Sex, drugs and amoebic dysentery: the 20 best making-of documentaries – ranked!

KUALA LUMPUR, 2 OCTOBER 2026 —

The Guardian’s new feature “Sex, drugs and amoebic dysentery: the 20 best making‑of documentaries – ranked!” was published on 1 October 2026, offering a curated list of behind‑the‑scenes films that span horror, sci‑fi, westerns and animated epics, and detailing the often chaotic processes that shaped each title.

Among the entries, the documentary on George A. Romero’s 1979 zombie classic Dawn of the Dead is highlighted as the “aficionados‑only affair” that follows the film from its satirical roots through to distribution. The film’s director, Romero, makeup artist Tom Savini and several zombie actors are shown conversing in the vacant mall that serves as the movie’s central set, offering a rare glimpse of the production environment that defined the film’s iconic atmosphere.

Jon Schnepp’s documentary on the unrealised Superman Lives is another focal point. The film includes test footage of Nicolas Cage in his Man of Steel costume and interviews with director Tim Burton, original screenwriter Kevin Smith and producer Jon Peters, who famously advocated for a Superman battle against polar bears and a giant spider. Schnepp’s on‑screen presence is noted as “unforgivably” intrusive, yet the material is described as “almost good enough to transcend his vanity.”

The feature also spotlights Bulletproof, a short western filmed in the California desert under the auspices of the inclusive arts project Zeno Mountain Farm. The documentary emphasizes that the cast, comprised largely of actors with disabilities, was assembled not to portray disability but to address the broader lack of representation on screen. The film tracks the project from pre‑production through its premiere, underscoring the inclusive intent behind the production.

Orson Welles’s final film, The Other Side of the Wind, receives a dedicated segment that recounts the five‑year shoot, the three‑year delay before director‑actor John Huston appeared on camera, and the subsequent seizure of footage by the Iranian revolutionary government. The documentary, presented by Alan Cumming, weaves archival material, fresh interviews and “typically Wellesian stories of on‑set bluffs, tomfoolery and procrastination” into a narrative that culminated in a 2018 Netflix premiere.

A half‑hour snapshot of Francis Ford Coppola’s early work on The Rain People is included, noting that Coppola and his crew shaved their beards before a cross‑country road shoot to avoid antagonising “hippy‑hating officials.” The piece also references John Boorman’s decision to decline The Exorcist while accepting Exorcist II: The Heretic, where Boorman recounts the film’s reputation as “the stupidest major movie ever made” and his own contemplation of self‑immolation on Hollywood Boulevard.

The feature recounts the troubled production of a low‑budget superhero adventure shot on sets recycled from the Jurassic Park knock‑off Carnosaur.

Special effects were handled by a local outfit called Mr Film, and the documentary includes a quote from Stan Lee: “That movie was never supposed to be shown to anybody.” The narrative draws a parallel to Warner Bros.’ recent decision to shelve titles such as Batgirl and Coyote Vs Acme as tax write‑offs, noting the relevance of the documentary’s theme of “the crestfallen cast refusing to let their film die.”

Alejandro Jodorowsky’s aborted 1970s adaptation of Dune is examined through Frank Pavich’s documentary, which reveals Jodorowsky’s ambition to create “a film that gives LSD hallucinations without taking LSD.” The piece lists collaborators including artist H.R. Giger, who later designed the monsters in Alien, and a cast featuring Salvador Dalí, Mick Jagger and Orson Welles, the latter allegedly bribed with the promise of his favourite chef on set.

The feature also details New Line’s attempt to replace South African director Richard Stanley on his H.G. Wells adaptation, noting that Stanley enlisted a warlock named Skip to “pull some cosmic strings,” temporarily securing the involvement of Marlon Brando.

The documentary records further complications, such as a puma urinating on Stanley’s tailored suit, a hurricane striking Cairns, Queensland, and the eventual replacement of Stanley by veteran director John Frankenheimer, after which Stanley “refuses to leave Australia.”

Two documentaries on David Lynch’s Blue Velvet are chronicled. Peter Braatz, then a film student, was invited by Lynch in 1985 to film the making of the movie in Wilmington, North Carolina. Braatz’s original Super‑8 footage was edited into a 1988 documentary, later re‑imagined as an “ambient head‑trip” for a 2016 86‑minute version that blends flickering footage, black‑and‑white photographs, a “woozy” score and voice‑overs from Lynch, Dennis Hopper and others, creating an “ethereal audiovisual collage.”

The feature recounts Disney’s aborted Kingdom of the Sun, an Inca‑era animated musical that sent co‑director Roger Allers on a research trip to Peru and commissioned new songs from Sting. After a disastrous early rough‑cut screening, both Allers and Sting were dismissed, and the project was retooled as the comedic Emperor’s New Groove. The documentary, narrated by Sting’s wife Trudie Styler, is described as “a documentary that Disney has done its darnedest to suppress.”

Jerry Lewis’s unrealised 1972 Holocaust drama The Day The Clown Cried is also featured. The documentary includes Lewis’s own admission that “It was bad work,” and explains that the script’s option had expired, rendering the project illegal. Lewis’s decision to hire a former concentration‑camp guard is documented, with Lewis defending the hire by stating, “He was a human being!”

Finally, the feature covers the Troma‑produced Poultrygeist: Night of the Chicken Dead, where a group of about seventy fans worked unpaid in a deserted Buffalo church, enduring cold showers and filming at an abandoned McDonald’s. The documentary captures “sexually disinhibited auditions,” on‑set brawls, a zombie extra setting himself on fire, and the contrasting leadership style of co‑director and Troma boss Lloyd Kaufman, described as both “lackadaisical and tyrannical.”

The Guardian’s compilation presents a vivid tableau of the unpredictable, often hazardous, and occasionally absurd realities that shape film production, offering readers a comprehensive look at the stories behind twenty of the most compelling making‑of documentaries released to date.