Wild Wild Country on Netflix is outstanding:
<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80145240/" rel="nofollow">https://www.netflix.com/title/80145240/</a><p>I'm also a big fan of BBC Horizon's episodes, they cover a wide range of topics and generally are quite excellent and well researched.
<a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mgxf" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006mgxf</a>
Grizzly Man: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427312/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427312/</a> -- the folly of humans when it comes to interacting with wild animals well illustrated<p>The Fog of War: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317910/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0317910/</a> -- whoa. Just: whoa.<p>The Thin Blue Line: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Blue_Line_(1988_film)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thin_Blue_Line_(1988_film)</a> -- when a conviction goes wrong.<p>I guess I really like Errol Morris and Herzog? Probably.
The BBC's Planet Earth series is fantastic. Reminds me of Shakespeare: "There are more things in heaven and earth then are dreamt of your in philosophy"... Makes you really appreciate the beauty on this planet.<p>Also - a bit of a curveball answer: I really like Documentary Now! (on Netflix). They are parodies of really well known documentaries. So I ended up watching the parody and then looking for the source material on which it was based. I realized that my wife (art major) knew almost all the original documentaries and I knew almost none (engineer...)<p>EDIT: Wikipedia has the mapping of parody->original : <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_Now" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Documentary_Now</a>!
Restrepo is a 2010 American documentary film about the Afghanistan war.<p>The 2nd Platoon is depicted defending the outpost (OP) named after a platoon medic who was killed earlier in the campaign.<p>The huge success of this film and what separates it from the hundreds of other war pictures is that Junger puts us right in the middle of the action without any political agenda. He simply decides to film these groups of soldiers who have been deployed to one of the most dangerous locations in Afghanistan and lets us experience their day to day lives without making any pro or anti war comments. We are allowed to see a small glimpse of what the American soldiers have to go through and how they live amongst the villagers. In a way Junger allows the soldiers being filmed to tell their own story. We experience what they are going through in this dangerous war zone and how they interact with the local people. The cinematography is actually quite astonishing and I really felt like I was there with the soldiers.<p>The movie isn`t pro or anti war; it simply places the camera in the middle of the action and lets us experience what is going on. No one`s opinion about War is going to change: those who favor Americans involvement in Afghanistan will still do so after watching this documentary and those who don`t will still feel the same because the directors don't try to manipulate us into thinking the way they do. There aren`t any personal opinions about politics or war; it's all about experiencing what these soldiers have to go through every day whether or not they actually understand what they are fighting for.<p>It is only 90 minutes long so it is really worth your time.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrepo_(film)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Restrepo_(film)</a>
The Act of Killing - <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375605/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375605/</a><p><i>"A documentary which challenges former Indonesian death-squad leaders to reenact their mass-killings in whichever cinematic genres they wish, including classic Hollywood crime scenarios and lavish musical numbers."</i>
I really loved 'Jiro Dreams of Sushi', showing how much care and effort he puts into making it:<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1772925/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1772925/</a>
Adam Curtis' short "Oh Dearism" (<a href="https://thoughtmaybe.com/oh-dearism/" rel="nofollow">https://thoughtmaybe.com/oh-dearism/</a>) 12 minute mini-documentary is a good ramp up to his longer movies and is a critique of the failings of television news media in the late 20th century. My favorite of his is "Bitter Lake" (<a href="https://thoughtmaybe.com/bitter-lake/" rel="nofollow">https://thoughtmaybe.com/bitter-lake/</a>), a haunting "how did we get here" view of the middle east. His 3 part miniseries "All Watched Over By Machines of Loving Grace" (<a href="https://thoughtmaybe.com/all-watched-over-by-machines-of-loving-grace/" rel="nofollow">https://thoughtmaybe.com/all-watched-over-by-machines-of-lov...</a>) is a pretty good examination of 1970s silicon valley ruh-roh cybernetics culture and how it collided with the rest of the world vis-a-vis objectivism, finance, etc.<p>Somebody in this thread mentioned Wiseman's titicut follies, a lesser known but equally fascinating documentary of his is called The Store (<a href="http://www.zipporah.com/films/19" rel="nofollow">http://www.zipporah.com/films/19</a>) and just follows and examines the goings on at the Nieman-Marcus flagship in Dallas during holiday season of 1983.<p>Another favorite documentary that's more like watching a really good lecture is Thom Andersen's Los Angeles Plays Itself (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Plays_Itself" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Los_Angeles_Plays_Itself</a> ). it's a survey and exploration of the history of Los Angeles and its relationship and portrayal in hollywood and pop culture in general.
Hypernormalisation from Adam Curtis.
I have been looking for another documentary as visual appealing, as evolving as this one but haven't found any other documentary.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fny99f8amM" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fny99f8amM</a><p>Do you know another documentary as good as this one?
I wouldn't call it the best documentary, but I think people here will like it, it's a 4 part documentary: "A Video History of Japan's Electronic Industry"<p>I. Birth of the transformer: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihkRwArnc1k" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ihkRwArnc1k</a><p>II. Circuits in stone: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGRNXmWng3M" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uGRNXmWng3M</a><p>III. Calculator wars: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ansXGewduN4" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ansXGewduN4</a><p>IV. Tech Giant: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G40YwOg0_B8" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G40YwOg0_B8</a>
<i>Into Great Silence</i>, a very intimate portrayal of life in a monastery in southern France.<p>" The idea for the film was proposed to the monks in 1984, but the Carthusians said they wanted time to think about it.<p>They responded to Gröning 16 years later to say they were willing to permit him to shoot the movie if he was still interested. "<p><a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/into_great_silence/" rel="nofollow">https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/into_great_silence/</a>
Forks over Knives. Details the findings of an extensive string of studies on the consumption of animal protien. What is not covered in this particular documentary was how the US government was about to change thier food recommendations in 1977 but was stopped by agricultural power brokers invested in meat production. Uphill battle ever since but we can see exploding diabetes, heart disease, and cancer--all demonstrated as controllable I the studies talked about in this documentary. Changed my life.
Surprised no one mentioned this one yet:<p>> The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters is a 2007 American documentary film about competitive gaming directed by Seth Gordon. It follows Steve Wiebe in his attempts to take the high score record for the 1981 arcade game Donkey Kong from the previous holder, Billy Mitchell.
- Wikipedia
Carl Sagan’s <i>Cosmos</i>, first and foremost.<p>Much of Adam Curtis’ work is fantastic. <i>Hypernormalization</i> and <i>The Trap</i> were as fascinating as they were frightening. If I had the authority, I would mandate every child see <i>A Century of the Self</i> in school, and then again in college.<p>James Burke’s <i>Connections</i> was also excellent. Kind of like a link between Carl Sagan and Adam Curtis.<p>I personally loved the History Channel’s <i>Engineering an Empire</i>, not least because of the hilariously hyper-American host, Peter Weller (best known as RoboCop).
I'm surprised no one has mentioned HBO's 'Going Clear', which dives deep into what's happening in the Church of Scientology.<p>Granted, the topic is probably not the most surprising, but it covers a wide range of issues and scary on-goings within the group. Maybe I'm just young, but I didn't know the full extent of what they do and how they do it. 'Going Clear' does a fantastic job of informing the viewer while giving a voice to those who've escaped and are now dealing with the backlash.
Fundamentals of Small Arms Weapons. It's a documentary by the US Army showing how firearms work starting with just a barrel and a bullet and progressing in design all the way up to selectable fully automatic.<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJzXG7MYX1c" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GJzXG7MYX1c</a>
The Century of the Self: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3RzGoQC4s" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3RzGoQC4s</a><p>The Mystery of the Gnome Homes: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLoBWpiOczQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZLoBWpiOczQ</a><p>The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst:
<a href="https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2xz5fs" rel="nofollow">https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2xz5fs</a>
Paris is Burning: a classic that explores the "ball culture" of New York in the 80s, and the impact it had on the city's gay, transgender, black and Latino communities. It's great for how it follows the various characters as they prepare for balls, while explaining the subculture and its slang/practices along the way. Very entertaining and historically important too.<p>In the same vein, does anyone have any other recommendations for docs that dive deep into a subculture?
I loved Icarus; it was just amazing how more and more off track the filmmaker's original plan went as he got entangled with this Russian doctor and found himself documenting a much more interesting story than the one he originally set out to do.
Not a true documentary (since it was released as a TV series in episodes), but I'd say The Long Way Round. It documents the real life journey by Ewan McGregor and Charlie Boorman as they attempt to road trip from London to New York on motorcycles (except for a plane from eastern Russia to Alaska).<p>They come across a number of different cultures and outdoor adventures along the way. It's very entertaining and an interesting look into different countries of the world.<p>I'm rarely hooked to TV shows, but this one got me.
The World at War<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_at_War" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_World_at_War</a><p>It's a BBC series that chronicles the second world war. It was made in the 1970s and features interviews with the people who were actually there. I really recommend everybody watch it at least once in their life.<p>I think you can find it on YouTube.
I would recommend Kevin Kelly's website truefilms.com for a great list of documentaries on a large variety of topics. No matter what your interests are you're sure to find something interesting on here.<p>Werner Herzog has produced a number of fascinating documentaries that are just as good as his fictional films in my opinion. Wings of Hope, Encounters at the End of the World, Cave of Forgotten Dreams, Grizzly Man--he has an enormous talent for drawing profound, almost mythical ideas out of the subjects he captures. He's not for everyone, certainly, but his films have a unique vision you don't often see in documentaries.
Only because no one has mentioned it yet, "When We Were Kings". About The Rumble in the Jungle. We forget that, at the time, people were worried that Foreman, the hardest hitter who ever lived, might _kill_ Ali in the ring.<p>The savvy of Ali's "rope a dope" strategy, combined with the way he got in Foreman's head, whispering in his ear in the clinches, was genius. IMO, you can't watch this film and not agree -- GOAT.
"The Isle of Flowers". It's heart wrenching and it's only 13 minutes:<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQcdXh9v0pA" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQcdXh9v0pA</a><p>I could give you a summary but watching it with no context makes it as powerful as it was intended to be.<p>The 'videoclip' editing has been somewhat overdone, but this was done in 1989 so please give it a break and stick to it.<p>The doc itself was very famous in its time, but has since somewhat faded from public memory. Kinda like Marjoe and others, come to think about it
The Vietnam War: A film by Ken Burns & Lynn Novick<p>I watch it on Netflix. It is an even handed look of the war from both sides. It was so good. Be prepared to get angry and to cry.
Samsara - <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara_(2011_film)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara_(2011_film)</a>
A non-narrative film, with stunning visuals. I feel it shows some of the best and worst of humanity, but in a non-pushy or judgemental way. It just leaves you to make your own conclusions.
Netflix: "The Farthest: Voyager in Space" (2017) - "This documentary chronicles NASA's 1977 launch of twin space probes, sent to capture images of remote planets and bear messages from Earth."<p><a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80204377" rel="nofollow">https://www.netflix.com/title/80204377</a>
Road - The story of Joey Dunlop, and the motorcycling family he came from: <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80079364" rel="nofollow">https://www.netflix.com/title/80079364</a><p>Meru - Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk climb the Shark's Fin on Mount Meru in India: <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80039641" rel="nofollow">https://www.netflix.com/title/80039641</a><p>Valley Uprising - A history of climbing in Yosemite: <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80084836" rel="nofollow">https://www.netflix.com/title/80084836</a><p>Touching the Void - The story of Joe Simpson's accident and harrowing survival in his climb with Simon Yates on Siula Grande in the Andes. I'm not sure the best way to view this.
Some of my favourite nerdy documentaries:<p>BBS: The Documentary <a href="https://youtu.be/nO5vjmDFZaI" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/nO5vjmDFZaI</a><p>The KGB, the Computer, and Me <a href="https://youtu.be/EcKxaq1FTac" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/EcKxaq1FTac</a><p>8 Bit Generation: The Commodore Wars <a href="https://youtu.be/Jq_t-v0bDZ8" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/Jq_t-v0bDZ8</a>
I love, love, love music documentaries. The great ones have a great story to tell. I also believe that the ones about bands have some lessons for people starting businesses and dealing with cofounder friction, creative dynamics, licensing, etc. Many of them also deal with the impact of technology on recording, performing, and marketing. Recommended:<p>"Anvil! The Story of Anvil" (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1157605/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1157605/</a>)<p>"What Happened, Miss Simone?" (<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/70308063" rel="nofollow">https://www.netflix.com/title/70308063</a>)<p>"Soundbreaking: Stories from the cutting edge of recorded music" (PBS documentary on history of sound recording) (<a href="http://www.pbs.org/soundbreaking/home/" rel="nofollow">http://www.pbs.org/soundbreaking/home/</a>)<p>"Sound City" (about legendary recording studio in LA, narrated by Dave Grohl) (<a href="https://www.netflix.com/za/title/70265771" rel="nofollow">https://www.netflix.com/za/title/70265771</a>)<p>"Last Days Here" (About the singer of early doom metal band Pentagram) (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1723126/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1723126/</a>)<p>"As The Palaces Burn" (Lamb Of God's singer tried in Czech Republic for an incident at a concert) (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB6k-Ev_H7c" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nB6k-Ev_H7c</a>)<p>People love to hate on "Some Kind of Monster" because they don't like the album St. Anger but I really believe that it caught Metallica at a vulnerable and revealing time in their history. (<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80174429" rel="nofollow">https://www.netflix.com/title/80174429</a>)
<i>Crumb</i>. Its about the iconic counter-cultural cartoonist Robert Crumb (creator of the 1960s/1970s underground comics <i>Fritz the Cat</i>, <i>Keep on Trucking</i>, etc.). The Wikipedia entry for it[1] says (along with other accolades):<p>"Crumb was met with wide acclaim from critics, earning a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Gene Siskel rated Crumb as the best film of the year...Roger Ebert gave the film four (of four) stars, writing that 'Crumb is a film that gives new meaning to the notion of art as therapy.'"<p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crumb_(film)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crumb_(film)</a>
Andrew Marr's History of the World <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQupjl7KjR5vqzfweATuwQLgytRPE6wnd" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLQupjl7KjR5vqzfweATuw...</a><p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2441214/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2441214/</a><p>"Andrew Marr's History of the World is a 2012 BBC documentary television series presented by Andrew Marr that covers 70,000 years of world history from the beginning of human civilisation, as African nomadic peoples spread out around the world and settled down to become the first farmers, up to the twentieth century."
"Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media"<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104810/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104810/</a>
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse<p>It's all about the making of Apocalypse Now. It's really great, I'd say it's almost as good as Apocalypse Now the movie itself. The mental state of the characters and what it took to make this movie blew my mind.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearts_of_Darkness:_A_Filmmaker%27s_Apocalypse" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hearts_of_Darkness:_A_Filmmake...</a>
Titicut Follies: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titicut_Follies" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Titicut_Follies</a><p>The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_Naked_Army_Marches_On" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Emperor%27s_Naked_Army_Mar...</a><p>Grizzly Man: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_Man" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grizzly_Man</a><p>Burden of Dreams: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083702/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083702/</a><p>Boatman: <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106445/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0106445/</a><p>For wild-life I'll pick any Cousteau or BBC documentary<p>---Below are French movies (but worth trying to find in English)---<p>Depardon's Profils Paysans trilogy : <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0284409/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0284409/</a><p>L'Inde fantôme : <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063914/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0063914/</a>
"The Cove", (2009) about the secret practice of commercial Cetacea (dolphins, mainly) hunting in Japan (a Metascore value == 84, fwiw).<p>And +1 for "Grizzly Man."
Bigger Stronger Faster*<p>"... is a 2008 documentary film directed by Christopher Bell, about the use of anabolic steroids as performance-enhancing drugs in the United States and how this practice relates to the American Dream." -- Wikipedia
Lots of good suggestions here already, so a few lesser-known ones I've enjoyed:<p>Typeface - follows the volunteers at the Hamilton Wood Type museum.
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1207998/?ref_=nv_sr_1" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1207998/?ref_=nv_sr_1</a> /
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typeface_(film)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Typeface_(film)</a><p>Dogtown and the Z Boys. On the birth of professional skateboarding.
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275309/?ref_=nv_sr_2" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275309/?ref_=nv_sr_2</a> /
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogtown_and_Z-Boys" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogtown_and_Z-Boys</a><p>Riding Giants. From the director of Dogtown. This one focuses on the development of big wave surfing.
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389326/?ref_=nv_sr_1" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0389326/?ref_=nv_sr_1</a> /
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riding_Giants" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Riding_Giants</a><p>Pumping Iron. Follows Arnold Schwarzenegger and Lou Ferrigno as they attempt to win the 1975 Mr Olympia competition.
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076578/?ref_=nv_sr_1" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076578/?ref_=nv_sr_1</a> /
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumping_Iron" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pumping_Iron</a>
'Chasing Ice'! It's about a photographer (James Balog) who set up cameras in parts of Greenland, Iceland and Alaska to take time lapses of glaciers over the course of a couple of years. The images (and the difference that a couple of years makes) is astounding -- it truly is the most stunning visualization of global warming/climate change that I have ever seen.<p>And it's on Netflix.
There is a category of documentaries I never see mentioned in these lists. It is the kind which often is shown in Sweden under the name "Dokument utifrån" and is about foreign affair events that are current or about a year or few years old. These productions are, I guess, often from the BBC but also french, dutch, german etc productions that I assume are made by television companies associated with the EBU (European Broadcasting Union)<p>They often include interviews with people who "were there when it happened", such as ministers, diplomats, military brass etc.<p>Do people get what I am trying to describe? I kind of fail to do so, I feel...<p>Edit: I just checked what is up next in this series. It is this italian documentary about events in Egypt, "Our man in Cairo"<p><a href="http://www.gaea.it/video.asp?id=9143" rel="nofollow">http://www.gaea.it/video.asp?id=9143</a><p>Quite illustrative to what I mean. I haven't seen this one but it seems interesting
'Shoah', by Claude Lanzmann, who passed away earlier this year after a career of excellent documentary filmmaking.<p>Review by Roger Ebert when it was first released:
<a href="https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-shoah-1985" rel="nofollow">https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-shoah-1985</a>
Searching for Sugar Man, do not watch the trailer or read on it. It will spoil the documentary! If you like music, 60s, justice, Bob Dylan and feel good story its a must watch.
Cizenfour is hands-down my favorite movie of all time. It’s cinematically beautiful and the inside perspective on the Snowden leaks is tantalizing. I can’t receomend it enough.
Food, Inc. It may come across as propaganda for organic food, but I found the insight into industrial style farming and the major consolidation of food providers fascinating. Made me much more appreciative of places that try to buy locally and well-treated (relatively well) animals.
How Buildings Learn, based on (and in some ways better than) the Stewart Brand book. Definite takeaways for software architecture, and includes appearances by Christopher Alexander, a key instigator of the patterns movement. Produced by the BBC in the 90's, now on Youtube - <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvEqfg2sIH0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvEqfg2sIH0</a><p>Turns out that many architects of the built environment are just as prone as those of the software kind to not caring about the usability and maintainability of their systems, let alone how how they will evolve over extended periods of time.
On early 90's, there was, on Spain,collection of documentals about astronomy. They were pretty good! Even as a little kid I understand everything, and the documentals were pretty straightforward explain everything. I would say that are at the same level that Sagan's Cosmos.<p>I'm trying to get the original source, but I only managed to discover that could be a translation of "A galactic odyssey" of NHK-TV, or reused some stuff from it.<p>I ripped some of my old VHS to YouTube : <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL32C7C4EF477AB37D" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL32C7C4EF477AB37D</a>
I am a documentary filmmaker and the one title I am surprised not to have seen here is American Movie. <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181288/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0181288/</a><p>True documentary classic- incredible characters, editing, treatment. Just an overall gem.<p>And if you dig that, check out Home Movie, a follow up from Chris Smith & excellent example of the vignette approach to a feature doc <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275408/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0275408/</a>
I used to distribute docs and produce them for a living. It's awesome that docs are in the spotlight again, but it's pretty remarkable how limited the selection can be on streaming services, in terms of critically acclaimed work. If there's a hole in the marketplace, this might be it.<p>Some of my favorites:<p>Hoop Dreams<p>Jesus Camp<p>Salesman<p>Lost in la Mancha<p>Stranded<p>Anvil: the Story of Anvil<p>When We Were Kings<p>Sherman's March<p>F is for Fake<p>The Thin Blue Line<p>Sans Soleil<p>Don't Look Back<p>Up the Yangtze<p>I Am Not Your Negro
Grizzly Man still gives me goose bumps:
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427312/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0427312/</a>
Wow. I'm a bog Doc fan. I'll list a few of my favs:<p>Touch the Sound. For me this was life changing. The story of a deaf percussionist.
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424509/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0424509/</a><p>Man on Wire. Also life changing.
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1155592/?ref_=nv_sr_1" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1155592/?ref_=nv_sr_1</a><p>Winnebago Man. Fascinating!You've probably seen his vids on youtube.
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396557/?ref_=nv_sr_1" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1396557/?ref_=nv_sr_1</a><p>Anvil: The Story of Anvil. I worked in the music scene in the 80s and heard of these guys, and always wondered what happened. This film answers that question.
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1157605/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1157605/?ref_=fn_al_tt_4</a><p>My Architect. A sons journey learning about his dad, through his dad's architecture.
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373175/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0373175/</a>
I was surprised that nobody had yet suggest Ken Burns' The Dust Bowl. While not particularly exciting, to be honest, I found it incredibly moving and educational. The origins and extent of the plight and its ramifications across the whole country are nothing short of country-defining.<p>That the solutions to come out of at are so far removed from where we are today and how the US seeks to solve similar wide-spread economic challenges is deeply saddening.
If you have any interest in the Apollo missions...<p>In the Shadow of the Moon [0]<p>The film follows the manned missions to the Moon made by the United States in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The documentary reviews both the footage and media available to the public at the time of the missions, as well as NASA films and materials which had not been opened in over 30 years.<p>For All Mankind [1]<p>A 1989 documentary film drawn from original footage of NASA's Apollo program which successfully landed the first humans on the Moon from 1969 to 1972.<p>Moon Machines [2]<p>The miniseries features interviews with around 70 of the 400,000 engineers who worked on the Apollo program during the 1960s and early 70s.<p>These are variously available on DVD and YouTube.<p>[0] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Shadow_of_the_Moon_(film)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Shadow_of_the_Moon_(fil...</a><p>[1] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_All_Mankind" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/For_All_Mankind</a><p>[2] <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Machines" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moon_Machines</a>
The entire genre of 'non-narrative documentary' film <a href="https://www.imdb.com/list/ls073014744/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/list/ls073014744/</a> notably <i>Manufactured Landscapes</i> @ <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufactured_Landscapes" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufactured_Landscapes</a><p>Many BBC documentary series. Personal favourites include <i>History of India</i> and <i>Islamic History of Europe</i>.<p>The extremely unique (probably never to be repeated in spirit) and zeitgeist-defining <i>Julian Assange Show</i> @ <a href="https://www.rt.com/tags/the-julian-assange-show/" rel="nofollow">https://www.rt.com/tags/the-julian-assange-show/</a> and <i>Citizenfour</i>.<p>A post-facto interview based documentary whose name I forget, perhaps <i>Real War</i>, about Russian military human rights abuses in the Caucasus, which was extremely shocking.<p>Many SBS <i>Dateline</i> reports.
"Big River Man" - <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0956101/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0956101/</a><p>It follows Martin Strel a Slovenian long distance swimmer as he attempts to swim the 3000+ miles of the Amazon and chronicles his struggles with the sheer effort of the swim, his personal life and alcoholism.<p>You don't need to have an interest in swimming or sport at all. It's just a really well-made documentary with many layers.<p>"Valley Uprising" - <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3784160/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3784160/</a>
Rock climbing in Yosemite. The story begins innocently enough but as it proceeds through history of the climbs, it becomes more and more astonishing. Well worth a watch! Again, you don't need to be interesting in climbing at all. A good story is a good story.
Good recent selection is Steve Aoki's <i>I'll Sleep When I'm Dead</i>. There is something inspiring about an inside look in real time at someone playing at the absolute peak of their game and the backstory of how hard they had to struggle to get there ;)<p><i>Active Measures</i> is also pretty much required watched for the current conversation.
Indecline Volume 1: It's Worse Than You Think
<a href="https://youtu.be/imbA7eExNhE" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/imbA7eExNhE</a>
(^^^ Totally NSFW!)<p>This is a ridiculous film, made by the guy who put out Bum Fights volumes 1 and 2 (but not 3 -- he sold the rights and another guy put out volume 3 using some of Ryan McPherson's old footage as well as new footage where the new film makers literally assaulted unsuspecting homeless people while dressed like Steve Irwin). In Bum Fights, McPherson paid homeless people to fight each other and do dangerous stunts. This isn't the case with Indecline. Indecline shows the film makers vandalizing property (think graffiti), and it shows other people doing stupid shit (a guy breaking into cars, a guy stabbing another guy through the chest, etc.), but the film makers don't seem to be paying other people to endanger themselves this time around, just filming it. This is a horribly depressing film. Expect to see a lot of human misery. Expect to question the motivations of the film makers. Expect to question the half-expressed political opinions of the film makers.<p>Since this film was made they've put out some other, shorter, less cringey, more banky pieces. Probably most well known is The Emperor Has No Balls (they made news for leaving these statues in some major cities without prior announcement): <a href="https://youtu.be/f7TeTzOgkMs" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/f7TeTzOgkMs</a><p>I prefer this large scale graffiti they did on a US military weapons testing site: <a href="https://youtu.be/HJWFHoyW-3g" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/HJWFHoyW-3g</a><p>McPherson also made the news for shipping human body parts (including an adult heart and an infant head) to the US from Thailand. He said he bought them at a local market, and was sending them to a friend "as a prank." They were later traced back to a hospital.
The Kid Stays in the Picture: <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kid_Stays_in_the_Picture" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Kid_Stays_in_the_Picture</a><p>It's an autobiographical film about somebody you probably don't know or would ever care to know. It primarily uses collage (e.g. photographs, press clippings) for the visuals, narrated by the subject.<p>What's most memorable is just how darn <i>good</i> the film is. It's like your uncle presenting an Oscar-worthy slideshow in his basement. It felt like a masterpiece of film making. No film has ever left such an impression on me. I deeply appreciated and was in awe of its artistic merit. But I haven't seen it since its original release. Maybe it really only works on the big screen or similar environment.
Haven't seen a mention of Louis Theroux yet, but he is easily my most favorite documentary maker. His style of straight forward questioning of difficult or taboo topics creates a very authentic impression of people.
Definitely check him out. The one about pedophilia in particular was very gripping.<p>edit: language
Chronicle of a Summer (Chronique d'un été): On one hand, a simple documentary where they conduct Studs Terkel-like interviews with working-class people in Paris in 1960, asking a simple question: <i>Are you happy?</i> As do all the best documentarians, they magically bring out the most profound, innermost thoughts of their subjects. On the other, a documentary about documentaries and their realism - interspersed are questions of how real and honest what we see is, and near the end the subjects watch the finished product together and discuss how real and honest they were in front of the camera.<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronique_d'un_été" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chronique_d'un_été</a><p>Considered an innovative milestone in documentary film-making.
Lots of great documentaries already mentioned, but one of my favorites "Tim's Vermeer" hasn't been yet.
<a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tims_vermeer_2014" rel="nofollow">https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/tims_vermeer_2014</a>
A Map for Saturday, definitely opened my eyes to spending a gap year traveling the world. Maybe some day.<p>Link: <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R07DF6C/ref=cm_sw_su_dp" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00R07DF6C/ref=cm_sw_su_dp</a>
A movie about the wine industry and fraud, Sour Grapes: <a href="https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sour_grapes_2016/" rel="nofollow">https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/sour_grapes_2016/</a><p>If you want to do long dives anything by Ken Burns, baseball is a classic:
<a href="http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/baseball/" rel="nofollow">http://www.pbs.org/kenburns/baseball/</a><p>A documentary about Napster directed by not Keanu of Bill and Ted's Excellent adventure, Downloaded:
<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2033981/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2033981/</a>
Icarus (2017). Won an Oscar, has 93% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Not just the story of how state-sponsored doping and corruption kill Olympic games and major sport competitions, but the emotional and sometimes artsy way the movie is made is very impressive.
Earth From Space (2012)<p><a href="https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2149708/?ref=m_nv_sr_1" rel="nofollow">https://m.imdb.com/title/tt2149708/?ref=m_nv_sr_1</a><p>This documents Earth by combining imagery and data from many different satellites, to model the Earth in a way never before seen before. It shows how different systems of the Earth interact with each other that is absolutely mind-blowing.<p>For example, you see how a stirring of dust in the desert creates a daily migration of minerals into the Amazon rainforest which allows the rainforest to survive and thrive.<p>It shows daily, and weekly, and Millennial long cycles that power the planet and really changes how you see the Earth.<p>And it's gorgeous.
I really liked "I'll sleep when i'm dead", the Steve Aoki documentary : <a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80118930" rel="nofollow">https://www.netflix.com/title/80118930</a>
Lo and Behold, Reveries of the Connected World<p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lo_and_Behold,_Reveries_of_the_Connected_World" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lo_and_Behold,_Reveries_of_the...</a>
Hoop Dreams (<a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoop_Dreams" rel="nofollow">https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hoop_Dreams</a>) - 1994.<p>This is a long basketball documentary following two youngsters from the housing projects of Chicago. I was lucky enough to visit Chicago for a week with work just a couple of months after seeing this; it led me to learning so much more about the struggles of people living in the housing projects of Cabrini Green, Robert Taylor Homes etc. Whether you're a fan of basketball or not, this is an eye opener into much wider issues.
Sean Carroll's "Great Courses" production on the "Higgs Boson, and Beyond" [1] offers like 5 hours of what you'll likely gradually find to be a very accessible, informative and entertaining audio/aural chronology of the Higgs boson's conception; through its planning, and on through the LHC experiment, and finally past its discovery, into the current state of affairs regarding field theory.
1. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUv1OJ2PE0s" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BUv1OJ2PE0s</a>
"Tickled" will absolutely blow your mind. It feels like you have a front-row seat to a real scandal in a way that no other documentary I've ever seen does.<p>All the "Dirty Money" episodes are pretty good, but the best one by far IMHO is the one about the racecar driver / payday loan scam empire. Just amazing.<p>"Plastic China" is really tough to watch (and may be even more deeply uncomfortable for people who pat themselves on the back for recycling) but I think it's one of the most important revelations in documentary filmmaking in the past 5 years or so.
Nobody else has mentioned this, so I will:<p>When We Left Earth: The NASA Missions<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1233514/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1233514/</a><p>Pretty great, with high quality historical footage as well. I think you can buy the HD streaming version on Amazon for $10 (258 minutes long, broken into six segments).<p>Silicon Valley (by PBS) is another:<p><a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2547530/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2547530/</a>
I just tweeted about this coincidentally. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/11-Filmmakers-Commemorative-Tony-Benatatos/dp/B005LSX90O" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/11-Filmmakers-Commemorative-Tony-Bena...</a> is good watching multiple times.<p>Definitely anything Steve James has done too - currently America to Me (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7768836/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7768836/</a>).
Buck - <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1753549/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1753549/</a> - Story of the actual real life horse whisperer.<p>Chicken People -<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4819510/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4819510/</a> - follows three people for a year as they show their chickens at chicken fancier shows. Pretty gentle and just a nice film.
A few that have not been mentioned yet-<p>We Are Legion - The Story of the Hacktivists (about Anonymous)<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zwDhoXpk90" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-zwDhoXpk90</a><p>The Commodore Story
<a href="https://thecommodorestory.com/" rel="nofollow">https://thecommodorestory.com/</a><p>From Bedrooms to Billions
<a href="http://www.frombedroomstobillions.com/" rel="nofollow">http://www.frombedroomstobillions.com/</a>
"The Magic Pill" (<a href="https://www.netflix.com/title/80238655" rel="nofollow">https://www.netflix.com/title/80238655</a>) defied my preconceptions, along with <a href="https://youtu.be/1rz-8H_i1wA" rel="nofollow">https://youtu.be/1rz-8H_i1wA</a>. They're about low-carb, keto diets and how decades of "low fat" conventional wisdom was based on bad science, industry pressure, etc.
One that had a huge impact on me as a kid was "QED - A Guide to Armageddon" - which is a very factual analysis of the effects of a nuclear weapon on a modern city.<p>It's available on YouTube.<p>The director went on to make <i>Threads</i>.<p>Also - "Behind the Lines" about the training done by the Arctic and Mountain Warfare Cadre of the Royal Marines:<p><a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00j9v8j" rel="nofollow">https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00j9v8j</a>
I found this one very interesting:<p>"How Big Oil Conquered The World"<p>"From farm to pharmaceutical, diesel truck to dinner plate, pipeline to plastic product, it is impossible to think of an area of our modern-day lives that is not affected by the oil industry. [...]"<p><a href="https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-310-rise-of-the-oiligarchs/" rel="nofollow">https://www.corbettreport.com/episode-310-rise-of-the-oiliga...</a>
Waco: The Rules of Engagement<p>It is a 1997 Documentary covering the 1993 FBI siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas that ended with the death of almost all of the men, women and children in the compound.<p>Waco is considered by many to be the second part in a sad trilogy that starts in Naples, ID and ends in Oklahoma City, OK. I'd be interested in knowing of good documentaries that cover the other parts.
There was a documentary on the City of God DVD that was better than the film (and I thought it was an amazing film).<p>A few from Netflix that I could find that I rated:<p>Endless Summer<p>Death in Gaza<p>The Filth and the Fury<p>Jiro Dreams of Sushi<p>Baseball<p>March of the Penguins<p>The Art of the Steal<p>Born Into Brothels<p>The Aristocrats<p>God Grew Tired of Us<p>The Fog of War<p>The Lost Wave<p>The Last Waltz<p>Festival Express
Gettysburg by Ken Burns. The best thing I've ever seen on TV.<p><a href="https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/civil-war/" rel="nofollow">https://www.pbs.org/kenburns/civil-war/</a><p><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civil_War_(miniseries)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civil_War_(miniseries)</a>
Particle Fever about the CERN
<a href="http://particlefever.com/" rel="nofollow">http://particlefever.com/</a><p>Alpha go 2017
Absolute zero was really interesting, Found some 720p ones but the audio is super quiet<p>Pt 1 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCDsXU15USI" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UCDsXU15USI</a><p>Pt 2 <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxKFeQF6_zc" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxKFeQF6_zc</a>
Cartel Land. Spoiler: Includes serendipitously captured footage of a local thug's takedown by vigilantes.<p><pre><code> https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4126304/reviews
</code></pre>
Shows how Mexican drug lords aren't so much entrepreneurs, as rather players within a bigger system. This came as a much-belated epiphany to me.
Art & Copy. A great look into what goes into great advertising.
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBksrtEXGCw&t=" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBksrtEXGCw&t=</a><p>Best quote?<p>"Advertising is poison gas. It should bring tears to your eyes, unhinge your nervous system and knock you out."
So many Ken Burns documentaries come to mind but I think the National Parks one is my favorite. The Vietnam War, his latest work, was excellent too.<p>"Lo and Behold" by Herzog depressed the hell out of me. It gives me the impression that society is being torn apart by the independence that technology enables.<p>Farenheit 9/11.<p>Michal Pollan's Cooked series.
One I haven't seen recommended yet is "Stories We Tell". A bit unique and definitely one to see without reading too much on it.<p>As for others that people have already mentioned, I'd second the nods to "Touching the Void", "Encounters at the End of the World", and "The Act of Killing".
I am a documentary nut! Lots of amazing ones mentioned but one that I have to point out that has not been mentioned is "Winters on Fire". Really does a great job of documenting the lead up to Ukrainians finally having enough of Russia's puppet Prime Minster. Warning! Not for the faint of heart.
Samsara is utter beauty <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara_(2011_film)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samsara_(2011_film)</a><p>No (spoken) narrative, so I can't tell you what you're meant to learn, but it gave me a big overview effect of the world.
Somm and The Imposter. Somm delves into the lives of a few guys as they study for their sommelier exam. You get to see how intense this niche of the world is. I won’t spoil anything about The Imposter, but definitely check out a trailer. It’s about a boy that goes missing and is found much later.
Riding Solo to the Top of the World (2006) <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903013/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0903013/</a><p>The Atomic Cafe (1982) <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083590/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0083590/</a><p>At Sea (2007) <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1829648/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1829648/</a><p>The Vietnam War (2017) <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877514/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1877514/</a><p>Lessons of Darkness (1992) <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104706/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104706/</a><p>Tim's Vermeer (2013) <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3089388/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3089388/</a><p>Weiner (2016) <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5278596/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5278596/</a><p>Jodorowsky's Dune (2013) <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1935156/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1935156/</a><p>Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003) <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379357/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379357/</a><p>The Art of Japanese Life (2017) <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7002974/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7002974/</a><p>The Great Happiness Space: Tale of an Osaka Love Thief (2006) <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493420/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0493420/</a><p>The Triumph of the Nerds: The Rise of Accidental Empires (1996) <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115398/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115398/</a><p>The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (2015) <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4299972/" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4299972/</a>
Dancing with the devil. Violence in Rio's favelas
<a href="https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1379064/plotsummary?ref_=m_tt_ov_pl" rel="nofollow">https://m.imdb.com/title/tt1379064/plotsummary?ref_=m_tt_ov_...</a>
McConkey<p>Trailer: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiFo-osFHwQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiFo-osFHwQ</a><p>Brilliant documentary about the life of Shane McConkey and his progression from skiing, BASE jumping and ski wingsuiting.
"Crime + Punishment" is a very strong one. It includes hidden camera and hidden microphone documentation of what goes on inside the New York City police and justice system and documents how hard it is to make anything better nowadays.
Our Daily Bread was really fascinating for its unflinching look at food production.<p>101 Rent Boys about prostitutes on the Sunset strip.<p>Unknown Knowns was amazing.<p>also two old documentaries from Frontline on credit cards: “ The secret history of the credit card“ and “the card game“
Baraka. No narrative, no traditional story, just stunning images from around the world. <a href="https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0103767" rel="nofollow">https://m.imdb.com/title/tt0103767</a>
Just For Kicks. It's probably 10+ years old now, but a fascinating and super, super well put together doc on sneakers and the culture around it. Entertaining even if you're not sold on the subject matter.
Style Wars "The Original Hip-hop Documentary"
<a href="http://www.stylewars.com/site/" rel="nofollow">http://www.stylewars.com/site/</a><p>Amazing, gritty portrait of NYC in the 80s.
Just saw Finding Vivial Maier, which gives details about the everyday life of the most underrated photographer ever. This shows a mix of both complex personality and pure talent. This was a very interesting show!
The Secret Life Of Waves. It made me think differently about life, the universe and the nature of complex systems.<p>I also found The Brain with David Eagleman a series that gave me revelations about all sorts of things.
Asif Kapadia's 'Senna'.
'India's Daughter' by Leslee Udwin for an interesting record of modern India.<p>Generally I do think, documentaries work better when they avoid talking heads.
Afghanistan The Great Game: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a7bP49ehKQ" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6a7bP49ehKQ</a>
Apocalypse: Documentary on 1st and 2nd world war. I thought it was great because it used original videos. There are 5 episodes for 1st world and I think 5 for 2nd world war.
Earthlings. It goes into detail about how non-human animals are used to create animal products, and what our alternatives are.<p>My only note is that the narration is hit or miss in some parts.
I liked "One Strange Rock" by Darren Arronofsky.<p>It's a couple of astronauts talking (mostly) about space and life and physics. It has crazy beautiful visuals
‘Pulling John’.<p>If your first inclination is to say, “A documentary about arm wrestling In shall not watch!”, check yourself at the Netflix login.<p>It's really compelling.
Happy People (2010). Focuses on isolated communities living in remote areas of Siberia and their way of life.<p>Also:<p>Chef's Table<p>Wild Wild Country<p>Tickled<p>Jiro Dreams of Sushi
stewart brand how buildings learn - free on youtube: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvEqfg2sIH0" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AvEqfg2sIH0</a> (uploaded by the man himself)
Empire of Dust<p>Cave of Forgotten Dreams<p>Zero Days<p>Beslan<p>Wild, Wild Country<p>10 Days in Gaza<p>World War Two in Colour<p>The Horn<p>documentaryheaven.com has a lot of dross and a few nuggets
I watched some ' extraordinary lives' documentaries with modern day video footage<p>1. Stalin's Daughter : <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Stalins-Daughter-Svetlana-Alliluyeva/dp/B078GVQ6ZF/" rel="nofollow">https://www.amazon.com/Stalins-Daughter-Svetlana-Alliluyeva/...</a><p>2. Last emperor of China Puyi: <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KnlcJk2w4E" rel="nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4KnlcJk2w4E</a><p>Crazy ups and downs.
Try these:
On the rise of Al Qaeda:
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Nightmares" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Nightmares</a><p>Exploration of lives of John Maynard Keynes, Friedrich Hayek, and Karl Marx
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_Money" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Masters_of_Money</a>
1. The Look of Silence<p>2. Let the Fire Burn<p>3. Koyaanisqatsi<p>4. Samsara<p>5. Baraka<p>6. Vernon, Florida<p>7. Art and Craft<p>8. Black Panthers<p>9. F for Fake<p>10. Du Côté de la côte
1. Fire in the blood:
It's about "battle between pharmaceutical companies and the global public health community over access to lower-cost AIDS drugs for Africa"
<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_in_the_Blood_(2013_film)" rel="nofollow">https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fire_in_the_Blood_(2013_film)</a><p>2. Capitalism a Love Story: Questions unrestrained capitalism in the backdrop of 2008 financial crisis
Here's my list of 10/10 documentaries:<p>Biopics and Portraits:<p>- Kung Fu Elliot (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3228302/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3228302/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- Listen to Me Marlon (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4145178/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4145178/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- Man on Wire (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1155592/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1155592/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- My Winnipeg (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093842/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1093842/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- A Gray State (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6794380/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6794380/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1683876/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1683876/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- Valley Uprising (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3784160/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3784160/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- You've Been Trumped (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1943873/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1943873/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>Environmental:<p>- Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3302820/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3302820/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- The Cove (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1313104/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1313104/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- Chasing Coral (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6333054/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6333054/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- Virunga (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3455224/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3455224/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>Crime:<p>- Cartel Land (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4126304/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4126304/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- The Act of Killing (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375605/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375605/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- The Culture High (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1778338/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1778338/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4299972/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4299972/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- West of Memphis (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2130321/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2130321/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- How to Make Money Selling Drugs (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276962/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1276962/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- The Fear of 13 (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5083702/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5083702/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- Brother's Keeper (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103888/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0103888/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- Auschwitz: The Nazis and the 'Final Solution' (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446610/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446610/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>Reflecting on Life and Death:<p>- Given (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4890452/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4890452/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- Extremis (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5538078/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5538078/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- Touching the Void (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379557/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379557/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- Attention: A Life in Extremes (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2846628/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2846628/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>Society:<p>- Israel vs Israel (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1753960/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1753960/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- Inside Job (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)<p>- The Overnighters (<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3263996/?ref_=rt_li_tt" rel="nofollow">https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3263996/?ref_=rt_li_tt</a>)