Topic: Awesome documentaries thread

[Garrus]

What are the best NFL documentaries? Never watched one, but seen plenty of NFL films.

Haven't watched too many but the ESPN 30 for 30 on the '85 Bears is really good.

[RedSince86]

The ESPN 30 30 about the iconic 2006 college championship game between USC and Texas is brilliant as well.

Covers both there 12-0 runs to the championship game and has the bonus Snoop Dog and Matthew McConaughey very prominent in it.

I blitzed through that 4 part UFO series before Xmas, episodes are still up on Sky.

[Ycuzz]

Watched "Searching for Sugarman" again at the weekend.

Absolutely brilliant story, engagingly told, with a fantastic and surprising outcome at the end.

For those that dont know it, this is from Wiki:

Searching for Sugar Man is a 2012 documentary film about a South African cultural phenomenon, directed and written by Malik Bendjelloul, which details the efforts in the late 1990s of two Cape Town fans, Stephen "Sugar" Segerman and Craig Bartholomew Strydom, to find out whether the rumoured death of American musician Sixto Rodriguez was true and, if not, to discover what had become of him. Rodriguez's music, which had never achieved success in the United States, had become very popular in South Africa although little was known about him in that country.

Well worth a watch, its boss.

Can only agree. Brilliant story, highly recommended.

Sad story, the director commited suicide in 2014.

[Crosby Nick]

I remember that happening and will give the documentary a watch.

There's a memorial on the sea front at Lytham St Annes to the twenty seven lifeboat crew who lost their lives attempting a rescue.
https://rnli.org/about-us/our-history/timeline/1886-southport-and-st-annes-lifeboats-disaster

I thought this was the subject of the documentary at first and wondered exactly how old are you!

[MadErik]

What are the best NFL documentaries? Never watched one, but seen plenty of NFL films.

Again from 30 for 30, Four Falls of Buffalo is very good.

[McSquared]

14 Peaks.     Netflix

Wow, ex ghurka and sbs Niim climbs 14peaks over 8000m in 7months
Best anyone has achieved is 7years to do them all. Obviously a lot is based in planning and preparation but this man is a machine. Just unbelievable

It's really good, the book is better he's an absolute freak though
There's one thing they missed out when they are going up the mountains the average man takes something like 5 steps per breath, the sherpas take about 20 steps per breath he takes something mad like 50

Incredible camera work as well

Was alright. Thought the alpinist was better

[AndyInVA]

14 Peaks.     Netflix

Wow, ex ghurka and sbs Niim climbs 14peaks over 8000m in 7months
Best anyone has achieved is 7years to do them all. Obviously a lot is based in planning and preparation but this man is a machine. Just unbelievable

It's really good, the book is better he's an absolute freak though
There's one thing they missed out when they are going up the mountains the average man takes something like 5 steps per breath, the sherpas take about 20 steps per breath he takes something mad like 50

Incredible camera work as well

I found it quite depressing watching it as made me realize what a hopelss life I have led compared to extraordinary over achievers like him. Especially when they went up and down some huge hill in one day compared to 4-5 days like regular mortals.

I found the alpinist incredible also.

[-Willo-]

The Puppet Master is brilliant, 3 episodes long about a Con-Man who is still active to this day.

Incredible how manipulative some people can be. Definitely recommend.

[Red Raw]

Excellent art historian and presenter Waldemar Januszczak on Impressionism on the BBC at the moment via iplayer.
The Impressionists: Painting and Revolution
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012rw4n

My knowledge of some of this stuff is pretty decent but I find Januszczak really engaging and he always offers additional insights and observations. I knew for example about the liberating effect of the invention of paint tubes but not about that of the ferrule used to crimp bristles to the end of the brush. Brushes had previously all been round but the new flat brushes gave rise to different ways of making  marks.

Anyway, if you are interested in the start of the journey to what we loosely describe as 'modern art' (and what might have become of art without the Impressionists) I think you might enjoy it.

[Pistolero]

Winter On Fire....not just the best documentary, but the best film I saw this year

<a href="http://www.youtube.com/v/RibAQHeDia8&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">http://www.youtube.com/v/RibAQHeDia8&amp;hl=en_US&amp;fs=1</a>

Giving this a 7-year bump......a terrific film then, even moreso now...charting 'The Revolution of Dignity' - the increasingly violent 2014 Ukrainian demonstrations against President Yanukovych - as he tried to strengthen Ukraine's ties to Russia at the expense of those with the European Union.......remarkably prescient / pertinent...harrowing at times but an essential watch

https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/80031666

[hixxstar]

Chernobyl: The Lost Tapes - Sky Documentaries  1hr 30 mins

I watched this last night, It makes a compelling and clever documentary into something more than the sum of its already impressive parts.
In the current climate, the climate of 2022

Review:
https://www.heyuguys.com/chernobyl-the-lost-tapes-review/

[rafathegaffa83]

The Romanian documentary Collective from a few years ago is heartbreaking and infuriating. If a Hollywood screenwriter had come up with this story, they'd have been knocked back for being too implausible

[So… Howard Philips]

The Romanian documentary Collective from a few years ago is heartbreaking and infuriating. If a Hollywood screenwriter had come up with this story, they'd have been knocked back for being too implausible

Is that the one about the fire in the nightclub and the treatment of the survivors?

A shocking story and echoes of Hillsborough in terms of lies and cover up.

[rafathegaffa83]

Is that the one about the fire in the nightclub and the treatment of the survivors?

A shocking story and echoes of Hillsborough in terms of lies and cover up.

It is. Amazing how one incident initially covered by a sports reporter, ends up bringing down a government and going into a myriad of other unexpected areas

[Only Me]

Enjoyed the Stanley Tucci documentary on the Italian artist/sculptor Giacometti.

Love Tucci’s laid back presenting style, and he’s very knowledgeable on the subject matter too.

Highly recommended.

Also really enjoyed his recent series touring Italian provinces and talking about and tasting the food - available on iPlayer, and it’s absolutely ace.

[HomesickRed]

Recently watched series 2 of the Rise of the Nazis on BBC.
Really good, (albeit scary) stuff and all the more poignant given what's happening at the moment in Ukraine. Just when we thought it couldn't happen again and the utter evil that was Hitler and Stalin was all in the past. Even better, series one has been made available again:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m00084td/rise-of-the-nazis


Another thought provoking documentary is the recent Nolan Investigates Stonewall. It is careful to remain non-judgemental on gender issues while it tracks the changing remit of the charity and how it has become a very powerful, secretive lobby group with often unchallenged access to government institutions etc. Are other lobby groups having similar influence?
 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p09yjp0d

[Lad]

BBC’s Storyvilles I find quite entertaining. The most recent was about the anti Putin Moscow tv channel Dozhd.

[KillieRed]

Not sure if this has been posted before, but i loved that "Echo in the Canyon" documentary about the west coast/Laurel Canyon music scene. It`s hosted and produced by Jakob (Dylan) Zimmerman and has a mix of people who were there at the time (Crosby, McGuinn, Brian Wilson, Jackson Browne, Sebastian, Nash and Stills etc) and modern muso fans (Beck, Jade, Regina Spektor), the latter of which recorded an album with Jakob of covers from the era. It`s still weird seeing Michelle Phillips as an old lady. Tom Petty in one of his last appearances and Neil Young who doesn`t do a talking head role, but shows him wailing away on a guitar solo during the end credits.

Jakob Dylan is the spitting image of his father but with a much better voice.

It`s on Netflix.

[So… Howard Philips]

Not sure if this has been posted before, but i loved that "Echo in the Canyon" documentary about the west coast/Laurel Canyon music scene. It`s hosted and produced by Jakob (Dylan) Zimmerman and has a mix of people who were there at the time (Crosby, McGuinn, Brian Wilson, Jackson Browne, Sebastian, Nash and Stills etc) and modern muso fans (Beck, Jade, Regina Spektor), the latter of which recorded an album with Jakob of covers from the era. It`s still weird seeing Michelle Phillips as an old lady. Tom Petty in one of his last appearances and Neil Young who doesn`t do a talking head role, but shows him wailing away on a guitar solo during the end credits.

Jakob Dylan is the spitting image of his father but with a much better voice.

It`s on Netflix.

I’ll give that a watch as I enjoyed the previous Laurel Canyon documentary on either Sky or BBC.

There’s been a two part documentary on PBS about the forgotten dictatorships of Salazar in Portugal and the Greek colonels which is quite interesting.

[hixxstar]

King Otto 2021         ..  (After Kostas Tsimikas 'Greek Scouser' scored that pen in our FA cup win, this caught my eye.. a good watch)

In the summer of 2004, audiences looked on in disbelief as the Greek National Football Team,
a country that had never previously won a single match in a major tournament,
took down the giants of world football to become the unlikeliest of European Champions.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14404882/

[Nitramdorf]

2 Tone: The Sound of Coventry was on BBC2 last night. Was really interesting.

[Ciara (with a capital "C")]

Watched Hoop Dreams on Saturday afternoon - absolutely loved it. One of the best docs I have ever seen and I do not consume any basketball.

For anyone not aware of it, it was supposed to be a 30min programme about street basketball in Chicago but ends up following 2 young boys for several years as they go from kids to college, with aims to be NBA players.

Amazing footage, wonderfully told and some heavy/angry moments too.

3 hrs it was I think. But worth it.

I want to go through Ken Burns’ catalogue but struggling to find them on IPTV or the many streaming services I have - BBC, Netflix, Prime, Disney, Sky etc really want to watch the American Civil War doc.

[Rhi]

We're half way through Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey on Netflix. It's a documentary on a "sect" of fundamentalist Mormons. Very good so far. So fucked up.

[MadErik]

I want to go through Ken Burns’ catalogue but struggling to find them on IPTV or the many streaming services I have - BBC, Netflix, Prime, Disney, Sky etc really want to watch the American Civil War doc.

The Civil War is shown on a reasonably regular basis on PBS America. Epic documentary.

[cormorant]

King Otto 2021         ..  (After Kostas Tsimikas 'Greek Scouser' scored that pen in our FA cup win, this caught my eye.. a good watch)

In the summer of 2004, audiences looked on in disbelief as the Greek National Football Team,
a country that had never previously won a single match in a major tournament,
took down the giants of world football to become the unlikeliest of European Champions.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt14404882/

Gonna watch King Otto tonight.

Completely different subject but this was on BBC a few days ago. Basically, one-to-one interviews with British soldiers who were involved in frontline battles in the Falklands war, some pretty gruesome footage from the same battles and the soldier's different experiences of PTSD.

https://www.bbc.com/mediacentre/proginfo/2022/24/our-falklands-war

[KillieRed]

Got covid. I’ve been sleeping for two hour stretches then watching tv for an hour or so.

Been watching “How the Nazis lost the war”. It’s either not very good or I’m grumpy for some reason.

[afc tukrish]

Got covid. I’ve been sleeping for two hour stretches then watching tv for an hour or so.

Been watching “How the Nazis lost the war”. It’s either not very good or I’m grumpy for some reason.

Likely a very clear reason why you're grumpy...

[KillieRed]

Well I can think of one…

[Only Me]

Bad Vegan on Netflix is worth a watch.

Just when you thought Americans couldn’t be any fucking nuttier.

Even the drop dead beautiful ones.

[afc tukrish]

Bad Vegan on Netflix is worth a watch.

Just when you thought Americans couldn’t be any fucking nuttier.

Even the drop dead beautiful ones.

Quite the strangely entertaining watch, wasn't it?

Absolute, unmitigated stunner, yet mad as a box of frogs... 

[Spezialo]

Recently finished The Last Dance. thought it was really good.

[disgraced cake]

I want to go through Ken Burns’ catalogue but struggling to find them on IPTV or the many streaming services I have - BBC, Netflix, Prime, Disney, Sky etc really want to watch the American Civil War doc.

If you use Prime they have a PBS add-on channel that costs about 3.50 quid a month I think, it's got basically everything Burns has ever done I think. I know this because I've just recently watched the Civil War one and am watching the Vietnam one atm.

[A-Bomb]

Murder in the Alps on channel 4.

Highlights again some pretty poor french investigation (something we are recently familiar with)

To me it is clear the french cyclist was the intended victim from day dot.

[Dull Tools]

If you use Prime they have a PBS add-on channel that costs about 3.50 quid a month I think, it's got basically everything Burns has ever done I think. I know this because I've just recently watched the Civil War one and am watching the Vietnam one atm.

That's good. Just been looking for this.

[SvenJohansen]

I've just finished watching City of Angels. City of Death about a period from the 70s to the 80s in California where there were about a dozen serial killers active at the same time. And the efforts of the homicide detectives that brought them all down. It's incredible stuff. I had heard about a lot of them but never knew the actual stories. It's a fascinating watch. The trailer is here:


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yN_pkkb8EaI&ab_channel=Hulu

[hixxstar]

Life of Crime 1984-2020  Sky Documentaries  2 Hrs  Well worth a watch    An epic work of documentary filmmaking.. 36 years in the making

A relentless ride through the streets and prisons of Newark, New Jersey's largest city, and desperate fight to survive the deadliest enemy ever to attack America.. Drugs.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt15119154/


<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/Qa73N9rakJk" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/Qa73N9rakJk</a>

[ShatnersBassoon]

Mind over Murder on HBO was surprisingly really good considering the awkward theatre angle that seemed would be too prevalent early on.

in the end was actually unusually reassuring/uplifting somewhat about cognitive dissonance and people's willingness to change their stubbornly set views.

[tubby]

We're half way through Keep Sweet, Pray and Obey on Netflix. It's a documentary on a "sect" of fundamentalist Mormons. Very good so far. So fucked up.

Finished this last week, was a very interesting watch, but also infuriating stuff.  It's mad how people can be so blind to what's going on in the world outside of their tiny little bubble.  Especially when that bubble is full of inconsistencies, blatant lies and just general weirdness.  But then if you don't follow, you don't get to go to heaven.  Sad and frustrating in equal measure.

When the dude started marrying his mums, someone really should've gone WAIT WHAT.

[Drinks Sangria]

Watched that old BBC documentary on James Bulger's murderers that seems to be resurfacing as we approach the 30th anniversary of the despicable event. It's interesting if you can stomach some of the details, part of the issue is one of morality and punishment - how do we reform Children and at what point do you believe the crime of a child invalidates their right's to be free as an adult?

Some interesting stuff came out and I feel an updated version might look upon the events more harshly or be perhaps more condemning of the pair in light of the fact that Venables is now a paedophile and a repeat offender.

I know this always hit home with my Ma as I was born less than a week before the abduction - rather prematurely - and had to stay in hospital for several days after. My family were understandably more wrapped up in my health and by the time I was coming out of hospital it was all the City was talking about - the missing child. Awful and growing up it definitely felt like it stayed with the City, I remember being in Primary School and news of the protests at the 2001 hearings being aired.

[Only Me]

For those interested in Liverpool amateur footy, there’s a boss video on You Tube called Sunday Best, which tells the story of all the local teams that have been Sunday League champions of England.

I was invested straight away, as the first Local team to win it was the Lobster from Crocky where I lived at the time, so I knew a few lads from the team, and just how good they were. The Oyster won it a few years later, and that was even more local to me.

It’s a fascinating hour and a half - no production values to speak of, just local managers and players talking about how much the competition meant to them, and what they went through to win it.

It’s boss, and it’s mad how good our local teams were / are on a national level.