In anticipation of his newest book, A Wilderness of Error, Errol Morris appeared for a fun exchange with Stephen Colbert on The Colbert Report.

Morris is one my favorite filmmakers because of his commitment to using the documentary form as an effort not to expose truth but to expose the human instinct to need to create a truth – no matter how false. He makes seemingly unsympathetic characters, most effectively in Fog of War, grow sympathetic by allowing them to speak their minds. By getting at the root of motivation behind behaviors, Morris turns our preconceived notions about people on their heads. He has a commitment to making us look at humans as humans, multidimensional, warts and all. Perhaps no greater American director works today.

In addition to this new book, Morris previously released Believing is Seeing. A similar probing of truth, only in the photographic form. Again, Morris challenges our expectations of what we see by asking us not to judge immediately, without knowing the full story.

A great clip from Morris’ debut, Gates of Heaven:

And the trailer for Morris’ most challenging film, Fog of War: