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Re: Documentaries
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey - Sam Dunn is a 30-year old anthropologist who wrote his graduate thesis on the plight of Guatemalan refugees. Recenly he has decided to study the plight of a different culture, one he has been a part of since he was a 12-year old: the culture of heavy metal. Sam sets out on a global journey to find out why this music has been consistently stereotyped, dismissed and condemned and yet is loved so passionately by its millions of fans. Along the way, Sam explores metals' obsession with some of life's most provacative subjects - sexuality, religion, violence and death - and discovers some things about the culture that even he can't defend. Shot on location in the UK, Germany, Norway, Canada and the US, this documentary is the first of its kind. It is both a defense of a long-misunderstood art form and a window for the outsider into the spectacle that is heavy metal.
Tokyo Girls - Tokyo Girls is a candid journey into the world of four young Canadian women who work as well-paid hostesses in exclusive Japanese nightclubs. Lured by adventure and easy money, these modern-day geisha find themselves caught up in the mizu shobai - the complex "floating water world" of Tokyo clubs and bars. Drawn by fast money, some women become consumed by the lavish lifestyle and forget why they came. One hostess calls it "losing the plot." With a pulsating visual style, Tokyo Girls captures the raw energy of urban Japan and its fascination with the new. Shot in Canada, Osaka and Tokyo, this is a riveting inside look at the impact of the "economy geisha." Desired mainly for her looks, the hostess is rapidly replacing the cultural institution of geisha - women trained in the ancient art of traditional entertainment. |
Re: Documentaries
[ QUOTE ]
Metal: A Headbanger's Journey - Sam Dunn is a 30-year old anthropologist who wrote his graduate thesis on the plight of Guatemalan refugees. Recenly he has decided to study the plight of a different culture, one he has been a part of since he was a 12-year old: the culture of heavy metal. Sam sets out on a global journey to find out why this music has been consistently stereotyped, dismissed and condemned and yet is loved so passionately by its millions of fans. Along the way, Sam explores metals' obsession with some of life's most provacative subjects - sexuality, religion, violence and death - and discovers some things about the culture that even he can't defend. Shot on location in the UK, Germany, Norway, Canada and the US, this documentary is the first of its kind. It is both a defense of a long-misunderstood art form and a window for the outsider into the spectacle that is heavy metal. [/ QUOTE ] I loved Metal: A Headbanger's Journey His interviews in the film are great. I would recommend this to anyone that enjoys metal and/or documentaries. Has anyone seen Kurosawa: A Documentary on the Acclaimed Director It is in my Netflix queue currently. |
Re: Documentaries
Mad Hot Ballroom - Documentary about NYC public school students who participate in the program where they learn to ballroom dance and participate in a ballroom dance competition. I liked this one a ton.
these two aren't for the homophobic Gay Sex in the 70's - a look at the gay scene in NYC during the 70's. That Guy: Peter Berlin - the life and times of photographer/model Peter Berlin. |
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Paradise Lost Berlinger and Sinofsky's documentary of a gruesome triple murder in West Memphis, Arkansas and the subsequent trials of three suspects, takes a hard look at both the occult and the American justice system in 'small-town' America. Three teenagers are accused of this horrific crime of killing three children, supposedly as a result of involvement in Satanism. As in their previous documentary, things turn out to be more complex than initial appearances and this film presents the real-life courtroom drama to the viewer, as it unfolds. [/ QUOTE ] I'd like to reiterate how good this was. I would be surprised if anyone could watch this and not come away thinking that the kids convicted of murder aren't innocent. |
Re: Documentaries
The Boys of Baraka - Kind of surprised that this has not been mentioned. Follows four inner-city youths from Baltimore who are accepted into the Baraka school in Kenya. A school founded "to give "at-risk" African- American boys from Baltimore a chance to learn academically and grow personally in an environment far removed from their troubled neighborhoods." Excellent.
The Man Who Knew viewable here Frontline documentary on John O'Neill. FBI counter-terrorism official and authority on Al Qaeda in the 90's. He repeatedly warned of a the danger from Bin Laden. Chafed against the FBI bureaucracy and was head of security at the WTC on 9/11. The Beauty Academy of Kabul American women who start a Beauty parlor in Kabul in 2003. Provides a welcome view of life in Kabul after the Taliban. Worth a viewing if interested in current affairs etc.. but otherwise so-so. Have to echo other posters who said Touching the Void Awesome survival story. |
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Two more great ones I just thought of:
Hands on a Hardbody About this crazy contest in Texas to win a Nissan Hardbody pickup. A great insight into the human psyche. One of the yokel-type dudes has some tremendous words of wisdom that most would think he's incapable of articulating. A great film. Trekkies All about Star Trek geeks. Some horrifying stuff in there. Kind of painful to see how pathetic people are, but if it makes you happy and doesn't hurt anyone, who cares? |
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Two more great ones I just thought of: Hands on a Hardbody About this crazy contest in Texas to win a Nissan Hardbody pickup. A great insight into the human psyche. One of the yokel-type dudes has some tremendous words of wisdom that most would think he's incapable of articulating. A great film. [/ QUOTE ] This one is great. Even though the production quality is pretty poor, the characters are extremely entertaining(po' Southern trash). Not available yet on DVD, though. DN |
Re: Documentaries
these are all worth seeing:
enron - smartest guys in the room wallmart - high cost of low prices biggie and tupac (plus other nick broomfield stuff) death in gaza mclibel put the needle on the record riding giants dogtown and z boys the corporation capturing the friedmans tupac resurection also everyone should watch the Loose change film on 9/11 http://www.loosechange911.com/lcfc.htm |
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cocaine cowboys - chronicles the cocaine trafficking boom in miami during the 70s/80s. features interviews with the two biggest transporters and one of the top enforcers. exposes a number of key figures who are largely unknown and dispells the myth that pablo escobar was the top dog in the business. a compelling mix of news footage and interviews. this was the best of the bunch - really awesome. [/ QUOTE ] this is my first post in your forum. i downloaded this movie on the other week on a whim. never heard of it before but i loved the movie Blow, so this sounded good. i watched it about it week ago and man was it awesome. i probably would have been a coke smuggler if i was that age in the 70s |
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Holy crap I just realized no one's mentioned Endless Summer yet. One of my favorite films--documentary or not. The stuff in Africa where they surf with some of the locals and become the first people to surf a pristine beach are highlights. [/ QUOTE ] this is an awesome surf flic. also worth watching is Endless Summer II, Riding Giants (note my location) and Step Into Liquid. of a similar genre is Dogtown and Z-Boys also instead of making another new post: [ QUOTE ] Project Grizzly [/ QUOTE ] awesome! i don't know where to find it though. some guys brought it into my marketing class like 5 years ago and we watched most of it. i can't remember at all how it tied into the class, but it was hilarious and wicked. also el d you mentioned Why We Fight. it's pretty dec. i'd call it the 'military industrial complex' rather than the 'military industrial' complex though. peace |
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Onibus 174 (Bus 174) - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0340468/
Good documentary about a hostage situation on a bus in Rio .. powerful doc. |
Re: Documentaries
Havent seen anyone mention: The Smashing Machine yet.
An excellent look inside the world of MMA and in particular the rise and ultimate fall of Mark Kerr. From his addiction to painkillers and steroids to his first defeat in the ring. Also features Mark Coleman and Bas Ruttan. |
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Havent seen anyone mention: The Smashing Machine yet. An excellent look inside the world of MMA and in particular the rise and ultimate fall of Mark Kerr. From his addiction to painkillers and steroids to his first defeat in the ring. Also features Mark Coleman and Bas Ruttan. [/ QUOTE ] yeah, that was awesome, i saw it a long time ago, may need to see it again. i just got born into brothels and control room (about al jazeera) from netflix. |
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i may be a little too mainstream and a few years late, but i recently saw "Murder on a Sunday Morning". It did a great job of showing the flaws that can exist in eyewitness id's and confessions. Plus, the public defender is just an awesome character.
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Re: Documentaries
Some documentaries that have been mentioned that I have liked a lot:
Hoop Dreams - Really terrific as many have mentioned. Thin Blue Line - Same. This film really got to me. It's been so long since I've seen it and I still remember how I was so blown away by it. Crumb - Funny and weird. Diablo mentioned Word-Wars about the Scrabble Circuit which I haven't seen yet. I really want to check this out. The book Word Freaks about the same subjet was really good I thought and got me interested. A few months ago I saw a documentary on ESPN called, "The Time of Their Lives" about the growth of the NY Cosmos and North American Soccer League in the 1970's including Pele and other star players. This documentary was masterfully done in my opinion. The music and editing gave it a kind of funky 70's feel but without being so over-the-top as to be silly. Even if you're not a soccer fan I think it would be interesting to see the story of how this practically semi-pro team drawing 1k fans a game was able to somehow land the best player in the world and eventually become a huge craze and sell-out Giants Stadium (over 70k fans) and then, almost just as quickly, fade-away entirely. Koshien - This was a documentary I saw on PBS a few mths ago about the Japanese High-School baseball tournament. Not really that well-done but still somewhat interesting to watch. Thousands of teams battling in a giant nationwide single-elim tourney. Top 49 teams go to the Koshien finals that every player dreams of participating in. It's a glimpse into the difference in attitudes in general between the U.S. and Japanese cultures as well imo. Trekkies - Funny film from about 10 yrs ago about obsessed Star Trek fans attending various conventions, etc. Some of the interviews with the nerdier of the group are really funny of course, but I also developed an appreciation for how devoted they are to the history of the show. The Big Bang (1989) - Probably my favorite documentary. Interviews with various people from different walks of life about love, life, death, etc. Some have very interesting stories to tell. Funny, sweet, thoughtful, simple. Read a review on IMDB that it didn't go in-depth enough on each of the topics. I thought that keeping it moving and a little lighter and not bogging it down in really deep philosophy was the preferred approach. |
Re: Documentaries
Regarding some other documentary makers: Michael Moore - I saw Fahrenheit 911 and was really disappointed. Frankly, I thought it was pretty terrible. And my political leanings are not that far from Moore's. I have a feeling I would not be impressed by Columbine either but I still want to see it and will try not to let my opinion of 911 influence me. Ken Burns - I've seen parts of Civil War, Baseball and Jazz. I didn't particularly care for any of them actually. Jazz I guess I liked best. The baseball one really disappointed me. one thing I remember is that he actually dubbed in sound-effects (like crack of the bat, fan-noise, etc) on some films that obviously wouldn't have had any sound because they were so old...and also onto modern games where I thought he would have been better to just use the regular sound even if it included the announcer. I remember being annoyed at how they portrayed the Game 6 of the 1975 World Series (Cincy and Boston) because it was weird that the crowd noise would be the same for a Cincy base-hit as it would be for a Boston base-hit. This was only one of the aspects that bugged me about it though. |
Re: Documentaries
i cant beleive no one has mentioned VERNON, FLORIDA. has anyone mentioned VERNON, FLORIDA? it is an absolute must see on the order of: my brothers keeper, crumb, roger and me and PARADISE LOST.
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Re: Documentaries
I don't recall seeing this one mentioned, Tom Dowd & The Language of Music. If you're into music this is a must see. Dowd's influence on music is immeasureable.
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For those in SF , the Balboa Theatre is showing all the oscar nominated documentaries FOR FREE , Feb 20 & 21.
http://www.balboamovies.com/oscar/ The Balboa Theater - Oscars 2006 |
Re: Documentaries
Great thread! But why hasn't anybody mentioned Jean Xavier Lestrade yet? imho he is the best documentary film maker out there juging by the two things i've seen by him: (death on) the Staircase and Murder on a Sunday Morning. Like John Grisham, only stranger, more disturbing and more unpredictable. Maybe they never aired in the US, since he is a French filmmaker, but both documentaries are on the US judicial system.
**** Plot Synopsis: Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, presents a gripping courtroom thriller, offering a rare and revealing inside look at a high-profile murder trial. In 2001, author Michael Peterson was arraigned for the murder of his wife Kathleen, whose body was discovered lying in a pool of blood on the stairway of their home. Granted unusual access to Peterson's lawyers, home and immediate family, de Lestrade's cameras capture the defense team as it considers its strategic options. "The staircase" is an engrossing look at contemporary American justice that features more twists than a legal bestseller. **** French documentary about the trial of a black American teenager accused of robbing and murdering an elderly white tourist at a Florida hotel. The film follows the teen's defense team as they build a case that shows ineptitude and prejudice on the part of the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office. |
Re: Documentaries
I guess this more of a mockumentry:
FISHING WITH JOHN This is so good and funny. This guy Joh seems to know everyone and gets them to go fishing with him. Dennis Hopper in Thailand, Tom Waits in Jamacia, and it's just perfect. Way too serious voice-overs like when John and Tom Waits are paddling up a river. Something like(deep voice) "Tom and I were now where no white man had ever fished before." |
Re: Documentaries
American Splendor -- Brilliant, but is it a documentary? [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] Harvey Pekar.
I'm a Ross McElwee fan -- Charleen, Sherman's March. |
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On The Muscle
Follows the horses, trainer, veterinarian, jockeys, owners and caretakers through the highs and lows of a year of world class racing leading up to the Breeders Cup. |
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2 more i just saw:
control room - about tv network al jazeera. follows the network's operations around 2003 when the us and allies began to wage war on iraq. the subject matter is super-facsinating to me - "upstart", often unpopular network covers a war on its home turf - but the final product falls way short. the characters are boring, and for a war, there is very little action. there is a fetching female producer who is enjoyable to watch, and a likable army pr officer, but other than that it's just a bunch of middle eastern men bitching about how awful the us is, which is pretty tired and played out at this point. word wars - folllows 4 scrabble experts as they prepare for the national championships. this is an amazing film. the characters are as real as any i've ever seen - real in that they are generally unsuccessful in all areas of life, and they don't make any effort to appear otherwise. one of my favorite parts of the film is this quote from GI Joel (one of the subjects - GI stands for gastro intestinal because he has horrible acid reflux and is constantly chugging maalox): "i never applied myself ever into anything i ever did in my life besides scrabble. i never succeeded in any other endeavor. i have done very little to contribute to society most of my life. i was a college dropout. i felt i had learned everything i needed to get by in this life in kindergarten - when i knew how to read. i don't have a real life as compared to most people i know and even most scrabble players i know. how a typical day goes for me: i sleep while the sun is shining, then uh, get up, and uh eventually play a few games of scrabble, and that's the day..... there's very little else i'm actually qualified to do at this point, and playing scrabble is the only thing my body will allow me to sit still and do." tons of parallels exist between the scrabble world and the poker world. everyone should see this. |
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Gobble Gobble.
Judging by the rest of your list though, you've missed a few. BURDEN OF DREAMS is a documentary about the making of the movie FITZCARRALDO. First you have to see FITZCARRALDO, then BURDEN OF DREAMS. FITZCARRALDO is directed by a man named Werner Herzog who ate his shoe after Errol Morris (director of vernon, fla.) made his first movie (GATES OF HEAVEN). morris wouldn't get off his ass, so herzog told him he'd eat his shoe if he made a movie. Well, he ate his shoe and someone filmed it. it's an extra on the Burden of Dreams DVD. Also, "hearts of darkness" It's the making of Apocalypse Now. You'll trust me if you see the movies above. |
Re: Grizzly man!
Werner Herzog!!! I've seen about 8 of his movies and I'm going to eventually see them all.
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Re: Documentaries
Charliedont surf? Are you serious?? Where is HEARTS OF DARKNESS???????? Please explain.
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Mr. Death: This docu follows the exploits of a prison guard's son who helps repair the electric chair of a prison back east, and then somehow manages to parlay this into "expert" status and get work all over the country making/repairing electric chairs. Full of himself and cocksure, things spiral out of control and he winds up a pariah.
Heart of Gold: Johnathan Demme's Docu/concert film of Neil Young's premiere of his songs from the album Prairie Wind. Must see for any Young fan. C*cksucker Blues: Documentary of The Stones '72 tour in support of their album Exile On Mainstreet. This film was never officially released though bootlegs are occasionally available. Read all about it. |
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I thought Rock School was worth watching. The teacher is a Zappa freak that basically runs a rock school for kids of almost all ages.
Bowling for Columbine and moreso Farehnheit 9/11 are hardly documentaries IMO. There is certainly going to be bias in documentaries, but these films have complete falsities and misrepresentation of truth in them, which is about as anti documentary as you can get. Its bad that I have to qualify with this, but its usually needed... I am about as far from conservative as one can get, but I still hate being purposefully misled by such a maniac. |
Re: Documentaries
2 more:
overnight - follows troy duffy, who wrote the boondock saints, and his group of friends during a time when it seems their careers in entertainment are taking off. this is like the startup.com of the hollywood scene. a bunch of geniuses who have it all figured out and are about to take over the world. they inevitably flame out completely and they are such huge douchebags that the ending is perfect. not particularly well made, but if you like laughing at losers you should check it out. street fight - chronicles the 2002 mayoral election in newark, nj. the incumbent, sharpe james is the prototypical fast talking, crooked, career politician. his opponent is corey booker, a stanford and yale educated city councilman who lives in one of the housing projects in his district. lots of dirty politics. if you enjoy the political subplots on the wire, you will like this a lot. well produced and very interesting. |
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On Any Sunday is a classic motorcycle/dirtbike documentary from the 70s with Steve Mqueen. Great if you have any interest in any two wheel sport.
Why We Fight is one of the best documentaries I have ever seen. Who killed the electric car is good as yellosub was saying. Baraka is an awsome. It has clips from cultures all around the world. Has some excellent footage and really opens your eyes. This would be a good movie to be drugged out too if that is your thing. It would be a fun trip. Outfoxed is a good one to see also. There was a video I believe I saw from OOT that followed meth users in Australia that was amazing. That is all for now. |
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Not the best, but worth a watch and still unmentioned: Loose Change Triumph of the Nerds Catch a Fire |
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Just a quick heads up to UKers- More4 are starting to show a series of Errol Morris films on Monday at 9pm- this monday is 'Mr Death' which is suggested in an early post here.
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I have always enjoyed all things FRONTLINE.
Most recent was: "The Meth Epidemic" Very frustrating to hear how easily this problem could have been significantly reduced. It was not, because of the influence of the major drug companies. Irony or what! Debater |
Re: Documentaries
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I just saw something on the news last night about The Bridge which is about people committing suicide off the Golden Gate bridge over the course of a year. It stirred controversy for several reasons, and I think I'm going to catch it. The filmmaker used four cameras at two locations to film, and then afterwards, talked to the families about the person who jumped. It looks like it's still making the rounds in art house theatres, but has anyone seen it? [/ QUOTE ] for anyone in vegas, this documentary is playing now through thursday at the tropicana cinemas . i saw it last night and i thought it was excellent. |
Re: Documentaries
I just saw Who Killed the Electric Car a couple nights ago.
I don't think it was the greatest documentary. A little more time was spent on some things that I don't think were as interesting as some others that got less time. I did know some of this before I saw it though, since I was very interested in the car when it came out. For me it was preaching to the choir, but I'm not totally sure the movie would be convincing to a more skeptical audience. It was pretty good though. I had already thought that the current policy towards alternative powered cars was bad, but I had thought it was more misguided than intentional. I was already planning on getting or converting a car to electric soon. The movie certainly has me more motivated. |
Re: Documentaries
There was a very good documentary on life in Tehran by/on the BBC a couple of days ago.
Rageh Inside Iran It can be seen in full on google video It's a genuine look at the life of iranians in Tehran. Very far from the image of flag-burning fanatics Fox Network wants you to have. |
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