Your top 5 documentaries?

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mattias
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Post by mattias »

yes, lost in la mancha is fantastic. spellbound though? i thought it was very cleverly done, but compared to the rest of the docs mentioned in this thread it's only average in my opinion.

/matt
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timdrage
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Post by timdrage »

Yeah not amazing but i just enjoyed it... I kind of started listing every documentary i've seen and not hated there. :)
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steve hyde
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Post by steve hyde »

timdrage wrote:Steve, did you get a chance to look at the link i mentioned?

http://www.mnsi.net/~pwatkins/part1_home.htm

I think you will get a lot out of it, it's definitely relevent to what you're saying about the social role of documentary filmmaking.

...I looked at it and found the organization of the website to be a bit confounding. I will take the time to study it more closely when I have the time and will post my reaction in your thread...looks interesting. Thanks.

Steve
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timdrage
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Post by timdrage »

Yeah, it's not exactly light reading! :)
hope you'll find it worthwhile anyway,,
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npcoombs
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Post by npcoombs »

timdrage wrote:Yeah, it's not exactly light reading! :)
hope you'll find it worthwhile anyway,,
Peter Watkins' essays are excellent. I am just annoyed by how difficult it is to see his work.

I am particulalrly intrigued by the 5 hour 'Paris Commune'
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timdrage
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Post by timdrage »

Yeah, I'm really interested to see them after reading all that. Will have to attempt to track some down.
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steve hyde
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Post by steve hyde »

mattias wrote:Paradise lost, addicted to acting, the mods trilogy, biggie and tupac, shark weekend on discovery, tbc... /matt
...just watched "Paradise Lost". It reminds me a lot of Errol Morris' "Thin Blue Line" since they are both court room dramas that implicitly become powerful statements on the cultures surrounding the case. What actually happened in those Memphis woods?

Steve
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Post by Ghost Don't Walk »

Really two are coming to mind that would make my top 10 of any film list I construct--

Hoop Dreams
Tokyo Olympiad
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steve hyde
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Post by steve hyde »

Lots of good ones these days. I'm recommending

Iraq in Fragments

I'm Your Man

Jesus Camp
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Post by Ghost Don't Walk »

Jesus Camp was interesting and disturbing...much in the same way as "Devil's Playground" was about the Amish. I wonder though, what tactics the filmmakers employed to get so close to the subject as they obviously were going for a specific outcome.

If you enjoyed Jesus Camp, I highly recommend Marjoe, which I believe just hit DVD recently. I believe it was also nominated or won an Oscar for best Doc. Same principle, Marjoe was an evangelist, since he was 5 yrs old and decided to show the underbelly of how evangelists steal money from honest people.
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steve hyde
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Post by steve hyde »

Ghost Don't Walk wrote:Jesus Camp was interesting and disturbing...much in the same way as "Devil's Playground" was about the Amish. I wonder though, what tactics the filmmakers employed to get so close to the subject as they obviously were going for a specific outcome.

If you enjoyed Jesus Camp, I highly recommend Marjoe, which I believe just hit DVD recently. I believe it was also nominated or won an Oscar for best Doc. Same principle, Marjoe was an evangelist, since he was 5 yrs old and decided to show the underbelly of how evangelists steal money from honest people.
It's an interesting question. * what tactics for a specific outcome? * but what other outcome could possibly come out of a story like "Jesus Camp"? When a culture bases its world view on mysticism, anything goes. All rational thought is overlooked by fantasy. Truth is constructed in the mind of the beholder - reality is left unexamined.

I recommended the film to one of my friends and his reaction was:

"It's a good film for urban American's that want to know what country they live in."

....I find it interesting to think about it this way. The cultural division between rural and urban America is astounding.

Steve
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steve hyde
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Post by steve hyde »

double post
Last edited by steve hyde on Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by steve hyde »

triple post
Last edited by steve hyde on Mon Jun 04, 2007 9:09 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Ghost Don't Walk »

steve hyde wrote:
Ghost Don't Walk wrote:Jesus Camp was interesting and disturbing...much in the same way as "Devil's Playground" was about the Amish. I wonder though, what tactics the filmmakers employed to get so close to the subject as they obviously were going for a specific outcome.

If you enjoyed Jesus Camp, I highly recommend Marjoe, which I believe just hit DVD recently. I believe it was also nominated or won an Oscar for best Doc. Same principle, Marjoe was an evangelist, since he was 5 yrs old and decided to show the underbelly of how evangelists steal money from honest people.
It's an interesting question. * what tactics for a specific outcome? * but what other outcome could possibly come out of a story like "Jesus Camp"? When a culture bases its world view on mysticism, anything goes. All rational thought is overlooked by fantasy. Truth is constructed in the mind of the beholder - reality is left unexamined.

I recommended the film to one of my friends and his reaction was:

"It's a good film for urban American's that want to know what country they live in."

....I find it interesting to think about it this way. The cultural division between rural and urban America is astounding.

Steve
Well, it certainly perceived by the general audience that the evangelists portrayed were cuckoos. Perhaps if shot by someone else, someone in the organization, it might have been shot and edited differently.

Docs are just like fiction in a way. There is always a story you are steering the audience towards--whether it be through editing or what unfolds in front of a rolling camera. You always have choices.
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steve hyde
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Post by steve hyde »

...well - it depends on how you define "cuckoo". Sure if it was shot by someone in the organization it would be propaganda. Instead it is a vivid documentary about authoritarianism, obsessive devotion, unquestioning faith and the brainwashing of children.

Debates on truth and fact in documentary are interesting. I agree that documentaries are like fiction - but all films have to be fiction because they are comprised of space cut up into time and re-ordered - like you said.

For me, Jesus Camp felt authentic. I felt like I was getting meaningful insights into a cult. I'd like to hear what critics are saying about it. I haven't gone looking. I'll look into that.

Steve
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