Came here to post this, great choice. Don't read anything about it, just watch it.
It's as taut a thriller as any studio-made film, except it's a documentary. The cinematography and editing are beyond most docs I've watched, even in interview settings. It's the rare occurrence where the subject matter, as crazy as it is, is made so much better by the direction. Highly recommended for anybody who likes true crime.
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Name one documentary that you feel people should watch and explain why
- Thread starter AuthenticM
- Start date
It's about the early years of the AIDS epidemic and the various people and groups that formed to bring about legislation, medical research and treatment and policy changes to fight the disease.
It's informative and powerful stuff, showing me a part of history I wasn't particularly aware of.
I can only second this suggestion. It shines a spotlight on a massive human tragedy that has all but been forgotten by most people, despite happening less than 40 years ago. It shows the lives (and deaths) of several of the victims of the AIDS-crisis, as well as all of the activism that took place to not just find a cure, but to get acknowledgement that there was a problem in the first place. And it also shows that Reagan and his administration were some of the biggest monsters in US history, not just for permanently ruining your economy, but because of their actions during the crisis. They not only ignored the problem, they actively sabotaged any attempts to study and/or quarantine the epidemic before it had spread beyond control and infected millions of people, simply because a lot of the early victims were part of the LGBT+ community. They shackled the CDC and forced them to watch and do nothing. They stopped the FDA from working to approve potential drugs. They directly lead to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of their own citizens. Words cannot describe just how much I loathe Reagan. As far as I'm concerned he's up there with some of the worst butchers in history.
EnlightenedMint
Member
This is one crazy ass ride, its on HBO and if you watch make sure to watch the other 20 minute clip they have after which really goes places.
Please watch Adam Curtis' Bitter Lake...
https://youtu.be/XIjhcGu08Pk
Apologies, as I didn't explain why.
A heartbreaking and slightly psychedelic documentary from one of the UK's best political doc makers, this one about the pivotal role of Afghanistan in global politics over the past 100 years...
https://youtu.be/XIjhcGu08Pk
Apologies, as I didn't explain why.
A heartbreaking and slightly psychedelic documentary from one of the UK's best political doc makers, this one about the pivotal role of Afghanistan in global politics over the past 100 years...
HitchcockInTheZiplock
Member
Came to post this. A friend recommended it to me, because he's all into alien stuff, and I told him I wouldn't watch some random youtube doc haha.
The part showing how the guy made cars run out of water, and the gov't just snatched that away... damn.
I do wonder if these people get paid off.
I do wonder if these people get paid off.
Def grabbed my attention.
thoseAREmySHOES
Member
"Waiting for Superman" is my pick. Takes quite a deep look at the American public education system and a lot of it's pitfalls. It's pretty eye opening, but you can't recite it as gospel as it does suffer from some misleading statistics. Still though, absolutely worth a watch.
"Waiting for Superman" is my pick. Takes quite a deep look at the American public education system and a lot of it's pitfalls. It's pretty eye opening, but you can't recite it as gospel as it does suffer from some misleading statistics. Still though, absolutely worth a watch.
I was going to post this as well. It's quite a powerful documentary and you come away from it understanding many of the problems of the US education system. Caveat is that it pushes charter schools as a solution quite heavily which many don't believe is the solution (myself among them).
Snowybreak
Member
A light-hearted yet oddly informative film not only about the history of "Chinese food" (aka Chinese-American food), but it also goes quite into depth into the history of Chinese immigrants to America.
Pretty funny documentary, too.
Oh my God, I love this one! Really opened my eyes about American Chinese food. But every time I watch it, I end up on a kick for that stuff. (My last meal will be a burrito consisting of General Tso's, house special fried rice, egg rolls, dumplings, crab rangoon, and pork egg Foo Yung.)
LordKasual
Banned
I watched one on the children living in Syria that came out earlier this year
I cant for the life of me remember the name, and there are tons of ones with the same tagline im sure
has a perspective that I think most western countries should know
I cant for the life of me remember the name, and there are tons of ones with the same tagline im sure
has a perspective that I think most western countries should know
Polioliolio
Member
Thank you, I was worried it wasn't going to make page one.
As old as it is, it's as relevant and useful, er NEEDED as ever.
self_aware_keyboard
Member
Oliver stones untold history of America, not sure of the exact title.
disappeared
Banned
I'm picking two 
A very sad piece on bullying and how young men in America are essentially getting away with rape scot-free.
Great film on the birth of the women's liberation movement. Interviews with many of the women who started the whole thing and fought hard for women's and LGBT rights.
It's not about the fish, Its about a man & his family so passionate about one thing that they devoted their lives to perfecting the art.
Also it's about fish.
Yup, love this movie so much.
*edit* I misread the topic and that the documentary had to be more important in scope.
This is a good movie I really enjoyed it. Really eye opening about stuff your don't hear about or see and how much this stuff goes on.
This is a good movie I really enjoyed it. Really eye opening about stuff your don't hear about or see and how much this stuff goes on.
"Waiting for Superman" is my pick. Takes quite a deep look at the American public education system and a lot of it's pitfalls. It's pretty eye opening, but you can't recite it as gospel as it does suffer from some misleading statistics. Still though, absolutely worth a watch.
Please don't watch this misleading inaccurate garbage. It's a propaganda piece for the Betsy Devos's of the world and their quest to turn education into a corporate business. The absurd push for both charter schools and standardized testing is gross. As is the ridiculous smear job they do on unions and teachers in general.
I run a fan page on fb of the director of that film. I get a lot of personal messages from people who know him IRL. I got scoops on what his two most recent films would be years before they were announced, and I even got a personal message from the touring manager of the Rolling Stones once. In a PM from a voting/nominating member of a Academy of Television Arts and Sciences guy, he mentioned a strong possibility that there's a 7 hour cut of Long Strange Trip in the works. Thought a fan might wanna know.
johancruijff
Banned
didn't see it posted
The Wolfpack is incredible
The Wolfpack is incredible
DiscoJer
Member
The Bermuda Triangle based on Charles Berlitz's book, because it shows how complete nonsense can be presented in a serious convincing manner and demonstrates that documentaries are really little more than propaganda for whatever the maker is pushing.
Crumb:
Documents the life of a fascinating, boundary-pushing comic book artist and his dysfunctional (to put it lightly) family, including a eunuch brother who lives at his mom's house in his 50's and fills dozens of notebooks up with highly precise graphomanic scribblings. Also a very eye-opening exploration of the male Id.
This one is a little bit harder to find but it's one of my personal favorite documentaries. It's basically a home video of Dick Proenekke shot in 1968, who builds an amazing log cabin in the Alaskan wilderness all by himself. He's an amazing carpenter and wood worker and he documented every step of building the cabin and comments on his surroundings and the wildlife. I thought it was so beautiful and relaxing.
The cabin is still there.
I love this film. They play it on PBS here in Seattle during pledge drives. There's a sequel!
Super Rookie
Member
Great thread. A lot of awesome recommendations already, most of which I've already seen.
I really enjoy crime documentaries the most so two of my picks would be Making a Murderer:
Was glued from start to finish seeing how the case is built and how evidence was handled.
And a second recommendation is Shadow of Truth:
The first episode seemed like it was an open and shut case. Next couple you have all these theories and the final episode threw me for a loop!
Both on Netflix so check them out.
I really enjoy crime documentaries the most so two of my picks would be Making a Murderer:
Was glued from start to finish seeing how the case is built and how evidence was handled.
And a second recommendation is Shadow of Truth:
The first episode seemed like it was an open and shut case. Next couple you have all these theories and the final episode threw me for a loop!
Both on Netflix so check them out.
Supervlieg
Member
HyperNormalisation
Basically it does a excellent job explaining Trump coming into power, Putin, and world politics since the seventies. It's mind blowing really.
Full youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fny99f8amM
Basically it does a excellent job explaining Trump coming into power, Putin, and world politics since the seventies. It's mind blowing really.
Full youtube link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-fny99f8amM
kitsunelaine
Banned
Not one mention of Jesus Camp yet?
It's an excruciating look into a not uncommon way fundamentalist christians socialize their kids, and shows the kind of upbringing that a lot of fundamentalist people come from.
Hell House is also another good showing of the way they think.
It's an excruciating look into a not uncommon way fundamentalist christians socialize their kids, and shows the kind of upbringing that a lot of fundamentalist people come from.
Hell House is also another good showing of the way they think.
Hexxen-Panda
Member
The Ascent of Man (1973)
If you can forgive a lot of outdated ideas and old-fashioned Eurocentrism, this is a great series that chronicles the development of science throughout history. Dr. Bronowski is very much a man of his time, but his eloquence and insights kept me engaged and amazed by the marvels of the human mind.
There is a cool sequence in episode 1 where Pink Floyd plays on a psychedelic sequence to demonstrate human ingenuity when it comes to hunting.
Sure, there are some moments when he condescends on civilizations that didn't reach the levels of scientific advancements of "the old world', but at least it never reaches the arrogance of the other BBC series "Civilization."
If you can forgive a lot of outdated ideas and old-fashioned Eurocentrism, this is a great series that chronicles the development of science throughout history. Dr. Bronowski is very much a man of his time, but his eloquence and insights kept me engaged and amazed by the marvels of the human mind.
There is a cool sequence in episode 1 where Pink Floyd plays on a psychedelic sequence to demonstrate human ingenuity when it comes to hunting.
Sure, there are some moments when he condescends on civilizations that didn't reach the levels of scientific advancements of "the old world', but at least it never reaches the arrogance of the other BBC series "Civilization."
This is one of the few works by Curtis I havent seen. Watched the first hour of it last night and its interesting so far
Mr. E. Yis
Banned
The Brainwashing of My Dad. How the news media has gotten more and more extreme right.
Watched the imposter based off the recommendations here and i have no idea what to take away from it and i don't mean that in a complimentary "holy hell my mind was blown kind of way" i legitimately don't know what they were going for
Spoilers:
Spoilers:
Were we suppose to be conflicted about the fact that what federic did was fucked up but that the barclays was fucked up too because they may have possibly killed their son? They didn't seem to present a lot of evidence or flesh out that angle enough to seriously suggest that they killed Nicholas where i felt like the point was to walk away feeling like federic is a messed up individual and for us to secretly learn that the barclays are messed up as well.
MoonsaultSlayer
Member
Dinosaur 13.
I've had it in my Netflix queue for a long time, always meaning to watch it as a dinosaur nut.
One morning I put it on since I was up early and had my youngest son sitting on my lap who shares my dino love.
What drew me in beyond the subject matter was the progression of the doc. The way in which the situation and layers are peeled back and revealed to the viewer made it seem really really engaging and unique. I can't explain it as I haven't seen a whole lot of documentaries, but that aspect stood out to me and made it something I was recommending to anyone, not just fellow dinosaur lovers.
I've had it in my Netflix queue for a long time, always meaning to watch it as a dinosaur nut.
One morning I put it on since I was up early and had my youngest son sitting on my lap who shares my dino love.
What drew me in beyond the subject matter was the progression of the doc. The way in which the situation and layers are peeled back and revealed to the viewer made it seem really really engaging and unique. I can't explain it as I haven't seen a whole lot of documentaries, but that aspect stood out to me and made it something I was recommending to anyone, not just fellow dinosaur lovers.
j_k_redtail
Member
I'm going to recommend The Oxycontin Express. This was an episode of Vanguard which aired in 2009. It was one of the first media properties to address the prescription opioid epidemic which, over the next several years, evolved into the heroin crisis that we are currently facing.
Deliver Us From Evil
A documentary about the sexual abuses and cover ups in the Catholic Church. It's absolutely heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time. After watching this documentary you will believe in monsters.
These people still walk among us, many of them unpunished, many of them still in the clergy.
A documentary about the sexual abuses and cover ups in the Catholic Church. It's absolutely heartbreaking and infuriating at the same time. After watching this documentary you will believe in monsters.
These people still walk among us, many of them unpunished, many of them still in the clergy.
DongBeetle
Banned
Aww I wanted to post this first lolDear Zachary
Nothing I have ever watched has evoked so many emotions.
Very solid film. Will rattle you to the core
capitalCORN
Member
Set upon the Lebanon War of 1982. If the last shot doesn't make your skin crawl fiece, you're no a human.
crimzonflame
Member
Watching right now.
JustSurvive
Member
A very dark, sobering look at Hollywood and the frequent sexual abuse of minors.
LFMartins86
Member
Kind of surprised that neither were posted before. Both documentaries are about rape, one about rape in the military and another about rape in Universities.
It's a powerful and unsettling look at how rape charges are dismissed by powerful institutions.
I highly recommend watching both but expected to feel a bit sick after watching them.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AnrBQEAM3rE
It outlines why/how capitalism supports a corrupt media.
Lord of the Dance Machine
Follow blue-collar teen Kyle Morris from Leicester, England as he struggles to attain his life-goal of competing in the DDR World Championship in Las Vegas, USA.
Can't find the plain trailer on YouTube. Saw it on Netflix streaming, a few years back. It's more compelling than it sounds. Really.
Follow blue-collar teen Kyle Morris from Leicester, England as he struggles to attain his life-goal of competing in the DDR World Championship in Las Vegas, USA.
Can't find the plain trailer on YouTube. Saw it on Netflix streaming, a few years back. It's more compelling than it sounds. Really.
sans_pants
avec_pénis
I second all the Adam Curtis stuff and would like to add The Fog of War.
It's an interview with Vietnam Era Secretary of State Robert McNamara. It gives an illuminating glimpse at a guy that's pretty extraordinary and involved in a lot of very important periods of recent American history, and a guy that's pretty much hated by everyone
He's obviously trying to shift blame and explain away his decisions and why he did the things he did, but his insights on what went wrong are pretty important going forward with the us military machine
It's an interview with Vietnam Era Secretary of State Robert McNamara. It gives an illuminating glimpse at a guy that's pretty extraordinary and involved in a lot of very important periods of recent American history, and a guy that's pretty much hated by everyone
He's obviously trying to shift blame and explain away his decisions and why he did the things he did, but his insights on what went wrong are pretty important going forward with the us military machine
I want to add on to this. It doesn't just go over how the MPAA hampers "art." It also goes into the double standards of nude women and women's reactions in sex scenes verses nude men and their reactions. Also the double standards LGBT depictions go through, and the double standards of violence and sexuality.
I recommend everyone to watch this documentary. It explains in a clear and simple way how the governments of the world work for the lobbies and not for the citizens.
Requiem for the American Dream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44ua-M4a97A
Requiem for the American Dream
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=44ua-M4a97A
ArtemisClydeFrog
Banned
Crazy to think how much has changed since this time. I really respect Snowden’s morales.
Yeah 2017 was a while ago
Seriously though CitizenFour was great.