Favourite Documentary/Documentaries??

Byrnzie

FenwayFaithful wrote:

Ken Burns "Baseball" and "The Civil War" are played A LOT on my dvd player.

I've not watched the baseball doc, but the Civil War doc is on my external hard drive. It's a keeper.

jimed14

Byrnzie wrote:

FenwayFaithful wrote:

Ken Burns "Baseball" and "The Civil War" are played A LOT on my dvd player.

I've not watched the baseball doc, but the Civil War doc is on my external hard drive. It's a keeper.

Both were really well done.

Has anyone seen the Tenth Inning? Ken Burns' Update to the original Baseball doc?

I've yet to see it.

(see it's on Netflix, add to queue)

Leezestarr313

Eraserhead wrote:

Man on Wire and Grizzly Man. Infact, anything Herzog directed.

It's cool to see so many Herzog fans in here :thumbup: I'm also a big fans of his. For anyone who might want to know - there exists a dvd box with his early documentaries and shorts. Really good stuff!

I've seen some of the docus that have been recommended here and just want to add Maradona by Kusturica, as the title suggests, a portrait of Diego Maradona by Emir Kusturica. It's really entertaining and insightful. I love Kusturica's work, and Maradona is awesome in this.

Another one I thought was really good was Prisoner of Paradise by Malcolm Clarke. It's "the true story of Kurt Gerron, a German-Jewish cabaret and film actor in the 1920s and 1930s who was sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp where he was commanded to write and direct a Nazi propaganda film" (wikipedia).

Byrnzie

Leeze wrote:

I've seen some of the docus that have been recommended here and just want to add Maradona by Kusturica, as the title suggests, a portrait of Diego Maradona by Emir Kusturica. It's really entertaining and insightful. I love Kusturica's work, and Maradona is awesome in this.

Another one I thought was really good was Prisoner of Paradise by Malcolm Clarke. It's "the true story of Kurt Gerron, a German-Jewish cabaret and film actor in the 1920s and 1930s who was sent to the Theresienstadt concentration camp where he was commanded to write and direct a Nazi propaganda film" (wikipedia).

Thanks. Not heard of these before. I'll check 'em out.

Drowned Out

A few randomly selected docs I've watched recently...


Yugoslavia: The Avoidable War - loooong, but interesting. There are a lot of complaints in the comments below this vid, that it was a pro-Serb revisionist piece, but I don't know the history well enoughto judge that for myself...there was def a lot of time spent trying to counter what the doc claimed to be Western propaganda (that really happens? ) aimed at helping the other warring factions break up the country...but it did seem to highlight the fact that no one was a winner, and that war is hell for all involved. If anyone has any suggestions about other docs on this topic, I'd appreciate them. Sounds like the Death of Yugoslavia is a bit of a counter-point to this film....I'll check that out next unless someone suggest something better. Srebrenica: A Cry from the Grave could be interesting, but would likely be depressing as hell..

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/yugoslav ... dable-war/



First Earth: Uncompromising Ecological Architecture - thoroughly enjoyed this one! It's about building with adobe and cob, and sustainability in general...was sad (and not surprised at all) to learn that these earthen structures won't work in my climate, or I'd have been out building a mud hut this weekend

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/first-ea ... hitecture/



The Light Bulb Conspiracy: the Untold Story of Planned Obsolescence
Very insightful doc that begins by telling the story of the cartel of lighbulb manufacturers who conspired to limit the light bulb's life span in the 1920's...and naturally, turns into a scathing indictment of capitalism and consumer culture in general....
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/light-bulb-conspiracy/

And I need to watch Man on a Wire, too! Have been meaning to forever and keep forgetting about it!

Heisenberg

Leeze wrote:

It's cool to see so many Herzog fans in here :thumbup: I'm also a big fans of his. For anyone who might want to know - there exists a dvd box with his early documentaries and shorts. Really good stuff!

Werner is awesome. I was lucky enough to get to interview him at a film festival and he couldn't be a nicer and more interesting human being. He basically said that he made his first movie before he made his first telephone call. I love how that man chooses to express himself, he's truly one of a kind. I need to get off my ass and go see "Cave of Forgotten Dreams".

brother123

dunkman wrote:

Auschwitz - The Final Solution

Just finished this one today. I don't know what to say. It's very detailed and very well done. Learned a few things too.

Ms. Haiku

Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110480/
Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307385/

Byrnzie

Ms. Haiku wrote:

Maya Lin: A Strong Clear Vision http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110480/
Rivers and Tides: Andy Goldsworthy Working with Time http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0307385/

These both look good.

Leezestarr313

Heisenberg wrote:

Leeze wrote:

It's cool to see so many Herzog fans in here :thumbup: I'm also a big fans of his. For anyone who might want to know - there exists a dvd box with his early documentaries and shorts. Really good stuff!

Werner is awesome. I was lucky enough to get to interview him at a film festival and he couldn't be a nicer and more interesting human being. He basically said that he made his first movie before he made his first telephone call. I love how that man chooses to express himself, he's truly one of a kind. I need to get off my ass and go see "Cave of Forgotten Dreams".

Wow, you interviewed him? :thumbup: In the beginning, his style of commentary sounded a bit strange to me, but now I really enjoy his nasal, calm narration with that slight Bavarian accent ...

"My best fiend" is also a great documentary, it's about the relationship of Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski. There's some really crazy stories in it, very entertaining, sometimes frightening, but overall it's very insightful and really worth watching those two geniusses clash and fight and understand eachother at the same time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Best_Fiend

Heisenberg

Leeze wrote:

"My best fiend" is also a great documentary, it's about the relationship of Werner Herzog and Klaus Kinski. There's some really crazy stories in it, very entertaining, sometimes frightening, but overall it's very insightful and really worth watching those two geniusses clash and fight and understand eachother at the same time.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Best_Fiend

I'll have to check this out. I wish my dumb ass would have been smart enough to keep the raw footage from the interview I did with him so I could post it but alas, it is in the hands of my old company and all I have left is what was edited into the final piece. The interview was like 15-20 mins long and he jumped all over the place, talking about his childhood to why Roger Ebert is important for film. He's such an interesting person.

polaris_x

Drowned Out wrote:

First Earth: Uncompromising Ecological Architecture - thoroughly enjoyed this one! It's about building with adobe and cob, and sustainability in general...was sad (and not surprised at all) to learn that these earthen structures won't work in my climate, or I'd have been out building a mud hut this weekend

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/first-ea ... hitecture/

you should be able to do strawbale where you are ... or an earthship ... lots of options outside of adobe and cob which basically are only useful in warm and dry climates ...

Drowned Out

polaris_x wrote:

Drowned Out wrote:

First Earth: Uncompromising Ecological Architecture - thoroughly enjoyed this one! It's about building with adobe and cob, and sustainability in general...was sad (and not surprised at all) to learn that these earthen structures won't work in my climate, or I'd have been out building a mud hut this weekend

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/first-ea ... hitecture/

you should be able to do strawbale where you are ... or an earthship ... lots of options outside of adobe and cob which basically are only useful in warm and dry climates ...

Ya, I looked into it a bit after watching the documentary and it seems strawbale would be the material of choice in this climate. Strawbale seems really impractical compared to cob...but then, living in Edmonton is really impractical compared to Portland, so I guess it's all relative. Not familiar with earthship construction, I'll have to check that out...thanks!
I actually thought of you when watching this, I know you're a very eco-aware person...I think you'd enjoy this movie if you haven't seen it, there is more to it than just the adobe/cob construction aspect - the info about sustainability and urban planning was pretty compelling....

polaris_x

Drowned Out wrote:

Ya, I looked into it a bit after watching the documentary and it seems strawbale would be the material of choice in this climate. Strawbale seems really impractical compared to cob...but then, living in Edmonton is really impractical compared to Portland, so I guess it's all relative. Not familiar with earthship construction, I'll have to check that out...thanks!
I actually thought of you when watching this, I know you're a very eco-aware person...I think you'd enjoy this movie if you haven't seen it, there is more to it than just the adobe/cob construction aspect - the info about sustainability and urban planning was pretty compelling....

yeah ... i've volunteered at a couple of strawbale builds and an earthship ...i watched the clip that was in the link you sent and it sounds like a lot of stuff i've read or seen ...

environmentally speaking - living in the city ... the best choice is to upgrade your current accommodations so the place is energy efficient ... tearing down a house and building a strawbale may not be that eco-friendly ...

as far as the urban planning goes ... i definitely believe in the return to "villages" ... localized communities that generate their own power and grow their own food ... and i'm not talking necessarily about a huge roll back in time but simply things like power generation would be much more efficient if it was localized to a smaller community vs mass produced and transmitted across large areas ... same thing with food production ... fuck lawns - we should be growing food ...

stargirl69

Tribe ... Bruce Parry living with indigenous tribes around the world.An amazing series

Byrnzie

stargirl69 wrote:

Tribe ... Bruce Parry living with indigenous tribes around the world.An amazing series

I have the dvd box set. :ugeek:

stargirl69

Byrnzie wrote:

stargirl69 wrote:

Tribe ... Bruce Parry living with indigenous tribes around the world.An amazing series

I have the dvd box set. :ugeek:

Not :ugeek: at all Every series was amazing ... did you see the three specials he did? The Amazon,The North Pole Expedition and The Survival Charity Special which also had a book and C.D of world music? :ugeek:

If not you should check them out

ItIsEvolutionBaby

The King of Kong

Byrnzie

stargirl69 wrote:

Byrnzie wrote:

stargirl69 wrote:

Tribe ... Bruce Parry living with indigenous tribes around the world.An amazing series

I have the dvd box set. :ugeek:

Not :ugeek: at all Every series was amazing ... did you see the three specials he did? The Amazon,The North Pole Expedition and The Survival Charity Special which also had a book and C.D of world music? :ugeek:

If not you should check them out

I saw the Arctic series, and the Amazon series. Haven't seen the Charity program though.

bm183103

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