Ask HN: Mind blowing documentaries? - browsercoin
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siruncledrew
Jiro Dreams of Sushi:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiro_Dreams_of_Sushi](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiro_Dreams_of_Sushi)

Man on Wire:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_on_Wire](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_on_Wire)

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ilove_banh_mi
Everything by David Attenborough, starting with his "Life" series.

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough#Return_to_b...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough#Return_to_broadcasting)

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ilove_banh_mi
Anything by Werner Herzog [1]. These are my three favorites:

\- Encounters at the End of the World (2007)

\- Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010)

\- Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010)

[1]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Herzog#Documentary_feat...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Herzog#Documentary_feature_films)

~~~
daodedickinson
My faves are:

Into the Abyss

Grizzly Man

How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck?

~~~
browsercoin
just saw Death Row

kinda changed my perspective on death penalty.

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l33tbro
'The Act of Killing' is arguably the most forward-thinking documentary of the
last 20 years. Heavy going, but unflinching.

That both Erol Morris and Werner Herzog executive produced after Oppenheimer
made it should tell you how formally important it is.

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yesenadam
Great question!

Patricio Guzman: _La batalla de chile, Nostalgia de la luz, El boton de nacar_
(i.e. everything I've seen so far)

Bob Connolly & Robin Anderson - _First Contact, Joe Leahy 's Neighbours, Black
Harvest_ (Trilogy about a half-white, half-native New Guinean farmer)

Werner Herzog - (apart from those already mentioned) _Lessons of Darkness_ ,
Les Blank's _Burden of Dreams_

Everything by Scott Noble - watch on metanoia-films.org/

 _Bus 174_ , _Harlan Country USA, How To Start A Revolution, Silenced_ (2014),
_War on Whistleblowers, The Century of the Self_

 _Man with a Movie Camera_ , _Man on Wire_ , _Dark Days_ , _Kumaré_ , _Dear
Zachary_ , _Children Full of Life_ (2003)

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yesenadam
*Harlan County

(Well, I didn't expect to get downvoted for that list! I have no idea why.
Sorry I bothered.)

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browsercoin
no idea why somebody downvoted you. hn can be a strange place

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frabbit
Adam Curtis's Bitter Lake:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRbq63r7rys](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRbq63r7rys)

Monty Don's Italian Gardens series:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY413RwBzB0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY413RwBzB0)

The original Cosmos (Carl Sagan).
[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKSi40WEKtMxykDBP8_vr...](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKSi40WEKtMxykDBP8_vrC6bKXotys8KJ)

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browsercoin
half way through bitter lake....shit is gold. this is why i created this
thread. thanks.

~~~
frabbit
Glad you like it. He has about 4 more "Power of Nightmares",
"Hypernormalization", "The Mayfair Set" . He has been criticized for lacking
precision and rigor, but I am willing to forgive that for the experience and
the overall argument: that old models of describing the world have lost their
power.

~~~
browsercoin
immediately started watching mayfair set. i love documentaries like this.

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ilove_banh_mi
Ballon sur bitume (2016) -- French documentary about street football culture:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhW2CwKXsfE](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhW2CwKXsfE)

[https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/dec/14/balllon-
sur...](https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/dec/14/balllon-sur-bitume-
street-football-france)

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troydavis
These aren’t necessarily the best I’ve seen, but, as requested, they’re the
most mind blowing:

Restrepo

Citizenfour

Grizzly Man

Up

The Farmer’s Wife

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badideaprojects
McConkey Trailer: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiFo-
osFHwQ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiFo-osFHwQ) Brilliant documentary
about the life of Shane McConkey and his progression from skiing, BASE jumping
and ski wingsuiting.

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stephen82
Anything by Gary Hustwit, really.

I have seen "Objectified", "Helvetica", and "Urbanized"; it blew my mind and
changed my perspective on so many things I was taking for granted for years,
especially around design.

~~~
lewisflude
He has a new documentary out soon all about Dieter Rams, called "Rams".
[https://www.hustwit.com/rams/](https://www.hustwit.com/rams/)

~~~
stephen82
Oh my God, I want to see it right now; I just love Dieter!

When I first saw him in Objectified I went nuts by what has he done with his
design, how he has impacted the world we live in today.

Thanks for letting me know mate, I will check it as soon as possible.

Cheers +1!

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bitshepherd
Trinity and Beyond narrated by William Shatner:
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_and_Beyond](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_and_Beyond)

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drakonka
I've seen two documentaries that really have stuck with me. One is Paradise
Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (watched in multiple long parts
from memory); the other is Icarus.

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ilove_banh_mi
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen (1965):
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv4J7sID3Pk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv4J7sID3Pk)

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amitprayal
Solar Mamas: Who is Rafea? - Why Poverty? - YouTube

[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YeqM2OnVu0](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YeqM2OnVu0)

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illwrks
"the century of the self". It's a 4 part documentary by Adam Curtis about the
development of Public Relations and persuasion in advertising.

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freediver
If you are into history

Jeremy Clarkson’s War Stories

For example this one

[https://youtu.be/QjfErR81sQA](https://youtu.be/QjfErR81sQA)

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DoreenMichele
[http://graceofgodmovie.com](http://graceofgodmovie.com)

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BLKNSLVR
Chasing Ice

The timelapse imagery towards the end is existentially distressing.

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anon4738383
\- The Cove

\- Requiem for the American Dream

\- VICE s02e01 Afghan Money Pit

\- VICE s02e02 Greenland is Melting

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jboles
Riding Giants

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MichaelvdH
Manufacturing Landscapes

