# 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:** 3
**Author:** ![kiwiboy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/35a633/32.png) [@kiwiboy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kiwiboy)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 10:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/41 "2003-02-06T22:19:50Z")
This one scared the hell out of me… [Waco:The Rules of Engagement](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0120472) ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 10:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/42 "2003-02-06T22:22:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Moe \* > \*\*One of my favs, but certainly not a documentary. Heck, not even close. \*\* If you Google “Koyaanisqatsi” and “Documentary”, you may change your mind on that. ---
**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, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/43 "2003-02-06T23:26:35Z")
BTW, I’ll admit that I have an ulterior motive for asking in addition to Netflix. The library where I work recently received a $5,000 bequest from a former director earmarked for “A/V updating” and I’m hoping to use it for DVD documentaries. This has given me a great start (and increased my Netflix queue to 110)- thanks! (There are all sorts of professional reviews to choose from, but I much prefer people who aren’t writing either because they work for a periodical or they’re trying to pad their CV.) I’ve moved Crumb and Koyaanisqatsi to the top of my queue list. I also really want to see the Ric Burns NYC documentary (though it’s looong) & INTO THE ARMS OF STRANGERS. Did anybody see the recent documentary on Irish Americans on PBS? I’ve heard that Ken Burns’ documentaries on Jefferson and Jazz were disappointing. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/44 "2003-02-06T23:27:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\*My faves, some of which have been mentioned by other discerning viewers: > > **Bowling for Columbine** - a bit preachy at times, but good journalism for the most part\*\* Actually it misrepresented the facts in a number of cases. It was more straight op-ed than a documentary. ---
**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, 11:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/45 "2003-02-06T23:28:02Z")
Does anybody have any suggestions for Vietnam or WWI docs, by any chance? (I know the Karnow series on Vietnam was good, but I’d like to see more on the aftermath.) ---
**Author:** ![noddygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/47e85d/32.png) [@noddygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/noddygrrl)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2003, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/46 "2003-02-06T23:38:56Z")
I agree with many of the picks so far, but have to give mention to a few more. My very favourite documentary is _Brother’s Keeper_. Creepy, funny, suspenseful and sad all rolled up in one film. Another great human-interest one is _Paris Is Burning_, about the gay voguing scene in NYC of the late 80’s/early 90’s. More recently, I was extremely impressed by _Dark Days_, about the “mole people” living in a disused NYC subway tunnel. The British director actually lived down there with his subjects and they helped him produce the film. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/47 "2003-02-07T00:01:33Z")
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991) The Last Waltz (1978) recently rereleased F is for Fake (1975) Reefer Madness (1938) I don’t know if IMAX movies are available as DVDs but the movie about climbing Everest (1998) sure looked good on the biiiig screen. ---
**Author:** ![Sampiro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/2acd7d/32.png) [@Sampiro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sampiro)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 12:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/48 "2003-02-07T00:46:17Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by spoke- \* > \*\*I see you’re a Georgian, so I’ll recommend: > > **Sherman’s March** - The filmmaker planned to do a documentary of Sherman’s march to the sea, but winds up with a documentary of Georgia culture _circa_ 1983, and of the filmmaker’s own neuroses (and his search for love/sex in the course of his travels). It is funny as hell, like a Flannery O’Connor story come to life. \*\* Sounds like a must, since in addition to being Georgian I work at Flannery’s alma mater (my office is two doors down from her papers, furniture, and other effects) in a city that was occupied and partially burned by Sherman. Thanks for the rec! ---
**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 7, 2003, 2:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/49 "2003-02-07T02:57:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bearflag70 \* > \*\*If you Google “Koyaanisqatsi” and “Documentary”, you may change your mind on that. \*\* Well, I did as you suggested and I am forced to conclude that the entire internet is wrong. Either that or I need to re-define my understanding of what a documentary is. From [dictionary.com](http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=documentary): > [@](#): > > doc·u·men·ta·ry > _adj._ > > 1. Consisting of, concerning, or based on documents. > 2. Presenting facts objectively without editorializing or inserting fictional matter, as in a book or film. > > n. pl. doc·u·men·ta·ries > A work, such as a film or television program, presenting political, social, or historical subject matter in a factual and informative manner and often consisting of actual news films or interviews accompanied by narration. > > * * * > > Source: The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition > Copyright © 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. > Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved. **Koyaanisqatsi** does _not_ consist of, nor is it based on documents other than the actual footage obtained and manipulated by Reggio (and if his shots are to be considered “documents”, than I guess every film ever made is a documentary). It most certainly doesn’t fit the second definition. Every single shot is manipulated in some way and paired with Glass’ exquisite minimal score, all for effect. There is nothing factual, nor informative about it. It is an art film, intended to evoke an aesthetic response. Not that I don’t recommend it for you **Sampiro** , but _don’t_ expect a documentary. ::crosses fingers hoping hampsters will let it through _this_ time:: ---
**Author:** ![Casey1505](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/dc4da7/32.png) [@Casey1505](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Casey1505)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 4:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/50 "2003-02-07T04:14:59Z")
[9/11](http://www.reel.com/movie.asp?MID=136273) by Jules & Gedeon Naudet. ---
**Author:** ![jackelope](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/a6a055/32.png) [@jackelope](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackelope)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/51 "2003-02-07T05:00:23Z")
Anyone else see [Genghis Blues](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0187859)? That was terrific. I’d also recommend [Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0108323) and [Radio Bikini](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0093817); I love documentaries, but these are about my only recommmendations that aren’t already listed here. Oh, I will second [Fast, Cheap & Out of Control](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0119107), which I rank among the top five films of the 90s. ---
**Author:** ![stuyguy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ec9cab/32.png) [@stuyguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stuyguy)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 6:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/52 "2003-02-07T06:34:03Z")
“Hands on a Hard Body.” Not a dull frame in the whole damn thing. ---
**Author:** ![DoctorJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctorj/32/2904_2.png) [@DoctorJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DoctorJ)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 6:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/53 "2003-02-07T06:46:34Z")
I saw _On The Ropes_ at Roger Ebert’s film festival. It was great. I’m looking forward to _I Am Trying To Break Your Heart_, a documentary about the making of Wilco’s _Yankee Hotel Foxtrot_ and the aftermath. (It hasn’t played near me yet, and I don’t expect it will.) ---
**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 7, 2003, 11:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/54 "2003-02-07T11:06:12Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Casey1505 \* > \*\*[9/11](http://www.reel.com/movie.asp?MID=136273) by Jules & Gedeon Naudet. \*\* I know the Executive Producer of this film (_s.i.c._), I’ve shot for Susan Zirinsky quite a few times. This is the program that was aired by CBS News on the six months anniversary of the attacks. It wrecked me to watch it, but I watched it all. I wonder- is the full documentary BY the Naudet brothers finished, and if so, is it available yet? Obviously the attack overpowered the end of their story but from everything we saw in the CBS broadcast, they were crafting a first-rate project. Additionally, CBS edited and shaped the Naudet’s footage to conform to their production and script, I wonder what there is in the project that we have not seen. I don’t mean gore, I just mean more content. Anyone know? ---
**Author:** ![mhendo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mhendo/32/3159_2.png) [@mhendo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mhendo)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/55 "2003-02-07T19:05:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by RikWriter \* > \*\*Actually it misrepresented the facts in a number of cases. It was more straight op-ed than a documentary. \*\* I see, so if YOU happen to disagree with the film-maker’s interpretation, it’s an op-ed rather than a documentary? Give me a break. They’re all op-eds. There is no “documentary” ever made that presents its case in perfect objectivity. From considerations of spoken content, through to framing the story, to decisions about what to include and what to leave out, every documentary is an act of manipulation on the part of the film-maker. And all good documentary-makers realize this. I remember seeing a quotation once - i think it might have been the director Jean Renoir - that described the documentary as the most false form of film-making. If we excluded from the definition “documentary” all films that can be questioned on their interpretation of “the facts,” all films that involve editorializing by the film-maker, then we’ll have an empty category, i’m afraid. ---
**Author:** ![RikWriter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/49beb7/32.png) [@RikWriter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RikWriter)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/56 "2003-02-07T19:12:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by mhendo \* > \*\*I see, so if YOU happen to disagree with the film-maker’s interpretation, it’s an op-ed rather than a documentary? > \*\* No, has nothing to do with my interpretation or the filmmaker’s politics. Has to do with representing the facts accurately in an objective manner. FWIW, while I sympathize with the filmmakers, the Waco “documentary” fudges the facts quite a bit as well. Moore’s example is simply more recent and quite the object of hype at the moment. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 10:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/57 "2003-02-07T22:00:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by don’t ask \* > \*\*Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse (1991) > The Last Waltz (1978) recently rereleased > F is for Fake (1975) > Reefer Madness (1938) > I don’t know if IMAX movies are available as DVDs but the movie about climbing Everest (1998) sure looked good on the biiiig screen. \*\* [Everest (1998)](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0120661) . The DVD has an overwhelmingly powerful interview with Beck Weathers. [For All Mankind (1989)](http://us.imdb.com/DVD?0097372) . A 79 minute composite of the Apollo missions, from lift-off to splash-down. Narrated by Apollo astronauts, in interviews done after years of contemplation of what it really meant to be there, with an ethereal soundtrack by Brian Eno. Filmed entirely on location by NASA. ---
**Author:** ![OxyMoron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/e9a140/32.png) [@OxyMoron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/OxyMoron)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2003, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/58 "2003-02-07T22:26:39Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by noddygrrl \* > \*\*Another great human-interest one is _Paris Is Burning_, about the gay voguing scene in NYC of the late 80’s/early 90’s. > \*\* Sad fact: almost everyone in that film is now dead. The N.Y. Times has been running their obituaries over the years. Bizarre fact: When Dorian Corey, the grand old queen of the documentary, died in 1993, investigators discovered a body in her closet. It was reported in New York Magazine - IIRC, it was inside a plastic garment bag and stuffed in a trunk, and over twenty-odd years it sort of embalmed. The journalist concluded the body was probably that of a hustler/boyfriend of Corey’s who’d disappeared in about 1968; he’d been suspected of beating Corey. ---
**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 7, 2003, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/59 "2003-02-07T23:18:13Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Moe \* > \*\*(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**?) Um … no … _ **I** _ was the one mixing it up with _The Thin Red Line_. Which is why I mistakenly said that _The Thin Blue Line_ wasn’t a documentary. :smack: :smack: :smack: ---
**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 7, 2003, 11:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097/60 "2003-02-07T23:20:49Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by tracer \* > \*\*Um … no … _ **I** _ was the one mixing it up with _The Thin Red Line_. > > Which is why I mistakenly said that _The Thin Blue Line_ wasn’t a documentary. > > :smack: :smack: :smack: \*\* 🙂 Glad we got that cleared up. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/best-documentaries/153097.md?page=4)