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Documentaries

Started by Xenopherus, September 06, 2011, 08:14:20 PM

tertiaryimam

Quote from: Sambo on December 28, 2013, 08:27:16 PM
I'm going to have to watch About Schmidt. Seriously, it's really good?

Cloud Atlas was pretty freaking awesome, and Barney's Version is one of the best Dramas I've seen.

Actually I can't speak enough to the excellence of those two movies. I watched Cloud Atlas twice in theatres, and I've been buying and giving out copies of Barney's Version from the $5 discount bin. Fuck Barney's Version is so good, and sad. Paul Giamatti is a fucking brilliant actor


Yeah, About Schmidt is good.

I saw the Debt recently, too:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0990427/plotsummary?ref_=tt_ov_pl

A little ham-fisted and obvious at times, but it was powerful. I wish I had something more intelligent to say about it but I'm still processing it.

tertiaryimam

Carl Panzram: The Spirit of Hatred and Vengeance

aldousburbank

I liked "Resurrect Dead" about the Toynbee Tiles/Idea.
http://www.resurrectdead.com/



bateman

Quote from: (Redacted) on December 28, 2013, 10:52:52 PM
Death By China

Ahh, I've been meaning to check that out. I sort of know Peter Navarro, the director.


Heather Wade

Quote from: bateman on December 28, 2013, 10:59:25 PM
Ahh, I've been meaning to check that out. I sort of know Peter Navarro, the director.

It is quite chilling.  Have your best scotch handy when/ if you do watch it. 

zeebo

Quote from: Seraphim27 on December 28, 2013, 07:26:30 PM
Anyone have any good documentary suggestions, as in creepy, true crime, interesting, strange, thought-provoking, etc.? (Preferably ones I can find on YouTube, Netflix or somewhere else online.)

The Endurance (2000) about E. Shackleton's ill-fated Antarctic expedition.  Haunting and unforgettable.  (This is the documentary not the fictionalization which came out later.)

And, super-dorky, but fun and strangely compelling - The King of Kong (2007) about the battle for the highest Donkey Kong score.




Werner Herzog's 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams' was dang good.  Probably best seen in the original 3D

Forks Over Knives

Perhaps the best documentary I have seen in 20 years

zeebo

Also, Waking Life (2001).  Ok it's not exactly a documentary, although it has some elements of such.  It's hard to categorize, very original.  It's about dreams and the nature of reality.  One of my all-time favorites.  Thought-provoking, disturbing, beautiful, strange.  If you can, get the dvd, and watch with the text "footnotes" on to get the most out of it.

nbirnes

Quote from: zeebo on December 29, 2013, 12:07:11 AM
The Endurance (2000) about E. Shackleton's ill-fated Antarctic expedition.  Haunting and unforgettable.  (This is the documentary not the fictionalization which came out later.)

And, super-dorky, but fun and strangely compelling - The King of Kong (2007) about the battle for the highest Donkey Kong score.

Start out with the first, and still one of the best: Nanook of the North (1922). It does stay with you, and it's good to begin at the beginning.

Sambo

Quote from: zeebo on December 29, 2013, 12:41:11 AM
Also, Waking Life (2001).  Ok it's not exactly a documentary, although it has some elements of such.  It's hard to categorize, very original.  It's about dreams and the nature of reality.  One of my all-time favorites.  Thought-provoking, disturbing, beautiful, strange.  If you can, get the dvd, and watch with the text "footnotes" on to get the most out of it.

I've seen waking life five or six times, and depending on your age, motivations, etc. it grows with you. I found the DVD but never watched it yet. Those five or six viewings were off an avi file I had for years.  I'm interested in these footnotes now, thanks


zeebo

Quote from: Sambo on December 29, 2013, 03:46:40 AM
I've seen waking life five or six times, and depending on your age, motivations, etc. it grows with you. I found the DVD but never watched it yet. Those five or six viewings were off an avi file I had for years.  I'm interested in these footnotes now, thanks

Cool, yeah I think it's called the "text commentary" track or something like that. 

I should have recommended to others though that for a first-time viewing you probably don't want that on as it would detract from the experience.  It's more for a repeat viewing if you want to get a little more info on some of the ideas that come up.


cweb

If you like rock music, It Might Get Loud. Jack White, Jimmy Page, and Edge are profiled. There's some really cool stuff where the three are sitting together and talking too.

I also enjoyed Revenge of the Electric Car, about the ongoing efforts to popularize electric-powered automobiles.

Yorkshire pud

Thought provoking? Look up 'Alternative Three' on you tube. When that was broadcast it had the same effect on some as war of the Worlds in the 30's did on the radio. I was about 12 and absolutely shat myself.

eddie dean

Quote from: Paper*Boy on December 29, 2013, 12:11:49 AM
Werner Herzog's 'Cave of Forgotten Dreams' was dang good.  Probably best seen in the original 3D

I enjoy Werner Herzog's  documentary films, but I couldn't finish that one for some reason. I lost interest after 45min. The 3D version was probably spectacular.

Some notable docs from Herzog:


Grizzly man:
About a man (Tim Treadwell) and his girlfriend who were attaked and killed by a Grizzly bear in alaska durring  his 10th or 11th summer of documenting the grizzly's behavior. He made the mistake of humanizing the wild bears and living amongst them too late in the season. It a good doc, but it is amazing he survived for as long as he did.

Encounters at the End of the World:
Story about researchers in a lone outpost in Antarctica.

On death row:  (4 part mini series)

Into the Abyss:
Two men convicted of a triple homicide.




nbirnes

One of my favorites: "Bill Cunningham New York" (2010) if you like: photography, fashion, daring, NYC, aging with amazing grace.


MrMajestik

And now for something completely different.

"Samsara"
No dialogue or narration.

bateman

Quote from: nbirnes on December 29, 2013, 06:17:02 PM
One of my favorites: "Bill Cunningham New York" (2010) if you like: photography, fashion, daring, NYC, aging with amazing grace.

That one was GREAT. Watched this last night:

http://youtu.be/Xxbeb3ZFn5s


Quote from: aldousburbank on December 28, 2013, 09:49:20 PM
I liked "Resurrect Dead" about the Toynbee Tiles/Idea.
http://www.resurrectdead.com/



Whoa this is amazing, I'd never heard of the Toynbee tiles before.
Bateman: Any chance you could interview Jon Foy, the director of the documentary about the tiles themselves? Might make for a neat show if there's enough there to talk about.



Wintermute

Schooled: The Price Of College Sports (HBO Doc)

The Truth Is Out There (From Langley of X-Files fame... worth a watch but not great)

Just go to Vice.com and watch any of their stuff. Very good investigative reporting put in short documentaries.




HorrorRetro

The Imposter was insane. You know the family had to have killed their son in order for them to have gone along with the imposter.  The Imposter (2012 Documentary).

Witch Hunt is one of my favorite documentaries. It infuriates me that people's lives were destroyed by the "justice system" that bought into all this Satanic ritualistic daycare abuse garbage.  KQED Truly CA - WITCH HUNT - Episode 902

The Good Life is a Danish doc. It's a window into the lives of a mother and daughter who refuse to see reality and live within their means.  http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/the_good_life

Snag Films has a large library of documentaries. http://www.snagfilms.com/channel/documentary/

Laurakinch

Quote from: HorrorRetro on January 04, 2014, 11:17:38 AM
The Imposter was insane. You know the family had to have killed their son in order for them to have gone along with the imposter.  The Imposter (2012 Documentary).

I just watched this on Netflix last night! I agree, the guy (imposter) is insane and a sociopath. I almost didn't watch it because i couldn't stand to look at his face and listen to him while he was being interviewed, but it ended up being a pretty good doc.

Juan

I'm in the process of dubbing my VHS tapes to my hard drive.  I ran across "The Source: The Beat Generation" which I had recorded from PBS.  The story is about Kerouac, Ginsberg, Burroughs, et. al. with video of all of them.  I made me want to take a few pills, smoke, put a roll of paper in my typewriter and start typing. However, as a recluse, I don't have any pills, smoke or roll of paper. I do, however, have a typewriter.  Hack that NSA.

McPhallus

Quote from: Laurakinch on January 04, 2014, 12:15:49 PM
I just watched this on Netflix last night! I agree, the guy (imposter) is insane and a sociopath. I almost didn't watch it because i couldn't stand to look at his face and listen to him while he was being interviewed, but it ended up being a pretty good doc.

Just started watching it.  It's already reminding me of The Woman who Wasn't There, about a woman who claimed to be a 911 victim and to have lost her husband.  She became very active in support groups.  But her story eventually unraveled, and it turned out she was unmarried and nowhere near NYC during 911.  Interestingly, she was also from Spain.

McPhallus

Quote from: eddie dean on December 29, 2013, 05:45:57 PM
I enjoy Werner Herzog's  documentary films, but I couldn't finish that one for some reason. I lost interest after 45min. The 3D version was probably spectacular.

I had to watch it in installments, as I just couldn't sit through the whole thing at once, either.  Very good film, although there's a weird metaphor at the end involving radioactive alligators. :)

HorrorRetro

Quote from: McPhallus on January 04, 2014, 05:16:20 PM
Just started watching it.  It's already reminding me of The Woman who Wasn't There, about a woman who claimed to be a 911 victim and to have lost her husband.  She became very active in support groups.  But her story eventually unraveled, and it turned out she was unmarried and nowhere near NYC during 911.  Interestingly, she was also from Spain.

I watched that one last year.  I always wonder what's going on in other people's minds. I guess some people have a need for attention that they can't get in normal life, so they create these fake lives, or maybe they're just scumbag scammers.

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