Nureyev: Dancing Through Darkness

Despite his HIV-positive diagnosis in the early 1980s, Russian-born ballet dancer Rudolf Nureyev continued to dance and work as the director of the Paris Opera, as chronicled in this documentary that focuses on Nureyev's final years. Through interviews with colleagues and friends and archival footage of his performances, the film touches on the dancer's early years, his success and his later years as he struggled to continue dancing.

Directed by Teresa Griffiths, Nureyev: Dancing Through Darkness leans on a strong ensemble — Rudolf Nureyev, Jack Lang, Patricia Ruanne — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about documentary titles of 1997.