Well done documentaries

I don't know if the style of this documentary would be relevant to the type of doc you are looking to make, but just based on your interest in exploring different documentary styles I wanted to suggest Sherman's March by Ross McElwee. A North Carolinian living in Boston gets a grant to make a film about Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman, who burned a path through the South, but by the time the filmmaker starts his project, his heart's been broken. So his historical doc evolves into a personal narrative on his Southern roots, his love life and Southern women, and it's hilarious. McElwee has a style all his own, doing his own voiceover and unabashedly injecting himself into his films, but by making his subjects personal he actually widens the perspective by bringing the viewer into a similarly self-reflective state. And, he's just funny. Sherman's March, his first and Bright Leaves, his latest, would be a great doc double feature.
 
Octaboy said:
GOOD GOD? Has everyone gone so completely batty as to leave out the unrivaled, unmatched, some might even claim unbelievable, "MAN BITES DOG" as the quintessential doc of our time? It embraces every cliche from the gritty black and white verite camera work to the self reflection of the film maker pondering his own commitment to the truth. Yet, it is one of those non-fiction films that manages to maintain it's integrity and unwavering purity through out the test of time.

This film is not rated and is not intended for; children under 17, those with weak hearts or God fearing Americans with even a mild aversion to violence. Subtitled in French.
Click to expand...

Last time I checked, MAN BITES DOG was a work of fiction--a mock documentary.
 
Picked up Paradise Lost the other day, and it is simply amazing..... Anyone interested in docs should for sure pick it up... I have no idea how the filmmakers got as much access as they did... It is amazing....
 
Check out "Children of War".... although it's from the behavior of a child during war times, the style and technique the director uses are just amazing.
 
I just saw "Race is the Place" in HIFF. Amazing documentary, if I do say so myself. It follows slam poets' acts and juxtaposes them with candid interviews about racism in America, and how slam poetry is used as an outlet for expressing their feelings about the issue. Pretty interesting stuff, especially considering how surprisingly funny and informative this documentary actually is. I'm not sure of its availability, but it's definitely one to look out for if you see it at a film festival near you.

Other suggestions: Spellbound, Tarnation
 
Along bus doc lines, I liked _Das Bus_ a lot, despite its awkward editing and shitty shooting. It was all about the stories.

Likewise, if you were looking for a news-grade (i.e. well-lit, nice-sounding, highly posed) doc in _Murderball_, you were looking in the wrong place. I don't think there was any intent to make it that way. There is not always time, money, and reason to make a Hollywood movie out of real life.
 
Yes,
I saw dark days and really liked it. plus on the DVD the filmmakers explanation of how it was done actually led me to feel more respect for it than I would have otherwise, since it's dicey material that deals with some class and race issues that I would have found hard to overlook. A nicely done film, I think. Generally speaking there are just to many to narrow down though. "Cane Toads" is a neat one that is done a little differently than the average nature doc. ALL of Ross McElwees docs are great must sees. See them in order From Shermans March and then Time Indefinite, then Six O'clock News, then Bright Leaves. They're cronological and work best that way I think, though they don't have to. "The Self Made Man" is good. "Troublesome Creek" is great. "Speedo" is great. Many great ones are just hard to find since generally speaking, docs don't do well so distribution is limited and expensive if it's not a big distributor. I liked "Straight No Chaser" if you like Jazz or Thelonius Monk like I do. "The Gleaners and I" is great. "Streetwise" is a good classic. Maysles Bros. films are mostly good classics.
 
This thread is awesome, thanks to all who have posted.

Now, I've got a question for everyone...

Can anyone recommend any of these docs (or others) that have really good EXTRA FEATURES on their DVDs about how the docs were made? Extra voiceover tracks from the director's, or minidocs about how they made the doc itself? That type of stuff...

Thanks!
 
Winged Migration had a good "making-of" on the DVD that shows how they did some of the amazing photography. Also, Riding Giants DVD had a nice bit about the editing process which I found very interesting.

Chris Pyle
Wildland Films
 
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