Can anyone recommend any documentaries available on Netflix? I see there's a lot of them but a recommendation of a good one would be appreciated as I don't even know where to start. Thanks.
Searching for Sugarman is very good. It's about an American singer called Rodriguez who was a huge success in South Africa during apartheid but popular nowhere else in the world. Because of this, there is virtually no information on him and a lot of mystique and rumour surrounding his death, so a couple of South Africans music lovers set out to investigate. Telling you more than that would spoil the movie, but it's definitely worth checking out.
Trumped is fairly interesting. It's about Donald Trump trying to build a golf course in sparsely inhabited, potentially ecologically endangered area of Scotland. It's residents, mostly poor farmers and fisherman, and environmentalists want nothing to do it. Trump, true to form, tries to strong arm everyone into getting his way. A classic David vs. Goliath story.
Brooklyn Castle is worth a watch as well. It focuses on the top ranked middle school in chess. The biggest stars in this school are not the basketball or football players, but instead the nerds on the chess team. Some of the kids around 11 and 12 years old have ranks of around 2000 (ie "expert" level, 2200 is "master"), which is pretty amazing. Most of them come from poor families and the program is put in jeopardy after the market crash in 2008 since the kids cannot afford to pay their own way to tournaments, which are most often out of state.
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"Devils Playground" was one of the films at the 2003 Calgary International Film Festival. I remember that film distinctly. A must-watch for that liked the recent "Breaking Amish" TV Series.
"Fog of War" also won best documentary in 2003 I believe. It's almost a seminal watch for political science students and/or history buffs.
One more for foodies: "Jiro Dreams of Sushi." The filmmaking style is average at best, but the amazing story of 90-year old Jiro is something that was really captivating to watch - the sheer amount of detail and finesse he places on ordinary things and the amount of psychology he uses in serving sushi is really something else.
I was going to suggest Jiro in this thread, so thanks for beating me to it.
The filmmaking style I agree is average, but the absolute beauty of his craft is wonderful to see. I highly recommend this even if you have no interest in sushi. It is amazing to see someone perfect their craft, or at least come close to perfection.
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If we can't fall in love with replaceable bottom 6 players then the terrorists have won.
In Austin, Texas, fifteen people influence what is taught to the next generation of American children. Once every decade, the highly politicized Texas State Board of Education rewrites the teaching and textbook standards for its nearly 5 million schoolchildren. And when it comes to textbooks, what happens in Texas affects the nation as a whole. Don McLeroy, a dentist, Sunday school teacher, and avowed young-earth creationist, leads the Religious Right charge. After briefly serving on his local school board, McLeroy was elected to the Texas State Board of Education and later appointed chairman. During his time on the board, McLeroy has overseen the adoption of new science and history curriculum standards, drawing national attention and placing Texas on the front line of the so-called "culture wars." In his last term, McLeroy, aided by Cynthia Dunbar, an attorney from Houston and professor of Law at Jerry Falwell's Liberty University, finds himself not only fighting to change what Americans are taught, but also fighting to retain his seat on the board. Challenged by Kathy Miller, president of the Texas Freedom Network, and Ron Wetherington, an anthropology professor from Southern Methodist University in Texas, McLeroy faces his toughest term yet. THE REVISIONARIES follows the rise and fall of some of the most controversial figures in American education through some of their most tumultuous intellectual battles.
Before Bad Brains, the Sex Pistols or even the Ramones, there was a band called Death. Punk before punk existed, three teenage brothers in the early '70s formed a band in their spare bedroom, began playing a few local gigs and even pressed a single in the hopes of getting signed. But this was the era of Motown and emerging disco. Record companies found Death’s music— and band name—too intimidating, and the group were never given a fair shot, disbanding before they even completed one album. Equal parts electrifying rockumentary and epic family love story, A Band Called Death chronicles the incredible fairy-tale journey of what happened almost three decades later, when a dusty 1974 demo tape made its way out of the attic and found an audience several generations younger. Playing music impossibly ahead of its time, Death is now being credited as the first black punk band (hell...the first punk band!), and are finally receiving their long overdue recognition as true rock pioneers.
I missed this at the underground film festival, but you can now buy it online.
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But living an honest life - for that you need the truth. That's the other thing I learned that day, that the truth, however shocking or uncomfortable, leads to liberation and dignity. -Ricky Gervais
Thirty years ago this week, the NFL teetered on wobbly legs.
It was coming off the 1982 player strike, Raiders owner Al Davis had just successfully sued the league for the right to move his team to Los Angeles, the USFL was poaching players -- including Heisman Trophy winner Herschel Walker -- and John Elway, who would be selected No. 1 overall in the draft, was threatening to play for the New York Yankees if the Baltimore Colts used the first pick on him, which they did.
That’s the backdrop for the ESPN Films “30 for 30” documentary “Elway to Marino,” which debuts Tuesday at 5 p.m. PDT and re-airs at 6:30 p.m.
It’s NFL Films’ first piece for the critically acclaimed “30 for 30” series, and is directed by Ken Rodgers, who runs the “Hard Knocks” show.
“Elway to Marino” is a behind-the-scenes look at how the first round of the 1983 draft unfolded, using as a roadmap the just-revealed personal diary of agent Marvin Demoff, who represented both Stanford star Elway and Dan Marino, who tumbled nearly to the end of the round before being selected 27th by Miami.
Rodgers called the first round a “transformative” moment for the NFL, which had yet to emerge from the shadow of Major League Baseball as America’s most popular sport.
“The draft, the power of the ESPN relationship, and the players on the field,” he said, “changed generations on this day, April 26, 1983, and especially in those three hours, 14 minutes of the first round when six Hall of Famers were drafted and the fortunes of players, coaches, franchises, owners all changed. You can see just by looking at the list of who was drafted, what the next 10 years held for certain franchises.”
The best example of what might have been belongs to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who passed on hometown hero Marino at 21 and instead selected Texas Tech defensive lineman Gabriel Rivera. The Steelers reasoned they still had at least a couple of years remaining with quarterback Terry Bradshaw.
One quarter into the 1983 season, Bradshaw suffered a career-ending elbow injury. Rivera lasted six games before driving drunk and getting into an accident that paralyzed him.
The film contains scenes from genuine revival meetings showing Gortner preaching and praying for people, interspersed with footage of Gortner admitting on camera that he was a non-believer and revealing the tactics used by himself and other evangelists to manipulate people.
The film contains scenes from genuine revival meetings showing Gortner preaching and praying for people, interspersed with footage of Gortner admitting on camera that he was a non-believer and revealing the tactics used by himself and other evangelists to manipulate people.
this movie?
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Captain James P. DeCOSTE, CD, 18 Sep 1993
If you like history, this one is pretty good (it's also on Netflix):
Pompeii fascinates me - not sure why really. Just does. I'll be seeing if I can find this somewhere.
Catching Hell was on last night, regarding the 'Steve Bartman incident' - not sure what channel - TSN maybe? I wasn't able to watch all of it - found it on YouTube in its entirety.
Last edited by Minnie; 06-04-2013 at 02:13 PM.
Reason: trying to fix link
A new BBC series called Time travelers guide to ....... , the first episode being not the most exciting destinations, Elisabethan England. The focus is on showing the viewer what life would be like if you visited, the good and the bad. I have hope for this series, the first show was worth watching for anyone interested in a more honest look at the past. Really hope they pick some more interesting periods, lets wait and see 6/10.
FINALLY got started on BBC Africa with David Attenborough. So far only 2 episodes in, they are stunning in HD and even though I think you can get them on Youtube, try to get a hold of these in Blue ray. Like everything BBC does with these series, it is nothing short of eye candy and as always on of my favorite things to watch, nature documentaries done like no one else can.
9.5/10
PBS Nature's Great Zebra Exodus is quite good, might want to watch that not during a marathon of BBC Africa, as it can't compare. However its quite good and well worth watching. Plus Meerkats!! 7/10
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