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Jinsai
04-25-2012, 03:29 AM
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
04-25-2012, 04:19 AM
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
04-25-2012, 04:29 AM
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
04-25-2012, 08:58 AM
I love documentaries and often find myself preffering them over 'scripted' stuff.

I'll throw some recommendations out there:

Deliver us from Evil (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814075/)
This Film is not yet rated (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493459/)
Expelled: no Intelligence allowed (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1091617/) <- I don't agree with the subject, but it's good to hear the 'other' side of an argument
Waiting for Superman (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1566648/)
Good Hair (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1213585/)
Comedian (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0328962/)

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
04-25-2012, 11:53 AM
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
04-25-2012, 02:14 PM
Bloods vs. Crips: Made In America

Harry Seaward
04-25-2012, 02:20 PM
This (http://www.reddit.com/r/Documentaries/top/?t=all) is a pretty good source of documentaries, if any of you didn't already know about it.

Corvus T. Cosmonaut
04-25-2012, 04:11 PM
Expelled: no Intelligence allowed (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1091617/) <- 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
04-25-2012, 08:16 PM
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 (http://thevoid99.blogspot.com/2012/04/sans-soleil.html).

peter
04-26-2012, 04:20 AM
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
04-26-2012, 04:29 AM
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
04-26-2012, 04:38 AM
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):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pD9jsx9mKtQ

ImTheWiseJanitor
04-26-2012, 10:15 AM
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.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0b90YppquE

danebraddy
04-26-2012, 10:16 AM
Thanks for the suggestions guys, I got some watching to do!

Findus
04-26-2012, 04:02 PM
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
04-26-2012, 08:48 PM
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
04-26-2012, 11:49 PM
Yeah, that is a very frustrating and depressing movie...

I agree. This doc was fucking sad.

Findus
04-27-2012, 01:48 AM
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/2011/11/21/opinion/100000001183275/the-umbrella-man.html

Corvus T. Cosmonaut
04-27-2012, 03:02 AM
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):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LR4x8LnLtVQ

"Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe", the whole thing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd6rUo7Htso

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
04-27-2012, 06:32 AM
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:
http://youtu.be/hp78jhUoHV8

This one is also pretty uplifting:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZnZOe_tKCs

thelastdisciple
04-27-2012, 07:13 AM
http://youtu.be/5zn8MRKOskw

Quite the concepts.

hobochic
04-27-2012, 11:12 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-njKCr6ieKE


"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.facebook.com/pages/Such-Hawks-Such-Hounds-Scenes-From-the-American-Hard-Rock-Underground/107952221237)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1377796/ "

Harry Seaward
04-27-2012, 04:06 PM
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
04-27-2012, 04:10 PM
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
04-27-2012, 04:20 PM
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
04-27-2012, 04:36 PM
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
05-17-2012, 03:50 AM
Pearl Jam "20" by Cameron Crowe


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBJdh1NplTw

Baphomette
05-17-2012, 04:56 AM
The Rape of Europa (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0997088/) 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 (http://documentaryheaven.com/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
05-19-2012, 08:14 PM
Dreams of a Life

http://dreamsofalife.com/

peter
05-20-2012, 10:54 AM
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.

hobochic
05-20-2012, 03:14 PM
I just saw Catfish. Real or fake, dunno, don't care, it was engaging.

Magtig
05-20-2012, 05:56 PM
Where's the mind blowing space shit?!

Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking - 3 part BBC series, a great primer if you're new to space docs and has phenomenal production values to boot.

Atom - 3 part BBC series featuring Jim Al-khalili which delves into the hidden atomic and sub-atomic worlds of quantum theory. After you watch this you will honestly not know whether you exist or not. It melts your brain, and it's presented in a really compelling way by following the history of the main competing theories to the present including the theories that "failed".

Dangerous Knowledge - 3 part BBC series where math geniuses stare into the abyss, and go insane. Literally. Fun facts contained in this documentary include the fact that infinities come in different sizes, and logic has been mathematically proven to have limits. I suck at math, but I love the concepts discussed in this series. It's another one that will utterly destroy your entire understanding of the world and mathematics. So far beyond fascinating that there really isn't a word for it.

Anything with Brian Cox, but primarily the two "Wonders" series, Wonders of the Solar System, and Wonders of the Universe. Cox has an uncanny ability to describe complex scientific phenomena in terms that anyone can understand while channeling the spirit of Carl Sagan (one of his key influences). Both of these series are extremely revealing and incredibly thought provoking and beautiful.

Mind blowing earth shit:
Life, Planet Earth, and Frozen Plant (all 9 part series, I think) are all fucking INCREDIBLE (get the ones with David Attenborough's narration). The best documentary film makers on the planet work for these folks. Seriously, there's a single 60 second scene in Life - Plants that took two fucking years to film because they measured the forest and then recreated it with a green screen in the studio so they could time lapse the growth of plants, and then transpose it back into the forest setting. It's rigoddamndiculous. The production value on all these films are simply breath taking. Be sure to catch their 10 minute 'making of' featurettes after every episode, they're almost as mind blowing as the content of the docs themselves. Here's a scene from one of the episodes in Frozen Planet:

Icy Fingers of Death (http://youtu.be/kaPWDCNZ834)

Magtig
05-20-2012, 06:19 PM
Oh, right, also http://docuwiki.net is an amazing resource for all documentaries, which includes torrent and download links.

Stereo75
05-23-2012, 08:23 AM
Happy B-Day, Mr. Moog!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5HRa9nEVVU

liquidcalm
05-23-2012, 08:42 AM
It was the Green Film Festival this weekend just gone. The films I saw were
Happy : a doc about why some people are happy, some aren't and how it affects us. It was great.
Vegecated : A story about 3 people going vegan for 6 weeks, started annoying, and it was kinda cheaply produced, but the message got though. I'm now eating mostly vegan food.
Transitions 2.0 : More of a marketing reel for the Transitions.org initatives.. easily the worst doc I saw. A few stand out things but it was kinda tired.
The City Dark : a quiet doc about the loss of the night sky and what it means. Really excellent stuff.

Harry Seaward
05-27-2012, 04:22 PM
Life, Planet Earth, and Frozen Plant (all 9 part series, I think) are all fucking INCREDIBLE (get the ones with David Attenborough's narration). The best documentary film makers on the planet work for these folks. Seriously, there's a single 60 second scene in Life - Plants that took two fucking years to film because they measured the forest and then recreated it with a green screen in the studio so they could time lapse the growth of plants, and then transpose it back into the forest setting. It's rigoddamndiculous. The production value on all these films are simply breath taking. Be sure to catch their 10 minute 'making of' featurettes after every episode, they're almost as mind blowing as the content of the docs themselves. Here's a scene from one of the episodes in Frozen Planet:

A few years ago when I had just built my first computer and bought a 1080p monitor, one of the first things I did was watch a Bluray rip of Planet Earth. Did I mention that I was smoking a lot of weed at the time? Needless to say, it was one of the best choices I had ever made. Those series are so goddamn well done, it's just breathtaking.

Corvus T. Cosmonaut
05-27-2012, 07:17 PM
Happy : a doc about why some people are happy, some aren't and how it affects us. It was great.
This seems potentially rife with silliness. TELL ME MORE!

hellospaceboy
05-28-2012, 06:58 AM
'Worse Than War' examines genocide.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7cZuhqSzzc

Highly recommended. My soul was crushed forever a couple of years ago when I visited Auschwitz, and the questions raised in the movie have been bothering me a great deal. The obvious "How?", "Why?" are addressed, but it attempts to dig deeper and it's very powerful.

Goldfoot
06-01-2012, 03:51 AM
Into the Universe with Stephen Hawking
Atom
Dangerous Knowledge

Anything with Brian Cox, but primarily the two "Wonders" series, Wonders of the Solar System, and Wonders of the Universe. Cox has an uncanny ability to describe complex scientific phenomena in terms that anyone can understand while channeling the spirit of Carl Sagan (one of his key influences). Both of these series are extremely revealing and incredibly thought provoking and beautiful.

Mind blowing earth shit:
Life, Planet Earth, and Frozen Plant (all 9 part series, I think) are all fucking INCREDIBLE (get the ones with David Attenborough's narration).

I've been really into science related documentaries lately, especially when I'm at my friend's place. I have been going over there about once a week and while I'm there we watch some of the series Universe that's on Netflix Instant. The new season just started recently, I think, but there's like 4 seasons on Netflix. I'd seen the first episode of Into The Universe, but we watched the next two. I wasn't aware of Dangerous Knowledge, but that subject really fascinates me so I'm going to watch it this weekend. Hopefully Atom as well. I'm aware of a lot of what you mentioned that Atom covers, but it never hurts to go over something you know, plus I'm sure there's plenty in there that I've never heard before. I've seen episodes of Planet Earth and Frozen Planet, but I want to buy them on BluRay once I get out on my own and get a player and TV. You mentioned Carl Sagan, and his Cosmos are on Netflix Instant. There's a nice disclaimer at the beginning about how it's been 30 years since it aired and not everything still applies, but most of it does. I really enjoy it; there's something in the way Sagan talks that is very soothing, plus he can be very subtly funny at times.

So yeah, thanks for those recommendations of the ones I hadn't heard of. I'll come back and post here after I watch them this weekend.

Magtig
06-01-2012, 11:48 AM
I also watch the Universe series, and while I like it, all of the docs I mentioned are head and shoulders above it. Which makes sense, Universe is great for a weekly program to keep you up to date, the other specials are just that *special*. heh /cheese (that was really awful, I apologize)

Um, and yeah, Cosmos is just as relevant as it ever was and the reason is Sagan's insight, wit, and especially the knowledge he brings from history, philosophy and literature to the study of the universe. He's my favorite big-dicked scientist.

I look forward to your comments!

Stereo75
06-05-2012, 08:56 PM
That questionable Vanilla Ice thread sent me to a flashback of this. It's just the trailer, but I'm sure it's out there somewhere...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWF-peyRuvA

I was 3 drinks in on a Friday evening & this came on PBS. For some reason, I really enjoyed it.

Harry Seaward
06-06-2012, 04:29 AM
I just made this list of documentaries off the top of my head for another forum. I'm sure a lot of you have seen all of these, but I thought I'd post it here just in case. Also, sorry for posting films that were already listed in this thread. I'm just copy/pasting.

Everything by Louis Theroux (I lied, this is at the top of the list for a reason)

He has an amazing interviewing style where he plays a sort of naive nerdy character and gets the subjects to reveal things they normally wouldn't.

Almost anything by Vice (Guide to Liberia, Guide to North Korea, the ones about drugs, etc.)

Vice's style is a bit strange, but they're still entertaining as fuck.

Planet Earth, Life, Human Planet

Beautiful HD nature documentaries. Do yourself a favor and get the ones with David Attenborough narrating. Fuck the Americanized versions.

Cosmos

Astronomer Carl Sagan leads us on an engaging guided tour of the various elements and cosmological theories of the Universe. A must see for any science fan.

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

Hardcore, oldschool video game nerds compete to get the world's high score in Donkey Kong. Much more entertaining than it sounds. These people take this shit seriously.

The Corporation

The documentary examines the modern-day corporation, considering its legal status as a class of person and evaluating its behaviour towards society and the world at large as a psychiatrist might evaluate an ordinary person.

Century of the Self

Focuses on how Sigmund Freud, Anna Freud, and Edward Bernays influenced the way corporations and governments have analyzed,* dealt with, and controlled ‬people.

All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace

A series of episodes about how humans have been colonized by the machines we have built. Although we don't realize it, the way we see everything in the world today is through the eyes of the computers.

Steve-O - Demise and Rise

An hour long special about Steve-O of Jackass fame and how crazy he went on booze and drugs.

American Juggalo

A documentary about The Gathering of the Juggalos, where thousands of I.C.P. fans go to hang out and have sex and do drugs for a few days. Weird shit.

We Live In Public

A movie about "the loss of privacy in the internet age." It follows this insane guy who made a shit-ton of money in the big internet boom and does these crazy experiments about loss of privacy. HIGHLY suggested.

Restrepo

The film follows the 2nd Platoon of Battle Company on a 15-month deployment in the Korengal Valley of northeast Afghanistan in the Nuristan area. It's critically praised for a reason. Very well done.

The Wild And Wonderful Whites Of West Virginia

Documentary about this family of drug addled, insane, probably inbred crazy hicks who are local celebrities for how fucked up they are. Crazy stuff.

Food Inc.

I'm sure most of you have seen this one, but it's about the American food industry. Mostly about all the horrible things that go on from the moment the animal is born until it hits your plate.

This Film is Not Yet Rated

Basically about how outdated and useless the MPAA is and the effect they have on the movie industry.

Exit Through The Gift Shop

A film directed by Banksy that tells the story of Thierry Guetta, a French immigrant in Los Angeles, and his obsession with street art. A really, really well done documentary. A must-see, I'd say.

Inside Job

It's about "the systemic corruption of the United States by the financial services industry and the consequences of that systemic corruption." Won an Academy Award.

kdrcraig
06-06-2012, 06:01 AM
Just finished watching Frozen Planet last night, another fantastic doc from the BBC.

danebraddy
06-06-2012, 09:00 AM
Just watched 'Into the Abyss' - I though it was ok, it dragged a bit in the middle and got overly 'touchy-feely' in parts, but it's worth a watch and can spark thought/discussion - which is what you want from a documentary I guess.

peter
06-06-2012, 05:15 PM
If you haven't seen, I highly recommend The Yes Men Fix the World. Their publicity stunts make your jaws drop,

Harry Seaward
06-07-2012, 11:59 PM
Watched this last night.


Hollywood and the War Machine (http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/empire/2010/12/2010121681345363793.html) (Link included)

Al Jazeera programme examining the symbiotic relationship between the movie industry and the military-industrial complex. Includes interviews with Oliver Stone, Christopher Hedges, and Michael Moore.

Harry Seaward
06-11-2012, 08:43 AM
Bananaz (http://goo.gl/EPmdd) (Link to YouTube playlist included)

A really awesome documentary about the band Gorillaz. Includes the path of their career from the birth of the band and recording of the self-titled album until after Demon Days. Tons of footage of them in the studio recording all the songs on the records and a lot of footage of many of the guest stars on the albums. Highly suggested for any Gorillaz fans. I can't believe I'd never seen it before.

Harry Seaward
06-12-2012, 08:20 AM
Also, this...

This (http://goo.gl/inp9j) is one of the weirdest fucking things I've seen in a while. Not sure what I can say to prime you for it, but just spend 25 minutes to watch it. I was pretty much speechless during the entire thing.

Goldfoot
06-12-2012, 11:55 AM
You're really breaking my balls with the multiple posts, man.

Anyway, I watched Dangerous Knowledge the other day, as well as the first hour of Atom. I was expecting more from Dangerous Knowledge, I guess. I've come to realize that I dislike it when something (article, podcast, video) mentions an idea, and that idea's effect on the world (maybe not that extreme), but doesn't really go into the actual concept. For instance, in this one, the idea that there is more than one kind of infinity. I understand exactly what they were talking about, but that didn't give me enough to understand why this guy went mad because of it. Maybe it's because I've taken a great deal of math, and perhaps this far along the way they've cleared up what was perplexing him, but I just don't understand what couldn't be reconciled about there being an infinite number of fractions as well as an infinite number of irrational numbers in between those fractions. I mean, sure, it's crazy to think that that is even possible, but once you accept the idea of infinity, I don't understand why having it show up in different contexts is so mind-breaking.

This happens with many articles I read as well. The author mentions an idea (or concept or whatever), but then doesn't explain how this works. I am not saying that I want to read a 30 page published paper on the findings of a study, but I want something in between that attempts to explain what it is I'm reading about. If you know any good sites for this, please let me know.

As for Atom, the first hour was really good. A lot of it was stuff I already knew, but learning the history of how those things were discovered was really interesting. I never knew about the rivalries between scientists or any of that. Some of it had me laughing out loud; It is done really well. I'm going to a friend's tonight and we are going to watch the second (and maybe third) hour of it.

miss k bee
06-26-2012, 06:12 PM
Just watched Talhotblond on TV. FFS how is the mother not locked up?? Sick.

liquidcalm
06-27-2012, 02:19 AM
I recommend this:
http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BMjI4NzUxMjA2NF5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwNjczNjI0NA@@._ V1._SY317_CR2,0,214,317_.jpg
About where exactly we are going to try and store material that can kill for 100,000 years. Slow, well shot and a subject I personally, had only brushed with.

hellospaceboy
06-27-2012, 11:21 PM
watched this last night on Netflix, and absolutely loved it! Highly recommended!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIWpJ5Jl4fE&amp;feature=share

THE JOHNNY ROOK
07-01-2012, 01:25 PM
Just watched Talhotblond on TV. FFS how is the mother not locked up?? Sick.

I saw that too. The story of talhotblond just gives you shivers, kind of like Catfish (real or fake) it was amazing.

I am in the middle of Chasing Ghosts, a documentary about the arcade scene in the 80's and the kids that were world record holders, also known as world record dorks but a really fun documentary, I believe it came out before King of Kong?

Also, has anyone seen I Like Killing Flies? I am a chef and restauranteur so I loved it. It really makes you think. I admire this guy.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7QLHygGTjjU

Sutekh
07-08-2012, 03:53 PM
Everybody should watch the whole of The World at War at least once. It's an exhaustive UK series from the 70s about WW2, narrated by Sir Laurence Olivier. Due to the time it was made, lots of the top dogs from both sides give commentary, as well as regular soldiers and civilians. It's untouchable, only Laurence Rees' series (Auschwitz, and the absolutely superb "A Warning from History") come anywhere close. Certainly takes a massive dump on all those awful History Channel documentaries (stuff with titles like "secrets of hitler's dog")

The Cold War follow up series done in coproduction with CNN is great as well, but nowhere near as powerful.

Brian Cox... lol. Nice series but he gets on my nerves. He used to be the keyboard player in d:ream, did anyone mention that a million times yet?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDkVS-AN4NU

Jinsai
08-01-2012, 02:44 AM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hbV6knbeUFE

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

awesome

Magtig
08-04-2012, 03:39 AM
watched this last night on Netflix, and absolutely loved it! Highly recommended!


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIWpJ5Jl4fE&amp;feature=share
This is one of the most fascinating and strange documentaries I've ever watched. Weeks later I'm still asking myself questions about it.

miss k bee
08-07-2012, 05:23 PM
The Girl Who Became Three Boys - "story of Gemma Baker, who invented and impersonated three different teen boys, under whose guises she went on to seduce two teenage girls", very weird.

Jinsai
10-15-2012, 03:25 AM
watching Indie Game: The Movie. It's on Netflix.

An actually very interesting behind the scenes look at the creation of some of the bigger and more anticipated indie video games that have come out over the past few years (fez, super meat boy, braid). It's actually more interesting than you might initially presume. It's not so much only for people who like video games, but a really fascinating look at the neurotic and nerve wracking creative process behind any independent production. In some ways, it's actually a really inspiring movie that I feel is very easy to identify with if you've ever put your heart into something creative that completely absorbs your existence.

The central characters of the film are actually really colorful and intriguing personalities. Also, the soundtrack is really cool.

perch
11-05-2012, 02:48 PM
My kinda thread!
The Shock Doctrine (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1355640/) - saw this one not long ago, thought it would shook me more than it did. Nonetheless, great stuff.
We Are Legion (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2177843/) - story behind 4chan/Anonymous. Have yet to see it.
Sick: The Life And Death Of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120126/) - The dude from the Happiness In Slavery video. No reference to NIN, however it's a good insight on what and why this man did for a living. Some scenes are not for the faint-hearted.
Deliver Us From Evil (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0814075/) - The Catholic priest pedophile is being moved around the state to hide his actions in the past. What the docu does not show is that as of this year he's been jailed for 3 years.
Word Wars (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0390632/) - playing Scrabble is serious business.
Foo Fighters: Back And Forth (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1853563/) - could be just a big fan of the band in me speaking but I thought this one was done brilliantly.

onthewall2983
11-05-2012, 03:01 PM
I thought the Foo Fighters one was good too, and I'm not even a big fan of theirs so you're not alone in thinking that.

Baphomette
04-12-2013, 09:22 PM
Went on a bit of a Latino-themed docu-binge this week.

Reencuentros: 2501 Migrantes (http://2501migrants-themovie.com/) - The story behind Alejandro Santiago's MASSIVE sculptural art project to commemorate migrants from the town of Teococuilco. (He ended up creating a Mexican version of Taliesin in the process.)

The Mexican Suitcase (http://www.themexicansuitcase.com/) - About the 2007 discovery of over four thousands negatives of the Spanish Civil War. Includes interviews with Spanish refugees and survivors of the Argelès-sur-Mer concentration camp (which I'd never heard about previously).

Cocalero (http://www.cocalerofilm.com/)- Chronicles Evo Morales' run for the presidency of Bolivia.

Romántico (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436728/) - The struggles faced by an immigrant mariachi singer trying to make a living in San Francisco and what happens when he eventually returns home. (Made me feel terrible about all the times I've turned down mariachis.)

Monseñor: The Last Journey of Óscar Romero (http://firstrunfeatures.com/monsenor_educational.html) - Powerful. Still digesting it, three days later. "With rare recordings and film footage from Romero’s own collection and a wide range of interviews from those whose lives were changed by Archbishop Romero, including church activists, human rights lawyers, former guerrilla fighters and politicians, Monseñor: The Last Journey of Óscar Romero is a timely portrait of one individual’s quest to speak truth to the rich and powerful forces which dominated his government."

All five were fantastic, although Cocalero was a bit slow. Monseñor really hit home and had me in tears. I plan on re-watching it with my mom sometime next week.

elevenism
04-29-2013, 11:42 AM
Hell yes, i'm a documentary whore. Here are a few stand outs off the top of the noggin.

Ethos is must see tv, presenting facts about corporate interests and government.
Patriocracy is a good one about the intense polarization of our political views..
Loose Change: An American Coup...i think EVERYONE should watch this one. i don't care how stupid you think conspiracy theories are, the questions raised here are certainly worth examination.

Selling God is kind of a black comedy about the marketing of religion.
The God Who Wasn't There is a good skeptical look at Christianity
Expelled i also like. i'm a theology nut so i like all of it..for, against, and everything in between.


Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Revenge: i just watched this one last night, and it's pretty amazing. this guy might have been the meanest sonofabitch to ever live, but there is a certain purity about it that is just fucking GRIPPING.

Antics Roadshow is another Banksy movie that's well worth the hour of time.
Vigilante Vigilante is about these crazy ass graffiti buffers who are wilder than the writers themselves.
Bomb It is a must see for any graf writer or fan.

S&Man is about the seedy world of snuff films. i made a thread for it but thought i'd mention it here. it is BRILLIANT...but i can't explain it without ruining it...watch it if you were able to handle 8mm and/or the broken movie

i also second The Yes Men Fix The World and Pearl Jam 20 The pearl jam movie is SO well done, and anyone who is part of the "grunge" generation...wait...anyone part of that generation who liked ​grunge, i believe, will fucking ADORE it.

Edit: SOMEBODY please watch S&Man and tell me what you thought of it!

sa_nick
05-03-2013, 07:29 AM
Pearl Jam 20 The pearl jam movie is SO well done, and anyone who is part of the "grunge" generation...wait...anyone part of that generation who liked ​grunge, i believe, will fucking ADORE it.

I saw PJ20 a while back and thought it was cool. Recently I watch Hit So Hard (the story of Hole's drummer) and Foo Fighters Back and Forth though, and i thought both were more engaging, well made, and had that special quality that kinda bring you back to that time and place.

Not sure if anyone's posted about Undefeated yet, but I watched it last night and loved it. From what I understand, a lot of people in the US bagged it when it won the oscar for best doco, some people because they thought Paradise Lost pt 3 should have won and some because they think it's just another football doco that doesn't stand out from the crowd. Living in australia it's not often I see football doco's, I don't think I've seen any before actually and my film experience doesn't reach any further than Any Given Sunday, Remember the Titans and my favourite or the three, Rudy.

Undefeated was just awesome though. The film makers took a chance documenting this school's football team's season and man did it pay off big time. The whole thing plays out like a mashup of the above mentioned scripted films but is all totally real. The coach is one hell of a cool guy, surprisingly emotional and well spoken and even a few of the kids come outta their shell and give some (occasionally not so eloquent) inspirational and just very touching/human speeches.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUt349BSxZk

Back to music doco's for a sec... Justice: A Cross the Universe... HOLY SHIT! Just watch the fucking trailer, download this asap and get ready for a whole hour of the crazy you see below....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RldSbAf2Wp4

Still keeping with the music . theme... Sound City. Directed by Sir David Grohl himself, this doco is about a recording studio used by bands like Cheap Trick, Chilli Peppers, Tom Petty, Metallica, Neil Young, Guns n Roses, Johnny Cash, Nirvana, Fleetwood Mac, Rick Springfield, Rage Against the Machine and NINE INCH NAILS (trent is interviewed in the doco and there's even a NIN song in the trailer). I guess it's mostly about the lost art of analogue recording/mixing. I dug it...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQoOfiLz1G4

Finally, a hidden gem I found after watching the feature film Little Birds starring Juno Temple and set in a place I didn't even know existed until I saw it beatifully captured in this film... The Salton Sea in CA. The doco is simply called Bombay Beach and it follows a few of the towns inhabbitants around their everyday lives... that's its really... Cool stuff though, definitely worth a watch.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1j5-zgXCB4

Findus
01-25-2014, 02:14 AM
http://vimeo.com/78314194

Jinsai
01-25-2014, 02:52 AM
I'm watching this doc called Mitt on Netflix, which followed Romney and clan around during his runs for president. It's occasionally cringe worthy, but really, he and his family are even more insufferably saccharine when they aren't wearing their robotic political faces. They're like egomaniacal Care Bears.

Dra508
01-25-2014, 08:16 AM
. They're like egomaniacal Care Bears.it's not an act. They are so sheltered in their wealthy world.

Deepvoid
01-25-2014, 07:39 PM
Any recommendations of documentaries about serial killers and/or their trials?

The likes of Paradise Lost, Manson, Central Park Five, Cropsey.

Baphomette
01-25-2014, 09:22 PM
Any recommendations of documentaries about serial killers and/or their trials?

The likes of Paradise Lost, Manson, Central Park Five, Cropsey.

Central Park Five weren't serial killers.

Jinsai
01-25-2014, 11:52 PM
Any recommendations of documentaries about serial killers and/or their trials?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vn7Hz2PK7s

Deepvoid
01-26-2014, 07:21 AM
Central Park Five weren't serial killers.

I know. I'm gonna try to be more specific for you.

I'm looking for documentaries about murders that had significant impact on society and or documentaries about major trial involving murderers that had significant media coverage.

Thanks in advance.

Deepvoid
01-26-2014, 02:58 PM
Just watched "Capturing the Friedmans". Disturbing but interesting trial (or lack thereof) case.

elevenism
03-14-2014, 02:46 AM
The Impostor was fucking riveting.

The Big Fix is great too...it's about the BP oil spill. I suspected some fucked up things were going on in this case, and this doc exposes those things. My fears, and worse, are true.

Blackfish is great too..it's about how at seaworld, the people have abused the animals and the animals have gored and eaten the people all along.

Oh yeah, Smash and Grab is a trip...it's about an international ring of diamond thieves...and what's great about this one is that many of the interviews are with group members who have yet to be caught! Their voices and faces are hidden.

All of these are available on netflix.

caca
01-04-2015, 01:15 AM
Dear Zachary is streaming on Netflix. I just watched it for the first time. Holy shit!!! I was straight up sobbing towards the end. As others have stated earlier in this thread, don't google anything about it if you haven't seen it. Just watch it and let it all unfold. There is an epilogue to it on YouTube (but DO NOT watch it until you've seen the original doc).

I'd also recommend these:
Blackfish
The Cove
The King of Kong
Jesus Camp
Food Inc.

sa_nick
01-07-2015, 12:43 PM
2014 was a great year for docos about people in the film/tv/music industry...

The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness - This is for any Miyazaki/Ghibli/anime fan. Miyazaki's insights and philosophies are pretty great and often bittersweet. There's one particularly heartbreaking moment that's followed up with typical Miyazaki poignancy...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=24wViGZKVu8

20,000 Days on Earth - A Nick Cave doco that's just as intimate, cool, unique, moody and fresh as you'd hope.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ap0_y5EGttk

Life Itself - If you're a cinephile at all this is a must see. "In the past 25 years I have probably seen 10,000 movies and reviewed 6,000 of them. I have forgotten most of them, I hope, but I remember those worth remembering, and they are all on the same shelf in my mind" - Roger Ebert
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9ud1HUHgug

Harmontown - Because it's always fun seeing how messed-up people are. It's also sorta inspiring watching obviously messed up people trying to figure out how to be better. The side story of the random Dungeon Master who joined the podcast really adds to this as well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0HM11V88rE

elevenism
12-06-2015, 06:22 PM
I would like for this thread to come back to life.

Amy (the end all, be all Amy Winehouse doc) is fucking AMAZING, and heart wrenching.)
They got access to her family, her boyfriends, her friends, her home videos, videos from the studio...pretty much EVERYONE and EVERYTHING.
So this is the one to see.
The poor dear.
I remember when the talkshow hosts made fun of her and people said she shouldn't be allowed to receive music awards because she had a substance abuse problem. It made my fucking blood boil. People fail to realize (as they often do) that she was SICK and was desperately trying to get better. I was going through the same shit at the same time, but i got quite a bit better.
(gets off soapbox.)

But yeah, it's fucking great, if a little overly sad. I'm not gonna lie, it made me tear up, no doubt.

allegro
12-06-2015, 06:40 PM
The Doors: When You're Strange (https://vimeo.com/44846955).

Holy crap. That's all I gotta say.

elevenism
12-06-2015, 06:42 PM
The Doors: When You're Strange (https://vimeo.com/44846955).

Holy crap. That's all I gotta say.
i loved that one too but the wifey hasn't seen it.

Good form, thanks for the link.

allegro
12-06-2015, 06:44 PM
I saw it on Paladium, but it's streaming there on Vimeo. I could have done without the footage of the coyote hit by a car, ugh. I still can't get that out of my head.

Edit: although that streaming version has Spanish subtitles

The BEST thing about this doc is that it wiped that Oliver Stone flick out of my memory banks.

elevenism
12-06-2015, 07:03 PM
It's funny how we can watch EXTREMELY realistic simulations of people being killed, but bring in an animal and most of us are like "aww, HELL no!"

I had to take a break from criminal minds because of this episode where the killer was murdering whole families including little kids.
But that's not what fucked my head up. He also murdered a cat.
Go figure.

Speaking of which, if you can handle this one...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KRD8e20fBo
But holy mary mother of God it's ROUGH.
( i can't find the full thing streaming for free)
i cried my animal loving liberal little heart out, for real.

For those of you who haven't seen it, there's no "no animals were harmed" line in the credits for this.
Lots and lots of animals are killed in a cruel and brutal fashion, and the animals happen to be dolphins. which SOME scientists are starting to think have intellects that may come close to OURS.

allegro
12-06-2015, 07:10 PM
I can't watch that shit. No way. I can't make it through those ASPCA commercials without getting upset. I know those Japanese fisherman assholes are doing that deplorable shit, I'm glad for films or anything that brings attention to it to try to stop it, but I can't see it. I'm too highly sensitive and emotional, especially with animals.

Pillfred
12-06-2015, 09:10 PM
Meru- Mountain Climbing Doc. I may have mentioned this before its pretty good. All three of these guys have balls of fucking steel.

BRoswell
12-06-2015, 09:14 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bre2ut0gv4I

ldopa
12-07-2015, 02:55 AM
i've still yet to see criterion's william s. burroughs doc. next on my list.

good docs:

grey gardens
the world according to monsanto
devil's playground
i'm still here (fucking HILARIOUS)

sadly, those are the only ones that stick out right now. i love me some docs.

ldopa
12-07-2015, 03:01 AM
czech dream (cesky sen) great commentary on consumerism and advertising
the smartest guys in the room (being from cali, i'm still mad)
BOMB IT!
the Z channel, a magnificent obsession