Pacey says:
It doesn't take much energy to find some of the most acclaimed documentaries in the history of film by simply Googling. Between Google and the library, I am able to track down nearly everything my curiosity craves. Over the past number of weeks I have watched a number of these great films. Below is a sample of what is out there:
Grizzly Man - A young man thinks he can live with and 'protect' grizzly bears in the wild, until things turn tragic. Using his own camera, the man films some of the most surreal (non-CGI) of a man interacting with bears ever captured, as he offers his insights and philosophies. A movie worthy of Herzog.
Little Deiter Needs to Fly* - Another harrowing Herzog doc about a POW who escapes and lives in the jungles of SE Asia until his rescue.
Fog Of War - Perhaps the best documentary I've ever seen. A movie about a former US Secretary of Defense may not sound fascinating, but Robert McNamara insights are completely compelling as he outlines his 11 lessons of war. Issues covering WWII, Cuban Missile Crisis, and Vietnam are covered extensively. Skillfully directed by Errol Morris.
Burden of Dreams * -
BoD documents the making of Herzog's
Fitzcarraldo, revealing the hardships of a near-Herculean effort to pull a steamship over a mountain on location in the Amazon and film it. Herzog's monologue about the obscenity of the jungle is captivating stuff.
Jesus Camp - An unflinching view if indoctrination of children to be soldiers for
The Great Ceiling Cat Baby Jesus in Colorado. This one could also be classified as a horror movie, as the events shown could possibly be categorized as child abuse.
Crumb - Robert Crumb is a counterculture cartoonist that rose to near-prominence in 60's San Fransisco. The documentary unveils Crumb's somewhat disturbing psychology and the psychology of his comparatively more disturbed family. Crumb is a true talent and a compelling figure.
Dark Days - Underground film making in it's most literal sense,
Dark Days documents the lives and philosophies of people who live in the subway tunnels of New York. They're not homeless in the traditional sense because they've developed an actual community with electricity, water, and infrastructure, but this is truly a bizarre way of life among the rats.
Atomic Cafe - A great non-narrated compilation of propaganda produced and distributed in the USA during the Cold War 50's. Head scratching at times, but more often than not this movie is hilarious. "Dad Knows Best", "bomb them before they bomb us" rhetoric, and
Duck and Cover scenes can induce belly-laughs, but can be shocking if you imagine yourself a 50's Russian watching this and thinking that their enemy is obviously crazy.
Baadassss!* - Great flick about the making of what is arguably the first blaxploitation movie
Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song in a cultural and business climate that resists images of black power. Insightful and funny dramatizations of the events surrounding the events are portrayed by the original film's director's son.
Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. - This is not a movie about Holocaust denial as much as it is to the examination of the psyche of outsider, and general weirdo, Fred A. Leuchter Jr, a self-made execution expert. The protagonist misinterprets the results of a study and finds himself an extremely polarizing figure.
Sicko - Like him or not, Michael Moore seems incapable of making a picture that isn't interesting to watch all the way through. In this movie, though his cherry-picking and stunting tactics are in full-effect, I must admit he won me over to a large degree in making his case for universal health care. Moore's visual style are always great to watch, as well as highly influential if one compares his documentaries to those of previous decades.
* - library only.
All of these movies are available online except for those marked by a '*'.
