# Documentary Recommendations
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [October 10, 2012, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365 "2012-10-10T23:26:43Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@ecoaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecoaster)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/21 "2012-10-12T05:04:52Z")
I’ll start with these. I would rate all of the below some of the best ever, and many can be found on Netflix. I could easily add 50 more and will do a follow-up when I have time.
[The Interrupters](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_interrupters_2011/)
[Deep Water](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10008507-deep_water/)
[If a Tree Falls](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/if_a_tree_falls_a_story_of_the_earth_liberation_front/)
[Searching For Sugarman](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/searching_for_sugar_man/)
[Tabloid](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1704619/)
[Street Fight](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10006588-street_fight/)
[King of Kong](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/king_of_kong/)
[Mugabe and the White African](http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/king_of_kong/)
[Grizzly Man](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427312/)
[Brother’s Keeper](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103888/)
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2012, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/22 "2012-10-12T06:04:03Z")
[Here’s a thread from not long ago](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=657732&highlight=marwencol) about great docs on Netflix Streaming.
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### Author:  [@hamwater](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hamwater)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2012, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/23 "2012-10-12T13:44:22Z")
> [@Becky2844](#):
>
> Rory Kennedy’s _American Hollow_, about an unchanged Appalachian family in Kentucky. I haven’t seen it yet because I can’t get hold of it. I think if I were still living in East Tn I could find a copy but I couldn’t get it thru the Inter-library Loan. One library responded and said they had it but wouldn’t send it out in fear it wouldn’t be returned. Is that even allowed?.\*
**Becky** I posted the same movie a couple of posts up! I believe you can watch it on YouTube.
---
### Author:  [@ecoaster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ecoaster)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2012, 3:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/24 "2012-10-12T15:38:46Z")
Too lazy to link but here are some more:
Bill Cunningham New York
Rivers and Tides (slow and artsy)
Unguarded (amazingly raw story)- (or any ESPN 30 for 30 film-you don’t even need to be a sports fan for most of them)
Paper Clips
American Experience: Jonestown
Surfwise
When the Levees Broke
My general rule about docs is, the less I know about the film, the better. If it gets high praise, or someone recommends it, I’ll watch it. Reading about movies or even knowing much about the plot or content beforehand waters down the experience for me. If you know next to nothing you have no expectations and therefore take in the story in more open way, IMHO.
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### Author:  [@Labdad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Labdad)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2012, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/25 "2012-10-12T15:56:59Z")
Some oldies but goodies:
[_Crumb_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crumb_(film)) (1994) Amazing documentary about the noted underground cartoonist R Crumb.
[_When We Were Kings_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/When_We_Were_Kings) (1996) About the famous “Rumble in the Jungle” heavyweight championship match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman, held in Zaire in 1974.
[_Standing in the Shadows of Motown_](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Standing_in_the_Shadows_of_Motown) (2002) About the Funk Bothers, the uncredited and largely unheralded studio musicians who were the Motown house band. These guys produced more hits than The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Beach Boys combined, and very few people know who they are (or were). A fascinating and sometimes heartbreaking film.
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### Author:  [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2012, 4:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/26 "2012-10-12T16:46:11Z")
If you’re into photography, check out “What Remains” or “The True Meaning of Pictures,” featuring the photographs of Sally Mann and Shelby Lee Adams, respectively. The Adams doc shows a lot of pics of “deep” Appalachia.
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### Author:  [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2012, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/27 "2012-10-12T23:10:41Z")
Probably the most powerful documentary I ever watched, and certainly the most unsettling, is[Titicut Follies](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titicut_Follies).
Maybe “unsettling” isn’t the best word. ‘Shocking’ (admittedly a very hackneyed adjective in this type of context) would be totally appropriate. Whatever term is used, the bottom line is that this is a very difficult documentary to watch - the images and scenes it contains are, at once, terribly sad and viscerally frightening.
What’s it about? The link gives details, but the bottom line is that the film depicts the (haunting and haunted) daily existence of inmates in a state institution for the criminally insane. Filmed in the mid-sixties, the film’s stark black and white footage itself creates a mood that can only be described as depressing and disturbing.
It used to be available on YouTube, but when I did a quick search for it a minute ago, it no longer seems to be there.
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### Author:  [@Nazarene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nazarene)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2012, 11:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/28 "2012-10-12T23:51:42Z")
_Hoop Dreams_
_Crumb_
The _Paradise Lost_ series
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### Author:  [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)
#### Post date: [October 12, 2012, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/29 "2012-10-12T23:59:23Z")
The Kid Stays in the Picture
> **[The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002) ⭐ 7.3 | Documentary, Biography](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303353/)**
>
> 1h 33m | R
> [@](#):
>
> Documentary about legendary Paramount producer Robert Evans (the film shares the same name as Evans’s famous 1994 autobiography).
Very entertaining.
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### Author:  [@jordanr2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jordanr2)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2012, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/30 "2012-10-13T00:03:37Z")
My all-time favorite is Louis Malle’s _[Phantom India](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063914/)_. The thing goes on for seven hours, but it’s totally immersive.
Recently I enjoyed Pedro Costa’s _[Ne Change Rien](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1520367/)_.
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### Author:  [@newcomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/newcomer)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2012, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/31 "2012-10-13T00:07:54Z")
[ ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i__MxF7_zSo)
Somewhere Between - story about Chinese girls adopted to American families.
It is somewhat heart wrenching yet inspiring.
Seeing a girl with CP adoption event will melt your heart.
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### Author:  [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2012, 12:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/32 "2012-10-13T00:18:23Z")
[Congo; The Inga Project](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N1glN7aZyEQ)
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### Author:  [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2012, 12:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/33 "2012-10-13T00:20:06Z")
> [@newcomer](#):
>
> Seeing a girl with CP adoption event will melt your heart.
Cerebal Palsy? I may watch it; I have two kiddos from Korea(neither special need, though). Streams anywhere?
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### Author:  [@zagloba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zagloba)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2012, 12:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/34 "2012-10-13T00:37:47Z")
> [@newcomer](#):
>
> [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i\_\_MxF7\_zSo](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i__MxF7_zSo)
>
> Somewhere Between - story about Chinese girls adopted to American families.
>
> It is somewhat heart wrenching yet inspiring.
> Seeing a girl with CP adoption event will melt your heart.
Just saw it this week. Highly recommended. At this point it seems to only be available in limited screenings around the country. Check the website [somewherebetweenmovie.com](http://www.somewherebetweenmovie.com)
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### Author:  [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2012, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/35 "2012-10-13T00:41:18Z")
> [@Typo\_Negative](#):
>
> The Kid Stays in the Picture
>
> [The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0303353/)
>
> Very entertaining.
I agree, and maybe the only autobiography I know of where the author paints himself as a total dick.
Or maybe it’s just me who thinks that.
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### Author:  [@StGermain](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/StGermain)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2012, 1:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/36 "2012-10-13T01:58:36Z")
> [@Becky2844](#):
>
> Rory Kennedy’s _American Hollow_, about an unchanged Appalachian family in Kentucky. I haven’t seen it yet because I can’t get hold of it. I think if I were still living in East Tn I could find a copy but I couldn’t get it thru the Inter-library Loan. One library responded and said they had it but wouldn’t send it out in fear it wouldn’t be returned. Is that even allowed?
> Along the same vein, but taking place up north, is _My Brother’s Keeper._
**Becky** - It’s on [Youtube in ten parts](http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=american+hollow&oq=american+hollow&gs_l=youtube.3..0l10.776.6187.0.8573.15.12.0.3.3.0.153.1648.0j12.12.0...0.0...1ac.1.De2o0EOvdxQ). Just put American Hollow in the search.
StG
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### Author:  [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2012, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/37 "2012-10-13T02:14:33Z")
> [@jordanr2](#):
>
> My all-time favorite is Louis Malle’s _[Phantom India](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063914/)_. The thing goes on for seven hours, but it’s totally immersive.
I second that. An uneven (to me, anyway) but amazing, engrossing film.
---
### Author:  [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2012, 4:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/38 "2012-10-13T04:33:56Z")
> [@hamwater](#):
>
> The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virgina by Julien Nitzburg and American Hollow by Rory Kennedy are two of my favorites. They are both stories of mountain people and their hardscrabble lives. Love them.
You should watch _Dancing Outlaw_ for background on Jesco White. All the Errol Morris documentaries are great as well as his _First Person_ series.
> **[First person](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Person_(TV_series))**
>
> First person most commonly refers to:
> First person or 1st Person may also refer to:
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### Author:  [@McDeath\_the\_Mad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/McDeath_the_Mad)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2012, 4:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/39 "2012-10-13T04:40:48Z")
Well here are a few that haven’t been mentioned:
Ken Burns: The War - 7 part series about WWII
Ken Burns: Civil War - Series about American Civil War
Ken Burns: Baseball - Epic series for anyone who enjoys baseball
Enron: Smartest Guys in the Room - The story of what happened at Enron
Fog of War - Robert McNamara discussing decisions he’s mad in the past 40 years
Word Wars - Not as good as the book “Word Freak” but interesting look into the world of competitive Scrabble
Dog Town and Z Boys - History of a bunch of surfer kids from Long Beach. Narrated by Sean Penn, very interesting
Hearts of Darkness - Coppola’s wife filmed this while Francis was filming Apocalypse Now. Been a while since I’ve seen this, but I remember it being pretty cool.
[Startup.com](http://Startup.com) - See the rise and fall (when the bubble burst) of a dot com company
Triumph of the Nerds - Basically tells the history of we got to the big tech boom of the 90’s. A little dated, but still interesting
Cocaine Cowboys - Tells the story of the cocaine business in Miami during the 80’s
Alone in the Wilderness - See a man move to Alaska and live off the land. “One scoop, one hotcake…”
That’s about 60 hours of documentaries for you all. Enjoy!
MtM
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### Author:  [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)
#### Post date: [October 13, 2012, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/documentary-recommendations/637365/40 "2012-10-13T05:04:04Z")
_A Certain Kind of Death_. See what happens to bodies recovered by the Los Angeles Coroner’s Office that are never claimed by next of kin.
_Cinemania_.This documentary about the culture of intense cinephilia in New York City reveals the impassioned world of five obsessed movie buffs.
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