What documentaries do you recommend?

[MichaelToris]

NO END IN SIGHT was the first film I saw after I returned from my Iraq deployment in December 2006. The film was eye opening, extremely infuriating and made me fall in love with documentary films ever since then.

Other recommendations:

Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief: I had no idea what scientology was about before I saw this film and I hope I never meet anyone from that organization! Just hearing the crazy stories told by former members is a real mind trip. Despite this newfound knowledge, I still enjoy watching Tom Cruise and his movies, heh.

Food, Inc. and The Cove both deal with the gross mistreatment of animals and both are very hard to watch. I’ve only seen these films once but they leave a powerful, long lasting impression of despair and disgust towards the factory farm industry.

The Fog of War (US SECDEF McNamara interview), The Unknown Knowns (SECDEF Rumsfeld interview) and the Invisible War (rape culture within US military).

Most of these fill me with anger after watching them haha but they’re all very informative. What are your favorite documentaries? And can you recommend me some feel good docs to counter balance my rage-inducing list?

 

[Worship Jaclyn]

I love this post! I have a massive list of documentaries I want to watch that I'm only slowly working through.

Earthlings- Animal rights
Montage of Heck- Kurt Cobain's life
Soaked in Bleach- Kurt Cobain's death
Born Into Brothels- Child prostitutes documenting their life through photography
Sicko- American healthcare system
Secret Rulers of The World- A Documentary miniseries by Jon Ronson

Oh and Camgirlz

 

[justjoinedtopost]

The Fog of War was great. Loved it.

Shoah won't make your feel-good list, but a must see imo.

 

[EroticEevee]

Vegucated- on Netflix. The documentary follows around new vegans for a few weeks to document how they feel about their new lifestyle. They range from single mothers, to teens living with parents.

Cowspiracy- On Netflix. Very informative movie about environmental destruction, and what the biggest contributor is.

 

[ACFFAN69]

Dangerous Knowledge: Goes into the lives of four great mathematicians: Georg Cantor, Ludwig Boltzmann, Kurt Gödel and Alan Turing - And discusses how their genius enhanced our understanding of the world yet completely destroyed their lives. How their quest to understand reality drove them to insanity.



The Century of Self: A BBC documentary about the evolution of how government and corporations have analyzed, dealt with, and learned how to control people. Starting with the work of Sigmeund frued and the culprit of getting Freuds work famous: his nephew (and first big media giant) Edward Bernays. It really makes you realize how much subconsciously humans have changed through manipulation to fulfill our own desires: "We must shift America from a needs- to a desires-culture. People must be trained to desire, to want new things, even before the old have been entirely consumed. [...] Man's desires must overshadow his needs":



Conspiracy of Silence: One of the biggest scandal in the history of the U.S.A history. The story received some newspaper coverage but there was a TV News Media blackout on the subject. For this reason, most Americans have never heard of it. Former republican Senator John Decamp was involved in the production a documentary called "Conspiracy of Silence" it was to air May 3, 1994 on the Discovery Channel. It exposed a network of religious leaders and Washington politicians who flew children to Washington D.C. for sex orgies. At the last minute before airing, an unknown congressmen threatened the TV Cable industry with restrictive legislation if this documentary was aired. This one is dark.

 

[SoniaSilk]

Encounters at the End of the world is a documentary by Herzog in which he travels to Artartica to find out who the hell moved there and why. If you also think lonely people are the best people, you must watch it.
Actually, anything by Herzog.

Black Fish, about the whale that drowns his trainer in Sea world.

 

[BiancaBaker]

Oh I love documentaries! In No particular Order:

*Stories We Tell

*The Act Of Killing

*Imposter

*Room 237

 

[LuckySmiles]

if you like Food Inc and Vegucated, Forks over Knives and Food Matters are also pretty good too talking about methods in treating disease with nutrition vs. surgery and pharmaceuticals. Figuring out causes vs. symptoms. and examine the lack of nutrition study in Western Medicine.

 

[ThePrincessLuxy]

How to die in Oregon.

Totally unrelated to what happened with the recent shooting, it's about the death with dignity laws in Oregon. It's definitely very heavy and heart wrenching and the beginning makes me uneasy but it's something that really needs to be talked about. Cancer patients that are terminally ill need to have their stories shared and I'm glad I watched it because it convinced me of why having the option for them to legally end their own lives by medically prescribed concoction is the most humane alternative.

Definitely watch if you're looking for something sobering.

 

[LuckySmiles]

http://documentaryheaven.com/watch-online/
this site also provides a good organized and searchable list of any kind of documentary you can think of that is free. The streaming quality is meh because their mostly youtube uploads, but and easy place to get lost in (without the Youtube lizard people recommendations constantly popping up on the side)

 

[MichaelToris]

http://documentaryheaven.com/watch-online/
this site also provides a good organized and searchable list of any kind of documentary you can think of that is free. The streaming quality is meh because their mostly youtube uploads, but and easy place to get lost in (without the Youtube lizard people recommendations constantly popping up on the side)

You rock!!! Great find thank you so much! And thanks for the other recommendations people! I'm definitely interested in the following:
Born into Brothels
Shoah (damn that's long!)
Cowspiracy
How to Die in Oregon

I NEED to take a break though I just saw The Canary Effect and White Light/Black Rain: The Destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and both were extremely soul-crushing to watch.
Hearing about the atrocities and broken promises done unto native americans by the U.S. government
then accounts told by atomic bomb survivors, coupled with, the horrific photographs and video of dead kids drained the hell outta me this weekend.

I'll probably watch Food Matters next that doesn't look soul-crushing at all haha. And fit in Cartel Land somewhere too.

 

[Drumag]

Oh my god, I'm so happy that so many people mentioned documentaries about animal rights and veganism in general They opened my eyes and changed my life too and it's awesome that more and more people watch them!
Cowspiracy, Food Inc and Forks over Knives were already mentioned so yeah. I couldn't watch Earthlings because it was too hard.

On the other hand, I also LOVE Vice documentaries on youtube

Another one is Kid Criminals - documentary about kids under 15 in prison. Their stories are heart breaking.

And probably the best one, Born Into Brothels

 

[Zana]

My favorites

Its A Girl (Netflix)- Gendercide in India and China, including one child laws

Whores Glory (Netflix)- prostitution in Thailand, Bangladesh and Mexico

Cropsey (was on Netflix when I saw it)- A bit more creepy. Based on urban legend of a boogieman, basically, a story of a kidnapper on Staten Island

 

[Sevrin]

On a lighter note, there are also documentaries Tim's Vermeer and Banksy's Exit Through the Gift Shop, which I enjoyed a great deal.

 

[nadibrown]

Not really feel good, but interesting

The Dark Side of Chocolate
The chocolate industry and its part in human trafficking, child labour and slavery

Love Me (I think its on Netflix still) about the mail order bride industry in Ukraine

 

[n_i_c_u]

These are some that I've watched multiple times and own (mainly fun stuff):

The Aristocrats-- I found it really really funny.

Tie-died: Rock 'n Roll's Most Deadicated Fans -- This one I is interesting as a look at a current counter culture. I experienced some of this, and even met some of the people interviewed (found out later-- "Dude! That's the person that was sitting next to me"!).

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years -- I grew up with this one. Amazing how much I wanted to be like these 'rock dudes' growing up.

Less fun, that I don't own but have watched:

I saw a documentary (I think it is) called Tsunami - Caught on Camera on youtube which is tough to watch but fascinating in its documentation of the power of Nature.

*The Act Of Killing

This one was super tough to watch. It is just so disturbing on so many levels. It actually made me feel anger that the bad guys won.

 

[Puffin]

Two videos on education:

Ken Robinson: Do schools kill creativity?


The above is really funny, it's also my favourite ted talk.


Rebecca Zak': Raising Creativity

 

[lovergirl]

Education doc - Waiting for Superman

Philly Police Bombings - Let The Fire Burn (Netflix)

Egyptian Revolution - The Square (Netflix)

Racism/false incarceration - The Central Park Five (Netflix)

FBI Informant - The Imposter (Netflix)

Crime doc - Who is Kasper Carr (Street Thief) (Netflix)

Porn doc - Hot Girls Wanted (Netflix)

Biography - A Punk Singer, A Film About Kathleen Hanna (Netflix)

That's a start.

 

[lovergirl]

Oh, Hidden Colors 1, 2, and 3 for documentaries about racism. I think you have to download,

 

[Jade_Verbeck]

Women in the Media = Killing us Softly and Missrepresentation
Youtube and the way it's shaped media consumption = Please Subscribe
How the post-Internet bubble blast affects our daily life and the costs of it = Terms and Conditions may apply
Drug war = Breaking the taboo and End the War on Drugs

The Bettie Page documentary is also pretty interesting. Most of these are available on Netflix.

 

[LuckySmiles]

If you want to go on a drug documentary bender:
http://documentaryheaven.com/afghanistans-heroin-hell/

depressing. Imagine an episode of A&E's Intervention taking place in Kabul. What you would expect.

and then this
http://documentaryheaven.com/the-oxycontin-express/

From a few years ago but still relevant. Talks about the "pill mill" shops in Florida set up by doctors to legally distribute pain prescriptions to addicts, to local and out of state residents.

If you follow this kind of stuff these two documentary issues are clearly intertwined. Oxycodone and heroin are different forms of essentially the same drug. Heroin use and addiction is currently on the rise again in the US. A major part of that is heroin becoming more common among people who have previously become dependent on oxycodone and other prescription opiates. Users can turn to heroin when they can't afford the pills or prescriptions are cut off. Heroin is more widely available and a stronger cheaper alternative(currently less than a pack of cigarettes in most parts of the country)
90% of the world's heroin, comes out of the opium fields of Afghanistan where production has been on a steady incline since 2001, and as of 2014 at it's highest level of production on record.

 

[Lora Lace]

The most recent documentaries I watched were The Act of Killing and The Look of Silence both of which were directed by Joshua Oppenheimer. They're both brilliant, and discuss the massacres that took place in Indonesia in 1965 that killed upwards of 500,000. I watched them because it recently hit 50 years since the massacres began & I really didn't know much about them (which is crazy, as I'm half Indonesian and have spent a lot of my life in Indonesia).

 

[Pepper]

...

I loved these, thank you for posting. The BBC does historical reenactments like no other. Did you see Codebreaker? I watched it a few days before seeing the Cumberbatch film about Turing and the BBC version is infinitely better.

 

[justjoinedtopost]

The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan

If you are in the mood to watch something particularly revolting. This is one of those that you watch, and you fume for a couple of days afterwards.

 

[Guy]

Bowling for Columbine http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0310793/

 

[Deleted member 25213]

I really liked Blackfish and just rewatched it the other night. Super interesting if you're into animal rights and want to get the feels. It's on Netflix!

 

[MichaelTowersXO]

Most of the first round of Vice docs (like the suicide forest one above) are really fascinating - some are SUPER morbid but there are also some really good ones on directors/artists too.

For an old-school quality documentary, Harlan County, USA is a really good documentary about Georgia miners (like coal miners, not kids) going on strike and the messed-up responses by the mining company. Seems like it was pretty influential, both IRL and to other documentary filmmakers.

The one I saw most recently & liked was Hot Girls Wanted, a documentary on a household of newbies in the mainstream adult industry trying to make it, it was really interesting and I think very well-made, and it helped me come to some big revelations about myself in this field as well as the mainstream field.

 

[Deleted member 25213]

The one I saw most recently & liked was Hot Girls Wanted, a documentary on a household of newbies in the mainstream adult industry trying to make it, it was really interesting and I think very well-made, and it helped me come to some big revelations about myself in this field as well as the mainstream field.

I watched this one my first week on cam when I was first diving into researching things super hard. Really interesting. Gritty stuff, for sure.

 

[MichaelTowersXO]

I watched this one my first week on cam when I was first diving into researching things super hard. Really interesting. Gritty stuff, for sure.

Yeah definitely gritty - I think they do a good job showing how it all looks fun, but quickly becomes grim, but all without the filmmakers milking/sensationalizing it. The movie made me glad I didn't get into real shoots, but it also helped to hear that it's not just your look/face that makes or breaks you, it's your actions that you take.

 

[Guy]

Yeah definitely gritty - I think they do a good job showing how it all looks fun, but quickly becomes grim, but all without the filmmakers milking/sensationalizing it. The movie made me glad I didn't get into real shoots, but it also helped to hear that it's not just your look/face that makes or breaks you, it's your actions that you take.

Hot Girls Wanted is complete propaganda. It focuses on one small agency in the porn industry and makes it look like all porn companies are bad. http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/06/13/hot-girls-wanted-is-pornsploitation.html