#65668 - Documentary recommendations

[Katya]

http://theboard.byu.edu/questions/65668/

I second the recommendations for Born Rich, Between the Folds, and The Pixar Story.

To those, I'd add recommendations for It Might Get Loud, Helvetica, Good Hair, Catfish, Rivers and Tides, Unknown White Male, Murderball, and Mad Hot Ballroom.

[C is for]

I loved Mad Hot Ballroom soooo much when I saw it at the IC freshman year. I was super excited this one time when Uffish suggested that we (a bunch of her friends plus me, a random stranger) watch it, but then we ended playing Rock Band instead, which mostly meant that I watched people play Rock Band and got talked to by awkward guys who would talk to anybody. I've never gotten over this.

Thanks for recommendations, Katya and Board answerers. I should become more of a documentary-watcher. They're not always boring.

[Whistler]

On the subject of the question (international movies), I watched Nobody Knows (Daremo Shirana), a Japanese film about some neglected children. I cried. It was not overdramatic and used good film storytelling, in my opinion.

[Waldorf and Sauron]

Ooh, I love getting and receiving documentary recommendations. I'm TAing a documentary history class and have been really fortunate to be able to see 3-4 docs a week over the last few months.

Recently, I'm really impressed with The Greatest Movie Ever Sold, Exporting Raymond, Koyaanisqatsi, No Lies, Capturing the Friedmans, The Thin Blue Line, Silverlake Life: The View from Here, and Waste Land. Of all of these, Koyaanisqatsi may well be my favorite doc of all time; it's an incredibly powerful and resonant depiction of the all-consuming power technology has over our lives. Watching that movie is so powerful and mind-blowing that I think it can almost be described as a sacred, transcendental experience. We just watched its sequel Powaqqatsi last night, and while it was good, it was a bit harder to comprehend.

[Waldorf and Sauron]

Also, if you're interested in Documentary history and would like a really accessible introduction, I recommend Eric Barnouw's Documentary.

[Sky Bones]

Psst. Whistler. There's an "i" on the end (dare mo shiranai). And, yeah, that movie is a serious tear-jerker...

[wired]

I enjoy documentaries, but I consider myself a somewhat unsophisticated film viewer. SO! If anyone is interested in getting into documentaries, but is concerned they won't be interested, here are some documentaries I loved and you can rest assured they will have pop appeal.

Darkon (about a group of Live-Action Role Players, LARP - people who dress up for Dungeons & Dragons-esque events)
Frontrunner (about a race for school president at a magnet school in New York)
The Cove (about the dolphin trade in Japan, particularly a cove where fishers butcher a massive number of dolphins annually; right, you're not an animal rights activist, neither am I. But this documentary is completely engrossing. You will be hooked, especially when the documentary basically turns into Ocean's 11.)
Any of Disney's Earth day documentaries (Earth, Oceans, African Cats - man, I am coming off as a major hippie right about now)
God Grew Tired of Us (about a group from the lost boys of Sudan who come to the US on working visas; incredible)

And a few TV series documentaries I found fairly interesting are How the Universe Works (inspired by my thread with NerdGirl on the known universe), America: The Story of Us, PBS's Special on Religion in America and Frontline's Documentary on the Mormons.

Nearly everything I have listed is available on Netflix Instant Queue or available for free on the web somewhere.

[Whistler]

oh, yeah, I watched God Grew Tired of Us as well, very interesting and a little sad and happy simultaneously.

[Yarjka]

The best documentary film ever made is "Man with a Movie Camera" by Dziga Vertov. Everyone should watch this--it will change your outlook on film and on life.

I'm also partial to documentaries about causes--"The Cove" is a good one that comes to mind. I usually try to look up the other side of the story, though, after I've watched the film.

"Fathead"--the response to "Super Size Me"--has changed the way I look at nutrition and has caused me to eat much healthier overall. I recommend it, even if the animations he uses are pretty lame and the humor isn't always that funny.

I actually love Michael Moore's documentaries--"Bowling for Columbine" is his best. I like it when documentaries take a turn about midway through when they realize there's a lot more to the story than they originally set out to show.

I also really liked "Man on Wire"--it was pretty cool to see someone so devoted to their art and willing to risk his life for it. It's also neat to see footage of the WTC being built.

I second the recommendation for "Capturing the Friedmans." That documentary had amazing depth to it. A great one for provoking conversation on a topic many people try to avoid.