not showing Blackmail among the Hitchcock films scheduled), and the latter is more biographical, focused on the life and career of the comedic genius Buster Keaton.
Becoming Hitchcock: The Legacy of Blackmail airs on TCM on Wednesday, March 12, followed by the Hitchcock films The Lady Vanishes, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, Confess, The Wrong Man, Stage Fright, and Dial M for Murder.
The Great Buster airs on TCM on Tuesday, March 11, following the Buster Keaton movies Three Ages, Our Hospitality, Sherlock, Jr., The Navigator, Seven Chances, and Battling Butler. The documentary is followed by Keaton’s The General, Steamboat Bill, Jr., and The Cameraman.
Chaos: The Manson Murders (2025) & American Manhunt: Osama Bin Laden (2025)
I’m all for Errol Morris, the director behind the best true-crime documentary of all time (The Thin Blue Line), going the route of Joe Berlinger and making bank delivering new takes on old done-to-death crime stories for streaming services like Netflix. Still, they should be better than Chaos: The Manson Murders. Inspired by Tom O’Neill’s 2019 book CHAOS: Charles Manson, the CIA, and the Secret History of the Sixties, this feature deals with the conspiracy theory that Charles Manson was a puppet of the U.S. government. Unfortunately, it doesn’t go beyond making the claim. Most of the runtime just goes over the events of the Manson Family murders for the billionth time.
There’s much more substance and a straightforward point to the latest installment of Netflix’s American Manhunt franchise, American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden. However, it also might not offer much new information (I’m not an expert on the subject). The three-part docuseries is essentially an oral history of the events between the 9/11 terror attacks and the eventual killing of its mastermind, detailing parts of the War in Aghanistan and its role in this quest for justice. Most of the talking heads lean conservative in their view of these events, so the documentary comes off as too jingoistic for my taste. Still, there’s occasional retrospective critical insight.
Chaos: The Manson Murders premieres on Netflix on Friday, March 7.
American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden debuts on Netflix on Monday, March 10.
Ernest Cole: Lost And Found (2024) & Every Little Thing (2024)
I recommend these two recent documentary releases that are coming to home video this week. Raoul Peck’s Ernest Cole: Lost and Found was a Pick of the Week last November, when I wrote that it “is memorable for how it showcases Cole’s brilliant photographs and words.” Sally Aitkin’s Every Little Thing was a Pick of the Week in January. At the time, I wrote that “there’s lots of beautiful slow motion cinematography showcasing the birds that alone makes the film worth watching.”
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found will be released on Blu-ray, DVD, and Digital/VOD on Tuesday, March 11.
Every Little Thing will be released on Digital/VOD on Tuesday, March 11.
Steve James Documentaries
This week, filmmaker Steve James turns 70 years old, and you can help him celebrate with a marathon of his documentaries. He’s best known for Hoop Dreams (currently streaming on Max, Peacock, The Criterion Channel, Pluto TV, and The Roku Channel), for which he earned his first Oscar nomination. If that’s all you’ve seen, though, you hardly know the extent of his talent. My favorite of his films is the much more personal Stevie, which you can rent or buy from Kartemquin Films on Vimeo.
His other Oscar-nominated (yet still underrated) film is Abacus: Small Enough to Jail (streaming on Kanopy), which was among my favorite docs of 2017, and then there’s The Interrupters (also on Kanopy), which surprised everyone when it didn’t even make the Best Documentary Feature shortlist in 2011. James also directed the biographical masterpiece Life Itself (Prime Video, Pluto TV, The Roku Channel, and Kanopy) about film critic Roger Ebert and, more recently, A Compassionate Spy (Hulu), which is highly recommended, especially if you like Christopher Nolan’s Oppenheimer.
Twitter: Breaking The Bird (2025)
Thanks to The Social Network, everyone knows about the drama behind Facebook, but how many people know about the problems among the co-creators of Twitter? Yes, the once-helpful social media site was having issues long before it sold to Elon Musk, though it was mostly internal. Twitter: Breaking the Bird is compelling in its chronicle of the company’s history, but it has none of the style or wit of last year’s docuseries Black Twitter: A People’s History. Also, I was only granted access to the first two of its four episodes, so I can’t judge it as a whole or speak to how it handles the Musk era.
Twitter: Breaking the Bird airs its first episode on CNN on Sunday, March 9. The subsequent three episodes will premiere on Sundays throughout the month.
Last Take: Rust And The Story Of Halyna (2025)
The story of Halyna Hutchins’s death is ongoing, with a civil lawsuit from her family continuing to make headlines. But it’s still already time for a documentary to go over what happened on the set of Rust that led to the cinematographer being accidentally shot and killed by actor Alec Baldwin. Benefitting from available behind-the-scenes footage, Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna offers a comprehensive narrative of the incident and its aftermath without any fresh revelations or additional concerns raised.
Directed by Hutchins’s good friend, Rachel Mason, it’s surprisingly less of a personal tribute to the late cinematographer’s life and work since her death is the film’s focus. Still, if Hutchins’s legacy must be centered around her demise and not her art, Last Take does a good job of illustrating why industry practices regarding safety must be improved, in part in her honor. As more of a true-crime documentary in which she’s the victim, the film makes a strong case that this wasn’t simply a mistake, that accidents are often the result of negligence and poor choices rather than bad luck.
Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna premieres on Hulu on Tuesday, March 11.
Documentary Release Calendar 3/7/25 - 3/13/25
Friday, March 7, 2025
Chaos: The Manson Murders (2025) - A feature documentary by Errol Morris exploring conspiracy theories tied to the Manson Family murders. (Netflix)
The Falling Sky (2024) - A feature documentary about the relationship between Indigenous people and nature. (In Theaters)
Formula 1: Drive to Survive Season 7 - The hit racing docuseries returns with 10 more episodes. (Netflix)
The United States of Rugby Episode 3 - The latest episode of this docuseries about the Chicago Hounds. (The Roku Channel)
Visionaries (2025) - A new docuseries starring Keanu Reeves about modern innovators. (The Roku Channel)
Saturday, March 8, 2025
Believe It or Not (Second Series) #12 (1932) - This installment of Robert L. Ripley’s Believe It or Not documentary franchise features a moving house, long-tailed chickens, and more. (TCM)
Incredible Northern Vets Episodes 9 & 10: “Major Problems” & “The Ahousaht Way” - The latest installments of a docuseries following the work of three Indigenous veterinarians. (National Geographic WILD)
New York Homicide Season 3, Episode 6: “Death in the Drive-Through” - The latest episode of this true-crime docuseries about recent murder cases in New York City is about a businessman killed in a drive-through. (Oxygen)
Prosecuting Evil with Kelly Siegler Season 2, Episode 7: “Too Close to Home” - The latest episode of this true-crime docuseries examines a murder case in Texas. (Oxygen)
Romantic Riviera (1951) - A short documentary installment of James A. FitzPatrick’s TravelTalks travelogue franchise that explores the French Riviera. (TCM)
Soldiers of Song (2024) - A feature documentary about musicians in Ukraine during the Russian invasion. (VOD)
Sunday, March 9, 2025
The Americas Episodes 3 & 4: “The Atlantic Coast” & “The Frozen North” - The latest episodes of this 10-part nature docuseries narrated by Tom Hanks continue to showcase the flora and fauna of North and South America. Episode 3 is an encore presentation. (NBC)
Crash Course Cuisine with Hudson Yang Episode 1: “Back to the Basics” - The first installment of this new culinary docuseries starring former child star and budding chef Hudson Yang sees him reunited with and cooking for his Fresh Off the Boat co-stars. (National Geographic)
Fatal Family Feuds Season 2, Episode 4: “Raging Relatives” - The latest episode of this true-crime series about murders committed due to family feuds involves a secret conspiracy within a wealthy family. (Oxygen)
Feel It All (2025) - A short documentary about professional skiier Drew Petersen and his struggle with mental illness. (In Theaters)
The Food That Built America Season 6, Episode 3: “Baking Chocolate Chip History” - The latest episode of this foodie history docuseries focuses on chocolate chip cookies. (History)
I Am Living Proof (2025) - A feature documentary following three people whose lives unexpectedly intersect when a traveling preacher comes to their town. (In Theaters)
Malawi Wildlife Rescue Season 2, Episodes 3 & 4: “Walking with a Pangolin” & “Tsiba’s New Mum” - The two latest episodes of this nature docuseries involve veterinary stories focused on pythons, bushpigs, baby monkeys, servals, and more. (National Geographic WILD)
The Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Story (1951) - A medium-length documentary presenting footage from new MGM movies of that year. (TCM)
No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski Episode 5: “Issa Rae’s Senegalese Royal Roots” - The latest episode of this new docuseries focuses on the culinary ancestry of actor, writer, and producer Issa Rae. (National Geographic)
Twitter: Breaking the Bird Episode 1: “The Big Idea” - The first installment of a four-part docuseries about Twitter, from its origins to the eventual sale to Elon Musk. (CNN)
United States of Scandal Season 2, Episode 1 - The return of this docuseries starring Jake Tapper about major modern controversies. (CNN)
WWE Rivals Season 5, Episode 4: “Triple H vs. Shawn Michaels” - The latest episode of this docuseries about pro wrestling rivalries. (A&E)
Monday, March 10, 2025
American Manhunt: Osama bin Laden (2025) - A three-part docuseries in the American Manhunt franchise following the search for the mastermind behind 9/11. (Netflix)
Celtics City Chapter II: “No Final Victories” - The second episode of this nine-part docuseries about the Boston Celtics looks at the legacy of Bill Russell and the team’s dominance throughout the 1960s. (HBO and Max)
Confessions of Octomom Episode 1: “The Birth of Octomom” - The debut of this six-part docuseries about Nadya Suleman, the mother of octuplets plus six other children. (Lifetime)
Gypsy Rose: Life After Lock Up Season 2, Episode 1: “Pregnant on Parole” - The return of this docuseries following Gypsy Rose Blanchard since her release from prison deals with her pregnancy. (Lifetime)
Malawi Wildlife Rescue Season 2, Episodes 3 & 4: “Walking with a Pangolin” & “Tsiba’s New Mum” - The two latest episodes of this nature docuseries involve veterinary stories focused on pythons, bushpigs, baby monkeys, servals, and more. (Hulu and Disney+)
No Taste Like Home with Antoni Porowski Episode 5: “Issa Rae’s Senegalese Royal Roots” - The latest episode of this new docuseries focuses on the culinary ancestry of actor, writer, and producer Issa Rae. (Hulu and Disney+)
Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Dorothy Arzner: Pioneer, Queer, Feminist (2023) - A medium-length documentary about the titular filmmaker. Included in a box set called “Women Who Run Hollywood.” (DVD)
Ernest Cole: Lost and Found (2024) - A feature documentary by Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) about the titular photographer. Read our review of Ernest Cole: Lost and Found. (Blu-ray, DVD, and VOD)
Every Little Thing (2024) - A feature documentary about a woman who cares for injured hummingbirds. Read our review of Every Little Thing. (VOD)
Files on JFK (2024) - A documentary focused on James E. Files, who confessed to being the real JFK assassin. (DVD)
The Great Buster (2018) - A feature documentary directed by Peter Bogdanovich about Buster Keaton. (TCM)
Ida Lupino: Gentlemen & Miss Lupino (2021) - A medium-length documentary about the titular actress and filmmaker. Included in a box set called “Women Who Run Hollywood.” (DVD)
The Klezmer Project (2023) - A feature documentary about klezmer music. (DVD)
Last Take: Rust and the Story of Halyna (2025) - A feature documentary about cinematographer Halyna Hutchins, who was accidentally killed by a gun fired by Alec Baldwin on the set of the movie Rust. (Hulu)
Mary Pickford: A Blessing and a Curse (2023) - A medium-length documentary about the titular movie star and studio boss. Included in a box set called “Women Who Run Hollywood.” (DVD)
Port Protection Alaska Season 8, Episode 1: “What We Lack in Hygiene” - The season premiere of a new season of this docuseries about life in the titular Alaskan village. (National Geographic)
Tom Petty: Heartbreakers Beach Party (2024) - A feature documentary sharing footage of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers from the early 1980s. (Paramount+)
The Women Who Run Hollywood (2016) - A medium-length documentary about powerful women in Hollywood, from Alice Guy to Kathryn Bigelow. Included in a box set called “Women Who Run Hollywood.” (DVD)
Wednesday, March 12, 2025
Becoming Hitchcock: The Legacy of Blackmail (2024) - A feature documentary by Laurent Bouzereau (Music by John Williams) about Alfred Hitchcock’s style as it originated with his 1929 film Blackmail. (TCM)
Homicide Squad New Orleans Season 1, Episode 12: “Wrong Place, Wrong Time” - The latest episode of this new docuseries involves the death of an innocent bystander caught in a crossfire in the French Quarter. (A&E)
Port Protection Alaska Season 8, Episode 1: “What We Lack in Hygiene” - The season premiere of a new season of this docuseries about life in the titular Alaskan village. (Hulu and Disney+)
Thursday, March 13, 2025
Like Tears in the Rain (2024) - A documentary about actor Rutger Hauer. (Viaplay)
Sneak Peak At What’s Coming Soon
3/14 - Meanwhile - A “docu-poem” about Identity, Race, Racism, and Resistance. (In Theaters)
3/18 - Centered: Joe Lieberman - A feature documentary about the titular American politician who served in the U.S. Senate from 1989 to 2013. Watch the trailer for the film below. (In Theaters)
3/19 - Aum: The Cult at the End of the World - A documentary about Aum Shinrikyo, the cult behind the Tokyo subway gas attack in 1995. (In Theaters)
3/28 - Number One on the Call Sheet - A two-part documentary about the achievements of Black actors, with one part devoted to men and the other to women. Watch the new trailer for the documentary below. (Apple TV+)
3/31 - Gone Girls: The Long Island Serial Killer - A three-part true-crime docuseries about the titular serial killer directed by Liz Garbus (I’ll Be Gone in the Dark). (Netflix)
4/2 - Oklahoma City Bombing: One Day in America - A docuseries in the One Day in America franchise focused on the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing. Watch the new trailer for the series below. (National Geographic)
4/8 - We Want the Funk - A feature documentary by Stanley Nelson and Nicole London chronicling the history of funk music. Presented as an episode of Independent Lens. (PBS)
4/11 - One to One: John & Yoko - A documentary by Oscar winner Kevin Macdonald (One Day in September) about John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s One to One charity concert for special needs children. (In IMAX Theaters)