The Swamp

I've been meaning to kick this off for quite some time. I'm a huge documentary nerd and a number of our movie/tv threads tend to pluck out the good ones. But it's a pretty specific genre and I thought it might be cool if we dropped hidden gems and/or quality docs into one thread.

I know it's a little overwhelming, because there's a lot out there.

At any rate, I'm in the middle of the 3 part mini series on Hulu called Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence.

Review: Holy Fucking Shit.

Off the top of my head:

Icarus
Both Fyre Fest ones
Both Woodstock '99 ones
The mockumentary American Vandal
13th
Citizenfour
Restrepo

And here's the subreddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Documentaries/

Great thread call, NLFC.

I celebrate David Attenborough's entire library but really into music docs lately, so throw them out there you guyz.

Mad Dog With Soul is one of my favorites.

I watched In the Shadow of the Moon last night, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s about the Apollo missions and came out about 15 years ago. They interviewed all of the surviving Apollo astronauts except for Neil Armstrong, who declined to participate.

Not to out of the gate thread jack myself, but on a podcast note, Tig Notaro and Cheryl Hinds have one that focuses on docs. It's HIGHLY entertaining (unless you don't like the ladies, I love them both) and it's a great place to curate a good documentary list.

For example, I never would've watched The Pez Outlaw... It's very well done and well worth the watch. I haven't even heard them talk about it yet, but it was an upcoming episode so I dove in.

Johnnie wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 9:46 pm Off the top of my head:

Icarus
Both Fyre Fest ones
Both Woodstock '99 ones
The mockumentary American Vandal
13th
Citizenfour
Restrepo

And here's the subreddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Documentaries/

I can't recommend Icarus highly enough. I think we talked about it back in the day. The twist in that one is fucking incredible.

I’m also a documentary fan. Particularly of history (and my favorite rock bands).

Both PDX and I have talked up the free* Kanopy streaming channel. It has a huge library of great documentaries. Add it to your streamers.

*it works through libraries, so you need your local library card.

sancarlos wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 10:51 pm I’m also a documentary fan. Particularly of history (and my favorite rock bands).

Both PDX and I have talked up the free* Kanopy streaming channel. It has a huge library of great documentaries. Add it to your streamers.

*it works through libraries, so you need your local library card.

protip: If you happen to have cards from different library systems add them all, Kanopy has different tiers with different content.

(you might be able to get an alumni card from your college too, some colleges open up streaming for alumni. They have great shit.)

I think my all-time favorite doc is still Hoop Dreams. My second favorite, and I think maybe this one is available again after many years of not, is Eyes on the Prize.

I know, both are quite old. But still good.

Johnnie wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 9:46 pm Off the top of my head:

Icarus
Both Fyre Fest ones
Both Woodstock '99 ones
The mockumentary American Vandal
13th
Citizenfour
Restrepo

And here's the subreddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/Documentaries/

I was looking for Restrepo a while back and couldn't find it anywhere.

ETA: To add some value to this thread, Wild Wild Country on Netflix was pretty fantastic. Cult takes over a county in Oregon, it's fucking crazy.

I never really have the desire to watch a documentary, but typically when I do, I really enjoy them. Hands on a Hardbody is probably my favorite.

Giff wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 9:57 am I never really have the desire to watch a documentary, but typically when I do, I really enjoy them. Hands on a Hardbody is probably my favorite.

Fucking Houstonians, man...

Two of my favorites are A Devil's Playground and Murderball. And I am with Shirley on Hoop Dreams.

Bastards of Baseball.

More later...

Ooh. That's a great one.

A_B wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 10:02 am

Giff wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 9:57 am I never really have the desire to watch a documentary, but typically when I do, I really enjoy them. Hands on a Hardbody is probably my favorite.

Fucking Houstonians, man...

Longviewites.

I'm excited for this thread. If I have the TV solo and there's not a game on, I tend to check through available documentaries and then always decide there are too many to pick out the right one and quit.

(One request, because I'm high maintenance. "Wild Wild Country on Netflix was pretty fantastic. Cult takes over a county in Oregon, it's fucking crazy." is a very good sale whereas just a title, unless obvious, is a complete fucking waste of my time. Do better.)

Okay, so Battered Bastards of Baseball is about a ragtag, unaffiliated minor league baseball team out of the Pac NW (Oregon, pretty sure). They were owned by an eccentric dude that loved promotions and the team was full of cast offs... But they made it work.

Think of the Savanah Bananas, but set in the 70s.

The one I just finished, Stolen Youth: Inside the Cult at Sarah Lawrence is an absolutely horrifying story about how a father of one of the SLU students infiltrated a friend group and brainwashed almost all of them and eventually turned some of them into sex workers.

The amount of footage they have is insane. The guy liked to tape "interrogations" and to see these kids devolve into zombies is heart wrenching. But it's also fascinating. These were really bright kids... The guy is a master manipulator. And the Devil.

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 11:21 am Okay, so Battered Bastards of Baseball is about a ragtag, unaffiliated minor league baseball team out of the Pac NW (Oregon, pretty sure). They were owned by an eccentric dude that loved promotions and the team was full of cast offs... But they made it work.

Think of the Savanah Bananas, but set in the 70s.

Isn't that the team that Kurt Russell played on? Was associated with somehow?

If you are interested in a food documentary, we've watched a few episodes of "High On The Hog" on Netflix. Chef/food writer Stephen Satterfield starts in Africa, talking about the food traditions that slaves brought with them to America, and then the second episode was about the "Carolina Gold" rice in South Carolina.

One thing...Satterfield is SUPER low key. He's not a roaring ball of charisma, but he's very thoughtful and respectful of the subject matter and the people he's talking with.

Giff wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 9:57 am I never really have the desire to watch a documentary, but typically when I do, I really enjoy them. Hands on a Hardbody is probably my favorite.

That one definitely stuck with me over the years. That poor dude...losing out just because he was smoking a cig and switched hands. D'oh...

Sabo wrote: ↑Wed Feb 22, 2023 9:54 pm I watched In the Shadow of the Moon last night, and thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s about the Apollo missions and came out about 15 years ago. They interviewed all of the surviving Apollo astronauts except for Neil Armstrong, who declined to participate.

If you haven't seen "Apollo 11", it's amazing.

All official NASA footage, in 70mm, so it looks remarkable.

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 11:28 am

Nonlinear FC wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 11:21 am Okay, so Battered Bastards of Baseball is about a ragtag, unaffiliated minor league baseball team out of the Pac NW (Oregon, pretty sure). They were owned by an eccentric dude that loved promotions and the team was full of cast offs... But they made it work.

Think of the Savanah Bananas, but set in the 70s.

Isn't that the team that Kurt Russell played on? Was associated with somehow?

I had forgotten that part... Looking it up: Bing Russell was the owner and, yes, Kurt played on the team and also served as VP for a time.

So many great ones out there. (I taught documentaries at a local college for a while. Not relevant, but when else can I throw out that fact?)

As Shirley noted, "Hoop Dreams" is really as good as it gets. "Murderball" is also fantastic.

"Walyz With Bashir" is odd because it's an animated documentary, but it is one of the best I have ever seen.

Another one that comes to mind is "Dark Days" about homeless New Yorkers that live in the subway tunnels. Mind blowing.

"The Blues According to Lightnin' Hopkins" is also great.

"Grizzly Man" and "Little Dieter Needs To Fly" are wild - Werner Herzog is a bizarre film maker, and these are two of his best.

For you music buffs Netflix has a good one called Hired Guns that is about session/studio musicians as well as Long Time Running about Gord Downie/Tragically Hip.

I watched Let There Be Drums on the last flight I took...I think it's also available on Prime & Apple TV.

GoodKarma wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 6:05 pm For you music buffs Netflix has a good one called Hired Guns that is about session/studio musicians as well as Long Time Running about Gord Downie/Tragically Hip.

I watched Let There Be Drums on the last flight I took...I think it's also available on Prime & Apple TV.

"20 Feet From Stardom" was a great one about backup singers.

Oh, speaking of music documentaries, The Defiant Ones about Jimmy Iovine and Dr Dre's impact on music history was pretty awesome.

GoodKarma wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 6:05 pm For you music buffs Netflix has a good one called Hired Guns that is about session/studio musicians as well as Long Time Running about Gord Downie/Tragically Hip.

The one about the Wrecking Crew is really great. And has one of my favorite closing lines ever, courtesy of drummer Hal Blaine:

[+] spoiler

Hal Blaine: What do you call a trombone player with a beeper?

Hal Blaine: An optimist.

Yeah that was a good one!

Navalny won the Oscar tonight. I haven't seen it, but now I guess I should.

It beat out All That Breathes, All the Beauty and the Bloodshed, Fire of Love, & A House Made of Splinters.

It wasn't until it won the award that I realized that the Director of "Navalny" is kind of related to me. My Aunt's Nephew. (Father's sister's Brother In Law's Kid)

While I was laid up last week I watched the Madoff, Flight MH370 and the Gamestop documentaries on Netflix.

I was in the mood to just watch stuff, so with that filter, I found all 3 interesting and informative.

It's funny, I thought I had a good handle on what Madoff did, but it was even more devious (and brazen) than I remembered. It is also infuriating how many times the SEC was provided ample evidence of the ponzi scheme and did nothing about it. Like... Those people suck.

Pruitt IV wrote: ↑Thu Feb 23, 2023 5:39 pm "Grizzly Man" and "Little Dieter Needs To Fly" are wild - Werner Herzog is a bizarre film maker, and these are two of his best.

ß I love Werner Herzog. The fact that he was able to make five movies with Klaus Kinski while few other filmmakers wanted to work with Kinski more than once says a lot about him. And he made a documentary about Kinski ('My Best Fiend').

Errol Morris is probably my favorite documentarian. I started a thread about him years ago, probably in another version of the Swamp. I might write more about him later. (Spoiler: I won't.)

ß Two recommendations for now, for those nights when you just want to wallow in the worst things we can do to others.

'The Secret of the Wild Child.' A 1994 PBS episode of 'Nova' about 'Genie,' the girl who was locked in a room and abused by her father for 13 years. Was discovered in 1970, malnourished and developmentally disabled. Was studied and tested for a few years, then pulled away from researchers by her mother. She's still alive, living in a nursing home in California somewhere. She would be about 65 now. This documentary destroyed me the two or three times I watched it. Russ Rymer's biography, 'Genie: A Scientific Tragedy' (1993), is worth reading.

'The Real Animal Farm.' This is a 2006 episode of the UK's Channel Four series 'The Dark Side of Porn.' About Bodil Joensen, the Danish farmer/actress who had sex with animals on camera in the 1970s. She worked for Color Climax, which was known for all kinds of sketchy/illegal stuff that you probably shouldn't research. Joensen became an alcoholic and drank herself to death at age 40. I won't link to the documentary for obvious reasons (tho there are no overly graphic scenes in it, aside from the horse cocks), but you can find it if you want. Sad, fascinating story.

bapo! wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 9:29 pm 'The Secret of the Wild Child.' A 1994 PBS episode of 'Nova' about 'Genie,' the girl who was locked in a room and abused by her father for 13 years. Was discovered in 1970, malnourished and developmentally disabled. Was studied and tested for a few years, then pulled away from researchers by her mother. She's still alive, living in a nursing home in California somewhere. She would be about 65 now. This documentary destroyed me the two or three times I watched it. Russ Rymer's biography, 'Genie: A Scientific Tragedy' (1993), is worth reading.

Nope

'The Real Animal Farm.' This is a 2006 episode of the UK's Channel Four series 'The Dark Side of Porn.' About Bodil Joensen, the Danish farmer/actress who had sex with animals on camera in the 1970s. She worked for Color Climax, which was known for all kinds of sketchy/illegal stuff that you probably shouldn't research. Joensen became an alcoholic and drank herself to death at age 40. I won't link to the documentary for obvious reasons (tho there are no overly graphic scenes in it, aside from the horse cocks), but you can find it if you want. Sad, fascinating story.

Hard no.

I'm sure they are both great...but I'm not signing up for that.

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 10:21 pm I'm sure they are both great...but I'm not signing up for that.

Hey, I don't blame you. As always, I'm only trying to reach a tiny number of Swampers. In this case, I don't know who that might be.

You'll have better luck with those Errol Morris docs: The Thin Blue Line, Mr. Death, The Fog of War (Robert McNamara), The Unknown Known (Donald Rumsfeld), American Dharma (Steve Bannon), etc. Can't go wrong there.

bapo! wrote: ↑Sat Mar 18, 2023 7:57 am

DaveInSeattle wrote: ↑Fri Mar 17, 2023 10:21 pm I'm sure they are both great...but I'm not signing up for that.

Hey, I don't blame you. As always, I'm only trying to reach a tiny number of Swampers. In this case, I don't know who that might be.

You'll have better luck with those Errol Morris docs: The Thin Blue Line, Mr. Death, The Fog of War (Robert McNamara), The Unknown Known (Donald Rumsfeld), American Dharma (Steve Bannon), etc. Can't go wrong there.

Your write up is enough for me. Good to know this exists, I can’t deal with the horrors. And sadly, I probably saw the porn accesses work in my US Customs days.

Watched Our Father on Netflix last night. It's about the sick in the head fertility doctor in Indiana that used his own sperm to inseminate patients instead of donor sperm. It was discovered when people started taking at home DNA tests. (In light of my own experience with learning of a new family member via an at home DNA test, I thought it was apropos.)

It was pretty good, but I could've done without the extra dramatizations for recreated scenes -- especially considering it was a mix of victims and actors doing the recreated scenes.

So, I just learned that Martin Scorsese has a new documentary coming out, soon. It will be focused on the career of David Johansen, the influential singer for the New York Dolls and his alter-ego, lounge singer Buster Poindexter. Might have to get a free trial of Showtime for this.
Link

The footage in Fire of Love would be incredible enough to warrant a watch even without the really worthy and touching story of the couple who captured it. Disney+

rass wrote: ↑Tue Mar 21, 2023 9:18 pm The footage in Fire of Love would be incredible enough to warrant a watch even without the really worthy and touching story of the couple who captured it. Disney+

Started watching that one night but fell asleep. Need to fire(HA) it back up.