One interesting documentary that I didn't see mentioned is "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised". This documentary was on my Netfix list for years, but it was never released in the USA on DvD. It had a release date set at one point but the company that was releasing it ended up cancelling the release. It is now available on the internet for free.

It is the story of the coup that ousted Chavez from power in 2002. This is the Wikipedia entry for it:

The Revolution Will Not Be Televised (a.k.a. Chavez: Inside the Coup) is a 2002 documentary about the April 2002 Venezuelan coup attempt which briefly deposed Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez. A television crew from Ireland's Radio Telifís Éireann happened to be recording a documentary about Chávez during the events of April 11, 2002. Shifting focus, they followed the events as they occurred. During their filming, the crew recorded images of the events that they say contradict explanations given by Chávez opposition, the private media, the US State Department, and then White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. The documentary says that the coup was the result of a conspiracy between various old guard and anti-Chávez factions within Venezuela and the United States.

I've just watch both films, trouble is particularly the second one is that it doesnt seem even handed, the filmakers have decided they are innocent and its the step dad who performed the murders and seem to press this home at each opportunity.

The stepdad does seem totally weird and him turning up at every outside court interview is bizarre, but as he was paid by the filmakers how much you can really read into it is so hard to tell. From that point of view if he wasnt told to be there by the makers then it is a bit eerie and like the Soham murders in the UK, but I suspect they told him where and when to turn up.

FWIW I think its pretty clear they didnt do it and supposedly dna evidence released the last few months shows none of their dna was at the scene. Plus there was no rapes etc which puts the confession totally in perspective, seeing your mates raping little boys isnt somthing you would become confused about.

I watched The Grounded Truth the other week, quite a disturbing documentary with interviews with Iraq war veterans. Some of the stories and tactics they describe are terrible.

Again though I felt it was a touch inbalanced, think should have had some soliders who had more positive things to say and maybe some interviews with Iraqis.

Did a quick search through thread for "Street Thief" and did not find it so I would like to add it. Very good film about a guy who breaks in places for a living. Highly recommend it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0872224/

I saw Street Thief a few months ago. Pretty cool how easy it is to break into most buildings.

JESUS CAMP!

different kind of dog show

Okay, read the entire thread. I just saw this one today and it's ground breaking.

LIFE AND DEBT
In 1962, Jamaica won its independence from the United Kingdom, and the island nation, which had long struggled with poverty, attempted to use its agricultural resources in order to create a sound economic base. As Jamaica's financial problems grew more severe with time, prime minister Michael Manley struck a deal in 1977 with a consortium of economic institutions through the International Monetary Fund, who would loan money to the nation in exchange for removal of trade restrictions and subsidized exports. Twenty-five years later, most Jamaicans would agree that the deal drove a stake through the island's agricultural and industrial economy; imports from America have ruined the island's dairy industry, interference from growers and merchants in the United States and Latin America have effectively ended the growing of onions, bananas, carrots, and potatoes as cash crops, the value of the Jamaican dollar has plummeted, and the island is now seven billion dollars in debt to the IMF, with interest driving that figure higher each day. Filmmaker Stephanie Black examines the sad state of Jamaica's economy in the face of "free trade" in the global economy in the documentary Life + Debt, which includes interviews with Michael Manley and IMF director Stanley Fischer; the Jamaica Kincaid novel A Small Place provides some of the text for the film's narration. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide.

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Not to toot my own horn but...I have a masters degree in international relations which specializes in global finance and international trade and this is the first documentary I've seen that legitimately points to the weaknesses of the global trading system without disolving into an anti-capitalism rant.

A very powerful documentary which showcases a country desperately trying to become successful in the globalized world and not succeeding. I highly recommend this film.

Zeitgesit - The Movie
I just finished this and found it pretty powerful and presents some interesting arguments. Definite conspiracy theory theme, but well done and extremely interesting.


The Corporation - Part 1
The Corporation - Part 2
Watched this recently and liked it a lot. It's Canadian made and obviously about corporations. Under law a corporation is a person and this documentary explores what that means. Some interesting case studies in it about corporations like Movado.

Wanted to briefly echo the earlier comments on The Street Thief. Suspenseful with a truly surprise ending. Highly recommend it enough and left me wanting more. All the standard descriptive cliches apply.

I am not sure it is a true documentary or not but worth watching. I think it's on A&E this month.

I watched I Like Killing Flies on the Netflix site the other night.

It follows Shopsin's restaurant in Greenwich Village in 2004 during its relocation to a new site.

It's really a character study of the patriarch of the Shopsin family, Kenny. A true, true, New Yorker.

I definitely want to eat at this place if I ever get to NY.

I won't come as part of a party of five, however.

I plan to watch the story of India

Ken Burns' "The War" on PBS has been great so far.

The Corporation is one of the dumbest movies I've ever seen. It's just anti-capitalist fluff. A bunch of random scary music, qoutes taken out of context, and poorly constructed arguments about why every corporation is evil. In almost every example they give, you can make a much better case for placing the blame on fascist/corporatist governments than the corporations they're trying to vilify.

The qoute from Michael Moore at the very end is just priceless for it's hilarious logical fallacies and contradictions.

Choke

The documentary on Rickson Gracie and Graciejj.

You can get it on youtube.

Good stuff if you're into mma.

I watched Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus the other day and really enjoyed it. Nothing too profound or Earth-shattering, it's just a look at the South and some of the folk/bluegrass/alternative country music that is born there. I'd recommend it, especially if you're at all into that kind of music.

A few of these have been mentioned already:

Dark Days: About homeless people living underground in abandoned subway stations. What makes it stand out is the film-maker really following the lives of some of these guys and apparently even living down there for some time after becoming homeless himself. It really gives you a look at homeless people as actual people with their own story and problems that led them to be in the situation they are now trapped in.

A Century Of Self: This is a series, done by the BBC I think, I cant recommend this enough. Basically it details the initial use of Freudian psychology in marketing, and how that has developed into the self-obsessed consumer society that we (in most countries at least) are living in right now.

War Photographer: About famed photographer Jim Nachtwey. Extremely powerful documentary that takes you behind the scenes of many of his famous photographs. I found it particularly interesting for the discussion it raises about the role of the media - impartial viewing vs active participation - how that affects his work and larger implications.

This hasn't been mentioned as far as I can tell, I payed attention to most of the posts...

Planet Earth, the Discovery channel's documentary on wildlife. They edited thousands of hours of filming over several years to collect the entire series. Totally awesome.

I just saw Run Granny Run on HBO last night. It's about a 94 yr old woman who ran for senate in New Hampshire. She ended up getting like 34% of the votes.

Should've paid more attention. Yeti mentioned it ages ago.

I believe they (Discovery channel) only gave some money to the amazing BBC guys who did the actual work.

Besides the Discovery version has reportedly been cut/edited for commercials and it has Sigourney Weaver (blasphemy!) as narrator instead of David "the god himself" Attenborough.

Care to expand on this in any way? I just don't see it at all. How do you place the blame on government for the monsanto example?

Also, what fascist government are you trying to place the blame on? The US government?

Google video is not co-operating at this moment but I don't see the logical fallacies or contradictions of micheal moore's statement at the end. Care to explain it to me?

I saw New York Doll on cable a couple of weeks ago, and would recommend it. It's about New York Dolls bassist Arthur "Killer" Kane, his struggle with drugs and alcohol, and his conversion to Mormonism.

Whenever a movie combines punk rock and Mormonism, hilarity is sure to ensure, and this one doesn't disappoint. The climax of the movie is a Dolls reunion concern (featuring David Johansen, aka Buster Poindexter) where Kane wears a glammed-out costume supposedly inspired by Joseph Smith.

For all the laughs, though, the movie is pretty inspiring, and the ending is both unexpected and touching.

Another vote for this site. I highly recommend 'The Ascent of Man' & 'The Century of the Self'

I'd be happy to explain my thoughts on this, but it would likely cause a major thread hijack. Let's start a new thread or PM.