Documentary Films

[YoninahAliza]

^Wow this film sounds amazing. I will have to check it out!

 

[Teratel]

Has anyone seen WASTE LAND?

http://www.wastelandmovie.com/

 

[Toccata]

MAN ON WIRE

credit_podcastmoviereview

 

[stolemybicycle]

^Oooh I love that one. It is definitely one of my favourites!

My other favourite is Touching the Void:

 

[Toccata]

I haven't posted in this thread for so long, as there haven't been any documentaries affecting enough for me to talk about them.
Then last night I watched Baraka and this is not only the greatest documentary I've ever seen, I think it was the greatest cinematic experience of my lifetime, thus far.

I remember when I first watched Baraka in '93. It's been my favourite film since!

There is also a similar film called; Koyaanisqatsi ('82) (I never spell this or say it correctly)
Consider it the prequal to Baraka ('92); it has many of the same cinematic techniques.
Koyaanisqatsi is more Western Culture, Baraka is more Eastern.

Compare Trailers:

 

[auxt]

yeah I'm waiting for the perfect situation to watch it for the first time ... so I'll need to get the blu-ray


I just remembered another compelling doc I saw long ago ...

When you lose your mind, you lose the contest.

Twenty-four contestants compete in an endurance/sleep deprivation contest in order to win a brand new Nissan Hardbody truck. The last person to remain standing with his or her hand on the truck wins. An absurd marketing gimmick at first glance, the contest proves to be much more...

The DVD is out of print and hard to find, but here's a torrent if you're interested

http://thepiratebay.org/torrent/4219578/Hands_On_A_Hard_Body.avi

 

[misspistol]

Can't believe I just discovered this thread. I am a huge doco fan.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sX1CD2nx-a0
Def something that left me thinking for a very long time after seeing it.

Between April and June 1994, an estimated 800,000 Rwandans were killed in 100 days. Most of the dead were Tutsis by the hands of the Hutus. The genocide began when Rwandan president Juvenal Habyarimana's plane was shot down above Kigali airport on April 6, 1994.
Canadian Armed Forces General Romeo Dallaire was put in charge of a United Nations peacekeeping force during this 1994 genocide. His proposal called for 5,000 soldiers to permit orderly elections and the return of the refugees. The soldiers were never supplied and the killing began.
The documentary tells the story of the now-retired Lieutenant-General Dallaire, and shows his return to Rwanda after ten years. It features interviews with Stephen Lewis and BBC reporter Mark Doyle, among others.

If you've seen Hotel Rwanda he was played by Nick Nolte.

 

[Erin]

^ Thanks, misspistol... will have to check that out.

My husband and I watched an hour of Sweetgrass, a documentary about sheep herding in Montana, the other night and then stopped it. Perhaps you have to feel a connection to the land/animals/etc. to enjoy it, but we just couldn't get into it. The Farmer's Wife, a documentary about a farming couple and their family in Nebraska, was much more moving in my opinion and is something I can watch over and over again.

 

[m.j.]

where can i watch
How Do You Like Iceland?
Screaming Masterpiece

 

[Belowen]

Has anyone seen "Bridge"? My best friend's boyfriend is a film maker and he watched it recently and said it was incredibly distressing, but also fascinating. It's a film revolving around 100 hours of footage shot of the Golden Gate Bridge. It includes people jumping, those who apparently intend to jump but end up not going through with it and walking away, and inteviews with friends/family members of the people shown in the footage. I'm not sure if I could stomach it, but it seems quite compelling.

 

[Squizree]

I watched "Waiting for Superman" on the plane the other day. I've LITERALLY never felt so sad in a film before.

 

[Erin]

^ I watched this the other day, too. It was extremely saddening... and frustrating... so glad I watched it, though. Definitely one of the best recent documentaries. My heart broke especially for Daisy, a child who really, really wants to learn but simply does not (currently) have the resources.

Has anyone seen "Bridge"? My best friend's boyfriend is a film maker and he watched it recently and said it was incredibly distressing, but also fascinating.

Fascinating, indeed. My husband and I watched this last year - it's called The Bridge. Definitely watch it - I know it stuck with my husband for quite a while - it's one of those documentaries. One of the things I remember specifically was one of the guys just pacing back and forth... it was interesting to get some of that caught on film.

 

[misspistol]

Has anyone seen "Bridge"? My best friend's boyfriend is a film maker and he watched it recently and said it was incredibly distressing, but also fascinating. It's a film revolving around 100 hours of footage shot of the Golden Gate Bridge. It includes people jumping, those who apparently intend to jump but end up not going through with it and walking away, and inteviews with friends/family members of the people shown in the footage. I'm not sure if I could stomach it, but it seems quite compelling.

It was absolutely fascinating. Distressing and disturbing but some of the interviews made me think that the person had finally found freedom, it was very complex that way.

 

[Andrea.RL]

I love documentaries and movies about true stories. I have to look through this thread.

At the moment Im really into Stacy Peralta's documentaries: Dogtown and the zboys (the movie lords of dogtown is awesome too ), and riding giants. If anyone has other ones in the same genre I'm open to suggestions!

My brother and I were also choosing our favorites for the oscars on the iphone app, and watched some of the trailers for the documentaries, some really look good. I can't wait to watch them

 

[Susanna-Cole]

I love documentaries and movies about true stories. I have to look through this thread.

At the moment Im really into Stacy Peralta's documentaries: Dogtown and the zboys (the movie lords of dogtown is awesome too ), and riding giants. If anyone has other ones in the same genre I'm open to suggestions!

My brother and I were also choosing our favorites for the oscars on the iphone app, and watched some of the trailers for the documentaries, some really look good. I can't wait to watch them

Yes! I'm a fan of Stacy Peralta's documentaries, as well, I own both! Definitely would recommend The Endless Summer to you. Depending a bit on how much you like surfing, maybe Step Into Liquid or A Broke Down Melody? I'm reading a book called Beautiful Losers right now, there's a documentary companion, which I have yet to see, but the book has a good bit on skateboarding, especially the Dogtown, Z-Boys skateboard era, so maybe the documentary (by the same name as the book) does as well? It's available for instant streaming on Netflix, if you use Netflix.

I feel like there's more I'd recommend that I'm not recollecting off the top of my hand, will come back later if I think of any more you might like.

 

[m.j.]

i loved the Shelock Holmes documentary. i had to post cos i just remembered that one. it is amazing how a fictional character lives for so long and every generation has its opinion about it.

 

[Aqua Tofana]

So "Inside Job" won Oscar for best documentary. I'm massively disappointed Banksy didn't win

 

[Rebe]

^

yeah me too

 

[Andrea.RL]

Yes! I'm a fan of Stacy Peralta's documentaries, as well, I own both! Definitely would recommend The Endless Summer to you. Depending a bit on how much you like surfing, maybe Step Into Liquid or A Broke Down Melody? I'm reading a book called Beautiful Losers right now, there's a documentary companion, which I have yet to see, but the book has a good bit on skateboarding, especially the Dogtown, Z-Boys skateboard era, so maybe the documentary (by the same name as the book) does as well? It's available for instant streaming on Netflix, if you use Netflix.

I feel like there's more I'd recommend that I'm not recollecting off the top of my hand, will come back later if I think of any more you might like.

THANK YOU SO MUCH! I just watched beautiful losers, and it was great! It really inspired me, ideas popped up in my head. And it's funny because it kind of made me notice how everything I like is really linked the ones to the others... (I'm actually doing my portfolio for a fashion school, and doing inspiration boards I was wondering what was the style I'm going for because everything was so different, but now I see what flow goes through it all )

Anyway! I have to look up the other ones!

 

[jacquelineo]

Pretty much anything by featuring David Attenborough

I also really enjoyed Rivers and Tides. It is about the artist Andrew Goldsworthy.