# Favorite Documentary and Request for Suggestions **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 12, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318 "2013-07-12T14:22:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![AnthonyElite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@AnthonyElite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AnthonyElite)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/1 "2013-07-12T14:22:56Z")
I have two questions for you dope dopers out there: 1. What is your overall favorite documentary? 2. I’d love to watch a documentary that covers, generally, early human history to the modern era. Suggestions? It is a carefully guarded nerd secret that whenever I have the night to myself I will watch at least one documentary. After I’m gamed out, I grab my dog, Slater, prop myself against the headboard, and find out about ancient batteries, or battering rams, or solar panels, or the plight of a doomed civilization from long ago. ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/2 "2013-07-12T14:48:26Z")
Here’s a previous thread about documentaries. There might be some stuff in that thread you would like. > **[Documentary Recommendations](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=668346)** > > I hope this to be an ongoing thread because I really enjoy watching documentaries and am always on the hunt for new ones. I don’t particularly like the crime/sad ones like Capturing the Friedmans or Dear Zachary though I can certainly appreciate... ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/3 "2013-07-12T15:55:54Z")
The [Up series by Michael Apted](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_Series) is pretty incredible. Starting in 1964 they follow a group of school children and make a new film every 7 years to see where they’re at in their lives. They’re up to 56 now I believe. ---
**Author:** ![Mrs.Cake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/2acd7d/32.png) [@Mrs.Cake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mrs.Cake)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/4 "2013-07-12T16:00:43Z")
I really like Simon Schama’s A History of Britain. Also, for fun and education, any history docos by Terry Jones, especially The Crusades and Medieval Lives. If you like any of the The Teaching Company’s courses and have not seen Dr. John Hale’s lectures, I highly recommend them, especially Intro to Classical Archeology and the Greek & Persian Wars. ---
**Author:** ![74westy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/74westy/32/3950_2.png) [@74westy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/74westy)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/5 "2013-07-12T18:44:18Z")
> [@AnthonyElite](#): > > 1. I’d love to watch a documentary that covers, generally, early human history to the modern era. Suggestions? [In 4 minutes and 14 seconds](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nHOWkfGFsk) ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/6 "2013-07-12T18:52:23Z")
> [@Mrs.Cake](#): > > I really like Simon Schama’s A History of Britain. I second this recommendation. An excellent series. I’d also suggest _Mankind: The Story of All of Us_. It was a History Channel series that’s now available on dvd. It’s lightweight (which is probably unavoidable when you’re trying to do all of human history in nine hours) but good production values. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/7 "2013-07-12T18:57:01Z")
> [@74westy](#): > > [In 4 minutes and 14 seconds](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nHOWkfGFsk) [Or this one.](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jj2Z-secyqQ) ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/8 "2013-07-12T18:57:29Z")
There was a series with Tony Robinson called _The Worst Jobs in History_ (it’s also 2 books) where he goes around and finds terrible jobs throughout history and does them. It’s very interesting, educational, and _hilarious_. A more recent doc that I loved, and may well be my favorite doc ever, is _Jiro Dreams of Sushi_. I don’t even know what I like about it so much, but I can watch it over and over again and never get tired of it. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/9 "2013-07-12T19:01:11Z")
I found last year’s _Searching for Sugar Man_ very worthwhile. _Inside Job_ from a few years ago was definitely one of the best I’ve seen in a while. ---
**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:** [July 12, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/10 "2013-07-12T19:02:12Z")
**[Best Boy](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Best_Boy_(film))**. Fascinating and heartwarming. ---
**Author:** ![madmonk28](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madmonk28/32/20811_2.png) [@madmonk28](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madmonk28)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/11 "2013-07-12T19:02:48Z")
My favorite is probably _Brother’s Keeper_ about the trial of a dairy farmer in upstate NY who is accused of killing one of his brothers. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/12 "2013-07-12T19:02:55Z")
I totally loved Ken Burns’s _The Civil War_. Except for the part before the station breaks when they kept saying “_The Civil War_ will return…” :eek: ---
**Author:** ![pancakes3](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ba9def/32.png) [@pancakes3](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pancakes3)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2013, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/13 "2013-07-12T19:07:11Z")
> [@DCnDC](#): > > There was a series with Tony Robinson called _The Worst Jobs in History_ (it’s also 2 books) where he goes around and finds terrible jobs throughout history and does them. It’s very interesting, educational, and _hilarious_. > > A more recent doc that I loved, and may well be my favorite doc ever, is _Jiro Dreams of Sushi_. I don’t even know what I like about it so much, but I can watch it over and over again and never get tired of it. I liked it too because of the simplicity and positivity of it. Striving for perfection, praising achievement, etc. It’s not about shame, scandal, or conspiracy like so many [terrible] documentaries are. I’ll add in the Adventure of English : [The Adventure of English - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Adventure_of_English) which is not to be confused with the Story of English: [The Story of English - Wikipedia](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Story_of_English) ---
**Author:** ![Accidental\_Martyr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ce7236/32.png) [@Accidental\_Martyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Accidental_Martyr)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/14 "2013-07-13T00:26:37Z")
> [@madmonk28](#): > > My favorite is probably _Brother’s Keeper_ about the trial of a dairy farmer in upstate NY who is accused of killing one of his brothers. Excellent documentary. The **Paradise Lost** documentaries about the West Memphis Three, also directed by Berlinger and Sinofsky, are also very good. ---
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/15 "2013-07-13T01:19:56Z")
I’ve mentioned this before, but I’m a fan of _The Cove_. A little bloody at one point, but very moving. It’s about people slaughtering Dolphins. ---
**Author:** ![AussieDog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c5a1d2/32.png) [@AussieDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AussieDog)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/16 "2013-07-13T17:57:01Z")
This documentary is about a remote village in Siberia. The film document the lives of these simple folks over the course of a year. The photography is stunning. As the title implys these people are truly happy with their life style. Their survival skills are very impressive. This film is not Man vs Wild or Survivor Man episodes . This is real life, contrived. A hearty thumbs up. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/17 "2013-07-14T01:05:35Z")
For documentary series, [_Mongrel Nation_ with Eddie Izzard](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0406440/reference). I loved this series that shows that everything thought of as “English” is from other places. ---
**Author:** ![DonLogan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/51bf81/32.png) [@DonLogan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DonLogan)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 9:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/18 "2013-07-14T09:47:00Z")
Starts in the Dark Ages, and definitely Eurocentric, but [Civilisation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilisation_%28TV_series%29) made quite an impression on me as a young 'un. ---
**Author:** ![KneadToKnow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kneadtoknow/32/3999_2.png) [@KneadToKnow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KneadToKnow)\ **Post date:** [July 14, 2013, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-documentary-and-request-for-suggestions/663318/19 "2013-07-14T15:29:35Z")
> [@DonLogan](#): > > Starts in the Dark Ages, and definitely Eurocentric, but [Civilisation](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Civilisation_%28TV_series%29) made quite an impression on me as a young 'un. Did you make a game out of guessing where Sir Kenneth would pop up from next, like we did?