The Documentary Thread [insert catchy title here]

I thought it would be a fun idea to have a thread where we all can recommend and ask for good documentaries. So here goes!

The Mindscape of Alan Moore
is about the legendary comic book author who wrote Watchmen, V For Vendetta, From Hell etc etc. This is from 2005 and is basically a ~90 minute interview with Moore where he sits and talks about his views of life, magic, stories and stuff. He is a really weird old (and grumpy I guess) man... and VERY cynical to a lot of things haha.
The most interesting in this is when he talks about magic and his theory of what magic exactly is. And he actually manages to convince the viewer that -< okay, Alan Moore really IS a real life sorcerer!
If you're a fan or if you're into philosophy and theorizing about life and art this is a strong recommendation.

The Vice Guide to Liberia
A travel dox about some dudes going to the former american colony Liberia. They get a good look into the sad and violent nature of the country with interviews with the many military/guerilla officers including General Butt Naked (yes, every officer apparently have friggin awesome names!).

These are two I could come up with now. I do have a question though, are there any documentaries about video films and collecting of them?

I'd love to know if there's such a documentary. In the meantime, here's my suggestions:

Mondo Cane (Pronounced Cah-nay)

A mild Italian curse meaning, in essence, "the world's gone to the dogs," Mondo Cane is a documentary of the strange, the horrifying, and the dismaying. No one is spared; from religious fanatics in Italy who harm themselves in rites despite the local priest wanting no part of it and a New York restaurant where swanky patrons dine on cooked bugs, to an African tribe that starves themselves and an airplane-worshiping cult in New Guinea, the whole world is covered. Don't let the knockoffs taint your view: everything is real, the photography and Riz Ortolani score are lush and beautiful, giving just the right blend of elegance and irony. The sequels, Mondo Cane 2 and Women of the World, offer interesting companion pieces, with Mondo Cane 2 being a bit more campy in it's subject matter, and Women of the World having it's base in studying the role of women.

From the same filmmakers:

Africa Addio (Farewell, Africa)

Filmed over the course of three years all over the African continent, Africa Addio looks at the political turmoil Africa was in as the colonial powers left. In keeping with the overall goal of objectivity, the film does not choose one group to blame; we see atrocities both from the Europeans, who left too soon to help the Africans establish a stable government, and from the Africans, who took advantage of the general anarchy and, in many cases, just ended up harming themselves. It's shocking; poachers killing animals are shown in all their gruesome horror, and men are shot at point blank range by cruel military men. I suggest looking for the Italian cut, not the "Africa: Blood and Guts" version, because it's more rounded of a documentary that the exploitative English cut. Highlights include the story of the directors almost be sentenced to a firing squad but released when it was discovered that they were Italians, not British, and a truly bizarre montage of white South African girls on trampolines. It actually does serve a purpose, though, to show how far removed from reality Apartheid South Africa was.

Goodbye Uncle Tom

Slavery and the Black power movement are touchy subjects, but here they are in one film. It begins with the death of Martin Luther King Jr, and how it led Black radicals to oppose his peaceful protests and fight for what they felt they deserved. It also goes down south, where an older white woman still fantasizes about the days of big plantations. Then, we go back in time to the South to see how things really were; from a slave ship to market to in the houses, the filmmakers recreate the conditions of slavery based on actual accounts and the historical figures recite their own words, including a chilling scene where a doctor explains his tests on slaves very much in the vein of Mengele and the Nazis; interestingly, the doctor was Jewish. Throughout the film, connection are drawn to the modern day, like tourists at the Oak Alley plantation outside New Orleans, the Zulu Mardi Gras Krewe, and others, all culminating in a scene in modern Miami, where a Black Pather fantasizes about killing white families while reading The Confession of Nat Turner, the story of a slave who led a revolt in the 1800s. It actually makes more sense in context, Though many have called it racist, it, like Africa Addio, does not take sides, it just tells everything like it is/was. The ending narration sums it up best, explaining that we have to get ride of the hate of the past, like the old lady and the man in Miami, and stop hurting each other. Also like Africa Addio, I suggest seeking out the Italian (Director's) cut, which give more of a historical context to the scenes in the old South, and includes the modern day scenes. It is truly an epic movie, with big sets, a sweeping score (again from Riz Ortolani) and a cast of literally thousands, giving it a feel of being Gone with the Wind from Hell.

If you like Mondo movies, check out The Godfathers of Mondo, a DVD documentary about the films of Jacopetti and Prosperi from Blue Underground.

Aside from the Mondo Cane movies, Never Sleep Again: The Elm Street Legacy

This four hour(!) documentary goes film by film through every one of the Nightmare on Elm Street movies, Freddy vs. Jason, and the Freddy's Nightmares series. Featuring movie clips, interviews with those involved, and neat behind the scenes footage, this is great for any fan of the series. Though the big stars don't show up (No Johnny Depp or Patricia Arquette), almost everyone else related to Elm Street does. The DVD comes with a second disk with another four hours of footage, including cut interview segments, a visit to filming locations, and more. It's just fantastic.

The Rock a fire Movie

a Short documentary about the infamous Rock-a-Fire Explosion, Robotic House band for Showbiz Pizza

The King Of Kong - This is far more entertaining than it has any right to be.

In the early 1980s, legendary Billy Mitchell set a Donkey Kong record that stood for almost 25 years. This documentary follows the assault on the record by Steve Wiebe, an earnest teacher from Washington who took up the game while unemployed. The top scores are monitored by a cadre of players and fans associated with Walter Day, an Iowan who runs Funspot, an annual tournament. Wiebe breaks Mitchell's record in public at Funspot, and Mitchell promptly mails a controversial video tape of himself setting a new record. So Wiebe travels to Florida hoping Mitchell will face him for the 2007 Guinness World Records. Will the mind-game-playing Mitchell engage; who will end up holding the record?


Dust To Glory - This documentary may be the best action movie I have ever seen. This Doc is a thrill ride from beginning to end.

An action-adventure documentary chronicling the most notorious and dangerous race in the world--the Tecate SCORE Baja 1000. Rivaling the Indy 500 and 25 Hours of Daytona, the race across Baja's peninsula is unpredictable, grueling and raw--just like the uncharted American West of yesteryear. To capture the vast desert panoramas and intense action of the race, the film team utilized, fifty-five cameras, four helicopters, a four-passenger buggy camera car and a crew of over eighty people. Thousands of participants, generations of families and racing icons such as Robby Gordon, Mario Andretti, Jimmy Vasser and Motorcycle Supercross legend Mike Mouse McCoy joined together to experience the thrill and glory of the infamous race--an event of sheer human determination.

Grizzly Man - This is one spooky tale.

In his mesmerizing new film, GRIZZLY MAN, acclaimed director Werner Herzog explores the life and death of amateur grizzly bear expert and wildlife preservationist Timothy Treadwell. Treadwell lived unarmed among the bears for thirteen summers, and filmed his adventures in the wild during his final five seasons. In October 2003, Treadwell’s remains, along with those of his girlfriend, Amie Huguenard, were discovered near their campsite in Alaska’s Katmai National Park and Reserve. They had been mauled and devoured by a grizzly, the first known victims of a bear attack in the pa


I also recommend Never Sleep Again. It is the final word on the Nightmare On Elm Street films.

This Film Is Not Yet Rated
An interesting, and sometimes depressing insight into the MPAA and it's undisclosed (and, as implied, rather arbitrary) criteria for rating American movies. A look at censorship, media, public perception, and what we in American society consider to be appropriate content in films.

Jesus Camp

Jesus Camp follows several young children as they prepare to attend a summer camp where the kids will get their daily dose of evangelical Christianity. Becky Fischer works at the camp, which is named Kids on Fire. Through interviews with Fischer, the children, and others, Jesus Camp illustrates the unswerving belief of the faithful. A housewife and homeschooling mother tells her son that creationism has all the answers. Footage from inside the camp shows young children weeping and wailing as they promise to stop their sinning. Child after child is driven to tears. Juxtapose these scenes with clips from a more moderate Christian radio host (who is appalled by such tactics), and Jesus Camp seems to pose a clear question: are these children being brainwashed?

This is one of the few films I've seen that I can say legitimately terrified me.

Saw Jesus Camp on Showtime a few years ago...legitly made me uncomfortable seeing all of those kids wailing and weeping to God in such a way...

Frank Rizzo wrote:

Saw Jesus Camp on Showtime a few years ago...legitly made me uncomfortable seeing all of those kids wailing and weeping to God in such a way...

They're faithful to the point of being terrifying.

The Dude wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

Saw Jesus Camp on Showtime a few years ago...legitly made me uncomfortable seeing all of those kids wailing and weeping to God in such a way...

They're faithful to the point of being terrifying.

Exactly what unnerved me. It got to a point where I had to change the channel, as I was going "Wow....I'm uncomfortable watching this..."

Frank Rizzo wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

Saw Jesus Camp on Showtime a few years ago...legitly made me uncomfortable seeing all of those kids wailing and weeping to God in such a way...

They're faithful to the point of being terrifying.

Exactly what unnerved me. It got to a point where I had to change the channel, as I was going "Wow....I'm uncomfortable watching this..."

i kinda felt the same way too when i saw it, and i am a christian who recently re-dedicated my life to god.
to me the movie did not portray religion in a good light, it felt like something michael moore or bill maher would have produced to make fun of christianity.

Thecigarsnob wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

Saw Jesus Camp on Showtime a few years ago...legitly made me uncomfortable seeing all of those kids wailing and weeping to God in such a way...

They're faithful to the point of being terrifying.

Exactly what unnerved me. It got to a point where I had to change the channel, as I was going "Wow....I'm uncomfortable watching this..."

i kinda felt the same way too when i saw it, and i am a christian who recently re-dedicated my life to god.
to me the movie did not portray religion in a good light, it felt like something michael moore or bill maher would have produced to make fun of christianity.

I would disagree. They film makes it clear that the events it depicts are not indicative of Christianity as a whole by contrasting the more extreme, right-wing sect with commentary by the more moderate Christian radio personality.

The Dude wrote:

Thecigarsnob wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

Saw Jesus Camp on Showtime a few years ago...legitly made me uncomfortable seeing all of those kids wailing and weeping to God in such a way...

They're faithful to the point of being terrifying.

Exactly what unnerved me. It got to a point where I had to change the channel, as I was going "Wow....I'm uncomfortable watching this..."

i kinda felt the same way too when i saw it, and i am a christian who recently re-dedicated my life to god.
to me the movie did not portray religion in a good light, it felt like something michael moore or bill maher would have produced to make fun of christianity.

I would disagree. They film makes it clear that the events it depicts are not indicative of Christianity as a whole by contrasting the more extreme, right-wing sect with commentary by the more moderate Christian radio personality.

good point.

speaking of right wing christianity, it offends me when democrats and others put the westboro baptist group in the same right wing category as all christians and republicans.

Thecigarsnob wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Thecigarsnob wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

Saw Jesus Camp on Showtime a few years ago...legitly made me uncomfortable seeing all of those kids wailing and weeping to God in such a way...

They're faithful to the point of being terrifying.

Exactly what unnerved me. It got to a point where I had to change the channel, as I was going "Wow....I'm uncomfortable watching this..."

i kinda felt the same way too when i saw it, and i am a christian who recently re-dedicated my life to god.
to me the movie did not portray religion in a good light, it felt like something michael moore or bill maher would have produced to make fun of christianity.

I would disagree. They film makes it clear that the events it depicts are not indicative of Christianity as a whole by contrasting the more extreme, right-wing sect with commentary by the more moderate Christian radio personality.

good point.

speaking of right wing christianity, it offends me when democrats and others put the westboro baptist group in the same right wing category as all christians and republicans.

I sympathize with you there. The worst part of it is that the media knows that the most powerful thing they could to to combat the Westboro Baptists would be to just not report on them. Like the trolls that they are, they feed on all the negative attention that their actions provoke. If no one payed them any mind, they'd probably fade into obscurity.

The Dude wrote:

Thecigarsnob wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Thecigarsnob wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

Saw Jesus Camp on Showtime a few years ago...legitly made me uncomfortable seeing all of those kids wailing and weeping to God in such a way...

They're faithful to the point of being terrifying.

Exactly what unnerved me. It got to a point where I had to change the channel, as I was going "Wow....I'm uncomfortable watching this..."

i kinda felt the same way too when i saw it, and i am a christian who recently re-dedicated my life to god.
to me the movie did not portray religion in a good light, it felt like something michael moore or bill maher would have produced to make fun of christianity.

I would disagree. They film makes it clear that the events it depicts are not indicative of Christianity as a whole by contrasting the more extreme, right-wing sect with commentary by the more moderate Christian radio personality.

good point.

speaking of right wing christianity, it offends me when democrats and others put the westboro baptist group in the same right wing category as all christians and republicans.

I sympathize with you there. The worst part of it is that the media knows that the most powerful thing they could to to combat the Westboro Baptists would be to just not report on them. Like the trolls that they are, they feed on all the negative attention that their actions provoke. If no one payed them any mind, they'd probably fade into obscurity.

exactly!

Thecigarsnob wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Thecigarsnob wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Thecigarsnob wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

Saw Jesus Camp on Showtime a few years ago...legitly made me uncomfortable seeing all of those kids wailing and weeping to God in such a way...

They're faithful to the point of being terrifying.

Exactly what unnerved me. It got to a point where I had to change the channel, as I was going "Wow....I'm uncomfortable watching this..."

i kinda felt the same way too when i saw it, and i am a christian who recently re-dedicated my life to god.
to me the movie did not portray religion in a good light, it felt like something michael moore or bill maher would have produced to make fun of christianity.

I would disagree. They film makes it clear that the events it depicts are not indicative of Christianity as a whole by contrasting the more extreme, right-wing sect with commentary by the more moderate Christian radio personality.

good point.

speaking of right wing christianity, it offends me when democrats and others put the westboro baptist group in the same right wing category as all christians and republicans.

I sympathize with you there. The worst part of it is that the media knows that the most powerful thing they could to to combat the Westboro Baptists would be to just not report on them. Like the trolls that they are, they feed on all the negative attention that their actions provoke. If no one payed them any mind, they'd probably fade into obscurity.

exactly!

So logically, Fox, CNN, MSNBC and all the other news outlets that I can;t remember don't really care if Phelps and company are picketing soldiers funerals, denying the Holocaust, disseminating general hatred and intolerance, and what have you, because their antics always promise good ratings.

The Dude wrote:

Thecigarsnob wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Thecigarsnob wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Thecigarsnob wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

The Dude wrote:

Frank Rizzo wrote:

Saw Jesus Camp on Showtime a few years ago...legitly made me uncomfortable seeing all of those kids wailing and weeping to God in such a way...

They're faithful to the point of being terrifying.

Exactly what unnerved me. It got to a point where I had to change the channel, as I was going "Wow....I'm uncomfortable watching this..."

i kinda felt the same way too when i saw it, and i am a christian who recently re-dedicated my life to god.
to me the movie did not portray religion in a good light, it felt like something michael moore or bill maher would have produced to make fun of christianity.

I would disagree. They film makes it clear that the events it depicts are not indicative of Christianity as a whole by contrasting the more extreme, right-wing sect with commentary by the more moderate Christian radio personality.

good point.

speaking of right wing christianity, it offends me when democrats and others put the westboro baptist group in the same right wing category as all christians and republicans.

I sympathize with you there. The worst part of it is that the media knows that the most powerful thing they could to to combat the Westboro Baptists would be to just not report on them. Like the trolls that they are, they feed on all the negative attention that their actions provoke. If no one payed them any mind, they'd probably fade into obscurity.

exactly!

So logically, Fox, CNN, MSNBC and all the other news outlets that I can;t remember don't really care if Phelps and company are picketing soldiers funerals, denying the Holocaust, disseminating general hatred and intolerance, and what have you, because their antics always promise good ratings.

to be fair, where is congress stepping up to help the families protect the dignity of the funeral?

I just want to say one thing then allow this thread to return to its original purpose. I am a Born Again Christian and films like Jesus Camp are another log on a already large fire. Yes, it mentions that these people are not necessarily the norm among Christians. But their isn't much offered up in the way of what differentiates them from true followers of Christ. This is a popular trend today all around. We constantly hear phrases like Christianity Vs. Science when it comes to certain debates, which I find hilarious because Christians (those who not only say they live for Christ but follow his example) are in no way against science. Many famous scientists were and are Christians to this very day. Christians are lumped together with pedophile priests in the catholic church (the ones arrested, not all of those who are priests) and nut cases such as the West Buro Baptist group and I am just tired of it. If this was done to any other group of people as it is to Christians there would be riots in the streets claiming "prejudice", and they would be right. It seems like certain groups can do all sorts of horrible things to people (which are part of their actual beliefs) and someone will come to their defense and say "well, they're not all like that". But one nut job comes out of the woodwork and claims to be a Christian (but doesn't follow the actual teachings of Christ) and we all pay for it.


Until I see some films showing both sides of the argument with actual equality, I am going yell "BS" to statements like "Jesus Camp offers both sides", because I can tell you as a 40 year old Christian, it doesn't.

Well religious stuff aside, I wasn't appalled by the way the camp was teaching. This sort of thing happens in all culture's, with the Middle East being the best example I can think of. Not that I am against religion seeing as governments and other organized groups do things along these lines too.

But anyways on topic my referred documentary is When You're Strange.

Featuring probably my favorite band of all time. A factual presentation of behind scenes on one of the earliest American rock bands. It presents unseen footage of Jim Morrison and the rest of The Doors. Without much assistance from the surviving members of the band it shows a relatively outside look at The Doors without fan boyishly praising them (something that I do all the time) while still giving them credit. It's honestly a must see for anyone who calls themselves a Doors fan, and really appealing to those who are interested in classic rock.

Speaking of music dox, Im really psyched for the upcoming Ministry documentary Fix!

In the mean time I would definitely recommend the black metal dox Until the Light Takes Us



about the norwegian side and legacy of the genre and more in depth about the infamous Varg Vikernes of the band Burzum, who, for those who dont know, was behind several church burnings (wonderful follow up to the jesus camp discussion previously in this thread hahaha) and also murdered a fellow black metaller. The documentary focuses mostly on this but it also discusses the genre in general and some of the more influential bands and their history.
I personally love the part about the "suicidal black metal"-band Shining, that dude have some serious issues

obin_gam wrote:

about the norwegian side and legacy of the genre and more in depth about the infamous Varg Vikernes of the band Burzum, who, for those who dont know, was behind several church burnings (wonderful follow up to the jesus camp discussion previously in this thread hahaha) and also murdered a fellow black metaller. The documentary focuses mostly on this but it also discusses the genre in general and some of the more influential bands and their history.
I personally love the part about the "suicidal black metal"-band Shining, that dude have some serious issues

Is it released finally?
I remember hearing about it a couple years ago and completely forgot about it.
Thanks for reminding me.