This one's REALLY good, trust me. I don't even care much about sushi or food in general.
Television Feature length documentaries
- Thread starter Pogue Mahone
- Start date
This one's REALLY good, trust me. I don't even care much about sushi or food in general.
Interviews with some big shot Russian mafia guys about their lives, especially during the 90's when the whole economy basically got taken over by criminals.
It's on youtube with subs:
Well worth a watch.
This one's REALLY good, trust me. I don't even care much about sushi or food in general.
Excellent, caught this a few weeks back.
Just watched Love the Beast on Netflix. If you like cars then you should quite enjoy this documentary with Eric Bana.
Both excellent.
Bobby Fisher Against The World was really interesting actually, given how little I know about chess.
Really enjoyed Tabloid as well. In typical Errol Morris style it begins with an inquiry into what happened in this bizarre Mormin kidnapping/eloping story and the various perspectives of those involved, but it develops into a brief biography of an extreme personality and becomes a story about the destructive nature of the tabloids. In an interview with the photographer of the Daily Mirror you see the manipulative, exploitative nature of the tabloid media, but worse than that you see the complete lack of empathy and in some cases you can see the joy he got from tearing this woman apart bit by bit to the point where she's almost driven to suicide...and he just laughs it off.
Really enjoyed Tabloid as well. In typical Errol Morris style it begins with an inquiry into what happened in this bizarre Mormin kidnapping/eloping story and the various perspectives of those involved, but it develops into a brief biography of an extreme personality and becomes a story about the destructive nature of the tabloids. In an interview with the photographer of the Daily Mirror you see the manipulative, exploitative nature of the tabloid media, but worse than that you see the complete lack of empathy and in some cases you can see the joy he got from tearing this woman apart bit by bit to the point where she's almost driven to suicide...and he just laughs it off.
Don't Look Back (1967)
Simply Bob Dylan at his enigmatic best. No narration, no underlying message, just a man and his camera watching Bob Dylan on his UK Tour following the release of The Times They Are A-Changing.
Have to admit I think at the time I'd have been one of those who was a bit perturbed by his change in musical direction (although never would've been one of those idiots who paid the money just to go there and boo, obviously). After being introduced to folk music for the first time, to see him then try and create a completely new, fresh sound...it's asking a lot of the audience. Obviously it was completely worth it but without having the benefit of hearing Highway 61 Revisited - the first album of his I listened to - I wouldn't have had the same belief in his decision. Not that he should make music for anyone but himself. Freewheelin' is my favourite even though it's not the best anyway.
Simply Bob Dylan at his enigmatic best. No narration, no underlying message, just a man and his camera watching Bob Dylan on his UK Tour following the release of The Times They Are A-Changing.
Have to admit I think at the time I'd have been one of those who was a bit perturbed by his change in musical direction (although never would've been one of those idiots who paid the money just to go there and boo, obviously). After being introduced to folk music for the first time, to see him then try and create a completely new, fresh sound...it's asking a lot of the audience. Obviously it was completely worth it but without having the benefit of hearing Highway 61 Revisited - the first album of his I listened to - I wouldn't have had the same belief in his decision. Not that he should make music for anyone but himself. Freewheelin' is my favourite even though it's not the best anyway.
Assault in the Ring.... A documentary on the Luis Resto and Billy Collins Jnr controversy.
Pretty slow on this one but I watched Catfish the other week, heard afterwards that its fake but thought it was great all the same. Anyone know for sure?
Two films I want to see are Violeta Went to Heaven and Searching for Sugar Man. The former isn't a documentary as such, but a movie based on the life of Violeta Parra. The latter one is a documentary about Sixto Rodriguez. Both of them are fantastic musicians. Has anyone seen either of them?
Searching for Sugar Man is superb.
Watched this recently it was interesting, banned from HBO and made by Todd Phillips of The Hangover fame
That short guy Blossom! I wouldn't be able to take him seriously with that stupid fecking accent. Can't believe that guy let him slap him, should have laid him out.Have vague memories hearing the names of Vivian Stanshall and the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah band bandied about by older weirdish hippyish types in the 70s and 80s, but feeling oft put by the silly, crap name of the band and not quite understanding what they were all about. Definitely an English creation as opposed to an American one. I suppose Zappa or Captain Beefheart would sort of be American versions of what Stanshall was doing.
But really enjoyed this documentary on Vivian Stanshall and can appreciate his genius. Seems he never quite succumbed to the "rock n roll" standard in his art, and had that renaissance range of artist quality in him that made him all the more fascinating. Like most renaissance artsy fartsy types, Vivian appears to have that dash of mental illness as well. Very sad how he died in a fire.
Highly recommend this documentary.
But really enjoyed this documentary on Vivian Stanshall and can appreciate his genius. Seems he never quite succumbed to the "rock n roll" standard in his art, and had that renaissance range of artist quality in him that made him all the more fascinating. Like most renaissance artsy fartsy types, Vivian appears to have that dash of mental illness as well. Very sad how he died in a fire.
Highly recommend this documentary.
I just saw Searching for Sugar Man yesterday. It was super like you said, a fantastic watch all around.
Had never heard of Sixto Rodriguez before I saw the film, but he's now comfortably in my top five of coolest (real life) characters of all time. What a guy, showing up to his job as a construction worker in a tux!
What a bunch of assholes. I didn't watch the whole thing but I'm positive that the female frats can be just as a bad with pledges as their male counterparts.
Frat House was a good watch, those guys are fecking mental! Could any of our american posters enlighten us to whether this still happens?
Searching for Sugar Man was excellent. Moving stuff.
Feck me that doesn't half get pornographic half way through which is why I guess HBO banned it. Surprised me a bit as I wasn't expecting it. The missus was looking at me thinking '..eh what the hell are we watching..'
For a while I thought it was an acted spoof type documentary but yeah...not the case
All in all a very interesting and quite sad documentary about the lengths people will go to / pay to feel wanted. Another angle is the desire for power, and how much people get off on punishing
Depends on the school but greek system often dominates the social landscape outside the classroom
I was in a fraternity although there are a spectrum of frats out there which more or less can do similar things. There is a theme of conformity through humiliation & bullying that is fairly prevalent regardless of fraternity. Mine was a bit more alternative in that the level of hazing was nothing like what is often commonplace at universities - I would've walked at the first sign of insanity that routinely occurs. Looking back, it was merely an avenue for easy access to elite level partying and plenty of women. Some good friendships were forged but nothing too meaningful
If I had to do it again, I'd have a different attitude about it (Although I initially rushed unwittingly) and probably steer clear but the access to the hottest women on campus would always be tough to turn down
I was in a fraternity although there are a spectrum of frats out there which more or less can do similar things. There is a theme of conformity through humiliation & bullying that is fairly prevalent regardless of fraternity. Mine was a bit more alternative in that the level of hazing was nothing like what is often commonplace at universities - I would've walked at the first sign of insanity that routinely occurs. Looking back, it was merely an avenue for easy access to elite level partying and plenty of women. Some good friendships were forged but nothing too meaningful
If I had to do it again, I'd have a different attitude about it (Although I initially rushed unwittingly) and probably steer clear but the access to the hottest women on campus would always be tough to turn down
Yeah, but women so fecking stupid that they'll only associate with Frat boys. That's a bit simple if you ask me. Or is it that they're not allowed?
Really sad shit in summary. So glad that nonsense isn't beyond the states; or not that I've heard of.
Really sad shit in summary. So glad that nonsense isn't beyond the states; or not that I've heard of.
King of Kong was great! Billy Mitchell really cracked me up
I just watched the last 15 mins of that Fraternity thing and it seemed really sad. But at the end the fella in the red t-shirt seemed happy that he had done it, so getting treated like shit for 10 weeks seemed to be worth it for him.
Not for me though
Not for me though
College life in the US, really. Kids coming out of high school, wanting to belong. Peer pressure, works the same for the women as it does for the men.
The non frat/sorority students informally went by the acronym, GDIs...God Damn Independents. If you were a GDI, you were on the outside of most social circles but it varies from university to university. Some greek systems are pretty poor and you aren't necessarily out of the loop for too much while others run the school social life. Some don't have them at all and instead had clubs which are simply another version of elitist fraternities.
What did your hazing involve?
Mine was fairly benign. We cleaned the house, top to bottom over the course of a week (Hell week as it's appropriately called). You don't change your clothes, bathe etc. and continue to attend classes. Also wore an extra large sized pledge pin that drew lots of attention. You were then quizzed on fraternity history each night and mistakes were met with additional house chores. No physical abuse or forced drinking. I figured it out about 4 days into it that it was a mental game - that I didn't actually need to do anything and I'd still get into the fraternity. Those last 3 days were funny because I stopped doing everything and I was getting a lot of the frat trying to scare me into doing them anyway.
My pledge brothers (All except for 1) didn't buy my theory and continued to everything.
It's all pretty stupid but the work on the house thing was a pretty good thing to experience since from then on you maintain a healthy dose of respect for keeping the house clean.
This is my new favourite thread.
I thought the Bobby Fischer doc. was excellent - I didn't have any idea that chess was so big back then. Was also interesting to note that a lot of the past great turned nuts.
I enjoyed the Frat docco and the gang one too. Currently I'm watching into the abyss.
I thought the Bobby Fischer doc. was excellent - I didn't have any idea that chess was so big back then. Was also interesting to note that a lot of the past great turned nuts.
I enjoyed the Frat docco and the gang one too. Currently I'm watching into the abyss.
If anyone is keen to watch a short documentary on two of the most deadly, and scary drugs in the world you need to jump on the 'vice' channel on YouTube.
The first video is called 'the deadlines drug in the world' - and it is about this drug that is rife in Colombia, that if you sniff it and don't die of a heart attack you are essentially open to every and all suggestions from the person that gave it to you. It is like mind control, except that you are perfectly lucid and show no signs of being under the influence. It's like being rufied x100, and of course you don't remember a thing the next day.
The other one is called 'Russia's deadlines drug' - and it is about this drug called Krokodil, which is easily made and is a cheap substitution for heroin. But this drug literally rots you, users have a life expectancy of 1-3 years. Google some pictures of the effects, they look like zombies! How anyone would willingly take this shit is beyond me.
The first video is called 'the deadlines drug in the world' - and it is about this drug that is rife in Colombia, that if you sniff it and don't die of a heart attack you are essentially open to every and all suggestions from the person that gave it to you. It is like mind control, except that you are perfectly lucid and show no signs of being under the influence. It's like being rufied x100, and of course you don't remember a thing the next day.
The other one is called 'Russia's deadlines drug' - and it is about this drug called Krokodil, which is easily made and is a cheap substitution for heroin. But this drug literally rots you, users have a life expectancy of 1-3 years. Google some pictures of the effects, they look like zombies! How anyone would willingly take this shit is beyond me.
Recently watched Whores Glory which was interesting and depressing, especially the Bangladesh scenes. Also watched Exit Through the Gift Shop which is about street art. Excellent docu. Both are on Netflix.
El Bulli - Cooking in Progress is a must for anyone in the restaurant industry.
Crips & Bloods: Made in America, full movie.
Interesting documentary investigating what facilitated several generations of gang violence among African Americans in L.A. Directed by skateboarding legend, Lords of Dogtown writer and Dogtown and Z-Boys director Stacy Peralta.
Watched the Crips and Bloods documentary. I was expecting a lot of gangstas shooting eachother and lots of rap music, but it was actually a lot more than that and was really very good.
Watched a few lately that was recommended in this thread and I really enjoyed 'Searching for Sugar Man', 'Jiro Dreams Of Sushi' and 'Exit Through the Gift Shop'.
I hated Catfish though, what a pile of fake shite that was, they should also be sued for using the trailer they did it's so misleading.
I hated Catfish though, what a pile of fake shite that was, they should also be sued for using the trailer they did it's so misleading.
1 1/2 years late, but yes, I have seen it. Very, very good, on par with the first one. That intro with Metallica's Welcome Home (Sanitarium) is one of the most awesome things I've seen.
West of Memphis is also very interesting.
That frat documentary is nuts! Can you imagine that blossom bloke out in the real world? Sad that it was never aired for whatever reason (HBO's excuse or Phillips belief that it got a bit too close to the core of upper class America).
I'm half way through The Impostor at the moment. It is is the story of US family losing a 13 year, runaway or kidnapped I assume, and then him being found in France 4 years later
Fascinating so far but I have no idea where this is going as the title alone seems to give the twist away.
I'll let you know how it finishes (in spoiler tags)
Fascinating so far but I have no idea where this is going as the title alone seems to give the twist away.
I'll let you know how it finishes (in spoiler tags)
Missed this thread previously. Had a read through didn't see anyone talking about The Bridge - about the Golden Gate Bridge, and more specifically its role as a suicide destination. Hard going and harrowing at times but an essential viewing.
Yeah, I saw it not too long ago and I agree; very good indeed. Haven't seen West of Memphis though, might check it out.
Found this excellent site for streams. The ones hosted by stream2k (the white box with the blue dot in it) all seem to work without any hassle. A lot of the ones mentioned in this thread seem to be there.
You have to see this. I won't give the end away but it doesn't go where you expect. How it didn't win an Oscar for best documentary is beyond me. A must see.
I think it is mentioned somewhere in the thread. But yes it's very good and shocking.