Favourite Documentary/Documentaries??

Jason P

I mentioned this on the F1 thread, but Senna was a real good doc on the racing career and life of three-time world champ Ayrton Senna. It's worth watching even if you don't follow racing.

OffSheGoes35

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Byrnzie

Watched Wener Herzog's 'Into The Abyss' yesterday. Without getting into the death penalty debate here I'll just point out that he presents both sides of the argument and just leaves it to the viewer to decide whether they support the state-sanctioned murder of another human being. Although Herzog himself states at the beginning of the film that he opposes the death penalty.
Perhaps the most revealing part of this movie is the interview with the retired death row prison guard.

polaris_x

It is Hot Docs week in Toronto. I will probably end up seeing about 10-12 documentaries. I will list them here if anyone is interested.

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We are Legion: http://wearelegionthedocumentary.com/
Story about the Hacktivists known as Anonymous ... from its early beginnings to their efforts in the Arab Spring ... overall - great insight into that world ... would have liked to hear more from the various factions within that group and some of the key people that were targeted by them (Church of Scientology) ...
*********************

Meg8686

Great thread, will probably end up watching most of these so thank you!! I have watched most of these full docs online,so if you interested you'll be able to find them, have included some trailers.


My Top Docs

Paradise Lost 1,2 &3 - Chronicals the case of the West memphis three
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfj_bVIwyeA Get outraged, get involved wm3.org

Dirt - I like this, environmental and how the way we farm crops has to change. Excelllent doc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8_dN5YWnyc

Baraka- This sums it up nicely - " It uses no language, so needs no translation. It speaks in magnificent images, natural sounds, and music both composed and discovered. It regards our planet and the life upon it. It stands outside of historical time. To another race, it would communicate: This is what you would see if you came here" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiXzdXbyjMw

Jonestown - The story of the Peoples Temple.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY3cx3U0gYE

PJ20- Hells yeah!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzI8OhR0IVY

Food inc. - A huge education into crop & meat production in the US. Scary stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0

Everything ever done by Louis Theroux


Arena - Bob Marley exodus 77 - Only seen it once on BBC2, can't find a torrent anywhere, wonderful doc. So no link it's a lost documentary, have this instead http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5FCdx7D ... re=related

Oh & finally...

This is Spinal tap - lets get Rockin, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6EwqlgU ... ure=fvwrel

Meg8686

OffSheGoes35 wrote:

A Man Named Pearl
Trailer:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcYaZCOCMBg

Can't wait to watch this, thanks

polaris_x

as part of Hot Docs

The Law In These Parts http://www.hotdocs.ca/film/title/law_in_these_parts
A self-proclaimed subjective film about the military judges appointed to serve the occupied territories. This film shows the violation of international law and the lack of justice perpetrated against the palestinians from the onset till today. It does this through interviews with judges who served in the early parts. Overall, an interesting film in that the filmmaker right off the bat disclaims that it will be edited and narrated based on his own free will - it's something that is usually a given but I do think that often as viewers we take documentaries to be factual all the time. Not to say this wasn't but this film does highlight how subjective they can be. Anyhoo - highly recommend it.

riotgrl

Hands down - Freedom Riders from PBS - probably the best I've seen.

he.who.forgets

Meg8686 wrote:

Great thread, will probably end up watching most of these so thank you!! I have watched most of these full docs online,so if you interested you'll be able to find them, have included some trailers.


My Top Docs

Paradise Lost 1,2 &3 - Chronicals the case of the West memphis three
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tfj_bVIwyeA Get outraged, get involved wm3.org

Dirt - I like this, environmental and how the way we farm crops has to change. Excelllent doc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n8_dN5YWnyc

Baraka- This sums it up nicely - " It uses no language, so needs no translation. It speaks in magnificent images, natural sounds, and music both composed and discovered. It regards our planet and the life upon it. It stands outside of historical time. To another race, it would communicate: This is what you would see if you came here" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiXzdXbyjMw

Jonestown - The story of the Peoples Temple.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IY3cx3U0gYE

PJ20- Hells yeah!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GzI8OhR0IVY

Food inc. - A huge education into crop & meat production in the US. Scary stuff.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5eKYyD14d_0

Everything ever done by Louis Theroux


Arena - Bob Marley exodus 77 - Only seen it once on BBC2, can't find a torrent anywhere, wonderful doc. So no link it's a lost documentary, have this instead http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S5FCdx7D ... re=related

Oh & finally...

This is Spinal tap - lets get Rockin, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6EwqlgU ... ure=fvwrel

Baraka is one of my favorites...I cant wait for Samasara to be released

polaris_x

From Hot Docs ... http://www.hotdocs.ca/film/title/chasing_ice1

What started out as a story about nature photographer James Balog eventually turned into a story about global warming. James sets out to document the disappearing sea ice/glaciers in the northern hemisphere in places like iceland, greenland and the arctic. The visuals are absolutely stunning and horrific at the same time and the music is perfect. Not probably one to see if you still think global warming is a hoax.

Meg8686

he.who.forgets wrote:

Baraka is one of my favorites...I cant wait for Samasara to be released

Didn't know about this one Just watched the trailer & it looks stunning!!
Thanks for that, Looking forward to it

polaris_x

more from hot docs ...

Meet The Fokkens http://www.hotdocs.ca/film/title/meet_the_fokkens
Dutch film about two sisters who worked as prostitutes in the red light district (one still does) into their 70's. This sometimes light-hearted story does hit a bit at the gut when you hear their story. There were some people in the story that weren't clarified which made it a bit confusing but overall, it was a tender film.

**************
The Invisible War http://www.hotdocs.ca//film/title/invisible_war
An investigative documentary about the rampant rape and sexual abuse women and some men endure in the US Armed Forces and how the military not only refuses to help them but adopts a strategy that ultimately destroys the victims lives. Definitely not a film for the jingoistic american. Your'e not gonna like seeing this stuff. Just brutal to watch really.

***************
Off Label http://www.hotdocs.ca/film/title/off_label
A film about the use of human guinea pigs by the pharmaceutical industry and the conflict that exists. The directors did not want to do a standard stat driven/big pharma is bad movie so the film became a bit disjointed - for me, this really was a film about class struggles and the lack of oversight by pharmaceutical giants.

Byrnzie

This is a good one. A quirky old film about London with James Mason:

The London nobody knows (1969): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMHCVHLI68M



http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2003/nov/21/history
The naked city

Goldfish in public toilets, meths drinkers, Italian caffs ... Bob Stanley on an extraordinary documentary that captures the seamy underbelly of 1960s London


'In the wholly terrestrial 1980s, I would scour and dogear the Radio and TV Times the day they came out, looking for rare showings of great films and archive oddities. Channel 4 made life easy with Truffaut, British new wave, or Marx Brothers seasons. The real plums, though, could often be hidden in the ITV - or Thames, round our way - schedules, maybe at one in the morning, maybe at three in the afternoon.

It was the latter slot that broadcast The London Nobody Knows, a 1967 documentary stroll around the city with James Mason. No horseguards, no palaces, but Islington's Chapel Market, pie shops, and Spitalfields tenements. Carnaby chicks and chaps, the 1967 we have been led to remember, are shockingly juxtaposed with feral meths drinkers, filthy shoeless kids, squalid Victoriana. Camden Town still resembles the world of Walter Sickert. There is romance and adventure, but mostly there is malnourishment. London looks like a shithole...'

Byrnzie

Meg8686 wrote:

Everything ever done by Louis Theroux

I just watched the doc he did on the Westboro Baptist Church. I think the thing about his films is that despite the craziness, and oftentimes hostility, of the people he spends time with, he always ends up being the star of the show. He's so personable and funny that you end up marveling at his patience and charm and almost forgetting about the idiots that are the actual focus of his documentary.
I think you could drop him into a lions den and he'd end up managing to charm his way out.

I downloaded a bunch of his films. Next up is 'Ultra Zionists'.

PJFAN13

AWESOME --> Johnny Carson documentary on PBS' "American Masters"...
Highly recommend...learned a lot and was amazed - superb 2 hrs... saw it last night (5/14) and will be recording it when its on again, for sure!

dustinpardue

Awesome thread! Documentaries are the only think that makes netflix anywhere close to worth $7.99 a month. So many great one I agree with on here, all the Michael Moore stuff, Obama Deception, The Bridge, etc. A few great ones that haven't already been mentioned include:

The Listening Project - how people in other countries see America and Americans
I Need That Record - about the death of indie record stores
Cocaine Cowboys - (one of my all time favs) about how drugs built Miami
The Loose Change series - Actually investigating 9/11
The Men Who Killed Kennedy (1-9) - JFK Assassination
The Evidence of Revision series - JFK, RFK, MLK (really amazing stuff)
Gashole - about people who have tried to make efficient or non-gas fueled cars and what happened to them

Who Princess

PJFAN13 wrote:

AWESOME --> Johnny Carson documentary on PBS' "American Masters"...
Highly recommend...learned a lot and was amazed - superb 2 hrs... saw it last night (5/14) and will be recording it when its on again, for sure!

Really wanted to see that but had to work last night. :(
Just about everything I've seen on American Masters has been great. Loved the one about Rod Serling.

ComeToTX

Watched "We Were Here" today. It's about AIDS in San Fran at the beginning of the epidemic. Very moving.

Who Princess

ComeToTX wrote:

Watched "We Were Here" today. It's about AIDS in San Fran at the beginning of the epidemic. Very moving.

Is it on dvd or did you see it in a theater? Would like to see that.

zarocat

Forks over Knives

Zeitgeist: Addendum

Manufactured Landscapes

The Doors: Narrated by Johnny Depp

Zizek

Big River Man

The Union

Tyson

Waiting For Superman

Who The F%#k is Jackson Pollock

Home: Narrated by Glen Close