The Documentary Thread

[gwynplaine]

Touching the Void is still the best documentary I've ever seen. The reenactments are mind boggling.

I have to see this one too. It looks very good.

 

[gwynplaine]

No problem! And as for the most recent Docs I watched...

"Exit Through The Gift Shop"
&
"Bigger, Faster, Stronger"

Both were very good.

I haven't seen Bigger, but really enjoyed Exit.
What a clown this guy "Mr. Brainwash" ist:. I bet Warhol would have enjoyed this doc.

 

[Banana-Hotdog]

Yeah, I really didn't expect "Exit Through the Gift Shop" to turn out to be a rise to power story of Mr. Brainwash, but I'm glad that's what I got. It was funny and fascinating at the same time.

Just added "Touching the Void" to my instant queue, btw

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

I found this documentary on youtube, I thought it was really powerful stuff. It's about Aokigahara forest, the second most popular suicide spot in the world. Up to 78 dead people are found every year and they have to put up anti-suicide signs to discurage people as well as people on "suicide patrol", the documentary follows one of the suicide patrol workers as he inspects the forest, some of the stuff he comes across is kinda disturbing, as well as his general downbeat commentary.

If you like the outlanding or macabre it's well worth a watch, fairly short too

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6CK1KdAha78

It's probably a good idea to set it to 720p and full screen though as for some reason the image is in a black box and has subs.

 

[gwynplaine]

It sounds very interesting. Thanks for posting it UC.

 

[Denny67]

The Corporation - It looks at what a corporation is from every angle.

Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers - A closer look at the likes of Haliburton, KBR and Blackwater USA. What are they doing and how much does it cost?

GasLand - What most don't know about hydraulic fracture drilling

AKA Tommy Chong - (how and why he went to prison)

Christmas Unwrapped: The History of Christmas

 

[gwynplaine]

^ I haven't seen any of them but they sound interesting.

 

[Max J Power]

I watched "Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage" a few days ago and it's a must-see if you're a Rush fan or you like music documentaries.

 

[Midnyte_Sun]

These PBS Specials are great too:

Becoming Human
The Story of India
Natural History of the Chicken
The Amish: A people of Preservation
Pilgrimage to Karbala

Other nice ones:

Food, Inc.
Life (w/David Attenborough)
The Life of Birds (w/David Attenborough)
The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

It's surprising no one mentioned "Planet Earth".
Although I suppose that a series than a movie and probably wouldn't count.

 

[Travesty]

It's surprising no one mentioned "Planet Earth".
Although I suppose that a series than a movie and probably wouldn't count.

I've mentioned it.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

"Natures Great Events" is also pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quwebVjAEJA

 

[gwynplaine]

"Natures Great Events" is also pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quwebVjAEJA

Pretty impressive shot when that whale comes up to the surface and feeds. It looks a creature from Pandora or somethingt:
Thanks for posting it.

 

[Banana-Hotdog]

Just watched "Street Fight"
Was really great. But it's even better if you look up what became of Booker and Sharpe in recent years.

 

[Denny67]

^ I haven't seen any of them but they sound interesting.

The Corporation is excellent.
It starts out a little slow for about first 10 min or so as they use stock educational footage to lay down the basic facts as to what a corporation is. From there it is a wonderfully entertaining and informative ride.

 

[gwynplaine]

The Corporation is excellent.
It starts out a little slow for about first 10 min or so as they use stock educational footage to lay down the basic facts as to what a corporation is. From there it is a wonderfully entertaining and informative ride.

'
Thanks. I'll check it out.

 

[Why Are You Crouching Spock?]

That bbc show "wonders of the universe" is pretty good.
It explains fairly complicated stuff in a simple and fantastical manner.

 

[C. Lee]

I watched NOLLYWOOD BABYLON this morning. It's about the movie industry in Nigeria. Hundreds of quickie movies are made yearly and put to video cd and sold on the streets. According to the documentary, the people of Nigeria hardly watch any European or American movies...they hardly go to theaters (only three theaters still open the capital city)...they watch the video cds at home. An interesting look at the entertainment industry of another country you don't hear a lot about.

 

[gwynplaine]

"The Night of the Hunter" blu ray has a great doc about Charles Laughton directing his actors. Very interesting.

 

[misjuevos]

3 stories about comedy.

heckler- a look at people who heckle and what it does to the comic, also after watching this searching on youtube for various heckled comedy sets and the various ways they were delt with was even more fascinating.

i am comic- story of what it takes to be a comic and the preparation, also about an older comic who left is getting back into standup and his journey to find his feet.

american the bill hicks story-really cool retelling of the comedians life and also lots of footage from his stand up.

 

[gwynplaine]

I liked Heckler and haven't seen the other two, but I want too. I also liked the doc with Jerry Seinfeld, I think it was called "Comedian."
I love docs about comedians.

 

[C. Lee]

THE WONDER OF IT ALL - seven of the 12 men to walk on the moon talk about thier experiences before, during, and after doing so.

 

[misjuevos]

I liked Heckler and haven't seen the other two, but I want too. I also liked the doc with Jerry Seinfeld, I think it was called "Comedian."
I love docs about comedians.

the aristocrats is another. comedians tell different variations of the same joke. it is a raunchy joke that people tell and try to one up each other by adding worse and worse things. so many takes on this one joke, lots of different comedians.

 

[nite-owl]

Client 9
Inside Job

 

[gwynplaine]

the aristocrats is another. comedians tell different variations of the same joke. it is a raunchy joke that people tell and try to one up each other by adding worse and worse things. so many takes on this one joke, lots of different comedians.

I forgot about this one. I liked it as well. I also love Eddie Murphy's Raw and Delirious.