50 Documentaries to See Before You Die

Morgan Spurlock begins the series by touching down in sunny Florida. He is traveling to meet Billy Mitchell, star of Seth Gordon’s cult documentary "King of Kong". But before he gets there, Morgan counts down from No. 50 to 41, gaining insights from a range of directors and commentators.

Morgan Spurlock counts down No. 40-31 and cruises to meet Levi O'Brien, young preacher and star of Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady's controversial hit "Jesus Camp."

Spurlock reveals films number 30 through 21 as he kicks off this leg of his journey with Michael Moore, who talks about what drove him to make the box office hit "Fahrenheit 9/11." In Los Angeles, he finally meets up with mercurial Mr. Brainwash from Banksy's hit film "Exit Through the Gift Shop" (2010) all in an effort to find out whether he is real or an elaborate art hoax.

As Spurlock travels across America in search of modern documentary's most compelling directors and iconic subjects, he heads to Pittsburgh to find out if the transvestite ball scene, so memorably captured in the 1990 cult film "Paris Is Burning" is still raging in all its voguing, pose-striking glory. Along the road, he interviews some of the countdown's top filmmakers and authors, including Nick Broomfield, Jared Leto, and Aisha Tyler.

After weeks spent traveling across America in search of modern documentary's most iconic directors and compelling subjects, Spurlock ends his journey in Illinois. There he meets Steve James, the director of "Hoop Dreams," along with the film's stars Arthur Agee and William Gates to talk about what made the documentary memorable. Notable interviewees include: Al Gore; Michael Moore; Errol Morris; D. A. Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus; Rob Epstein and Jeffrey Friedman; Tony Hawk and Jack Osbourne.