Help- what are your favorite documentaries?

[starrzone]

There is an interesting series of documentary shorts on Hulu.com called Vanguard. I may not agree with some of them, but they do what a documentary should do, IMO...make you think about the subject.

Unfortunately, I've discovered that I can't access Hulu here in Canada. Any idea where else I can find this series? I love documentaries for the exact reason you stated .

 

[C.Ann]

In the past few months I have ordered quite a few documentaries in regards to the Amish.. (Started reading Amish fiction, then morphed into reading Amish non-fiction..)

So far I have only watched two, but it's fascinating to learn about their lifestyles and beliefs..

 

[Syrreal]

I'm Still Here- it's about Jewish teens before/during WWII taken from excerpts from their journals

 

[aristocatz]

Some fun ones I've seen lately are:

Autism: The Musical
http://www.amazon.com/Autism-Musica...ef=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1257649735&sr=8-1

Life After Tomorrow
http://www.amazon.com/Life-After-To...ef=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1257649760&sr=1-1

No Direction Home (Bob Dylan)
http://www.amazon.com/Bob-Dylan-No-...ef=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1257649837&sr=8-1

 

[N.Bailey]

This is probably a thread I should just walk away from now. I have seen so many good documentaries that it's hard to know where to start, and worse, stop. I especially love historical ones.

Pretty much anything from Ken Burns gets top votes from me. My favorite is his documentary on the Civil War.

Covering WWII:
The Nazis - A Warning from History
War of the Century
Auschwitz: Inside the Nazi State (not to be missed for history buffs, IMO)
The Last Days of WWII
The Color of War
Ritchie Boys
Nuremberg: Tyranny on Trial

Super Size Me - but not because of McDonald's. I think it's a better study in how diet can effect all aspects of your health.

Who the #$&% Is Jackson Pollock? - That's the title, there was no word filter used on that, LOL. it's about a woman who buys a painting at a 2nd hand store and it turns out to probably be a Jackson Pollock original worth millions. She's literally offered millions and turns it down.

In Search of History: Salem Witch Trials

Declining by Degrees: Higher Ed at Risk

Decisions That Shook the World

Maxed Out (I highly recommend this, it's an eye opener)

Walking with Dinosaurs (this is the best dinosaur doc ever made, IMO)

The King of Kong (I saw someone else recommend this. It seems silly, but it's quite entertaining)

A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (examines the world's dependency on oil and talks about how little there is left)

Car of the Future (If I could only recommend 1 film, it would probably be this one. It's so informative as it relates to the future in alternate fuels - I'd have to watch again, but I believe the Volt was only in it's infancy when this was filmed, now here we are, ready for it to roll off the assembly lines very soon).

I also like the 7 And Up series. It's a documentary where they took kids at age 7 and said they could tell you who they'd grow up to be. Every 7 years they shoot a new edition, so you have 7 and up, 14 and up, 21 and up, etc... I believe they're up to at least 49 and up. It didn't think they were able to show the man at 7 like they wanted, but it's really a good study in human development)

March of the Penguins (I am not a fan of most animal shows of any kind, but this is done so well that I really can't recommend it enough).

Waco: The Rules of Engagement (Might be a shocker and it goes against everything we were ever told by the government).

That's about all I can think of right now.

 

[LoraJ]

In the past few months I have ordered quite a few documentaries in regards to the Amish.. (Started reading Amish fiction, then morphed into reading Amish non-fiction..)

So far I have only watched two, but it's fascinating to learn about their lifestyles and beliefs..

Was one of those Devil's Playground? I just put that at the top of my Netflix queue after listening to one of the kids interviewed on This American Life.

I love this thread. I am adding so many films to my Netlflx queue. Many are on instant watch too.

 

[Poppinsme]

So many fabulous choices!
How about this : "Pageant" Its about Miss Gay America and is really a hoot. I loved it.

 

[Imzadi]

Not exactly a documentary but, Spaulding Grays, "Swimming to Cambodia." It is a one man show dealing with his trip to Southeast Asia to be in the film, "The Killing Fields."

Another great film, that is not quire a documentary, more of a dramatization, I guess, is And the Band Played On. It is based on the true accounts during the '80s of getting AIDS identified as "AIDS" and a fully recognised epidemic by the Center for Disease Control as well as Pres, Reagan, who at the time wouldn't even refer to it by name.

I lost many friends & coworkers at the time, and watched on the periphery of it take them down. This is a very moving account of it back then.

Joseph Campbell and The Power of Myth.

Great film. You will never look at "religion" quite the same way again.

I have "National Parks: America's Best Idea" on hold at the library. I'll report back but I can't imagine with the raw material it's less than amazing unless the filmmaker is terrible.

This was just on PBS two weeks ago.

I have now switched my plans of going to Scotland or Ireland next summer to one of the national parks, because of this documentary.

The brother of the National Parks series, Ric Burns, made the documentary, New York. It was made before September 11th, documenting the history of how resilient NYC is and how it constantly changes & rebuilds itself anew. Then when 9/11 happened, that documentary proved how true that really is. A 7th episode had to be created for the series about 9/11 and the aftermath. This series was extremely sensitively written.

These brothers are both full of great integrity and insights. They do not create the normal snoozer documentaries.

 

[mrsklamc]

Is anyone here a filmmaker looking for ideas? Every few months or so someone shows up on the budget board who is afraid of losing their house but will not cancel their Disney trip.I think a documentary on this would be interesting and timely. Maybe it would help me understand the thought process, I dunno.

 

[Poppinsme]

Is anyone here a filmmaker looking for ideas? Every few months or so someone shows up on the budget board who is afraid of losing their house but will not cancel their Disney trip.I think a documentary on this would be interesting and timely. Maybe it would help me understand the thought process, I dunno.

Instead of "I owe I owe its off to work I go" It could be "I owe I owe its off to WDW I go". Great film idea.

 

[N.Bailey]

Is anyone here a filmmaker looking for ideas? Every few months or so someone shows up on the budget board who is afraid of losing their house but will not cancel their Disney trip.I think a documentary on this would be interesting and timely. Maybe it would help me understand the thought process, I dunno.

Great idea. They could also toss in why people borrow money at those places that lend at a high interest rate and want paid back on payday. It would have to cost you out the behind to borrow money to get you thru 3 or 4 days. I'm just downright shocked that there is a market for that.

 

[eliza61]

Food Inc is incredible. You may never want to eat again but it's great.
I love history so the documentaries by Ken Burns are my favorites. The civil war and the War are great.
Walmart: the high cost of low price is another good one. Don't watch if you're a walmart fan not very flattering.

 

[eliza61]

Is anyone here a filmmaker looking for ideas? Every few months or so someone shows up on the budget board who is afraid of losing their house but will not cancel their Disney trip.I think a documentary on this would be interesting and timely. Maybe it would help me understand the thought process, I dunno.

Its the same one that makes a person earning 24,000 a year believe they can afford a $500,000 house or the same thought pattern the young girls I work with who will spend $500 on a Louie Vutton bag and when you ask them do they have $500 in the bank they say no.
We're a spending society.

That's another thread though.

But on this subject the Documentary maxed out should be a mandatory requirement to H.S. graduation.
You can watch it on netflix instantaously.

http://www.maxedoutmovie.com/

 

[LoraJ]

I was up until 4am last night watching the 7 Up series. I am halfway through 21 now. To me, many of them look so much older than 21.

 

[Syrreal]

I thought that The Business of Being Born was pretty good. While I didn't agree with lots of it, I thought it was well done and thought provoking.

 

[ogreenlee]

Its the same one that makes a person earning 24,000 a year believe they can afford a $500,000 house or the same thought pattern the young girls I work with who will spend $500 on a Louie Vutton bag and when you ask them do they have $500 in the bank they say no.
We're a spending society.

That's another thread though.

But on this subject the Documentary maxed out should be a mandatory requirement to H.S. graduation.
You can watch it on netflix instantaously.

http://www.maxedoutmovie.com/

Needs to be renamed.. "The Life and Times of the $30,000 Millionaire"

 

[N.Bailey]

I was up until 4am last night watching the 7 Up series. I am halfway through 21 now. To me, many of them look so much older than 21.

When you watch them back to back, it really seems to become redundant with the way they keep going back to remind the viewer of what happened earlier. I know why the filmmakers did that, with 7 years between each episode, it's really critical, but that can ruin it a bit for someone watching them all back to back at a later time.

 

[omghidanielle]

The King of Kong (I saw someone else recommend this. It seems silly, but it's quite entertaining)

This was seriously, so so so good. Loved it.

 

[N.Bailey]

I thought that The Business of Being Born was pretty good. While I didn't agree with lots of it, I thought it was well done and thought provoking.

I've seen this has come highly recommend at Netflix, but so far, I've not watched it yet. It has great reviews for anyone who might be interested in checking it out.

 

[Peg In The Pound]

I have to admit that whenever I can get both kids down to nap at the same time and the house is reasonably picked up I alway see what docus HBO has On Demand. But the one I will watch time and again is All Aboard! Rosie's Family Cruise. I cry every time... it makes me so sad/mad to see the port protest!