Documentaries

[Jinsai]

I'm watching Restrepo again, and it occurred to me that we could use a thread about good documentaries. I couldn't find one, so here's some other recent(ish) docs I've watched.

Jesus Camp - Disturbing and strangely beautiful movie about the brainwashing going on at an evangelical summer camp for kids.

Billy the Kid - A movie with questionable integrity, but it's interesting all the same. Follows a kid with aspergers syndrome and (at least attempts to) showcase the strangeness of his interaction with his peers. At times I found myself pissed at the filmmakers and thought they were irresponsible and inconsiderate, but still, the film captures something heartbreaking and fascinating.

Exit Through the Gift Shop - Pure genius, and its brilliance is only enhanced by considerations as to how much of it is possibly orchestrated and fabricated. Truly unique and incredibly thought provoking.

Anvil: The Story of Anvil - A metal band struggles to fulfill their dreams as they age and go into mid-life crisis territory, despite nobody giving a fuck. As depressing as it is hilarious.

[Corvus T. Cosmonaut]

I'll second Jesus Camp. I appreciate its attempt at even-handedness, though the subjects still come out as beasts behind glass in the zoo. And it's become slightly obsolete, the eponymous camp having closed due to vandalism and hate mail and so forth in the movie's wake. But then of course these people are still out there, in small but significant and disturbing numbers, and they're dead-serious. The influence of fundamentalists of that mind-set can be seen frothing up around the edges of this year's GOP nomination campaigns, on AM radio stations around the country, in the press releases and public appearances of groups like the American Family Association and the growing success of the heavily politicized American mythology being promoted by the likes of Kirk Cameron (in his fact-challenged movie, 'Monumental', most recently) and Glenn Beck and their favorite non-historian Christian American historian, David Barton. But I digress.

The movie gives an often shocking look not just at the way propaganda works or the shameless ingenuity of injecting kids with this serum while they're still young as possible and fertile and able to be corralled into sort of closed communities of the like-minded, but at just how dedicated the teachers are, their views of this as an epic good-vs-evil struggle, where they're not just dealing in religion but literally creating soldiers that will save the world from itself. And it illuminates the charisma required for this: whatever one might say about the camp's director, Becky Fischer, she comes off as engaged, concerned, intelligent, and a True Believer. And though the camp is closed, 'Jesus camp' isn't: Becky Fischer has taken her show on the road.

[theruiner]

Capturing the Friedmans is fantastic. Absolutely riveting.

I've been meaning to watch Jesus Camp. One of these days. I need to watch more documentaries.

[danebraddy]

I love documentaries and often find myself preffering them over 'scripted' stuff.

I'll throw some recommendations out there:

Deliver us from Evil
This Film is not yet rated
Expelled: no Intelligence allowed <- I don't agree with the subject, but it's good to hear the 'other' side of an argument
Waiting for Superman
Good Hair
Comedian

I typically like political/social issues type stuff, but I'm running a little dry on good ones to see - does anyone have any recommendations (any subject)?

[Sallos]

pretty much every Frederick Wiseman's documentaries are worth a watch. great "direct cinema", if im not mistaken with the term.

His movie Basic Training was borrowed to Stanley Kubrick for the making of Full Metal Jacket.

[Fixer808]

Bloods vs. Crips: Made In America

[Harry Seaward]

This is a pretty good source of documentaries, if any of you didn't already know about it.

[Corvus T. Cosmonaut]

Expelled: no Intelligence allowed <- I don't agree with the subject, but it's good to hear the 'other' side of an argument

If by that you mean it showed how petty and willfully ignorant and dishonest they (Ben Stein and the anti-evolutionists) are. It shows the other side like a documentary featuring five guys talking about aliens killing JFK shows "the other side of the argument" regarding his assassination.

[thevoid99]

Here's one I recommend although it sort of defies the documentary genre. It's called Sans Soleil by Chris Marker. Essentially, it's a visual essay about two different worlds in Japan and West Africa where Marker as a fictional individual writes a letter to a narrator about everything he's seen in his travels. It's a very avant-garde but truly extraordinary film. Read my review.

[peter]

Dear Zachary.

WARNING: This movie will scar you emotionally. I'm no one to easily cry during movies, but this one left me a complete mess. Do not google to anything about it, or the end will be ruined. Soul-crushing.

King of kong.

An epic battle between two obsessed arcade players. Very fun to watch.

Bowling for Columbine.

Say what you will about Michael Moore, but this is still one damn well-done doc.

Man on Wire.

About the preperation and actual action of Philippe Petit walking a wire between the twin towers. Incredible.

[Jinsai]

Dear Zachary.

WARNING: This movie will scar you emotionally. I'm no one to easily cry during movies, but this one left me a complete mess.

Yeah, that is a very frustrating and depressing movie...

[Corvus T. Cosmonaut]

Man on Wire.

About the preperation and actual action of Philippe Petit walking a wire between the twin towers. Incredible.

It's a shame they didn't have a working video camera on the roof when Petit did his walk, but Man on Wire doesn't suffer at all for lack of that footage. The photos, the music, the payoff—that scene is just glorious. I got all choked up. Riveting movie, end to end. One of the few times I really rooted for the "crowd-pleaser" documentary to win.

Extra: Petit's Oscar win (his friend "Werner" is Werner Herzog):

[ImTheWiseJanitor]

Now I wanna go watch Man on Wire again. Actually, I still need to buy it...I think I'll do that.

Anyone else seen this? I'm pretty sure it was mentioned on the old ETS in a documentaries thread...I loved this one, especially the bit about Disneyworld.

[danebraddy]

Thanks for the suggestions guys, I got some watching to do!

[Findus]

Touch the Sound: A Sound Journey With Evelyn Glennie

Also, there's a trailer for the new one by the makers of Baraka, although some might classify it as a non-narrative film and not a documentary. Either way....

http://trailers.apple.com/trailers/independent/samsara/

[Alpha 60]

Here are a few I like that haven’t been listed; no real good “cinematic” docs. I know documentaries are judged on their message and I guess visual rhetorical strategies, but I’ve been able to enjoy them even if they are full of BS or skewed truth.
American Movie
Crumb
The Cruize
Wild parrots of telegraph hill (kind of lame, but I liked it)
Marwencol
Ryan (made for tv vibe)
Waiting for Hockney
Waltz With Bashir (sure there is some controversy for this one, but I liked how it was presented, not a doc in the strictest sense)
Gimme Shelter
We Live In Public
The Devil and Daniel Johnston
Lost In La Mancha

[Self.Destructive.Pattern]

Yeah, that is a very frustrating and depressing movie...

I agree. This doc was fucking sad.

[Findus]

It shows the other side like a documentary featuring five guys talking about aliens killing JFK shows "the other side of the argument" regarding his assassination.

Speaking of which, here's a short doc by Errol Morris:

http://video.nytimes.com/video/2011/...rella-man.html

[Corvus T. Cosmonaut]

Speaking of Errol Morris, one of my absolute favorite documentaries is his Gates of Heaven, his debut from 1978. This seems to should have no reason to be as compelling as it is, being mostly interviews with people resembling the weird quiet old people up the block, almost entirely without background music. Yet they're all odd and insightful and interesting, and the film is riveting. It's about pet cemeteries, in brief, but it's really looking at our feelings on life and real, existential loneliness, and mortality. It's also the movie that forced Werner Herzog to eat his shoe (itself very worth watching, and only 20 minutes long).

From Gates of Heaven, brief (there used to be more clips on YouTube, but it seems most have been pulled):


"Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe", the whole thing:


Bubbling Well Memorial Park, one of the cemeteries in the film, still exists—in case anyone's looking for a lovely place to bury a beloved pet: http://www.bubbling-well.com/

[Findus]

I agree with you about Gates of Heaven. Great film. I think it's time I watched it again. Vernon, Florida is another good one, as is The Thin Blue Line. All three were bundled together in a box set.

Speaking of Herzog, My Best Fiend, the documentary about his working relationship with Klaus Kinski is a must see.

Plagues & Pleasures on the Salton Sea is another good doc:


This one is also pretty uplifting:

[thelastdisciple]

Quite the concepts.

[hobochic]

"Such Hawks Such Hounds explores the music and musicians of the American hard rock underground circa 1970-2007, focusing on the psychedelic and '70s proto-metal-derived styles that have in recent years formed a rich body of unclassifiable sounds.

his is a great documentary film by John Srebalus about heavy music of USA. Music , interviews, live and some of the heavy metal, stoner, doom and drone legends from 1970 till now. More than one hour of great music, historic point of views, attitude and great people.

Chat with : Mario Lalli, Eddie Glass, Tom Davies, Greg Anderson, Stephen McCarthy , Geof O'Keefe, Al Cisneros, Chris Hakius, Lori S., Joey Osbourne, Mark Arm, Isaiah Mitchell, Scott Wino Weinrich, Mario Rubalcaba, Mike Eginton, Joe Preston, Scott Reeder, Tony Tornay, Larry Lalli, Brant Bjork, Matt Pike, Ethan Miller, Noel Von Harmonson, Ian Christe, Joe Carducci, Tony Presedo, Laurel Stearns, Chris Kosnik, Bob Pantella, Finn Ryan, Michael Gibbons, Jenny McGee, Billy Anderson, Arik Roper, Randy Huth, Josh Martin, Jason Simon, Steve Kille, Nicky Emmert, Stephen O'Malley, John Gibbons, Isobel Sollenberger

No copyrights infrigment Intended. The copyrights belong to their respectful Owners. Go buy the dvd and support the scene,If owners wants this video to be deleted it will.


Buy the DVD.Support the scene.

http://www.suchhawkssuchhounds.com/
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Such-Hawks-Such-Hounds-Scenes-From-the-American...
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1377796/ "

[Harry Seaward]

I recently watched Louis Theroux's 'Extreme Love' episodes about Dementia and Autism. Pretty interesting, especially the dementia one. They're on the BBC Two iPlayer which can be accessed by Americans/whoever using the 'Expat Shield' proxy. Highly suggested.

Pretty much anything by Louis Theroux is great. A lot of his stuff is on YouTube, and if not, I'm sure there are torrents abound.

[GibbonBlack]

I recently watched Louis Theroux's 'Extreme Love' episodes about Dementia and Autism.

The dementia one was hard to watch. That could be any of us one day ya know? But I agree, anything by Theroux is great

[Harry Seaward]

The dementia one was hard to watch. That could be any of us one day ya know?

Honestly, I'm not as scared of that happening to me as a lot of other people are. At a certain point, as Louis mentioned, it just becomes a new 'normal'. They're happy and they don't even know the difference. I think it's a strange sort of disease in that it harms the family and friends much more than the victim.

[GibbonBlack]

Honestly, I'm not as scared of that happening to me as a lot of other people are. At a certain point, as Louis mentioned, it just becomes a new 'normal'. They're happy and they don't even know the difference. I think it's a strange sort of disease in that it harms the family and friends much more than the victim.

I should clarify. By 'any of us' I meant 'my girlfriend'.

[hobochic]

Pearl Jam "20" by Cameron Crowe

[Baphomette]

The Rape of Europa is an all-time favorite. Tells the story of the Nazis pillaging artworks throughout Europe (including the Louvre) and the efforts made by everyday people to protect the art.
I also highly recommend Touching the Void. True story about two climbers who get caught in a storm in the Andes and how one of them has to find his way back alone, through hundreds of miles of frozen crevasses, with broken legs and what he ends up losing in his fight for survival. Pretty emotional, I thought.

[miss k bee]

Dreams of a Life

http://dreamsofalife.com/

[peter]

http://stagevu.com/video/hvkdnryhxpat

The Devil and Daniel Johnston.

About the life and struggle of almost Indie-superstar Daniel Johnston. Very well done, watched it last night.