Okay, let's discuss our favorite Documentaries. Please do not mention Michael Moore or his films here, there are other places for that. You can also add least favorite documentaries if you like.
My favorites include Hoop Dreams, When We Were Kings, Paradise Lost, Stepping Razor Red X, and Beyond the Mat.
I always enjoy a good documentary, whether on the big screen or on A&E and the like. They typically leave me thinking about the human condition afterwards, which scripted movies rarely acheive for me.
The one documentary I can think of that I truly disliked was Capturing the Friedman's. It was incredibly poorly done, and absolutely unecessary. I could go off on it more but I will refrain.
So, what about the rest of you, and what are your opinions on the films I have mentioned?

Without mentioning M*****L M***E or concert films, I think I can still come up with a few more. There's a couple I'll add later when my brain comes back from its latest vacation.

"Olympia"- an incredibly artistic and entertaining account of the 1936 Berlin Olympics. Director Leni Riefenstahl, who died last year, has been accused of being a Nazi, but aside from her incredible visual/editing/musical compositions, she basically made Jesse Owens the star of the film, just as he was at the Games.

"The Wonderful, Horrible, Life of Leni Riefenstahl"- a documentary covering the life of the woman who made "Olympia" which confronts her with both her art and her flaws, and is all the more fascinating for it. She started as an actress, moved into directing, was given enormous freedom by Hitler; after the fall of the Third Reich, she was ostracized, but eventually went back to art by taking photos of African tribes and later taking underwater movies when she was in her 90s!

"Why We Fight"- a series of movies made during WW II, which to this day are among the most educational and entertaining documentaries made. At the time, they were meant to foster support for our wartime endeavors (rightly so), but director Frank Capra, among others, used all his Hollywood-skill (back when that was a good thing) to make films as exciting as his commercial smashes.

"Night and Fog"- a movie to disprove anyone's foolish notions that the Holocaust didn't happen. In 30 heart-and-gut-wrenching minutes, the horror of war and man's inhumanity are presented in a completely unemotional way which, nevertheless, produces waves of emotional response. A stunning film which demands to be seen.

"The Thin Blue Line"- Errol Morris examines the conviction of a hitchhiker for murdering a Dallas policeman through hypnotic visuals and music (by Philip Glass.) After the film's release, the convicted man was exonerated and released.

"Microcosmos"- An eye-popping view of nature which presents animal and plant life in ways which most people have never seen so up close and personal. This occasionally results in some very funny moments, especially concerning "the birds and the bees" (actually the flowers and the bees), horny ladybugs, a very perseverant dung beetle, and an awesome "wrestling match" by two "rhino" beetles. This was made by the people who did "Winged Migration."

Well I can tell that I'm rambling, so I'll just add a few titles: "The Endless Summer", "Endless Summer II", "Dogtown and Z-Boys", "The Atomic Cafe", "The Black Fox", "Manson", "Marjoe" and "The Man who Skied Down Everest."

This message has been edited. Last edited by: mark f,

This is like one of those questions my brother presents me---Whats your favorite movie, BUT DONT SAY "Who Framed Roger Rabbit" (my fave movie).

So favorite documentaries just not "Bowling for Columbine". OK. Whatever floats your boat, man.


Well, I love anything by Errol Morris (Fast, Cheap, and out of Control being my favorite), the guy who did "Kurt and Courtney" and "Biggie and Tupac", and Stacey Perriera (Dogtown and Z-Boys).

The greatest documentary of all time was the "Eyes on the Prize" series documenting the Black civil rights struggle. I pull it out every couple of years when I need to charge up my "toughness" batteries. It tends to put modern life in perspective. Truly inspirational.

My favorites: "When We Were Kings," "American Movie," "Better Living Through Circuitry," "The Endless Summer," "Paul Robeson: Here I Stand," "Scared Straight!," the specially edited version of "Pumping Iron" that a film school friend did.

Ones i haven't seen, but want to: "Spellbound," "Capturing the Friedmans," "Baraka," "A Decade Under the Influence," "Party Monster (the documentary)," "Derrida," "Hell House"

And in honor of Mark F and his Leni Riefenstahl theme, of course there is one of the most famously controversial ... is it good or is it abhorrent? I've never been able to resolve it for myself: "Triumph of the Will." Although if we are being strict about what we can talk about as documentaries, maybe "propaganda" doesn't count.

Thank you for reminding me about Microcosmos and Baraka! When I was younger and worked at a video store, after 10pm we could take off the streaming ads and put on whatever we liked. My co-worker and I almost always put on those two movies and consistently they would be rented before we got to finish the movie!
And yes, let's try to stay from opinion pieces and propaganda.

4 Little Girls was fantastic! It was the Spike Lee film documenting the church bombing that resulted in the death of the four little girls.

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Originally posted by Eccentro:
4 Little Girls was fantastic! It was the Spike Lee film documenting the church bombing that resulted in the death of the four little girls.

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I liked "4 Little Girls" too; the first 5-10 minutes are such an awesome combination of music and visuals that it gives me goosebumps just thinking about them.

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Originally posted by KT:

And in honor of Mark F and his Leni Riefenstahl theme, of course there is one of the most famously controversial ... is it good or is it abhorrent? I've never been able to resolve it for myself: "Triumph of the Will." Although if we are being strict about what we can talk about as documentaries, maybe "propaganda" doesn't count.

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I like being "honored." Hey, S, don't get too mad at me for mentioning "Triumph of the Will" again, but I just watched "Olympia" so, of course, I want to check out her other movies now. Just because one of them was apparently used to make all the German youth believe that Hitler was God doesn't mean that we can't discuss it. In fact, it actually means that we NEED to discuss it.

I don't want to sound like a heretic, but I actually believe that many documentaries are intended as propaganda. If they're really done well, you just don't notice it. I have to admit that for all my discussion of art, my main concern about a film is whether it's entertaining. That includes documentaries. I tried to list documentaries that may have significance but the bottom line is that they're all entertaining.

Briefly back to "Triumph of the Will", first by way of "Olympia", and then I'll take a hike. None of us know what it was actually like in 30s Germany, but we have books and movies (of the period) to help us understand that. The amazing thing I noticed watching "Olympia" was that Nazi soldiers played an active part in several important events during the Games. Also it was disturbing to see all the fascist countries' participants acknowledging Der Fuhrer with their salutes. But all the countries of the world were there, including all the countries that got invaded in three years and all those that would become the Allies. Overall, the film is amazingly even-handed. The American flag and National Anthem is actually seen and heard more than those from Germany.

"Triumph of the Will" seems almost subliminal in its portayal of Hitler. At the beginning, he is descending from heaven in his plane, so that the German people can adore and worship God among them. This is all done through visuals and music only. Later, the German youth are shown to be "inspired" by Hitler to do only good for their neighbors and the country in general. Of course, this all culminates in the hysterical, racist Nuremburg Rallies and a never-ending series of Nazi troops marching past their fearless leader. KT, the art of this film is "good", but obviously how it was used was "abhorrent." That means that it's an important historical document which should be studied to help prevent similar re-occurences (not that they haven't happened already.) After all, this movie documents an event before the 1936 Olympics, but apparently the world had no problems with it at the time. Shut up, mark.

EDIT- I just watched it again and it isn't quite as racist as I remembered, but you can still read between the lines. The other thing is that I hope everyone here thinks that Hitler was an insane, megalomaniacal monster. But, if you've never ACTUALLY seen him or heard him speak, this movie presents astonishing evidence of how charismatic the idiot was. It's very scary.

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No, don't shut up, mark. I think it's really an interesting discussion. I had this debate in an "Art as Social Commentary" class when I was in college. We discussed whether something abhorrent to our political or moral viewpoint can still be classified as great art. It's hard to say no, because not only are viewpoints subjective, but they are also changeable.

It's hard not to appreciate what Riefenstahl does with the airplane and the clouds, and the merry blonde children frolicking around. And it's hard not to be chilled by the massive rallies and lines of soldiers in unison. I think it is important though to study these things in order to understand how people's viewpoints can be twisted.

And I think it's true that many documentaries are a form of propaganda. Most certainly espouse SOME viewpoint and I can't imagine that viewpoint doesn't inform the structure of the documentary in some way. But luckily, today, we can be exposed to many viewpoints. For every Fahrenheit 9/11 there is an America's Heart and Soul.

Spellbound is excellent - buy the DVD and you get a ton of bonus material, I got it at blockbuster with Fist of the Iron Monkey (old school yuen wo-ping kung fu) for $20

Pumping iron is awesome.

For a fake Documentary try "Series 7: The Contenders" an indie movie that sets up a reality tv show where innocent people are forced to fight each other to death. not as gory as it sounds and tons of black humor

Baraka is awesome and if you *really* liked it try koyaanisqatsi or powwaqatsi. they have the same DP and phillip glass does the music for both, so you know exactly what you're getting. however i think baraka is far superior

one that hasn't been mentioned is "hands on a hard body" about people trying to win a car by outlasting each other. great.

"Lalee's Kin"

"Hoop Dreams"

"Dark Days"

"The Execution of Wanda Jean"

"Baby, I'm Yours"

"4 Little Girls"

"To Live Is Better Than To Die"

I just finished watching "Capturing the Friedmans", and was completely blown away by it. With all due respect to Leni Riefenstahl (sp?) - because I really liked "Triumph of the Will" - this might be the best documentary I've ever seen. Haunting, shocking, depressing...an unbelievable cinematic work. As some critics have already said, how is the director EVER going to top this one?

And I thought I knew families that were dysfunctional!

Capturing the Friedman's was a film that glorified two CONFESSED pedophiles! The director distorted the truth in order to make his movie. This "documentary" was made Michael Moore style with no regard for objectivity. Politics is a fine place to make propaganda films, but making one to cast doubt on the validity of the sentences of two CONFESSED pedophiles is highly irresponsible and in my opinion, totally despicable. He should have stuck with the clowns.

Smenkharon,

I wouldn't exactly say the Friedman's were "glorified" in this picture.

I'll say that it tried to present a more "objective" presentation of what occurred, and I happened to really like that. You might say that they "confessed", but as the film shows, it's not exactly cut and dry. Obviously, people plea-bargain to things they don't do every day to move on and get lighter sentences.

But let me be clear...after seeing that film, I'm not condoning, or supporting anyone in that family. Or supporting or condoning pedophilia.

My favorite documentary of all time is Errol Morris' Fast Cheap and Out of Control. It is a must see, in my opinion. Not only is it my favorite documentary, it is probably in my top 10 films of the 1990s.

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Originally posted by MsKubelik:
My favorite documentary of all time is Errol Morris' Fast Cheap and Out of Control. It is a must see, in my opinion. Not only is it my favorite documentary, it is probably in my top 10 films of the 1990s.

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FUN MOVIE! Have you seen his other work? Its not as eccentric and fun but theyre as goof if not better in terms of quality.

"Fast, Cheap" was great, and so was "The Thin Blue Line." I haven't seen "Mr. Death" yet...is it any good?

If "Best in Show" was real, I'd totally go with that, but I have to say I found "Scratch" way more entertaining than I thought I would.

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Originally posted by beartime:
"Fast, Cheap" was great, and so was "The Thin Blue Line." I haven't seen "Mr. Death" yet...is it any good?

If "Best in Show" was real, I'd totally go with that, but I have to say I found "Scratch" way more entertaining than I thought I would.

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I havent seen Mr Death but heard it was terrific. I just saw Fog of War, and it was all right but since i wasnt alive during that time period it didnt do much for me.

Most people simply can not handle difficult subject matter. Every work, academic or otherwise, has a central theme. I fail to understand how making a clear thesis discredits a documentary. The evidence and support of the thesis defines the validity of the documentary. What measure, other than validity, can assess a documentary? Popular opinion? Favorable opinion? Certainly, popularity should not make something more or less valid.
Not all things in life are pretty. If someone can't handle the harshness of reality, they should stick to Disney productions.