I’ll second this one–it was way more interesting than I expected.
I’ll add: Surfwise
Summary from the director: The inspiring and tumultuous story of 85-year old surfer, health advocate and sex guru, Dr. Dorian “Doc” Paskowitz, his wife Juliette, and their nine children who were all home-schooled and raised in a small camper on the beach, where they surfed and had to adhere to the strict diet and lifestyle of animals in the wild.
This family is one of a kind.
The interviews with the kids (8 boys, 1 girl) are riveting.
Seymour Hersh’s The Price of Power is a great book about Kissinger in the White House, if you’re interested in reading more. He really comes across as a scheming, power-mad prick, cruel to his subordinates, and both obsequious to and scathingly contemptuous of Nixon.
“The Academy Award-winning documentary filmmaker, Jean-Xavier de Lestrade, presents a gripping courtroom thriller, offering a rare and revealing inside look at a high-profile murder trial. In 2001, author Michael Peterson was arraigned for the murder of his wife Kathleen, whose body was discovered lying in a pool of blood on the stairway of their home. Granted unusual access to Peterson’s lawyers, home and immediate family, de Lestrade’s cameras capture the defense team as it considers its strategic options. “The staircase” is an engrossing look at contemporary American justice that features more twists than a legal bestseller”
Some really good recommendations here. Can’t wait to check some of them out!
One of my favorites this year was Mine shown on PBS and in some theaters in the US. It’s about what happened after the rescue of hundreds of animals following Hurricane Katrina, and follows four people who want to be reunited with their pets. The pets are scattered across the country, and have been adopted by new families. What happens when 2 families love the same dog?
Ah, I just remembered another great one, especially if you are a Woody Allen fan: Wild Man Blues (1997).
It’s Woody on a European tour with the jazz band he plays in. Accompanied by the mayor of one Italian city, he views the ruins of the hall the band would have played in except it had just burned down, like a day or two before. I recall several months after the film came out, that same mayor was indicted for being behind the arson! At the end, back home in New York, Woody and Soon-yi chat with Woody’s parents – that’s right, his parents – and it’s easy to see where he got his inspiration for all of the Jewish parents in his films. (His mother is still disappointed that he never became a pharmacist. Really. :D)
I didn’t post earlier, but I didn’t realize how many documentaries I watch. Pretty much anything and everything by NFL Films is awesome. Right now I’m working my way through the “Greatest Games” series on Hulu.
A lot of good ones here.
Check out “For All Mankind.” It consists of nothing but footage of the Apollo moon missions, with narration from the Astronauts themselves and a Brian Eno score. No talking head interviews here. Very beautiful.
Also I liked “American Teen”, about a high school in rural Indiana. Yeah, it’s pretty apparent that the kids are just hamming it up for the cameras a lot of the time, but I thought it was a pretty good representation of the sort of cliqueshness and petty cruelty you’d find in a typical American high school.
And there’s “Office Space.” What, you say that’s a fictional movie and not a documentary? Well, you must be mistaken as I could have sworn it was shot at my former work place.
in the middle of the insurgency two reporters go to Baghdad to meet the only heavy metal band in Iraq. It is the story of young Iraqis whose lives have been distorted and displaced by years of warfare in their homeland. The filmmakers have collected glimpses into the struggles as they try to stay together and stay alive. Their struggle is the untold story of the hopes and dreams of an entire generation of young Iraqis.
Definitely. For All Mankind blew me away when I saw it during its initial release. The IMAX documentary Destiny in Space is also very, very good. Both will rekindle your sense of wonder and make you proud to be a human being.
For rock music fans, Eagle Rock’s series of DVDs, Classic Albums are worth checking out–a cut above other “Behind The Music”- type shows. The ones I’ve seen have interviews with the performers and producers–done for the programs themselves, not just clips from other sources. The one on Who’s Next has Pete “unplugged” in the studio and a segment with their sound man in the mixing room dissecting *Going Mobile *track by track.
Dopers might be particularly interested in the DVD of Rio by Duran Duran.
I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that it’s because the OP specifically contraindicated Michael Moore “docs” (note use of quotes), and if there’s any movie wherein someone out-Michael-Moores Michael Moore, it’s Bill Maher’s Religulous.
(And just so you know: I’m pretty goddamn liberal and an agnostic to boot, and I used to be a big fan of Maher [and, to a lesser extent post Roger & Me, Michael Moore as well].)
