What's the best documentary you've seen?

Da Shins Kelly · 26-04-2011 5:16pm #1

I'm on a documentary buzz these last few days, been watching one every night. I watched Capturing The Friedman's last night, which was excellent, and a little bit disturbing.

http://youtu.be/R10VjJgx1dU

I also saw Dear Zachary, which was so incredibly sad, and I've watched half of Paris Is Burning so far, which is very interesting.

What documentaries would you recommend?

chin_grin · 26-04-2011 5:17pm

This or this.

KeithM89_old · 26-04-2011 5:18pm

Avatar

NIMAN · 26-04-2011 5:20pm

Man on Wire.

When We Were Kings.

Who Killed The Electric Car.

Bowling for Columbine (not sure if thats a docu or not)

Nhead · 26-04-2011 5:20pm

Big River Man- a documentary about a man called Martin Strel, a guy that swam the Amazon River. Totally mad

Einhard · 26-04-2011 5:24pm

The American Civil War by Ken Burns. Over ten hours long so you might want to give yourself more than a single evening!

Deus Ex Machina · 26-04-2011 5:24pm

The weirdest, saddest, most frightening and beautiful documentary I've ever seen:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dear_Zachary:_A_Letter_to_a_Son_About_His_Father

holystungun9 · 26-04-2011 5:24pm

Freestyle, the art of rhyme. Excellent for hip hop fans

Style wars too for anyone interested in some history on the NY graf scene.

Im Only 71Kg · 26-04-2011 5:25pm

King of Kong! hilarious. great site below. if you've never seen the UP Series you have to watch.. truly fascinating.

http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/

chin_grin · 26-04-2011 5:26pm

Metal a Headbangers Journey was pretty good too.

ElleEm · 26-04-2011 5:27pm

Maisie, on one of the BBCs a few weeks ago. It was about a couple in the UK who were attempting to adopt a 7 year old girl with serious behavioural issues. She was their 9th adopted child. It showed the involvement of professionals as well, so was really interesting.

RichieC · 26-04-2011 5:27pm

Atom series! http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/atom-tim/

truly brilliant, watched it 3 times.

Chris P. Bacon · 26-04-2011 5:27pm

Forrest Gump was very good.

Mint Sauce · 26-04-2011 5:27pm

Deadliest Catch. Season 1.

fulhamfanincork · 26-04-2011 5:29pm

The Cove
Man on Wire
Restrepo

sealgaire · 26-04-2011 5:29pm

irish-stew wrote: »

Deadliest Catch. Season 1.

LOL, that isn't a documenatary Its reality TV!

Pauleta · 26-04-2011 5:31pm

Cocaine Cowboys. These people were making Tony Montana sound like your local street dealer.

Princess Peach · 26-04-2011 5:32pm

March of the Penguins. No contest!

Its Morgan Freeman and penguins! No need to go on!

Nhead · 26-04-2011 5:33pm

The Cove-poor old dolphins.

stovelid · 26-04-2011 5:33pm

When Animals Attack.

seaniemoylan · 26-04-2011 5:35pm

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO1nSVy8q8I

Dwellingdweller · 26-04-2011 5:35pm

Rip! A Remix:the Manifesto. Doc abnut the anti-copyright/creative commons movement, starring Girl Talk. Focuses on copyright in relation to music and the internet but talks about copyright in relation to Big Pharma (Girl Talk used to be a medical technician) and medical patents etc, great doc!

orourkeda · 26-04-2011 5:44pm

Hoop Dreams

Say Your Number · 26-04-2011 5:49pm

Some Kind of Monster: The Metallica documentary.
The band were about to fall apart when they started filming, It's fasinating stuff. The scene when Lars goes on a rant against Hetfield is interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDCLdNt_oK0

RichieC · 26-04-2011 5:51pm

GR88 wrote: »

Some Kind of Monster: The Metallica documentary.
The band were about to fall apart when they started filming, It's fasinating stuff. The scene when Lars goes on a rant against Hetfield is interesting.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QDCLdNt_oK0

:rolleyes:

Rock and roll..

pragmatic1 · 26-04-2011 5:51pm

RichieC wrote: »

Atom series! http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/atom-tim/

truly brilliant, watched it 3 times.

+1. Probably the most interesting series I've ever watched. The secret life of chaos is another quality documentary by him.

Scarydoll · 26-04-2011 5:52pm

Saving Africa's Witch Children. Never have I felt so freaking angry and sad after watching a documentary.

Morlar · 26-04-2011 5:52pm

One of the best I ever saw was about africa. It showed how the social order in a pride of lions, pack of hyaenas and ceetahs, leopards etc all broke down in the case of a drought/famine.

Essentially the animals turned cannibal and the established pecking order between male female and between the different predator species went completely out the window. Can't remember the name of it but it was fascinating, made by National Geographic.

Also another Nat Geo one about killer whale pack hunting. Using diversionary passes swimming by in order to give the seals a false sense of security - before the main attack. Pretty impressive stuff.

LumpyGravy · 26-04-2011 5:53pm

Most of Adam Curtis' films are excellent.

Check out: The Century of the Self

From Wikipedia:

Sigmund Freud, the founder of psychoanalysis, changed the perception of the human mind and its workings. His influence on the twentieth century is generally considered profound. The series describes the ways public relations and politicians have utilized Freud's theories during the last 100 years for the "engineering of consent".

Freud himself and his nephew Edward Bernays, who was the first to use psychological techniques in public relations, are discussed. Freud's daughter Anna Freud, a pioneer of child psychology, is mentioned in the second part, as is one of the main opponents of Freud's theories, Wilhelm Reich, in the third part.

Along these general themes, The Century of the Self asks deeper questions about the roots and methods of modern consumerism, representative democracy, commodification and its implications. It also questions the modern way we see ourselves, the attitudes to fashion and superficiality.

The business and, increasingly, the political world uses psychological techniques to read and fulfill our desires, to make their products or speeches as pleasing as possible to us. Curtis raises the question of the intentions and roots of this fact. Where once the political process was about engaging people's rational, conscious minds, as well as facilitating their needs as a society, the documentary shows how by employing the tactics of psychoanalysis, politicians appeal to irrational, primitive impulses that have little apparent bearing on issues outside of the narrow self-interest of a consumer population. He cites Paul Mazer, a Wall Street banker working for Lehman Brothers in the 1930s: "We must shift America from a needs- to a desires-culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been entirely consumed. Man's desires must overshadow his needs."