Louis theroux

RomanKnows

OneOfThem wrote: »

It's really best to think of his docs as being about the specific individuals involved, rather than as an accurate representation of the overall subject matter. The porn one should be viewed as a documentary about those specific porn stars, rather than the porn industry, the body building one about those individual body builders, rather than body builders in general, etc. It can perhaps give you a glimpse into the thing that relates the people to each other, but the focus is the individual people, not the thing. They're documentaries about individuals with a specific thing in common, rather than one's about the thing it's self, for the most part. There's perhaps a criticism to be made that they pass themselves off as the later rather than the former, and by doing so, mislead people. But I'm not sure how intentional that is.

I'm not so sure that is true. The two documentaries about the porn industry dealt with a myriad of people involved in the game. He wasn't dealing with specific edge cases. Just a couple of exemplars.

He was early in bringing to light the seedy underbelly of what went on. The original doc must have been before the proliferation of easily available and increasingly grotesque pornography. There's a myriad of longform pieces and documentaries (and no, not from religious nutjobs) that show what this thing is all about. Young women from Russia being brutally sodomised on camera to appease audiences who want to watch this stuff on tube sites. Vice do a good doc on it.

Riesen_Meal

Yurt! wrote: »

That should be well worth a watch. Although it'll hardly top the Panorama one where the Scientology spokesman who looked like Agent Smith from the Matrix pushed the BBC reporter until he flipped out.

That documentary was bonkers...

That chap from it was on Newstalk a while back - he was pretty much forced out of the BBC after twenty odd years of service after that

He reckons a high ranking BBC Official has ties to Scientology and got him the sack...

OneOfThem

RomanKnows wrote: »

I'm not so sure that is true. The two documentaries about the porn industry dealt with a myriad of people involved in the game. He wasn't dealing with specific edge cases. Just a couple of exemplars.

He was early in bringing to light the seedy underbelly of what went on. The original doc must have been before the proliferation of easily available and increasingly grotesque pornography. There's a myriad of longform pieces and documentaries (and no, not from religious nutjobs) that show what this thing is all about. Young women from Russia being brutally sodomised on camera to appease audiences who want to watch this stuff on tube sites. Vice do a good doc on it.

Just to clarify, I don't believe he (his team) necessarily seek out edge cases. Just that there isn't much focus on ensuring representivity (if that's a word?). The impression I get is it's more a "let's make a doc about people that like cats. Find 6 interesting people that like cats and lets get to know how they think" rather than "lets get a definitive sectional representation of people that like cats, so that we can accurately portray the cat liking public", if you know what I mean. I wouldn't expect to come away from one of his docs feeling like I understood people that like cats, but I would expect to come away having a bit of an understanding of why those 6 people that featured liked cats as much as they do. Which is interesting. People are interesting.

sonofenoch

This ol boy was tuned in

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tpUtUQ5YC-Q


....note the name Corton, scarily like new windows 10 cortana

retro:electro

http://youtu.be/J7oy7jEc0vI

This always gives me a giggle

Chancer3001

He cones across all chilled and weird but asks all the right questions. Manages to get access to All sorts of groups too.

Very very good.

Yurt2

Fieldog wrote: »

That documentary was bonkers...

That chap from it was on Newstalk a while back - he was pretty much forced out of the BBC after twenty odd years of service after that

He reckons a high ranking BBC Official has ties to Scientology and got him the sack...

Really? Must dig out that Newstalk interview. Really sad but that outburst probably scuttled his career, a BBC/Scientology conspiracy sounds a bit fanciful. He was totally rattled by their bullying tactics and then had a meltdown. Not sure how many would hold up under that pressure.

The Pheasant2

Love Louis Theroux - he's the master of being just about subtle enough that the yanks he deals with don't at all realise he's taking the piss at times

nokia69

The Pheasant2 wrote: »

Love Louis Theroux - he's the master of being just about subtle enough that the yanks he deals with don't at all realise he's taking the piss at times

I'm not sure if he ever really takes the piss out of people, he tends to ask simple enough questions, by far his best skill is knowing when to say nothing and let some fool hang himself, it can be a joy to watch

people may have complaints about how a doc might be edited, but for the most part they make themselves look good or bad

PandaPoo

I love him. I'd watch anything he does, and even if I don't think its a subject I'll be interested in I always end up enjoying it.

I thought by reason of insanity was very good. The one on transgender kids was really interesting too. It was a subject I knew nothing about and was really ignorant about until I watched it. It was so well explained and the kids on it were so mature and sure. I really felt for them.

justchecked

I liked the end of the Miami prison one. He just casually walks out like its no big deal...the guys he leaves behind can only dream to do something so simple. Leaves an impression.

Herb Powell

Ranchu wrote: »

His use of kids and people that are mentally unhinged for entertainment is ropey. I have no time for him.

You sure you're not thinking of Jerry Springer?

Stheno

Love his style, I've all his documentaries recorded when I can't watch them

NachoBusiness

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

One of his most depressing documentaries is where he explores the porn industry. So sordid and lacking in humanity. Broken women and drug-addled psychopathic directors making gonzo porn to feed an audience that want more and more disturbing scenes to get their masturbatory kicks.

What absolute twaddle. What that docu did was explore (as another user has said) "the dark side" of the adult entertainment industry. If you made a documentary about people working in the fast food kitchens or taxi drivers that work nights, you'd find it as many suicidal people and an industry just as devoid in humanity.

Why do they always want to make docus about the: "dark side" of the porn industry anyway? It would be akin to only making a documentary about the music business and talking about Joplin, Morrison, Cobain, Winehouse etc. It's a polarized view. Why didn't Louis go and interview Angel Long, the biggest porn star in the UK at the time and still is? Or Ben Dover? Or when in the states, why not go and interview the biggest and most successful American porn stars and producers over there, such as Ginger Lynn or John Stagliano for example? Well, it's obvious why, as it wouldn't suit the predetermined narrative.

I'm not saying there are no scumbags in the Porn industry, of course there are, many of them. Max Hardcore top of a very large pile but to label the whole San Fernando valley as being strung out sleaze bags all just using young girls and tossing them aside when done with them, is as about as far removed from the reality of the porn industry as you can get. Anybody that sets up a web cam and streams themselves having sex with their partner for money is part of the "porn industry" today and indeed web cam business is now considered to be well over 50% of the industry and climbing.

Paully D

His Savile one is crazy looking back at it now. :eek:

Louis Theroux: So, why do you say in interviews that you hate children when I've seen you with kids and you clearly enjoy their company and you have a good rapport with them?

Jimmy Savile: Right, obviously I don't hate 'em. That's number one.

Louis Theroux: Yeah. So why would you say that then?

Jimmy Savile: Because we live in a very funny world. And it's easier for me, as a single man, to say "I don't like children" because that puts a lot of salacious tabloid people off the hunt.

Louis Theroux: Are you basically saying that so tabloids don't, you know, pursue this whole 'Is he/isn't he a paedophile?' line, basically?

Jimmy Savile: Yes, yes, yes. Oh, aye. How do they know whether I am or not? How does anybody know whether I am? Nobody knows whether I am or not. I know I'm not, so I can tell you from experience that the easy way of doing it when they're saying "Oh, you have all them children on Jim'll Fix It", say "Yeah, I hate 'em."

Louis Theroux: Yeah. To me that sounds more, sort of, suspicious in a way though, because it seems so implausible.

Jimmy Savile: Well, that's my policy, that's the way it goes. That's what I do. And it's worked a dream.

Herpes Cineplex

The Backwards Man wrote: »

He's kinda like an Alan Whicker for eejits.

You have it the wrong way around, which is quite appropriate for a username like yours.

Stheno

Paully D wrote: »

His Savile one is crazy looking back at it now. :eek:

Jesus

Duggy747

Very entertaining documentaries because of the information he's able to pull out of people with ease. He focuses more on people involved or affected by a subject, rather than going into the nitty gritty of details. He also generally gives the odd updates about the people he's interviewed throughout the years if they're still around.

His earlier stuff is very funny and more gonzo but he could only really ever go so far with that (he did get quite a good amount of material done on the weirder side of things though).

I liked the one about wrestling where he asked a question about it being fake and they then absolutely destroyed him by putting him through their training, almost puking in the end :pac:

retro:electro

Paully D wrote: »

His Savile one is crazy looking back at it now. :eek:

His last line there is very telling.

NotASheeple

I always enjoy his work and his weird weekend series was excellent.

KomradeBishop

Can't find better quality, but this is one of my favourites, though it's a touch subtle (remember, made back in the 90's):

The humour in that, kind of depends on (mis)anticipating who the singer is meant to be - hence, subtle.

Turtyturd

Big fan of Louis, takes a smart man to play a fool so well in order to get people to open up so much.

Jesus Wept

beard suits him

LFC CONNAUGHTON

Watched the Michael Jackson one he did a few days ago, loved how he made Joe Jackson, his agent and Uri Geller all annoyed at him in order to show their true colours. Sneaky in fairness, but very effective.

PLL

Love him. The subtle way he talks to people.

His one on the legal brothel in Nevada was great.

kowloon

Aongus Von Bismarck wrote: »

I'm a fan of his work. He has an excellent way of asking subtle questions that extract sometimes extraordinary answers from those he is asking questions of.

He seems to completely disarm people by playing the game of harmless outsider rather than acting like most journalists would. Have a bit of a love-hate relationship with his programmes.

Bobby Baccala

LFC CONNAUGHTON wrote: »

Watched the Michael Jackson one he did a few days ago, loved how he made Joe Jackson, his agent and Uri Geller all annoyed at him in order to show their true colours. Sneaky in fairness, but very effective.

Him asking Geller for an apology was priceless

TheLastMohican

Watched a few of his progs. What I liked about them was his second question. Pity a few of the snivelling interviewers from RTE don't go for the jugular. But, again, their boss might be a friend of the interviewee ........ and jobs like that are hard to come by.

Username exists

anewme wrote: »

His Jimmy Seville documentary was excellent, both fascinating and scary at the same time. Powerful stuff

I´ll always remember that documentary as he was super creepy and especially the part where they were in the car together and he said that it was safer for him to say that he hated children.

44.42


http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1z...my-savile_news

LordSutch

Specialun wrote: »

Ive been watching a few of his documentaries over last few days..some really good and some disturbing.have you watched many? Do you like them?

He's been going for donkeys years now, really gets under peoples skin and penetrates their defences, with one eye on the camera as he takes the mick and exposes them to the viewer. So many memorable interviews, but Jimmy Savile was one of the weirdest ones, along with some deep south alien fearing white supremacists who had dug bunkers in their back yards, just in case ?

ibarelycare

KomradeBishop wrote: »

Can't find better quality, but this is one of my favourites, though it's a touch subtle (remember, made back in the 90's):

Just watched that one yesterday

PandaPoo wrote: »

I love him. I'd watch anything he does, and even if I don't think its a subject I'll be interested in I always end up enjoying it.

I'm exactly the same. Most of his documentaries are up on Netflix and they're always my "go-to" things to watch when I can't think of anything else. I'm working my way through them all and I don't watch them in order, I skip back and forth from the older to the newer ones and it's interesting to see how his style changes, but I don't think he loses any of his personality as they get more serious.

Louis has a very non-threatening approach to his subjects and has an endearing awkwardness about him. He comes across as self-deprecating and non-judgmental. Because of this, he really gains the trust of those he's engaging with, and the close relationships he often develops with them is fascinating to watch.

somesoldiers

Didn't Baz Ash-whatshisname have a go at being him for a bit?

Ranchu

Herb Powell wrote: »

You sure you're not thinking of Jerry Springer?

He's not far off Jerry Springer. Just a different format.

R P McMurphy

Yurt! wrote: »

That should be well worth a watch. Although it'll hardly top the Panorama one where the Scientology spokesman who looked like Agent Smith from the Matrix pushed the BBC reporter until he flipped out.

That spokesman has since left the church and talks about the incident in the recent doc going clear

Hans Bricks

His documentary on the hip hop dirty south culture was gas. Watching him create his own rap song and sing it on local radio. So out of his element. But that's what's great about him. Not afraid to br outside his comfort zone one bit.

MarkY91

Specialun wrote: »

Ive been watching a few of his documentaries over last few days..some really good and some disturbing.have you watched many? Do you like them?

I've seen all his documentaries. Some are fascinating and some weren't so interesting to me but he himself kept it a good watch.

His westboro baptist church part 1 and 2 were fascinating to me. Along with many others.

nelly17

Does anyone know if the Scientology crowd are still following him around?

briany

I still like his wrestling one the best where he p#sses off the wrestling coach and he gets made to exercise until he vomits.

anncoates

Don't watch him much but that look he does - like a comic, politely bemused start - when confronted with something particularly egregious - is priceless.

Mr.Plough

buried wrote: »

The Game Ain't Based on Sympathy

Have his momma sendin me money. Check out under my name I got to have you.


Man was cold as ice

I only discovered recently that Louis Theroux's dad is Paul Theroux, the writer.

My favourite LT documentary is 'Louis and the Nazis'. Apparently the two young girls, daughters of the white supremacist woman, are no longer nazi racists; they describe themselves as liberals. The Porn and Westboro Baptist Church documentaries were good too, very illuminating.

He is the United States' answer to Paddy O'Gorman.

Paddy and himself should team up; meet outside the Community Welfare Office in Ballymun some morning.

Akrasia

Louis has so many excellent documentaries

I have no idea how he gets people to say things so personal in front of a film crew

The gambling in las vegas one was really eye opening, The (possibly senile) old woman who spends all day long every day playing the one armed bandits while her son is watching her waste his inheritance.

So was the plastic surgery one. There are two sides to these stories, individuals who have clearly lost touch with reality, and the people who exploit them and louis finds a way to get everyone to open up and talk honestly and admit their failures on screen.

Son Of A Vidic

Akrasia wrote: »

Louis has so many excellent documentaries
I have no idea how he gets people to say things so personal in front of a film crew

I think he's brilliant at doing that and he does it in such a subtle, nonthreatening way. It always makes for a great viewer experience.

nokia69

A Tyrant Named Miltiades! wrote: »

I only discovered recently that Louis Theroux's dad is Paul Theroux, the writer.

and his Brother is Marcel Theroux, who also works in television

ibarelycare

nokia69 wrote: »

and his Brother is Marcel Theroux, who also works in television

And his cousin is Justin Theroux - actor, director, and fiance of Jennifer Aniston

Rebellion

agree the jimmy saville one is great watching, it was like trying to grab a bar of soap in the bath getting an answer out of jimmy. how he got as far as he did is nuts

Rebellion

also you can view many of louises documentaries online. great interviewer! the eugene terre blanche is also a good watch

mickstupp

I don't think I've ever seen an AH thread with so little hate or anger.
This positivity is unsettling. Have you all been drinking?

(I think he's great)

retro:electro

I've a slight crush on him to be honest. What's not to like? He's like a big giant gummy bear

Cold War Kid

NachoBusiness wrote: »

What absolute twaddle. What that docu did was explore (as another user has said) "the dark side" of the adult entertainment industry. If you made a documentary about people working in the fast food kitchens or taxi drivers that work nights, you'd find it as many suicidal people and an industry just as devoid in humanity.

Why do they always want to make docus about the: "dark side" of the porn industry anyway? It would be akin to only making a documentary about the music business and talking about Joplin, Morrison, Cobain, Winehouse etc. It's a polarized view. Why didn't Louis go and interview Angel Long, the biggest porn star in the UK at the time and still is? Or Ben Dover? Or when in the states, why not go and interview the biggest and most successful American porn stars and producers over there, such as Ginger Lynn or John Stagliano for example? Well, it's obvious why, as it wouldn't suit the predetermined narrative.

I'm not saying there are no scumbags in the Porn industry, of course there are, many of them. Max Hardcore top of a very large pile but to label the whole San Fernando valley as being strung out sleaze bags all just using young girls and tossing them aside when done with them, is as about as far removed from the reality of the porn industry as you can get. Anybody that sets up a web cam and streams themselves having sex with their partner for money is part of the "porn industry" today and indeed web cam business is now considered to be well over 50% of the industry and climbing.

Isn't the really ****ed up stuff becoming increasingly the norm though?