Great Documentaries

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I know from days on pz, there are plenty of fans here.

 

I just finished watching Ken Burns' 2014  "The Address". Just a great 90 min. look at The Greenwood School in New Hampshire. Its a school for boys w special learning needs etc, and the film is about the schools tradition of having the boys learn, memorize, and then, present Lincoln' s Gettysburg Address.

 

One of the best documentaries ive seen in  a while.

 

Whatya got?

Night Will Fall

A documentary about the making of the only documentary that Hitchcock ever did.

Rolling Stones Ole Ole Ole - A Tour of Latin America (2016)

South American fans put North American (and many other countries) to shame.

Stones fans in Argentina are called 'Rolingas', and have similar attitudes to Deadheads - although by now they're hardly a 'cult'.

Man on Wire - about Phillipe Petit, who walked the tightrope between the twin towers of the World Trade Center.

Blackfish - about Tilikum, a killer whale held in captivity at Sea World.

I bet Rolingas are good at guessing the next song. 

Sour Grapes - a documentary on Netflix about an infamous wine fraud scheme that rocked the whole high end wine snob industry a while back.

 

 

Finding Vivian Maier- just fantastic. She was the Emily Dickinson of photography.

http://www.findingvivianmaier.com/

"Peace Officer".  Dub Lawrence. About the militarization of police forces across America.

"Bidder 70", about climate change activist Tim DeChristopher, who spent 22 months in prison for saving our nation's wildlands. 

The Art of the Steal....The story of how Dr. Albert Barnes collection of art was wrestled from his foundation and placed amongst the other museums in Philadelphia...completely against his wishes.  

The OP reminds me of a close family friend of ours who was a neighbor of my "Aunt Ginny" (really a Swedish-speaking cousin of my father's), in Leisure World, Orange County.  Whenever we visited Ginny, this guy (Carl) would offer to take us to Disneyland, using his lifetime pass as a retired D-land employee.


Well, there's no such thing as a free lunch.  Turns out that he was a Disneyland electrician who, among other things, worked on the audio-anamatronic (ie Robot) version of good ole Honest Abe, which apparently was unveiled at the 1964 World's Fair in New York.

 

So...he would get us into the park for free, but before the kiddos could jump on the exciting rides, it was obligatory to go indoors and watch President Lincoln give his speech (speeches?  Seemed like a long show).  We'd watch this stiff robot give the Gettysburg Address, while Carl would whisper to us stories about how people in the 60's would engage him with pea-shooters to see if he would flinch, because they couldn't believe it was a machine (my brother and I thought it was actually quite obvious).


Anyhoo...I'll try to actually provide you a list of some of my favorite documentaries.  But until then, here's a photo (I wonder if "Uncle Carl" is one of the men surrounding the Commander in Chief):

 

Lincoln robot.jpg

Searching for sugarman

Spinal Tap

Great story, Johnny....looking fwrd to some of your recommendations , and thanks , all, for those posted already.

John, is Uncle Carl the fellow doing the bubububub on Uncle Abe's lip?

 

Edit, Bububub on the lip guy kind of looks like Walt Disney himself.

Just watched Meet the Donors. Alexandra Pelosi film about the mega donors to presidential campaigns. 

The egos on these guys are mind boggling. They could spend that money eradicating suffering and all they're concerned about is,as the one guy said is "peeing with the big dogs". 

Maru- about the ascent of the hardest mountain in the world

Grizzly Man - About Timothy Treadwell, the dude who lived with grizzlies.

Some top notch looking docs here I'll be checking out. Another beautiful aspect of Viva...kinda of like mind melding. I'm not far from the old Barnes location and have been there once. Haven't been to the new digs. Will check that doc for sure! 

A couple more...

I AM - Tom Shadyac  The film asks the question: "What is wrong with the world, and what can we do about it?" Tom Shadyac is one of Hollywood's all-time leading comedy directors with his films, Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, The Nutty Professor, Liar, Liar, Patch Adams, ...

http://www.iamthedoc.com/

Before the Flood - DeCaprio's new doc on Climate Change

 

The Resurrection of Jake "The Snake" Roberts

Lemmy

maybe not great, but brutally honest and open

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=VLncwnaJwgo

the filmmaker/narrator is a friend of mine

Belfast Maine, by Frederick Wiseman.

245 minutes!

Having spent 8 seasons in Maine as a migrant laborer, this film hits home.  

The Fear of 13 - a miscarriage of justice, narrated by a death row inmate.   Quite compelling.

Grey Gardens.

Hands on a Hardbody

King of Kong

My Kid could paint that

 

Wrecking Crew

It's not a great one, or even that good of one, but, I made it:

https://vimeo.com/63056695

dust.resin.water. a 'film' on surfboard shaping...

suck down some vimeo bandwidth :)

I accidentally close the tab for Viva after watching links that don't lead to another tab (window). Here's a tip for an easy way to make it open in a new window. This tip and others are in the Formatting folder to your left.

Making a Link Open a New Window
Click the link button, the chain icon, and select the Target tab.
From the target tab, click the dropdown menu and select New Window, then Save.

Keep em comin, some great stuff here already...(of course)

 

I had never seen "day of a fight" before, and , fish, i started watched the one your friend made...i had to pause at "grandma's last xmas", but i will finish watching it. Good stuff.

 

Happy Friday, all.

I haven't seen and docs recently, but I still remember these fondly:

 

Muscle Shoals


The Wrecking Crew

Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet: 

From wikipedia -

The film documents Becker's rise to near-stardom, following him from the first time he touched a guitar as a five-year-old to when he was drafted into The David Lee Roth Band as lead guitarist at the age of 19. In 1990, this was considered perhaps the most coveted rock guitar gig on the planet, as Becker would be following in the footsteps of acclaimed guitarists Eddie van Halen and Steve Vai, both of whom played with David Lee Roth as lead guitar player. It was shortly after that Becker was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, more popularly known as Lou Gehrig's disease, and given just 3 to 5 years to live. Becker was able to finish the recording of Roth's third full-length studio album A Little Ain't Enough but was unable to make the tour due to his physical decline.

Despite his diagnosis, Becker continued to write music even after losing all the ability to move and speak. Becker would go on to write and record two full-length studio albums Perspective (1996) and Collection (2008). Becker communicates exclusively via an eye pattern chart invented by his father, artist and poet, Gary Becker.

Although the film examines Becker's physical decline and his missed shot at rock superstardom, the film is a positive account of Becker's strength and survival for the last 22 years of his life.

The film makes extensive use of Becker's family archives through photographs, Super 8mm film and VHS footage. The film features interviews with Becker's family and friends as well as notable guitarists Joe Satriani and Steve Vai.

-

Another vote for "Crumb".

When we first saw this is a theater and his brother the beggar came on the screen my wife grabbed my arm and says "I know that guy!"  Turns out that he would sit on the sidewalk outside of her apartment when she lived in SF.

And of course there's the brother who writes small

And a vote for "Be Here to Love Me".  More about Townes than you really want to know.

How about the new one Orange Sunshine. Haven't seen it yet but sounds really good.

JACO: the Film | Jaco Pastorius

Jaco: The Film DVD Produced by Metallica's Robert Trujillo (Metallica)
in association with Passion Pictures, JACO includes some incredible insights from an array of artists ...

Very cool stuff that exposes the mental decline of this gifted bassist and the internecine ego battle he had with Joe Zawinul while in Weather Report.

The week sauce is at the end when Trujillo plays some goofy metal BS on Jaco's bass but otherwise this thing is very compelling if you dig Jaco.

I wonder how Hoop Dreams would hold up nowadays. 

Pedal Up,Thanks for the props!  

I watched a documentary on Netflix about Leonard Nimoy last night called - For The Love of Spock.

If you are a fan of Star Trek - you will enjoy it.

 

did jambone really say "of course" above, sigh. Does ass kissing zoners = a 3 step policy? serious question

Hands on a Hardbody was some good Texas stuff.  Good recommendation Prob Cosby

Degenerate Art

 

A true documentary of the art and culture of glass pipe-making.

 

You may even see you know who in there somewhere ;)

 

http://m.imdb.com/title/tt2123927/

Finished a cpl more...

 

And now have a huge list of new ones to watch....

 

Saw a great one last night on canadian troops at d-day, but dont have name..ill try and find it

 

Keep em comin..

Fog of War. I cry everytime. 

BBC's The Power of Nightmares - essential to modern history

BBC Prog Rock Britannia. 

Mel Blanc: The Man of a Thousand Voices

 

more

It's So Easy and other Lies...

This is on Netflix. It is Michael "Duff" McKagen. I found it to be very creatively produced. It is Duff and friends on stage with instruments playing mellow versions of songs from his bands, and reading excerpts from his book of the same title. They also cut away to video segments. 

 

YMMV.

Jim: The James Foley Story

Gleason  (2016)

Not "great", but pulpy entertaining just for the sheer train wreck of it all is the John McAfee Gringo story.

 

The scat sex/ hammock thing was particularly horrifying.

King: A Filmed Record... From Montgomery to Memphis

powerful

20 Feet from Stardom is a 2013 American documentary film directed by documentary filmmaker Morgan Neville[3] and was produced by Gil Friesen, a music industry executive whose curiosity to know more about the lives of background singers inspired the making of the film.[4]

Respect Yourself: The Stax Records Story

 

 

Shakespeare Was a Big George Jones Fan: 'Cowboy' Jack Clement's Home Movies

^ Nashville producer and songwriter Jack Clement, pal of Johnny Cash - the doc has a ton of incredible Johnny Cash footage.

The Seven Five

I Am Your Father

All Things Must Pass

Super Mench

Atari Game Over

Man versus Snake

 

I didn't read whole thread, but just watched the Gringo McAfee doc....What a freak

I went into Office Max the next day, and at the register they tried to sell me McAfee software....I said HELL NO!!!!!

Loved The Vivian Meier Doc

and the one about William Durst and the murders was a captivating watch.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi

 

watched a documentary on Netflix about Leonard Nimoy last night called - For The Love of Spock.

If you are a fan of Star Trek - you will enjoy it.<<<

 

Thank you.

Dont Look Back

Bag it.

Just watched a very interesting show about Cuban Baseball and Cuban players that have defected on the MLB channel.

MISS SHARON JONES !!!

heartheartheartheartheartheartheart

Another + for Crumb, finally saw it over the weekend.

Accidentally saw a doc on Bill Wilson, AA founder.  

Turns out he took part in LSD studies in Canada for six years as alcohol therapy.

Took shit from some in AA.

I didn't know there was a third Decline.

Someone recommended a doc about a New Orleans musician right before the old place went still.

 

Does anyone remember what that was?

 

I'm watching "Full Sex Pistols Tour of London" right now, a 2009 doc I found on Youtubes.

^^^^I think the NOLA musician was a piano/keys guy.

Fed Up

Bigger, Stronger Faster

Prescription Thugs

 

Dirty Pictures

 

Found it on amazon prime

 

Wild look at psychedelics

Hofmann's Potion

>How about the new one Orange Sunshine. Haven't seen it yet but sounds really good.

 

dl ing now

Bumpin to save a cpl links...

Winnebago Man - documentary about some guy who used to swear a lot making Winnebego commercials

Deli-Man - the history and preservation of jewish deli

Burden of Dreams - Les Blanc's documentary about the making of Werner Herzog's Fitzcarraldo in South America

Jesus Camp - summer camp for evangelical children.  Scary.

Murder on a Sunday Morning - - the trial of a 15 year old falsely accused of murder

 

 FLOW - the History of Channel Islands Surfboards - Proud to say i am Part of the History working there for 9 Years - Al merrick is an a Amazing person.

https://www.amazon.com/Flow-Surfing-Revolution-Special-Collectors/dp/B000VITAVG

Just watched "for the love of spock"

 

Thanks....excellant

Making of a Murderer

 Idiocracy

The Passing Show

{{{{{{{{{ Ronnie Lane }}}}}}}}}

killswitch
we are legion - story of anonymous

The History of the Eagles might be the best, most-thorough music doc I've ever seen. Henley and Frey actually relished their role in being money-grabbing assholes. They were so candid that Walsh asked to be re-interviewed after seeing an early version.

Posted by LeHammer

Someone recommended a doc about a New Orleans musician right before the old place went still.

 

James Booker.. Bayou Maharaja, on Netflix..

bowling for columbine

Fahrenheit  911

Inconvenient Truth