What's the best documentary you've seen?

eleven1

recently there was a documentary on bbc4 about the new york times , very nice.

wendell borton

senna, best doc. ever.

Johnny Foreigner

Knuckle.

seanybiker

wendell borton wrote: »

senna, best doc. ever.

Watched it yesterday. He was mad

44leto

wendell borton wrote: »

senna, best doc. ever.

Defo the doc of last year, it was gripping and that is from a guy who never watched motorsport ever. I would say we will get a few more using that style of doco.

Maradona would be the perfect subject.

SEPT 23 1989

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1522863/

Think its still on Sky Anytime,worth a watch

Leeg17

Recorded a programme called "Top 50 documentaries to see before you die" just before Christmas. I'm not sure about the completeness of the list, especially since super size me is so high up that I wouldn't even regard it as a true documentary, but I went and downloaded what ones I could (about 35 or so), and will be working through them in the coming weeks

It's not a complete list of every doc you should see before you die, but it's a start at least

The list:

50. Spellbound (2002)
49. Truth or Dare (1991)
48. The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002)
47. One Day in September (1999)
46. Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1998)
45. The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years (1988)
44. Burma VJ (2008)
43. When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts (2006)
42. Catfish (2010)
41. The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters (2007)
40. When We Were Kings (1996)
39. Biggie & Tupac (2002)
38. March of the Penguins (2005)
37. Inside Job (2010)
36. Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)
35. Paragraph 175 (2000)
34. Brother’s Keeper (1992)
33. Tongues Untied (1989)
32. Dogtown and Z-Boys (2001)
31. Jesus Camp (2006)
30. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
29. Man on Wire (2008)
28. Gasland (2010)
27. Tarnation (2003)
26. Murderball (2005)
25. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room (2005)
24. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (1996)
23. The Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000)
22. Shut Up & Sing (2006)
21. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
20. Capturing the Friedmans (2003)
19. Touching the Void (2003)
18. Food, Inc. (2008)
17. Street Fight (2005)
16. Bus 174 (2002)
15. Crumb (1994)
14. Dark Days (2000)
13. The Fog of War (2003)
12. Bowling for Columbine (2002)
11. Paris Is Burning (1991)
10. Grizzly Man (2005)
9. Trouble the Water (2008)
8. An Inconvenient Truth (2006)
7. The Celluloid Closet (1995)
6. The War Room (1993)
5. Supersize Me (2004)
4. Waltz With Bashir (2008)
3. Roger & Me (1989)
2. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
1. Hoop Dreams (1994)

I watched "Jesus Camp" because that particularly sparked me interest out of the whole list, loved it. Felt so sad for the little girl who went up to the pretty woman in the bowling alley saying she felt she had to make God known to her.

boblong

Don't know if it's been mentioned but The Vice Guide to North Korea was excellent.

Wikileaks: Secrets and Lies is on 4od and is also very good.

seanybiker

Watched exit through the gift shop a week or two ago and thought it was some hape of steaming shyte.

Netflix America has some brilliant documentaries on it ATM.

puzzle factory

the 2 escobars............

bb1234567

Flight 93- documentary/film, well actually its really just a film but it tells you about what happened when the 4th hijacked plane crashed into a field in rural pennsylvania during the 9/11 attacks. It was very good and shows the civilian hostages very brave efforts to try and regain control of the plain before it met the same fates of the planes that hit WTC1 WTC2 and the pentagon,it was also the only film to make me cry...:( so sad,acting was excellent.

Kerrydude1981

Saw a great sports film/documentary over the xmas on ESPN Classic,Once Brothers it was called,a great story based around two basketballers who played for the old Yugoslavia before the break up,I would recommend to anyone who likes watching sports docs or has an interest in sport to check it out,here is part 1 below

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3hOst_NExGI

donegal_road

here are a few I have recently watched which I thought were compelling viewing..

1. The Revolution Will not be Televised (about the military coup that ousted Chavez in Venezuela in 2002. An Irish film crew happened to be there and made the documentary. Its a must see)

2. The English Surgeon (about a neuro-surgen from England who volunteers his services in the Ukraine perfroming life saving brain surgery)

3. Fuel (documentary exploring the rise and fall, and rise again of the bio fuel culture in the USA, some amazing stuff in this show)

4. Zeitgeist (surely most people have seen this by now)

mongdesade

PBS 10 part documentary by Ken Burns...Jazz

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0221300/

44leto

I am thoroughly enjoying a current BBC4 doco about logistics and its MAJOR and primary role in the outcomes of historical wars and battles. We all know supply lines are important, but this is a history of the technology and techniques that gave a side a substantial edge over another side,

Who would think the humble 2 wheeled spring loaded cart would be crucial in Marlborough's victory in the war of secession. Or Napoleon not packing winter horse shoes led substantially to the Russian defeat and we all know about how stretched and disruptive Hitlers Russian supply lines became also in Russia.


A History of Pottery would sound good , but it was fascinating is was an absolute joy (BBC4 again) a great channel.

MiNdGaM3

Lifting the Veil: Barack Obama and the failure of Capitalist Democracy
this film explores the historical role of the Democratic Party as the “graveyard of social movements”, the massive influence of corporate finance in elections, the absurd disparities of wealth in the United States, the continuity and escalation of neocon policies under Obama, the insufficiency of mere voting as a path to reform, and differing conceptions of democracy itself

The End of Suburbia Peak oil, the unsustainable lifestyle built up around cheap oil and the current and future problems associated with its decline.

Dudess

Guerilla: The Taking Of Patty Hearst is one. ****ing awesome.

Leo Dowling

Good ones that I haven't seen mentioned yet are 'Fairytale of Katmandu' from an Irish film-maker a couple of years ago. She starts with the intention of making a film about the poet Cathal Ó Searcaigh and his life because she loves his poetry. It ends up being about his very questionable behaviour while visiting Nepal and befriending impressionable young men. It unfolds very nicely.

Recently I watched 'Gasland' which is about the controversial mining technique called hydraulic fracturing. There've been some suggestions that it is a bit misleading but I found it to be an excellent documentary with a strong and frightening message.

ToddyDoody

T'enron documentary has me glued during the week. When i saw it first a few years ago it had me a bit animated so i'll go ahead and call it the best (i can currently think of) a lot of parallels between anglo irish bank and enron (in terms of general trends) an inconvenient truth is another one that's good, not as hugely critical these days given the economic crisis but big at the time.

af_thefragile

Was watching this BBC horizon documentary a couple of days ago and found it really interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuYgiXg-h8o

Chorcai

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BuifdjWIFA

Visually stunning
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/baraka/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYO2k_o16E0

The World According To Monsanto
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-world-according-to-monsanto/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElKbQhs0pO8

The World At War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_at_War

strobe

Dudess wrote: »

Guerilla: The Taking Of Patty Hearst is one. ****ing awesome.

Was going to post this when I saw the thread title. I take it you saw it on telly the other night too then? Was really good, the way they had interviews with the ex-SLA lads and all.. I'm still not entirely sure about whether or not I think she was brainwashed, was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, or just a spoiled little rich girl that wanted to rebel against Mammy and Daddy and got in over her head... (Maybe a mix of the three).

Dudess

strobe wrote: »

Dudess wrote: »

Guerilla: The Taking Of Patty Hearst is one. ****ing awesome.

Was going to post this when I saw the thread title. I take it you saw it on telly the other night too then? Was really good, the way they had interviews with the ex-SLA lads and all. I'm still not entirely sure about whether or not I think she was brainwashed, was suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, or just a spoiled little rich girl that wanted to rebel against Mammy and Daddy and got in over her head... (Maybe a mix of the three).

The jury's still out on it. When she was in captivity though she was surely forced to say and do what she did. Some of the SLA's ideals were admirable, and I'm sure it had members who joined the cause not wanting to hurt people, but there were some horrible bastards therein.

Doc Ruby

I love some of the Ray Mears stuff, he's a great narrator, visibly enthusiastic about his subjects.

donegal_road

Chorcai wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5BuifdjWIFA

Visually stunning
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/baraka/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cYO2k_o16E0

The World According To Monsanto
http://topdocumentaryfilms.com/the-world-according-to-monsanto/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElKbQhs0pO8

The World At War
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_at_War

Thanks for that, Baraka is terrific, just watched it

round tower huntsman

seacthar na casca on tg4, the series. tbh some of the best doc's ive seen have been on tg4. another excellent one was bout the irish slaves in west indies.

EggsAckley

Arena's 1994 Philip K Dick - A Day in the Afterlife is one of my favourites. I've rarely seen anything put together in such a cohesive yet bonkersly entertaining way

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

EhBenDisDonc

round tower huntsman wrote: »

some of the best doc's ive seen have been on tg4

Too true. It's always worth keeping an eye on what's coming up on TG4.

Battleflag

Great ecommendations here, bookmarked so I can start making headway watching the ones I havent seen yet

My favourites:
Man on Wire
Food Inc
Waiting for "Superman"

losthorizon

My favs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-eppIGCW8w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jDbyILj7o-w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JeROnVUADj0