I watch a lot of documentaries and thought it would be a good idea to start a rolling thread for documentaries that you've watched or are anticipating (similar to the movie thread).. Feel free to post links to them or links to the sources you use to watch documentaries. Right now I just kind of browse the web looking for stuff and end up on google videos. For the most part, I use www.topdocumentaryfilms.com . Here's the last one I watched which was very interesting (BBC): <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TMDGikPmEyw?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TMDGikPmEyw?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> Here's the next one I'm looking to watch: http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/big-silence/
Once Brothers -- highlights the relationship between NBA players Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic amidst ethnic tensions: <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/3hOst_NExGI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/3hOst_NExGI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> The Two Escobars -- focuses on the emergence of the Colombian national soccer team due to the financial contributions of notorious drug lord Pablo Escobar, and the deaths of Pablo and soccer prodigy Andres Escobar: <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jtgexfCe8mE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jtgexfCe8mE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> Hoop Dreams -- follows the lives of 2 African-American boys from inner-city Chicago with aspirations of becoming basketball superstars. <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/dBF3ymDQJfU?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/dBF3ymDQJfU?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/eZpREDn4NFA?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/eZpREDn4NFA?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
I agree with MourningWood... almost any of the 30 for 30 series on ESPN was top notch, as is Hoop Dreams. As for non-sports docs, here's my list (in no particular order): One Day in September - Great documentary on the tragedy at the 1976 summer Olympics in Munich. Haunting, scary, but really entertaining and informative. I liked this movie better than Spielberg’s Munich… although the focus of each movie is quite different. The Kid Stays in the Picture - Almost an audio book with moving pictures. It's the memoir of legendary producer Robert Evans. The dude is unintentionally hilarious and lived an extremely fascinating life. Overnight - Tells the story of the guy who wrote and directed Boondock Saints (a movie I absolutely hated). He was basically given the keys to the castle based on the script he wrote, and then f---ed it all away by being an enormous douche bag. A great cautionary tale about ego. Jazz - The PBS/Ken Burns documentary on jazz. It's like a 9 episode doc, each like an hour. Episode 1, describing the origins of Jazz is so unbelievably good and captured my attention like nothing else. Grass - Narrated by Woody Harrelson, I really enjoyed this look at the mar1juana prohibition laws and their origin, as well as the government propaganda and lack of research done on the drug. It will boggle the mind how much the U.S. government spends and has spent on the prohibition of mary jane. Bowling for Columbine - People rag on Michael Moore because of his obvious bias, but I don't have a problem with it because he's so upfront about it. You can choose to go along or not. I was deeply affected by this movie. It saddened the hell out of me, not just because of the tragedy at Columbine High School, but he really sheds a light on how fearful we are as Americans. The last 5 minutes of the movie, however, I thought crossed a line. It didn't affect the power of the proceeding 90 or so minutes, at least for me. Soy Cuba (I am Cuba) - This one was made by Soviet filmmakers after Castro's revolution in Cuba. It's an obvious communist propaganda film used to prop up post-revolution Cuba. This film was very poorly received when it came out, but the techniques used in filming were completely revolutionary. Lots of wide angle shots, long tracking shots, and cameras that used Soviet military technology. The first five minutes alone are worth watching... one of the most amazing shots I've ever seen, and it was done in the early '60's. Martin Scorsese is a fan, and was instrumental in getting this film restored in the early '90's. Waco: Rules of Engagement - This is an absolutely absorbing doc about the ATF and the Waco incident. Insinuates that the AFT burned that place down and provides some intriguing evidence that the government has of course denied. Makes you wonder though... Tupac Resurrection - Haunting doc on Tupac Shakur, using his own recorded words as narration. It shed a much more "human" light on the man and doesn't shy away too much from his dark side, considering it was financed and produced by his family. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room - One of my favorites. Dives deep into the Enron collapse. If you're not completely infuriated by the end of this movie, you might be dead. The Fog of War - Errol Morris doc about former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara. It's a fairly damning look at recent U.S. military history. The facts you learn about the bombing of Japan (before we dropped the 2 nukes) is pretty haunting. Okay... that's enough, even though I could go on. I highly recommend all of the above and would love to hear Clutchfans' thoughts on these movies.
Deeply disturbing. <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/6RNfL6IVWCE?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/6RNfL6IVWCE?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/QlaHeASLq9A?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/QlaHeASLq9A?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hLfvmiB4edI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hLfvmiB4edI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/xMJZ-_bJKdI?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/xMJZ-_bJKdI?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>
Love all the Ken Burns "Baseball" stuff "Jesus Camp" I hated...but it was extremely effective and very well done. I just can't watch it again.
Hoop Dreams /thread Oops...I mean that was my favorite at least. Pretty cool how it grew from a simple 30 minute documentary about a playground court, and ended up being one of the best documents of inner city life and struggles ever recorded.
Eh, I was pretty disappointed with this one actually. It's more like a music video than a documentary. Doesn't give any facts at all and is mostly just about mood and imagery.
Exit Through the Gift Shop was an entertaining look into Street Art culture, the ending is particularly amusing.
Fair enough. It defnitely was extremely stylized. I came across it on TV during a free preview of Starz or something. Couldn't take my eyes off of it and was mad as hell by the end. Seen one time since (since my wife hadn't seen it) and I enjoyed it the second time. The music video comparison is apt though.
Its been a while, but I remember liking Crumb more. Not that American Splendor wasn't good -- I liked that too. It was more of a hybrid documentary. Actually, I don't think I'd even call it a documentary.
Dogtown & Z-Boys by Stacy Peralta <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/HSpdcY-THDQ?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/HSpdcY-THDQ?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object>
In the Realms of the Unreal <object width="480" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/-PMBVxJnoPw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/-PMBVxJnoPw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="480" height="385"></embed></object> "Henry Darger worked all his life in menial jobs in Chicago. Living alone and in poverty, he had no friends or close family. Spending all his off hours alone, he whiled away the hours working on a 15,000 page illustrated novel called The Realms of the Unreal. A stunning amalgam of religious imagery, fantasy, and heroic drama, the work was only discovered after Darger was moved to a hospital during the last days of his life." (entire video is available on youtube) Be Here to Love Me: A Film About Townes Van Zandt <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/n_J6-3eOLuw?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/n_J6-3eOLuw?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> Excellent documentary about one of the great songwriters of the 20th century. (I believe this entire documentary is still available at hulu.com) The Trap: What Happened to Our Dream of Freedom <object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tAE-xqFr0iQ?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tAE-xqFr0iQ?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object> "Human beings will always betray you. You can only trust the numbers." (entire documentary series available on youtube)
