# I want to see more documentary films, name some **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 22, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613 "2003-06-22T19:22:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lear\_s\_fool](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/df788c/32.png) [@Lear\_s\_fool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lear_s_fool)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 7:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/1 "2003-06-22T19:22:26Z")
I realy liked Bowling for Columbine and Moore’s other films and i was lucky enoughe to find a copy of Crumb at a local video store, but is such a broad genre i that’s a pretty small list do you have any good recommendations PS Ask every who post here to not post about Moore i don’t want this moved to the pit ---
**Author:** ![Zeldar](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/b77776/32.png) [@Zeldar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeldar)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 7:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/2 "2003-06-22T19:32:46Z")
There’s a movie called “Gummo” which is sort of like a documentary, maybe even is. But it’s the sickest stretch of film I can recall seeing. However, I think you’d find some common treatments to the “Roger and Me” thing that Moore did early on. I have never seen “Shoah” because it’s probably too long to put on one of the cable movie channels. Holocaust theme, but supposedly one of the better ones. Have you ever seen “Koyaanisqatsi”? Coppola produced it and it is spellbinding, though maybe not pure documentary. ---
**Author:** ![milquetoast](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/258eb7/32.png) [@milquetoast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/milquetoast)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 9:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/3 "2003-06-22T21:32:14Z")
I posted a similar request about 3 months ago. Here is the link: [List of documentaries](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=169778) ---
**Author:** ![thebarge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b38774/32.png) [@thebarge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thebarge)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/4 "2003-06-22T21:53:46Z")
You might want to look into the films of DA Pennebaker… he’s a proponent of so-called ‘cinema verite’ (or direct cinema). That’s a movement characterized by (among other things) the lack of narration or interviews; for the most part the camera should just be like a fly on the wall, recording what goes on. Pennebaker was the director of ‘Don’t Look Back’, which is one of my favorite documenatries. It’s about Bob Dylan in the mid-60’s, taking a Eurpoean tour. ---
**Author:** ![bonzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/45deac/32.png) [@bonzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bonzer)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2003, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/5 "2003-06-22T22:40:28Z")
Lots of good stuff in the thread linked to by **milquetoast**. > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Zeldar \* > I have never seen “Shoah” because it’s probably too long to put on one of the cable movie channels. Holocaust theme, but supposedly one of the better ones. I haven’t seen _Shoah_ either, but I can recommend Lanzmann’s recent and shorter _Sobibor 14 October 1943 16:00_. Filmed as part of the process of making _Shoah_, it’s a sort of offcut, a standalone interview with one of the inmates who took part in the uprising at Sobibor. In a similar vein, there’s Renais’ classic _Night and Fog_. And not mentioned in the previous thread is Errol Morris’ related _Mister Death_, about Holocaust denial. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/6 "2003-06-23T00:55:23Z")
One of my favourite documentaries is _The Memphis Belle_ (1944) directed by William Wyler who also directed _Thunderbolt_, the story of the P-47. Not exactly _new_ documentaries, but worth watching. Especially _Memphis Belle_. I can’t tell you how disappointed I was in the 1990 dramatization. (Hint: the only real similarities were that there was a B-17 called _Memphis Belle_ and there was a war on.) Watch the real deal. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/7 "2003-06-23T02:32:05Z")
I recently saw _Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr._ and found it very interesting. It’s about Fred Leuchter, an execution device engineer/inventor who got mixed up with holocaust deniers. ---
**Author:** ![rmbnxs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b9e5f3/32.png) [@rmbnxs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rmbnxs)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/8 "2003-06-23T21:31:19Z")
I was going to recommend _Crumb_, which I think is brilliant, but you already know about that. How about _Cane Toads: An Unnatural History_? ---
**Author:** ![Hello\_Again](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Hello\_Again](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hello_Again)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/9 "2003-06-23T21:38:09Z")
7 Up, 14 Up, 21 Up, 35 Up and 42 Up. The series follows a group of British children from various walks of life throughout their lives, checking up on them every 7 years. You can just watch 42 Up if you want, because it goes back over the previous episodes, but you won’t get as much detail, obviously. (BTW, The first two are quite hard to fnd.) ---
**Author:** ![photopat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/e95f7d/32.png) [@photopat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/photopat)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/10 "2003-06-23T21:38:14Z")
Go see **Winged Migration**. It was a beautifully filmed movie and, while not as full of information as some documentaries, still very educational. ---
**Author:** ![lisacurl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/41988e/32.png) [@lisacurl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lisacurl)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/11 "2003-06-23T21:56:00Z")
Recently saw **Devil’s Playground** by Lucy Walker, about Amish youth during their period of _rumspringa_, when they are free to cut loose and do whatever they choose until such time as they make a permanent commitment to their church. The story of the Amish crank addict/dealer who moved back home after he narc’d on two other Amish drug dealers blew my mind. **Smothered** is not really a documentary so much as a high-falutin’ “Behind the Music” type special on the struggles with censorship experienced by The Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in the late 60s. Still entertaining, though. ---
**Author:** ![Thunderclap\_Monolith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e495f1/32.png) [@Thunderclap\_Monolith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thunderclap_Monolith)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/12 "2003-06-23T22:08:50Z")
I recommend “Hearts Of Darkness,” a documentary about the making of “Apocalypse Now.” “Hearts” is fascinating even if you are not a fan of Coppola’s film . It documents all the passion, excess, and insanity of making a big movie. There is lots of access to diaries and secret conversations, so a lot of it doesn’t feel as stagey or forced as some documentaries. ---
**Author:** ![MsWhatsit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eb8c5e/32.png) [@MsWhatsit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsWhatsit)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/13 "2003-06-23T22:57:13Z")
**Genghis Blues** , documentary about Paul Pena, a blind blues musician who taught himself to perform Tuvan throat singing simply by listening to radio broadcasts he picked up over what I believe was ham equipment. Also taught himself the language, and wound up getting the opportunity to actually travel to Tuva to participate in a throat-singing competition. It’s a truly remarkable story, and a really cool documentary. I also like it because of the unexpected Richard Feynman content. ---
**Author:** ![Lemur866](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lemur866/32/434_2.png) [@Lemur866](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lemur866)\ **Post date:** [June 23, 2003, 11:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/14 "2003-06-23T23:10:13Z")
“Trekkies”, a documentary about Star Trek fandom was very interesting. The producers used Denise Crosby (Tasha Yar) to do the interviews…a great tricksy way to get access to hard-core fans and get them to take you seriously. “[Startup.com](http://Startup.com)”, a documentary about a failed internet startup company. The documentary makers were college friends of the 20something CEO, and got amazing access to the inner workings of the company. They thought they were going to make a documentary about how a new successful company started and grew. But they were around and filming as the bubble burst, and watched as the company imploded. Scary and all-too familiar to anyone who worked in a technology company in the last few years. “Walking with Dinosaurs” and “Walking with Prehistoric Beasts” weren’t exactly documentaries, but they are non-fiction. Imagine Jurassic Park without the humans and the stupid plot. The films mimic standard discovery channel nature shows including narration (“The female allosaurus approaches cautiously. During the rainy season food is plentiful, but…”), but use studio CGI dinosaur footage instead of footage from the Serengeti. ---
**Author:** ![aaslatten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@aaslatten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaslatten)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 1:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/15 "2003-06-24T01:47:33Z")
“Spinal Tap” is a great documentary, or, if you will, “rockumentary” 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Greywolf73](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/d9b06d/32.png) [@Greywolf73](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Greywolf73)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/16 "2003-06-24T01:54:44Z")
Paradise Lost and Paradise Lost 2: The Revelations are among the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. They tell the story of the West Memphis 3–three young men who were arrested in 1993 and convicted of the murders of three little boys all on the basis of their “satanic” appearance and a forced false confession. I cannot recommend these films highly enough. They’ll really make you think and question the so-called “justice system” in this country. Here’s more on the West Memphis 3 for anyone who’s interested: [WM3](http://www.wm3.org/) ---
**Author:** ![aaslatten](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/f14d63/32.png) [@aaslatten](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aaslatten)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/17 "2003-06-24T01:59:59Z")
Also, Dogtown and Z-Boys is supposed to be a pretty cool documentary about the origins of the skateboarding scene. I haven’t personally seen it though. One more: The classic of all documentaries is generally considered to be “Nanook of the North” from 1922. ---
**Author:** ![Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/7cd45c/32.png) [@Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glory)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 2:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/18 "2003-06-24T02:13:47Z")
- Spellbound - jr. high kids pursuing the dream of winning the National Spelling Bee ---
**Author:** ![Jeff\_Lichtman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jeff_lichtman/32/1531_2.png) [@Jeff\_Lichtman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jeff_Lichtman)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/19 "2003-06-24T07:11:11Z")
Burden of Dreams by Les Blank is about Werner Herzog’s making of the movie Fitzcarraldo. Just about everything that could go wrong during filming went wrong. Fitzcarraldo is about a man pursuing an obsession. Herzog is so obsessive himself that one could view his movie as an allegory about his own life. The best part of the movie is the scene of Herzog ranting in the jungle, blaming nature for all the problems he brought on himself. Les Blank’s son Harrod made a movie called Wild Wheels about art cars. Harrod has made several art cars himself, and is a leader in the art car movement. You can learn more about art cars at [http://www.artcars.com/](http://www.artcars.com/) . Wild Wheels is as much about the people who made the cars as about the cars themselves. Some of the people see themselves as artists, while others have different reasons for making art cars (for example, a descendent of Samuel Colt covered his car with model horses to help himself withdraw from alcohol). One of my favorite people in the movie is Dalton Stevens, the Button King, who covers everything he owns with shirt buttons and has even written a song about himself (the guy definitely does not take himself seriously). My favorite car in the movie is a VW bug whose body has been replaced with wrought iron. ---
**Author:** ![Marlow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Marlow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marlow)\ **Post date:** [June 24, 2003, 7:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613/20 "2003-06-24T07:18:27Z")
**The Kid Stays In The Picture** is entertaining, if not all that factual. **The Thin Blue Line** is a documentary about the mistrial that sent an innocent man to death row. If I recall correctly, this movie prompted an investigation into the trial which subsequently found the man to be innocent. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/i-want-to-see-more-documentary-films-name-some/183613.md?page=2)