

Ask HN: Good documentaries to watch? - rblion

I am out of documentaries to watch and am bored. Does anyone know any great documentaries that you can recommend?
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fourspace
"Blood Into Wine" - Maynard James Keenan, lead singer of Tool, makes wine in
Arizona

"180° South" - About retracing a 1960's trip to Chile by two rock climbing
friends who went on to found Patagonia and The North Face

"Exit Through The Gift Shop" - Amazing work by Banksy about the state of
street art and those who attempt to commercialize it

"Crips and Bloods: Made in America" - About the context and history of gangs
in LA

"Man on Wire" - The story of Philippe Petit, a tightrope walker who eventually
walked across a high wire between the World Trade Center

"The Rape of Europa" - Explores the history of famous works of art in Europe
during the 12 years of Nazi destruction

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phaet0n
Darwin's Nightmare, if you want a reality check.

Baraka, if you want inspiration.

The Class (Entre les murs), not a documentary, but a hyper-real film about
youth and the possibilities of education.

Seven Up!, as to what may come.

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_delirium
They're not quite documentaries in the standard sense, but I like the
1920s/30s "city symphonies", which try to capture some of the mood and rhythm
of cities. Three are: _Manhatta_ (USA, 1921), _Berlin: Symphony of a
Metropolis_ (Germany, 1927), and _Man with a Movie Camera_ (USSR, 1929).
They're plotless and a bit avant-garde, though, so may be boring if you're not
into that sort of thing. _Man with a Movie Camera_ is the most avant-garde,
and is as much about the reflexive idea of filming a city as about the city
itself; it also invented a bunch of now-standard cinematic techniques.

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zmitri
Anything by Louis Theroux is generally fantastic. Watch the one on "Medicated
Children" if you can't choose where to start.

"Exit Through The Gift Shop" - Banksy fucks with everyone, and makes you
appreciate just how brilliant he is.

"King of Kong: Fistful of Quarters" - If you think start up nerds think they
are all that, you won't believe it when you see just how cocky former arcade
game world champions can be.

"I Think We're Alone Now" - I wouldn't call it "great," but its definitely
weird. It follows two unusual people who believe they are connected to
Tiffany, the 80s singer.

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d2viant
"The Cove" (<http://www.thecovemovie.com>)

I had no idea what it was about when I flipped it on, but it's a great hacker
movie. The guy who trained Flipper is trying to save some dolphins from being
killed in Japan, so he teams up with some folks from Industrial Light and
Magic to rig a secret cove with all kinds of spying equipment to catch the
guys doing it. Really interesting.

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liuhenry
Art & Copy - similar to Helvetica and Objectified. Good documentary about
advertising and design's power, effect, and influence.

~~~
Balsamic
Just watched it based on (and add support to) your recommendation. George Lois
in particular demonstrates a clear and cutting vision that I shall try to
stimulate in myself.

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arctangent
Here's one I saw recently that is worth a mention:

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mugabe_and_the_White_African>

(Disclaimer: Nothing to do with hacking whatsoever.)

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wayneyeager
If you've missed these, here are a few on Netflix Streaming that I really
enjoyed: Restrepo, Brother's Keeper, all the "Up" (7 Up, 35 Up, etc.)
documentaries, Harlan County USA.

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sainib
Try the movie - The Startup or it may be just "Startup".. you may find some
good stuff to watch on - www.biznus.tv - which is a Startup and Business
related video aggregator..

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atgm
When We Left Earth, by the Discovery Channel. Amazingly inspiring.

Dreams With Sharp Teeth, about and starring Harlan Ellison. Very interesting.

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keiferski
_The Smartest Guys in the Room_ \- about Enron

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dopeo
"Greeks: The crucible of civilization" by PBS I think. For history buffs.
"Empires: The Medici"

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jkjeldgaard
Food Inc. - "An unflattering look inside America's corporate controlled food
industry."

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damoncali
Restrepo

The Smashing Machine

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tmachinecharmer
You can watch some about Aliens, Bermuda Triangle, Conspiracy theories,
Pyramids.

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rblion
thanks everyone. ill try some of these out.

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_e_
Into Eternity

