Just because they’re not real documentaries doesn’t mean you won’t learn anything.
The War Game (1965)
Directed by: Peter Watkins
Written by: Peter Watkins
Told in the style of a news report, The War Game garnered incredible amounts of controversy well before it aired — and it didn't end up seeing the light of day on the BBC until 20 years after it was made. It's a highly realistic (and thus, incredibly unsettling) look at a Soviet nuclear attack on Britain. Think of it as War of the Worlds but with an actual looming threat instead of aliens.
BBC
Punishment Park (1971)
Directed by: Peter Watkins
Written by: Peter Watkins
From the man who brought you The War Game comes the equally harrowing Punishment Park, which imagines the Nixon administration's totalitarian response to growing Vietnam War protests: Convicts can opt to spend three days at Punishment Park, where they are deprived of food and water and chased through the California desert by law enforcement officers.
Project X
The Legend of Boggy Creek (1972)
Directed by: Charles B. Pierce
Written by: Charles B. Pierce
Not that the preceding two films aren't horrifying, but The Legend of Boggy Creek is the first of multiple horror mockumentaries on this list. The movie sends its faux documentarians to the small town of Fouke, Arkansas, where the titular Fouke Monster (a Bigfoot-esque cryptid) has been spotted by several residents and accused of killing local animals.
Cheezy Flicks Entertainment
The Rutles: All You Need Is Cash (1978)
Directed by: Eric Idle and Gary Weis
Written by: Eric Idle and Neil Innes
Fictitious musical groups are another recurring mockumentary theme, and in this one, as you might have guessed, The Rutles are an entirely unsubtle parody of The Beatles. Something about the humor may have been lost in translation, though: All You Need Is Cash bombed when it premiered on NBC, and ended up doing much better when it aired on the BBC a week later. Ob-la-di, ob-la-da!
NBC
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