Documentaries

[DoomsdayZach]

So who here likes documentaries? I love documentaries on just about any subject as long as it is well done. It's always interesting to really delve deep into something that I don't understand as well as subjects i know a lot about and want to hear more of.

I have many "favorite" documentaries, but the one that has stood out to me most is one called "The Bridge". It's not one to watch with friends or when you're on top of the world. It's about people who commit suicide by jumping from the Golden Gate bridge. It really explores what makes people do it, talking to families and friends or people who have attempted to jump but were stopped for one reason or another. It was done over the course of a year and does show people actually jumping, but it's not exploitative like it very easily could have been. Incredibly good, but hard to watch. I actually had to stop it a few times to regroup before i could continue on, and i felt pretty down for the rest of the week. It'll get to you, but i can't recommend it enough.

Anyone else seen it? Thoughts? What about your personal favorites?

 

[Cheiron]

I enjoy documentaries. But its kind of rare that they are done well. I'm interested in this one though (and I've been wanting to see Fistfull of Quarters).

Hoop Dreams was a favorite in high school.

 

[Kenneth R.]

Sigur Rós - Heima would be a a favorite of mine.

Although it's not technically a documentary, Syriana is pretty interesting as well.

Basically anything except:
The 9/11 ones.
The Michael Moore ones.
Al Gore.
This stuff just makes journalism look like a playpen.

 

[DoomsdayZach]

I disagree... michael moore's documentary "Roger and Me" was awesome. I also thought An Inconvenient Truth was good. not mindblowing, but not utter shit. Though maybe it's because the only thing i remember is "Hi, I'm Al Gore and I used to be your next president"

 

[Purveyor Of Evil]

Anything about World War II. I'm a fanatic about knowing anything about this conflict. Fascinates me to no end. I especially enjoy documentaries about World War I,also. Because it seems there isn't that much attention given to this war anywhere near the coverage WWII receives. I'm also an American Civil War nut. I've been to Gettysburg 12 times. Such a beautiful area! It's hard to believe 52,000 people killed each other there. My brother is an absolute scholar on this subject. He goes to Gettysburg at least 3 to 4 times a year. Plus, he's gone to Antietam, Manassas, Fredericksburg, and one ortwo other places. He has all the books and all the videos about this stuff. He knows more about that war than Abraham Lincoln. I shit you not! Both of us find the American Revolutionary War Fascinating, too.

 

[Kenneth R.]

I disagree... michael moore's documentary "Roger and Me" was awesome. I also thought An Inconvenient Truth was good. not mindblowing, but not utter shit. Though maybe it's because the only thing i remember is "Hi, I'm Al Gore and I used to be your next president"

It's riddled with inaccuracies though. Good for a laugh I guess.

 

[The_Q]

I just picked up the Civil War DVD Box Set that The History Channel does. Its still in the car but I believe its 4 or 5 DVD's spanning each year of the war. Will watch Sunday.

 

[DoomsdayZach]

Anything about World War II. I'm a fanatic about knowing anything about this conflict. Fascinates me to no end. I especially enjoy documentaries about World War I,also. Because it seems there isn't that much attention given to this war anywhere near the coverage WWII receives. I'm also an American Civil War nut. I've been to Gettysburg 12 times. Such a beautiful area! It's hard to believe 52,000 people killed each other there. My brother is an absolute scholar on this subject. He goes to Gettysburg at least 3 to 4 times a year. Plus, he's gone to Antietam, Manassas, Fredericksburg, and one ortwo other places. He has all the books and all the videos about this stuff. He knows more about that war than Abraham Lincoln. I shit you not! Both of us find the American Revolutionary War Fascinating, too.

Do you have anything specific you would highly recommend? Anything that just blows other war stuff out of the water (no pun intended)? I would love to check out something that is worthwhile.

It's riddled with inaccuracies though. Good for a laugh I guess.

Most propaganda films are filled with "facts" that inaccurately support the point of the people who make them. But that's what it's all about, everything needs to be taken with a grain of salt in the political documentary genre.

 

[booB]

I dislike documentaries in general -- I tend to watch movies for the writing and dialogue -- but "Super Size Me" was one of the most interesting and inspiring films I've ever seen. I can't wait to see Spurlock's new upcoming movie, "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?" It looks great.

 

[rockyracoon]

I dislike documentaries in general -- I tend to watch movies for the writing and dialogue -- but "Super Size Me" was one of the most interesting and inspiring films I've ever seen. I can't wait to see Spurlock's new upcoming movie, "Where in the World is Osama bin Laden?" It looks great.

I also loved Super Size Me. What a gruesome look at the current eating habits of our country. It's both sad and disgusting how many people actually live that fast food reality for virtually every meal, every day. Very cool documentary.


Some of my favorites are a series of Channel 11 docs on Chicago. Off the top of my head there's Chicago by Boat Tour, A Chicago Walking Tour, and others that focus on all the suburbs and surrounding areas. They're full of historical/architectural info about Chicago. I really need to buy them.

 

[spag]

I like the nature ones a lot. Winged Migration for example was amazing.

I watch a lot of the ones that sort of cross over into reality TV land, like Air Guitar Hero, King of Kong, or Pumping Iron (when Arnold was cool). Watched a good one once about these people who were in a contest to see how long they could keep one of their hands on a truck in order to win it. Can't remember what it was called.

I've seen a lot of the controversial ones, and I sometimes wonder why people bother. Yes, it technically gets the message out, but these days, most people just don't give a shit about anything outside the windows of their SUVs.

 

[Burnout]

It's riddled with inaccuracies though. Good for a laugh I guess.

I don't think it's a legitimate justification for deliberately misleading people but he did bring attention to the issue and get people motivated. That said, yeah, not a balanced perspective on the issue.

 

[J-Man]

I just picked up the Civil War DVD Box Set that The History Channel does. Its still in the car but I believe its 4 or 5 DVD's spanning each year of the war. Will watch Sunday.

Awesome DVD set, also another good one is "Victory at Sea". There was one i saw a few years back on Stonewall Jackson that was good, and the one on the 54th Mass. regiment of "Glory" fame.

 

[Purveyor Of Evil]

Do you have anything specific you would highly recommend? Anything that just blows other war stuff out of the water (no pun intended)? I would love to check out something that is worthwhile.

Most propaganda films are filled with "facts" that inaccurately support the point of the people who make them. But that's what it's all about, everything needs to be taken with a grain of salt in the political documentary genre.

Victory at Sea, World War II in Color, Ken Burns' The Civil War, Hitler's Henchmen. All of these are very good.

 

[Magius]

I'd rather watch almost any documetary over almost any scripted TV series or reality show.

 

[Yippee38]

Yeah. Victory at Sea is a classic series.

I'm a documentary junkie too. I'll watch anything about WWII, and most anything about any of the major wars. Super Size Me was very cool, and interesting as hell.

I don't really have a favorite.

 

[OrbWeaver]

I'm a sucker for nature documentaries. Blue Planet and Planet Earth were excellent. Granted, that was more of a series than an out-and-out documentary, but still. Also, anything National Geographic usually gets my attention.

I also really enjoyed Metal: A Headbanger's Journy, outside of the realm of nature documentaries.

 

[sh0kr0k]

Ah documentaries are awesome! I really dig things with an artistic twist, basically making them social commentaries instead, like the "Qatsi" trilogy: Koyaanisqatsi, Powaqqatsi, Naqoyqatsi. I guess it's open for debate if they are really documentaries or just indie films. Nonetheless..

 

[Pellaz]

I also thought An Inconvenient Truth was good. not mindblowing, but not utter shit. Though maybe it's because the only thing i remember is "Hi, I'm Al Gore and I used to be your next president"

Basically anything except:
The 9/11 ones.
The Michael Moore ones.
Al Gore.
This stuff just makes journalism look like a playpen.

Agreed!....sadly enough.

AlGore's "documentary" is fatally flawed: the 'slight inconsistencies' in the data that he glosses over when discussing global temperatures and atmospheric CO2 levels are actually the killing blow.
The data shows that instead of CO2 driving temperatures upward -- the linchpin of Gore's movie and the entire "human cause" global warming argument -- the opposite is true: over geologic time-scales, as global temperature increased, the CO2 level followed, with a slip-time of about 800 years. (If anyone's interested in all of this, PM me.)
This makes perfect sense, as warmer temperatures would engender more animal life and hence, more atmospheric CO2.

Sorry, Al. Epic fail.

I'd rather watch almost any documetary over almost any scripted TV series or reality show.

Same here. Nature documentaries, stuff on space and science, it's all good. Sadly, my cable subscription lacks some of the best channels for these kinds of documentaries, but I still get some good stuff.

 

[FatesFan]

I have many "favorite" documentaries, but the one that has stood out to me most is one called "The Bridge". It's not one to watch with friends or when you're on top of the world. It's about people who commit suicide by jumping from the Golden Gate bridge. It really explores what makes people do it, talking to families and friends or people who have attempted to jump but were stopped for one reason or another. It was done over the course of a year and does show people actually jumping, but it's not exploitative like it very easily could have been. Incredibly good, but hard to watch. I actually had to stop it a few times to regroup before i could continue on, and i felt pretty down for the rest of the week. It'll get to you, but i can't recommend it enough.

Anyone else seen it? Thoughts?

I watch this after reading your post and I found it interesting. Although I can appreciate the film makers interest to make the film I have a hard time knowing that the film maker set out to watch people die and did nothing to help prevent the deaths. I know one will say, well, it’s about suicide and thus filming and showing the actual suicides is “the film”. I get it, but, they could have had people on the bridge with radios and in place to try and stop these folks and still show how many people attempted the act. There would still be stories to tell of those that did jump before but I can’t believe that people could stand idly by as people kill themselves. I guess it was for “the art”.

Again, it was interesting and I am certainly not busting your balls for liking it so much…..so don’t take it that way. It was sad, shocking to some degree, and disturbing at times. It was interesting how they spoke to people who were at the scene and had witnessed the act and then spoke to people who knew the jumpers. My only real concern with this movie is that it may glorify the act and location and thus direct those already on the edge to the same end. (Accelerating the inevitable copy cat acts) It was alluded to in the film that some had followed in the foot steps of those that had been jumpers there before.

That’s just my 2 cents……

**Please do not think that I take this subject lightly by my copy cat statement or anything I have said. These people in the film had issues from what was said by the folks who knew them and mental illness is a very serious and terrible thing. I have experience suicide in my extended family and it is not a lighthearted subject for me.


***Side note.........As I mention in my Fist full of Quarters thread, I am not really a documentary type guy but I am finding out that I do enjoy them more than I thought or have in the past. I hope to see more suggestions here in the future.