My Favorite Documentaries

Submitted by sleestak on Fri, 07/23/2004 - 11:32
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  • Hoop Dreams
  • Winged Migration
  • Microcosmos
  • Mr. Death
  • Paradise Lost
  • Roger & Me
  • Visions of Light
  • Gates of Heaven
  • Everest (Imax)
  • American Hollow
Author Comments: 

A lame list considering the renaissance the doc has been going through the last few years. Some films on my need to see list:

* Spellbound
* Fahrenheit 9/11
* Fog of War
* Buena Vista Social Club
* Dark Days
* Hands on a Hard Body
* The Kid Stays in the Picture
* Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey

socialretard07/26/2004

Good picks. I still haven't seen Hoop Dreams (and I need to...why isn't it on DVD yet), but I enjoyed the rest. Did you see the second Paradise Lost doc?

I'd also add:
Capturing the Friedmans
War Photographer
Word Wars
The Five Obstructions
The Corporation
Sherman's March
MC5: A True Testimonial

sleestak07/26/2004

Thanks for the recommendations! The Corporation looks really interesting (and deals with a subject that never fails to rile me up.) Word Wars is the new one about competitive Scrabble, right?

I've heard good things about the new Metallica doc, too. I don't know if I can see there looking at Lars' smug face for 90 minutes no matter how good it is.

socialretard07/27/2004

Yeah, I recently saw the Metallica doc and wrote a few sentences about it on the movieretard LJ. It's worth seeing even if Ulrich and Hetfield are whiny, self-obsessed control freaks. It definitely makes Kirk Hammett look like the only cool guy in the band.

0dysseus08/03/2004

my six cents:

"The Eyes of Tammy Faye" - A look at life through the eyeliner of Tammy Faye Bakker Messner. RuPaul's narration brings a touch of class.

"Pumping Iron" - The Ahnuld at his manipulative best. Makes you fear for California.

"Wasn't That A Time" - Touching farewell to Lee Hays. And now a hilarious source for "A Mighty Wind."

sleestak08/04/2004

Thanks for the suggestions! I've heard really good things about the Tammy Faye doc (but from a biased friend who's obsessed with her) so I appreciate the second opinion. I hadn't heard of the Lee Hays documentary, so I'll be on the lookout!

0dysseus08/05/2004

I thought that I'd walk out of "The Eyes of Tammy Faye" [I could probably end this sentence right here] disliking her just as much as when I went in, if not more. But somehow I've come to wish her well. It's a change that unsettles me. Quite impressive from any movie.

I hope that you find/enjoy "Wasn't That A Time"... and then you'll find that "A Mighty Wind" is actually really quite funny.