Fragony on 7/3/2010 at 15:05
Quote Posted by Scots Taffer
10 hours of holocaust interviews? Sheesh. I don't mean to sound dismissive but I'm not sure if I could stomach TEN HOURS of miserableness at how horrible humans are to each other. That's not exactly what I look for in doco.
Give it a try because of it's ultra minimalistic style. It is really hard to watch but that kinda is the point. An endless flow of casual conversations can do a lot to paint the greater picture. It's beautiful in it's stillness highly recommended even if it's more torture then it's fun.
info (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shoah_(film))
quinch on 7/3/2010 at 15:55
It's a shame when documentary films provide the only reliable counterbalance to right wing media.
"The Corporation". Ooh no! Chomsky and Klein. Heaven forbid.
"Enron - The Smartest Guys in the room". Spotty-arsed, air-guitar-playing dorks in alpha male clothing.
"Manufactured Landscapes" Documentary about the work of Edward Burtynsky, a photographer who's subject is environmental desecration. The landscapes he shoots are genuinely haunting and sometimes beautiful. Only an HD or cinema release would do his photos any justice though. No need for hand over the ears "la la la" either. The film doesn't judge, it only observes.
"BBC Horizon 1996 Inside Chernobyl's Sarcophagus." Not a film and only available via torrent from what I can see but it's one of the most atmospheric and scary documentaries I have seen. The look of apprehension in the scientist's faces, hands unsteady as they put on their sellotaped "suits" and explain that if they take a wrong turn down the wrong corridor they could be face to face with 10,000 roentgens.
P.S Go Canada!
Aja on 8/3/2010 at 04:47
Quote Posted by Fingernail
"Anvil: the story of Anvil" is great, it's been billed as like a real-life Spinal Tap, but quite obviously since it's dealing with real people it's actually very affecting seeing these two guys struggle to live their dream after they seem to have peaked way back in the 80s. It's a lot about ambition, success, friends and family - and it is also pretty funny in places.
I haven't seen it but it did lead to something of a resurgence in Anvil's popularity. They were playing at an indie-rock festival in Calgary last year, and I thought they were great (the lead singer recommended some porn sites at one point).
Fingernail on 8/3/2010 at 10:11
Yeah, they certainly started popping up in places. What was kind of remarkable was interviews with several musicians in major metal bands saying how influential their old albums had been. In the film at least, they do fulfill a kind of Spinal Tap-ism, playing (at last) to a large and appreciative crowd in Japan.
Nicker on 10/3/2010 at 00:19
Watched (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Rape_of_Europa) "The Rape of Europa" last night.
Chilling but fascinating. It chronicles an aspect of WW2 I hadn't known much about - the pillaging and protecting of Europe's cultural treasures.
The Nazis stole and destroyed art on a scale never before practiced. Following the wave of invasion troops, were special destruction battalions, which looted public and private collections, then burned the remaining "degenerate" art and every building that housed it (and the ones next door, and across the street...). They pursued the annihilation of the Slavic cultures and the "repatriation" of European culture under the Reich.
The evacuation of the Louvre is alone worth the price of admission.
It also discusses Russia's post war appropriations, which both restored stolen works and extracted 'compensation' from the national galleries of Germany.
gunsmoke on 10/3/2010 at 23:57
Some recent documentaries that I watched and loved:
Nat'l Geographic's 'Journey to the Edge of the Universe'
'A Brief History of Time' based on Stephen Hawking's life. (Errol Morris)
Scots Taffer on 11/3/2010 at 00:47
What was good about them, gunny?
Hint: this ain't the "What Documentary Are You Watching" thread for drive-by posts, give us a sense of why you liked it. ;)
gunsmoke on 11/3/2010 at 01:59
Oh, sorry. I drive-by posted.
Anyway, I watched 'Journey' with my mouth open from darn-near start to finish. Basically it is (get this) ONE STRAIGHT SHOT from the surface of the Earth, through our solar system, the Milky Way, and essentially to the dawn of time. It is incredible, and even a jaded documentary consumer such as myself was floored. It has to be seen to be believed. Even being a total earth/space science nerd since birth, and having watched almost every decent documentary I could get my hands on...I learned quite a bit. And I didn't feel like it was overbearing and too heavy. (
http://www.pioneertv.com/)
A Brief History of Time is by your boy Errol Morris. I saw it for the first time just a month ago, though it was produced nearly 20 years ago. This is loosely based on Hawking's biography by the same name, but this one feels more 'personal' as opposed to hard science. You really get to know the man behind the math, so to speak. For one, I never realized the man was not born in the debilitated condition he has become so closely associated with. It is just fascinating, and has some really nice tight shots and the direction keeps the documentary 'moving' so to speak. It isn't just a lecture on film.
