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#141
02-07-2007, 05:24 PM
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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. 
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#142
02-07-2007, 05:55 PM
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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."
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#146
02-08-2007, 01:14 AM
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Re: Documentaries
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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#147
02-08-2007, 01:40 AM
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Re: Documentaries
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#148
02-09-2007, 02:03 AM
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Re: Documentaries
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.
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