Best documentaries you have seen

Baze

The Boy Whose Skin Fell Off for me also.

Jonny Kennedy was a legend. The way he persevered through the obvious mental and physical pain he had to face each and every day was inspirational.

Some more I liked:

Dark Days.
The Times of Harvey Milk.
Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer.
Mr.Death.
Hearts of Darkness.
Streetwise.

stefan idiot jones

So many pages in and not a mention of the greatest documentary ever made.....




THIS IS SPINAL TAP

Chorcai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqF5tvWm7CA

Baraka, visually stunning !

The Civil War - Ken Burns, American civil war very interesting
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civil_War_(TV_series)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAFSFfGAo5s

Parts 1-9 here http://www.youtube.com/channel/UC3-G72lgHh0j5nRpwHuCMxQ/videos

zenno

ceadaoin. wrote: »

The Cove is one that I know I should watch. I know what's in it though and I just can't bring myself to do it because I know I would find it extremely upsetting.

I don't think I could watch it either, but maybe we all should, and in such cases things like this nasty stuff make people get up and do something about it. Living in denial regarding this might ease the stress, but maybe after watching it, it will bring reality to the fore to actually fight to stop it En masse.

Sir Arthur Daley

Dad Made Dirty Movies

Toots

McChubbin wrote: »

The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive with Stephen Fry. It was heartbreaking and touching in equal measures.

How heartbreaking/touching was it? Like tear-jerking? I've just been diagnosed with Bi-Polar and a friend suggested I watch this but I'm afraid it's still a bit raw at the moment and I'll end up a sobbing mess on the couch

gammygils

Das Auto: The Germans, Their Cars and Us

Broadcast on BBC2 a couple of months ago. Really enjoyed it.

Very well put together and presented. Even the Soundtrack.

And very apt. Because British cars are and always were crap!

osarusan

ahnowbrowncow wrote: »

It's a short video of Irish boxer Kevin Mc Bride eight years after he beat Mike Tyson. Just thought I'd throw it up here.

Sorry it's off topic, but:

I'm a huge fan of boxing, but stuff like this, showing the slurred speech and so on, is so saddening.

Here is Meldrick Taylor, a two-time world champion and olympic champion who went on too long. And remember this is a guy who meted out much more punishment than he took over his career.

Bipolar Joe

zenno wrote: »

I don't think I could watch it either, but maybe we all should, and in such cases things like this nasty stuff make people get up and do something about it. Living in denial regarding this might ease the stress, but maybe after watching it, it will bring reality to the fore to actually fight to stop it En masse.

But will most likely all just feel a bit sad and then get on with our lives.

Da Shins Kelly

I watched one recently called Brother's Keeper about an alleged 1990 murder out in the sticks in New York. An elderly, illiterate man with a very low IQ is accused of murdering his brother, who he lived with and even shared a bed with, and who was in poor health at the time. He claims his innocence, but there is talk that he killed him as part of a mercy killing, and then the (frankly ludicrous) claim that he killed him during some kind of sex game. Quite sad viewing really, and a real glimpse into rural, small-town American life.

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

Capturing The Friedmans is an interesting watch too. A father and son from a seemingly perfect middle-class American home are both charged with sexually abusing several children during the 80s at the height of the paedophile scare-mongering. The documentary captures the legal proceedings as well as the collapse of a family in the face of some of the worst accusations imaginable. Again, you come out of it a little confused. Hard to know what to believe.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVY4ehqJjAA

Also loved Mine, a documentary about animals who were rescued and re-homed after Hurricane Katrina and what happens when the original owners come looking for their pets. It's a deeply personal angle on the devastating effects of the disaster in New Orleans as people from varied backgrounds set out to recover their pets, and what happens when the adoptive owners don't want to give them back. If you're an animal lover, you'll bawl.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cIoy0KuUes0

SmallTeapot

SamAK wrote: »

Brian Cox's 'Wonders of the Universe' and 'Wonders of the Solar System' boggled my mind, absolutely loved them..

+1 to the above - excellent, excellent documentaries - I've seen them both many times. Brian Cox is simply fantastic

Otherwise, a few that have come to my mind:
- Food Inc. - Trailer

- The Century of the Self - Trailer

- The Secret Life of the Manic Depressive with Stephen Fry

- The Queen of Versailles - Trailer

- BBC Stacey Dooley investigates: Peru, Cocaine capital of the world

- Black Tar Heroin: the dark end of the street - Trailer

- The Accidental Sea

- I've also enjoyed a few orchestrated by Louis Theroux, namely:
1) Extreme Love - autism
2) Extreme love - dementia
3) Gambling in Las Vegas
4) Under the knife

- The Future of Food - Trailer

- Killing Us Softly

I also agree with the suggestion about the Youtube channel Vice. Fantastic stuff on that. One that comes to mind was about a man who lived in complete isolation for several decades in S. America ..... it was an incredible piece

Mjollnir

The Trials of Darryl Hunt: if you want to seethe, to be outside your own skin at the particular flavor of American injustice, here you go.

Harlan County, USA: as gritty as it gets for labor, for poor labor in the US, and how the nuts and bolts of strike work. Extraordinarily disheartening in light of today's labor market here.

Taxi to the Dark Side: beyond words in terms of hypocrisy and futility.

Deliver Us From Evil: the RCC is an international crime syndicate. Told in measured tones, absolutely without emotional highlights. If you needed a reason to go after them, criminally, here it is.

Crumb: R. Crumb is far, far more interesting that you might think and MAN, is his family FUBAR. Past FUBAR. Wow.

sin_city

GOOD HAIR BY CHRIS ROCK

Andrewf20

"The beckoning silence". The Eiger, 1936. Epic. Better than Touching the Void I thought. Its on youtube.

Turtyturd

Pug160 wrote: »

I used to like the Louis Theroux documentaries, but I don't see him on as much these days.

Fairly sure they are on netflix if you really wanna see them.

King of Kong is probably the best one for me.

Honourable mentions for

Waiting for Superman
The Shock Doctrine
Jesus Camp
Hoop Dreams

Hasn't Blackfish been discredited over the last while?

Arthur Beesley

Senna
Meerkat Manor

Twiki

Either "Tallafornia" or "The Power of Nightmares" - I keep getting them mixed up though.

Joeseph Balls

Mickey H wrote: »

Not technically a documentary as such, but "Time Team" is one programme I find very interesting. I think it has been moved to BBC3 now.

Hi mickey, time team is on more4 most days...

Potatoeman

DazMarz wrote: »

Oliver Stone's Untold History Of The United States

Sure, Stone's reputation amongst some has descended to the level of "Left-Wing, Senile crank", but this documentary series is quite brilliant. Yeah, perhaps Stone's decision to narrate the thing himself was a bit much, but don't let that detract.

Stone is showing a fairly bleak picture of the United States and her conduct from World War II up to the present day, but at the same time you can't help but think that behind it all, there isn't much else to show.

It's all here: the CIA throwing down the gauntlet and overthrowing left-leaning governments in Asia, Europe, Africa and Europe (especially is said governments threatened US companies and interests), the débâcle of the arms race with the Soviets, how the US was utterly sinister and ruthless in its dealings at the time, how the US then squandered opportunities to capitalise on peaceful times and how the US's triumphalism makes them believe that they can do no wrong.

It is a bit much at times when Stone paints the Soviets as innocent little lambs who did nothing but try to defend themselves; was that why they persecuted their own peoples and prevented them from leaving the Eastern Bloc by means of such monstrosities as the Berlin Wall and so on? The KGB made the CIA at times appear like a bunch of sissies. The Soviets were no angels at all, but Stone paints them in far too good a light at times, glossing over the sickening grotesqueries of the Communist countries.

But that is a minor quibble; for the most part, this is a staggering piece of work. It does not paint the United States in a favourable light at all, and the startling lack of balls and compassion from successive Presidents from Harry Truman all the way to Barack Obama is chillingly summed up. Kennedy is portrayed as the only one who was genuinely worth a damn, but again Kennedy is a personal hero of Stone's, so that's to be expected.

The anger and shock you'll feel at watching this documentary series (10 episodes in all) is undeniable. It fully lays out how self-serving and downright evil that certain elements of the US Government (particularly hardline conservatives, the CIA and the military) could be when it suited them. It is hard to not feel sympathy for the Soviets at times, but I just look to the evidence of the Gulags and stuff like the Berlin Wall and the assassination of Georgi Markov (he who was killed by the ricin poison umbrella) and that sympathy largely vanishes. The Soviets were as bad as the United States at times, even if it was the United States who were largely the belligerents of the time.

Well worth a watch if you want to feel a sense of justifiable anger about something.

I think his point about the Russians was fair in that it showed the attitude America had and their breaking of agreements etc.
His George Bush bit though was very opinion heavy and biased though.

crybaby

Bipolar Joe wrote: »

King of Kong is easily the most over rated documentary out there. The film was edited in such a way that what you see is almost entirely false. I hate seeing it on lists like this, everyone in the film has said that it shouldn't even be classed as a documentary.

Yeah I remembr watching that a year or two ago and after enjoying it so much went straight to the Internet to read up on it and immediately discovering all of the main story points are just made up.

Akrasia

'Heima' is my favourite music documentary. Basically Sigur Ros play a load of free concerts to small venues in Iceland. The music and imagery are wonderful


I also love the Horizon series of BBC documentaries. There are far too many to name individually but the quality is second to none

BadCompany

hungoverbunny wrote: »

Dear Zachary

Was going to mention this one above all others. One of the most moving films I've ever sat through, I had a serious case of "something in my eye" towards the end. I'm a 27 year old man

Really liked Blackfish as has been mentioned already. I enjoyed Catfish for what it was (though large parts of it are supposedly staged).

Have only had a quick browse of the thread but didn't see it mentioned - Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet is a heartbreaking story of a guitar prodigy who gets the gig of a lifetime playing guitar for David Lee Roth in the late 80s and finds out only months later that he has motor neuron disease and isn't likely to see 25. Tough watching but a great, great movie.

MagicIRL

Jiro Dreams of Sushi - A doc following the greatest sushi chef in the world. His level of detail and dedication is astounding. Fully subtitled.

Dirty Wars - An investigative reporter follows the US war on terror and shows what is really going on. Not easy watching.

Bones Brigade - Following the careers of Tony Hawk (the skateboarder) and co. from their breakthrough as kids along with the evolution of the sport. Worth a watch just to listen to Rodney Mullen speak. The man's a poet.

Enron: The Smartest People In the Room - A doc telling the downfall of Enron and how it all came to be. Incredible insight into the world of finance.

Zeitgeist: Moving Forward - Tin foil hat time! A documentary revealing how simple things like money and government work (from a US perspective)

Restrepo - A military documentary following a group of soldiers on deployment. Great watch.

Indie Game: The Movie - Follows indie developers trying to get their games published. Great insight into the work required to make a game and the big payoffs if you can do it right.

We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks - Self explanatory title really.

Senna - About the famed F1 driver. Ive no interest in F1 but this was sensational.

Cocaine Cowboys - The cocaine wars that erupted in the US and Florida.

Like Water - Follows Anderson 'The Spider' Silva during his MMA career. Very insightful into the dedication of these fighters.

With Great Power: The Stan Lee Story - All about Marvel Comics and its glorious leader.

Knuckleball - The art of throwing the famous Knuckleball pitch in baseball as told by the few men who can do it.

Game Over: Kasparov vs. The Machine - A chess documentary following Gary Kasparov (arguably the greatest chess player ever) versus IBM's Deep Blue supercomputer and all the madness that went with the game. Very interesting if a little bias!

The Striking Truth - Another MMA documentary only this time it shows the differences between a successful fighter in Geroges 'Rush' St-Pierre and David "The Crow" Loiseau. Interesting but nothing standout.

R P McMurphy

BadCompany wrote: »

Was going to mention this one above all others. One of the most moving films I've ever sat through, I had a serious case of "something in my eye" towards the end. I'm a 27 year old man

Really liked Blackfish as has been mentioned already. I enjoyed Catfish for what it was (though large parts of it are supposedly staged).

Have only had a quick browse of the thread but didn't see it mentioned - Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet is a heartbreaking story of a guitar prodigy who gets the gig of a lifetime playing guitar for David Lee Roth in the late 80s and finds out only months later that he has motor neuron disease and isn't likely to see 25. Tough watching but a great, great movie.

I always see dear zachary mentioned. Sad story but a horrible film. Hated everything about it, everyone in it and mostly the way it was shot and produced. The overlapping voices pissed me off the most. Would never warch it again, not because of the sad story but because of the irritant that is the film

LeBash

Debbie does Dallas.

Says I To Bridey

Watched this recently
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/league-of-denial/

A documentary about concussions in the NFL. I'd have no interest in NFL myself, but found this fascinating. Scary the negative impact concussions can have, and it took several suicides and the spinning out of control of players lives for the NFL to even admit there may be a problem. Well worth watching for anybody interested in the brain or contact sports

BadCompany

R P McMurphy wrote: »

I always see dear zachary mentioned. Sad story but a horrible film. Hated everything about it, everyone in it and mostly the way it was shot and produced. The overlapping voices pissed me off the most. Would never warch it again, not because of the sad story but because of the irritant that is the film

Different strokes for different folks I guess! Though judging by other people's comments on this thread and its 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I think it's safe to say you're in the minority. I'd recommend it to absolutely anyone.

Also I have no idea what you mean by the "overlapping voices"

jonon9

Battle For Chernobyl is a masterpiece.

R P McMurphy

BadCompany wrote: »

Different strokes for different folks I guess! Though judging by other people's comments on this thread and its 94% rating on Rotten Tomatoes, I think it's safe to say you're in the minority. I'd recommend it to absolutely anyone.

Also I have no idea what you mean by the "overlapping voices"

There were a couple of scenes where people that knew him were talking about him and then these voice overs overlapped. I found it extremely irritating. The popularity of the documentary puzzles me as I thought it one of the most annoying pieces of film I have ever watched

Da Shins Kelly

R P McMurphy wrote: »

I always see dear zachary mentioned. Sad story but a horrible film. Hated everything about it, everyone in it and mostly the way it was shot and produced. The overlapping voices pissed me off the most. Would never warch it again, not because of the sad story but because of the irritant that is the film

I didn't find any of the people in Dear Zachary annoying, but the editing was a bit sensationalist at times (the music in particular, I thought). It's a compellingly awful story though, and one people should really see and know about. It just sums up the idea that bad things happen to good people. I don't know how the guy's parents got through it.