Green films and environmental documentaries are growing in popularity among all age groups. Whether you're choosing movies for Earth Day or just want to learn more about how to go green, here's a list of green films and environmental documentaries. Many of these films have been expertly reviewed by About.com's guide to documentary films, Jennifer Merin.
1. The Cove
Oceanic Preservation Society
The Cove is a suspenseful, Oscar-winning documentary film about a group of environmental activists fighting to stop the slaughter of dolphins in a small fishing village in Japan. The cutting-edge cinematography and dramatic storytelling make this a compelling, adventure-style film.
2. The Age of Stupid
Spanner Films
The Age of Stupid, a fictionalized documentary by director Franny Armstrong, is a rueful look back at the present day from the perspective of the year 2055, when human civilization is all but destroyed by global warming and climate change. Though the film's finger-wagging, pessimistic tone may discourage some viewers and alienate others, The Age of Stupid is a smart film that delivers an important message about the perils of climate change in unambiguous terms.
3. An Inconvenient Truth
ClimateCrisis.net
One of the most influential and talked about green films of the past decade, An Inconvenient Truth presents the issues of global warming and climate change in a simple, interesting format that's also infused with drama and passion. Though much pilloried by pro-business interests, the film has stood the test of time and remains a standard of expert storytelling.
4. Earth Days
WGBH
How did the modern environmental movement start? In Earth Days, director Robert Stone addresses that question by assembling some of the environmental movement's elders to provide compelling testimony about the advances made by conservationists during the 1960s and 1970s. He then shows how competing interests dismantled many of the gains made environmentalists, leading us to our current impasse.
5. Who Killed The Electric Car?
Sony Pictures Classics
In Who Killed the Electric Car?, documentary filmmaker Chris Paine chronicles the conspiracy to prevent the development of automobiles that run cleanly, quietly and efficiently on electricity. Against a backdrop of auto industry instability and volatile gasoline prices, Who Killed The Electric Car? is timely viewing and will promote discussion of several important issues.
6. Crude: The Real Price of Oil
CrudeTheMovie.com
The Texaco/Chevron contamination of the Ecuadorian Amazon has been dubbed the "Amazon Chernobyl." Crude exposes the extent of the damage and follows the $27 billion lawsuit that the local people and international environmental and humanitarian groups brought against Chevron.
7. The 11th Hour
11thHourAction.com
The 11th Hour warns us that we're at the final moment when change can help us avoid a global environmental disaster. Leonardo DiCaprio, who produced, co-wrote and narrates The 11th Hour, uses his considerable clout and personal resources to focus the public's attention on environmental issues, climate-related events and recent catastrophes.
8. At The Edge Of the World
AtTheEdgeOfTheWorld.com
The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, an international organization dedicated to preserving Earth's oceans, sent two small, ill-equipped ships to the Ross Sea, an internationally designated whale sanctuary off Antarctica, to prevent Japanese whaling ships from illegally slaughtering whales. At The Edge Of the World is a compelling tale of adventure and activism in one of the most dangerous places on the planet.
