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Getbig Main Boards => General Topics => Topic started by: Jack T. Cross on October 10, 2014, 11:17:41 AM
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Nothing better than a legit documentary. Let's help each other sort through the bullshit to get to the good stuff.
If you could give at least a few sentences description with the post, that would be nice. (And with luck I won't be the only person posting in this thread)
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Louis Theroux looks carefully at a situation to find the most effective way to stir the bullshit, which sometimes makes his documentaries pretty borderline (to me), but he's SO good at it, it's tough not to watch...
This is about the Westboro Baptist Church. I actually found myself understanding their POV through this (not necessarily agreeing with it, but it became less mystifying to me):
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Louis revisits the Westboro Church, four years later:
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One day I watched this without giving it much thought, but for some reason it became very memorable. So much unintended humor in such short time, I guess. The main guy (Joe Blackburn) is great, and by the end of the flick, he's on his way to managing himself quite well. It is about people that cannot curb themselves from eating practically nonstop:
(It may be currently unavailable to stream from youtube. It's called Can't Stop Eating)
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I'm sure many of you have already seen this one, but it's worth the post, for sure. It is on bodybuilding culture.
About midway through, Louis is at a hotel with a female BB and her schmoe, and he (Louis) starts edging toward the obvious with the BBer, which makes the most amusing part of the vid. (Haha..You can tell by the editing during the exchange, that it took some work for Louis to get around to it):
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Tristan da Cunha is the most remote inhabited island in the world. It is in the lower Atlantic, between Africa and South America, and has maintained a population of about 300 people for the past few hundred years.
The inhabitants are extremely cautious of being looked at too carefully (as least while being documented), and the host may have fucked-off any future chance of another docu being made by himself or by anyone else, thanks to his attitude. From what I know, it is the only documentary of its kind, and it is from 1989:
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(I added a bit of description on some of those I posted earlier, in case someone can't see the YouTube titles.)
FitnessFrenzy - That looks interesting. Will definitely check it out. Here's a description I found:
"THE YES MEN FIX THE WORLD is a screwball true story about two gonzo political activists who, posing as top executives of giant corporations, lie their way into big business conferences and pull off the world's most outrageous pranks.
From New Orleans to India to New York City, armed with little more than cheap thrift-store suits, the Yes Men squeeze raucous comedy out of all the ways that corporate greed is destroying the planet.
Brüno meets Michael Moore in this gut-busting wake-up call that proves a little imagination can go a long way towards vanquishing the Cult of Greed.
Who knew fixing the world could be so much fun?"
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Best I've ever seen is "The Fog of War".
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Not sure how real some of this is, but there's a great message in there. Always meant to watch it, but might not have if it hadn't been posted here. I enjoyed it.
I don't quite understand what web addresses they used for their bait sites, though, and it seems very hard to believe they left it up to fate as to whether they'd be pursued for adversely affecting stock prices with false information, etc. It would be incredibly risky behavior, not advisable in any way, so it seems like there must be a missing piece to the story.
Good watch, nonetheless. Great message.
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24:30-28:15 49:30-55:50 (click "screen" and watch on youtube.)
Remember that liquor was illegal here.
3:04-
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Louis revisits the Westboro Church, four years later:
Recently saw both of these. Incredibly twisted family.
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Easily one of the most disturbingly moving docs I've ever seen.
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son about His Father.
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Super disturbing.
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This is about a guy drifting around, barely surviving by fighting and teaching others to fight. He sleeps on trains, etc., and is watching the clock run down on his life.
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This one focuses on several crack-addicts in Atlanta. It was made by a very young person that took a somewhat holier-than-thou approach to the situation, unfortunately - but the overall watch is very good. It provides an interesting look into a very hard life.
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Theroux visits a halfway house for sex offenders. It is a fairly intense vid, but amusing at the same time. Theroux watches the house manager run like a madman in circles trying to get the goods on others, before confronting him about his past (the manager had also been convicted of terrible sex crimes, and Theroux planned to dig the knife in deep...so it angles toward that point).
(It may be currently unavailable to stream on youtube. It's called Among the Sex Offenders, from LA Stories)
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Great stuff, my brothers. I will start checking these out. Interesting work on this thread, I see.
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Louis Theroux looks carefully at a situation to find the most effective way to stir the bullshit, which sometimes makes his documentaries pretty borderline (to me), but he's SO good at it, it's tough not to watch...
This is about the Westboro Baptist Church. I actually found myself understanding their POV through this (not necessarily agreeing with it, but it became less mystifying to me):
[/youtube]
BTW, does anyone here agree with the Westboro Church? I've become interested in it and have watched and read everything I could find about them.
I don't plan to take a stand on it in this thread, myself, but it would be interesting to see an opinion on it from a Christian who reads and understands the Bible.
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BTW, does anyone here agree with the Westboro Church? I've become interested in it and have watched and read everything I could find about them.
I don't plan to take a stand on it in this thread, myself, but it would be interesting to see an opinion on it from a Christian who reads and understands the Bible.
To go a bit further into it, here is the idea behind their stand:
*God punishes a defiant nation by sending it corrupt leaders to deceive, undermine, and destroy the will of the people.
*Homosexuality is the sin that has "pride" firmly attached to it, so it smacks right into the face of God (in other words, there are no pedophelia parades, etc.)
*When a nation comes together to uniformly support such defiance (support in the form of laws and legality, I'd say), God will see the nation destroyed.
They have taken to picketing soldiers' funerals, as they've found it draws the most energy to the claims. The rationale is that the soldiers died fighting for a country whose leaders are determined to defy God, and it makes for an appropriate location to broadcast from. (They believe they are commanded to state the message, and such funerals cause the greatest number of people to take notice, in other words.)
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Theroux visits a halfway house for sex offenders. It is a fairly intense vid, but amusing at the same time. Theroux watches the house manager run like a madman in circles trying to get the goods on others, before confronting him about his past (the manager had also been convicted of terrible sex crimes, and Theroux planned to dig the knife in deep...so it angles toward that point).
Wow, good one.
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Wow, good one.
Yeah, it's one of the few he doesn't have much dishonest editing in, too, so...I like it.
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Yeah, it's one of the few he doesn't have much dishonest editing in, too, so...I like it.
Sad, troubling, and infuriating at the same time.
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i like documentaries about drugs, i watched them all, so hard to find a new one
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i like documentaries about drugs, i watched them all, so hard to find a new one
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This was a pretty good one on a heavy metal band just on the tip of success, till drugs did them in -
https://vimeo.com/84340267 .
Old PBS documentary on junkies using a mystery designer drug that leaves them is a semi frozen state that might lead to breakthroughs in brain disease science -
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Nick Broomfield's documentary on the CYA/California Prison System from the late 1970's -
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Disposable Heroes , a mid 1980's HBO documentary on life after football. Mainly about the injuries and breakdowns high contact players suffer -
http://vimeo.com/4683642 .
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Also, these two on Hustler, and The National Enquirer are good. They're both on Netflix -
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http://vimeo.com/111859845
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This was a pretty good one on a heavy metal band just on the tip of success, till drugs did them in -
https://vimeo.com/84340267 .
Wow, BB, that was really something. Totally expected a different epilogue. Better than Anvil.
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This one focuses on several crack-addicts in Atlanta. It was made by a very young person that took a somewhat holier-than-thou approach to the situation, unfortunately - but the overall watch is very good. It provides an interesting look into a very hard life.
No idea at all how you got this impression, dude hardly said a thing. Just asked a few hopeless junkies brief questions and filmed is all.
White guy was probably the only sympathetic character, assuming he told the truth. Least he tried to get a job/life. Rest gave up years ago, but still managed to point fingers at cops, the city, and anything else that distracted them from the mirror. Frustrating.
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There's nothing quite like a good documentary.
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No idea at all how you got this impression, dude hardly said a thing. Just asked a few hopeless junkies brief questions and filmed is all.
White guy was probably the only sympathetic character, assuming he told the truth. Least he tried to get a job/life. Rest gave up years ago, but still managed to point fingers at cops, the city, and anything else that distracted them from the mirror. Frustrating.
Yes, I think that's what he wanted you to be left with when you think about crack addicts (black ones, at least).
It's interesting, because the white guy struck me as the one definite liar among the bunch, and the one person whose word couldn't be trusted. The type of guy that will stand there and lie to you without the slightest flinch. I certainly don't believe what he says, or at least that it's the whole story - by a long shot.
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And for the record: the producer of that doc is black.
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BTW, does anyone here agree with the Westboro Church? I've become interested in it and have watched and read everything I could find about them.
I don't plan to take a stand on it in this thread, myself, but it would be interesting to see an opinion on it from a Christian who reads and understands the Bible.
bump
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i like documentaries about drugs, i watched them all, so hard to find a new one
Post your favorite one.
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Very pretty, and surprisingly interesting little documentary on the Terminal Bar which was a fixture in old New York. If you watch a lot of films from the 60's - 70's, you might recognize it, as it was a favorite for exterior shots. The first few are short extras, the longer film at bottom -
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Yes, I think that's what he wanted you to be left with when you think about crack addicts (black ones, at least).
It's interesting, because the white guy struck me as the one definite liar among the bunch, and the one person whose word couldn't be trusted. The type of guy that will stand there and lie to you without the slightest flinch. I certainly don't believe what he says, or at least that it's the whole story - by a long shot.
Seems you have much invested in the dude's dishonesty. Right on. Not sure whether that says more about him or you.
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And for the record: the producer of that doc is black.
Noted.
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BTW, does anyone here agree with the Westboro Church? I've become interested in it and have watched and read everything I could find about them.
I don't plan to take a stand on it in this thread, myself, but it would be interesting to see an opinion on it from a Christian who reads and understands the Bible.
You won't take a stand on these repellant fucks, seriously?
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Seems you have much invested in the dude's dishonesty. Right on. Not sure whether that says more about him or you.
Did you think his story made sense?
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You won't take a stand on these repellant fucks, seriously?
No, I wouldn't start anything like that (here, at least).
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Did you think his story made sense?
Story did, sure, but he's a junkie, so grain of salt and all. But he at least mentioned a job and an attempt to get back on his feet. Not sure why you'd pick him as the most transparent piece of shit.
None of the others even hinted at personal responsibility or recovery. They all get a pass somehow, though, but whatever.
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No, I wouldn't start anything like that (here, at least).
'God Hates Fags' and 'God Loves Dead Soldiers' (at dead soldiers' funerals, no less), but judgment here requires further consideration.
No problem, though, assuming the absolute worst about a dude who may or may not have lost a job over stolen work boots. Clearly worse than the other junkies, you suggest; and worse, still, than the monstrous picketers.
Just odd, man.
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Story did, sure, but he's a junkie, so grain of salt and all. But he at least mentioned a job and an attempt to get back on his feet. Not sure why you'd pick him as the most transparent piece of shit.
None of the others even hinted at personal responsibility or recovery. They all get a pass somehow, though, but whatever.
He says he "just smokes a little weed", though.
And no, I don't have a reason to think any of them are a POS, or that any of them are "better" or "worse" than the rest. Not at all.
I believe he was used in the final product to show a good/bad contrast, but it didn't exactly work out that way. Anyone that lives in a big city and gets panhandled everyday has probably heard many stories just as incredible as his, so I doubt he's very noteworthy in reality. The other subjects in the doc didn't exactly have much positive to say, but I don't recall any over-the-top lying by anyone other than him.
(BTW, his story about getting "20 years" for "jumping the rail" at what he says was the girl's sentence, doesn't make sense. No.)
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'God Hates Fags' and 'God Loves Dead Soldiers' (at dead soldiers' funerals, no less), but judgment here requires further consideration.
No problem, though, assuming the absolute worst about a dude who may or may not have lost a job over stolen work boots. Clearly worse than the other junkies, you suggest; and worse, still, than the monstrous picketers.
Just odd, man.
No, I'm not doing that. If the worst someone does is use lies to ask strangers for money, he's hardly a big problem.
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He says he "just smokes a little weed", though.
And no, I don't have a reason to think any of them are a POS, or that any of them are "better" or "worse" than the rest. Not at all.
I believe he was used in the final product to show a good/bad contrast, but it didn't exactly work out that way. Anyone that lives in a big city and gets panhandled everyday has probably heard many stories just as incredible as his, so I doubt he's very noteworthy in reality. The other subjects in the doc didn't exactly have much positive to say, but I don't recall any over-the-top lying by anyone other than him.
(BTW, his story about getting "20 years" for "jumping the rail" at what he says was the girl's sentence, doesn't make sense. No.)
I'll address these then move on, doesn't seem all that important anymore.
The toothless, incoherent woman had a similar 'family member death' story, an event that drove her to dope. I believed her on that, and that was pretty over the top.
If dude said 'just weed,' then, yeah, bullshit. And the twenty years certainly involved more than a rail-jumping; just assumed he left out the rest. In hindsight, yes, that story was probably a lie. Unless he attempted to kill her and forgot to mention such a minor detail.
Can't pity any of them, come to think of it.
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Any good murder docs, btw? Think I've seen most of the popular ones.
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Any good murder docs, btw? Think I've seen most of the popular ones.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1972663
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http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1972663
Saw it, thanks. All of Herzog's, probably. Still think Grizzly Man's my favorite.
Personal gripe: His anti-execution bias interferes with the quality of his films. Too easily convinced by the condemned, creepily over-friendly with them, and way too dismissive of damning evidence.
Sorry, had to.
Anymore?
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I'll address these then move on, doesn't seem all that important anymore.
The toothless, incoherent woman had a similar 'family member death' story, an event that drove her to dope. I believed her on that, and that was pretty over the top.
If dude said 'just weed,' then, yeah, bullshit. And the twenty years certainly involved more than a rail-jumping; just assumed he left out the rest. In hindsight, yes, that story was probably a lie. Unless he attempted to kill her and forgot to mention such a minor detail.
Can't pity any of them, come to think of it.
Yeah, I remember that chick. Not sure if you caught the cop's words (the mic was probably down with the camera, because he told them not to document him), but he mentioned something like "she was once one of the most attractive females in the city before she lost her mind".
I think she'd been known all of her life by the rest of them, and everyone watched her story unfold as it was happening. And nothing from her story was unbelievable, necessarily, unless someone wants to view it as a cop-out against her present state.
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Yeah, I remember that chick. Not sure if you caught the cop's words (the mic was probably down with the camera, because he told them not to document him), but he mentioned something like "she was once one of the most attractive females in the city before she lost her mind".
I think she'd been known all of her life by the rest of them, and everyone watched her story unfold as it was happening. And nothing from her story was unbelievable, necessarily, unless someone wants to view it as a cop-out.
Just addressing 'over the top'. Admitted I believed her; my only issue was none were interested in life anymore, except the one. Dude at least said he tried, but you're probably right about him bullshitting.
In the end, I really had no idea what the filmmaker's intention/message might have been. Sad, pathetic lives fucked up by drugs. The end. That was my takeaway, anyway.
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Just addressing 'over the top'. Admitted I believed her; my only issue was none were interested in life anymore, except the one. Dude at least said he tried, but you're probably right about him bullshitting.
In the end, I really had no idea what the filmmaker's intention/message might have been. Sad, pathetic lives fucked up by drugs. The end. That was my takeaway, anyway.
I think that girl/lady was headed toward serious mental illness as a matter of course, anyway, and that's what's up with her. I, too, am inclined to believe the story about her mom, though, because there's nothing unbelievable about it.
As for the guy, yeah, it was funny when he starts by saying, "Okay, here's the story...". He's got his spiel ready for anyone that will give him a few minutes to hear it.
Yeah, it is pathetic. I don't fault him, but if he's going to try to burden people with some form of guilt so they'll pay him, he should at least make it believable. And the doc-maker should learn how to ask the right questions if he wants to make an honest work. He could have taken that guy apart in about 30 seconds.
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This is about asthma, actually. But it has lots of footage from Tristan da Cunha (including stuff from early 60s when the volcano blew):
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Any good murder docs, btw? Think I've seen most of the popular ones.
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Alternate version, if you can't get that one to play -
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This was really good, but is blocked in the U.S. -
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This is about a case on Pitcairn Island that caused quite an interesting clash. It makes you wonder about the various remote islands (possibly including Tristan, unfortunately), and exactly what goes on there in society:
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Just addressing 'over the top'. Admitted I believed her; my only issue was none were interested in life anymore, except the one. Dude at least said he tried, but you're probably right about him bullshitting.
In the end, I really had no idea what the filmmaker's intention/message might have been. Sad, pathetic lives fucked up by drugs. The end. That was my takeaway, anyway.
And BTW, TU: I don't doubt that the dude wants to live some other life than doing what he's doing. He wants to be a "better person", I know. Absolutely no doubt in my mind at all.
(Just wanted to get that straight.)
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This was really good, but is blocked in the U.S. -
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Whoa, sweet. Was hoping you'd come through, thanks.
Can't watch it, obviously, but who/what is the blocked one about?
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That last one is called "Death of A Porn Queen", about - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shauna_Grant . It pops up on Youtube every once and a while. It's got a very dark feel to it because they interview a lot of the old guard in that business. It's got a very Star 80, Hardcore, Taxi Driver vibe to it.
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This is a good one too, about all the militia, and skinhead stuff going on in the 80's, early 90's. It got a tiny bit of distortion on the voices, but it's watchable -
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TU: Here's one for when you're bored (you may need to brace yourself for a few of the scenes, though). It's kind of a downer, but there are some surprises thrown in to make it interesting. It's about a murder case in Texas:
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One more that's sort of related. This is the story of a guy on Guam, who lost his ability to walk because he got too heavy. It also has a surprise in it that I'll mention in the next paragraph, so if you want to watch it to see for yourself, don't read on...
He dies apparently due to an overdose of drugs, while his wife is present. Her 911 call and her story after it don't match up from what I recall, but no investigation followed. She most likely only helped him commit suicide, so maybe that's why.
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From the documentary on Woodstock:
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When you're in a certain frame of mind, this can be a good watch. It sort of rambles and drifts along, just like the subject. It's about people that wander the American West:
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Going the opposite way, Louis Theroux visits a prison (San Quentin) to get an idea of what goes on there:
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TU: Here's one for when you're bored (you may need to brace yourself for a few of the scenes, though). It's kind of a downer, but there are some surprises thrown in to make it interesting. It's about a murder case in Texas:
That picture, good lord.
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Going the opposite way, Louis Theroux visits a prison (San Quentin) to get an idea of what goes on there:
Tried this one several times the other day, but it wouldn't play. Works fine here, though, thanks.
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Tried this one several times the other day, but it wouldn't play. Works fine here, though, thanks.
Good timing, then. Great minds think alike!
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That picture, good lord.
Lol, it's life. But I know what you mean.
;D
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Louis Theroux visits a mega-church and a few other places. Interesting people, with Louis doing his usual thing. A good watch:
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Louis Theroux visits a mega-church and a few other places. Interesting people, with Louis doing his usual thing. A good watch:
Think I've seen this one, but I'll give it a few minutes to be sure. You introduced me to Theroux in this thread, and I've since tried to track down all his stuff. Riveting programs, most of them.
And sorry I came at you like a dick earlier. Been doing that more and more lately and I'm not sure why. No excuse for that nonsense.
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TU: Here's one for when you're bored (you may need to brace yourself for a few of the scenes, though). It's kind of a downer, but there are some surprises thrown in to make it interesting. It's about a murder case in Texas:
Wild story, she definitely spilled over a bit.
800 lbs. later, though:
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Think I've seen this one, but I'll give it a few minutes to be sure. You introduced me to Theroux in this thread, and I've since tried to track down all his stuff. Riveting programs, most of them.
A while back, I went through the same thing. I tracked down every bit of his work and watched all of it over the course of a few months.
He's a smartass and you have to watch out for BS editing when he meets his match, but I don't know of anyone else that's done what he's done with so many topics.
And sorry I came at you like a dick earlier. Been doing that more and more lately and I'm not sure why. No excuse for that nonsense.
Wasn't that a few days back? I'd already forgotten about it. ;D
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...and you weren't being a dick at all. I appreciate you taking a stand for that guy.
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Wild story, she definitely spilled over a bit.
800 lbs. later, though:
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Wow, I hadn't seen that pic. I noticed something about her surgery, but figured it might be too *yuck* to post the clip.
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Wow, I hadn't seen that pic. I noticed something about her surgery, but figured it might be too *yuck* to post the clip.
Found the after pic online, wasn't in doc.
Also, figured out I'd already seen the San Quentin one, but still watched it again. Can't find his program on the black nationalists, though, maybe the only one left I haven't seen.
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Can't find his program on the black nationalists, though, maybe the only one left I haven't seen.
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2bs0hl_louis-theroux-weird-weekends-s02e03-black-nationalism_shortfilms .
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http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2bs0hl_louis-theroux-weird-weekends-s02e03-black-nationalism_shortfilms .
Good score, BB. I almost forgot about dailymotion.
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Louis Theroux looks at "swinger" culture in suburbia and elsewhere. A good watch:
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This one shows the incredible lengths taken to harvest psychoactive honey in Nepal. Serious business for these guys, it looks like:
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http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2bs0hl_louis-theroux-weird-weekends-s02e03-black-nationalism_shortfilms .
Damn thing keeps freezing on me. Corrects itself and restarts just do the same thing all over. Probably my computer.
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Damn thing keeps freezing on me. Corrects itself and restarts just do the same thing all over. Probably my computer.
What about using a downloader?
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What about using a downloader?
Not sure what that is. This is exactly how stupid I am, I'm afraid.
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Btw, if you check out keepvid, be aware that it tries to trick you into clicking ads/bs dowloads. So look carefully at what you're clicking.
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Thank you, sir. Didn't think to try Firefox, but I will.
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It's easy and worth it. If you plan/planned to transfer the data anyway by watching it, you may as well have a copy of it. There's a slim chance of having issues with someone for doing it, but almost nonexistent. It's how these things resurface on Youtube etc if they've been taken down (like BB's Shauna Grant doc earlier).
There are probably hundreds of ways to do it - and other people know better than me on it, I'm sure. I hope they chime in. But there is keepvid .com for one thing. There are also many downloaders on Firefox browser (look in tools, add-ons...then search 'download').
It's worth going through the initial hassle to get your DL method down, because you won't have to deal with the streaming failures of dailymotion etc (and actually dailymotion has a fuckload of docs that youtube doesn't. Great site).
BTW: The reason you'd do this is because dailymotion isn't streaming well. So the best way to do it is to download, then delete after you watch it. That's how you'd remain consistent with the problem of streaming (and DM does have mucho problemos).
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Here's kind of an unusual one. I remember seeing it years ago and it may have been the first doc I'd ever seen. The guy that made it says he set out to do a certain thing, but it turned into something different. So don't get fooled by the title. I'll tell you that it's sort of like American Nomads (couple posts up) in that it is a drifter.
I liked it years back, but will watch it again before saying anything else. Note the length, though, so maybe treat it like a book and come back to it a couple times in order to finish.
(It may be currently unavailable to stream on youtube. It's called Sherman's March and it is by Ross McElwee.)
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Here's kind of an unusual one. I remember seeing it years ago and it may have been the first doc I'd ever seen. The guy that made it says he set out to do a certain thing, but it turned into something different. So don't get fooled by the title. I'll tell you that it's sort of like American Nomads (couple posts up) in that it is a drifter.
I liked it years back, but will watch it again before saying anything else. Note the length, though, so maybe treat it like a book and come back to it a couple times in order to finish.
Will do, thanks. Also, if you haven't seen "Zachary" that I posted earlier in this thread, it's heartbreaking. And there were at least two more from Netflix I haven't mentioned, both incredible. Let me look.
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These.
The Imposter:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1966604/?ref_=nv_sr_1
Talhotblond:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1370889/
Thought they were both better than their IMDb ratings indicated. Also, The Act of Killing is beyond bizarre:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375605/?ref_=nv_sr_1
All streaming on Netflix (were last year, anyway). Waiting for Act's sequel to be released online soon. The Look of Silence:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3521134/?ref_=tt_rec_tt
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This was a pretty good one on a heavy metal band just on the tip of success, till drugs did them in -
https://vimeo.com/84340267
I was sure this was going to end with the guy's death. But I see he's still around, today.
Interesting that his dad was a big wheel in the DoD. And at least one of his original bandmates was the son of a corporate executive, etc., so Pentagram started as a rich kids' club. That's how he's survived being a trainwreck for so long.
Old PBS documentary on junkies using a mystery designer drug that leaves them is a semi frozen state that might lead to breakthroughs in brain disease science -
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Nick Broomfield's documentary on the CYA/California Prison System from the late 1970's -
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Disposable Heroes , a mid 1980's HBO documentary on life after football. Mainly about the injuries and breakdowns high contact players suffer -
http://vimeo.com/4683642 .
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Will do, thanks. Also, if you haven't seen "Zachary" that I posted earlier in this thread; it's heartbreaking, but truly amazing. And there were at least two more from Netflix I haven't mentioned, both incredible. Let me look.
Zachary hasn't been available, unfortunately. I'm familiar with the story, though.
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Thought they were both better than their IMDb ratings indicated. Also, The Act of Killing is beyond bizarre:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2375605/?ref_=nv_sr_1
I remember seeing/reading something about this happening. What was the watch like, TU?
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Man, Imposter looks like it would be crazy. WTF. How could this have happened?
Just read up on it. Strange, strange, strange.
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Yeah, so on Netflix I'll look for The Imposter and The Look of Silence. It's been a while since I checked their playlist, anyway, so will give Netflix a first whirl.
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Zachary hasn't been available, unfortunately. I'm familiar with the story, though.
Your link for this is up again, TU. Will check it out.
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I was sure this was going to end with the guy's death. But I see he's still around.
Said pretty much the exact same thing when it was first posted.
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Odd little short film / documentary of Philadelphia gangs in the late 60's. Not super interesting, but very nicely shot with some interesting moments interspersed -
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More on it here -
http://dangerousminds.net/comments/the_jungle_philadelphias_mean_streets .
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Couldn't resist with the timing. This is about crime in Philadelphia. I'll say, though, in these "Law and Disorder" ones with Theroux, it's pretty clear Louis is being had with some of the stories and claims. In the one from Johannesburg, it was even more obvious. Not always sure why he allows it in the final watch:
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The Imposter: Frédéric Bourdin (born 13 June 1974) is a French serial impostor the press has nicknamed "The Chameleon". He began his impersonations as a child and claims to have assumed at least 500 false identities, three of which have been actual teenage missing persons.
Bourdin was born in Nanterre, Hauts-de-Seine and raised by his grandparents in Nantes, France, until running away and eventually travelling to Paris. He says that he never knew his father, who his mother has stated was a married Algerian immigrant named Kaci.
Impersonations: Nicholas Barclay, aged thirteen at the time, was playing basketball with his friends in his home town of San Antonio, Texas, on 13 June 1994. Barclay never made it home and has not been seen or heard from since. In 1997 Bourdin took the identity of Nicholas Barclay and was flown to the United States. Although Bourdin had brown eyes and a French accent, he convinced the family he was their blue-eyed son, saying he had escaped from a child prostitution ring. Bourdin lived with the family for almost five months until 6 March 1998.
In late 1997 a local private investigator grew suspicious while he was working with a TV crew that had been filming the family. The investigator compared a photo of Bourdin's ears to Nicholas' ears, and discovered that they did not match. In February 1998 the FBI obtained a court order to take the young man's fingerprints and DNA, which were later identified as belonging to Bourdin. In September 1998 Bourdin pleaded guilty to passport fraud and perjury in a San Antonio federal court. He was imprisoned for six years, more than twice as long as recommended by the sentencing guidelines.
When Bourdin returned to France from the United States in 2003, he moved to Grenoble and assumed the identity of Léo Balley, a 14-year-old French boy who had been missing since 1996; DNA testing proved he was not Balley.
In August 2004 he was in Spain, claiming to be an adolescent named Ruben Sanchez Espinoza whose mother had been killed in the Madrid bomb attacks. When the police found out the truth, they deported him to France.
In June 2005 Bourdin passed himself off as Francisco Hernandes-Fernandez, a 15-year-old Spanish orphan, and spent a month in the College Jean Monnet in Pau, France. He claimed that his parents had been killed in a car accident. He dressed as a teenager, adopted a proper walking style, covered his receding hairline with a baseball cap and used depilatory face creams. On 12 June a teacher unmasked him after seeing a television program about his exploits. On 16 September he was sentenced to four months in prison for possessing and using the previous false identity of Léo Balley.
According to interviews, Bourdin has been looking for "love and affection" and attention he never received as a child. He has pretended to be an orphan several times.
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The Imposter: Frédéric Bourdin (born 13 June 1974) is a French serial impostor the press has nicknamed "The Chameleon". He began his impersonations as a child and claims to have assumed at least 500 false identities, three of which have been actual teenage missing persons.
Bourdin was born in Nanterre, Hauts-de-Seine and raised by his grandparents in Nantes, France, until running away and eventually travelling to Paris. He says that he never knew his father, who his mother has stated was a married Algerian immigrant named Kaci.
Impersonations: Nicholas Barclay, aged thirteen at the time, was playing basketball with his friends in his home town of San Antonio, Texas, on 13 June 1994. Barclay never made it home and has not been seen or heard from since. In 1997 Bourdin took the identity of Nicholas Barclay and was flown to the United States. Although Bourdin had brown eyes and a French accent, he convinced the family he was their blue-eyed son, saying he had escaped from a child prostitution ring. Bourdin lived with the family for almost five months until 6 March 1998.
In late 1997 a local private investigator grew suspicious while he was working with a TV crew that had been filming the family. The investigator compared a photo of Bourdin's ears to Nicholas' ears, and discovered that they did not match. In February 1998 the FBI obtained a court order to take the young man's fingerprints and DNA, which were later identified as belonging to Bourdin. In September 1998 Bourdin pleaded guilty to passport fraud and perjury in a San Antonio federal court. He was imprisoned for six years, more than twice as long as recommended by the sentencing guidelines.
When Bourdin returned to France from the United States in 2003, he moved to Grenoble and assumed the identity of Léo Balley, a 14-year-old French boy who had been missing since 1996; DNA testing proved he was not Balley.
In August 2004 he was in Spain, claiming to be an adolescent named Ruben Sanchez Espinoza whose mother had been killed in the Madrid bomb attacks. When the police found out the truth, they deported him to France.
In June 2005 Bourdin passed himself off as Francisco Hernandes-Fernandez, a 15-year-old Spanish orphan, and spent a month in the College Jean Monnet in Pau, France. He claimed that his parents had been killed in a car accident. He dressed as a teenager, adopted a proper walking style, covered his receding hairline with a baseball cap and used depilatory face creams. On 12 June a teacher unmasked him after seeing a television program about his exploits. On 16 September he was sentenced to four months in prison for possessing and using the previous false identity of Léo Balley.
According to interviews, Bourdin has been looking for "love and affection" and attention he never received as a child. He has pretended to be an orphan several times.
Great film. Had no idea what to expect, initially.
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Couldn't resist with the timing. This is about crime in Philadelphia. I'll say, though, in these "Law and Disorder" ones with Theroux, it's pretty clear Louis is being had with some of the stories and claims. In the one from Johannesburg, it was even more obvious. Not always sure why he allows it in the final watch:
I was wrong about Philadelphia. It's actually pretty straightforward.
Really cruddy scenes throughout the whole thing, etc. (But if you'd like to see an episode of Cops with Louis Theroux in the middle of it all, this is it. Not a bad watch.)
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I was wrong about Philadelphia. It's actually pretty straightforward.
Really cruddy scenes throughout the whole thing, etc. (But if you'd like to see an episode of Cops with Louis Theroux in the middle of it all, this is it. Not a bad watch.)
Saw this one, and I think I saw Johannesburg as well, but I'm not sure what you mean by this:
it's pretty clear Louis is being had with some of the stories and claims. In the one from Johannesburg, it was even more obvious. Not always sure why he allows it in the final watch:
Who told the stories and made claims that were false? I don't even remember the episode, honestly.
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Saw this one, and I think I saw Johannesburg as well, but I'm not sure what you mean by this:
it's pretty clear Louis is being had with some of the stories and claims. In the one from Johannesburg, it was even more obvious. Not always sure why he allows it in the final watch:
Who told the stories and made claims that were false? I don't even remember the episode, honestly.
The one in Philly seems good to go, actually. They did kinda bullshit a bit with the ghetto "jewelery", but not even Big Red could keep a straight face with his claims and I don't think anyone was taking any of it seriously. I do believe that Red is/was in the habit of ordering hits on people, though, and that he and others in the vid are violent criminals.
To be fair to Louis about the ones he did in Africa: he's out of his element, there, and making shit up is going to be a lot easier - and healthier - than seeking out the real bad guys. I'll watch those again and give a critique.
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Louis Theroux examines the problem of crime in Johannesburg:
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Louis Theroux looks at crime in the big city of Lagos, Nigeria, Africa:
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This is about a case on Pitcairn Island that caused quite an interesting clash. It makes you wonder about the various remote islands (possibly including Tristan, unfortunately), and exactly what goes on there in society:
Pitcairn Island, a lump of rock situated roughly halfway between New Zealand and Chile, is probably the world's most remote inhabited spot. It has no airstrip, no safe harbour and no scheduled shipping service. Visitors must hitch a lift on a container vessel travelling through the Pacific, or – as I did – fly to a far-flung part of French Polynesia and then embark on a very rough, 30-hour boat voyage. Generally, applications to visit must be approved by the islanders; most requests are turned down.
The day after we arrived on Pitcairn, in September 2004, Olive Christian invited members of the media to Big Fence, her sprawling home overlooking the Pacific. Olive is the wife of Steve Christian, mayor of the island and one of the seven Pitcairn-based defendants accused of child sex offences.
When we got to Big Fence, 15 women – almost the entire adult female population of the island – were assembled on sofas and plastic chairs in the living room. At that time, the names of the seven defendants were still suppressed by a court order. However, we were privy to this poorly kept secret; every woman in the room was related to one or more of the men.
We had been summoned to Big Fence, it turned out, to be told that their menfolk were not "perverts" or "hardened criminals"; they were decent, hard-working family types. No islander would tolerate children being interfered with, and no one on Pitcairn had ever been raped. The "victims" were girls who had known exactly what they were doing.
The women explained that underage sex was the norm on Pitcairn. Darralyn Griffiths, the daughter of one of the defendants, told us in a matter-of-fact way that she had lost her virginity at 13, "and I felt shit hot about it too. I felt like a big lady." Others clamoured to make similar admissions. "I had it at 12, and I was shit hot too," said Jay's sister Meralda, a woman in her forties. Olive Christian described her youth, with evident nostalgia, as a time when "we all thought sex was like food on the table".
We must have looked surprised. They were surprised we were surprised. Well, they demanded, at what age did we start having sex? It was clear, in this company and at this particular juncture, that the question could not be avoided. Some of our responses met with howls of derision; the women did not apparently believe that anyone could have lost their virginity at 18.
The point of this meeting seemed to be to persuade us that the criminal case against the seven men was based on a misconception – and, furthermore, that it was all part of an elaborate plot. Britain, the colonial power, was determined to "close the island down", they said, because it had become a financial burden. What better way to achieve that than to jail the men who were the very backbone of the community?
Why, though, we wondered aloud, would the women who had spoken to police have fabricated their accounts – accounts that, in spite of the women growing up on the island in different eras and now living thousands of miles apart, were remarkably alike? At this point, the Pitcairners produced their trump cards: Darralyn Griffiths and her sister, Charlene Warren.
Charlene, 25, with long, curly hair and a diffident manner, revealed that she had made a statement in 2000, alleging sexual abuse by Pitcairn men. But, she added, as others clucked approvingly, she had only made the statement under duress. She explained: "The detectives... dragged me to the police station. I was offered good money for each person I could name." Darralyn, 27, told us she had also made a statement – but only, she said, after being browbeaten by police. These claims of coercion were denied by the police.
Both sisters were living in New Zealand at that time. Both told detectives they were prepared to go to court. But "after I really thought about it, it was half and half... I wanted it just as bad as them. It was very much a mutual thing," Charlene said, referring to the men she named as abusers. That re-evaluation took place after Charlene returned to Pitcairn. Darralyn changed her mind shortly before she, too, went home.
Their mother, Carol, now declared that no Pitcairn girl had ever been abused – and, almost in the same breath, told us she had had an unpleasant experience as a child. "It didn't affect me," she said. "I was probably luckier than some I've read about... I was 10 at the time. But even at 10, I knew it was wrong, it's a bad thing. I screamed like hell."
Carol said that, when she heard Darralyn had spoken to police, "I thought, 'What on earth is that girl thinking about?'" She went on: "I told the cops; not one of these girls went into this with their eyes shut. They knew exactly what they were doing. The women here are loose, and it's not the men's fault. What are they supposed to do?"
The women seemed feisty and opinionated, but when the conversation moved to the prospect of their male relatives being jailed, they suddenly appeared vulnerable. Olive reckoned that, without the men, "you might as well pick Pitcairn up and throw it away, because no one is going to survive". With the population having already declined to crisis point, the women claimed, if even a couple of men were locked up, there would be too few to crew the longboats, which were used to ferry people and supplies to the island.
Olive stood to lose most. Among the seven defendants she counted her husband (Steve), son (Randy), father (Len) and younger brother (Dave). Another six Pitcairn men facing court in Auckland – they had all moved to Australia or New Zealand – included her other brother, Kay, and her two other sons, Trent (who was later cleared) and Shawn. Olive lamented: "We live as one big family on this island, and nothing will ever be the same... Right now, with all this going on, maybe they should have hanged Fletcher Christian."
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It was Tuesday morning, which meant that Pitcairn's one shop, situated on the main road, a couple of banana groves down from the square, was open for business. But you had to be quick, for it would be closed by 9am – and if you missed it, you had to wait until Thursday, when it opened for another solitary hour of trading.
The shop was crowded, although probably no more than a dozen people were browsing the dusty shelves, stacked with tins of lambs' tongues and condensed milk. Olive Christian's son, Randy, and several other men who were about to go on trial stood around, laughing loudly at some private joke. They were mostly barefoot, and carried fishing knives in their belts. As I roamed the aisles, a figure in a baggy grey T-shirt leant over a freezer of meat. "We don't like reporters here," said Dave Brown, with a half-smile. Short and stocky, with a bushy moustache, Dave was charged with 16 offences, including indecent assault and gross indecency with a child. But, like the other defendants, he was free on bail, and for now he was just gassing with his mates.
Also open that morning, again for the blink of an eye, was the minuscule post office, presided over by Dennis Christian. Dennis was charged with three sexual assaults. He explained to us politely that Pitcairn's once booming stamp business was in decline.
Within a few days of landing on Pitcairn, we knew who was who among the 40 or so residents. Every time we stepped out, we bumped into the locals; often they would overtake us on the quad bikes that they hopped on even for short trips. I was never sure whether to wave: it seemed rude not to, but sometimes the only response was an icy stare.
Not everyone was unfriendly. Outside the medical centre, I met a chatty Englishman: Mike Lupton-Christian, who is married to Brenda Christian, Steve's sister. Mike appeared well suited to Pitcairn life. But his attempts to muck in had so far been frustrated.
Mike was keen to use Pitcairn's big red tractor. He needed a licence, but when he applied to the council's internal committee, chaired by Randy Christian, nothing happened. "They kept saying things like, 'After the next ship's been,'" said Mike.
Vaine Peu, an amiable Cook Islander and the partner of Charlene Warren, told a similar story; Turi Griffiths, Darralyn's husband, also from the Cooks, which lie west of Pitcairn, could not get a licence either. As for Simon Young, another Englishman, he had secured a licence – but only for an old blue tractor. Mike, Vaine, Turi and Simon were outsiders. Meanwhile, two local teenagers were being trained to drive the big red tractor.
Those who could not drive the tractor – mainly used to plough the islanders' gardens, which yielded produce to trade on passing ships – were dependent on those who could. And those who could were men who had been born on Pitcairn and spent their lives there: the "Big Fence gang", as they were called.
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On the morning of 29 September 2004, a curious sight greeted the people of Pitcairn. Groups of strangers strode purposefully along the rutted "main road", dressed in dark suits, polished shoes and long black gowns.
Among them was the Pitcairn Chief Justice, Charles Blackie, climbing the winding back lane up to the square. Graham Ford, the registrar, escorted him into the dilapidated wooden courthouse. Minutes later, Blackie appeared, bowed briefly and sat down. And so began one of the most unusual trials in British criminal history.
Looking around, the judge would have seen that the paintwork in the courtroom was peeling. The defendant stood in the front row of the public gallery, wearing shorts, flip-flops and a blue T-shirt with a Bounty logo. Stevens Raymond Christian, the island's 53-year-old mayor, was scowling, perhaps because the suppression order had just been lifted. He, and the other accused, could be named for the first time in media reports.
Steve's sister Brenda, the police officer, stood guard at the door. Simon Moore, the Public Prosecutor, looked uncomfortable in his buttoned-up bar jacket and stiff wing collar. The lawyers were in full English court regalia, apart from horsehair wigs – the sole concession to the tropical heat. Fans pushed hot air from one corner of the low-ceilinged room to another; thin green curtains fluttered at the windows. Through a chink, palm trees could be glimpsed. Brenda closed the door and took a seat beside her brother.
Steve faced six counts of rape and four of indecent assault. He leant back, arms folded, as the court heard that the offences dated from 1964 to 1975. Like the other defendants, with the exception of Dennis Christian, he'd pleaded not guilty to all charges.
I glanced over at Steve, sitting a few feet away. He gave off an impression of compact strength. A secretive half-smile curled around his lips. He seemed a man at ease with himself. But I also detected a coiled tension. This was not someone accustomed to being crossed.
After a short interval for a satellite link with New Zealand to be set up, a female figure appeared on a television monitor. She was middle-aged, with red hair, and wore a black jacket. She looked terrified. Steve shifted in his chair. Jennifer had flown from England to tell her story, and was in a studio in Auckland. None of the victims, understandably, wished to return to Pitcairn to give evidence. Simon Moore began to question her gently.
As the adult Steve gazed at the screen, Jennifer described an incident that occurred when she was 11 or 12, and she was with a crowd of youngsters walking out for a picnic. Falling behind, she noticed Steve and two other boys waiting for her under some banyan trees. Steve grabbed hold of her and pushed her to the ground; then, as the other two pinned her down, he raped her. Jennifer, who was a virgin, struggled to break free. Afterwards, Steve told his friends: "Your turn if you want." They declined, and the three of them ran off laughing.
Jennifer claimed that Steve raped her three more times. Paul Dacre, the Public Defender, pressed her on why she did not inform her parents. "They couldn't do anything about it," she said. "There's nobody on the island that you could turn to for anything like this... That's the way of life on Pitcairn. You get abused, you get raped. It's the normal way of life on Pitcairn when I was growing up."
Simon Moore asked why she did not tell her husband about the abuse, either. Jennifer said she did not wish to disillusion him. "Everybody in the outside world thinks Pitcairn Island is a paradise," she cried. "But it was sheer hell back home when I was growing up."
Steve was followed into court by his brother-in-law, Dave Brown, 49, who was charged with assaulting five victims, including a five-year-old girl whom he allegedly forced to give him oral sex. He was also accused of molesting a 15-year-old girl during a spearfishing trip, and a 14-year-old while she was driving his quad bike.
Next came Dave's father, 78-year-old Len Brown, who was accused of twice raping Jennifer, one of Steve's victims, in her father's watermelon patch. Dennis Christian, 49, admitted to three charges of sexual assault, while Jay Warren, 47, a former Pitcairn magistrate, was accused and cleared of molesting a 12-year-old girl while swimming in Bounty Bay. Terry Young, 45, the island's electrician, allegedly raped a 12-year-old weekly, when they went out to collect firewood together, after indecently assaulting her from the age of six.
Last to face court was Steve Christian's 30-year-old son, Randy, who was accused of gagging and raping 10-year-old Belinda in a banana grove in tandem with his younger brother, Shawn; the two men allegedly took turns to hold her down. Shawn later went on trial in New Zealand, as did Terry Young's older brother, Brian. Brian was charged with repeatedly raping two sisters under the age of 10.
It had been raining for days, and the roads were rivers of mud when the sleek white shape of the Clipper Odyssey, an American cruise ship, hove into view. I had been on Pitcairn for nearly two weeks; now the island was preparing to welcome some new visitors: tourists.
Weather aside, I felt bemused by this prospect. I knew that, for many outsiders, the prospect of meeting Fletcher Christian's descendants was beguiling; however, seven of those men with romantic antecedents were on trial for raping and sexual assaulting children. Did the Clipper Odyssey's passengers really want to come here and mingle with the accused and their families? Wasn't the whole child abuse business just a little, you know, off-putting?
That morning I stepped outside to discover that Adamstown – where the pace of life is usually languid, to say the least – was a hubbub of activity. Stalls had been set up along the main road, with souvenirs laid out under waterproof tarpaulins. There were Pitcairn stamps, postcards, T-shirts, cookbooks, woven baskets, local honey and wooden carvings.
From the crest of the Hill of Difficulty, I could see the Clipper Odyssey pitching quite briskly offshore. The longboats were ferrying people to and fro, with the swell lifting their prows right out of the water and dashing them down again. Visitors with backpacks and sunhats and cameras were squelching their way along Pitcairn's muddy trails, while others were being shown around on quad bikes. A stout-hearted group was hiking up to Christian's Cave.
I browsed the stalls and bought a T-shirt from Carol Warren, Jay's wife, who was all smiles as she hunted out the right size and colour for me. Terry Young, whose trial was about to begin, sold me a wooden shark with teeth fashioned from real shark's teeth. I had a fascinating discussion with Terry about wood carving. I was pleased that the locals were being so friendly today. Perhaps they had just needed time to thaw.
At The Landing, yet more stalls had been put up and tourists were milling around, chatting excitedly with the locals. "What generation Pitcairner are you?" a middle-aged woman enquired as I stood on the jetty, surveying the scene.
"I'm not a Pitcairner," I replied.
"But you work on the boats?"
"No," I said. 'I'm a journalist."
"Oh... so what are you doing on Pitcairn, then?"
"I'm covering the trials – you know, the child sexual abuse trials."
"I see... [backing off] That must be interesting."
At midday, the visitors converged on Big Fence for fish and chips, provided (for a fee) by Steve and Olive Christian. No one found the choice of lunch venue untoward, it seemed, including the American tour company chartering the Clipper Odyssey. It was as if reality had been suspended, and everyone was engaged in a game of make-believe. Let's make believe that everything is rosy on the legendary island of Bounty fame. Let's make believe that the Pitcairn Islanders are all fine, upstanding citizens. Let's make believe that half of the mutineers' male heirs, including our lunch host, aren't accused of sex crimes.
More chips, anyone?
Some of the ship's passengers quizzed us in hushed tones about the case; they appeared to be enjoying the extra frisson. One Belgian woman said: "We have exactly the same trials in our country not so long ago, so you can understand that happens everywhere."
True, but it's not everywhere that crowds of tourists happily rub shoulders with alleged paedophiles, visit them in their homes, buy their souvenirs, pose for photographs with them, and generally treat them like nobility.
An American in his early sixties told me that he had been longing to visit Pitcairn since he was a boy. So how did it feel to be here at last? "Awesome," he replied.
At the conclusion of the court case in October 2004, six men were found guilty of a total of 35 offences, and four received prison sentences. However, they all remained free, as their lawyers were preparing appeals that would eventually be heard by the Privy Council in London. The journalists spent one final week on Pitcairn, waiting for a boat to arrive.
****
One morning, I found myself out fishing with Len Brown, 78, who had been convicted of twice raping Jennifer. I watched Len skip barefoot across the jagged rocks, spear in one hand, fishing tackle in the other.
As I stood on the rocks, I saw a small boat motor past. Belinda's father was out fishing with Randy Christian, who had just been given a prison sentence for raping Belinda.
Belinda's father was not apparently angry with Randy. Actually, most Pitcairners thought Randy was the one with reason to be cross. They seemed to be scornful of Belinda's father, who had failed to prevent his recalcitrant daughter from giving evidence.
Mindful of one significant loose end in our reporting, another journalist and I decided to drop by Steve Christian's house and ask him for an interview.
As we approached Big Fence, I glanced in through a window. Steve and his mates were assembled in the living room. We walked up the driveway towards the front door, which was open. Steve was sprawled on a sofa, holding court. When he saw us, he almost foamed at the mouth.
"We just want to request an interview," I called out.
"GET THE FUCK OFF MY LAND!" shouted Steve, gesticulating with violent sweeps of his arm.
****
The boat was on its way, I was relieved to learn. I felt like I was suffocating – confined for six weeks in this tiny, out of the way place, and crushed by the weight of the women's testimony.
Reminders were all around. Close to our house was the sugar-cane processing shed. Nearby, at the hands of Randy Christian, and, allegedly, Shawn, Belinda had suffered atrocities no 10-year-old should even know of. In fact, there was barely a location on the island that was not associated with some harrowing tale of sexual violence.
I wandered the length of Garnets Ridge, nearly 1,000ft above sea level, a spot as ravishing as it was lonely. I could see Adamstown way below, a few dozen houses sprinkled across a green hillside. As I looked down at this unremarkable rural settlement, framed by the savage beauty of the Pacific, I shivered.
I walked past the crumbling gravestones in the little cemetery, located on a grassy clifftop. Beneath the ground lay generations of men whose crimes had gone unpunished, and generations of women whose stories remained untold. Some of their sons and grandsons had been brought to account now. But would the cycle of abuse on Pitcairn ever end?
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In 2006, the Privy Council threw out the Pitcairners' appeal, and four men went to jail. Another two joined them after being convicted at trials in New Zealand later that year.
The names of the rape victims have been changed.
Source is independent.co.uk, and is taken from book on the subject. (Author: Kathy Marks)
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Neat old MTA commercial and a short documentary on working the trains in the late 70's, early 80's. Nice little slice of the times, interesting little facts in it -
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This guy was an old PBS film maker from the 70's - 90's or so, and his family preserved some of his work here -
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Some great old stuff, here are my picks -
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Louis Theroux looks at crime in the big city of Lagos, Nigeria, Africa:
Fixed
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This one's too strange not to post. If you have respect for animals (as you should), it's maybe a little sad. Theroux visits places where exotic pets are kept. A bit of weird Americana - both the situation and the people:
(It may be currently unavailable to stream on youtube. It's called America's Most Dangerous Pets.)
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This guy was an old PBS film maker from the 70's - 90's or so, and his family preserved some of his work here -
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Some great old stuff, here are my picks -
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Great little treasure chest, there. I saw some vintage Geraldo Rivera (on "Public TV"!!)
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The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst
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Recently, re-watched the Maylses' 'Salesman.' Oh, brother, if you want to see a man come to realize his life/career is wasted, right in front of you, this is your doco. Brilliant. Grim.
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The 'Up' series (starting with Seven Up! in '64) is quite extraordinary, if you haven't already.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_Series
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Can you imagine. The super-rich are building huge underground living spaces that double as hiding places/shelters, right in the middle of the city. Good watch.
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Great picks on the PBS work, BB. His page is like a window to the past.
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God help us.
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Recently, re-watched the Maylses' 'Salesman.' Oh, brother, if you want to see a man come to realize his life/career is wasted, right in front of you, this is your doco. Brilliant. Grim.
I knew those guys had done more than one thing. :)
Always meant to look and see what was out there from them, besides that and Grey Gardens. Many thanks, Chimps.
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Kind of sad, kind of funny, definitely crazy. Relatives of Jackie O., a mom and daughter live out their days in a broken-down mansion. It's a drifter that requires a certain frame of mind, especially since the ladies are so touched.
Such a classic, though, it can't go without a post.
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Salesman:
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The 'Up' series (starting with Seven Up! in '64) is quite extraordinary, if you haven't already.
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Up_Series
Yeah, it really does look interesting.
Here's this:
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Haven't watched, but will stream within next few weeks and maybe comment. This is about Woodstock, from VH1:
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Louis Theroux examines the problem of crime in Johannesburg:
Great look at what a society turns into when it's headed for hell. This is the exact route it takes.
The end bit with the person named as Maleven was highly questionable in detail (that was my problem with it, originally, I guess), but Theroux was trying to make a statement about sociopathic behavior. So I get it, now. That was the guy Theroux was delivered to, by his African "fixer"/contact, anyway, so not sure how Louis could have gotten around it without exceeding budget with no clear end (...and to his credit, Louis later mentioned that he didn't know if the details were true or not. His point about sociopathic culture stands strong, though, no doubt.)
That part is at the end. The rest looks at private policing, and what any society that plummets into hell will see. Very interesting watch.
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The Jinx: The Life and Deaths of Robert Durst
Yes. Looks like it could be a good watch.
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Said pretty much the exact same thing when it was first posted.
Yes, that's what made me watch it.
Here's an update on that guy, for anyone interested (from April 2015):
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Bobby Liebling is in a bad place right now. That may not be a huge surprise if you’ve ever listened to his band, Pentagram, or happened to catch Last Days Here, the critically-acclaimed 2011 documentary that detailed Liebling’s lifelong struggle withm drug addiction and followed him as he revived Pentagram in his 50s while emerging from his parents’ basement to start afresh with a wife less than half his age and their newborn son. Fast forward to today: Liebling is 61 and may or may not be on drugs again. He and his wife are separated. His aged parents have just been rushed to the hospital. “I’m trying to hang in there,” he tells us. “I haven’t been feeling so great lately, and my separation from my wife is killing me. But we all have a lot of baggage. I’m just grateful to wake up these days, because for all intents and purposes, I’m not supposed to be here.”
On a much, much more positive note, Pentagram have two new releases in the pipeline. The first is a double DVD collection of vintage and contemporary live footage entitled All Your Sins: Video Vault (watch a clip below). The second is a brand new studio album called Curious Volume, which Liebling and his bandmates—guitarist Victor Griffin, bassist Greg Turley, and new drummer Pete Campbell—are currently putting the finishing touches on.
Given the personal circumstances mentioned in the first paragraph, Liebling has not been speaking with the press. His faithful manager Sean “Pellet” Pelletier (you remember him from Last Days Here) made an exclusive exception for Noisey but almost cancelled at the last minute when Liebling’s parents were hospitalized. Clearly distressed as we talk, Liebling trails off on several non-sequitur tangents and his words occasionally become indecipherable. The following transcript has been edited for coherence and clarity.
How are your folks doing?
Bobby Liebling: They’re not doing too well right now. Two days ago they were both taken in separate ambulances to the ICU. They’re both in the same hospital right now. I’m kind of on the edge about that because my dad collapsed and my mom missed taking her pills. So it’s all messed up. I’m in their house right now, and the walls are starting to creep in on me. Reality is hitting. I mean, my dad’s 95. My mom’s about 84, and they’re both really sick, and all I can do is just pray for them. If they don’t make it, they’ll both go to a better place anyway.
I’m sorry to hear it, Bobby.
We’re all gonna go. Once you come out of the hole, you’re dying. Most people don’t look at it that way, but that’s really what it is. When you’re young, there are all these things you wanna see and do—you’ve got an appetite. But then you get to be my age—I’m 61 now—and I’ve done it all. I’ve been there, and I’ve got into every damn thing you could possibly name on the planet. The years start going by fast, and it happens to all of us. It’s just part of the plan the big guy’s got for us. That’s at least how I think of it.
You mentioned “the big guy.” I know your friend and longtime Pentagram guitarist Victor Griffin found religion in the last few years. How has that affected you?
It’s affected me totally. I’m on the same exact course now, and we’ve grown more than ever as people because we’ve turned to God as we know it and it gives us serenity. So yes, I’m really spiritual. I don’t believe in the church, but every day I talk out loud for at least a couple of hours to God. When I try to analyze it, I realize you shouldn’t try to analyze it. That’s the point. You just have to believe. And I do. It’s carried me this far. I’m a rock star, and I never thought I’d get near something like that. I’m not perfect, but I’m doing things right more and more. When I turned in the same direction as Victor—I wouldn’t call it “born again”—my spiritual awareness surfaced. It took precedence over our pagan, ritualistic living.
That means Pentagram can’t do certain things anymore.
Yeah. No baphomets, no upside-down crosses. That’s in our riders, in our contracts. People maybe didn’t get it when they heard “Review Your Choices” or “Be Forewarned.” Those songs are telling you there’s two ways to go, but I can’t tell you which to choose. You gotta figure it out for yourself. And it’s rough sometimes. It’s hard. I talked to my wife yesterday evening, and there’s a chance we might be able to give it another shot. I’m praying for it, because I really do love her. She’s done a lot of bad things, a lot of wrong things, but so have all of us. God will forgive you if you pay homage and stop fucking up. When I go, I know where I’m going. And I’m not afraid. I know I’m going to a good place, and I’ll be safe. Somewhere there’s a perfectness, and I will end up there because I believe.
You’ve been through a lot of shit since you started Pentagram in 1971—failed record deals, drug addiction, and nearly three dozen ex-band members. When you look back, do the good times outweigh the bad?
The good times outweigh the bad times when I’m functionally doing the band thing. But it’s not always like that. Nowadays, I’m a total recluse. I’m extremely antisocial. I don’t go out of the apartment. I see one or two people a week, if that. I stay at home and watch movies on Netflix. I never go out anywhere. I’m afraid to go out after dark.
Why?
It’s dangerous out there, man. It’s a rotten fucking world. I didn’t grow up with guns. I mean, fuck guns! We always fought with our hands—maybe somebody had brass knuckles. But now you can get catch a stray bullet in a drive-by. It’s real. People think, “Oh, not me.” Bullshit! You gotta watch it, man. You gotta try to live right, because it’s much easier to fuck up. Much easier.
What can you tell us about the new album you’re working on?
We took a real chance with this album. It’s called Curious Volume, which is very self-explanatory because this album is not your typical Pentagram album. We’ve got about 13 songs, and I’d say half a dozen are the traditional stuff that the diehards wanna hear. But we’ve also got a couple of punk songs, and there’s a ballad on there. We took a chance and stepped out to see if we could cut the mustard or not. It’s really a do or die thing, but why not discover that part of yourself?
How did you decide on the album title?
Well, originally the album was gonna have a lot more older stuff. It still has some very old stuff—it has a song I wrote in 1965, and another one I wrote in ’69, which is the ballad. So I wanted to call it Over Many A Quaint and Curious Volume of Forgotten Lore [a line from Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven”], because it has the old and the new. But we whittled it down to Curious Volume, because I got to thinking about why we have this obsession with playing such dark stuff and stare so much into the void. It hooks you, like a drug. It becomes an outlet for depression. That’s our calling, basically.
Pentagram bass player Greg Turley recently told Decibel that about half the songs on the new record are from your famously never-ending stash from the late 60s and 70s, and half are new songs.
Every single Pentagram album is that—every one, ever. The stuff that I’ve written is all from ’68 to ’73. I’ll never run out. But out of the 13 songs on the new album, I only participated in writing five and only wrote two alone. Up until this album, my favorite Pentagram album was [2001’s] Sub-Basement. That album is one of the most demented, sick, depraved, god-awful annoying things I’ve ever heard in my life. It’s hard as shit to listen to Sub-Basement and not come away feeling like your head has turned to mud. It’s assaulting. It’s imposing. It’s past the realm of uncomfortable. But I love that because hundreds—maybe thousands—of kids all over the world have told me, “I was gonna kill myself, and then I listened to Sub-Basement and for some reason I didn’t feel so alone.” And that does my heart good. They didn’t check out because they realized they weren’t the only one with problems. We’re all part of the malcontent club at times in our lives, aren’t we? But after Sub-Basement, I’d say the new record is the darkest Pentagram album. It’s really creepy.
Did you ever come close to suicide yourself, during your darkest days?
I tried it more than once. It’s not the right thing to do. You gotta try to hold on. And I’m holding on by a thread right now, I’ll be honest. I’m barely, barely holding by a thread. It’s getting the best of me this time because I’m older and wiser and I can’t escape it as easily. But playing music gives me an accomplished feeling. I didn’t get that before, when I was younger. It was all about the altered state. But now it’s uncomfortable for me to be altered, and I want a comfort zone of some sort.
What else has changed?
The band feels really in tune with the higher up. We’ve become much more of a family than we ever were because we know our limitations. I can’t jump all over the stage or do these three songs in a row because I’ll run out of air. Victor has to wear glasses onstage because he can’t see the frets. These things are all reality, man. We’re not gonna be here forever, but we can make the best of what we’ve got and just make every day count. It’s hard, but you gotta do it. Because we’re still here.
I hope it stays that way for a while.
Me too. In 2013, something like 126 heavy rock ‘n’ rollers died. That’s a hell of a number, man. And everyone except two people were between 55 and 65. So we don’t live that long, people in “the life.” We live fast. You know the old adage, and it holds true. I’m just trying to hang on as much as I can. But you can’t dwell on it. [Rolling Stones founder] Brian Jones was my idol, and he died before any of them did. He did all the drugging and had the naked chicks all over the house, and that’s exactly what I did. I did all the drugs and had a house full of naked blondes. But now I’m 61. So when all those people went in 2013, I thought, “Oh boy.” Because I’m a fuck-up—let’s face it. I’m a big fuck-up. A major, professional fuck-up. But what’s frightening is that they’re all gone now and I’m still here. So I know I’m here for a reason.
J. Bennett plays guitar in Ides Of Gemini. He is not on Twitter. Source: Vice
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(http://i.vimeocdn.com/video/435846489_1280x960.jpg)
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God help us.
F'n monster.
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F'n monster.
Haven't yet watched the whole thing, myself. I want to give it the attention it deserves, as I've seen enough to know it's a very important work.
Have to admit, though, I would have advised him (the guy that made it) to start with some basic introduction into the situation. It felt like I was pulled into something tragic, without having a clear idea of who is who.
This is definitely a watch to be had, and I'll start it again from the beginning.
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...I do take your word that he is a monster, though. No confusion about that part.
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One more that's sort of related. This is the story of a guy on Guam, who lost his ability to walk because he got too heavy. It also has a surprise in it that I'll mention in the next paragraph, so if you want to watch it to see for yourself, don't read on...
He dies apparently due to an overdose of drugs, while his wife is present. Her 911 call and her story after it don't match up from what I recall, but no investigation followed. She most likely only helped him commit suicide, so maybe that's why.
Somewhere in this one, when they were showing pics of the guy from when he was mobile, I remember they flashed on one where he appeared to be lifting the back of a car. I wonder if that was legit.
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Salesman:
The New York Times - April 18, 1969
Albert and David Maysles's Salesman, which opened yesterday at the 68th Street Playhouse, is a documentary feature about four door-to-door Bible salesmen who move horizontally through the capitalistic dream. It's such a fine, pure picture of a small section of American life that I can't imagine its ever seeming irrelevant, either as a social document or as one of the best examples of what's called cinema vérité or direct cinema.
Salesman is not a total movie—that is, a complete experience—as a fiction film may aspire to be. It is fact, photographed and recorded with extraordinarily mobile camera and sound equipment, and then edited and carefully shaped into a kind of cinematic mural of faces, words, motel rooms, parlors, kitchens, streets, television images, radio music—even weather.
The movie is a record of the adventures of four real-life, Boston-based representatives of the Mid-American Bible Company, filmed over a period of two months, first in and around Boston, then at a sales convention in Chicago, and finally during a sales tour in and around Miami. The focal point is Paul Brennan, a lean, bristly, professional Irish-American who, in the course of the movie, slowly comes to realize his inadequacy as a Bible pitchman. In a very gentle way, Salesman is Paul Brennan's voyage to personal defeat via rented automobile—a gallant Hickey in a Hertz.
Movie purists may object to some of the techniques employed by the Maysles brothers. They have eliminated from the film all evidence that the people being photographed—the salesmen and their customers—are aware of the presence of the camera. Obviously, they also photographed much more material than is included in the finished movie, allowing them to impose a certain narrative order on the events, and with that order, a point of view.
For one reason and another, I've seen Salesman three times, and each time I've been more impressed by what I can only describe as the decency of that point of view. The movie's lower-middle-class, Roman Catholic-oriented landscape is not particularly pretty, nor are the hard-sell tactics employed by the salesmen as they pitch their $49.95 Bibles to lonely widows, Cuban refugees, boozy housewives, and to one young couple that can't even pay its rent. "Be sure to have it blessed," a salesman reminds a customer to whom he's just made a sale, "or you won't get the full benefit from it."
However, everyone in the movie seems to be touched by the Maysleses' compassion, even the Mid-American Bible Company's pious "theological consultant," Melbourne I. Feltman, who, at the Chicago convention, urges the salesmen to go about their "Father's work," adding: "God grant you an abundant harvest." Salesman somehow transcends such surface mockery, partly, I think, because the salesmen really are no less vulnerable than their customers.
Giving the movie its comic and poignant dimension is Brennan's performance as Brennan, a cocky, beady-eyed drummer who finally succumbs to "negative thoughts" after a long period of being unable to make a sale. "I don't want to seem negative," he confesses to a colleague after a fruitless day, "but all I can see here is delinquent accounts." Brennan driving aimlessly through the fake Moorish architecture of Opa-Locka, Florida, where the streets are named after Sinbad and Ali Baba and the City Hall is shaped like a mosque, is an image of America as a worn-out Disneyland that is unforgettable.
Salesman is hardly a romantic movie, but in a curious way, it's just as exotic and strange a journey as any that the late Robert Flaherty (Nanook of the North, Tabu) ever took through the Arctic or the South Seas. It may not be the entire story of America or even of the salesmen themselves (whose private lives are barely touched), but it is a valuable and sometimes very funny footnote to contemporary history.
Vincent Canby
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Since bikers are in the news -
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Slow in parts, but the parts that were filmed in NY are pretty good.
And this short was interesting, you can see a very young Chuck Zito in it -
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And a little more on the guy in the clip -
http://www.secondsout.com/usa-boxing-news/usa-boxing-news/the-incredible-comeback-of-john-lofranco .
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I've already watched Salesman once (curiosity got the best of me the other day, so I cheated and bumped it up the watchlist - hadn't heard of it before this thread). It's definitely one of those that you can see several times over, and pick up a better understanding each time. I noticed the NYT-guy seems to have found that, too, so thought it would be a good post.
No question, this is an excellent watch that sends important messages (be very careful what you invest yourself in, for one). It gives an almost-unbelievable look into the past, too, that is just priceless. On so many levels, it is brilliant.
BTW, kinda funny how the NYT-reviewer describes the process of making a movie like this, but I guess the explanation was needed back then. I suppose some people wouldn't understand WTF the filmmaker was trying to do, otherwise.
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Meant to say a few pages back, that I recall seeing the Frozen Addicts vid a few years ago, and it's an interesting watch. Someone attempted to make a synthetic heroin-like drug, and it fucked a bunch of people by causing them to remain in a state of slow-motion. They were still driven to score drugs, though, so some tried to carry on despite having severe damage. One guy broke into a house, then froze on a fence he was climbing to get away.
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Here's kind of an unusual one. I remember seeing it years ago and it may have been the first doc I'd ever seen. The guy that made it says he set out to do a certain thing, but it turned into something different. So don't get fooled by the title. I'll tell you that it's sort of like American Nomads (couple posts up) in that it is a drifter.
I liked it years back, but will watch it again before saying anything else. Note the length, though, so maybe treat it like a book and come back to it a couple times in order to finish.
Like nearly any documentary that goes over 1.5 hours, there will be some parts that should be removed. This one goes about 2.5, with surprisingly little that might've been fair to remove. The guy does come off as a bit of a whiner (and possibly a would-be cuck), so the few bits he decides to showcase himself were unnecessary and a little annoying in my opinion.
He does a great job at moving along, though, and keeps his own nonsense to a minimum. So he might not be as wimpy as he seems. Overall, he did an excellent job.
Other than that slight warning about the maker's personality: he takes the camera as he interacts along the way through his mission. His intent, supposedly, is to document the grounds of Sherman's March, but he claims to be pursuing a girlfriend at the same time - so that's what his focus sets on.
A great look at the Old South in its final days, in my opinion. A complete drifter for when you want to let your mind go for a spin. Glad I watched it again, before it disappeared from the link.
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...that one's called Sherman's March and it's by Ross McElwee. It may be currently unavailable to stream on youtube, unfortunately.
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Haven't yet watched the whole thing, myself. I want to give it the attention it deserves, as I've seen enough to know it's a very important work.
Have to admit, though, I would have advised him (the guy that made it) to start with some basic introduction into the situation. It felt like I was pulled into something tragic, without having a clear idea of who is who.
This is definitely a watch to be had, and I'll start it again from the beginning.
Oh, assumed your post was a summary.
Without giving much away, astonishing how the brain sometimes responds to unimaginable abuse. Please give your thoughts on the hospital visit after viewing.
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Yeah, I do get the spirit of it (I think), but no way I want to watch it on autopilot. I'll probably read as much on it as possible, then watch it a couple of times to really understand what he's trying to say. What I did see gave me the creeps like a motherfck, though, so I know it's almost like a burden to watch (very strange).
Just assume the absolute worst, then still proceed with caution. In these cases, I'm always more shocked by the enablers, rationalizers, and apologists, rather than the monster himself. Whom I instantly dismiss as a monster.
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Just assume the absolute worst, then still proceed with caution. In these cases, I'm always more shocked by the enablers, rationalizers, and apologists, rather than the monster himself. Whom I instantly dismiss as a monster.
I know what you mean as a general. Just when you think you've seen it all, some crazy little culture people have made will spring into awareness.
TU, were you quickly able to know who was who in it, or did you find yourself going back to try and pick up pieces?
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I know what you mean as a general. Just when you think you've seen it all, some crazy little culture people have made will spring into awareness.
TU, were you quickly able to know who was who in it, or did you find yourself going back to try and pick up pieces?
No, it took a while. He certainly drug it out some. And then there are all the names you still have to keep in order. A few generations worth of two large families.
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No, it took a while. He certainly drug it out some. And then there are all the names you still have to keep in order. A few generations worth of two large families.
Yeah, I thought so. So many documentaries become immediately cluttered, when a simple introduction would have minimized it. I hope nobody gives up on it because of that.
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Louis Theroux looks carefully at a situation to find the most effective way to stir the bullshit, which sometimes makes his documentaries pretty borderline (to me), but he's SO good at it, it's tough not to watch...
This is about the Westboro Baptist Church. I actually found myself understanding their POV through this (not necessarily agreeing with it, but it became less mystifying to me):
[/youtube]
Written by Louis Theroux, shortly after the death of Fred Phelps:
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Pastor Fred Phelps is gone, called to glory if you believe the teachings of his hate-spewing ministry, the Westboro Baptist Church. To me it seems more likely that his remains are mouldering away somewhere, obeying the laws of physics and biology. But, either way, it seems an appropriate moment to reflect on the man and his legacy.
I had some history with "Gramps", as his family and followers liked to call him. I made two documentaries about his church for the BBC: The Most Hated Family In America in 2006 and America's Most Hated Family in Crisis in 2010. In all, I suppose I spent about a month with the members of the WBC, trying to figure out what induces them to dedicate their every spare moment – when they aren't holding down respectable jobs as lawyers, correctional officers or salespeople in their hometown of Topeka, Kansas – to flying around the country, standing as close to funeral-goers as they are legally allowed and waving hate-filled placards with slogans such as "Thank God for Dead Soldiers", "Fags Eat Poop", and, of course, "God Hates Fags". They became notorious for picketing the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. In the WBC teachings, the soldiers were being punished for fighting for a nation doomed in the eyes of God for its tolerance of homosexuality.
Their main scriptural inspiration is the passage in Leviticus that mandates the death penalty for gay sex ("Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with womankind: it is an abomination") though, for some reason, the adjacent verses, which proscribe astrology in similar terms, never seem to excite the WBC quite so much. Not to mention that Christ had nothing to say on the subject of gay sex or shouting at funerals and plenty to say about kindness and humility.
The WBC has tended to be a family affair, overwhelmingly made up of Gramps' lineal descendants and their spouses. They live in suburban Topeka, in a collection of houses with connected gardens, which they call Zion. Gramps was the prime mover behind the practices of the church. He founded it when the idea of abominating sodomites was mainstream in American Christian circles. In some respects, it was the times that changed, leaving the WBC behind in their dogged adherence to old-style fire-and-brimstone Bible-thumping. But it's also the case that homosexuality seems to have been an obsession with Pastor Phelps.
According to legend, the WBC inaugurated their anti-gay pickets when a Topeka park became a cruising ground in the 1980s. The Phelps decided to make signs and demonstrate against the practice. The WBC doctrine evolved into a belief that the whole of America was fallen and damned in God's eyes, as was anyone who fought under the US flag – or, indeed, who wasn't a member of the Westboro Baptist Church. We are all either "fags" or "fag enablers" – you, me, Desmond Tutu, Princess Di, Donald Rumsfeld, Billy Graham, Liz Taylor – though possibly not Robert Mugabe: Gramps had a soft spot for him. An eternity in hell is the fate of anyone who doesn't get baptised into the WBC and travel the country waving hate-filled placards at political events, colleges and places associated – even in the most tortuously oblique way – with tolerance of homosexuality.
While I was with them, they had a regular local picket of a hardware store that sold Swedish vacuum cleaners. The Swedish government had imprisoned a pastor for homophobic preaching, and for the WBC that made the store a legitimate target for a ritualised Biblical smackdown. For the newcomer, these pickets were bizarre, not simply because of the venom of the signs, but also because they clashed with the banality of the family interaction. For the Phelpses, it was another day at the office – there was a water-cooler ambience of chit-chat. Meanwhile, everyone, even the youngest child, was carrying placards saying: "Thank God for 9/11", "Your Pastor is a Whore" and "Fag Sweden".
There is no question that their caravan of religious bigotry has made life miserable for thousands of people, many of them vulnerable mourners hoping to pay tribute to recently departed loved ones. Among their proposed picketing targets was the funeral of young Amish children who had been shot by a deranged gunman. In the tortured logic of the WBC, those kids died because their parents weren't out holding pickets denouncing homosexuality. In the end, the WBC called off the event only after they were promised airtime on a local radio station, effectively holding the community to ransom.
But the WBC also made life miserable for themselves and inflicted a distorted and poisonous view of the world on the youngest members of their own family, holding over their heads the threat that any deviation or failure of commitment (not going to a picket or socialising with outsiders) would result in a lifetime of banishment. Ex-members – of whom there are quite a few – can have no contact with the church.
Given their eagerness to court controversy, it's not surprising that there are misapprehensions about the WBC. Unlike hate groups such as the Ku Klux Klan, the WBC members never claim to hate gay people themselves, only that God does. I'm pretty sure there was at least one gay man in the congregation of the WBC. Even on the pickets, the Phelps family members could be civil. For most of the Phelpses, the hostility they expressed was a role that they enacted, dictated by a doctrine they had imbibed from their church leader and paterfamilias. You can find videos on YouTube of counter-demonstrators having cordial chats with Phelps picketers. I don't doubt that, if you knocked on the door of one of the second generation of the family, said you had some questions about Jesus, they'd let you in and maybe offer you a glass of water. Pastor Phelps was a different story: he was a hater by instinct.
I'm proud to say he took against me from the moment we met. I asked him how many children he had. He disliked this question – I think he found me trivial. The interview was cut short. Over subsequent days, we continued filming but I hardly saw him. I had the feeling he was hiding from me. We eventually crossed paths again, in church one Sunday after his sermon on the subject of America's coming tribulations, in which he bellowed: "You're going to eat your babies!" One-to-one, Gramps still had the remnants of a folksy, plainspoken charm, but underneath was a bitter contempt for humanity in general and me specifically. I asked him how he could possibly know that the WBC members were the only people bound for heaven. "I can't talk to you – you're just too dumb," he said. It seemed that I was a hellbound sinner. Well, at least I was in good company.
I've heard people speculate that Phelps had repressed gay leanings or that perhaps he was sexually assaulted when he was young, leading to a lasting animosity to homosexuality. Personally, I doubt it. I suspect he had a lasting dislike of the military, which partly explains the picketing of funerals. But there may be no simple explanation for his behaviour. He was just an angry, bigoted man who thrived on conflict. There are credible reports from his disaffected offspring (four of his 13 children left the church) that he was physically abusive to his wife, Marge; he was violent to his children and had an intermittent problem with pills. He was also a lawyer and won some civil-rights cases, receiving an award from the NAACP. But he liked going against the grain.
The members of the WBC like being attacked for their activities. They thrive on the presence of counter-demonstrators – the patriotic bikers who would sometimes turn up and rev their engines to drown out the WBC's songs at military funerals and also the students who turned out in droves to sing and register their dissent when the WBC held pickets near their campus. For the church, this meant they were getting a reaction and they would quote Bible verses to the effect that being hated by the world was a sign of godliness. Indifference was harder for them to deal with, although they have faced plenty of that as well without being much deterred.
It has been reported that Pastor Phelps had been "excommunicated" from his own church before he died (probably this doesn't mean much more than being prevented from preaching; I doubt he was out wandering the streets). In 2010 I heard a similar rumour. Then, the word was that Gramps was panicking about a multimillion-dollar lawsuit brought against the church by the family of a dead soldier whose funeral they had picketed. (The WBC won the case on appeal.) The rest of the church viewed Gramps' failure of nerve as evidence of lack of faith in God's plan and they put him on the naughty pew for a time-out.
The truth is, despite being its founder and main preacher, Gramps had been a marginal figure within the WBC for some years. When I made my documentaries, the dominant force was Fred's daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, a gifted organiser who could sling religious obloquy while holding four separate placards and wearing a bandana with a message of religious hate – in a different context, it would have been impressive. In fact, underneath her programming, and despite all the pain she inflicted in the name of her religion, she is basically a kind person.
But my sense is that Shirley has been pushed aside by an axis of WBC men, among them her brothers, Tim and Jonathan, and also the WBC convert Steve Drain, with Steve possibly in the driving seat. This is speculation on my part, but it struck me when I spent time among the WBC members that Steve was the most likely to take over the church. Steve had originally come to the WBC to make a documentary (called Hatemongers) and ended up moving in and bringing his wife and two daughters from Florida. It was striking that he too called Pastor Phelps "Gramps". He had become disconnected from his own parents and found a surrogate family in the Phelps clan. Steve is an intelligent man but arrogant. In personality, he is closer to Pastor Phelps than any of Gramps' natural children. I met and interviewed all three of Pastor Phelps' sons who remain in the church: they all have the slight air of being survivors of an abusive upbringing.
Where the WBC goes from here is anybody's guess. I haven't been following its doings as closely in recent years. Evidently they have attracted new members from outside the family. A few years ago there was news that a US marine and his family had been baptised into the church. Just as striking was the report that a British man had moved to Topeka from England, joined the church and married Jael Phelps. A few weeks ago I found a photo on Twitter of Jael at a picket holding a tiny baby. In its abundant procreation, the family has a guaranteed supply of future recruits.
I don't expect huge changes with Gramps' death. The church has always operated according to the dynamics of a large family rather than a cult. Cults don't typically excommunicate their charismatic leaders. Families do: they put their ageing parents in a granny annex and take away the keys to the car. Maybe, as with other families, the bereavement will bring them together. In another context, that might be a comforting thought. In this case one rather wishes that the second generation would continue to feud and fragment – and perhaps in the process moderate their way of thinking and get in touch with some of the apostate children they no longer see.
The more chilling thought is a backward-looking one, of how one man's legacy is likely to continue. Gramps' offspring, and their offspring, have been raised to believe that abuse is kindness. The natural bonds of family have been braided into this twisted thinking so that children who love their parents and siblings can't separate those feelings from their sense of obligation to the church and its creed. And when they leave they also take with them the nagging guilt and fear that haven't just lost a family: they have lost their only chance of salvation.
(http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/3/24/1395671952070/Fred-Phelps---Homosexuali-014.jpg)
(http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/3/24/1395672161846/Louis-Theroux-with-member-009.jpg)
(http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/3/24/1395672294469/Members-of-the-Phelps-fam-011.jpg)
(http://i.guim.co.uk/static/w-620/h--/q-95/sys-images/Guardian/Pix/pictures/2014/3/24/1395676625258/Shirley-Phelps-Roper-on-a-001.jpg)
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BTW, a lot of people take this approach in communication with the WBC. But unless your aim is to stir shit, not sure what good it is:
I'm proud to say he took against me from the moment we met.
If you're trying to get somewhere, it doesn't sound too effective.
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Never understood why those bikers or military comrades didn't attempt physical harm at the funerals. Couldn't imagine being faced with that while burying a beloved serviceman.
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Never understood why those bikers or military comrades didn't attempt physical harm at the funerals. Couldn't imagine being faced with that while burying a beloved serviceman.
They are actually out of sensory range, from what I understand. They can't be seen/heard by the mourners.
Their stand is that you can't restrict the ability to say things based on some possibility that feelings may be getting bent. (But if you look at Alito's response to it, you'll see how quickly that can disappear. I think JPS said he would've taken a stand with Alito on that, too, as a matter of fact. And who knows how many others feel the same. So...)
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Documentary about the MOVE standoff / fire in Philadelphia during the mid 1980's, and the subsequent hearings into the plannings and reasoning behind it. The first third moves slowly, but the other 2/3 are quite good -
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Edit - Youtube took it down, It was called "Let the Fire Burn" if you want to see it.
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Documentary about the MOVE standoff / fire in Philadelphia during the mid 1980's, and the subsequent hearings into the plannings and reasoning behind it. The first third moves slowly, but the other 2/3 are quite good -
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I remember hearing about this one (the story).
From what I understand, they were a back-to-nature group of dreadlocked blacks living in Philly (and possibly with others elsewhere). Many used the last name Africa.
Cops went after them for some reason, and I believe ended up burning down an entire residential block.
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They are actually out of sensory range, from what I understand. They can't be seen/heard by the mourners.
Their stand is that you can't restrict the ability to say things based on some possibility that feelings may be getting bent. (But if you look at Alito's response to it, you'll see how quickly that can disappear. I think JPS said he would've taken a stand with Alito on that, too, as a matter of fact. And who knows how many others feel the same. So...)
Btw, this was personally handled by Fred's daughter, Marge (you don't hear as much from her as the rest). She is probably the sharpest of the bunch (which says a lot, when you look at most of the rest - including and especially the converts, like Steve Drain and his family). She is very interesting to listen to, and has a way about her that doesn't involve the angry-schtick of her sister (Shirley), her dad, Steve Drain, etc.
Can't imagine why they haven't made her the spokesperson for them.
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http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/the-man-who-saved-the-world-watch-the-full-episode/
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https://vimeo.com/91583460
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Not the most professional documentary in terms of production, but enjoyable if you like to people watch, and have a thing for crime documentaries. It covers Ny from the 70's - mid 1990's pretty well, with an eye toward street level stuff -
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Short documentary from the late 1980's about Hong Kong's fabled Kowloon City district which was free from government oversight for much of post WWII - early 90's period. It became home to many of the area's poor, various criminals, and clandestine manufacturing groups. Very interesting watch, if even simply because it seems quite foreign to most western eyes -
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In 4 parts that run in sequence, with decent English subtitles.
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Hookers on Davie . A look at the lives of various prostitutes, poor, and street people that live on Davie street in Vancouver, Canada, which seems to be similar NYC's Time Square area. A little slow in parts, but interesting, as many times we don't get to see that part of life in Canada -
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You can pair it with Whistling Smith, a documentary on Bernie "whistling" Smith, a legendary old school cop that patrolled some of the rougher areas of Vancouver during that time too. He passed away a few years ago -
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Louis Theroux looks at crime in the big city of Lagos, Nigeria, Africa:
Another look at a society from hell. But unlike Johannesburg S.A., this place has stayed pretty dry of wealth. So the scenes don't include skyscraper takeovers with big-buck private police getting involved, etc.
Here, a structure exists to bring up people that can successfully control others - through force or some type of loyal respect. That's the "Area Boy" system. All things leading to hard value in a particular area will be seen to by such a person, and he answers upward in the chain.
The "kingpin" and his guards can sometimes be found in the streets, performing a ritual that has him use a wad of cash to draw a huge crowd of street youth, to see who will be the one to walk with it. That's how recruitment is done.
Some other madcap shit thrown in, too. There's a fucking nitwit ex-military man (with legal authority) who throws people in jail on Saturdays if they're not cleaning. Hahaha. Yes, he goose-steps through the streets ordering people arrested because they're daring to sit down, etc., when he wants them to be cleaning. Some unexepected humor, to say the least.
A good one. Glad I moved it off the watchlist again.
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Oh, assumed your post was a summary.
Without giving much away, astonishing how the brain sometimes responds to unimaginable abuse. Please give your thoughts on the hospital visit after viewing.
Yeah, TU. That was a bit much to see. But I guess when it comes down to it, love is that strong. So as sick as the whole thing is, the fact that those women didn't turn their backs on him may be the one thing that could have ever caused him to feel remorse for what he'd done. I really can't imagine how else to view it. Not sure how the (now adult) victims could be stopped from showing affection toward him if that's how they want to act. It seems the documentary-man should have pursued that line with them, though, instead of leaving such a major unresolved issue.
Good catch on that. Because that scene is the one that raises all the big questions.
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I was wrong about Philadelphia. It's actually pretty straightforward.
Really cruddy scenes throughout the whole thing, etc. (But if you'd like to see an episode of Cops with Louis Theroux in the middle of it all, this is it. Not a bad watch.)
Fixed
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On MOVE - Philadelphia:
On May 13, 1985, after complaints from neighbors, as well as indictments of numerous MOVE members for crimes including parole violation, contempt of court, illegal possession of firearms, and making terrorist threats, the Philadelphia Police Department attempted to clear MOVE Headquarters at 6221 Osage Avenue and arrest the indicted MOVE members. This led to an armed standoff with police. The police lobbed tear gas canisters at the building. MOVE members fired at the police, and the police returned fire with semiautomatic weapons. A Pennsylvania State Police helicopter then dropped two one-pound bombs made of FBI-supplied water gel explosive, a dynamite substitute, targeting a fortified, bunker-like cubicle on the roof of the house. The resulting fire ignited a massive blaze that eventually destroyed approximately 60 houses nearby. Eleven people, including John Africa, five other adults and five children, died in the resulting fire. Ramona Africa, one of the two survivors, claimed that police fired at those trying to escape the burning house, while the police stated that MOVE members had been firing at police.
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Yeah, TU. That was a bit much to see. But I guess when it comes down to it, love is that strong. So as sick as the whole thing is, the fact that those women didn't turn their backs on him may be the one thing that could have ever caused him to feel remorse for what he'd done. I really can't imagine how else to view it. Not sure how the (now adult) victims could be stopped from showing affection toward him if that's how they want to act. It seems the documentary-man should have pursued that line with them, though, instead of leaving such a major unresolved issue.
Good catch on that. Because that scene is the one that raises all the big questions.
I agree, the grandson was fearless confronting this monster's past, and he got the entire family to open up about what happened; so why not ask them to explain their continued affection. Only one or two stood outside the room refusing to enter.
And at the funeral, the one drunk daughter went off on him. But she was also in there giving him hugs and kisses at the hospital, right? Crazy as fuck.
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I agree, the grandson was fearless confronting this monster's past, and he got the entire family to open up about what happened; so why not ask them to explain their continued affection. Only one or two stood outside the room, refusing to enter.
Yes, he should have put some time on that. It had/has the potential to really sink into the mind, which should be his aim. In fact, once he realized how that particular footage was playing out, he should have felt obligated to pursue a line with each of the women (in a different environment, but as shortly after as possible). Instead, he raised some almost-shocking questions which went unanswered.
And at the funeral, the one drunk daughter went off on him. But she was also in there giving him hugs and kisses at the hospital, right? Crazy as fuck.
That funeral scene was so strange. It was as close to funny as it gets, while still remaining inappropriate for humor.
All around, the guy did a good job. He didn't come anywhere near getting the full potential from the story, obviously - but he performed some very important work that needed to be done. I don't think anyone can deny that.
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...the info on the MOVE story was posted with that vid. I don't know if it's completely true or not.
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http://www.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/the-man-who-saved-the-world-watch-the-full-episode/
This looks interesting, FF. Good find.
This film explores the dramatic and little-known events that unfolded inside a nuclear-armed Soviet submarine during the Cuban Missile Crisis. While politicians sought a solution to the stand-off, Vasili Arkhipov, an officer aboard the submarine, refused to fire a nuclear torpedo, thus averting disaster. The program combines tense drama with eyewitness accounts and expert testimony about a critical event during the Cold War.
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Salesman:
Can't stop thinking about this one. It has a long ring to its bell, yes. I love it.
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Salesman:
will watch later.
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https://vimeo.com/128373915
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It's been a long time since I've seen this one, but it's good. It's a two-part visit to the Miami jail, by Louis Theroux. Putting it back on the watchlist for down the road.
I dunno about questioning people before their situations play out, when they can be heard by the wrong people, etc. But I hope it was done in a way that didn't cause damage to them. Will watch it again soon and maybe say something about it:
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From the description with video:
Albert Maysles first documentary Psychiatry in Russia completed in 1955. Although he is best known for his work in direct cinema, Albert did not begin his career as a filmmaker; he got a Master of Arts degree from Boston University where he taught psychology for three years before making the switch to film. He took a trip to Russia to photograph a mental hospital, and returned the next year with a camera gifted to him from CBS to film his first documentary, Psychiatry in Russia.
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This musical documentary concerns the Rolling Stones and their tragic free concert at Altamont Speedway near San Francisco in early December 1969. The event was all but destroyed by violence that marked the end of the peace and love euphoria of the 1960s. The night began smoothly, with the supercharged Flying Burrito Brothers opening up for the Rolling Stones and performing the truck-driving classic "Six Days on the Road" and Tina Turner giving a sensually charged performance. But on this particular evening, the Stones made the fateful (and disastrous) decision to hire the Oakland chapter of the Hell's Angels motorcycle gang as bodyguards and bouncers. It was a foolhardy, careless choice that turned the night into an unmitigated disaster; halfway through the Stones' act, the Angels killed one black spectator, and injured several others who were present (including Jefferson Airplane's lead singer Marty Balin). In the film, we watch Mick Jagger -- ere an ebullient, charismatic performer of bisexual charm -- reduced to standing on stage like a frightened child with his finger in his mouth in wake of the violence. Unsurprisingly, the Grateful Dead refused to perform after the violence erupted; the picture ends on a despairing note, with the Stones repeatedly watching a film of the murder. Celebrated documentarians Albert and David Maysles directed and Haskell Wexler shot the film, with heightened instinct and control; as a result, this film is considered one of the greatest rock documentaries ever made. Stones songs performed include "Brown Sugar," "Under My Thumb," and "Sympathy for the Devil."
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Wow.
:o
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Gimme Shelter
Pauline Kael
How does one review this picture? It’s like reviewing the footage of President Kennedy’s assassination or Lee Harvey Oswald’s murder. This movie is into complications and sleight-of-hand beyond Pirandello, since the filmed death at Altamont – although, of course, unexpected – was part of a cinema-verite spectacular. The free concert was staged and lighted to be photographed, and the three hundred thousand people who attended it were the unpaid cast of thousands. The violence and murder weren’t scheduled, but the Maysles brothers hit the cinema-verite jackpot.
If events are created to be photographed, is the movie that records them a documentary, or does it function in a twilight zone? Is it the cinema of fact when the facts are manufactured for the cinema? The Nazi rally at Nuremberg in 1934 was architecturally designed so that Leni Riefenstahl could get the great footage that resulted in Triumph of the Will; in order to shoot A Time for Burning, William C. Jersey instigated a racial confrontation that split an Omaha church; the Maysles brothers recruited Paul Brennan, who was in the roofing and siding business, to play a bible salesman for the ‘direct cinema’ Salesman. It is said to be a ‘law’ that the fact of observation alters the phenomenon that is observed – but how can one prove it? More likely, observation sometimes alters the phenomenon and sometimes doesn’t…there is no reason to believe that the freaked-out people in Gimme Shelter paid much attention to the camera crews, but would the event itself have taken place without those crews? With modern documentarians, as with many TV news cameramen, it’s impossible to draw a clear line between catching actual events and arranging events to be caught; a documentarian may ask people to re-enact events, while a TV journalist may argue that it was only by precipitating events that he was able to clarify issues for the public – that is, that he needed to fake a little, but for justifiable reasons. There are no simple ethical standards to apply, and, because the situations are so fluid and variable, one has to be fairly knowledgeable not to get suckered into reacting to motion-picture footage that appears to be documentary as if it were the simple truth.
A cinema-verite sham that appeals to an audience by showing it what it wants to believe may be taken as corroboration of its beliefs, and as an illumination. Would audiences react to the Arthur Miller-Eugene O’Neill overtones of Salesman the same way if they understood how much of it was set up and that the principals are play acting? One should be alert to the questionable ethics in Gimme Shelter, to what is designed not to reveal the situation but to conceal certain elements of that situation. Gimme Shelter plays the game of trying to mythologize the event (Altamont) and to clear the participants (The Rolling Stones and the filmmakers) of any cognizance of how it came about.
When Mick Jagger is seen in Gimme Shelter pensively looking at the Altamont footage – run for him by the Maysles brothers – and wondering how it all happened, this is disingenuous movie-making. One wants to say: Drop the Miss Innocence act and tell us the straight story of the background to the events. What isn’t explained is that, four months after Woodstock, Stone Promotions asked the Maysles brothers to shoot the Stones at Madison Square Gardens. The Maysles brothers had done a film on an American tour by The Beatles, and Albert Maysles had shot part of Monterey Pop. When, as a climax to their American tour, the Stones decided on a filmed free concert in the San Francisco area, the Maysles brothers made a deal with them to film it and rounded up a large crew. Melvin Belli’s bordello-style law office and his negotiations for a concert site are in the film, but it isn’t explained that Porter Bibb, the producer of Salesman, was the person who brought in Belli, or that Bibb became involved in producing the concert in Altamont in order to produce the Maysles film. The sequence in Belli’s office omits the detail that the concert had to be hurriedly moved to Altamont because the owners of the previously scheduled site wanted distribution rights of the film. Gimme Shelter has been shaped so as to whitewash the Rolling Stones and the film-makers for the thoughtless, careless way the concert was arranged, and especially for the cut-rate approach to keeping order. The Hell’s Angels, known for their violence, but cheap and photogenic, were hired as guards for five hundred dollar’s worth of beer. This took less time and trouble than arranging for unarmed marshals, and the Hell’s Angels must have seemed the appropriate guards for Their Satanic Majesties, the Stones. In the film, the primary concern of the Angles appears to be to keep the stage clear and guard the Stones.
When the self-centered, mercenary movie queen of Singin’ in the Rain talked bout bringing joy into the humdrum lives of the public, we laughed. Should we also laugh at Melvin Belli’s talk in Gimme Shelter about a ‘free concert’ for ‘the people’ and at the talk about the Stone’s not wanting money when the concert is being shot for Gimme Shelter and The Rolling Stones and the Maysles brothers divide the profits from the picture? One of the jokes of cinema verite is that practically the only way to attract an audience is to use big stars, but since big stars cooperate only if they get financial – and generally, artistic – control of the film, the cinema-verite techniques are used to give the look of ‘caught’ footage to the image the stars are selling.
This film has caught (Mick Jagger’s) feral intensity as a performer (which, oddly, Godard never captured in One Plus One, maybe because he dealt with a rehearsal-recording session, without an audience). It has also captured his teasing, taunting relationship to the audience: he can finish a frenzied number and say to the audience, ‘You don’t want my trousers to fall down now, do you?’ His toughness is itself provocative, and since rock performers are accepted by the young as their own spokesmen, the conventional barriers between performers and audience have been pushed over. From the star of Gimme Shelter, our knowledge of the horror to come makes us see The Rolling Stones’ numbers not as we might in an ordinary festival film but as the preparations for, and the possible cause of, disaster. We begin to suspect that Mick Jagger’s musical style leads to violence, as he himself suggests in a naïve and dissociated way when he complains – somewhat pettishly, but with a flicker of pride – to the crowd that there seems to be some trouble every time he starts to sing ‘Sympathy for the Devil’. He may not fully understand the response he works for and gets.
The film has a very disturbing pathos, because everybody seems so helpless. Many of the people at Altamont are blank or frightened but are in thrall to the music, or perhaps just to being there; some twitch and jerk to the beat in an apocalyptic parody of dancing; others strip, or crawl on the heads of the crowd; and we can see tormented tripper’s faces, close to the stage, near the angry Angels. When Grace Slick and then Mick Jagger appeal to the audience to cool it, to ‘keep your bodies off each other unless you intend to love,’ and to ‘get yourselves together’, they are saying all they know how to say, but the situation is way past that. They don’t seem to connect what they’re into with the results. Mick Jagger symbolizes the rejection of the values that he then appeals to. Asking stoned and freaked out people to control themselves is pathetic, and since the most dangerous violence is obviously from the Hell’s Angles, who are trying to keep their idea of order by stomping dazed, bewildered kids, Jagger’s saying ‘Brothers and sisters, why are we fighting?’ is pitifully beside the point. Musically Jagger has no way to cool it because his orgiastic kind of music has only one way to go – higher, until everyone is knocked out.
Mick Jagger’s performing style is a form of aggression not just against the straight world but against his own young audience, and this appeals to them, because it proves to them that he hasn’t sold out and gone soft. But when all this aggression is released, who can handle it? The violence he provokes is well known: fans have pulled him off a platform, thrown a chair at him. He’s greeted with a punch in the face when he arrives at Altamont. What the film doesn’t deal with is the fact that Jagger attracts this volatile audience, that he magnetizes disintegrating people. This is, of course, an ingredient of the whole rock scene, but it is seen at its most extreme in the San Francisco-Berkeley audience that gathers for The Rolling Stones at Altamont. Everyone – the people who came and the people who planned it – must have wanted a big Dionysian freak-out. The movie includes smiling talk about San Francisco as the place for the concert, and we all understand that it’s the place for the concert because it’s the farthest out place; it’s the mother city of the drug culture. It’s where things are already wildly out of control. The film shows part of what happened when Marty Balin, of the Jefferson Airplane, jumped off the stage to stop the Angles from beating a black man and was himself punched unconscious. After that, according to reporters, no one tried to stop the Angels from beating the crazed girls and boys who climbed onstage or didn’t follow instructions; they were hit with leaded pool cues and with fists while the show went on and the three dozen cameramen and soundmen went on working. There were four deaths at Altamont, and a cameraman caught one. You see the Angel’s knife flashing high in the air before he stabs a black boy, who has a gun in his hand. You see it at normal speed, see it again slowed down, and then in a frozen frame.
It’s impossible to say how much movie-making itself is responsible for those consequences, but it is a factor, and with the commercial success of this kind of film it’s going to be a bigger factor. Antonioni dickered with black groups to find out what actions they were planning, so that he could include some confrontations in Zabriskie Point. MGM’s lawyers must have taken a dim view of this. A smaller company, with much more to gain and little to lose, might have encouraged him. Movie studios are closing, but, increasingly, public events are designed to take place on what are essentially movie stages. And with movie-production money getting tight, provoked events can be a cheap source of spectacles. The accidents that happen may be more acceptable to audiences than the choreographed battles of older directors, since for those who grew up with TV careful staging can look arch and stale. It doesn’t look so fraudulent if a director excites people to commit violent acts on camera, and the even becomes free publicity for the film. The public will want to see the result, so there is big money to deodorize everyone concerned. What we’re getting in the movies is ‘total theatre’. Altamont, in Gimme Shelter, is like a Roman circus, with a difference: the audience and the victims are indistinguishable.
Source: New Yorker, 19 December 1970 (via: Imagining Reality: The Faber Book of Documentary)
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Dude, can you at least give a one-sentence summary of what you're posting. It'd really help, thanks.
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I Know That Voice (2013) - A documentary about voice-actors.
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A Response to Pauline Kael:
By Albert and David Maysles and Charlotte Zwerin
The directors would like to point out the following errors in Pauline Kael’s review of Gimme Shelter, a film about the Rolling Stones tour of the United States which ended with a free concert at Altamont, where a young, black man was stabbed to death by a member of the Hell’s Angels.
Miss Kael seems to be implying that we, as filmmakers, are responsible for the events we film by suggesting that we set them up or helped to stage them. In referring to our previous film, Salesman, Miss Kael says “the Maysles brothers recruited Paul Brennan, who was in the roof-and-siding business, to play a Bible salesman.” Paul Brennan had been selling Bibles for eight years prior to the making of our film and was selling Bibles when we met him. No actors were used in Salesman. The men were asked to simply go on doing what they normally did while we filmed.
This misstatement of fact is used in a paragraph which associates us with a number of other filmmakers who Miss Kael implies filmed staged events in such a way that they would appear to be a documentary. At the top of the list is Leni Riefenstahl, who was hired by Hitler to film the Nazi Party Rally at Nuremberg in 1934. These filmmakers may or may not have manufactured events for the cinema. We did not.
Miss Kael further implies that the makers of Gimme Shelter are responsible for what happened at Altamont (presumably the killing). She does not make the direct statement that the filmmakers arranged the events at Altamont, but she discusses the film in the following ways: “when facts are manufactured for the cinema,” “if events are created to be photographed,” “arranging events to be caught,” “it doesn’t look so fraudulent if a director excites people to commit violent acts on camera.” She goes on to suggest that the filmmakers were involved in producing the concert and consequently involved in hiring the Hell’s Angels as security guards.
The facts are: We were involved in producing a film of the Rolling Stones’ tour of the United States, not in producing concerts. To the best of our knowledge, the free concert was produced by Rock Scully, Sam Cutler and Mike Lang with the help of the people from the Grateful Dead organization and many volunteers from the San Francisco area.
We did not produce the event. It’s our understanding that the Rolling Stones agreed to play for nothing and to pay some of the costs of production. The above mentioned producers of the concert said they did not hire the Angels. The Angels told the filmmakers that they were not hired. Since we could not establish that they were hired, we did not say so in the film.
Miss Kael calls the film a whitewash of the Stones and a cinema verit? sham. If that is the case, then how can it also be the film which provides the grounds for Miss Kael’s discussion of the deeply ambiguous nature of the Stones’ appeal? All the evidence she uses in her analysis of their disturbing relationship to their audience is evidence supplied by the film, by the structure of the film which tries to render in its maximum complexity the very problems of Jagger’s double self, of his insolent appeal and the fury it can and in fact does provoke, and even the pathos of his final powerlessness. These are the filmmakers’ insights and Miss Kael serves them up as if they were her own discovery. Rather than giving the audience what it wants to believe, the film forces the audience to see things as they are.
We don’t know where Miss Kael got her facts. We do know that her researcher phoned Paul Brennan, one of the Bible salesmen, and told him that The New Yorker was interested in doing an article about him. He made it quite clear to her that he was a Bible salesman and not a roof-and-siding salesman when we made the film about him. Aside from his own statement, this could easily have been checked out by contacting his employers, the Mid-American Bible Company. Miss Kael’s researcher also contacted Porter Bibb (who is identified in the review as the producer of Salesman when in fact he had nothing to do with producing Salesman) and asked him how much the Maysles had made on Gimme Shelter. When Mr. Bibb suggested that she call the Maysles, she replied that she didn’t think the Maysles would want to talk to her.
We don’t know why she would feel that way since she had called and we had talked to her. She asked us if the free concert had been staged and lighted to be photographed and we told her that it had not. In her review, Miss Kael states that “the free concert was staged and lighted to be photographed.”
In fact, the filmmakers were not consulted and had no control over the staging or the lighting at Altamont. All of the cameramen will verify that the lighting was poor and totally unpredictable.
These errors are crucial to her argument that Gimme Shelter is a cinema verit? sham and a whitewash of the Rolling Stones. Miss Kael’s argument is not supported by the facts. It can only be supported by her errors.
David Maysles
Albert Maysles
Charlotte Zwerin
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So the Maysles were friends of the high-buck mainstream. No denying that. They operated with quite impressive connections, which means their work is to be heavily questioned. I don't have specifics, right now - but haven't yet thought much about it, either.
Here's a documentary they did on The Beatles. It's new to me, anyway. Will watch in near future:
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(http://www.lacriticanyc.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Maysles_Final01-web.jpg)
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(http://blogs-images.forbes.com/ellenkilloran/files/2015/03/MAYSLES-1940x1476.jpg)
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The younger brother (David) died in 1987 in his mid-fifties. The cause is listed as stroke, but it's also said that he mixed medications and that was the root of it.
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Albert, in later years. He died very recently, at the age of 88.
(http://theworldsbestever.s3.amazonaws.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/albert-maysles-500x375.jpg)
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(http://filmfestival.tcm.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/04/greygardens.jpg)
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...btw: that is Edie Bouvier Beale (Little Edie), standing outside Grey Gardens.
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You can see more about the power/connections/impact of the Maysles name, here:
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A sizable portion of New York’s documentary filmmaking community was packed in at the Maysles Alumni Holiday Party at the Half King Bar and Restaurant on 23rd street. That it was happening in January didn’t seem to faze anyone. “We couldn’t get our act together,” said a fast-talking Xan Parker, a nine-year veteran of Maysles Films.
Working her way through the crowd, holding a pint of Brooklyn Lager, Celia Maysles, a fresh-faced 28-year-old former social worker, approached director Bruce Sinofsky (Brother’s Keeper), and threaded her fingers through his shoulder-length hair as he talked with producer Henry Corra. Mr. Sinofsky greeted the brightly smiling Ms. Maysles with a quick question, “When am I going to see your film?”
It was a common refrain that evening, and no wonder; her directorial debut, Wild Blue Yonder, which premiered at the International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam in November, was made without the help—and, in fact, according to Celia, faced the concerted resistance—of her uncle Albert Maysles, the man widely considered to be the D. W. Griffith of the nonfiction form, and for whom almost everyone at the party had at one time worked.
“These are some of the busiest people in New York,” Celia said, scanning the crowd that gathered between tables piled high with coats. “And they dropped everything to help me.”
Wild Blue Yonder, which is getting its U.S. premiere this week at the South by Southwest Film Festival in Austin, Texas, is Celia’s journey to come to terms with her late father, legendary documentarian David Maysles, who, along with his brother, Albert, made such seminal 1960’s and 1970’s films as Salesman, Gimme Shelter and Grey Gardens. Celia’s father passed away in 1987 as a result of complications caused by the mixing of a cold medication and a MAO-inhibiting antidepressant. She was 7 years old.
“I think people are nervous,” said Ms. Parker, a producer on Wild Blue Yonder, who was also a recipient of Celia’s affectionate finger comb that evening. “Maysles is like a dysfunctional family, so you kind of know each other’s secrets, but you never know the whole story.”
Celia’s story could have gone unnoticed: a life of privilege and loss lived in the shadows of a legendary name. Over the past decade, as documentaries have secured a place on the art-house circuit as a reasonable thing to pay $11.50 for on a Saturday night, the Maysles name has grown in stature. The younger set of documentary filmmakers need their icons to emulate or tear down, and the Maysles brothers, along with old-school filmmakers such as Frederick Wiseman, D. A. Pennebaker and Barbara Kopple, have fit the bill.
Interviews with the 81-year-old Albert Maysles are usually of the fawning variety; he tends to receive the living icon treatment reserved for the likes of Martin Scorsese. And although Albert continues to produce films—such as The Gates (which he co-directed with Antonio Ferrera, now airing on HBO), about Christo’s saffron-colored art installation that blanketed Central Park—he is best known for the films he made with his brother more than 30 years ago.
In the Maysles iconography, one black-and-white photograph stands out: It shows Albert, the older brother, holding a camera and David with headphones covering his ears, both with tussled gray hair and beaming, benevolent smiles. They stand close to each other, brother-mavericks joined at the hip.
But now, out of the blue, along comes David’s daughter, Celia, to tell her own story, and to put a new spin on that sepia-toned image. Not that that was her intention.
“It’s not good to talk shit about people,” Celia told me in the Chinatown editing suite of Corra Films, which produced Wild Blue Yonder, and where she now works. “I have sworn to myself that no one was allowed to say anything bad about Al. The viewer would have to watch him and come up with his or her own conclusion.
“The point of this story is me finding my dad. I wanted people to know how hard it was to lose a parent. To have such a complete void,” she said. “If I could do what my dad did, it would be like getting to know him through the process. From the fund-raising and the frustrations and the filming, I’d get to walk in his shoes.”
Growing up on the Upper West Side, living in the opulent Apthorp building on West 79th street, attending private schools such as Calhoun and Chapin, it would seem Celia lived a life of leisure. But according to her mother, Judy, “The kid had a pretty shitty early childhood, as much as it was wonderful one.” Sitting in the Apthorp apartment beside a table filled with family photographs, Judy Maysles teared up as she recalled her early years with David and their two young children (Celia has an older brother, John). Judy was diagnosed with breast cancer when Celia was an infant, and received a year of chemotherapy. When Celia was 4, David had a heart attack. He died three years later.
Part 1 of 3. The rest is at http://observer.com/2008/03/the-maysles-maze-documentarians-daughter-searches-for-dad/#ixzz3dL1Na8kk
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(http://blogs-images.forbes.com/stevenrosenbaum/files/2015/03/maysles.png)
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Kind of sad, kind of funny, definitely crazy. Relatives of Jackie O., a mom and daughter live out their days in a broken-down mansion. It's a drifter that requires a certain frame of mind, especially since the ladies are so touched.
Such a classic, though, it can't go without a post.
From Dame Magazine:
When Albert Maysles and his brother David released Grey Gardens, their 1975 documentary about a fallen mother-daughter duo in East Hampton, they were rightly celebrated for a hallmark work of cinema vérité. But now that “direct cinema” has been widely co-opted, most notably by reality TV, where its regular practice to leave the camera rolling for several grisly moments as various Hollywood wannabes self-sabotage, what stands out about Grey Gardens, a few days after Albert’s death, at the age of 88, is how it established that two women—aged, living in squalor, and “eccentric,” as their peers would’ve said with a raised eyebrow—were worthy of our consideration. Not as objects of scorn but of fascination. Just as worthy, it turned out, as an all-male rock band at the height of their powers, which, of course, was the subject of Gimme Shelter, the Maysles documentary about the Rolling Stones a few years earlier. They were women imprisoned by the code of their gender and the era, doomed to perform their act only for each other until the Maysles came along.
By the time the Maysles caught up with the Beale women—both named Edith Bouvier Beale, or “Big Edie” and “Little Edie,” respectively—they were the kind of faded debutantes typically passed over by the camera and real people alike. Of course, that wasn’t always the case; in the 1930s, they were socialites regaling the upper crust with the talents of the well-raised female: singing and dancing. Big Edie’s niece was Jackie Kennedy Onassis; in fact, the former First Lady (and her sister Lee Radziwill) rescued the pair when they were nearly thrown out of their 14-room manse for squalor a few years before filming started. Onassis’s financial interventions only did so much to stave off the damage inflicted by bad habits. In one of the most excruciating scenes of the film, Little Edie pours out a pile of Wonder Bread and cat food for the felines and raccoons creeping in and out of the attic.
Grey Gardens is a study in charm and decrepitude and how they coexist in two women trained to live a certain kind of high-class life. Pitching between ripe comedy and something darker, Big Edie sings an old show tune in her parlor room lilt from the filthy perch of her bed. The Beale women were the best drag performers of the era, if you believe that drag is at once a send-up and a loving homage to the trappings of womanhood. Ever aware of the costumes and performance of femininity, Little Edie especially seems at once inspired and constrained. Wrapping shirts until they become turbans, and lounging in bathing suits like they’re pajamas, she wants to change the very way female clothes function. “You can always use the skirt as a cape!” she explains about one of her get-ups. (Such inventiveness worked for Andy Warhol, who praised her wrapping style as “very glamorous.”)
Little Edie’s chafing against the norms extends far beyond clothes. In one of their endless squabbles, Big Edie accuses her daughter of squandering her marital prospects—at least one suitor’s ring was returned, though it’s also revealed that Big Edie apparently chased another one off the front porch. A free spirit who moved to New York to pursue the arts, Little Edie avoided marriage—which would’ve meant giving up her dreams—yet she still wistfully reads the description of “the Libran husband” out of an astrology book she scans with a magnifying glass. A decade or two later, Little Edie could’ve stayed in New York for that big break, and married a man. But back then, marriage meant housebound domesticity, not flights of fancy.
The great irony of Little Edie’s story is that when she moved back to Grey Gardens in 1952 after living in New York, she did enter a housebound relationship of sorts—one with her own mother. Their dynamic was saddled by competition, back-biting, and questioning who fouled up the woman script worse: Big Edie, for not having a man take care of her to the bitter end, or Little Edie, for never getting one in the first place. When the camera turns on the Beales, they compete for its attention like its an heir to the Rockefeller fortune. (By the way, one of those camera operators was a young man named George Lucas.) They hammed it up for the camera, but they were hamming it up for themselves, too, as a point of pride. Trilling or pirouetting was how they showed they were women of distinction and taste.
One of the pleasures of watching Grey Gardens now is the thrill of watching two women, in the parlance of our time, have zero fucks to give. Or is it a tragedy? Have they passed the point of caring what anyone else thinks, or are they deluded about how they appear? In the best moments, whatever it is comes off as feminism meets stiff upper lip. In one of her most passionate moments, Little Edie, adjusting one of her many head wrap–broach combos, says there’s “nothing worse than dealing with a staunch woman. They don’t weaken.”
Drag is often about being an underdog who might temporarily get knocked down by the world’s judgment and abuses but who will always get back up, lipstick smeared, wig akimbo. Hence the perennial attraction for drag performers to women who have taken some knocks and/or rose up from humble roots—Judy Garland and her daughter, Liza Minnelli; Madonna, and Beyoncé. Madonna, now 56, the same age as Little Edie in Grey Gardens, has bucked the idea that “acting her age” means no longer dancing bare-legged on stage, with several waxed-chest males on hand to writhe against. “This is me,” Madge said recently to Entertainment Tonight, “This is how I wanna be. I can do what I want, okay?”
For a moment, after her mother died in 1977, Little Edie caught a glimmer of the same kind of freedom. Working as a cabaret singer in New York, she fielded questions after her show about her life. She waved aside any notions that she was being exploited. “This is something I’ve been planning since I was 19,” she said. “I don’t care what they say about me—I’m just going to have a ball.” A few years later, she retreated to Florida where she died in 2002. One can imagine the sentiment burbling up in Little Edie in the same way if she were alive today—but she’d be freer to say it, loud and proud.
(http://filmforum.org/do-not-enter-or-modify-or-erase/client-uploads/large/GREY_UNDERTEXT2050.jpg)
(http://mayslesfilms.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/34-beales-of-grey-gardens-350x230.jpg)
(http://images.huffingtonpost.com/2009-04-17-beales_of_grey_gardens_detail.jpg)
(http://thoughtcatalog.files.wordpress.com/2010/08/72946452.jpeg?w=594&h=460)
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Maybe good if anyone's interested in Rasta culture. This focuses on Bunny Wailer, and his doings at home in Jamaica. A few unbelievably killer tunes thrown in by a guy named Brushy One String (named after his busted guitar):
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Taken from the above. Amusing little message Bunny sends to record-producer Chris Blackwell, that includes mention of their last meeting:
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It's been a long time since I've seen this one, but it's good. It's a two-part visit to the Miami jail, by Louis Theroux. Putting it back on the watchlist for down the road.
I dunno about questioning people before their situations play out, when they can be heard by the wrong people, etc. But I hope it was done in a way that didn't cause damage to them. Will watch it again soon and maybe say something about it:
Fixed
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Dude, can you at least give a one-sentence summary of what you're posting. It'd really help, thanks.
I will do so in the future. :)
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I will do so in the future. :)
Thanks. Only because they might be interesting, and we'll probably pass them by without some description.
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Quality documentary on Ny's "Cannibal Cop", who's internet sexual fantasies crossed over into real life, and cause an uproar in free speech/civil liberties and law enforcement circles.
You might want to watch it quick if it interests you, as Youtube has been pulling lots of stuff the last couple of weeks.
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Also these might interest some -
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A history of combat related PTSD and the changes in perceptions and treatments of it, as told by the sufferers and medical community.
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A documentary on the famous "Thrilla in Manila" fight as told by the people that were there.
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Quality documentary on Ny's "Cannibal Cop", who's internet sexual fantasies crossed over into real life, and cause an uproar in free speech/civil liberties and law enforcement circles.
You might want to watch it quick if it interests you, as Youtube has been pulling lots of stuff the last couple of weeks.
x100. I've been learning this one the hard way. (If someone has legit issues, though, it's the easiest thing in the world for them to have it removed and no problem for anyone. I don't blame them.)
But you're right. The idea, I guess, is to watch something asap if you know you've got an interest. Don't rely on a watchlist in those cases.
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Man, cable took over the quality film industry. They're producing fascinating stuff, whereas Hollywood just churns out garbage anymore.
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Recently Peter Schiff visited Mike Maloney in California. During his stay they filmed nearly 3 hours of discussions about gold, silver, freedom, and the economy in general.
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Lars Seier Christensen, CEO and Founder of Saxo Bank, delivers the Adam Smith Institute's 2013 Ayn Rand Lecture at Goldsmiths Hall in the City of London.
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WHAT A BUNCH OF WEAK ARSE DOCUMENTARIES ??? ::) >:( ???
Documentaries can Change your LIFE
here are a few for the mortally unconscious
This one is called zeigtgeist, which means WHAT IS GOING ON NOW
so what the fuck is going on now??
you watch the news, see the wars OVER THERE, and negative and unhappy people everywhere
ENGINES OF DOMINATION
Political power is an unnecessary evil. ”Engines of domination”, which comes out this October 17, explains why, and makes a good argument for anarchism, as the only way out from the capitalist mess ruling elites have brought humankind. This is a discussion that ruling classes can no longer avoid. The documentary is produced by Mark Corske, Cari-Lee Miller and Justin Jezewski.
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WHAT A BUNCH OF WEAK ARSE DOCUMENTARIES ??? ::) >:( ???
Documentaries can Change your LIFE
here are a few for the mortally unconscious
This one is called zeigtgeist, which means WHAT IS GOING ON NOW
so what the fuck is going on now??
you watch the news, see the wars OVER THERE, and negative and unhappy people everywhere
ENGINES OF DOMINATION
Political power is an unnecessary evil. ”Engines of domination”, which comes out this October 17, explains why, and makes a good argument for anarchism, as the only way out from the capitalist mess ruling elites have brought humankind. This is a discussion that ruling classes can no longer avoid. The documentary is produced by Mark Corske, Cari-Lee Miller and Justin Jezewski.
So, nine pages in, you decide to set us straight with some horseshit conspiracy nonsense you can't quite spell? Very well, still got a little room here for Bigfoot, Area 51, or Building 7, knock yourself out.
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Quality documentary on Ny's "Cannibal Cop", who's internet sexual fantasies crossed over into real life, and cause an uproar in free speech/civil liberties and law enforcement circles.
You might want to watch it quick if it interests you, as Youtube has been pulling lots of stuff the last couple of weeks.
Anyone have anything to say about "Cannibal Cop"? (if you decide to watch it and aren't already familiar with the details, you should prepare to be in for a very, very strange story)
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Anyone have anything to say about "Cannibal Cop"? (if you decide to watch it and aren't already familiar with the details, you should prepare to be in for a very, very strange story)
Watched it, think I fell asleep before the end, though. Story is so different than the monstrous headline, don't you think?
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On the Cannibal Cop thing, while I'm not comfortable with him in a position where he has direct power over anyone, and he deserved the stiffest penalty for using the special privileges granted him for being a cop to indulge his fantasies, I certainly don't think it rose to anything but fantasy. When I first read about it, it seemed like we caught a budding serial killer who just tripped up. In reality, he's just a creepy o, odd man.
The key to it for me is that he never did anything when pressed, and always changed the subject when his online pals were getting off on it. Also, the conversations sometimes were just so silly (e.g. the large cooking oven, etc....) that it was hard to take too seriously.
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On the Cannibal Cop thing, while I'm not comfortable in a position where he has direct power over anyone, and he deserved the stiffest penalty for using the special privileges granted him for being a cop to indulge his fantasies, I certainly don't think it rose to anything but fantasy. When I first read about it, it seemed like we caught a budding serial killer who just tripped up. In reality, he's just a creepy o, odd man.
The key to it for me is that he never did anything when pressed, and always changed the subject when his online pals were getting off on it. Also, the conversations sometimes were just so silly (e.g. the large cooking oven, etc....) that it was hard to take too seriously.
Yes, my impression as well. Just assumed the worst based on news reports.
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Oxyana,(2014): How once thriving coal-mining town that has fallen victim to the fast spreading scourge of prescription painkiller Oxycontin.
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Watched it, think I fell asleep before the end, though. Story is so different than the monstrous headline, don't you think?
For me, there was something about seeing the guy, himself, casually talking about it that drove it in. But I'm not exactly sure yet what to think about it. He absolutely did give the appearance of going to the line and stepping his toe over it, though. And I don't feel sorry for him in the slightest. He needed his ass yanked back into reality (if that even happened for him during this mess - not convinced), so it serves him right in that sense.
You may have missed it if you fell asleep, but within his last few words of the movie he said, "I made a mistake". So since the guy seems willing to talk, it would be incredibly interesting to know how he'd define that "mistake". I would love to know that.
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For me, there was something about seeing the guy, himself, casually talking about it that drove it in. But I'm not exactly sure yet what to think about it. He absolutely did give the appearance of going to the line and stepping his toe over it, though. And I don't feel sorry for him in the slightest. He needed his ass yanked back into reality (if that even happened for him during this mess - not convinced), so it serves him right in that sense.
You may have missed it if you fell asleep, but within his last few words of the movie he said, "I made a mistake". So since the guy seems willing to talk, it would be incredibly interesting to know how he'd define that "mistake". I would love to know that.
I'll finish it up to see what I missed. Might change my opinion.
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This is about a guy drifting around, barely surviving by fighting and teaching others to fight. He sleeps on trains, etc., and is watching the clock run down on his life.
russia is a home for tough guys. have been there once, really insane
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I'll finish it up to see what I missed. Might change my opinion.
This one really got to me, I'll tell you. As wild as it is on its surface, I can only imagine what kind of a mindfuck the backstory would be. How did this person arrive at this state of mind? Was he using meth? (Meth can lead a person into sexual weirdness that wouldn't be considered, otherwise; but this particular case seems nothing less than fully demonic.)
As far as I'm concerned, his trip to meet Kimberly and the communication surrounding it was enough to drag his ass down, and deservedly so. And the fact that he was friendly with the women versus what he wanted to experience with them was alarming beyond belief. (spolier alert: for those who havent seen it, we're talking about cutting off body parts and burning alive, etc., and details as gruesome as imaginable.)
My inclination is to say that he's been through enough now and he's learned his lesson. But I would dearly love to know where he'd claim these evil feelings have gone. They didn't just "disappear", did they?
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russia is a home for tough guys. have been there once, really insane
Haha...I love that guy, yeah. Watched that one twice, I think.
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Good, short, Swedish documentary on high level athletes and their quest for victory. Focuses on not only the physical side, psychological turmoil these folks face.
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What is life like in Sweden? "The politicians are participating in a chicken race of “goodness” where everybody tries to one-up each other in caring for the citizens of OTHER countries while Swedish retirees, school children, handicapped and other vulnerable categories of people are thorougly ignored."
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Cool slice of Americana
[ Invalid YouTube link ]
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Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1992) is a documentary film that explores the political life and ideas of Noam Chomsky, a linguist, intellectual, and political activist. Created by two Canadian filmmakers, Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick, it expands on the ideas of Chomsky's earlier book, Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media, which he co-wrote with Edward S. Herman.
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Here is a great documentary about Lust. Should give you some insight about the differences in males and females.
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Very good, but short documentary on Ny's black out of '77, and the role urban decay caused in making it so much worse -
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/blackout/player/ .
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Pretty decent documentary on El Chapo and the power he wields in Mexico -
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/drug-lord/ .
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Interesting short documentary on Compstat policing, and the subsequent troubles that come with it both for citizens and police-
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=13208004 .
Interesting that ESPN would have a hand in the film. If you like to know more, The Village Voice did a whole series of articles on Ny's troubles with it a few years back, just google search the topic.
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Leonard Cohen commented from the Mt Baldy Zen Center, his home at that time: The monks up here think it's pretty good. Roshi said to her: "You great artist"
The film describes the daily routines of the Zen monks at the Zen Center of Mt. Baldy: waking up early (2:30 or 3:00 am), marching together to the ceremonies, meditating, making food and eating. We see Cohen working in the kitchen and helping his dear friend and teacher Joshu Sasaki Roshi (90 years at the time of shooting); later he drives with Roshi to another Zen Center (Rinzai Ji) in Los Angeles.
Cohen's cabin with his Technics KN 3000 synthesizer and computers are shown, and he sings his new song A thousand kisses deep. He also recites three unpublished poems, two telling about Roshi (one titled Roshi at 89) . The third was titled Too old.
http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/brusq.html
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Some good ones here and my favorite narrator Will Lyman ;)
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/ (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/)
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Leonard Cohen commented from the Mt Baldy Zen Center, his home at that time: The monks up here think it's pretty good. Roshi said to her: "You great artist"
The film describes the daily routines of the Zen monks at the Zen Center of Mt. Baldy: waking up early (2:30 or 3:00 am), marching together to the ceremonies, meditating, making food and eating. We see Cohen working in the kitchen and helping his dear friend and teacher Joshu Sasaki Roshi (90 years at the time of shooting); later he drives with Roshi to another Zen Center (Rinzai Ji) in Los Angeles.
Cohen's cabin with his Technics KN 3000 synthesizer and computers are shown, and he sings his new song A thousand kisses deep. He also recites three unpublished poems, two telling about Roshi (one titled Roshi at 89) . The third was titled Too old.
http://www.leonardcohenfiles.com/brusq.html
Baldy's just down the road from here.
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Baldy's just down the road from here.
You're blessed, my surrounding is pancake flat.
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You're blessed, my surrounding is pancake flat.
You mentioned that before, sucks. How far is the nearest range?
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You mentioned that before, sucks. How far is the nearest range?
About 80 miles for some hills and 130 for some baby mountains :-\
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About 80 miles for some hills and 130 for some baby mountains :-\
Is it mostly farmland, woods, concrete? Holland, right?
Unfamiliar with the geography, I just know my gal loved Amsterdam. Got me a tee from Bulldog Pub or something.
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Is it mostly farmland, woods, concrete? Holland, right?
Unfamiliar with the geography, I just know my gal loved Amsterdam. Got me a tee from Bulldog Pub or something.
LOL, yeah a lot of concrete, lots of traffic and a few serious woods, just way too many people per square mile :-\
I guess you mean the Bulldog 'coffee' shop, tourists love that place for a good reason ;D
http://www.thebulldog.com/
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Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers (2006)- The New York Times called it “a horrifying catalog of greed, corruption and incompetence among private contractors in Iraq... [the film is] extremely effective.”
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LOL, yeah a lot of concrete, lots of traffic and a few serious woods, just way too many people per square mile :-\
I guess you mean the Bulldog 'coffee' shop, tourists love that place for a good reason ;D
http://www.thebulldog.com/
Yeah, guess that's it, but I don't see my shirt on their site. It's a weed cafe, then?
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Yeah, guess that's it, but I don't see my shirt on their site. It's a weed cafe, then?
Yes, but we call them coffee shops, since they aren't allowed to serve alcohol like cafes. It's the marijuana that separates them from coffeehouses.
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A documentary covering the events of the morning of September 11 2001 from the tapes released from NEADS and the FAA.
All original re-recordings can be downloaded from 911datasets.org.
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"Joe McForty" - Joe McDougall spends his 40th birthday completing a 3-part, 62-mile endurance test
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Some good ones I've seen lately:
The Jinx - The Robert Durst murders, extremely fascinating and just goes to show you that if you have enough money, you can do whatever the fuck you want, even kill people, chop up their bodies, claim self defense, and dump them in the ocean and get away with it.
Merchants of Doubt - an excellent look into the disinformation tactics of big tobacco, fossil fuel companies, and climate change deniers. Really opens your eyes to how much bullshit is being spewed to the public.
That Sugar Film - an Australian guy, after being completely off sugar intake in his diet for 2 years, goes on a 60 day diet taking in the average daily consumption of sugar like most other Australians. He goes from being in the top 10% of healthy males of his age, to the bottom 20% in 2 months, becomes pre-diabetic and develops fatty liver disease, all by eating so called low fat "health foods".
Montage of Heck - an intimate look into the life of Kurt Cobain and his girl of a wife Courtney, lots of home movies and personal recordings of Kurt.
Soaked in Bleach - a look into the murder of Kurt Cobain and the allegations of the PI that was hired by his wife that she had him killed. Not sure what to think about it, but it was interesting nonetheless.
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Some good ones I've seen lately:
The Jinx - The Robert Durst murders, extremely fascinating and just goes to show you that if you have enough money, you can do whatever the fuck you want, even kill people, chop up their bodies, claim self defense, and dump them in the ocean and get away with it.
Merchants of Doubt - an excellent look into the disinformation tactics of big tobacco, fossil fuel companies, and climate change deniers. Really opens your eyes to how much bullshit is being spewed to the public.
That Sugar Film - an Australian guy, after being completely off sugar intake in his diet for 2 years, goes on a 60 day diet taking in the average daily consumption of sugar like most other Australians. He goes from being in the top 10% of healthy males of his age, to the bottom 20% in 2 months, becomes pre-diabetic and develops fatty liver disease, all by eating so called low fat "health foods".
Montage of Heck - an intimate look into the life of Kurt Cobain and his girl of a wife Courtney, lots of home movies and personal recordings of Kurt.
Soaked in Bleach - a look into the murder of Kurt Cobain and the allegations of the PI that was hired by his wife that she had him killed. Not sure what to think about it, but it was interesting nonetheless.
Where did you see this, looks interesting?
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Where did you see this, looks interesting?
It was on HBO, but you can find it on any Torrent site or newsgroups, it was a 6 part doco.
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Where did you see this, looks interesting?
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There are 3 that were on youtube.
Daily Motion seems to have all of them -
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x40cik_billyjones2k14_the-jinx-the-life-and-deaths-of-robert-durst/1#video=x2xz5fs .
Watch them quick, as all of the easy streaming sites have been pulling tons of stuff the last few months.
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I also recently watched "Paradise Lost: Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills" which was a doc done by HBO at the time of the trial of the infamous Memphis 3. A great follow up after watching that is "West of Memphis" was done in 2012 recapping the entire story of the 3 and their exoneration. It was a really fucked up trial, how they got convicted on the evidence laid out is mind boggling if you aren't from that part of the country, but quite unsurprising if you are.
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There are 3 that were on youtube.
Daily Motion seems to have all of them -
http://www.dailymotion.com/playlist/x40cik_billyjones2k14_the-jinx-the-life-and-deaths-of-robert-durst/1#video=x2xz5fs .
Watch them quick, as all of the easy streaming sites have been pulling tons of stuff the last few months.
Thank you, sir, both of you. Excellent program, unbelievable turn of events.
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I also recently watched "Paradise Lost: Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills" which was a doc done by HBO at the time of the trial of the infamous Memphis 3. A great follow up after watching that is "West of Memphis" was done in 2012 recapping the entire story of the 3 and their exoneration. It was a really fucked up trial, how they got convicted on the evidence laid out is mind boggling if you aren't from that part of the country, but quite unsurprising if you are.
Fantastic series, I've followed this thing since way back. Gotta be honest, I've seen them all several times, and I'm STILL unsure what happened that day.
I know we're supposed to believe the kids were railroaded - and they do raise HUGE doubts - but some of the edited stuff, and testimony/evidence not addressed in the doc, are all pretty incriminating. Regarding Damien, anyway. (I don't think Baldwin had ANYTHING to do with it; not sure about the retard.)
Then again, no DNA connecting the kids, but they DID find a hair from Hobbs in the leg binds. I get more confused each time I watch. Easily one of America's most fascinating crime stories.
What did you think, E?
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Fantastic series, I've followed this thing since way back. Gotta be honest, I've seen them all several times, and I'm STILL unsure what happened that day.
I know we're supposed to believe the kids were railroaded - and they do raise HUGE doubts - but some of the edited stuff, and testimony/evidence not addressed in the doc, are all pretty incriminating. Regarding Damien, anyway. (I don't think Baldwin had ANYTHING to do with it; not sure about the retard.)
Then again, no DNA connecting the kids, but they DID find a hair from Hobbs in the leg binds. I get more confused each time I watch. Easily one of America's most fascinating crime stories.
What did you think, E?
Not having any DNA at the crime scene from any of the 3 accused boys was the nail in the coffin for me personally that they were innocent. On top of that there was no other physical evidence linking them to the crime and there were a plethora of witnesses who stated they were in contact with Echols, Baldwin the Misskelly over the phone from 5pm - 9pm the day of the murder which seemingly went ignored.
The hair DNA from Terry Hobbs found INSIDE the knot of the shoelace that was tied around the boy Hobbs body was pretty damning. The big serrated knife that was found behind Baldwins trailer in the pond was also a huge red flag because Baldwins mother was the one who threw it in the lake 1 year prior to the murders taking place and she told the prosecution it was there. That's how the divers found it within an hour of going in. The whole Jacoby relationship Terry Hobbs had and the hearsay of the of the "Hobbs Family Secret" was also interesting, as well as witnesses putting Terry Hobbs as the last known contact of the 3 murdered boys at 6:30pm outside the house on the day of the murder, but none of that came to light due to the Alford plea they took to get out of prison.
What outraged me the most was the continued denial of the Arkansas state prosecution and the sitting judge to hear any new evidence. I lived in Arkansas for 4 years (unfortunately) and the police there are incredibly incompetent and the vast majority of people living there are backwards idiots who are still holding onto civil war era type thinking.
Indeed though, it was one of the most fascinating cases I've encountered. You should definitely watch "The Jinx" and read up on Robert Durst, that shit will blow your mind as well. The guy goes on the run from the NY state police on suspicion of his wife's murder and ends up in Texas cross dressing as a woman, makes friends with the neighbor across the hall way who finds out his real identity and who his family is, tries to get money out of him and Durst ends up shooting him, chopping up his body and tosses in the ocean, and somehow convinces a jury that what he did was totally acceptable and gets off scott free. He was also suspected in the murder of a good friend of his out in LA, but I'm not sure if he was ever completely connected to it as the woman also had family ties with the mob. There was a movie with Ryan Gossling that wasn't any good called "All Good Things" that was inspired by the story of the murder of Durst's wife. Not really worth checking out, but worth a mention I guess.
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Not having any DNA at the crime scene from any of the 3 accused boys was the nail in the coffin for me personally that they were innocent. On top of that there was no other physical evidence linking them to the crime and there were a plethora of witnesses who stated they were in contact with Echols, Baldwin the Misskelly over the phone from 5pm - 9pm the day of the murder which seemingly went ignored.
The hair DNA from Terry Hobbs found INSIDE the knot of the shoelace that was tied around the boy Hobbs body was pretty damning. The big serrated knife that was found behind Baldwins trailer in the pond was also a huge red flag because Baldwins mother was the one who threw it in the lake 1 year prior to the murders taking place and she told the prosecution it was there. That's how the divers found it within an hour of going in. The whole Jacoby relationship Terry Hobbs had and the hearsay of the of the "Hobbs Family Secret" was also interesting, as well as witnesses putting Terry Hobbs as the last known contact of the 3 murdered boys at 6:30pm outside the house on the day of the murder, but none of that came to light due to the Alford plea they took to get out of prison.
What outraged me the most was the continued denial of the Arkansas state prosecution and the sitting judge to hear any new evidence. I lived in Arkansas for 4 years (unfortunately) and the police there are incredibly incompetent and the vast majority of people living there are backwards idiots who are still holding onto civil war era type thinking.
Indeed though, it was one of the most fascinating cases I've encountered. You should definitely watch "The Jinx" and read up on Robert Durst, that shit will blow your mind as well. The guy goes on the run from the NY state police on suspicion of his wife's murder and ends up in Texas cross dressing as a woman, makes friends with the neighbor across the hall way who finds out his real identity and who his family is, tries to get money out of him and Durst ends up shooting him, chopping up his body and tosses in the ocean, and somehow convinces a jury that what he did was totally acceptable and gets off scott free. He was also suspected in the murder of a good friend of his out in LA, but I'm not sure if he was ever completely connected to it as the woman also had family ties with the mob. There was a movie with Ryan Gossling that wasn't any good called "All Good Things" that was inspired by the story of the murder of Durst's wife. Not really worth checking out, but worth a mention I guess.
This I didn't know; in fact, I'd heard none of them had decent alibis for the time in question. Though didn't one of the programs (West of Memphis, maybe?) focus on Jesse at a wrestling match or something? Where he'd signed in and had photographs taken, along with witnesses who'd seen him there.
They ALL had solid alibis?
It'd be great if something came to light about Hobbs before he dies. Seems a dude that twisted, assuming he's the killer, would strike again at some point. Or let it slip to someone ... maybe even a deathbed confession? Time will tell, I suppose. Thanks for the info, gonna finish up The Jinx now.
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This I didn't know; in fact, I'd heard none of them had decent alibis for the time in question. Though didn't one of the programs (West of Memphis, maybe?) focus on Jesse at a wrestling match or something? Where he'd signed in and had photographs taken, along with witnesses who'd seen him there.
They ALL had solid alibis?
It'd be great if something came to light about Hobbs before he dies. Seems a dude that twisted, assuming he's the killer, would strike again at some point. Or let it slip to someone ... maybe even a deathbed confession? Time will tell, I suppose. Thanks for the info, gonna finish up The Jinx now.
Yea Misskelly was at a wrestling match practice and had half a dozen or so witnesses and the other two were at home with younger relatives and had received phone calls from Echols sister throughout the night.
I doubt Hobbs will confess as I don't think he intentionally killed the boys, it seemed like a situational murder which escalated too far. I'm guessing that he was drunk, was trying to get the boys to come back to the house after being outside all day, they didn't want to as young boys often don't, and wanted to continue playing. He chased them down to the creek bank and started beating his step son. Something went wrong and he went too far and injured him gravely. With the other two boys there he decided to kill them as well, hog tied them up and threw them in the ditch where they drowned after being beaten.
The scratches and cut marks on the boys bodies were all post mortum indicating it wasn't all that brutal of a murder to begin with, the turtles had just fed on the kids for a bit after they were dead.
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Yea Misskelly was at a wrestling match practice and had half a dozen or so witnesses and the other two were at home with younger relatives and had received phone calls from Echols sister throughout the night.
I doubt Hobbs will confess as I don't think he intentionally killed the boys, it seemed like a situational murder which escalated too far. I'm guessing that he was drunk, was trying to get the boys to come back to the house after being outside all day, they didn't want to as young boys often don't, and wanted to continue playing. He chased them down to the creek bank and started beating his step son. Something went wrong and he went too far and injured him gravely. With the other two boys there he decided to kill them as well, hog tied them up and threw them in the ditch where they drowned after being beaten.
The scratches and cut marks on the boys bodies were all post mortum indicating it wasn't all that brutal of a murder to begin with, the turtles had just fed on the kids for a bit after they were dead.
Why do you suppose he tied them?
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Why do you suppose he tied them?
Maybe it was easier to carry two at the same time when he was putting them in the ditch? He had to act quickly as that area was fairly busy and populated, so after he had realized what he had done he needed a quick way to get rid of them. He was a hunter and hog tying game after a kill is a pretty standard practice for transportation back to camp.
It's also possible that during the beating of his step son the other two kids got squirmy and tried to take off so he might have hit them in the head and tied them up so they couldn't get away. It's all speculation really, but those would be the logical reasons in my mind.
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Watching this one now, really interesting regarding sleep paralysis. I've experienced this personally as have many, it's quite interesting to know the scientific mechanisms your body goes through during sleep and what causes it. Can be extremely terrifying as a child as I also suffered from sleep walking and night terrors.
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Found the after pic online, wasn't in doc.
Also, figured out I'd already seen the San Quentin one, but still watched it again. Can't find his program on the black nationalists, though, maybe the only one left I haven't seen.
Al Sharpton is such a douchebag joke. I would love to punch him in the face. (as the saying goes :P :P)
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Maybe it was easier to carry two at the same time when he was putting them in the ditch? He had to act quickly as that area was fairly busy and populated, so after he had realized what he had done he needed a quick way to get rid of them. He was a hunter and hog tying game after a kill is a pretty standard practice for transportation back to camp.
It's also possible that during the beating of his step son the other two kids got squirmy and tried to take off so he might have hit them in the head and tied them up so they couldn't get away. It's all speculation really, but those would be the logical reasons in my mind.
Makes as much sense as anything else, I suppose.
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"When Louis Met Jimmy" Savile. Looks like some allegations existed while Jimmy Savile was still alive. Jimmy of course using his "patter" like a champion to avoid being questioned.
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Al Sharpton is such a douchebag joke. I would love to punch him in the face. (as the saying goes :P :P)
Cool. Thanks, LV.
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Cool. Thanks, LV.
No prob...don't know if you will like it, though. These are the weakest, stupidest, most boring, most racist bunch of dumbasses I've ever seen in my life. They are so stupid (or whatever), they don't realize Sharpton is nothing but a placeholder to make sure they don't gain any real power.
The rest of the subjects are so shallow, they think if they put on a nice suit that everyone will believe they are "legit". It hasn't worked too well for them so far, I know that much.
They are a joke without any substance.
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In 2011, Foster Huntington created the #vanlife Instagram hashtag, and unexpectedly spawned hundreds of thousands of posts and a family of eager followers. It became a community of like-minded individuals who delight in the kind of adventure you can only get by traveling through the wilderness in a clunky, decades-old vehicle. In this documentary, we follow a group of #vanlife enthusiasts to uncover what the lifestyle means to them.
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No prob...don't know if you will like it, though. These are the weakest, stupidest, most boring, most racist bunch of dumbasses I've ever seen in my life. They are so stupid (or whatever), they don't realize Sharpton is nothing but a placeholder to make sure they don't gain any real power.
The rest of the subjects are so shallow, they think if they put on a nice suit that everyone will believe they are "legit". It hasn't worked too well for them so far, I know that much.
They are a joke without any substance.
Oh, exactly what I expected, my friend. Same nonsense Wiggs spews on here, just find it amusing at times. And I'd like to see how Thereaux handles them.
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The Super Rich and Us (2015) -Jacques Peretti looks at how the super-rich exploited an obscure legal loophole to make Britain one of the most attractive tax havens on earth.
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In 2011, Foster Huntington created the #vanlife Instagram hashtag, and unexpectedly spawned hundreds of thousands of posts and a family of eager followers. It became a community of like-minded individuals who delight in the kind of adventure you can only get by traveling through the wilderness in a clunky, decades-old vehicle. In this documentary, we follow a group of #vanlife enthusiasts to uncover what the lifestyle means to them.
This would be great with a bunch of Getbiggers
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I know it is not a documentary, but I don't know where else to post it:
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Nice PBS documentary on America's Johnny Carson -
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In 2011, Foster Huntington created the #vanlife Instagram hashtag, and unexpectedly spawned hundreds of thousands of posts and a family of eager followers. It became a community of like-minded individuals who delight in the kind of adventure you can only get by traveling through the wilderness in a clunky, decades-old vehicle. In this documentary, we follow a group of #vanlife enthusiasts to uncover what the lifestyle means to them.
It would be so cool to do this for a year or so. Just outfit a van real good and go.
The old vans are right for this. These people like their VWs because the rear transaxle makes it easier to drive off road. But if something fries the electronics in an area, the only people really moving anywhere will be the ones in old vehicles, anyway. So they are set better than they might know.
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In this episode of FUEL, a new series dedicated to the high-performance diets of athletes, we follow Robert Oberst—aka Obie—one of America’s leading professional strongmen, holder of the American record in the Log Lift, and eater extraordinaire. In an average day, Obie consumes 15,000–20,000 calories to power himself through hours of punishing training. From the gym to the kitchen, Obie shows us the kind of fuel he needs in order to stay at the top of his sport.
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In this episode of FUEL, we follow weightlifting champion Morghan King during her six-day-a-week routine of consuming clean proteins and vegetables to ensure her competitive status at the 2015 World Championships and beyond. At a 105-pound competing weight, she is one of only a handful of women on this planet who can "clean-and-jerk" more than double their body weight. We’d like to see you try that.
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Welcome back to FUEL, a series dedicated to the high-performance diets of athletes. In this episode, we follow the UK's international pro bodybuilder Rene Campbell, who eats the same high-calorie meal every three hours, seven days a week—and that’s just in her "off season." We spend a day with Rene as she cooks up two weeks’ worth of chicken, rice, and eggs; stocks up on her supplements; and shows her male training
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will watch those, thanks DroppingPlates.
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Choke (1999) - Choke follows freestyle fighting champion Rickson Gracie as he prepares to defend his title in the Vale Tudo Freestyle Fighting Championship in Tokyo. Choke is a behind-the-scenes look at the world of no-rules fighting.
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Choke (1999) - Choke follows freestyle fighting champion Rickson Gracie as he prepares to defend his title in the Vale Tudo Freestyle Fighting Championship in Tokyo. Choke is a behind-the-scenes look at the world of no-rules fighting.
Comes on the right moment. I don't follow any forms of MMA, but I've recently met a jiu jitsu chick.
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This is a creepy ass Documentary about a place called Onkalo.
Its an underground storage facility for spent nuclear fuel in Finland.
"The Place You Must Always Remember to Forget"
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Awesome Documentary FF ^
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If this is from 2 1/2 years ago WTF is it like now ?
On top of this now you have hundreds of thousands of other immigrants coming from Northern Africa,Syria etc.
Glad we got a trillion guns here in the U.S.
Fvcking nightmare :-\
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A tribe of Nepal hunt a wild honey with natural psychoactive properties ("mad honey")
they use it as a medicine and a soft drug.
Dipak, the translator of this movie is overdosing and fall unconcious.
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If this is from 2 1/2 years ago WTF is it like now ?
On top of this now you have hundreds of thousands of other immigrants coming from Northern Africa,Syria etc.
Glad we got a trillion guns here in the U.S.
Fvcking nightmare :-\
Next time change https to http ;)
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Interviews Before Execution (2012) Every Saturday night in China, millions gather around their televisions to watch Interviews Before Execution, an extraordinary talk show which interviews prisoners on death row.
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"Don't fly with Easyjet or any other low-budget flightcompany"
Not a documentary, but he sums up some good arguments.
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Somebody posted "The Seven Five" to Youtube. It's about the heavy police corruption that happen during the late 80's - early 90's, particularly in Brooklyn's 75th. I saw this a few months ago, and it's an excellent one if you enjoy slice of life, and true crime type stuff. The clips and pacing are excellent, and the interviews are great as well, some are actually quite funny.
If you liked Cocaine Cowboys, you'll like this one -
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A nice copy of Pablo Escobar: King of Coke, which much of Netflix's Narcos is based on -
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Fresh Dressed, a documentary about hip hop/rap fashion through the past few decades, might be of interest to some -
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Another Pablo Escobar documentary - The Godfather of Cocaine, a Frontline PBS documentary that covers some of the same ground as the other, but from more of a U.S. perspective. It also has different interviews, and covers more of his early days -
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Learn about the impact of automated trading systems on today's markets. While this documentary focuses on stocks, the same factors are at work in the Forex markets. High frequency, algorithmic trading programs work quickly and create huge volatility. This excellent documentary Money & Speed is from VPRO who have presented an excellent documentary which is required viewing for all traders.
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Barkley 100, (2014), The world's toughest marathon
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In 2011 a Belgian photographer was allowed entry into one of Japan’s Yakuza families. Over two years, he captured the lives of those living in the underworld
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Documentary on forensic science, and its fallibility. The part on finger printing is quite interesting, and a bit troublesome -
http://www.thirteen.org/programs/frontline/the-real-csi/ .
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Access to medicines is a universal right. This documentary, with the testimonies of experts in health and legal issues, explains why India has become a world leader in the manufacture of generic drugs and follows the legal and social process of, The Gliveec Case, where Novartis took the Indian government to Court in a dispute over the granting of a patent for this drug which treats cancer. The judgment found in favour of the Indian Government earlier this year (2013).
This film documents the seven year legal battle, including first hand interviews with people involved in this case, which gives the documentary a unique relevance.
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Bigorexia: Never Buff Enough (2015) Problems with men who are never satisfied with their muscular development
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A documentary exploring the peculiar system of alcohol retail and distribution in Ontario.
The beverage alcohol system in Ontario is unique in the world. A government monopoly and a few private companies enjoy preferential access to the province's consumers. Meanwhile, about 300 Ontario breweries, wineries, and distillers face a number of bureaucratic and structural barriers that effectively shut them out of the market in Ontario. This film tries to explain the origins of the beverage alcohol system in Ontario, and what it means for producers and consumers in the province today.
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The world is facing some huge problems. There’s a lot of talk about how to solve them. But talk doesn’t reduce pollution, or grow food, or heal the sick. That takes doing. This film is the story about a group of doers, the elegantly simple inventions they have made to change the lives of billions of people, and the unconventional billionaire spearheading the project.
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After The Last Round. Current fighters express their fear of leaving the ring, while retired boxers and their families tell their tales of living with dementia pugilistica. A well done, thought provoking documentary. It's tremendously rough toward the end for even the most hardened fight fan.
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Continuing with the boxing theme -
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Short documentary on boxing from the promoter's/matchmaker's side. Shows how they build up fighters with tomato cans, etc.... Decent, but not great.
and -
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This is a really deep one from PBS and Frontline about Don King's transgressions both in and out of the ring. This was one of the first real jabs at King that the public got to see. A good bit from Jack Newfield, who was a constant thorn in King's side, in this one. Just a great documentary.
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An amazing car in multiple ways.
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Inside the Super Human World of The Iceman(2015)-Wim Hof first caught the attention of scientists when he proved he was able to use meditation to stay submerged in ice for 1 hour and 53 minutes without his core body temperature changing.
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Doing Time -
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Older, decent copy of the film by the Raymonds about life in Lewisburg Federal Prison. You can tell that the prisoners and guards are a bit perplexed by the film makers gentile Canadian ways. Nice documentary for fans of the genre, with lots of quotable portions.
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Just released
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/inside-assads-syria/ (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/inside-assads-syria/)
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Mat and Danielle spent their first date bonding over Lloyd Kahn’s book “Home Work” and discussing their ideas for simplifying their lives. They became a couple, but “somewhere along the way, we ended up doing the exact opposite of what we wanted,” explains Danielle on their blog.
“Instead of simplifying, we bought a house and spent months hauling furniture, paint and knick knacks into it to surround ourselves with stuff that we liked. Our bills went up so we got better jobs, started working more, and eventually all we did was work during the day and watch Netflix every night because we were too exhausted to do anything else.”
“Mat was the first to suggest making a change because he found our lifestyle stressful, but I resisted at first. I was really caught up in the idea of owning my own place, maybe starting a family one day and planning for an amazing retirement. I was also excited that I had a new full time job with benefits and that we were financially stable. Eventually I realized that all I was doing was working and I didn’t even like my job anymore. We decided that we should do something crazy: sell our house, quit our jobs and travel the world.”
Today, Mat and Danielle are living full-time in a converted van. Their back seat folds down into a bed. Their kitchen is a cooler plus camping stove. Their bathroom includes a solar camping shower and a plastic bottle toilet (with funnel).
They’ve eliminated a mortgage, but their are still costs, what Mat calls “like renting a really cheap apartment in a city”. Instead of paying down a house, Mat and Danielle have decided to focus on working less and experiencing more, both by exploring the world and their artistic interests: for Mat, it’s music and art and for Danielle it’s writing.
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Mat and Danielle spent their first date bonding over Lloyd Kahn’s book “Home Work” and discussing their ideas for simplifying their lives. They became a couple, but “somewhere along the way, we ended up doing the exact opposite of what we wanted,” explains Danielle on their blog.
“Instead of simplifying, we bought a house and spent months hauling furniture, paint and knick knacks into it to surround ourselves with stuff that we liked. Our bills went up so we got better jobs, started working more, and eventually all we did was work during the day and watch Netflix every night because we were too exhausted to do anything else.”
“Mat was the first to suggest making a change because he found our lifestyle stressful, but I resisted at first. I was really caught up in the idea of owning my own place, maybe starting a family one day and planning for an amazing retirement. I was also excited that I had a new full time job with benefits and that we were financially stable. Eventually I realized that all I was doing was working and I didn’t even like my job anymore. We decided that we should do something crazy: sell our house, quit our jobs and travel the world.”
Today, Mat and Danielle are living full-time in a converted van. Their back seat folds down into a bed. Their kitchen is a cooler plus camping stove. Their bathroom includes a solar camping shower and a plastic bottle toilet (with funnel).
They’ve eliminated a mortgage, but their are still costs, what Mat calls “like renting a really cheap apartment in a city”. Instead of paying down a house, Mat and Danielle have decided to focus on working less and experiencing more, both by exploring the world and their artistic interests: for Mat, it’s music and art and for Danielle it’s writing.
have you checked out the YouTube channel hosting that video? (kirsten dirksen). There is a lot of cool stuff there!
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have you checked out the YouTube channel hosting that video? (kirsten dirksen). There is a lot of cool stuff there!
No, not yet, but thanks for the suggestion.
It must be great to do this together with lovely partner with the same free, adventurous, flexible & minimalist mindset.
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Not completely sold on it, but might be of interest to some. Guys out of jail tell their stories, and talk about prison life in general. Not much of a visual element, so you can sort of run them like podcasts -
2 on steroids and steroid busts -
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Kali Muscle - .
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Full Channel -
www.youtube.com/channel/UCTsGL6oeAKi4lHIMfWwkcyA .
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Toe Tag Parole. An HBO documentary on what it's like to be a lifer in California. Many times it's an interesting juxtaposition of feeling some-what compassionate for these guys on a human level as you listen to their stories, then being snapped back into reality when you hear the viciousness of their crimes -
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That channel also has some of the newer HBO stuff posted.
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Millionaire boy racers
"Sliding around corners as they weave their way through one of Britain's most exclusive areas, these are the rich Arab playboys who visit London every summer to show off their flashy wheels.
But residents of Knightsbridge, central London - which has an average house price of £3.6million and is home to Harrods - say the drivers from the Gulf region are 'a manifestation of too much-ness'.
The petrol-heads and their motors are cheered on by camera-carrying youngsters, known as the Carparrazzi, but are hated by a number of furious residents who claim their lives are being ruined."
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EXTREME BODIES
'VAMPIRE WOMAN'
For some people, improving one’s appearance can lead to extreme body modification. Meet the "Vampire Woman”—she's a lawyer, a mother, and the world’s most modified female, with 96% tattoo coverage, several sets of horns, arm implants, and 25 piercings.
BAGEL HEADS
The new trend in body modification? Bagel heads - injecting saline solution into the forehead to create a temporary bagel-like shape.
MUSCLE WORSHIP
Some female bodybuilders support themselves by holding private sessions with muscle fetishists.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/taboo/episodes/extreme-bodies/
(credits to Herne for posting this in another thread)
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EXTREME BODIES
'VAMPIRE WOMAN'
For some people, improving one’s appearance can lead to extreme body modification. Meet the "Vampire Woman”—she's a lawyer, a mother, and the world’s most modified female, with 96% tattoo coverage, several sets of horns, arm implants, and 25 piercings.
BAGEL HEADS
The new trend in body modification? Bagel heads - injecting saline solution into the forehead to create a temporary bagel-like shape.
MUSCLE WORSHIP
Some female bodybuilders support themselves by holding private sessions with muscle fetishists.
http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/taboo/episodes/extreme-bodies/
(credits to Herne for posting this in another thread)
Bagel fucking heads?
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Bagel fucking heads?
Yes, though they forgot the topping..
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fellas, you'll want to rip those BBC and NatGeo docus pretty quickly from YouTube. They often get taken down quickly because of copyright violations. :)
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fellas, you'll want to rip those BBC and NatGeo docus pretty quickly from YouTube. They often get taken down quickly because of copyright violations. :)
http://www.grabfrom.com/ is worth a bookmark (choose the MP4 format)
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Big Thinkers is a former ZDTV (later TechTV) television program. It featured a half-hour interview with a "big thinker" in science, technology, and other fields. Interviews were filmed in a 16:9 format and intercut with public domain material from the Prelinger Archives. This archival footage (mostly film clips from the 1940's and 50's) was used to create visual metaphors highlighting the speaker's points.
This episode features Daniel Dennett. He is a prominent American philosopher whose research centers on philosophy of mind, philosophy of science and philosophy of biology, particularly as those fields relate to evolutionary biology and cognitive science. He is currently the co-director of the Center for Cognitive Studies, the Austin B. Fletcher Professor of Philosophy, and a University Professor at Tufts University. Dennett is also a noted atheist and advocate of the Brights movement.
This episode features Michio Kaku. He is a Japanese American theoretical physicist specializing in string field theory, and a futurist. He is a popularizer of science, host of two radio programs and a best-selling author.
This episode features Sherry Turkle. She is Abby Rockefeller Mauze Professor of the Social Studies of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a clinical psychologist. Born in New York City in 1948, she has focused her research on psychoanalysis and culture and on the psychology of people's relationship with technology, especially computer technology and computer addiction.
More episodes can be found on videos?sort=dd&view=0&shelf_id=1
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Documentary of Anabolic Steroids Effects
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FRONTLINE | A Dangerous Business (2003) - How the McWane corporation forces workers to operate in an unsafe and illegal manner, whilst simultaneously covering up their systematic flouting of safety regulations, leading to death, dismemberment and pollution, all to pad their bottom line
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The Prince of Pennsylvania - the story of John Dupont's wresting team, and the tragic faith that it held for the Schultz family as Dupont slipped into madness.
Chasing Tyson - The story of Evander Holyfield and his time in boxing, which was largely and sadly overshadowed by Mike Tyson. As told mainly by Holyfield and Mike -
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Both are a bit on the small side, so play with the screen options, best you can do sometimes with new shows on Youtube sometimes.
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http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2hvmhz .
Frontline - Death of a Porn Queen. I mentioned this a few months back, it's blocked on youtube, but someone just put it up on the above link. Strong documentary about a young porn star, her suspicious death, and the general seediness of the 70's - 80's porn scene. Good viewing, watch it quick though, because it's usually a hard video to find, and keep online.
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Older Frontline documentary on the mob, NFL, and game fixing. You'll probably see some familiar faces in this one -
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My Life After 44 Years In Prison (2015): 69-year old Otis Johnson learns how much the world has changed since he entered prison at age 25
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A couple of buddies come together every Sunday. Unfortunately it's without subtitles, but they're not deep thinkers anyway ;)
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HBO's documentary that has some heat on it, about Florida's "Stand Your Ground" law, and one of the more famous cases to come out of it
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I've got to admit, even though I'm a fan of the general thrust of that law, this was not a good thing for it. The white protagonist is very :-\.
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Paradise or Oblivion
This video presentation advocates a new socio-economic system, which is updated to present-day knowledge, featuring the life-long work of Social Engineer, Futurist, Inventor and Industrial Designer Jacque Fresco, which he calls a Resource-Based Economy. This documentary details the root causes of the systemic value disorders and detrimental symptoms caused by our current established system. The film details the need to outgrow the dated and inefficient methods of politics, law, business, or any other "establishment" notions of human affairs, and use the methods of science, combined with high technology, to provide for the needs of all the world's people. It is not based on the opinions of the political and financial elite or on illusionary so-called democracies, but on maintaining a dynamic equilibrium with the planet that could ultimately provide abundance for all people.
Paradise or Oblivion, by The Venus Project, introduces the viewer to a more appropriate value system that would be required to enable this caring and holistic approach to benefit human civilization. This alternative surpasses the need for a monetary-based, controlled, and scarcity-oriented environment, which we find ourselves in today.
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Between The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea (2006) -- Hundreds of undocumented migrants live a feral existence on a Maroc mountain, planning their next assault on the frontier fence that keeps them out of Europe.
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Paradise or Oblivion
This video presentation advocates a new socio-economic system, which is updated to present-day knowledge, featuring the life-long work of Social Engineer, Futurist, Inventor and Industrial Designer Jacque Fresco, which he calls a Resource-Based Economy. This documentary details the root causes of the systemic value disorders and detrimental symptoms caused by our current established system. The film details the need to outgrow the dated and inefficient methods of politics, law, business, or any other "establishment" notions of human affairs, and use the methods of science, combined with high technology, to provide for the needs of all the world's people. It is not based on the opinions of the political and financial elite or on illusionary so-called democracies, but on maintaining a dynamic equilibrium with the planet that could ultimately provide abundance for all people.
Paradise or Oblivion, by The Venus Project, introduces the viewer to a more appropriate value system that would be required to enable this caring and holistic approach to benefit human civilization. This alternative surpasses the need for a monetary-based, controlled, and scarcity-oriented environment, which we find ourselves in today.
Don't understand a word of this verbal gobbledygook.
Summarize the summary, for dummies?
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Don't understand a word of this verbal gobbledygook.
Summarize the summary, for dummies?
Since all humans have the same basic needs (Maslow), abolish all nations and change our traditional economy to a resource based one, supported by advanced technologies. He hasn't used the term, but what I hear is someone with a non-dualistic mindset.
Note: I should watch/listen this for a second time for a better understanding
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Since all humans have the same basic needs (Maslow), abolish all nations and change our traditional economy to a resource based one, supported by advanced technologies. He hasn't used the term, but what I hear is someone with a non-dualistic mindset.
Note: I should watch/listen this for a second time for a better understanding
the problem is that human beings like all animals are territorial. And what happens when you abolish all nations and the former nations all speak different languages? We have always been tribal, territorial and segregate ourselves by language, culture, race, ethnicity, etc.
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the problem is that human beings like all animals are territorial. And what happens when you abolish all nations and the former nations all speak different languages? We have always been tribal, territorial and segregate ourselves by language, culture, race, ethnicity, etc.
After reading the FAQs of the project, I realize that abolishing all nations isn't one of their goals. Instead, the plan is to let them work together since they all share the same basic needs.
"9. In the idea of future, do you think that the regional differences will still have the greatest influence as they do today? Or will these differences disappear?
Our problems today are enormous and global in their scope and impact. They cannot be solved by any one nation. The concept of common good is global in nature, but local in implementation.
We must start with what we have in common. All social systems, regardless of political philosophy, religious beliefs, or social customs, ultimately depend upon natural resources like clean air and water, arable land, and the technology and personnel to maintain a high standard of living. This can be accomplished through the intelligent and humane application of science and technology using a global systems approach. When money and self interests are outgrown, interaction between nations won't be based on self interest, but on mutual interest. This approach will help eliminate artificial boundaries that separate people."
https://www.thevenusproject.com/en/faq#faqnoanchor
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"Directed by Inigo Westmeier and featuring the 36 000 students of Shaolin Tagou, the biggest fighting school for kids in China.
The documentary Dragon Girls ( "Drachenmädchen") tells the story of three Chinese girls, training to become Kung Fu fighters, far away from their families at the Shaolin Tagou Kung Fu School, located right next to the Shaolin Monastery in China, place of origin of Kung Fu."
(Excellent camera work. The speed of the subtitles is pretty fast sometimes.)
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The Celluloid Closet, based on Vito Russo's book, it covers how issues of homosexuality were covered by Hollywood over the years -
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Good for folks interested censorship or film issues in general.
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Just out this morning from *Frontline....my favorite Narrator of all time Will Lyman
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/rise-of-isis/ (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/film/rise-of-isis/)
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PBS Documentary on magician Ricky Jay, his life, and the history of sleight of hand magic in America -
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/ricky-jay-deceptive-practice-full-film/3680/
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PBS Documentary on magician Ricky Jay, his life, and the history of sleight of hand magic in America -
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/ricky-jay-deceptive-practice-full-film/3680/
Dude's made a name for himself in Mamet's films, too.
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Why China Is "The World's Factory"
Question: What do Lightening McQueen, a Nike sneaker and an iPad have in common? Answer: China. Chinese products seem to be everywhere: the majority of tags, labels and stickers display the legend “Made in China.” The Western consumer may ask, “why is everything made in China?” Some may think the ubiquity of Chinese products is due to the abundance of cheap Chinese labor that brings down the production costs, but there is much more to it. Here are five reasons China is "the world's factory.”
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The End of Ownership (VPRO Backlight)
How will the production process change when we no longer own things, but only use them? A Backlight Lab with Thomas Rau.
We are on the verge of a significant change in behavior. The production model in which people work in order to buy things is coming to an end. We don’t want to own things, we want to have access to them and use them. The fun, but not the trouble: ‘Don’t own, enjoy!’ What does this mean for the way products are made, the way we build, for innovation and economic growth? A VPRO Backlight Lab with Thomas Rau, the most radical architect of the Netherlands.
http:www.backlight.vpro.nl
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A quick 3 mins
http://bangshift.com/bangshiftxl/old-friend-bangshifty-short-film-ever-history-friendship-massive-engine-youll-ever-see/ (http://bangshift.com/bangshiftxl/old-friend-bangshifty-short-film-ever-history-friendship-massive-engine-youll-ever-see/)
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Casino Jack and the United States of Money (2010) The incredible true story of powerful lobbyist Jack Abramoff. And as the documentary goes on, you realize, with increasing horror, just how corrupt Congress is.
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Vice takes a close look at whether life on Mars can be sustainable, what Paris is like after the tragic attacks in November and the worldwide fight for women’s rights in the upcoming fourth season of their investigative HBO documentary series.
We’ve got a ton of new and exciting stuff planned for the 18-episode season, from Thomas Morton checking out what life on Mars would really be like to Gianna Toboni heading to Paris for the first large-scale vigil since the tragic shooting last November.
http://laughingsquid.com/vice-on-hbo-explores-life-on-mars-and-paris-after-the-attacks-in-their-upcoming-fourth-season/?utm_content=buffer8d0c3&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer
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Dave Asprey is the creator of Bulletproof Coffee, the butter coffee combo that has taken the health community by storm, and the the author of the Bulletproof diet. Applying his Silicon Valley background to his own health journey, Dave has spent over $300,000 to hack his own biology. Our host Max Lugavere heads to Dave's Biohacking facility outside of Victoria, British Columbia, to learn more about what it means to hack your own body and the benefits of leading a Bulletproof lifestyle.
(Note that there's a lot of criticism about his ideas, such as misunderstanding parts of the human physiology, taking things into extremes and his commercial stake in selling products)
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Blood, Sweat, and Beer (2015) - A documentary exploring the explosive growth of the craft beer industry and the struggles of two start-up breweries.
http://weshare.me/7ab0c46fc3ce244f
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Helvetica (2007) - A documentary about typography and graphic design
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Inside the Super Human World of The Iceman(2015)-Wim Hof first caught the attention of scientists when he proved he was able to use meditation to stay submerged in ice for 1 hour and 53 minutes without his core body temperature changing.
A great talk at London Real (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCCZVmatSqIMTTB8uExk8xEg)
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Great documentary on American President Garfield, not sure if it will play in all regions, but it's a good watch -
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/garfield/player/ .
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Good watch about NY's famed Bellevue Hospital's mental ward, circa late 90's -
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https://thumbs.gfycat.com/WideeyedUnnaturalAntelopegroundsquirrel-mobile.mp4
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https://thumbs.gfycat.com/WideeyedUnnaturalAntelopegroundsquirrel-mobile.mp4
does not belong in this thread
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Scrapper (2011) The controversial, award winning documentary about desperadoes illegally scavenging war detritus in an active military bombing range. Ride shotgun into a world of aluminum fever, crystal meth, survival and redemption in a lethal no-man's land. [full film]
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Diet programs revolve around a proven principle: if you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. The calorie is the defining metric. And so, in the interest of public health, the Food and Drug Administration requires most packaged foods to list their calories, among other data, on labels. To help combat obesity in New York City, the Department of Health requires most chain restaurants to post calorie content on their menus and fines those who don’t comply. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, a national program will soon follow.
In theory, this is a valuable reform. But there’s one glaring problem. According to the F.D.A. and the city’s health department, no one verifies the accuracy of these calorie listings. The system essentially runs on an honor system. Food vendors can list whatever numbers they want, until someone (somehow) catches a problem and files a complaint. So, as an obsessive calorie counter myself, I wanted to find out: how accurate are these labels?
For this Op-Doc video, I selected five items I might consume in an average day: a muffin, a tofu sandwich, a Subway sandwich, a Starbucks Frappuccino and a Chipotle burrito. Then, two food scientists at the New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center painstakingly tested the caloric content of each using a device called a bomb calorimeter. It’s a precise but slow process — taking more than an hour per sample. The results were surprising.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/opinion/calorie-detective.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0
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Diet programs revolve around a proven principle: if you burn more calories than you consume, you will lose weight. The calorie is the defining metric. And so, in the interest of public health, the Food and Drug Administration requires most packaged foods to list their calories, among other data, on labels. To help combat obesity in New York City, the Department of Health requires most chain restaurants to post calorie content on their menus and fines those who don’t comply. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, a national program will soon follow.
In theory, this is a valuable reform. But there’s one glaring problem. According to the F.D.A. and the city’s health department, no one verifies the accuracy of these calorie listings. The system essentially runs on an honor system. Food vendors can list whatever numbers they want, until someone (somehow) catches a problem and files a complaint. So, as an obsessive calorie counter myself, I wanted to find out: how accurate are these labels?
For this Op-Doc video, I selected five items I might consume in an average day: a muffin, a tofu sandwich, a Subway sandwich, a Starbucks Frappuccino and a Chipotle burrito. Then, two food scientists at the New York Obesity Nutrition Research Center at St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center painstakingly tested the caloric content of each using a device called a bomb calorimeter. It’s a precise but slow process — taking more than an hour per sample. The results were surprising.
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/13/opinion/calorie-detective.html?smid=tw-share&_r=0
Thank you Jizzplates. :-\
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Thank you Jizzplates. :-\
And you consume at least 300% more alcohol than is written on the label
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And you consume at least 300% more alcohol than is written on the label
well your diet is low cal.. lots of sperm
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Long and good documentary on the artist Robert Mapplethorpe, from his childhood through his last days, Watch it quick if interested, because HBO will probably get it pulled soon.
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This is the Last Dam Run of Likker I'll Ever Make (2002) - Moonshiner Popcorn Sutton takes a camera crew along to set up a white liquor still
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Welcome To Leith - Documentary about a Neo - Nazi's plan to take over a small North Dakota town, and the local's plan to stop it -
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/welcome-to-leith-full-film/ .
Peace Officer - Documentary on the militarization and increased use of SWAT by American police departments, particularly small ones, and the trouble it causes as told by both the police and the citizenry -
http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/peace-officer-full-film/ .
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Good watch about NY's famed Bellevue Hospital's mental ward, circa late 90's -
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this one was beautiful!! i can't find more of this high-emotional-dramas doc's!
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Bernie Madoff - Scamming of America, The $50 Billion Ponzi Scheme (2015) Forbes:"If indeed, $50 billion was lost, as apparently Madoff claims, it is the largest such fraud in history, and one that might even shame the conman whose name is attached to this brand of deception
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http://putlocker.is/watch-burn-online-free-putlocker.html (http://putlocker.is/watch-burn-online-free-putlocker.html)
Documentary about Detroit fire fighters and the general decline of the city.
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Somewhat hard to find PBS documentary on lobotomies, and their place in mid century psychiatric care -
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Sidewalk, a sociologist looks at the lives of sidewalk vendors in early 2000's New York -
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The first 3 parts are the film, then a talk about the film afterward for the last few parts.
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The Police Tapes, a late 70's look at policing in NY. This film was a huge influence on Cops, and all the later series -
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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.
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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/ .
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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 (http://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.
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Can we please make this thread a sticky? I think the amount of views warrants a 4th addition to the General Topics Board.
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Can we please make this thread a sticky? I think the amount of views warrants a 4th addition to the General Topics Board.
Sure
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http://123movies.is/film/before-the-flood-17581/watching.html
this seems to be legit and trustworthy. for me it was an eye-opener
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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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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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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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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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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 .
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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 .
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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 (http://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.
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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 .
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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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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.
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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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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.
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Fairphone is a social enterprise company which aims to develop smartphones that are designed and produced with minimal harm to people and the planet. The company is based in Amsterdam, Netherlands and was supported in its startup phase by the Waag Society, a foundation which aims to foster experimentation with new technologies, art and culture. The main motivations for founding Fairphone were to develop a mobile device that does not contain conflict minerals (which in smartphones are typically gold, tin, tantalum and tungsten), has fair labor conditions for the workforce along the supply chain producing it and help people to use their phone longer. The second version of the company's handset is one of the first modular smartphones available for purchase, with the product being designed to be easily repaired and upgraded.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fairphone
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Breaking The Cycle - A Norwegian prison warden travels to America to see how the prison system and rehabilitation is handled there. Bit dry, but an interesting juxtaposition of two cultures.
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The Great War -
A long and very fine PBS documentary on WWI, and its effects both on the people, culture, and world policy of the time. While a long documentary at just a hair under 6 hours, it is told with a broad enough vision that it should be enjoyable for almost anyone.
Edit - Seems the Youtube versions got taken down. Sadly this is more and more common both with newer and older shows. It is still available on:
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/great-war/ .
Not sure if it works in all countries though.
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< good stuff. thanks for posting
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Big 8 part (almost 6 hours long) documentary on the old pre internet BBS system, and the culture behind it. Interesting stuff -
First part-
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All parts nicely cued up to play in sequence -
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Dogs of War. An early 90's look at the young British men that signed up to be mercenaries during the break up and restructuring of Yugoslavia -
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Maybe of interest to some.
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Dirty Driving: Thunder Cars of Indiana - 1990's HBO documentary on an economically depressed midwestern town in the US, where one of the biggest hobbies is stock car racing. It may not sound that interesting, but the people and personalities in it make the film -
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American Hollow. HBO takes a look at the slightly dysfunctional lives of a family in America's Appalachia. Much like the above, it's the people that make the story -
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If you liked the above, the director of the above (Rory Kennedy) made a much darker film about a family in the rural south called A Boy's Life in 2003 or 4. Hard to find, but you sometimes find it on streaming sites. Here's the trailer -
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Mommy Dead and Deariest -
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A look a deranged mother who coddles her daughter with disastrous results. While it falls into the true crime formula, it is told in a way that is a step or two beyond the standard cable fare. It's an HBO documentary, so watch it quick if it sounds interesting.
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American Patriot - A look at the cases behind the Bundy Ranch standoff and subsequent events that happened in America between 2014 - 2016. A good primer for anyone that didn't quite understand the in s and outs of that whole thing.
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From the Youtube page:
The Immortalists
"What would the world look like if humans never grew old? Two eccentric biologists are determined to find out. In this larger-than-life doc, Bill Andrews and Aubrey de Grey leave behind the journals and peer reviews of the scientific establishment to embark on a quest for the age-old secret of eternal youth. Can it be done? And is it desirable? They differ in their approach, but are united in their goal: to learn to live forever, or die trying."
Take my advice and skip 27:30 till 29:00
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Downloaded it from Spectrum last night. Very well-done film about how prevelant and deep-seated the Feminism virus has been in Western culture.
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From YouTube:
The Third Antichrist Prophecy Of Nostradamus - World Documentary Films.
Michel de Nostredame (depending on the source, 14 or 21 December 1503 – 2 July 1566), usually Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French apothecary and reputed seer who published collections of prophecies that have since become widely famous. He is best known for his book Les Propheties, the first edition of which appeared in 1555. Since the publication of this book, which has rarely been out of print since his death, Nostradamus has attracted a following that, along with much of the popular press, credits him with predicting many major world events. Most academic sources maintain that the associations made between world events and Nostradamus's quatrains are largely the result of misinterpretations or mistranslations (sometimes deliberate) or else are so tenuous as to render them useless as evidence of any genuine predictive power.
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Very good documentary. Well worth the watch.
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American Anarchist on Netflix. About the dude who wrote the anarcist cookbook. Good stuff
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Central Park Five. A look at one of the largest and most racially charged cases in American history -
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William Kunstler, Disturbing The Universe. A look at the famous NY attorney that made a living taking on the cases most didn't want. It's a bit of a dry watch, but may interest some -
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Blackout, a look at the giant 1977 New York electric failure that happened 40 years ago -
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Short documentary about the effects on the legalization of drugs for personal use
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Addicted to Protein
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From it's Youtube page:
"Director Martin Hampton takes us into the complicated worlds of four hoarders -- people whose lives are dominated by their relationship to possessions.
It is very natural for humans to give objects special importance. But when this tendency gets out of hand complications can begin. Hoarding behavior should be seen on a spectrum, ranging from mild to severe.
The film questions whether hoarding is a symptom of mental illness or a revolt against the material recklessness of consumerism. When does collecting become hoarding and why do possessions exert such an influence on our lives?
Compulsive Hoarding, can be defined as: 1. The acquisition of, and failure to discard a large number of possessions that appear to be useless or of limited value; 2. Living spaces sufficiently cluttered so as to preclude activities for which those spaces were designed; 3. Significant distress of impairment in functioning caused by the hoarding."
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Icarus
http://www.businessinsider.com/icarus-netflix-bryan-fogel-doping-scandal-2017-8?utm_content=buffer218bf&utm_medium=social&utm_source=facebook.com&utm_campaign=buffer-entertainment
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Based on his book 'The Architecture of Happiness (http://alaindebotton.com/architecture/)', Alain de Botton made this great 3-part documentary series.
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30 million roosters are killed in Filipino cockfighting pits every year.
Meet the guy who trains some of the country's deadliest birds
https://video.vice.com/en_au/video/cockfighting-in-the-phillipines/598ba0cd9bb084453f50f5bb?latest=1?utm_source=vicefbanz&utm_campaign=global
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American Comandante -
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A look at a man searching for his place in life who joins the Cuban Revolution of the late 50's, and is later betrayed. A fascinating story.
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Abacus, Small Enough to Fail -
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A look at a small family owned bank that served a niche clientele, and the trouble they got into shortly after the late 2000's savings and loan meltdown that happened here in the States. Interesting little documentary that raises questions about how the meltdown and banking law in the US is handled.
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From its Youtube page,
Although fire lookouts continue to be critical front-line components of our forest system’s battle to detect and prevent wildfires, their roles often times go unnoticed, due largely to both the manual nature of the work involved and the quiet, extremely solitary nature of the working environment. Leif Haugen is a fire lookout in a remote corner of the Flathead National Forest in northwestern Montana, and each summer he lives and works alone on top of a mountain three miles from the Canadian border. A simple, somewhat primitive one-room structure serves as both his home and office; however, what it may lack in amenities (neither electricity nor running water are available) is more than compensated for by the majestic, 360-degree views of the world that his perch provides. With only a remote radio to keep him connected to the outside world, Leif’s primary responsibility is to scan the valley floor for any signs of destructive fire activity - one which calls for enduring long stretches of tedium and an eagle’s eye and quick response the moment fire is spotted or lighting strikes in the distance. There are approximately 500 active lookouts currently operating in some of the most rugged and desolate outposts of the American West. The Lookout captures both the critical nature of one fire lookout's work as well as the life of quiet, contemplative solitude which accompanies his job.
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I have become increasingly interesting in watching Missing Persons Documentary. Getbiggers, are there any documentaries I should watch?
It's very baffling how people go missing, never to be found again. Law enforcement specialists say that many people who go missing don't want to be found. Obviously, this is the case for adolescents, young adults, or adults, who leave their home for whatever reason. But, imagine being a parent and never finding out what happened to your child. The idea that someone can go missing and never be found again must be scary for a lot of people, especially for parents. Its like people vanish into thin air.
"The 2016 Missing Person and Unidentified Person Statistics report from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the country’s primary database for tracking crime, indicates that there were more than 645,000 missing person records entered into their database last year, of which 88,040 were still considered active missing persons cases at year’s end"
That is still 88,000 people unaccounted for! If any getbigger went missing, I would definitely try to track them down.
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I have all of your current GPS coordinates.
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I have all of your current GPS coordinates.
Please come rescue me.
Hulkotron, if Shizzo went missing, would you rescue him?
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I have become increasingly interesting in watching Missing Persons Documentary. Getbiggers, are there any documentaries I should watch?
It's very baffling how people go missing, never to be found again. Law enforcement specialists say that many people who go missing don't want to be found. Obviously, this is the case for adolescents, young adults, or adults, who leave their home for whatever reason. But, imagine being a parent and never finding out what happened to your child. The idea that someone can go missing and never be found again must be scary for a lot of people, especially for parents. Its like people vanish into thin air.
"The 2016 Missing Person and Unidentified Person Statistics report from the National Crime Information Center (NCIC), the country’s primary database for tracking crime, indicates that there were more than 645,000 missing person records entered into their database last year, of which 88,040 were still considered active missing persons cases at year’s end"
That is still 88,000 people unaccounted for! If any getbigger went missing, I would definitely try to track them down.
Having worked in a missing persons unit as a Detective for 2 years, I am happy to tell you that of the 645000 entered each year, the vast majority are teens that are simply skipping school, staying with friends and many of the reports are due to repeat offenders that may "runaway" dozens of times a year. The parents are required to report them as missing and do so. Within 24-48 hours they are located and returned home, only to repeat the process
Then there are the teens that run away from home for good, either home life sucked, or they had a boyfriend they loved and wanted to be with but the parents wouldn't approve. Others had a horrible home life and hit the streets. Austin was full of what was known as Drag Rats.. "missing persons" that just preferred to live on the streets
The thing that intrigued me, there are a ridiculous amount of serial killers we have no idea about who prey on interstate routes and will pick up some of these runaways, or those just hitchhiking for fun and they end up in a shallow grave in the desert. 10's of thousands since the 70's
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Not about missing persons but a great documentary
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Watch this '' The Life of Vince Basile '' most fucked up documentary you will ever seen .
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Watch this '' The Life of Vince Basile '' most fucked up documentary you will ever seen .
I recommended this in another thread. It was some fucked up shit. Shows how one "man" destroyed an entire generation of a family.
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There was a guy who went missing around here in Feb. Somehow I gotta link sent to me and couldve swore I saw the dude in Nov. Msgs the mom who lived on the east coast somewhere. N.H. or something and she actually came out here to look for him and wanted to meet at a coffee place even though I wasn't even sure it was him and it was 2-3months before he went missing. Turns out he actually was in the area I was around that time amd ended up working in the pot farms up in the mountains outside town run by the cartels. She was out here for about 3 weeks and drove everywhere here to San diego, even east side San Diego. Came back and met you messaged her regarding how to find people in jails in Tijuana or Mexicali (somebody had asked if he was in jail in Mexico possibly, and somebody else said contact consulate because they have names of everybody in Mexican jails. I said that wasn't true at all when I was in jail down there absolutely nobody knew until a couple days later someone had a cell phone and uncalled my Ex. and the only reason I got out because I got lucky and look like a Marine and one Sunday afternoon the MP's came down from the naval base and gathered up all the Marines and navy guys and my brother in law was a marine and knew a few of the guys and I left with them... Anyways.. So told her she'd have to actually go down to the actual jails and ask and not rely on the consulate or whatever it's called... Especially if he was smuggling dope or cash into or out of Mexico. She ended up not having time to do that.... That dude hasn't been seen since and is probably dead in the desert somewhere for being somewhere he didn't belong or seeing/hearing something he shouldn't have.
Then maybe three or four months ago there is a couple that disappeared somewhere on the freeway between Cathedral City and the Salton Sea on their way back to Cathedral City
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There was a guy who went missing around here in Feb. Somehow I gotta link sent to me and couldve swore I saw the dude in Nov. Msgs the mom who lived on the east coast somewhere. N.H. or something and she actually came out here to look for him and wanted to meet at a coffee place even though I wasn't even sure it was him and it was 2-3months before he went missing. Turns out he actually was in the area I was around that time amd ended up working in the pot farms up in the mountains outside town run by the cartels. She was out here for about 3 weeks and drove everywhere here to San diego, even east side San Diego. Came back and met you messaged her regarding how to find people in jails in Tijuana or Mexicali (somebody had asked if he was in jail in Mexico possibly, and somebody else said contact consulate because they have names of everybody in Mexican jails. I said that wasn't true at all when I was in jail down there absolutely nobody knew until a couple days later someone had a cell phone and uncalled my Ex. and the only reason I got out because I got lucky and look like a Marine and one Sunday afternoon the MP's came down from the naval base and gathered up all the Marines and navy guys and my brother in law was a marine and knew a few of the guys and I left with them... Anyways.. So told her she'd have to actually go down to the actual jails and ask and not rely on the consulate or whatever it's called... Especially if he was smuggling dope or cash into or out of Mexico. She ended up not having time to do that.... That dude hasn't been seen since and is probably dead in the desert somewhere for being somewhere he didn't belong or seeing/hearing something he shouldn't have.
Then maybe three or four months ago there is a couple that disappeared somewhere on the freeway between Cathedral City and the Salton Sea on their way back to Cathedral City and the next day their SUV was found up the 10 freeway almost by my ex-girlfriend's House near Banning, a good 30mins past cathedral city. SUV was just parked off in the side of the freeway there don't even think it was by any off ramps car started up just fine had a half tank of gas in it but nobody around it and that couple hasn't been seen since. Mexican dude and Mexican girl early twenties. I guess the girl would have been wearing pajamas and socks with no shoes or something so it ain't like they would have been walking anywhere (she'd dropped off friends before picking up her bf around the Salton Sea or whatever city is up that way).
Again... Probably been picked dry by the coyotes in the desert. Especially since their sub was just parked by the freeway.
Neither of these stories ever made on the news I just circulated amongst locals and whatnot. Cops don't even look into it that much they say the people are adults and " probably just don't want to be found" or some nonsense.
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This is a very interesting one that has become very famous, "Who Took Johnny" -
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Anyone interested should watch it quick, as it's the full movie that was snuck up.
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Just Melvin, Just Evil pairs well with -
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Adam Diaz is a don.
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Standard youtube docs...make you think...
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Not strictly a documentary, but informative none the less...
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I have listened to all of Soros' lectures, very interesting man.
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Adam Diaz is a don.
I love that one. If you like police stuff, Try "The Police Tapes" from 1977, it is the basis for most ride along type cop shows you see now. Watch it quick if you're interested, it always gets pulled down now. IFC bought it and usually pairs it with The 75, so they protect it hard -
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Another good one that gets pulled, but might still be on HBO Go is "Lock Up - The Prisoners of Rikers Island" from 1994, don't confuse it with the MSNBC version, this one is rough -
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I like River Monsters, far the best fishing doco show ever.
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Amazon in the year 1999
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Cold War Roadshow, neat little doc on Khrushchev's 1959 visit to America -
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Documentary Now! on Netflix. Bill Hader and Fred Armisen goofing on classic docs. The Thin Blue Line and Grey Gardens parodies are particularly good.
Sandy Passage (Grey Gardens)
The Eye Doesn't Lie (Thin Blue Line)
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From it's Youtube page:
"'Living History: The John Feathers Map Collection' is used with permission from Alec Ernest and The Los Angeles Review of Books. Learn more at http://omele.to/2BTBBn0 and http://omele.to/2yfwX0E.
In 2012, Glen Creason -- a map librarian at the Los Angeles Central Library -- got a phone call from a real estate agent. The agent told him a house scheduled for demolition in Mt. Washington was filled with maps.
Glen was skeptical, thinking it would be nothing but boxes of National Geographics. But Glen soon discovered the old house was stuffed with a treasure trove of priceless antique maps, much beloved to John Feathers, the occupant of the house and a passionate collector of maps. John's private collection effectively doubled the Library's collection, which started in 1873.
This short documentary, directed by Alec Ernest and created for the Los Angeles Review of Books, takes a quotidian subject and mines it for emotional resonance with great skill and sensitivity. Maps become more than just analytical, intellectual tools -- they record what people want to see, how people live and chronicle the passage of time.
With a beautiful musical score and fast-paced editing, 'Living History' communicates Glen's passion and excitement for maps, showing how everyday objects can become imbued with memory, emotion and our dreams for the future."
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Not a documentary, but this is still a very good watch. If you are interested, this YouTube channel likes to compare Hollywood's version of history, to what was more likely to have happened.
Quality channel.
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Keeping this thread on topic of documentaries:
Just watched Forks over Knives, a documentary on the benefits of a plant based diet. A ton of it made sense. Of course, I had to look to the counters and found a site that attacks both this, and the opposite, the all meat low carb diets.....
Although each side makes a compelling argument, I'm tending to stick with the debunking site - basically, extremism is not necessary, and health benefits can be achieved by eating a combination of all these types of foods.
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Hooker, a 1983 HBO look at the sex trade in three parts. First, a high end pair of girls in the dominatrix trade. Second, a legal brothel. Lastly, a look at old fashioned street level work. A bit tame for the 2000's, but some interesting bits here and there, good watch for fans of old school HBO stuff -
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Not sure if it's available in all regions, but here is a great documentary on the 1918 Flu epidemic, and its effect on society -
www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/influenza/#part01 .
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Angelli - A brief biographical sketch of Gianni Agnelli, the majority owner of Fiat in Italy. An interesting view of a man that handled things with style and aplomb.
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Oxyana, a disheartening look at the pain pill trade in West Virginia.
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"Jiro Dreams of Sushi". A documentary on the greatest sushi chef in Japan. Sounds dull, but it is an amazing watch. Plus, the sushi looks pretty tasty too.
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The Panama Canal - A surprisingly interesting look at a project that was quite the feat of engineering and endurance.
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Not sure how long it will stay up, but here's HBO's big Andre, The Giant documentary -
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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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This came out right before digital, and you're right: something stopped a dig version from appearing. At last check, closest thing I've seen is a DVD on Amazon, that's said to be crap quality.
The part with the guy talking about meeting Madonna is too funny. I wonder if she put a crimp on this.
???
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I listened to a show on the radio not long ago, and it reminded me of the Japanese documentary (posted in this thread) of the people sleeping in Cyber Cafes. I believe Lost in Mamboo is the name.
Turns out many individuals living like that, there, are actually running from debt collectors. Often it's due to gambling, and they do love to gamble it up. Drugs are almost unheard of outside of the mob world.
But the debt collectors are said to use tools such as megaphones, lol, to stalk a subject at his/her home, making a sun-up 'til sun-down effort to "coax" the person into paying. If someone doesn't have the money, that person can "disappear" into a scene such as the cafes. They're not broke, obviously, since they're charged a few bucks per day to flop in their little cubicle. It's all anonymous (the Japanese respect the need for that) and it's cash on the barrelhead. Five years of living under the radar, and they can come back in the clear.
The broke Japanese are often older ones, sometimes very old, and were sadly left behind due to a business failure (whether by self, or someone else). Almost 100% male, as women are better seen-to in that society.
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King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters (2007) - This is one that (probably) everyone would love who's into this thread. It's got its share of controversy attached to it, of course, namely as brought up -- after the fact -- by the main "enemy" in the document.
On the surface, it's about the otherwise-obscured champions of 1980s videogame playing. The world's best in that field. The shit they've allowed to define themselves, is what. That's what it's about.
Beneath the nonsense, though, it's about human nature. A good one, alright. Really good.
On Youtube, look it up when you want to blow an hour or two. No need to watch a compromised version: the real McCoy can be found, right now, on YT. For free, just as the producers in this case would have it.
From IMDB:
In the early 1980s, legendary Billy Mitchell set a Donkey Kong record that stood for almost 25 years. This documentary follows the assault on the record by Steve Wiebe, an earnest teacher from Washington who took up the game while unemployed. The top scores are monitored by a cadre of players and fans associated with Walter Day, an Iowan who runs Funspot, an annual tournament. Wiebe breaks Mitchell's record in public at Funspot, and Mitchell promptly mails a controversial video tape of himself setting a new record. So Wiebe travels to Florida hoping Mitchell will face him for the 2007 Guinness World Records. Will the mind-game-playing Mitchell engage; who will end up holding the record?
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King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters (2007) - This is one that (probably) everyone would love who's into this thread. It's got its share of controversy attached to it, of course, namely as brought up -- after the fact -- by the main "enemy" in the document.
On the surface, it's about the otherwise-obscured champions of 1980s videogame playing. The world's best in that field. The shit they've allowed to define themselves, is what. That's what it's about.
Beneath the nonsense, though, it's about human nature. A good one, alright. Really good.
On Youtube, look it up when you want to blow an hour or two. No need to watch a compromised version: the real McCoy can be found, right now, on YT. For free, just as the producers in this case would have it.
From IMDB:In the early 1980s, legendary Billy Mitchell set a Donkey Kong record that stood for almost 25 years. This documentary follows the assault on the record by Steve Wiebe, an earnest teacher from Washington who took up the game while unemployed. The top scores are monitored by a cadre of players and fans associated with Walter Day, an Iowan who runs Funspot, an annual tournament. Wiebe breaks Mitchell's record in public at Funspot, and Mitchell promptly mails a controversial video tape of himself setting a new record. So Wiebe travels to Florida hoping Mitchell will face him for the 2007 Guinness World Records. Will the mind-game-playing Mitchell engage; who will end up holding the record?
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Mike Tyson, The Fallen Champ. Pretty good documentary, I hadn't seen before -
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Inside San Quentin -
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Bit slow, but a mid 70's look at the notorious prison. Just as a minor point of interest, here are some of the people in the film -
Gregory Ulas Powell at the near start was involved in the infamous Onion Field police murders -
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Onion_Field .
Roger Dale "Pincushion" Smith ( 15:20 in ) - Death Row inmate and Born Again Christian, who became Charles Manson's guide, PR Man, and official secretary while there. Had the distinction of being stabbed #100 plus times during his prison career.
Pop Eye Jackson - Noted prison inmate, turned reformer, who died mysteriously. Also rumored to be involved in the SLA / Patty Hurst business -
www.nytimes.com/1975/06/29/archives/california-police-are-baffled-by-the-killing-of-black-prison-reform.html .
Garlan Barry ( 56 minutes and throughout ) - Prison / Reformer later killed by Barry Byron Mills during his rise through the A ryan Brotherhood.
Jessica Mitford - ( end of film ) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jessica_Mitford .
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New York Emergency - A BBC short documentary on the NYPD's ESU team in the 70's. Hard film to get info on, but interesting for fans of the genre. Interesting how un - PC it was back then -
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Part 3 -
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From it's Youtube page:
"The 'Most Elusive' Man in North America
Dag Aabye is a septuagenarian Ultra Marathon champion who lives completely off the grid. Can two filmmakers track him down—and if so, what will they find?"
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What is Music?
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The Toilet An Unspoken History
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The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling was interesting.
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Talked To Death -
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HBO's look at the talk show industry from the late 90's. Follows basic production through some of the larger scandals to hit the talk show circuit. Included is the infamous Jenny Jones gay murder case. It lulls a bit in the middle, but is bookended by two interesting stories. It's become a pretty hard to find doc, as it always gets pulled by HBO or the talk shows themselves.
Harvest of Shame, famous documentary about the perils migrant farmers faced in the US for decades. I know it doesn't sound exciting, but it is a very fine piece of film making, that makes a person glad for what they have -
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Not sure how long it will stay up, but this guy is putting up some good crime and non fiction audio books -
https://www.youtube.com/user/miah2176 .
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From the Clavichord to the Modern Piano - Part 1 of 2
From the Clavichord to the Modern Piano - Part 2 of 2
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48 Hours on Crack Street -
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(You'll need headphones for the audio).
48 Hours Return to Crack Street -
https://archive.org/details/48HRS.CrackStreet2 .
Three surprising gritty old documentaries on the 1980's crack epidemic.
For a change of pace, "Hamburger America" by George Motz. A look at hamburger culture around America -
www.dailymotion.com/video/x46dw6v .
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Kinsey's Paedophiles, a look at Alfred Kinsey's use of pedophiles in his studies, and the moral questions it raises -
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I recently watched some great documentaries notability billy the kid and exit through the gift shop i highly recommend both documentaries. We help communities organize, education, advocate, and build community around social justice documentary film and conversation. its stormy and all i am tryna do is get deep into a documentary, i have seen quit a few on amazon hulu and netflix I can't quite member the names but if i saw them im sure i had recognize them.
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Frank Terpil - Confessions of a Dangerous Man -
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A joint American and British look at Frank Terpil, a supposedly ex- CIA agent who went rogue in the early 70's, and was involved in many of the arms dealings, and other spycraft that went on in that decade. A little slow in parts for the modern viewer, but a very interesting subject that shows how things really go on behind the scenes.
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Quick and fun watch -
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One of my favorites (not sure it's a textbook documentary) is on Netflix. It's called The Seven Five. It chronicles the corruption in New York's 75th precinct in the 80's and early 90's.
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God of War | Raising Kratos | "Making Of" Documentary
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Fog of war
Not sure if these were recommended before i didn't scroll through, please if you must beat me, NOT THE FACE!
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Fog of war
Not sure if these were recommended before i didn't scroll through, please if you must beat me, NOT THE FACE!
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Not a doc, but a pretty good mini-series about the heroin trade -
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If the name looks familiar, it's because the US Oscar winning film on the same subject was based on this mini - series.
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Coming Soon:
Class Action Park: The World's Most Dangerous Amusement Park. Official Documentary Trailer
During its 1980s heyday, New Jersey’s Action Park was known as the world’s most dangerous amusement park.
It was as a lawless land, ruled by drunk teenage employees and frequented by drunker teenage guests. The rides ignored basic notions of physics, common sense, and safety. The end result lay somewhere between Lord of the Flies and a Saw movie.
But despite countless injuries and deaths, Action Park is looked back at fondly as an insane—but insanely fun—rite of passage. The scars it left? Badges of honor.
Class Action Park is the first-ever feature documentary to explore a place that has long since entered the realm of myth. The film peels away the trappings of nostalgia to reveal the shocking truth behind the park and its genius madman founder.
https://nerdist.com/article/class-action-park-documentary-trailer/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=Nerdist&utm_content=Trailer%20for%20CLASS%20ACTION%20PARK%20Documentary%20Is%20Insane&fbclid=IwAR3ejz1MCAwcEjnVVY1M06X8nd8PLl6_Q7ihWZGi1inm-a4YSf0GlSEtL_k
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Former amateur competitor
Meet the Accidental Genius
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Bill Moyers's "Anyplace But Here" documentary on mental health and hospitals, circa 1978 -
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Secrets of The Shining Knight. A PBS Nova documentary on British and American metal workers trying to recreate one of the best suits of armor from the 16th century. Quick, fun watch if you're into metal working or history -
https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x6wn704 .
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Everybody Street, a nice little documentary on NYC street photography from the 60's - 2010's -
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don't fuck with cats?
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Why India's Fair Skin Business Is Booming
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There are two different Aaron Hernandez docs out right now. A 3 part one on Netflix and a 2 part one on the I.D. channel (Investigation Discovery).
Both are worth a watch.
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Why the Iowa Caucuses Matter
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How the CN Tower was Built
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America's Infrastructure Is Crumbling
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Why Coal Country Elected Trump
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Who Killed Malcolm X on Netflix is good.
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Why the Second Wave of the 1918 Spanish Flu Was So Deadly
https://www.history.com/news/spanish-flu-second-wave-resurgence?cmpid=email-hist-insideh-2020-0304-03042020&om_rid=d515725085647c0f51343f97b4e5ac812296419b2e9a08bd149c8a0e2a60ea6d
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I Am Comic. Mid level stand up comics talk about what it's like to be on rise in the comedy world, and what it feels like to be in a downfall. One of the stronger documentaries I've seen on the personal side of being a stand up -
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www.youtube.com/watch?v=2UWQQvO7iuQ .
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How Coronavirus Racism Infected My High School
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Watch drone video of Los Angeles as coronavirus shuts down the city
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What Coronavirus Symptoms Look Like, Day By Day
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My Hair Transplant Results After 1 Year
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The Target Shoots First -
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A look at what it was like to work for the Columbia House record club marketing department in the early 90's. Little boring, but very interesting in parts.
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https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/influenza/?fbclid=IwAR2YbYA_xmUm21kbvrzZTMw_E1PgCIWvtgkgE0SGXyPcDf-V1ic293VrLEQ#part01 (https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/films/influenza/?fbclid=IwAR2YbYA_xmUm21kbvrzZTMw_E1PgCIWvtgkgE0SGXyPcDf-V1ic293VrLEQ#part01)
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Last night I watched the first three episodes of 'Trial by Media' on Netflix. What a great concept for a documentary series. I highly recommend it. https://www.netflix.com/title/80198329
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Why Icelandic Sea Salt Is So Expensive
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My Hair Transplant Results After 1 Year
He can now walk without shame.
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This guy is trying to collect all the old "America Undercover" HBO documentaries from years past. He includes links to Youtube, etc.... versions for people that might want to watch -
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1-HIHwOjXMkbauTpc11nNOicuaTuW6VfC1tQ8omY0J7s/edit .
AU was a premium documentary series years ago, and he tracked down some rare episodes.
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California's Water Problem
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He can now walk without shame.
I think he's doing fine.
My 30th Birthday Weekend In Ibiza
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Coming Soon:
Class Action Park: The World's Most Dangerous Amusement Park. Official Documentary Trailer
During its 1980s heyday, New Jersey’s Action Park was known as the world’s most dangerous amusement park.
It was as a lawless land, ruled by drunk teenage employees and frequented by drunker teenage guests. The rides ignored basic notions of physics, common sense, and safety. The end result lay somewhere between Lord of the Flies and a Saw movie.
But despite countless injuries and deaths, Action Park is looked back at fondly as an insane—but insanely fun—rite of passage. The scars it left? Badges of honor.
Class Action Park is the first-ever feature documentary to explore a place that has long since entered the realm of myth. The film peels away the trappings of nostalgia to reveal the shocking truth behind the park and its genius madman founder.
https://nerdist.com/article/class-action-park-documentary-trailer/?utm_campaign=coschedule&utm_source=facebook_page&utm_medium=Nerdist&utm_content=Trailer%20for%20CLASS%20ACTION%20PARK%20Documentary%20Is%20Insane&fbclid=IwAR3ejz1MCAwcEjnVVY1M06X8nd8PLl6_Q7ihWZGi1inm-a4YSf0GlSEtL_k
Only on HBO Max for now: Class Action Park, directed by Chris Charles Scott and Seth Porges, will premiere on Thursday, August 27
https://collider.com/class-action-park-hbo-max-trailer-release-date/?fbclid=IwAR20MXvca9tt_qGhVFzi5uUIZq5PKjwxQaD7bkMTfjGtA9mEpDSo6832gAU
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Ketamine Explained, The Next Big Antidepressant
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A Place for Madness, an early 90's look by Frontline PBS at the deinstitutionalization of the violent mentally ill in America -
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Why These Respected Historical Figures Were Horrible People
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The California Reich, a mid 70's look at the family lives of American Nazi Party members. Slow in parts, but might be of interest to some. It was nominated for an Academy Award in 1976 -
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I do love those place transformation challenge TV series on Netflix like "Stay Here" for AirBnBs and "Restaurant On The Edge" for restaurants. Maybe you should try them too.
As for documentaries, there are some music mogul documentaries on Netflix which I've seen, like Clive Davis (The Soundtrack of My Life), Quincy Jones (Quincy), and Clarence Avant (The Black Godfather). I'm sure they are all available on documentary torrent sites (https://torrentsites.com/documentary/).
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Evil Genius on Netflix is good.
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Scorched: Mine Fires In Pennsylvania's Coal Country
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Our Neighbors Committed War Crimes, Here's What We Did
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‘Home of the Future’ from 1989 Perfectly Nails Today’s Tech
While precisely predicting the future is extremely difficult—at least if you’re not an AI program—sometimes people simply nail it. One of those times happened in 1989, during an episode of the TV series, This Old House, in which a “futuristic smart home” was featured. Now, TOH has uploaded a clip from the episode, and the trends the smart home predicts are dead-on accurate. To a shocking degree.
TOH uploaded the clip of the episode to YouTube as a part of its “TOH Clips” series that allows people to relive the show’s earlier days. Incidentally, for those unfamiliar, TOH, which is still on the air, is a PBS show (and magazine). The series began airing in 1979, and over 1,000 episodes have aired since.
In the clip, host Steve Thomas visits a futuristic home in Massachusetts, which contains multiple technologies that wouldn’t come online for decades. And in the case of the voice assistant, until just a few years ago, really.
Thomas first showcases the home’s flat screen TV, which, while thicc, wouldn’t be out of place in a contemporary home; certainly without the speakers flanking it, anyway. On top of that, Thomas notes the TV’s cords are hidden away—something many of us still struggle with today. (Where’s the genius technical solution for that?!)
When Thomas introduces “technical specialist,” Dennis Arseneau, is when things get real spooky, however. Arseneau demonstrates with voice commands the smart home’s ability to dim its lights, play music, and even close its shades. The smart home’s delicate, feminine voice also sounds like that of Amazon’s Alexa. Albeit a bit more robotic.
A bit of cursory sleuthing didn’t turn up any other futuristic-home tours from the ’80s, but there is Microsoft’s take on the smart home from a decade later (above). And while it’s equally accurate at predicting the rise of the so-called “internet of things,” both homes are missing something big. Namely, smartphones. That is, unless, these videos are also accurately predicting the rise of in-brain communication devices.
https://nerdist.com/article/this-old-house-1989-futuristic-home/?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=social+flow&fbclid=IwAR2CnJJoKeSALA-wi0Ooxkwn7-x6-KCqipY_jZbzMYm4xj0fXov3hWZB340
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I watched The Pharmacist and The Keepers recently. Both on Netflix. Both really good but really infuriating.
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Let This British Guy Tell Americans Exactly Who We Are
This seven-minute ITV segment is a wildlife documentary of Trump supporters. It debunks the notion that America is better than this.
Yesterday, a violent mob of Trump supporters stormed the Capitol building. The mob featured Holocaust deniers, neo-Nazis, Proud Boys, former and current police officers, a QAnon Shaman, and at least one elected official—West Virginia's Derrick Evans—stupid enough to record himself participating in an insurrection. One woman was fatally shot, and three other people died. The day ended with chuds kicking back at their hotel, cooling off after their Day of Judgement scrimmage.
Because the average supporter looked like a Brad instead of Bashir, people struggled to understand what was happening. And despite the very white nature of the event, talking heads made a point to compare Washington, D.C. to other majority-brown places like Baghdad or Kabul or Bogotá. The subtext: We're supposed to secretly foment coups like this in other countries, not here!
During times of white violence, politicians (and politicians’ children) also love to make the profoundly stupid and untrue statement, "This is not who we are." What "this" means, or who "we" refers to, is purposely unclear. It's a way to say "I don't like this, or at least the optics of it." So maybe it takes a third party to tell us who we are.
Perhaps because of deeply internalized colonialism and a consistent barrage of films starring Hugh Grant in the 90s, and Robert Chase, the doctor (who I’ve since been reminded was actually Australian) on the TV series House, M.D., Americans assign a higher degree of seriousness to anything recited with a British accent. So this seven-minute video from London-based ITV might serve well as a centering exercise. Let this British man tell us: this is exactly who we are.
ITV's Washington Correspondent Robert Moore succinctly described the mob as "intoxicated by the unlikely prospect of reversing America's election outcome." It's like the Cletus safari reinterpreted as a wildlife documentary, albeit with less natural beauty and more MAGA merch. Of course, the British can draw parallels from this mob and its own nationalist movement, a la Brexit.
"In no way was this a surprise," Moore says, as a pack of Trump loyalists stream past him.
One man yells about how this mob used to be "normal, law-abiding citizens," but "the government did this" to them. At 2:51, the same man is seen approaching the camera, yelling, "We're normal!" before the video cuts to the next scene.
The segment does fail to capture the cops posing for a photo op with terrorists, or the cops letting the mob overtake the Capitol in what's comically feeble in its most gracious interpretation, if not proof of collaboration with the coup-attempters.
"America's long journey as a stable democracy appears to be in genuine doubt," Moore concludes. It's all glaringly obvious, but from an outsider perspective, maybe it will ring true for some, for the first time. It's time to learn who "we" are, because it's not going to change anytime soon.
This article has been updated to correct Dr. Chase’s nationality, which is Australian.
https://www.vice.com/en/article/qjpw5m/let-this-british-guy-tell-americans-exactly-who-we-are?utm_content=1610078401&utm_medium=social&utm_source=VICE_facebook&fbclid=IwAR0Npu5e64SEWeQrizvPz-MjPHG00ZwrMN8TxLQJHzg4QtP7kTx883Z9VGQ
&ab_channel=ITVNews&bpctr=1610168954
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1 Sperm Donor, 17+ Kids, and a $5M Lawsuit
Thirty years ago, Bryce Cleary donated sperm to OHSU's fertility clinic with the understanding that the donation would result in 5 children born on the opposite coast. DNA testing has since revealed that promise was not kept and Bryce has at least 14 children in the Oregon area and even more out of state.
Bryce might have never known this if it weren't for the detective work of his donor children, several of whom have formed a close bond. VICE met with these donor siblings to hear their story and the shocking lack of regulation in the fertility industry that resulted in their births.
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Defending Avocado Farms From Drug Cartels
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The murdered 'handsome' priest with a decades-long secret
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Inside Lebanon’s Illegal Weed Business
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Is Your Webcam Watching You?
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The World's Greatest Compromise
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The Reality of the US Withdrawal From Afghanistan
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Some good ones there. Thanks!
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Hello GetBig Forum members. I wanted to post a link here to a crowd fund for my doc. If the admins see fit to delete, I understand. This doc is a look back at the golden era of bodybuilding, and the rise of Gold's Gym.
Thaks
Marc
https://gofund.me/dc09e426
<div class="gfm-embed" data-url="https://www.gofundme.com/f/marcs-film-the-true-history-of-golds-gym/widget/large/"></div><script defer src="https://www.gofundme.com/static/js/embed.js"></script>
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"Life After People" 5***** ;)
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Broke, a 2009 documentary on life in a Canadian pawn shop and the people who use it -
or here - https://www.filmsforaction.org/watch/broke/ .
A documentary on Coca Cola in Mexico, and the trouble some have with it. It's short and interesting -
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Lock Up - The Prisoners of Rikers Island, a hard look at what it was like to be in NYC's Rikers Island and court system during the early 90's -
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If you like this type of true crime film, watch this one quick. It's good, but the company that made it always pulls it quick.
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You can try watching the below documentary movies, out of all my favorite one is Under The Sea 3D
1. Jackass 3D
2. Free Solo
3. Under the Sea 3D
4. Plastic Planet
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Never heard of the Blizzard of 1949 -
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It's a crazy story.
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Life of Crime 1983 - 2020. Continuation of the famous documentary series from HBO that looks at the life of street hustlers and addicts over almost 40 years now.
Watch it quick, as it will probably get pulled fast.
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Criminologist Reviews Serial Killers From Movies & TV
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Lock Up - The Prisoners of Rikers Island - A look at life inside NYC's hardest jail during the 90's -
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If it interests you, maybe watch it quick, this doc gets pulled down quite often.
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Why Istanbul Is The Place to Get Your Hair Back
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How Whey Protein Powder Is Made
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How Steroids Became More Popular Than Heroin
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New York’s LOST Skyscraper - The Rise and Fall of SINGER TOWER
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Better Bodies | 40th Birthday Week
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What is Du Pont's Winterthur Mansion?
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The film is now up on Amazon Prime, Tubi, Hoopla, Thrilz TV, and Popsy on Plex
https://www.amazon.com/Dream-Big-Ken-Sprague/dp/B0B8ST5LNL/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2W838SQ91GZ2O&keywords=dream+big&qid=1674596749&s=instant-video&sprefix=dream+big%2Cinstant-video%2C140&sr=1-1
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Chernobyl Created the World's Rarest Dogs
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Australia's Most Destructive Creature
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Breeding Supersoldiers - It's Been Done in the Past!
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The Great Nazi Cash Swindle - A look at "Operation Bernhard", a WWII plot to devalue the English pound through high grade counterfeiting.
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Mr Death, an electric chair designer, and Holocaust denier that cause a big stir in the 90's.
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WHY ARE WE HERE? A Scary Truth Behind the Original Bible Story
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WHY ARE WE HERE? (II) - A Scary Truth Behind the Original Bible Story Part 2
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How the Hellraiser puzzle boxes were made.
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I usually watch wild life documentary. I always wanted to be a wild life photographer when I was a teen.
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The Witness -
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The story of the Kitty Genovese murder, the tragedy that caused it, and the media dishonesty that was caused by them wanting to be first to report a sensational story. Much better watch than my lack luster description :).
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The Dark Secret Behind Japan's 0% Homelessness Rate
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I'd like to throw a plug to "Dream Big", the documentary that was mentioned. I rented it yesterday out of boredom, and it was actually quite good. I usually don't have high hopes for these things based on the dreck Generation Iron puts out and similar, but Dream Big was surprising, and you could tell it was a labor of love for the guy.
The film mainly covers the Sprague years of Gold's, with about 70% being those years. 15% being earlier - Muscle Beach, Joe Gold, and 15% being other - Pumping Iron, biographical sketches, etc.... If you've followed bodybuilding history, some of it will be common knowledge to you, but the film fleshes it out enough with little tidbits of new info, and a nice presentation that makes it enjoyable. The film also does a good job of interviewing the older guys like Ken Waller, Dave Dupre, Rudy Hermosillo, Bill Grant, Manuel Perry, etc.... Bill Grant and Waller come off especially well in it.
There isn't much gossip or schmoe content in the film, so if you want to hear about Sprague as Dakota or similar, look elsewhere. But there are some cute things I never heard or saw before, like Arnold getting Waller a job on "Stay Hungry" with the condition he must show up looking much shittier than Arnold, or he'd be recast. Or things like video of Franco Columbu trying to sell Vitalis hair spray -
(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/i3cAAOSw32Zi0fcy/s-l1600.jpg).
Also the film like many documentaries, is slow, but well done. So don't expect a tour de force. It would make a good Sunday morning watch, it reminded me of PBS's the "American Experience" series in style and tone.
If you'd like to give it a go, you can watch it here for free -
https://tubitv.com/movies/712150/dream-big .
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BB, thanks for the plug, I truly appreciate it.
Marc
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Shadow Men. A look at Russia's Wagner Group, its rise to power, and how it handles Russia's dirty work.
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How to Convert a Manhattan Office Into 588 Luxury Apartments
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I just watched the Sons of Sam on netflix, about the conspiracy that the satanic occult was involved in the murders, good documentary with a lot of interesting facts about the case.