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  • Film & TV Moderators: ghostfreak

films: Great documentaries

how could i forget 'Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse'!

i would argue that Baraka is not really a documentary but i'm not sure why...

nice list fruitfly. i watched 'The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl' for the first time recently and enjoyed it immensely.

alasdair
 
No one has mentioned Roger and Me . . . I would argue that it is Michael Moore's best documentary.
 
Al -- I forgot all about Heart of Darkness! Silly me. :)

Did you know that Leni Riefenstahl just died? Just a day or two before or after (can't remember) I saw the movie (I just watched it for the first time recently as well).

Of course Baraka isn't a real "documentary"; it defies categorization, that's part of why it's so awesome.=D
 
Two big thumbs up for the doc "Winged Migration."

Also liked "Starwoids," its about some Cali kids who stood in line for 6 weeks to be the first to get tickets for the Phantom Menace.

Also, if you wanna go old school, check out the Endless Summer series. Part 1 was the best, part 2 ok, haven't seen part 3.
 
I can't believe no one has mentioned the 7up series from Michael Apted, which the most recent is 42 up.... 49 up should only be 1-2 years away.


Also - Better Living through Circuitry - just for the hell of it!
 
I got really into documentary in my studies... and never knew much about it before now, but I love the whole concept behind cinema truth /verite movement and the "what is genre" aspect of documentary.

Anyway :) the docs that most rocked my boat were anything by Australian independant filmmakers Anderson nd Connelly - Rats in the Ranks; Facing the Music; etc. Errol Morris is also interesting - someone mentioned Thin Blue Line, and he won an oscar for his last one - The Fog of War, though I've not seen it yet. Anyone?

Sick - The Bob Flannagan Story is also an intense but emotionally worthwhile documentary if you can stomach it.
 
Originally posted by Daimo
I can't believe no one has mentioned the 7up series from Michael Apted, which the most recent is 42 up.... 49 up should only be 1-2 years away.


i need to get to this - i've been meaning to watch the series for about four years...they've often been recommended to me :)

and i'm glad you said "just for the hell of it" re: bltc...it's pretty average ;)
 
'Trekkies' tops my list. Also 'One Day in September' is worth checking out. And the anti-drug war documentary 'Grass' is some entertaining, educational viewing...plus, Woody Harrelson is the narrator. How can you top that?
 
My friend and I made a 'documentary.' But I am skeptical about letting anyone see it because its a VERY sketchy subject and piece of film. Basicly we go around paying junkies money to get some shit to do on the camera. This was one of the scariest and most eye opening experiances of my life, and I got most of it on camera to make into a documentary. I dunno how much of it I could get narqed for tho, and my friend is pretty paranoid about it. But anyways, I thought that was a pretty damn good interesting documentary (amateurly edited though).

Otherwise, I've seen alot of good documentaries... Bowling for Columbine comes to mind. Lots of others that I can't remember specific names.
 
I love documentaries. If you have some time, I'd like to reccomend some (descriptions from netflix)

"Crumb"
An illuminating portrait of an improbable heretic: gangly, bespectacled Robert Crumb. Director Terry Zwigoff spent six years compiling this startling documentary about the counterculture artist, who's been using cartoons to lambaste hypocrisy since the 1960s. Via candid interviews with Crumb, his spouses, offspring, siblings, cronies, contemporaries and detractors, Zwigoff constructs a blistering profile of a man consumed by inner demons.

"American Movie"
Mark Borchardt could give legendary B-movie auteur Ed Wood a run for his money as the lamest filmmaker on Earth. American Movie chronicles Borchardt's three-year effort to finish his short horror film, Coven. Lending encouragement and, at times, cash, is a motley crew of characters composed of Borchardt's friends, local theater talent and his inimitable Uncle Bill.

"Mule Skinner Blues"
A quirky cast of characters makes this unusual documentary by Stephen Earnhart an interesting spectacle. Filming at a Florida trailer park, Earnhart takes a look at everyday folk who happen to be quite artistic. For example, Ms. Jeanie is a yodeler, while Larry writes horror short stories when not working as a janitor. Ricky dreams of making it big as a rock guitarist, and Steve, also a musician, is still waiting for his big break at age 74.

"Go Tigers"
In the blue-collar Ohio town of Massillon, the most important thing is high school football -- and the frenzy around the local team, the Tigers, is almost cult-like. Former Massillon resident Kenneth Carlson's documentary follows the three stars of the 1999 Tigers team as they deal with problems such as personal injuries and the pressures of their economically depressed town's high expectations.

"Cinemania"
There are film buffs, and then there are film buffs. The five New York movie fanatics chronicled in this documentary (directed by Angela Christlieb and Stephen Kijak) are so committed to their viewing pleasure that they'll let nothing -- relationships, jobs, family, even bathroom breaks -- get in their way. Jack, Eric, Harvey, Bill and Roberta live for the films they watch daily … and oh, what lives they lead!

"Devil's Playground"
When Amish teens turn 16, they have the opportunity to venture out in the "Devil's Playground" (the Amish's term for the outside world) and indulge in 21st century vices such as drinking and smoking. At the end of this period, called "Rumspringa," they can choose to commit to the church for good. Or not. This documentary tracks 18-year-old Faron's struggle to reconcile his drug addiction with his deeply ingrained desire to live the Amish life

"Friends Forever"
This absurdly hilarious documentary spotlights a rock duo, Nate and Josh, who perform concerts in their ramshackle VW bus in parking lots or on a curbside, forever traveling around the country in search of the perfect parking spot. With only a lighting girl named Jen and three dogs, Nate and Josh play guerilla-style rock shows that sometimes last only 15 minutes and inevitably showcase what they describe as "the worst music ever made."

"Brother's Keeper"
This acclaimed documentary explores the odd world of the four elderly Ward brothers -- illiterate farmers who have lived their entire lives in a dilapidated two-room shack. When William Ward dies in the bed he shared with his brother Delbert, the police become suspicious. Citing motives ranging from sex crime to euthanasia, they arrest Delbert for murder, penetrating the isolated world that left "the boys" forgotten eccentrics for many years.

There are many more, but this is a start.
 
aw a mention for endless summer... i have a soft spot for this movie

i liked 'a boys life' that i saw this week
 
BALSEROS

BALSEROS

Nothing....nothing....nothing else can describe this doc but EPIC!
The first hour had me crying like a lil girl. It shows you how these people realize that their country has nothing to offer them or their familes. They are aware that death will prolly await them at sea as they try to reach the states from cuba in innertubes and if they are lucky even to get near to florida they must touch land or be sent right back. The 2nd hour shows you how these people come to this country and bust their asses day in & day out to try to reach the american dream which to them is not get super rich and drive a benz. All they are seeking is a stable life & a place in the community. It just makes me think that these people come here not speaking english in some cases yet they still make something of them selfs when we have people who are born in this country yet do nothing with their lives and live off the chunk that gets taken out of your & mines check every week. Amazing 2 hours that everyone should see.

BALSEROS CINEMAX SITE
 
i'm not exactly sure how, but somehow i forgot to mention d.a. pennebaker's don't look back; his documentary on bob dylan's 1965 tour of england.

anyway, if you're a music fan at all, i strongly urge you to see this, and if you're a dylan fan, put down whatever-the-fuck you're doing right now and go grab it. the film itself is good (the verite style is perfect for the subject), and edited quite well, but it's totally the subject which makes it.

dylan is mesmerising throughout, and the star-spotting cameos throughout (as well as joan baez's brilliant acoustic sing-alongs in the hotel room) are quite fun :)

awesome film!
 
good call. another great documentary in which d.a. pennebaker was involved is the war room which documents bill clinton's 1992 presidential campaign.

alasdair
 
two good docus nobody has mentioned are:

The Weather Underground

about the american left-wing terrorists of the same name in the 1970s; the film is pretty good in recreating the atmosphere of the late 1960s and 70s and showing how these people drifted from peaceful protest into violence;

Step into Liquid

about surfing; basically just beautiful, beautiful pictures...
 
"To be and to have," about a one-room school in France. It makes you want to be an elementary school teacher.
 
laovienax said:


The Weather Underground

about the american left-wing terrorists of the same name in the 1970s; the film is pretty good in recreating the atmosphere of the late 1960s and 70s and showing how these people drifted from peaceful protest into violence;


Agreed, it was excellent - tied in Martin Luther King, Black Panthers, George Jackson, Charles Manson, Altamont, and was fascinating for showing how those involved in the movement were living their lives today. It aired on BBC4 a few weeks ago, so if anyone missed it look out for it on BBC2 where they often repeat programmes like this.

Another fine film director one was Burden of Dreams by Werner Herzog, about the making of his film Fitzcarraldo - a bit like Hearts of Darkness, but in South America with crazier people! Herzog also made a good doc about Buddhists in Tibet which BBC4 aired a couple of years ago, but I forget what it was called.
 
incident said:
My friend and I made a 'documentary.' But I am skeptical about letting anyone see it because its a VERY sketchy subject and piece of film. Basicly we go around paying junkies money to get some shit to do on the camera. This was one of the scariest and most eye opening experiances of my life, and I got most of it on camera to make into a documentary. I dunno how much of it I could get narqed for tho, and my friend is pretty paranoid about it. But anyways, I thought that was a pretty damn good interesting documentary (amateurly edited though).

Otherwise, I've seen alot of good documentaries... Bowling for Columbine comes to mind. Lots of others that I can't remember specific names.


I'd be interested in seeing it.. sounds like a great subject.If you do release it, and run into some trouble get in touch with these guys http://www.illegal-art.org/.. worth a shot.
 
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