Author Topic: Documentaries - Discussion - Which should I watch? (Read 385067 times)

FitnessFrenzy · « **Reply #375 on:** August 04, 2016, 02:00:35 AM »

The End of Poverty? (2008) asks if the true causes of poverty today stem from a deliberate orchestration since colonial times which has evolved into our modern system whereby wealthy nations exploit the poor.

BB · « **Reply #376 on:** September 20, 2016, 07:52:23 PM »

American Tongues - A 1980's look at the accents that make up America, and their history. It's still common viewing in many sociology classes here in the States -

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4jrdic .

Kingdom of Shadows - A look at the American and Mexican drug trade from both sides of the border. Decent watch, a tiny bit flat here and there -

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Alternative link (good till mid October or so) -

http://www.pbs.org/pov/kingdomofshadows/video/kingdom-of-shadows/ .

BB · « **Reply #377 on:** November 16, 2016, 06:52:26 AM »

Farewell, Etaoin Shrdlu. A look at the last day of hot lead type setting at the New York Times -

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Alternate link - http://www.vimeo.com/127605643 .

Surprisingly interesting look at a tough, and demanding job that has mostly vanished. For those wondering, here's a explanation of the title - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Etaoin_shrdlu . I'd never heard of ETAOIN SHRDLU, and though perhaps it was going to be an aged, old country immigrant printer that was retiring with the job.

Harlem, Voices, Faces - Hard edged Swedish documentary about the Harlem of the early 1970's, and the social, economic, and cultural divides that plague it. It was almost banned from American PBS because of the frank look it took at everything, that wound up upsetting some -

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In English, with a few minor Swedish parts and subtitles. Interesting for those that even want a look at "old" New York.

King Shizzo · « **Reply #378 on:** November 17, 2016, 04:03:47 PM »

Can we please make this thread a sticky? I think the amount of views warrants a 4th addition to the General Topics Board.

Princess L · « **Reply #379 on:** November 17, 2016, 07:07:19 PM »

Quote from: King Shizzo on November 17, 2016, 04:03:47 PM

Can we please make this thread a sticky? I think the amount of views warrants a 4th addition to the General Topics Board.

Sure

King Shizzo · « **Reply #380 on:** November 23, 2016, 04:38:16 PM »

BigBen · « **Reply #381 on:** November 29, 2016, 07:14:28 AM »

http://123movies.is/film/before-the-flood-17581/watching.html

this seems to be legit and trustworthy. for me it was an eye-opener

FitnessFrenzy · « **Reply #382 on:** December 01, 2016, 02:26:11 PM »

BB · « **Reply #383 on:** December 12, 2016, 09:58:14 AM »

Mr. Sears's Catalogue. A look at Sears, and how it revolutionized mail order in America (especially rural America). Indeed, the film also offers insights into the Rural American life of the early 20th century, and how certain business practices revolved and evolved around it. A nice quick watch -

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FitnessFrenzy · « **Reply #384 on:** December 18, 2016, 05:40:22 AM »

DroppingPlates · « **Reply #385 on:** December 19, 2016, 06:14:03 PM »

BB · « **Reply #386 on:** December 23, 2016, 09:26:32 PM »

Sad look at Schizophrenia in the 1980's -

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The View From Behind The Gun - A look at youth crime from the 70's. Very dark content for American prime time television of the 70's. Actually banned from a few stations for both the subject matter, and the language used by the subjects -

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The Seven Five - I've linked this one before, it was one of my favorites of 2014. An insiders look at one of the largest police scandals of the late 80's, early 90's. Watch it quick if interested, as it usually gets pulled quick -

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BB · « **Reply #387 on:** December 23, 2016, 09:49:53 PM »

Who took Johnny - A look at one of the saddest kidnapping cases to happen in America. This one is a few cuts above standard true crime fare -

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Also this looks like it might be hilarious, but I can't find a full copy. Blast 'em, an early 1990's look at the paparazzi scene, including an odd, yet funny Madonna impersonater that double as a photog -

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FitnessFrenzy · « **Reply #388 on:** December 24, 2016, 03:23:02 AM »

herne · « **Reply #389 on:** January 04, 2017, 02:34:10 PM »

BB · « **Reply #390 on:** January 15, 2017, 03:05:46 PM »

Film Noir buff Eddie Muller gives a talk on legendary crime/streetscape photog Arthur "Weegee" Fellig, and the art and design behind his photographs. Maybe of interest to some -

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If you enjoyed that, you might also enjoy this old Masters of Photography documentary about Diane Arbus that was taken shortly after her death. She worked in the same field as Weegee did later in life. The first five minutes is boring and rough as they explain how the film was made, but it picks up rather well from there -

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BB · « **Reply #391 on:** January 15, 2017, 04:03:26 PM »

Assault in The Ring, HBO's look at one of the biggest scandals in boxing, the glove fixing case in the Resto - Collins fight. For many years this was a hard documentary to find -

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CBS News's special report on the Harlem of 1959. Interesting look back at the time -

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Unforgivable Blackness, Ken Burns's look at the flashy boxing champ Jack Johnson, and the trials and tribulations, both athletically and socially, he had to deal with in early 20th century America. Full documentary collected here -

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v116351797qSDE4XXE .

Tower . A look at the 1960 Charles Whitman Tower Shooting as told by the victims's perspective in a rather unique style. Wasn't sold on it at first, but it grew on me -

http://www.vebup.com/tower .

BB · « **Reply #392 on:** January 18, 2017, 10:08:48 AM »

The Real Mad Men and Women of Madison Avenue. PBS's look at the real 1960's era of advertising made popular by the Mad Men cable tv series -

http://www.vimeo.com/72820574 .

BB · « **Reply #393 on:** January 24, 2017, 07:41:56 AM »

The 50 Year Argument, Martin Scorsese's look at the history of The New York Review of Books, its place in the literary world, and the world at large. It's a long documentary, but reasonably interesting, watch it quick if it sounds like something you might like, as I'm not sure how long it will stay up for -

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The Witness, Kitty Genovese's ( en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_of_Kitty_Genovese ) brother's journey to make sense of his sister's murder, and why it's played such a big part in his life -

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/witness-full-film/ .

Quality film, the above link should be good for a few days for US citizens, the film is also on Netflix.

BB · « **Reply #394 on:** January 25, 2017, 12:15:46 PM »

I was saddened to learn of the death of investigative journalist Wayne Barrett. For those not familiar with the name he was pretty well known in real news circles, and while he spent the last few months covering Trump, there was never a public figure safe from his Sherlockian gaze if he thought they deserved it. While most of his work was done in print, he did contribute heavily to the following documentary, Giuliani Time, a critical look at Giuliani's rise to power in New York -

In two parts -

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v2716118XCeWeZHK .

http://www.veoh.com/watch/v2701102DgMZkfzy .

BB · « **Reply #395 on:** January 28, 2017, 10:48:01 AM »

Beware The Slenderman, HBO's look at the Slenderman meme, which it was claimed partly caused an attempted murder of a young girl in the US a few years ago. Long documentary that's been getting a lot of kudos here in the States. In my estimation, it was overly long, and victim of trying to flesh out the story too much, but it might be of interest to some. Watch it quick if you think you might enjoy it, as HBO blocks their stuff very quickly -

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FitnessFrenzy · « **Reply #396 on:** February 09, 2017, 02:02:27 PM »

BB · « **Reply #397 on:** February 09, 2017, 09:36:53 PM »

Not sure if this one will work outside the US, but PBS's look at the how's and why's behind the Oklahoma City Bombing was quite good -

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/oklahoma-city/ .

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/ .

The bottom link also links off to a lot of films in the American Experience library, which are almost always very good, and on a wide range of topics.

The Secret History of The Credit Card, Frontline's look at how banks, etc.... used credit laws to their advantage, and how customers willingly use credit to their detriment -

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Firestone and The Warlord, a look at the rubber company's time in Liberia during that country's civil war in the 90's -

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Very interesting story.

BB · « **Reply #398 on:** February 14, 2017, 09:00:46 AM »

PBS's short biography of Ripley and his famous "Believe It or Not" -

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This is a fun one

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BB · « **Reply #399 on:** February 16, 2017, 08:08:20 AM »

Accidental Courtesy. The story of Daryl Davis, black musician and Ku Klux Klan historian, who travels the country trying to understand its members -

http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/accidental-courtesy/ .

A tiny bit hokey in one or two spots, but an interesting story, especially when they just let Davis do his thing, and tell his story. Not sure if it will work in all countries, but the above link is good for the next few days.