Television Feature length documentaries

Been watching some of the Up Series just now, really is a fantastic piece of work (much like most of Zen's suggestions I'd imagine). Endearing children in the beginning so you do feel an attachment as it goes on and it brings about some fascinating insights through simple but pertinent questions, a really interesting idea really well done. Just starting 21 Up now after watching the first two back to back, absolutely hooked. Geat mix of humour, sentiment and insight that makes it a really easy watch.

Watched The Thin Blue Line (gripping) and Night and Fog (harrowing) recently and they were two of the best I've seen. Food Inc was very well done, same for Inside Job. Surprisingly I thought Truth or Dare (Madonna documentary) was really enjoyable too. Would (re-)recommend them all. Tried watching Roger and Me but I doubt I could listen to Michael Moore for that long.
 
Trouble the Water (2008) - IMDb

Really enjoyed it. It's about a young couple from New Orleans who had no means of evacuating when Hurricane Katrina was closing in, and it documents how they survived the hurricane and then rebuilt their lives after it, with live footage taken by one of the subjects Kimberley throughout. As it goes on you're given more and more of an insight into the subjects' lives and it becomes clear they needed and wanted to make a change in their lives, they just needed a push to do this. And so maybe, just maybe, this natural disaster might be a blessing in disguise to a degree.
 
Once in a Lifetime: The Extraordinary Story of the New York Cosmos


Fascinating & extremely entertaining look at the Cosmos story..

 
Someone mentioned The Fog of War earlier- it's excellent, well worth a watch.

Bit long, but you could always give this a go (it's a digestible introduction to the theories put forward in the book):


It's interesting stuff.
 
Into the Abyss



Werner Herzog talks with a death row inmate and his accomplice who were guilty of a triple homicide, he also goes through the backstory and the affected people around them. He didn't plunge into his own thoughts as much as he's done in past documentaries and was more of an observer in this one. He never really got preachy about his views on the death penalty and I think the film was more about death and the preciousness of life amongst a few other themes. The score was very chilling and the interviews with the victims family members were pretty heart-wrenching. It's probably my favourite of all the documentaries of his that I've seen.
 
You guys should check out - documentryheaven dot com. Lots of free documentaries, thousands actually. You can thank me later.
 
Pogue Mahone said:
I like 'em.

Just finished watching Restrepo. Not bad at all.

Anvil! The Story of Anvil is another good 'un.

List your favourites below...
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Restrepo was fantastic.

The bridge is incredibly compelling and I would recommend to anyone to watch it, hell even the trailer hooks you in.



For those who may not have access to Netflix here is the full documentary.

 
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The_Red_Hope said:
You guys should check out - documentryheaven dot com. Lots of free documentaries, thousands actually. You can thank me later.
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wow that is an excellent site, plenty in there to keep me going for months even years.
Still trying to find an old BBC doc shown in the 80's. I cant remember the name but it is about a heatwave and the problems it causes, starts with an accident on some motorway and involves a plane crash at London Heathrow and a cancelled England match at OT.
 
Ken Burns' Civil War was epic. though probably only if you have an interest in the subject.

Roger and Me was pretty good, have not been able to sit entirely through any of Moore's other work. I just think often his message would come accross better if it did not just appear to be a bunch of self-promotion.
 
pauldyson1uk said:
wow that is an excellent site, plenty in there to keep me going for months even years.
Still trying to find an old BBC doc shown in the 80's. I cant remember the name but it is about a heatwave and the problems it causes, starts with an accident on some motorway and involves a plane crash at London Heathrow and a cancelled England match at OT.
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I asked some ITK and they came up with 'The Day Britain Stopped'...from 2003! It's on YT in full.

Let me know if this is it or give more info and I can track it down for you.
 
Grinner said:
I asked some ITK and they came up with 'The Day Britain Stopped'...from 2003! It's on YT in full.

Let me know if this is it or give more info and I can track it down for you.
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WOW you are a star, I really thought it was from the 80's.

Reading it ,I think now that I have 2 mixed up, this is the one I was thinking about but I still think there is one about a heatwave but that is all I can remember.
 
I recommend "Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father" (2008)
 
How about an OP with names + 1line descriptions for us lot that are interested but have no idea what they are about?
 
Any good ones about the religious/political history of Israel (Judaism vs Christinanity vs Islam)?
 
Some good ones that I've seen in the last few years:

The Thin Blue Line and Tabloid - both from Errol Morris
Marwencol
The King of Kong
 
Dear Zachary and Murder on a Sunday Morning are both brilliant. amazingly well crafted films and very moving
 
all the 30 for 30 documentaries I have seen have been really worth the watch. For instance, I can't stand basketball, but the episodes called "Winning Time" and "The Fab Five" were fascinating. The stuff about Reggie Miller's mindset as a competitor was so interesting, ditto the Fab Five, plus interesting stuff about their cultural impact on the United States and about money in collegiate sports.

Being a hockey fan and growing up during the reign of Wayne Gretzky meant I watched 'The King's Ransom' about 30 times. Interesting about Gretzky's mindset while still in Edmonton and his mindset going into LA. I never knew the trade had such an impact on LA hockey and never knew that Pocklington was such a dirt bag...how did Bruce McNall look like the better owner?

Other ones I would recommend:

Small Potatoes - about the USFL, a 'rival' to the NFL

Muhammad and Larry - great, but couldn't bear to see Ali like that

Without Bias - about Len Bias, a collegiate basketball (see, AGAIN!) in the US who died of a drug OD/heart problem (can't remember which exactly, I think drug use leading to heart problems)

Guru of Go - about a small collegiate basketball (shit!) team that...well, just watch it, its really emotional, and it has something for you Shakespeare fans

The 16th Man - The South African Rugby team, without Matt Damon

The Two Escobars - just like jveezy says, highly recommended, amazing story about Colombian football, both internationally and domestically

Four Days In October - About the Boston Red Sox comeback when down 3 - 0 to the Yankees in 2004. Great story, great interviews, great drama

Once Brothers - about Vlade Divac and Dragan Petrovic. Again, its about basketball, but its also about so many other things; politics, family, friendship

Catching Hell - just watched this today actually. One of the better directorial story lines, imo. Looking at Steve Bartmann, the famous fan who interfered with play during a MLB playoff game between the Chicago Cubs and Florida Marlins. Interesting comparison made to Bill Buckner and interesting commentary about the blame placed solely on the shoulders of both men

Edit: One more, 'The Best That Never Was,' about a young running back from some really good school who was misled into going pro by some preacher who gained his trust. Interesting story
 
Not sure if the Todd Marinovich was part of the 30 for 30 library but it's a great docu in itself. It's on Netflix now as well.
 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harlan_County,_USA

Harlan County, USA is an Oscar-winning 1976 documentary film covering the "Brookside Strike",[1] an effort of 180 coal miners and their wives against the Duke Power Company-owned Eastover Coal Company's Brookside Mine and Prep Plant in Harlan County, southeast Kentucky in 1973.[2]
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