10 Movie Documentaries Better Than The Actual Movie

Chris Smith's documentary American Movie is hands down one of the greatest and most heartfelt movies ever made about filmmaking itself, chronicling the efforts of indie director Mark Borchardt to complete his horror short film Coven.

The long-haired Midwesterner, who can't even pronounce the title of his own movie correctly, makes for an immediately likeable and easy-to-root-for underdog lead - a guy who has a dream and refuses to give up on it.

Though there are certainly wince-inducing moments throughout Borchardt's journey, it's ultimately an affectionate tribute to the never-say-die spirit, while making the most of the oddball pals he surrounds himself with.

If Borchardt never became a Hollywood success story, and Coven is in no way a good film, American Movie itself went on to win the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, and helped significantly boost his profile regardless.