bruno
est malade
probably not relevant to dissensus, what with being in spanish and relating to chile, but this is a short piece about youth of different social backgrounds on the coast in 1984, ten years into the dictatorship and six from the return to democracy. not a documentary that will change your life or anything like that, but as clear a depiction of the way people were at the time as i have seen.
and not a documentary proper, but a semi-documentary short film by reporter tim hetherington, who was killed last year with photographer chris hondros while on assignment in libya. a meditation on what it is to be a war photographer that i think deserves wider viewing.
[video=vimeo;18497543]<iframe src="" width="639" height="471" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>[/video]
and not a documentary proper, but a semi-documentary short film by reporter tim hetherington, who was killed last year with photographer chris hondros while on assignment in libya. a meditation on what it is to be a war photographer that i think deserves wider viewing.
[video=vimeo;18497543]<iframe src="" width="639" height="471" frameborder="0" webkitAllowFullScreen mozallowfullscreen allowFullScreen></iframe>[/video]
padraig (u.s.)
a monkey that will go ape
nah man thanks for that. i'm not nearly as familiar w/the dictatorships (+ guerras sucias) of chile + argentina as i am w/mexico + central america so it's always good to learn more. plus I'm always trying to watch things in spanish to keep mine sharp so if you have any other recs put em up.
on a related note, i highly recommend The Fall of Fujimori to anyone who hasn't seen it
padraig (u.s.)
a monkey that will go ape
oh also while i'm here in documentaries
for the last year or so ESPN has been running a series of docs on various sports-related topics, called 30 For 30. a lot of them are really good. most concern sports people here don't care about (NFL, basketball, baseball) but there's one on the famous/tragic 1994 Colombian WC team. it's pretty excellent.
for the last year or so ESPN has been running a series of docs on various sports-related topics, called 30 For 30. a lot of them are really good. most concern sports people here don't care about (NFL, basketball, baseball) but there's one on the famous/tragic 1994 Colombian WC team. it's pretty excellent.
dd528
Well-known member
I watched The Death of Yugoslavia some time early last year and it is hands down the best historical documentary I have ever seen made for television. I think what really elevated it for me is that the period it deals with is recent enough that there is film of almost literally everything. The parliamentary walkout of (if memory serves) SDS representatives was absolutely electrifying viewing, and the kind of history that simply wouldn't have been caught on camera if it had happened 20 or 50 years earlier.
I also saw The 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs, which I think was made by many of the same production staff, and was also a very interesting watch.
I've seen two of those ESPN 30 for 30 documentaries. The one on Wayne Gretsky was interesting because I know virtually nothing about ice hockey, but have always had an awareness that Gretsky was like the Michael Jordan of the NHL - basically untouchable by any other player he played with or against. It was also fascinating to see the way that the big money culture of trading athletes came to pass in a sport other than football, which is obviously what most people spend their time talking about in this country.
Also saw the one on the career and untimely death of Len Bias. I've always really enjoyed basketball, even if I don't have the time to follow the professional game. This one was a really tragic story that I probably never would have come across if the film hadn't been made. Rare to get such insight out of sport-related programming, especially coming from the States where sport broadcasting is usually so brash and superficial (to generalise wildly).
Of things I've seen recently, the one that's stuck with me the most is Blue by Derek Jarman. It might be a bit of stretch to call it a documentary, I dunno? It is basically his meditations on dying of AIDS (he passed away 4 months after the film was made), narrated by him, but with contributions from various of his artistic collaborators. The only visual element is a constant (but peculiarly dynamic) shade of blue that fills the whole screen, meant to reflect the deterioration Jarman experienced as his disease robbed him of his sight along with the rest of his health. It's chilling and touching and I think quite an important historical document from a period when understanding of HIV/AIDS was shifting more into the mainstream. Whole thing's on youtube:
I also saw The 50 Years War: Israel and the Arabs, which I think was made by many of the same production staff, and was also a very interesting watch.
I've seen two of those ESPN 30 for 30 documentaries. The one on Wayne Gretsky was interesting because I know virtually nothing about ice hockey, but have always had an awareness that Gretsky was like the Michael Jordan of the NHL - basically untouchable by any other player he played with or against. It was also fascinating to see the way that the big money culture of trading athletes came to pass in a sport other than football, which is obviously what most people spend their time talking about in this country.
Also saw the one on the career and untimely death of Len Bias. I've always really enjoyed basketball, even if I don't have the time to follow the professional game. This one was a really tragic story that I probably never would have come across if the film hadn't been made. Rare to get such insight out of sport-related programming, especially coming from the States where sport broadcasting is usually so brash and superficial (to generalise wildly).
Of things I've seen recently, the one that's stuck with me the most is Blue by Derek Jarman. It might be a bit of stretch to call it a documentary, I dunno? It is basically his meditations on dying of AIDS (he passed away 4 months after the film was made), narrated by him, but with contributions from various of his artistic collaborators. The only visual element is a constant (but peculiarly dynamic) shade of blue that fills the whole screen, meant to reflect the deterioration Jarman experienced as his disease robbed him of his sight along with the rest of his health. It's chilling and touching and I think quite an important historical document from a period when understanding of HIV/AIDS was shifting more into the mainstream. Whole thing's on youtube:
rubberdingyrapids
Well-known member
saw an old arena docu on kenneth anger last night at the cinema museum. its not on the web anywhere amazingly (though pleasingly, i like a bit of exclusivity) and prob could have gone a bit more in depth in places but it does make a lot of modern bbc docus look incredibly boring.
craner
Beast of Burden
http://www.ricenpeas.com/
Ishmahil Blagrove is a bloke I know from Sundays down Speaker's Corner (how I miss them). He makes documentaries for you, but not for me (or Vimothy).
Ishmahil Blagrove is a bloke I know from Sundays down Speaker's Corner (how I miss them). He makes documentaries for you, but not for me (or Vimothy).
Bangpuss
Well-known member
Don't know if it's already been mentioned, but Benda Bilili!, about a group of (mostly disabled) homeless musicians from DR Congo who rehearse in a zoo, is fantastic. My girlfriend cried at the end when they play at some European festival and make the crowd move like I've never seen a crowd move before. The kid who plays the self-built one-string guitar is amazing. All in all, a real great story, and it helps that their music is wicked as well.
rubberdingyrapids
Well-known member
werner herzogs into the abyss was okay. i saw the death row docu on ch4 last night which is more sober than the abyss one, less odd herzogy moments, but neither of them get under the skin of the people hes interviewing or really get to the heart of what being on death row or the criminal justice system are like. gives you a good sense of place but its mostly stuck in the sort of 'look how weird/endearing/downhome people from the south are'. the two kids in the abyss one are fascinating in a sort of sociopathic way, but some of herzogs diversions into talking about squirrels and whatever pops into his head funny but also unnecessary, actually a bit insensitive to the subject matter.
also saw scorseses italian american recently which was lovely, funny, and genuinely intimate, if not THAT revealing. im going to try out the meatball recipe from his mum soon.
also saw scorseses italian american recently which was lovely, funny, and genuinely intimate, if not THAT revealing. im going to try out the meatball recipe from his mum soon.
Sectionfive
bandwagon house
Sectionfive
bandwagon house
empty mirror
remember the jackalope
yeah, herzog kinda phoned that one in. i watched it back to back with Thin Blue Line and morris' film on the same topic blew it away.
just watched Jiro Dreams of Sushi and it was fantastic. makes me want to work hard. and eat well. it makes me wonder about the state of sushi post-typhoon/nuclear radiation. seems strange that it wasn't touched on at all. maybe it was filmed before the disaster, i don't know.
rubberdingyrapids
Well-known member
i saw spike lees docu on michael jackson's bad album. i loved it as it made me feel like i was 8 or 9 again and it was cool to see them going quite in depth about the creative process rather than just another mj freakshow doc (though id much rather spike apply this kind of approach to an album that deserved it more like OTW or thriller) but it is just feel good PR - i expected something a bit more from spike lee but i guess hes allowed to indulge his inner fanboy if scorcese can. some of it did get a bit ridiculous though, esp when people were talking up/defending the bad video (eg - kanye saying it was a big influence on how he dresses- really?).
seeing the original album cover MJ wanted - him behind a black lace veil inspired by an old gloria swanson shot - did blow my mind though.
seeing the original album cover MJ wanted - him behind a black lace veil inspired by an old gloria swanson shot - did blow my mind though.
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you
Well-known member
It was a crazy documentary - I love how much thinking went into making him appear masculine/street/tough - only for it to come out as some theatrical camp dance fest. The insight into the way he made and recorded music revealed him to to me to be an amazingly accomplished singer, professional and natural, similarly the analysis of his dance choreography showed how much he knew his dance history shit. Latter 2 aspects I never really thought about or appreciated.