Documentary Films - Let's Discuss

Been into a lot of non-fiction filmmaking lately, and want to know your opinions on it. What style of filmmaking do you prefer, who are your favorite filmmakers, what are your favorite documentaries, etc.

Despite my 5 film Errol Morris marathon, one film from Wiseman was enough to make him instantly superior, but on the other hand I love Morris' later style, the one man-one interview approach of Fog of War and Mr. Death.

However truthful he may be, I find Michael Moore's films instantly appealing both in terms of their presentation, and in content (I hate Bush too).

On the other hand I got to watch Ken Burns' Civil War which is informative and damn well made, but hardly the type of observational or personal filmmaking style of Morris or Wiseman.

So weigh in on docs, and feel free to give your recommendations, always looking for something good to watch.

There are quite a few great docs out there.

These ones all made a big impact on my psyche:

Winged Migration. Just about perfect. It documents many species of birds and their behaviors. We get a literal bird's-eye view into what it means to be a feathered creature.

My Best Fiend. Werner Herzog's song to Klaus Kinski.
Klaus was one of the greatest actors in film history. An intense doc for an intense man, one who complimented Herzog's style so much that you can't really think about Herzog without thinking of Kinski. I am not your SUPERSTAR!!


Year of the Horse. Jim Jarmusch's road movie with Neil Young and Crazy Horse. I don't need to mention that the soundtrack kicks ass.

Ken Burn's Frank Lloyd Wright. If you love architecture as art then you can't get any better than this well-made tribute to the genius FLW.

Woodstock, Monterey Pop, Message to Love, Gimme Shelter: the 4 Horsemen of music docs.
These 4 films show how music (and the huge festivals that were so popular in the Age of Aquarius) moved generations of people to gather in tribes to experience a religious experience, with varying and wildly different results.

There are many more to note, but I'm in the middle of watching a DVD right now.

Well I watched Meat (1976), which makes it the fourth Wiseman film.

Like his others, this is strictly captured cinema. A lot less dialogue than usual, this one observes the rituals of how we get our meat, from the ranch to the processing plant. That being said there are lots of scens of cows being decapitated, and gutted, and if that's disgusting to you, then this film should not be seen by you. The fact that its in black and white made the images easier to watch, at least for me.

The film neither tries to make a statement about our meat, and it certainly doesn't pass judgement on the process, instead it simply shows us life in the industry. From discussions on the economy of meat, to various slaughterhouse workers on their lunch break. You get a sense of the detachment that these men have to have for their work. I mean it can be messy business and if you have a weak stomach, you couldn't last.

Perhaps not as intriguing as Law and Order, but it represents another unique portrait of part of our culture.

I made a list a long time ago and never posted it. I couldn't find it
so I had to start from scratch.

I've posted on a few favorite documentaries:
Master Class with Fred Wiseman
Screening of Titicut Follies
Conference/retrospective Jean Rouch
Screening of The Corporation
Screening of The House is Black
Screening of Ross McElwee's Bright Leaves
Two from the 2003 MIFF: Bus 174 and Moments 2002

Other Favorite Documentaries:

Alain Resnais' NIGHT AND FOG and LE CHANT DU STYRENE
Werner Herzog's FATA MORGANA and LESSONS OF DARKNESS
Agnes Varda's JACQUOT DE NANTES and THE GLEANERS AND I
Orson Welles' F IS FOR FAKE and AROUND THE WORLD WITH ORSON WELLES
CRUMB (Zwigoff)
HEARTS AND MINDS (Davis)
NANOOK OF THE NORTH (Flaherty)
CINEMA EUROPE: The Other Hollywood (Brownlow/Carter)
WOODSTOCK (Wadleigh)
SHOAH (Lanzmann)
SANS SOLEIL (Marker)
THE SORROW AND THE PITY (Ophuls)
HOOP DREAMS (James)
PARADISE LOST (Berlinger/Sinofsky)
VISIONS OF LIGHT: The Art of Cinematography (Glassman/McCarthy)
FAST, CHEAP & OUT OF CONTROL (Morris)
AND ALONG CAME A SPIDER (Bahari)
MY VOYAGE TO ITALY (Scorsese)
THE BATTLE FOR CHILE (Guzman)

Wish List: The Blonds, Los Angeles Plays Itself, Love & Diane,
Chile:Obstinate Memory, etc.