# Great documentaries on Netflix Streaming **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 7, 2012, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489 "2012-07-07T02:58:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![dzray](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f07891/32.png) [@dzray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dzray)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 1:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/61 "2012-07-10T13:27:01Z")
**Senna** , about Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna was something I found it hard to believe that I would find entertaining (not being much of a motorsport fan), but I checked it out on a friend’s recommendation, and it really sucked me in. I guess that is what good documentaries do, regardless of subject matter. ---
**Author:** ![Spice\_Weasel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spice_weasel/32/5435_2.png) [@Spice\_Weasel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spice_Weasel)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/62 "2012-07-10T14:48:55Z")
**The Celluloid Closet** - about depictions of gays and lesbians throughout cinematic history. Ken Burns’ **Civil War** **WWII in HD** - features color footage taken during the war and is pretty educational as well as entertaining (in a sobering kind of way.) **Young at Heart** - old people sing contemporary/rock music. **Obsessed** - not exactly a documentary, more like the TV show _Intervention_, but it’s the most accurate depiction of OCD/anxiety disorders and their successful treatment that I have ever seen. The therapists use prolonged exposure therapy which is actually the best evidence-based treatment for OCD. ---
**Author:** ![tapu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@tapu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tapu)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/63 "2012-07-10T15:13:34Z")
Brother’s Keeper ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/64 "2012-07-10T15:23:11Z")
Just found out that Helvetica, which I recommended in my OP, is the first of a trilogy of documentaries. We watched the second one last night: Objectified, about industrial design. I found it less interesting than the first. The third is Urbanized, about urban planning, and I think I’ll really enjoy it. ---
**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 10, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/65 "2012-07-10T16:26:21Z")
> [@tapu](#): > > Brother’s Keeper Yes, I had forgotten about **Brother’s Keeper** , excellent documentary. After BK, Berlinger and Sinofsky made the **Paradise Lost** docs about The West Memphis Three, which are also very good. ---
**Author:** ![el\_nombre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9dc877/32.png) [@el\_nombre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/el_nombre)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/66 "2012-07-10T17:30:48Z")
I Think We’re Alone Now - Follows 2 damaged individuals who to this very day continue to stalk 80’s pop star Tiffany. It’s not the most well put together film, but the subjects are great to watch. ---
**Author:** ![Hippy\_Hollow](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hippy_hollow/32/4841_2.png) [@Hippy\_Hollow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hippy_Hollow)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/67 "2012-07-10T17:32:36Z")
> [@el\_nombre](#): > > I Think We’re Alone Now - Follows 2 damaged individuals who to this very day continue to stalk 80’s pop star Tiffany. It’s not the most well put together film, but the subjects are great to watch. Oh man, that was really disturbing. Both the “fans” are obviously unwell and very socially awkward. You end up feeling sorry for them, but on one level, they know what they’re doing is outside the bounds of “normal.” ---
**Author:** ![jerseymule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jerseymule/32/3155_2.png) [@jerseymule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jerseymule)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/68 "2012-07-10T17:57:18Z")
Mad Hot Ballroom, about children learning competitive ballroom dance. ---
**Author:** ![CapnPitt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/edb3f5/32.png) [@CapnPitt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CapnPitt)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 6:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/69 "2012-07-10T18:19:52Z")
Watched _The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia_ last night. Absolutely terrific. By turns funny, sad, and horrifying. My wife didn’t want it to end. Thanks for the recommendation. ---
**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 10, 2012, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/70 "2012-07-10T23:04:26Z")
**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. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 11:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/71 "2012-07-10T23:07:11Z")
> [@Accidental\_Martyr](#): > > **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. There are no party hats involved, I hope. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2012, 11:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/72 "2012-07-10T23:09:27Z")
> [@dzray](#): > > **Senna** , about Brazilian Formula One driver Ayrton Senna was something I found it hard to believe that I would find entertaining (not being much of a motorsport fan), but I checked it out on a friend’s recommendation, and it really sucked me in. > > I guess that is what good documentaries do, regardless of subject matter. This one keeps popping up as a ‘suggestion’ for me. Based on your description, I’ll give it a shot. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 1:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/73 "2012-07-11T01:00:52Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > It is available on Netflix, and I’ve added it to my list. Thanks I’ve just watched _Marwencol_, and it was fantastic. I don’t have enough superlatives to describe it. I think one of the indicators of this is that I want to know more than what the program showed me. We don’t get a real clear picture of the scale of Marwencol (other than the fact that the dolls are 1/6th scale) – how big a village is it? How much “countryside” is there around it? Another thing I found somewhat distracting at first was how so many scenes showed the dolls in changed positions, to represent continuing scenes in a story. And I kept wondering to myself, “How much of this place is a static display, and how much is in constant resetting for Mark to play out his scenarios?”. And he had theses elaborate stories about what happens to his characters – is he replaying these stories over and over, or are his stories evolving too? I think this was partly answered at the very end with the reaction of his “alter-ego” to his own beating. I’m very grateful to you, **Equipoise** , for having brought this to my attention. ---
**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 11, 2012, 1:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/74 "2012-07-11T01:38:35Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > There are no party hats involved, I hope. No, and you probably won’t feel like having a party after watching it either. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2012, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/75 "2012-07-11T02:18:08Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I’ve just watched _Marwencol_, and it was fantastic. I don’t have enough superlatives to describe it. > > … > > I’m very grateful to you, **Equipoise** , for having brought this to my attention. You’re welcome, thank you for telling me. I had some of the same questions as you, and the answers are probably on the net somewhere, but I never went looking for information because, well, I don’t know exactly why, just that it was self-contained enough for me. I’m like that with most documentaries though. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 4:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/76 "2012-07-12T04:20:14Z")
I have seen Marwencol and Deep Water from reading this thread. I thought Marwencol was amazing…then I saw Deep Water and was blown away. Deep Water is one of the best documentaries I’ve seen. Wow, what a story. Go. See. This. Movie. I can’t believe it. I can not believe that they found the boat, got the log-books, and revealed everything. What a sad story. Stream this movie now, folks! It’s great! ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/77 "2012-07-12T04:31:53Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > I have seen Marwencol and Deep Water from reading this thread. > > I thought Marwencol was amazing…then I saw Deep Water and was blown away. Deep Water is one of the best documentaries I’ve seen. > > Wow, what a story. Go. See. This. Movie. > > I can’t believe it. > > I can not believe that they found the boat, got the log-books, and revealed everything. What a sad story. > > Stream this movie now, folks! It’s great! Interesting. I saw _Deep Water_ maybe a year or so ago, and thought it was very well done and worth seeing. But I saw it as a rather standard documentary with a really compelling story to tell. When I think of it, _Marwencol_ may be the very same thing, but it hit me emotionally much harder than _Deep Water_. I think it’s about the subjects of the film. I found it much easier to sympathize with Mark, who was digging himself out of a hole that he was thrown into by others. In Deep Water, the guy (can’t recall his name now) basically spends almost the whole film digging himself into his own hole and ultimately unable to escape it. ---
**Author:** ![gaffa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e68b1a/32.png) [@gaffa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gaffa)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2012, 4:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/78 "2012-07-12T04:43:13Z")
One of my favorite documentaries is the 2005 film _[Rock School](http://movies.netflix.com/movie/Rock-School/70021125)_, about the original _Paul Green School of Rock Music_ in Philadelphia. The reviews on the Netflix site are wildly mixed, mostly because a lot of people are offended at the idea that Paul yells at the kids, probably imagining that it is _their_ special snowflake being yelled at, and would probably prefer the bullshit infesting the modern world where everybody gets an award for just showing up. Life doesn’t work like that. But the proof is in the pudding, the film opening with a 12 year old wunderkind playing Carlos Santana’s _Soul Sacrifice_. I took my 15 year old niece to see it in the theater, and we both loved it. After that, I saw the _All-Stars_ (the best kids in the program) on tour, and have started a business videotaping performances by various School of Rock franchises. Some of the kids are just OK, and will not pursue music, but I’ve seen a large number of kids in the program who have become amazingly talented performers who I’m going to keep an eye on for years to come. By the way, shortly before the documentary crew started filming, Viacom sent a crew to shoot at the School for 3 days for a proposed reality series, then vanished and wouldn’t return calls. Later that year, they announce the Jack Black movie _School of Rock_. But the real thing is (IMO) much more entertaining. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2012, 4:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/79 "2012-07-28T04:59:38Z")
Thought I’d revive this to mention a very good documentary I just watched – _Hey, Boo: Harper Lee & To Kill a Mockingbird_. I may be biased because of my love of both the book and the movie, but I found it compelling viewing. It has very old interviews with Lee, who is still alive but hasn’t given an interview since 1964, nor has she written any novels since. It looks at both the book and the film, and tries to put both in the context of the civil rights movement that was just starting to get national attention around the same time. I thought it was fascinating. ---
**Author:** ![TubaDiva](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tubadiva/32/507_2.png) [@TubaDiva](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TubaDiva)\ **Post date:** [July 30, 2012, 7:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489/80 "2012-07-30T19:19:00Z")
Sorry to be coming late to this but I love documentaries most of all and watch them more than any other kind of film. Movies I have enjoyed through Netflix include: “Dear Zachary” – Warning: It’s a murder story that will suck you in and then break your heart. [Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father (2008) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1152758/) By the guy who made the cute short 'Validation." [Validation - YouTube](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cbk980jV7Ao) I really loved “Man on Wire.” And “John Waters: This Filthy World.” “Behind the BurlyQ” was fun. “Tom Dowd and the Language of Music” hasn’t been to Netflix in a while but it needs to come back. [Tom Dowd & the Language of Music (2003) - IMDb](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0343107/) The trailer will kill you. I could go on and on … dammit. Oh, and check out the Ed Roth story: “Tales of the RatFink.” [http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/tales\_of\_the\_rat\_fink](http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/tales_of_the_rat_fink) [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/great-documentaries-on-netflix-streaming/627489.md?page=5)