Your favorite documentaries

[octothorp]

In recent years, most of the attention that documentary films have gotten have been directed at the political or crusade documentaries. And while I'm not generally a fan of these films, I do like more traditional documentaries. With that in mind, what documentaries would you recommend?

Three of my favorites:
Fast, Cheap, and out of Control - Largely consists of interviews with four individuals who have fascinating jobs: an MIT robot scientist, a lion tamer, a topiary gardener, and a hairless mole-rat specialist. The filmmakers weave together a really interesting portrait of our human condition through the juxtaposition of these men and their lives.
Winged Migration - very minimalist film, just amazing footage of birds in flight with very little narration. Some of the dramatized scenes are cheesy, but the wonderful footage at the heart of this film makes up for it.
Theremin: An electronic odyssey - About the theremin instrument and the strange story of its russian inventor. Great story about music, technology, and the surprisingly long arm of the Soviets (Leon Theremin was abducted by the KGB off the streets of New York in broad daylight).

[Flash Walken]

Roger and Me
Bowling for Columbine
Sicko

[Bingo]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

Roger and Me
Bowling for Columbine
Sicko

[troutman]

This Is Spinal Tap

[Cerebral]

My favorite documentary of all-time is Fog of War - it actually might be my favorite film ever made.

[Slava]

The Real Doll
King of Kong
(OK, I never got to see these two, but heard clips and such on Howard Stern in the past few weeks and would really like to!!)

I can't remember the name of it, but its about a few guys trying to become the National Scrabble Champion. It was a great, great movie!

[HelloHockeyFans]

Jesus Camp was an interesting yet creepy look into the warped Christian summer camps...

[habernac]

Dogtown and the Z Boys is a good one.

Another I'd like to get a hold of is Luther Metke at 94. He was my great uncle.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luther_Metke

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Cerebral

My favorite documentary of all-time is Fog of War - it actually might be my favorite film ever made.

Fog of War is excellent. Actually anything from Errol Morris is fantastic. Start with Thin Blue Line that actually helped aid a wrongly convicted man get released. Mr. Death is also good.

Other great ones:
When we were Kings - follows the Ali/Foreman fight

Enron Smartest Guys in the Room

Shake Hands with the Devil - about the genocide in Rwanda and Romeo Dallaire

Spellbound
The Bridge - very dark doc about people that jump of the Gold Gate Bridge. Disturbing but very good

Wordplay - about crossword puzzles and those that play them

Grizzly Man

My Architect

Some Kind of Monsters - particularly for Metallica Fans

Murderball

Beyond that Mat - yes its about pro wrestling but interesting for other reasons, in terms of the cost paid by those that do this for a living.

Capturing the Friedmans - also disturbing but utterly fascinating.

Touching the Void

American Movie

Dark Days - unreal film about people that live underground in NYC.

Life and Times of Hank Greenberg - great baseball flick. If you have time watch all of Ken Burn' "Baseball" series as well.

This Film is Not Yet Rated - recent doc about the flaws of the MPAA rating system]

Deadline - great film about the capital punishment debate

And my all time fave:
Hoop Dreams


Sorry long list. I like Docs.

[Azure]

I'm going to have to write down some of these....good thread idea!

[KootenayFlamesFan]

Originally Posted by JiriHrdina

And my all time fave:
Hoop Dreams

I've probably seen that doc about 10 times. Really interesting how the one kid was down on his luck a bit early on in the story, but the roles somewhat reversed at the end. Found the recruiting/education part of the show pretty interesting as well.

Good show.

[Flash Walken]

Speaking of documentaries, I just read an article about one...'yet to see it.

Searing documentary on war complicity indicts not just U.S. politicos, but major media, too

It might not be the most Hollywood-slick, user-friendly title, but it couldn't be any more direct in conveying the movie's message. The title? War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death.

Although Sean Penn narrates this documentary, his is not the central voice. Rather, it's that of Norman Solomon, the outspoken U.S. journalist/author, on whose book of the same title the film is based.

And if Penn's voice sounds somewhat hushed narrating this searing doc, it's because he, like most others who will catch it, is probably blown away by the compelling case brought to the surface by Solomon and captured so effectively on screen by co-directors Loretta Alper and Jeremy Earp .

In short, Solomon suggests that U.S. foreign policy is dictated by a small circle of politicos, the president and his trusted advisers, who have their own agenda that often results in drawn-out wars that can't be won.

Even more damning, though, is Solomon's assertion that the major U.S. media serve as little more than mouthpieces for these politicos and that they are essentially complicit in these wars, too.

It seems that some media, according to Solomon, believe that being embedded with the U.S. military in combat means being in bed with the Pentagon.

Solomon draws fascinating yet frightening parallels between the Vietnam and Iraq wars, both of which have resulted in far too many casualties and emotional scars that could have been avoided. He deconstructs the canard that was the bogus WMDs - weapons of mass destruction - that served as the catalyst for the U.S. invasion of Saddam Hussein's Iraq.

He then indicts much of the media for perpetuating the myths surrounding the WMDs - until the facts emerged and it was no longer fashionable. He is utterly incredulous in recounting how CNN sought the Pentagon's approval for the military experts they conscripted to comment on air on Iraq. But he is not surprised that Phil Donahue, one of the few voices of media dissent on the Iraq war, was canned by MSNBC.

One of the most revealing clips in the doc dates back to 1964, when Oregon Senator Wayne Morse had the temerity to suggest that it was up to the American people, not the president, to formulate U.S. foreign policy. Morse, who at the time was one of only two senators to oppose military involvement in Vietnam, was almost laughed out of Washington for his views.

Well, they ain't laughing now. As for the American people, current stats show that almost the same number - 70 per cent - are as opposed to the war in Iraq as those who were against the Vietnam war.

"We're in a process now where short-circuiting the democratic process is really essential to perpetuating the war - much the same as it was during Vietnam," notes Solomon, in town for the international premiere of the doc at the Montreal World Film Festival.

[Bring_Back_Shantz]

I have to agree with one of Jiri's choices in particular.

Enron Smartest Guys in the Room, is fantastic!

[KevanGuy]

9/11 is a must see for doc lovers and 9/11 buffs. Two french brothers caught in the middle of that day's events. And I mean caught right in the middle. They had been making a doc about a rookie firefighter when all hell broke loose.

http://www.amazon.com/11-Filmmakers-.../dp/B00006B1HI

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0312318/

[burn_baby_burn]

The Iron Reapers

It follows the lives of two differant groups of chinese farmers who travel a long distance to find work during the wheat harvest. The first group are farmers who own self propelled combines. The second group is a very poor group of farmers who hire them selves out to harvest wheat by hand.

Having a great understanding of agriculture practices in North America. I found this documentary fascinating. The combines the chinese farmers use are the same as a plot combine over here (very small). The owners of the combines travel 800 miles to find work custom combining in a part of the country that has an earlier wheat harvest and a lack of combines.

The hand reapers must travel on a budget to reach the same area. They try to bargin for bus rides, jump aboard freight trains, anything they can to get to the wheat harvest. Then when they arrive, they are treated like dirt and taken advantage of.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by KevanGuy

9/11 is a must see for doc lovers and 9/11 buffs. Two french brothers caught in the middle of that day's events. And I mean caught right in the middle. They had been making a doc about a rookie firefighter when all hell broke loose.

http://www.amazon.com/11-Filmmakers-.../dp/B00006B1HI

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0312318/

Yep, great film. Amazing relationship dynamics.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Originally Posted by KootenayFlamesFan

I've probably seen that doc about 10 times. Really interesting how the one kid was down on his luck a bit early on in the story, but the roles somewhat reversed at the end. Found the recruiting/education part of the show pretty interesting as well.

Good show.

They are both doing very well now, though there has been plenty of adversity for each.

[burnin_vernon]

has anyone seen Sharkwater? I've heard nothing but good things but I haven't seen it hit DVD yet

[badradio]

Hype! surviving the northwest rock explosion is probably one of my favorite docs. It's about the 90's Seattle "grunge" scene.

Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills is another good one about the West Memphis Three.

Bangkok Girl or (Falang:Behind Bangkok's Smile) a pretty decent documentary.

9/11: The Falling Man. One of the best documentaries i've seen. A must see.

HBO and CBC usually have a lot of good ones but I can never remember their names. There's a bunch of Crystal Meth ones which are pretty interesting.

[Displaced Flames fan]

Yes, Paradise Lost is great. I've never heard of Hype! but I'm all over it now...thanks for mentioning it!