Nick Pisa was definitely a piece of work but, what pissed me off the most watching this was Giuliano Mignini. It made my blood boil hearing him describe his "theory" about what happened. He allowed his outlandish theories supersede actual evidence.
Television Feature length documentaries
- Thread starter Pogue Mahone
- Start date
Ive seen the first part only, quite decent.
Okay, will give it a watch at some point.
I heard the premise of it a little while ago and it sounds interesting.
Armadillo - great watch about a bunch of kids walking into war.
I'm not a big documentary guy but was recommended Hypernormalisation... Anyone seen it?
It's an interesting watch, it would certainly suit those that are already of a certain disposition. It felt a little like a Chomsky essay put in to film but with more sweeping narrative and fewer supporting facts/data (which would be my only gripe about it).
I suppose it would be hard to create a watchable piece of cinematography that gets bogged down in the minutiae of such a broad array of topics but the film did a good job of getting it's sentiment across.
That's Curtis's shtick. Chomsky without supporting evidence. He's also massively prone to sensationalism -- to the point of conspiracy.
Lol, that's what I was eluding to with the phrase "of a certain disposition". I prefer your less subtle summation though.
Into the Inferno (2016) - it's got some amazing footage of volcanoes, past and present, and some of the ethnography is really fascinating, but it's far from vintage Herzog. In fact he's probably the worst part of it, weirdly enough. If you remove the strange North Korea segment it's well worth a watch but with that bit left in it starts to feel like a meandering mess at one point. Worth a watch but could've been a lot better.
The life and death of a container ship, put on your music of choice and just sit back. Very mediative.
Loving these BBC travel documentaries with Simon Reeve.
Seen most of them now, only the Sacred Rivers ones to go.
Seen most of them now, only the Sacred Rivers ones to go.
i heard there's a brand new one out - Chasing Coral.
I think it's about the effects of climate change on coral reefs and how they're dying off. Another depressing but relevant watch.
I think it's about the effects of climate change on coral reefs and how they're dying off. Another depressing but relevant watch.
Did you watch 'Himalaya with Michael Palin'? Brilliantly done, totally worth a watch.
Downloading it now, 6 episodes
Fantastic
One of them features a remote village in Pakistan. The people there are just the nicest, most peaceful ones around. It's so drastically different from the crap we see on the news & TV. Been lucky enough to visit some places featured in India as well. Have fun
Yeah Himalaya is Palin's best travel stuff. Sahara was decent as well.
Mentioned in the Bitcoin thread but relevant here too:
Banking on Bitcoin
Explores the creation, development and rise of Bitcoin, including the hurdles and attempts to curtail it. Very interesting and informative film for anyone with an interest in finance.
Betting on Zero
"Herbalife" is an enormous US corporation that makes and sells nutritional products but is accused of being a pyramid scheme. Unsurprisingly damning film, anyone who watches John Oliver will have seen his piece on this sham a while back.
Heavily features a hedge fund manager who has taken a £1bn short position on the company's stock and is hugely vocal about it being a scam and a pyramid scheme.
Doesn't help that he seems to be a bit of a cock, but the stock keeps rising. Has a bit of an Enron feel about it, a lot of people will be hurt when that house of cards collapses.
Banking on Bitcoin
Explores the creation, development and rise of Bitcoin, including the hurdles and attempts to curtail it. Very interesting and informative film for anyone with an interest in finance.
Betting on Zero
"Herbalife" is an enormous US corporation that makes and sells nutritional products but is accused of being a pyramid scheme. Unsurprisingly damning film, anyone who watches John Oliver will have seen his piece on this sham a while back.
Heavily features a hedge fund manager who has taken a £1bn short position on the company's stock and is hugely vocal about it being a scam and a pyramid scheme.
Doesn't help that he seems to be a bit of a cock, but the stock keeps rising. Has a bit of an Enron feel about it, a lot of people will be hurt when that house of cards collapses.
This is a pretty good three-part documentary on revolutionary Iran:
Abacus - Small Enough to Jail, by PBS Frontline, seems interesting. Seems to be both a Frontline episode and a standalone 1hr30m release. It's about a small bank run by a Chinese-American family that was made an example of after the 2008 financial crisis. All the "suspects" were led into court in a chain gang, etc. Complete sham. All while the "too big to fail" banks went free.
Second for Abacus....some of the witnesses called by the prosecution were straight garbage people.
South Africa: Episode 1, The White Slums. In the first episode of what appears to be a series focusing on S.Africa Reggie Yates (that's right, former Top of the Pops presenter Reggie Yates) explores the aftermath of Apartheid and the white people now living in slums. Honestly, it was surprising to me just how surprised I was to see white people living in slums and poverty. That sounds awful, and it is, but even Reggie himself said similar. It was an eye opener for sure.
The documentary explores the role reversal of races that has taken place in South Africa over the last 30 years and it leaves you not quite knowing how to feel. You meet insanely poor white families and you instinctively feel sympathy but then it cuts to clips of whites dehumanising blacks 25 years a go and you can't help but ask if the white people now deserve this twist in fortune. But a lot of these families are young with young children who had nothing to do with Apartheid and you have to reason that nobody should be living like they are. Though a lot of the white folk seem accepting that they deserve their fate due to the mistreatment by their parents and grandparents.
That isn't to say that there still isn't a lot of racial tension throughout the show, as even the black and white folk who live in the same slums still segregate themselves from each other. However, it is interesting to see a society where jobs are given out based on the colour of a person's skin- and that skin is black.
Not sure how I feel about Reggie. It doesn't quite seem right that he dresses like a model in nice, stylish clothes whilst exploring slums and observing white families whose only income is to sell individual Rizla papers. But you can see that the condition of those he interviews clearly effects him and he feels for the plight of the people he meets whilst not taking sides. I liked how he approached the show tbh.
The documentary explores the role reversal of races that has taken place in South Africa over the last 30 years and it leaves you not quite knowing how to feel. You meet insanely poor white families and you instinctively feel sympathy but then it cuts to clips of whites dehumanising blacks 25 years a go and you can't help but ask if the white people now deserve this twist in fortune. But a lot of these families are young with young children who had nothing to do with Apartheid and you have to reason that nobody should be living like they are. Though a lot of the white folk seem accepting that they deserve their fate due to the mistreatment by their parents and grandparents.
That isn't to say that there still isn't a lot of racial tension throughout the show, as even the black and white folk who live in the same slums still segregate themselves from each other. However, it is interesting to see a society where jobs are given out based on the colour of a person's skin- and that skin is black.
Not sure how I feel about Reggie. It doesn't quite seem right that he dresses like a model in nice, stylish clothes whilst exploring slums and observing white families whose only income is to sell individual Rizla papers. But you can see that the condition of those he interviews clearly effects him and he feels for the plight of the people he meets whilst not taking sides. I liked how he approached the show tbh.
Watching History Channels "Secret war on drugs" currently, it is really good and goes into great depth. The documentary series covers everything from acid and weed to the cartels and the CIA backed opium smuglers in Afghanistan.
Watching this you understand how badly the war on drugs has been handled basically from when it started.
Watching this you understand how badly the war on drugs has been handled basically from when it started.
Watched "Saving Capitalism" earlier, by Robert Reich and based on his book. He was Bill Clinton's Labour Secretary and is now a professor at Berkley, he also made the documentary "Inequality For All" which was also very good.
For anyone interested in economic documentaries, worth checking out.
For anyone interested in economic documentaries, worth checking out.
Nico Icon.
You can watch it all on YouTube:
You can watch it all on YouTube:
I highly recommend The Emperor's Naked Army Marches On. It's an absolute bonkers, ethically questionable documentary following an anti-establishment crusader and WW2 veteran who confronts fellow veterans about the details of a potential war crime. In the past he has served time for plotting to assassinate a former prime minister, taking a shot at the Emperor with a slingshot and distributing pornographic flyers of the Emperor. He hired people to pose as relatives of the dead soldiers and at some points he even resorted to beating the answers out of the veterans, all in all he got arrested several times during the shooting of the film. I reckon it must have been a huge influence on The Act of Killing.
Last edited:
Encordés (Roped up) by Suisse director Frédéric Favre that covers what many consider the toughest race in the world, the Patrouille des Glazers - a ski mountaineering race across the Alpes, held very 2 years by the Swiss Army
Project Nim (2011)
Amazing thoughtful and sad documentary from same team behind Man on Wire. you will need a pick me up after watching this because it is very sad.
It will make you question some of Academic worlds views and as Peter Bradshaw in the guardian review puts it, the "Apes come across in this film well...Homo sapiens less so"
Amazing thoughtful and sad documentary from same team behind Man on Wire. you will need a pick me up after watching this because it is very sad.
It will make you question some of Academic worlds views and as Peter Bradshaw in the guardian review puts it, the "Apes come across in this film well...Homo sapiens less so"
Not entirely sure if this qualifies (it's a two-parter) but Manson Speaks: Inside the Mind of a Madman.
As someone not too familiar with the case (before my time), I found this an interesting watch.
My biggest gripe would be regarding the use of the audio of Manson. It adds nothing to the investigation and just leaves you feeling a bit dirty to be honest. In fact, it made me angry that some "fan" had gone out of his way to give the guy a platform to perform and get off on the sound of his own voice.
As someone not too familiar with the case (before my time), I found this an interesting watch.
My biggest gripe would be regarding the use of the audio of Manson. It adds nothing to the investigation and just leaves you feeling a bit dirty to be honest. In fact, it made me angry that some "fan" had gone out of his way to give the guy a platform to perform and get off on the sound of his own voice.
Fight to Save the World: Sergio
A HBO documentary from 2009, later shown on BBC Four Storyville strand that is both inspiring and depressing at the same time. It explores the life of Sergio Vieira de Mello, a man who would surely one day have been the head of the United Nations.
It explores his life and death and is a powerful statement about the power of politics for good. Something that seems all too distant in these times of incompetence and venality.
The circumstances around his death are staggering, heroic, desperate and heartfelt. The scene where letter written by one of his would-be rescuers is read out.... just breaks me every time I watch it. In fact just the memory of it has me tearing up as I type.
Given the events that have come to pass since, it really somehow feels like it documents a turning point in our collective history. A rejection of expert advice, of expertise and needlessly putting troops in harms way without adequate support. I suppose the greatest tribute is that he is thought of as a great Humanitarian - his story should be mandatory reading for all in public life.
A HBO documentary from 2009, later shown on BBC Four Storyville strand that is both inspiring and depressing at the same time. It explores the life of Sergio Vieira de Mello, a man who would surely one day have been the head of the United Nations.
It explores his life and death and is a powerful statement about the power of politics for good. Something that seems all too distant in these times of incompetence and venality.
The circumstances around his death are staggering, heroic, desperate and heartfelt. The scene where letter written by one of his would-be rescuers is read out.... just breaks me every time I watch it. In fact just the memory of it has me tearing up as I type.
Given the events that have come to pass since, it really somehow feels like it documents a turning point in our collective history. A rejection of expert advice, of expertise and needlessly putting troops in harms way without adequate support. I suppose the greatest tribute is that he is thought of as a great Humanitarian - his story should be mandatory reading for all in public life.
Last edited:
Primary
Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment
Cinema vérité documentaries on the primary race in 1960 and the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door incident in 1963. Both of them featured incredibly intimate footage of JFK and his associates during these events, showing both the roboticness and the cracks of humanit. The second one even managed to create some suspense.
Crisis: Behind a Presidential Commitment
Cinema vérité documentaries on the primary race in 1960 and the Stand in the Schoolhouse Door incident in 1963. Both of them featured incredibly intimate footage of JFK and his associates during these events, showing both the roboticness and the cracks of humanit. The second one even managed to create some suspense.
Last edited:
B-Movie: Lust & Sound in West-Berlin 1979-1989 - Highly entertaining essay like film narrated and based on Mark Reeder's own experiences during the city's trashy heyday.
Black Wax - Gil Scott-Heron masterclass.
Black Wax - Gil Scott-Heron masterclass.
Audrie & Daisy
"In two towns on different sides of America, two teenage girls pass out while intoxicated at high school parties and, while unconscious, both are sexually assaulted by boys they call friends. In the aftermath, the girls each endure online harassment, both attempt suicide, and tragically, one dies. The film explores this new public square of shame from the perspective of the teenagers and their families -- including the boys involved in the assaults and the girls willing to speak out publicly."
Christ this made me so angry.
"In two towns on different sides of America, two teenage girls pass out while intoxicated at high school parties and, while unconscious, both are sexually assaulted by boys they call friends. In the aftermath, the girls each endure online harassment, both attempt suicide, and tragically, one dies. The film explores this new public square of shame from the perspective of the teenagers and their families -- including the boys involved in the assaults and the girls willing to speak out publicly."
Christ this made me so angry.
I dont know if this would qualify as a documentary but its good enough. They have many more videos.
Frontline is the best current affairs programme on US TV. The two-parter on Saudi/Iran rivalry is great so far.
Jodorowsky's Dune Very entertaining but surely a large amount of bullshit is contained within. He's deffo an interesting bloke though.
Frontline is always quality. I liked the first part of the Iran/Saudi Arabia special a lot. The part about the Iranian human wave attacks was especially heartwrenching. The second part airs tonight.
Currently on a bit of an Al Jazeera documentary binge.
This one is fecking brilliant:
This one is fecking brilliant:
"The China Hustle"
Great little documentary on Wall Street's next big scam after 2008, the listing of fraudulent Chinese companies on American exchanges.
Staggering the amount of money they've been able to make and the shite they've been able to float. This documentary mostly covers the short-sellers that make a killing by exposing these companies, through tools as hidden surveilance etc.
Most engaging finance documentary I've seen after the infamous "The Inside Job".
Great little documentary on Wall Street's next big scam after 2008, the listing of fraudulent Chinese companies on American exchanges.
Staggering the amount of money they've been able to make and the shite they've been able to float. This documentary mostly covers the short-sellers that make a killing by exposing these companies, through tools as hidden surveilance etc.
Most engaging finance documentary I've seen after the infamous "The Inside Job".