# Best documentaries **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2003, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097 "2003-02-06T01:41:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/1 "2003-02-06T01:41:28Z")
I want to rent some really good documentaries on my Netflix account. What would you recommend? My favorite documentary films include Celluloid Closet, Paradise Lost (the West Memphis 3 documentaries), Terry Jones’ CRUSADES, and, of course Ken Burns’ CIVIL WAR. (I understand that the documentary COSMOS is back in print at long last.) Anything you’ve seen that you’d recommend on any subject is fine- ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/2 "2003-02-06T01:48:53Z")
Kenneth Clarke’s (Clarkes?) _Civilization_. James Burke _Connections_. The first one only. Ken Burns _Baseball_. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/3 "2003-02-06T01:50:07Z")
You also might want to go [here](http://www.documentary-video.com/d_index.cfm) for some more ideas. ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/4 "2003-02-06T01:53:11Z")
Atomic Cafe. ---
**Author:** ![Cartooniverse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cartooniverse/32/3084_2.png) [@Cartooniverse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cartooniverse)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/5 "2003-02-06T01:58:56Z")
Titticut Follies. Woodstock. Occurrence At Owk Creek Bridge. 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/6 "2003-02-06T01:59:39Z")
Probably the best documentary I’ve ever seen is [Crumb](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0109508). I actually had never even heard of the cartoonist Robert Crumb before seeing it, and yet I was still completely and totally glued the whole way through. Brilliantly done. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 2:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/7 "2003-02-06T02:08:15Z")
By far the best documentary I’ve ever seen is **Salesman** by the Maysles Brothers (they also did the Stones documentary concert _Gimme Shelter_). _Salesman_ is available in the Criterion Collection. Other great ones: _Burden of Dreams The Man With a Movie Camera The Memphis Belle_ (the original WWII documentary) _The Mystery of Picasso The Thin Blue Line When We Were Kings The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl_ ---
**Author:** ![Biggirl](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/biggirl/32/3294_2.png) [@Biggirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biggirl)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 2:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/8 "2003-02-06T02:15:21Z")
The first Connections series by James Burke (the second one is good too, but the first series is the best) James’ brother Ric did New York: A Documentary, which was great too. ---
**Author:** ![tracer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tracer/32/20578_2.png) [@tracer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tracer)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/9 "2003-02-06T02:55:54Z")
Waaaaaait just a cotton-pickin’ minute here. _ **Crumb** _ and _ **The Thin Blue Line** _ aren’t documentaries. They’re **docudramas**. I mean, would you count _ **Apollo 13** _ and _ **Goodfellas** _ as documentaries, just because they contained re-enactments of historical events? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 5:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/10 "2003-02-06T05:03:00Z")
Nanook of the North. It’s remarkable, especially considering the level of technology in the 1920’s. I’ve seen it only one time, when I was stoned to the bone, and I still remember most of it clearly. The dude who shot it was a genius. ---
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 5:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/11 "2003-02-06T05:35:02Z")
I thought **Hoop Dreams** was fantastic. **Shoah** is beyond good, even if you can’t sit through it all at once. **Gates of Heaven** is a good one too. ---
**Author:** ![greenphan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c37758/32.png) [@greenphan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/greenphan)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/12 "2003-02-06T06:27:59Z")
Even though the documentarian was a bit patronizing towards his subject, **American Movie** is excellent. It chronicles a small-town guy making a no-budget horror movie with friends. For all those who have seen **American Movie** , I just want to say that I was _amazed_ at how good “Coven”'s cinematography was. For a guy working with such a paltry amount of money (as far as movie-making is concerned), he was able to pull of some fantastic shots (I’m thinking the cupboard scene). –greenphan ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 6:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/13 "2003-02-06T06:31:23Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*Waaaaaait just a cotton-pickin’ minute here. > > _ **Crumb** _ and _ **The Thin Blue Line** _ aren’t documentaries. They’re **docudramas**. I mean, would you count _ **Apollo 13** _ and _ **Goodfellas** _ as documentaries, just because they contained re-enactments of historical events? \*\* No, _you_ wait any cotton-pickin’ length of time you desire, but **Crumb** is most certainly a documentary. It is _not_ scripted like the docudramas that you cite. (Haven’t seen **The Thin Blue Line** yet, though I intend to, being a Philip Glass fan. Or am I mixing it up with **The Thin Red Line**?) I’ll also add, if you dig the beatniks, **The Source**. ---
**Author:** ![rmbnxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9e5f3/32.png) [@rmbnxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rmbnxs)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 8:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/14 "2003-02-06T08:06:02Z")
_Crumb_ is certainly a documentary. It’s also fucking brilliant. ---
**Author:** ![MovieMogul](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f08c70/32.png) [@MovieMogul](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MovieMogul)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/15 "2003-02-06T10:31:55Z")
Although _The Thin Blue Line_ included a few controversial “re-enactments”, it is most certainly a documentary also (and yes, Moe, Philip Glass did do the score). ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/16 "2003-02-06T13:11:34Z")
Anothber vote for **Crumb** ; another (or is it the first?) vote for **Gimme Shelter**. ---
**Author:** ![Jberto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8baadc/32.png) [@Jberto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jberto)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/17 "2003-02-06T13:16:19Z")
Hoop Dreams Roger & Me ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/18 "2003-02-06T13:44:54Z")
[Best Boy](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0078850), by far. Roger and Me is second. ---
**Author:** ![Trion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@Trion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trion)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/19 "2003-02-06T13:54:15Z")
I know a lot of people tend to shy away from World War II documentaries, but allow me to suggest [Into The Arms Of Strangers - Stories Of The Kindertransport](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B00005MEPJ/qid=1044539341/sr=1-1/ref=sr_1_1/102-5579402-1663301?v=glance&s=dvd). Excellent. The DVD contains commentary that’s almost as good as the film itself. It won the Academy Award. Also, If you like Ken Burns, you amy like his brother Ric’s [The Donner Party](http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B00007G1YL/qid%3D1044539606/sr%3D11-1/ref%3Dsr%5F11%5F1/102-5579402-1663301). I did. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 1:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/20 "2003-02-06T13:58:16Z")
I liked A History of Britan by Simon wassaguysname and Walking with Dinosaurs had some really cool CG. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097.md?page=2)