OT: Recommendations for Documentaries
Looking for some recommendations on interesting documentaries. I am still working but my hours have been cut and I have more time to watch TV. I just watched Three Identical Strangers on the Hulu. Very interesting documentary about triplets who were separated at birth and adopted by three different families. Not only were they separated but they had no idea they had any siblings. Check it out if you can.
March 26th, 2020 at 12:54 PM ^
Highly recommend The Biggest Little Farm
March 26th, 2020 at 12:55 PM ^
If you like space “When we Left the Earth” and “In the Shadow of the Moon” are two of the best and most uplifting ones I’ve ever seen.
The Seven Five
March 26th, 2020 at 12:55 PM ^
If you like true crime check out the 3 paradise lost films all excellent. American movie if you want a doc that's funny.
The Paradise Lost films are good, but extremely one-sided and ignores the evidence that actually convicted them.
March 26th, 2020 at 12:59 PM ^
The Keepers
Tell Me Who I Am (grim but fascinating)...not really similar but in the same 'category', I'd opine, as the doc you mention above
Gringo
McMillions (HBO)
Thin Blue Line (late 80s well known doc by Errol Morris)
The Keepers was so depressing. No doubt at this point who was behind those crimes, but just nothing that can be done about it now.
Really anything from Errol Morris is fascinating.
"When We Were Kings" is a great documentary about the Rumble in the Jungle fight between Ali & Foreman.
For baseball fans like myself (especially being that today would have been Opening Day) The Ken Burns documentary series "Baseball" narrated by John Chancellor is a must.
I believe it is streaming free on PBS right now. The Vietnam documentary is also good, but very long.
The Vietnam doc is amazing, but it feels so bleak at the end, and so dishonorable with the final days and the people we abandoned. It's hard to re-watch.
On the other hand, I binge watch The Civil War end-to-end about once a year. At least I know it ends well, one night at the theater notwithstanding.
I saw episode 1 of The Vietnam War one and it was amazing but I decided I'll watch it next time I'm home with my mom. The Civil War one is good too. He has one on country that's supposed to be good, but I haven't seen it.
I think Ken Burns is a special talent. The Civil War is arguably the greatest documentary I've ever watched. That said, I was disappointed in Baseball. It was basically the history of baseball in the northeast. Very little mention of places like Cincinnati or Detroit or St. Louis. Buck O'Neil was great, though.
I recommend 'Meru' - a documentary about climbing and the first ascent up Mount Meru. Incredible film and it'll put Jimmy Chin on your radar.
Username checks out
In the same "location"...
Can I recommend my Documentary about the Kilimanjaro Porters?
Not an amazing "documentaire", but i has been show World Wide and in Prime Time in my home country...
It is on Youtube.
https://youtu.be/IWaJ9jrMY9M
Tiger King.
*End Thread*
I concur, list should begin and end with Tiger King
Agreed. Every single person in that show is batshit crazy. And I'm only 4 episodes in.
I have seen 3 now, & am fascinated by this cast of characters. And they didn't even get into the details of the psychosis of the guy that let 50 lions & tigers loose on the public.
I agree! Netflix did well. Great documentary that gets more crazy with each episode.
We are on episode 3. Man, The mind is a crazy thing and there are some crazy ass people in this world because of it.
March 26th, 2020 at 10:03 PM ^
I can't get over a throwaway fact from episode 1:
One of the private tiger owners SENT LIVE SNAKES TO ANOTHER PERSON AS HATE MAIL.
They BOXED UP LIVE SNAKES and sent them to another zoo owner as hate mail.
SNAKE HATE MAIL
SNAKE MAIL.
YOUR MAIL IS LIVE SNAKES.
I just.
I can't.
I dunno man.
I mentioned this in the other thread, but "Three Identical Strangers" was one of the most compelling docs I've ever seen. Starts very whimsically and lighthearted, but becomes very dark as it progresses.
"Searching for Sugar Man" is another doc that had quite a twist. The story of an early 70s musician in Detroit who, unwittingly, became famous in South Africa during the Apartheid regime. I won't spoil it but it takes some surprising turns.
The “Sugar Man” story is bananas.
Just saw Searching for Sugar Man the other day. Amazing story of literally a lost musician.
March 26th, 2020 at 10:42 PM ^
Searching for Sugarman!
First time I saw it was with a friend at the Sundance Film Festival and we heard Sony picked it up afterwards because the crowd was awestruck.
Also was fantastic to have individuals from the film there live, including the director who answered questions after...he called this film the greatest story never heard, and he knew he had to make it. In the middle they ran out of funds and he ended up filming on a handheld video camera. Then it took a year of editing. Talk about passion for your work!
Sadly the director committed suicide years later.
Watch it, worth the tie-in to the Detroit alone. The construction foreman with the scruffy voice made the film for me.
Free Solo: If you don't climb, you'll appreciate it a lot. If you do a little climbing, you'll shit yourself.
Don't climb but have enjoyed many climbing documentaries. One that I really liked was Touching the Void. If no where else I know you can search it on YouTube and watch it there.
Enjoyed The Dawn Wall as well. Was fascinating and how he was still able to climb after his incident.
Agreed, all fantastic!
I watched it for like 10 seconds and my palms started getting sweaty. I can barely even watch this goat climb this dam without the blood draining from my face:
STOP CLIMBING YOU STUPID GOAT I'M NERVOUS
I just started watching the Gabriel Fernandez documentary and the first episode was chilling. Really interested in seeing where it goes.
These have been out a few years but recommend if haven't seen:
The Keepers (netflix)
The Jinx (hbo)
Beware the Slenderman (hbo)
Jurassic Park
Joe Dirt.
Idiocracy.
Is Idiocracy worth the two hour investment?
Absolutely.
Terribly made, scripted, and acted movie, with a really interesting premise.
Ok. I’m sold. I’m easily entertained.
The Ghost Army (company of U.S. military in WWII European Theater, comprised of artists and Hollywood sounds designers, etc., tasked with creating deception).
Harvard Beats Yale 29-29. Greatest retelling of a single football game you'll ever see.
The World at War, narrated by Lawrence Olivier — incredible viewing.
anything by Ken Burns
Barbaro
The Dust Bowl
Agree on Burns. I don't even like Country Music but love his documentary about it. Civil War will always be my favorite documentary.
My Ken Burns story: I got to meet him when he was in Detroit on a press tour for "Baseball," which was sponsored by GM. He was guest speaker at a packed luncheon at the RenCen, and was just as eloquent as you would imagine. At the end of his speech, the host presented him with a special gift: an MLB-authentic Detroit Tigers jacket.
Burns looked at it like one of us would look at a Spartan jacket. He thanked the host, then explained that as a lifelong Red Sox fan, his daughters would lock him out of the house if he tried to wear it home. Everyone laughed, but I don't think he was kidding.
I still think that when he flew back east, he left it on the plane.
Another incredible war one is “The First War” it’s a 10 part series and, even though I by far a bigger history buff of WWII, it might be the best war related documentary I’ve ever seen.
World War 1? They just ran millions through a meat grinder. No concern about human life at all. You would think Generals might be concerned about saving the lives of their own soldiers. Not in this war. You want unimaginable horror? Read up on Passiondale. Also known at the third battle of Ypres.
Grizzly man.