nice!

Phillip wrote: "those sound great sooz, thanks for writing about them. the revered billy film sounds great.

i played in the guelph festival a few years ago, but i think we are talking about different festivals......"

yes different festivals. the Guelph Jazz Festival, held in September, is fabulous, and a much bigger event than our film festival. most of those living in Guelph don't even know we have a weekend devoted to film - all documentries by the way.

the Jazz Festival on the other hand is a well-established and well-respected annual event - I look forward to every year. just when you think summer is over and there isn't much happening - voila! there's the Jazz Festival!

those sound great sooz, thanks for writing about them. the revered billy film sounds great.

i played in the guelph festival a few years ago, but i think we are talking about different festivals...this one was for jazz and new music.

i saw two docs last weekend - as part of a film festival in Guelph ON where i live. the first was called, 'What Would Jesus Buy' that follows Reverand Billy and his Stop Shopping Choir on a tour across the states at Christmas time. he performs an over-the-top evangelistic-style show mocking our new religion - SHOPPING! i suppose those who take religion very seriously, might find his antics offensive. while his presentation is meant to be amusing, his message is serious, and it's aim is very much against our consumeristic society not the church.

the second one i saw was, 'The Strangest Dream' and it told the story of a scientist by the name of Rotblat (i don't remember his first name). he was the only individual to leave The Manhattan Project for moral reasons. he went on to have a significant impact on the Pugwash group of scientists that meet annually to explore ways science can, and should, be used for the betterment of mankind, rather than military uses. Rotblat's work was recognized as he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize a few years ago.

Po - Lin. Pieces of memories - documentary about life of Jews in Poland before World War II.

oh, that's a fun doc. i enjoyed it. i know a few theremin players, have played with a few as well.

I watched a fascinating documentary entitled THEREMIN: AN ELECTRONIC ODYSSEY, about Leon Theremin, the inventor of the electronic instrument that bears his name. A wonderful and moving film, with great interviews. Highly recommended!

Phillip wrote: "what's that about?



"It Might Get Loud" is a rock doc - specifically about the influence of the electric guitar. Jimmy Page, the edge (from U2) and Jack White (White Stripes) are featured. that's pretty much all i know.

what's that about?

i mentioned this the other day in movies we just watched, but the new agnes varda documentary (an autobiographical one) is really great. it's called the beaches of agnes...check it out if you like her work.

has anyone seen 'It Might Get Loud'? i hear good things about it.

oh, i assumed it was a documentary. still don't know it. :)

It wasn't a documentary. I'll scan my Netflix list and see if I can find it.

nice - i think you'll appreciate it (betrayal). that film you're talking about doesn't sound familiar...

I just added "The Betrayal" to my queue. Thanks for the recommendation. I just saw a Vietnamese film that I just can't remember the name of. It's about the boat people escaping to Orange Co. CA and the adjustments they had to make. I got it on Netflix. Anyone know the name of it?

hey nancy,

i liked daughter from danang and the frost/nixon doc....good stuff.

on a related note to daughter from danang, i recommend a new documentary called betrayal, a film that traces the trials and tribulations of a cambodian family from the start of the vietnam war through their exodus to america....great film.

i also just watched a film called "my flesh and blood", a film about a woman in northern california who has adopted 13 children who are all suffering from various extreme disabilities....a seriously humbling film. the kind of film you watch and think, "ok, i have nothing to complain about in this life..."

Some of my favorites altho' quite diverse are: "Daughter From Danang", "Frost Nixon:Watergate Interviews", "Grey Gardens", "Ram Dass:Fierce Grace", "Regret to Inform".

I haven't heard of that film, Christy, thanks for mentioning it. It's staggering to consider all the intolerance that exists in the world.

I just watched a fine doc on Louise Bourgoise (sp?) I like her work, and she makes a great subject for a doc.....what a character.

I also watched a good doc on Barney Rossett called Obscene; Rossett was the publisher at the Evergreen Review/Grove Press. They published Beckett, Burroughs, and a few other of my heroes, and defended countless books against obscenity charges (Lady Catterley, Tropic of Cancer, Naked Lunch, etc).

I watch at least one documentary every few days so I can't begin to list the recent ones I've seen...I'm trying to think of one I've seen that has stood out...

I just saw one called 'Mexico City Emos' where I learned that hate crimes are being committed against emos in Mexico...It seemed like it was racial discrimination by the way it was being portrayed.

Not that I don't feel for the emo kids. They don't annoy me as they do others, because I still associate it with the mid-80s movement I guess, but I'm not necessarily endorsing the subculture either. I feel you should do what you want (sometimes even if it hurts others) but for Heaven's sake...If you are getting knifed on the street, cut your fucking hair! Is your image such a big deal?

I've dyed my hair blue since I was 13 but if people started jumping me about it I'll go platinum blonde.

I purchased that box set of Herzog films and it was included in it. It is available at the video store in my neighborhood. If you lived nearby I could lend it to you.

I've been wanting to watch Lessons in Darkness forever but I haven't been able to find it anywhere. Where did you get it from, Phillip?

Rob, thanks for clearing up those titles!

Yes, I saw the Kinski film, which was quite a treat. What a strange fellow.

I forgot two other fine docs: Hoop Dreams (one of my favorites) and Uncensored (revealing the lies behind the case of WOMD used as a justification of the second Gulf War).

Phillip:

The doc about the Christian haunted houses is called Hell House. The Amish one is Devil's Playground. And the doc on the making of Fitzcaraldo is Burden of Dreams.

Sincerely-

Brain-booster Rob

Ps: Have you seen My Best Fiend: Klaus Kinski yet? That's a good one about the working and personal relationships between Herzog and his favorite leading man. Well worth seeing.

Crystal, I think the film you mean is PARADISE LOST. There's a follow up called, I believe, PARADISE LOST II, that adds all kinds of painful things to the story.

I don't know how it took so long for me to see this thread!

There are a lot of great films mentioned here, thanks for citing Michael Moore, Meg - don't be afraid to brush up against politics - it's all good.

When Errol Morris isn't getting carried away with his simulations of real events, he can make a nice documentary. The Thin Blue Line was great, as was The Fog of War (I don't think I saw these on anyone's list). His re-enactments made "Standard Operating Procedure" a bit dodgy, but otherwise that was a good doc on Abu Gharib.

Crumb was mentioned by several people, and that was a lovely film. So glad I don't live in any of those guys' minds!

And what about Grey Gardens? Or Hearts and Minds? - an amazing film!

I mean, really tENTATIVELY iNCONVENIENCE, we've talked about quite a few docs on this list, but you're right: it's not the trend.

I'm also a big fan of Tokyo Olympiad.....a doc on the 1964 Olympics in Tokyo (their first time participating in the event)....a great film.

I think Mike mentioned Herzog's new film, Encounters at the End of the World (Henry Kaiser is a good friend, he's in that movie, playing guitar - he introduced me to Herzog at the showing of Nosferatu at SFMOMA - what an honor).

In addition to that film, I like a lot of his documentaries, and, like Goddard, I think Herzog is operating under the assumption that all films are documentaries.

In addition to Encounters, my favorite Herzog docs are:
Lessons in Darkness
Little Dieter Needs to Fly
That film he made about the guy who fell from the plane that had exploded and lived...can't remember the title.

And, of course, the fine documentary on the making of Fitzcaraldo. I think that was Les Blank, right?

And speaking of Les Blank?!?!?!?!? What about Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe? Or any of the great docs that he did on various American musicians and musical styles (he made a great doc on Lightnin' Hopkins, one of my favorite blues guitarists, and also on the subject of Polka....).

Super Size Me was also enjoyable and a nice comment on McD.

I mentioned Shoah in another thread, the Counterfeiters thread....but that's a fine film.

That doc on Hugo Chavez and the US sponsored military coup was great - what the hell was that called????

A good friend worked on When the Mountains Tremble, a fine documentary on the US sponsored war (or should I just come right out and say mass murder) in Nicaragua during the Regan years.

The Corporation (someone mentioned it, I'm sure) made it on my Top 10 films of 2006 (or was it 2005?). What a great idea for a film! They use a test that psychologists use to establish whether or not someone is a dangerous sociopath, and corporate activity fits the bill perfectly.

I'm glad Rob mentioned Jesus Camp, and there's another great one about fundamentalism. It shows how this church uses Halloween to build a "haunted house" and all the rooms are filled with "sins", and at the end of the "journey" they try to recruit you to join their church and accept Christ as your personal saviour. Wow, the phrase "what would Jesus think?" comes to mind. Oh yeah, it's called Devil's Playground, I think someone mentioned it already...sorry!

And there is also a fine doc on the Amish community, and how the children have this rite of passage where they live outside the community when they reach 18. I can't remember what that's called either...my mind is failing me, kidz...

Ah.. the latest documentary I checked out was "Stolen" by Rebecca Dreyfus - released in 2006. It's about the theft on St Patrick's Day in 1990 of multiple paintings from Boston's Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. The painting most emphasized in this doc being Vermeer's "The Concert". A $5,000,000 reward was offered for the paintings' recovery. 18 yrs later, apparently none of them have been gotten back. The paintings were collectively valued at around $300,000,000.

I knew nothing about this theft & found it fascinating. The doc has an interesting cast of characters - including, most notably, an art theft detective named Harold Smith who's visually highly distinguished b/c of skin cancer developed b/c he was the unfortunate subject of an army medical experiment that attempted to solve his dry skin problem as a young man. Interestingly missing are the security guard (or guards) who was (or were) gagged, blindfolded, & tied up for the robbery.

Various theories are bandied about - perhaps the most credible of wch is that Irish Republicans (IRA, etc) stole the paintings to fund their movement. The thieves are sd to've "impersonated" Boston cops to gain entry into the museum & overpower the guard(s), etc.. What if they really WERE cops? That possibility isn't discussed.

Anyway, the art isn't recovered. I must admit: I love Vermeer's paintings & I'm sad to see one taken out of circulation. It's a beaut. A whole sub-issue of this theft that's inadequately addressed in this documentary (understandably given that it's a huge issue in & of itself) is the relationship of artists & their art to the following posterity & the manipulation of their artworks for financial gain.

There is a reference in "Stolen" to Isabella Stewart Gardner's art aquirerer's repulsion for art dealers - the implication being, I think, that the repulsion's w/ the dealers' lack of appreciation for the work & their greed. That does come across a bit in "Stolen" somewhat exemplified by an antiques dealer / con-man who claims (unconvincingly) to have access to the paintings.

What I always think about, eg, are things like Van Gogh only selling his work to his brother & living in poverty - only to have his paintings bring in huge profits post-mortem. Or Jackson Pollack's "Blue Poles" selling for the largest price at the time for a painting at $8,000,000 in the 1970s (?). Not surprisingly, I'm all in favor of the money going to the artist WHILE THEY'RE ALIVE & I'm disgusted by the profiteering vampires that feast off their corpses.

As for Vermeer? Lardy, the sensitivity to light, the sensitivity to gesture, THE SENSITIVITY. I seriously doubt that Vermeer painted what he did so that future generations cd steal the paintings to make a big fat profit off them. Gee, maybe the sales of the stolen paintings went to buying MUNITIONS. Or HEROIN. Wdn't that be fucking cute.

I also watched one on these two teens that were charged and convicted of butchering 2 boys. They made the whole case about how these teens were satan worshipers.

Does anyone know the name of this one?



I was sick to my stomach about this crime BUT I was angered by the town saying: They read Stephen King, wear all black, and listened to heavy metal so they were satan worshipers "had" to have done this.

To this day, I don't know if they did or didn't. I watched it a few times and was still unsure.

Dig is indeed an interesting doc - tried out the Dandy Warhols after that but it didn't take.

Another interesting rock doc is the Flaming Lips Fearless Freaks - you really don't have to be a fan of the band to enjoy it (although I'm sure it helps). One of the odd perks is watching a band member shoot up heroin (yes, it's true). Thankfully he later, finally decides to give it up - it's a harrowing scene as he describes all the things he's sold over the years to pay for his habit, plus he's a very talented guy - yikes. The doc traces the band's history, etc. Fun stuff (beyond the oblig heroin scene) -

Hail Cesar! Thanks for your intelligent insight into this forum. DIG is a wonderful documentary and though I've been a fan of the DANDYS for a few years I didn't know much abour BJM. A few weeks ago my boss asked me about this cool documentary about a drugged-out musician he saw on the Sundance Channel. I knew he was talking about this film: he asked me to make a disc of some of the music for his trip. Now, my boss is the local District Attorney so I joked that he's propable the only DA in the country listening to hip music!

I could just write a list of documentaries I like. But if you don't know me, then who the hell cares? No disrespect, though an actual discussion should be engaged. I like the posts this topic starter writes because they are more insightful and he's very good at articulating his points.

Rather, I'll just write about one film I think stands out.
I feel is the best rock and roll documentary ever made.
Dig, directed by Ondi Timoner.
Timoner shot this film over the course of seven years. She initially followed various bands, tracking their varying struggles. The story would soon narrow and focused specifically on two bands,
The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols. These two bands started out as close friends, relatively at the same level. Though it was apparent The Brian Jonestown Massacre was the more talented and visionary of the two. And yet, it was The Dandy Warhols who were the more business savvy. The Dandy Warhols got on a label, started playing bigger shows and rock festivals in Europe where their band blew up.
The BJM remained struggling, and also suffered from a great degree of brilliant, yet absolutely dysfunctional musicians. The story of Dig really becomes the story of lead singer Anton Newcombe. While the case is made for him being nothing short of a musical genius, suffers form psychological problems, drug addiction, and his own tendencies for self-sabotage.
The Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Dandy Warhols went form friends to rivals. Some of the things in this film are so outrageous, if it wasn't a documentary, you wouldn't believe it. The things Timoner captured are nothing short of astonishing.
She took seven years of footage and crafted it into an engrossing story that plays like well structured narrative.
This film says so much about art and commerce, the conflict between the two and where the artist rises or falls amidst that conflict.

You do not have to be a fan of these bands to enjoy this film.
This is an engaging story about people you come to care about.
Dig won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance, not for best documentary, but for best film, period.

Haven't seen the HBO Doc on drug addiction but saw the Showtime doc: American Drug War - looks at the criminalization and business of the "Drug War"
Some other documentaries that I've enjoyed:
The Kid Stays in the Picture
Fog of War
Darfur Now
Ramones: End of the Century
Buy the Ticket, Take the Ride
No End in Sight
Flock of Dodos

HBO did a documentary called "Dope Sick Love" but I think they were using herion, not sure sure.

Intervention on A&E just did an in depth look at meth use in Alabama. I have it on the DVR but haven't watched it yet.

I just watched Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures - really great if you're a fan - and if you're not, it's very educational and may make you a fan. I now want to see Lolita...

Crystal, I think that HBO doc was called Addictions.

Fall From Grace a documentary about that hateful nutjob Fred Phelps and the Westboro Baptist Church of God is excellent. It's a firsthand look inside the mind of a cult leader and his family that follow him. It will make you angry, but it's well worth your time to pick up a copy.

There was one on HBO about Crystal Meth addicts and that one was really good. If you want to see what that drug's long term affects are, then watch it.


Does anyone know what it was called?

There are some really good documentaries out there. HBO has a documentary subheading on their On Demand menu. Some that I've seen there-

Coma (not the movie based on the Robin Cook book)
Capturing the Freidmans
The Ghosts of Abu Ghirab
The Journalist and the Jihadi
Paperclips
A Boy's Life
Cannibals (I think that was the name-it was about Jeffery Dahmer and others)


Other good ones not on HBO

Devil's Playground
Trembling before G_d
Spellbound

They don't pay them very well either.

Wal-Mart employs more people in the United States than any other single company. I find that depressing.

Amy - I watched "Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices" recently.


I worked there for 4 yrs while going through college and I wasn't surprised to see some of the things brought up. I'm not fond of the way Wal-Mart treats their employees. I've had better employers thats for sure.

Last night I checked out "you think you really know me - the gary wilson story". Is anyone here familiar w/ Gary Wilson's 1977 LP? I probably 1st heard it around the time it came out when my friend Chas Brohawn found a copy. Then I made a specially packaged reel-to-reel of it w/ photocopies of the record cover, etc.. I didn't actually find the record until 1985.

The album, "You Think You Really Know Me" is a remarkably original cross between lounge music, psychedelic, & avant-garde tape music. When I 1st heard it, it seemed like some twisted small-town fantasy music for orgies. The "orgies" part was in there just b/c of a small-town PA hitch-hiking experience I'd had as a teenager - it didn't really have anything to do w/ Wilson. It was fascinating!

His apparent home address was on the back of the record, so I tried writing to him. By then, he'd probably moved to San Diego - maybe his dad didn't forward the letter, dunno, at any rate I never got a response. THEN, much later in the 2000s, Gary emailed me b/c he'd been ego-surfing & found reference to himself on a website of mine.

SO, the movie! I was happy & surprised to find it in a local music store. It's definitely interesting for someone like myself - it was good to see that Wilson's still alive & kicking, great to see stills & films of the early yrs that lead up to the record. I still think the record's great today! The sad thing about it is that Wilson moved to San Diego to try to get bigger record companies interested in him & NO SUCH LUCK. Really too bad.

Here was a guy w/ a talent comparable to Frank Zappa or Captain Beefheart or, perhaps more appropriately, John Trubee & Zoogz Rift, & he never got any economic support. We cd've gotten some really amazing music if he had been supported. Interestingly, he was influenced by classical composer John Cage (whose music I also love) & in the doc someone says, after seeing a revival concert of Wilson's, that it was the best concert since he heard a Penderecki piece live. That's a heavy compliment.

But here's where the documentary rubs me wrong: sure Gary Wilson was great, sure he shd've gotten more support, BUT, the movie makes it seem like he & his friends invented the "underground" or something. Now I'm sure Wilson knows as well as I do that he grew up w/ the 'underground' & that there's an earlier generation of it that influenced him. So, no, he didn't invent it. Furthermore, as far as lack of financial support goes, Gary joins the crowd here. Some of us, like myself (Gary & I are approximately the same age) persevered despite the often extreme hostility & lack of support, Gary seems to've not done so. I wish he had. Maybe he did & I misunderstand.

Now, thanks to his 'revival' w/ the record rerelease & the documentary he has some new material out. I listen forward to it.

Ah, yes.. "Rabbit-Proof Fence".. My friend etta cetera & I went to Australia for 3 mnths in 2000 where we made a partially documentary movie called "Don't Walk Backwards" that's 8:24:43 long - my longest movie - it's never been screened!

Anyway, I learned that aboriginals were legally classified under "flora & fauna" until 1968! The whole "Stolen Generation" thing that R-P F was about was still wreaking havoc. For those who don't understand the reference, some of the Christian whites who colonized Aus broke Aboriginal families apart & took the children away from their parents to 'civilize' them - never allowing them to see their paraents again. Incredibly arrogant. There're still many, many people alive who were victimized by this.

Some time around when etta & I were there, the leader of the Aus government (a 'liberal' named John Howard) was asked to apologize for the government's role in the Stolen Generation. He refused & something like 1.9 million people protested. 1/10th of the Australian population.

There's a great made-for-Aus-tv short called "Babaquaria" that reverses the roles & has aboriginals showing up in boats & finding white suburbanites barbecueing. They procede to immediately misunderstand the language, dubbing the area where the barbecueing's happening "Babaquaria", & to do to the whites exactly what the whites actually did to the aboriginals. It's comic but it gets across the point very well indeed. Highly recommended!

The U.S. vs. John Lennon was very good. I'd say you wouldn't even have to be a Lennon fan to enjoy it. The historical aspect of it in itself is interesting.

My absolute favorite is Paris Is Burning Fierce, fab and a little sad. The Black and Latino gay subculture of early 80s NY is so fascinating to watch. I also remember meeting Willie Ninja once and was all fan girly. I usually recommend it to people who think Madonna invented Vogueing.

I loved Grey Gardens !!! My neice had a "Grey Garden's" birthday party, we all dress like Big or Little Edie. I know it has been a Broadway Show and have read it will be made into movie (with Drew Barrymore?)

Have to add Grey Gardens - very strange ladies, but they seem happy...

I also liked My kid could paint this. Jackie, I will have to add Rabbit-proof Fence to my list.

I will second Born into Brothels. Beautifully told, but also disturbing.

Along those same lines . . . this is not a documentary, but I saw Rabbit-Proof Fence which is a movie based on a true story. The "behind-the-scenes" documentary-ish feature that accompanies it is more powerful than the movie itself, in my opinion.

If the name Ken Burns appears on a documentary, I will watch it. His Jazz series is my favorite of his works.

Some of the ones I like -

Crumb
Capturing the Friedmans
Grizzly Man
Crazy Love
Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices
The Corporation (I only drink organic milk because of this one)
Tarnation
In the Realms of the Unreal

That's all I can think of right now. When I was very young, the word "documentary" conjured up boredom, like sitting through some weird film in seventh grade on frog biology or something. But now I find documentaries are often some of the best films out there.

G4 is the video game channel that I wish I had. It also has Ninja Warrior which is awesome! I must seem like such a 10 year old. Ninjas and video games...awesome!