OT: Great Documentary Films?

[XXtwindad]

I read an article recently on the 50th anniversary of Philippe Petit’s high-wire traverse between the Twin Towers. The feat was immortalized and contextualized in the riveting 2008 documentary “Man on Wire.”

When I think of great documentary films, that one comes immediately to mind. The documentary medium might be my favorite art form, and I tend to like “smaller” films rather than grand, sweeping historical narratives (a la Ken Burns).

Some others I’ve seen recently:

“Pepsi, Where’s My Jet? (2022) about a college student’s quixotic (or noble) quest to obtain a jet as a prize (it’s actually hilarious and features cameos by Michael Avenatti, Cindy Crawford, and Manny Pacquiao.

“The Last Dance” (2020) The kiddos went off to summer camp, so I was finally able to binge watch. I know the rap was that since Jordan was a producer it was going to be a hagiography. I didn’t see it that way. I think it rendered Jordan a much more complex figure. Start with the ever present shot glass. Did it need to be in the frames? No. But it’s certainly there, along with an expanded gut and bloodshot eyes. And then there’s the quote in a segment where Jordan says “I didn’t drink.” Followed by a pause. “Back then, anyway.”

The famous hallmarks are there, of course. The competitiveness. The focus. The casual cruelty. It’s clear that playing against (and with) Jordan was rarely fun. But there were other surprising dimensions as well. Jordan has a great sense of humor, albeit a very caustic one. And he sought out a coterie of people to insulate him from the outside world. Most of his posse (if it could be called that) seem to be people that did mundane things for him which blossomed into a friendship. The security guards at the United Center, for example. His best friend (according to the film) is his chauffeur.

One of the most telling moments in the doc is when the interviewer asks Jordan (in 2020) whether he cares that he’s disliked by teammates. Jordan attempts to answer and has to fight back tears, finally getting up to turn the cameras off.

If anyone in the doc was portrayed as too invested in their own mythology, it would be Dennis Rodman. He seems incapable of being anyone other than the persona he created. If Jordan ultimately let down his guard, The Worm is still intent on playing no-holds barred defense.

Lastly, I re-watched the 30 for 30 doc “Once Brothers” (2010) Every basketball fan should see this. Actually, nix that. Even if you don’t like basketball, the fundamental grief, regret, and reconciliation that undergird the movie make it universal. It focuses on the world class basketball team of the former Yugoslavia - specifically the relationship between the Croatian Drazen Petrovic (the Steph Curry of his day) and the Serbian Vlade Divacs (who narrates the film). The long friendship between the two was left in tatters by the war that ripped apart the country, and Petrovic died in a car accident before the two could reconcile.

The film provides perspective on the war itself (at one point Toni Kukoc was told be his Croatian army buddies that he couldn’t associate with any Serbians, and he looks at the camera helplessly and shrugs) as well as the greatness of a player whose career was tragically cut short.

Other recommendations?

[SlowPokePete]

Crip Camp.

https://cripcamp.com

SPP

[echelon_john]

The Defiant Ones
The lives of Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre/origin stories & culminating in the sale of Beats by Dre to Apple. Really well done.

Walt Disney-American Experience
Learned a lot about the guy & the empire he built that I didn’t know previously. Politics, culture, Americana of the time. Excellent.

The Alpinist
Sad but very compelling story of Marc Andre Leclerc

Another vote for “The Last Dance”

[fried bake]

Drama
"Am Not Your Negro" James Baldwin Documentary
"What Happened Miss Simone?" Nina Simone

Sports
"Senna"--still my favorite racing movie of all time
"Cheer"--this one took me by surprise, not sure I expected to be so intensely drawn in given the subject matter, but this is a compelling story well told

[ColonelJLloyd]

The IFC series Documentary Now!

Herzog's catalog.

Docs are also my favorite genre.

[wernerherzogsid]

Originally Posted by ColonelJLloyd

Herzog's catalog.

Four posts in was four posts too late for recognizing my contribution to the canon.

[e-RICHIE]

Note by Note: The Making of Steinway L1037

The Last Waltz

Muscle Shoals

Jiro Dreams of Framebuilding

[redir]

A few I can think of:

Word at War (British TV series about WW2)
Winter on Fire: Ukraine's Fight for Freedom
Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog)
Stop Making Sense (The Talking Heads)
The Last Waltz (The Band)

Ones I want to see:

Free Solo
Won't You Be My Neighbor?
127 Hours (maybe not a documentary but close)

[Tip]

In for recommendations. I love a good documentary.

I'll 2nd Grizzly Man. There are a few scenes that still haunt me to this day

[eddief]

never seen it live but the doc about the company coming back from covid was well done.

[reuben]

Summer of Soul. Overshadowed by Woodstock and general US interest/media.

Stevie Wonder (on drums)
Hugh Masakela
BB King
Mahalia Jackson
Nina Simone
The Staple Singers
Sly and the Family Stone
Gladys Knight and the Pips
...and more

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-siC9cugqA

[rcnute]

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1157605/

[reuben]

180 South

The 2010 voyage redux of the famous 1968 expedition that eventually launched North Face, Patagonia, and others. Surf, swim, climb, sail, hike. Adapt.

"It's not an adventure until something goes wrong."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Jfv3dfIe-U

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qoLnxlKZXaw

[Gsinill]

Originally Posted by wernerherzogsid

Four posts in was four posts too late for recognizing my contribution to the canon.

You outdid yourself with "My Best Fiend", thank you!

[dustyrider]

Finding Vivian Maier