We Need More Science: We Pick the Year’s 5 Most Intriguing Documentaries

Most documentaries go back and piece together history after the fact. Citizenfour chronicles history as it happened. Director Laura Poitras was one of the handful of people NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden contacted to help him reveal the information he wanted the public to know, so she was there filming as the leaks happened.

courtesy Laura Poitras

Citizenfour

Why We Loved It: Most documentaries go back and piece together history after the fact. Citizenfour chronicles history as it happened. Director Laura Poitras was one of the handful of people NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden contacted to help him reveal the information he wanted the public to know, so she was there filming as the leaks happened. That means watching Citizenfour feels like being a witness to one of the biggest news events of 2013 in real time. —Angela Watercutter

courtesy Laura Poitras

The worst part about this movie is that after you finish watching it, you’ll be so angry we never got to see Alejandro Jodorowsky’s vision of Dune come to life. Watch it and you won't get FOMO, just some hardcore SFPWMOOT: So Fracking Pissed We Missed Out On This. Sony Pictures Classics

Jodorowsky's Dune

Why We Loved It: The worst part about this movie is that after you finish watching it, you’ll be so angry we never got to see Alejandro Jodorowsky’s vision of Dune come to life. Mick Jagger as a glam-rock alien Feyd-Rautha answering to a rotund Orson Welles as Baron Harkonnen?! Our FOMO just gave way to some hardcore SFPWMOOT: So Fracking Pissed We Missed Out On This. At least we have this documentary, wherein the mad genius himself explains his intentions for the daring endeavor and shows off some of the remarkable storyboards and concept art drawn by French artist Moebius, with contributions from surrealist and Creepiest Person H.R. Giger. Thanks for nothing, spineless Hollywood studio executives. —Jordan Crucchiola

Sony Pictures Classics

Particle Fever was one of the most heartwarming films of 2014. Which is strange, given its subject matter. It’s a documentary focused on the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, and the two enormous research teams competing to be the first to find the Higgs boson (known as the "God Particle," to the subjects’ annoyance) and, hopefully, answer some fundamental questions about the universe. PF Productions

Particle Fever

Why We Loved It: Particle Fever was one of the most heartwarming films of 2014. Which is strange, given its subject matter. It’s a documentary focused on the Large Hadron Collider in Switzerland, and the two enormous research teams competing to be the first to find the Higgs boson (colloquially known as the "God Particle," to the subjects’ annoyance) and, hopefully, answer some fundamental questions about the universe. It does an incredible job at making very complex science approachable, but the real story is in the people it follows. Particle Fever is about some of the smartest scientists in the world chasing their life’s work, and succeeding. It’s inspiring, exhilarating, and infectious, and it’s on Netflix right now. —Brendan Klinkenberg

PF Productions

Everyone loves George Takei and having a glimpse into his life as a gay rights activist and comics convention omni-presence in To Be Takei is just awesome. Seriously, tune in for the reminiscing about the Star Trek days and stay for the moments Takei spends at home with his husband, Brad.

Starz Digital Media

To Be Takei

Why We Loved It:

Because

we love George Takei

. Because everyone loves George Takei and having a glimpse into his life as a gay rights activist and comics convention omni-presence is just awesome. Seriously, tune in for the reminiscing about the

Star Trek

days and stay for the moments Takei spends at home with his husband, Brad. It's also incredibly heartwarming and funny—espeicially when William Shatner shows up.

—Angela Watercutter

Starz Digital Media

When Aaron Swartz committed suicide in 2013 it was a huge loss for the internet activist community, and the world. Director Brian Knappenberger's documentary The Internet's Own Boy gets at the heart of just how big that loss is.

FilmBuff, Participant Media

The Internet's Own Boy

Why We Loved It: When Aaron Swartz committed suicide in 2013 it was a huge loss for the internet activist community, and the world. Director Brian Knappenberger's documentary gets at the heart of just how big that loss is, from Swartz's work with Creative Commons to his activism with Demand Progress. A lot more intimate than his Anonymous doc We Are Legion, Kappenberger's look at Swartz's life is as heartbreaking as it is important. —Angela Watercutter

FilmBuff, Participant Media

courtesy Laura Poitras

Sony Pictures Classics

PF Productions

To Be Takei

Why We Loved It:

Because

we love George Takei

. Because everyone loves George Takei and having a glimpse into his life as a gay rights activist and comics convention omni-presence is just awesome. Seriously, tune in for the reminiscing about the

Star Trek

days and stay for the moments Takei spends at home with his husband, Brad. It's also incredibly heartwarming and funny—espeicially when William Shatner shows up.

—Angela Watercutter

Starz Digital Media

FilmBuff, Participant Media

If you care about technology and movies, which is to say if you’re a reader of this here website, then you were probably pretty excited about Citizenfour. That documentary pulled the curtain back on what happened with whistleblower Edward Snowden’s NSA leak in a big way. But that was just one of a few great documentaries that hit theaters this year. There were also docs on the life of Aaron Swartz, director Alejandro Jodorowsky’s attempt to adapt Dune, and the quest to find the “God Particle.” Here are a few of our personal favorite docs of the last year.