best documentaries
outstanding docos that I've watched since 2012
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- StarsJohn BergerAnya BostockEva FigesJohn Berger presents his insights on how people see. Through examples of Art History Berger shows how our very sense of sight has been transformed. By discovering why this is so, according to Berger, "we shall discover something about ourselves."Geez, who writes those blurbs?
- StarsRobert HughesTony ChurchMartin JarvisA definitive eight part series on the rise and fall of the modern art movement presented by critic Robert Hughes.
- DirectorIan MacMillanStarsLeon GolubRobert Hughes
- DirectorWilliam PetersStarsCharlie CobbJane ElliottMartin Luther KingAn expanded edition of William Peters's classic study of the unique eye-color lesson in prejudice and discrimination taught by Iowa schoolteacher Jane Elliott. This new edition continues the story of Elliott and her sixteen third-graders of 1970, eleven of whom returned to their hometown in 1984 for a reunion with their former teacher. Peters reports on that meeting and its evidence that the long-ago lesson has had a profound and enduring effect on the students' lives and attitudes.About the original 'Wave' blue/brown eyes classroom experiment, and the class reunion.
- StarsSamuel WestAdolf BuchnerJutta RüdigerAn examination of how a cultured people could have allowed Adolf Hitler's rise to power.
- StarsNeil ShubinMichael BerrymanTim D. WhiteHave you ever wondered why the human body looks the way it does? Why we walk on two legs instead of four? Why we can see in color but have a lousy sense of smell? Your Inner Fish delves deep into the past to answer questions like these. The three-part series reveals a startling truth: Hidden within the human body is a story of life on Earth. Based on a best-selling book by evolutionary biologist Neil Shubin, this scientific adventure story takes viewers from Ethiopia to the Arctic Circle on a hunt for the many ways that our animal ancestors shaped our anatomical destiny. Shubin has spent much of his life studying our ancient ancestors----searching for the deep pedigree of Homo sapiens. Using both the fossil record and DNA evidence, he traces various parts of our body's structure to creatures that lived long, long ago.
- StarsJames BurkeKenneth KendallBruce BoaFollow James Burke through the history of science and technology in this collection of 10 1-hour episodes, starting with "The Trigger Effect."
- StarsMark CousinsJuan Diego BottoAleksandr SokurovA comprehensive history of the medium and art of motion pictures.
- DirectorMike LloydStarsJohn BergerSusan SontagJohn Berger and Susan Sontag in conversation.
- DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.
- DirectorChris MarkerStarsAmilcar CabralFlorence DelayArielle DombasleA woman narrates the contemplative writings of a seasoned world traveler, focusing on contemporary Japan.
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsAbilio FernándezSalvador AllendeThe chronicle of the political tension in Chile in 1973 and of the violent counter revolution against the democratically elected government of Salvador Allende.
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsGaspar GalazLautaro NúñezLuís HenríquezA documentary about two different searches conducted in the Chilean Atacama Desert: one by astronomers looking for answers about the history of the cosmos, and one by women looking for the remains of loved ones killed by Pinochet's regime.
- DirectorPatricio GuzmánStarsMartín CalderónCristinaPatricio GuzmánDelving into the nearly-religious significance of water, this profound rumination on memory and loss bridges the gap between its mystical origins, Pinochet's coup d'état, and the secret of a mother-of-pearl button at the bottom of the sea.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsWerner HerzogThis film surveys the disaster of the Kuwaiti oil fields in flames, with little narration and scarcely any interviews. Hell on Earth is presented in such transcendent visions and music that one can only be fascinated by it.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsTimothy TreadwellAmie HuguenardWerner HerzogA devastating and heart-rending take on grizzly bear activists Timothy Treadwell and Amie Huguenard, who were killed in October of 2003 while living among grizzly bears in Alaska.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsElon MuskLawrence KraussLucianne WalkowiczWerner Herzog's exploration of the Internet and the connected world.
- DirectorErrol MorrisStarsLucille BillingsleyZella GrahamCal HarbertsA documentary about a pet cemetery in California, and the people who have pets buried there.
- DirectorRoss McElweeStarsRoss McElweeDede McElweeRoss McElwee Jr.Documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee sets out to make a movie about Union General Sherman's March to the Sea towards the end of the American Civil War, but keeps getting sidetracked by his own love life.
- DirectorRobin AndersonBob ConnollyStarsJoe LeahyThe 2nd of a trilogy. The first, First Contact, is about the first white men to visit a particular valley in New Guinea, in the 1930s. Features a lot of original footage. The second two movies are about the half white-half native son of the leader of that expedition and his efforts to run a coffee plantation, while dealing with his immediate neighbours, his own people, still living the traditional way. Amazing "between two worlds" struggle, two worlds that can't really mix. (And everywhere, it's the white people world that destroys the native world.)
- DirectorRobin AndersonBob ConnollyStarsJoe LeahyJoe Leahy is the half-caste son of one of the first explorers of the Papua New Guinean interior. His relations with the local Ganiga tribe who work his coffee plantation on their land are difficult at times. However he has successfully managed to get them to agree to open a second plantation in partnership with him. Things are looking up until the international coffee market hits rough times and conflict seems imminent between the Ganiga and their neighbouring traditional enemies.
- DirectorJosé PadilhaFelipe LacerdaStarsSandro do NascimentoRodrigo PimentelLuiz Eduardo SoaresOn June 12, 2000, a young man with a gun took the passengers aboard Bus 174 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil hostage. This documentary examines the event itself, the resulting media frenzy, the police response, and the perpetrator's background.Understanding Brazil 101
- DirectorJosé PadilhaStarsRobert BorofskyJesus CardozoNapoleon A. ChagnonThe field of anthropology goes under the magnifying glass in this fiery investigation of the seminal research on Yanomami Indians. In the 1960s and '70s, a steady stream of anthropologists filed into the Amazon Basin to observe this "virgin" society untouched by modern life. Thirty years later, the events surrounding this infiltration have become a scandalous tale of academic ethics and infighting.Understanding Anthropologists 101
- DirectorLaura PoitrasStarsEdward SnowdenGlenn GreenwaldWilliam BinneyA documentarian and a reporter travel to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden.
- DirectorKen LoachFranny ArmstrongStarsHelen SteelDave MorrisBruce AlexanderMcLibel is the story of two ordinary people who humiliated McDonald's in the biggest corporate PR disaster in history.
- DirectorBarbara KoppleStarsJohn L. LewisCarl HornNorman YarboroughA heartbreaking record of the thirteen-month struggle between a community fighting to survive and a corporation dedicated to the bottom line.
- DirectorKim BartleyDonnacha O'BriainStarsHugo ChávezPedro CarmonaJesse HelmsIn April 2002, an Irish film crew is making a documentary about Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, when a coup from the opposition is made.
- DirectorRuaridh ArrowStarsRobert HelveyJamila RaqibGene SharpHOW TO START A REVOLUTION is the remarkable untold story of Nobel Peace Prize nominee Gene Sharp, the world's leading expert on non-violent revolution. This new film (from first time director Ruaridh Arrow) reveals how Gene's work has given a new generation of revolutionary leaders the weapons needed to overthrow dictators. It shows how his 198 steps to non-violent regime change have inspired uprisings from Serbia to Ukraine and from Egypt to Syria and how his work has spread across the globe in an unstoppable wave of profound democratic change. How To Start A Revolution is the story of the power of people to change their world, the modern revolution and the man behind it all.
- DirectorRobert KennerStarsFrederick SingerNaomi OreskesJamy Ian SwissA documentary that looks at pundits-for-hire who present themselves as scientific authorities as they speak about topics like toxic chemicals, pharmaceuticals and climate change.
- DirectorMark AchbarJennifer AbbottStarsMikela JayRob BeckwermertChristopher GoraDocumentary that looks at the concept of the corporation throughout recent history up to its present-day dominance.
- DirectorDan OllmanSarah PriceChris SmithStarsAndreas BichlbauerMike BonannoAndy BichlbaumAnti-corporate activists travel from conference to conference, impersonating member of the World Trade Organization.
- DirectorAndy BichlbaumMike BonannoKurt EngfehrStarsReggie WattsMike BonannoAndy BichlbaumTroublemaking duo Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno, posing as their industrious alter-egos, expose the people profiting from Hurricane Katrina, the faces behind the environmental disaster in Bhopal, and other shocking events.
- StarsAdam CurtisRobert ReichAnn BernaysA documentary about the rise of psychoanalysis as a powerful means of persuasion for both governments and corporations.
- DirectorNicolas PhilibertStarsGeorges LopezAlizéAxel ThouveninA documentary portrait of a one-room school in rural France, where the students (ranging in age from 4 to 11) are educated by a single dedicated teacher.
- DirectorKurt KuenneStarsKurt KuenneAndrew BagbyDavid BagbyA filmmaker decides to memorialize a murdered friend when his friend's ex-girlfriend announces she is expecting his son.
- DirectorJames MarshStarsPhilippe PetitJean François HeckelJean-Louis BlondeauA look at tightrope walker Philippe Petit's daring, but illegal, high-wire routine performed between New York City's World Trade Center's twin towers in 1974, what some consider, "the artistic crime of the century".
- DirectorEmma FranzStarsSimon BarkerDong-won KimBae Il-DongThe search for an enigmatic South Korean shaman, and the inspiration found on the journey, renews a jazz musician's faith in the power of music.
- DirectorVanessa GouldStarsErik D. DemaineMartin L. DemaineVincent FlodererDepicts a cast of fine artists and eccentric scientists (from MIT and NASA) who have devoted their lives to the unlikely medium of modern origami. Through their determination to reinterpret the world in paper, they arouse a fascinating mix of sensibilities towards art, form, expressiveness, creativity and meaning.
- DirectorJ.T.S. MooreStarsLinus TorvaldsRichard StallmanEric RaymondWhile Microsoft may be the biggest software company in the world, not every computer user is a fan of their products, or their way of doing business. While Microsoft's Windows became the most widely used operating system for personal computers in the world, many experts took issue with Microsoft's strict policies regarding licensing, ownership, distribution, and alteration of their software. The objections of many high-profile technology experts, most notably Richard Stallman, led to what has become known as "the Open Source Movement," which is centered on the belief that computer software should be free both in the economic and intellectual senses of the word. Eventually, one of Stallman's admirers, Linus Torvalds, created a new operating system called Linux, a freely distributed software which many programmers consider to be markedly superior to Windows. Revolution OS is a documentary that examines the genesis of the Open Source Movement, and explores and explains the technical and intellectual issues involved in a manner understandable to computer aficionados and non-techheads alike.
- DirectorBrian KnappenbergerStarsAaron SwartzTim Berners-LeeCindy CohnThe story of programming prodigy and information activist Aaron Swartz, who took his own life at the age of 26.
- DirectorJakob GottschauStarsMark ZuckerbergMax SchremsPeter Øvig Knudsen"Like" it or not, Facebook wants you to share everything, but how much information are they willing to share with you?
- DirectorSeth GordonStarsSteve WiebeBilly MitchellMark AlpigerDie-hard gamers compete to break world records on classic arcade games.
- DirectorMike CelestinoStarsMike CelestinoThat's Not Funny is an examination of the history of taboo subjects and controversy in comedy, and one comedy fan's heartfelt and passionate defense of an art form.
- DirectorMarc SingerStarsMarc SingerA cinematic portrait of the homeless population who live permanently in the underground tunnels of New York City.
- DirectorVikram GandhiStarsVikram GandhiTobyGregA documentary about a man who impersonates a wise Indian Guru and builds a following in Arizona. At the height of his popularity, the Guru Kumaré must reveal his true identity to his disciples and unveil his greatest teaching of all.This is fascinating, much better than it seems it's going to be, or could possibly be. An Indian-American guy (also the director of the movie!) sets up in the U.S. as Kumaré, a Hindu guru direct from India, with the help of 2 female assistants. He develops his doctrines and practices as he goes, all-too-aware of the ridiculousness of the world he has entered. He acquires a small band of devotees, whose lives he seems to actually make better, in many ways. He knows eventually he will have to reveal his true identity, that it's all been a lie...and yet when he does, it's a continuation of exactly his teachings. He's been telling them all along that he's not a guru, that he's a fake etc. His followers mostly don't feel betrayed, as he obviously cares a lot for them, and somehow he has become their actual guru. A beautiful story, which the director/Kumaré was obviously touched by, himself. Gee it's such a car crash moment when he 'comes out' as a fake. I think he set out to discover that there was nothing to gurus, but ended up discovering what a powerful thing and responsibility it is - by being one himself!
(I've long been a fan of quite a few Hindu gurus myself - Vivekananda, Ramana Maharshi, the estadounidenses Ram Dass & Gangaji - and have gotten a lot from various New Age writers, so I'm sympathetic to both sides of the atheist/religion divide here.) - DirectorAgnès VardaStarsFrançois WertheimerAgnès VardaJean La PlancheVarda films and interviews gleaners in France in all forms, from those picking fields after the harvest to those scouring the dumpsters of Paris.