Favorite documentaries?

[Adsos Letter]

I have three that come immediately to mind; two are British, one American:

"The First World War"
"The World at War"
and

FRONTLINE's "The Ghosts of Rwanda."

What are some of yours?

[RZM]

1. Hew Strachan's First World War is really good, as you mentioned

As is 'War of the Century' about the Soviet-German conflict in WWII. What I like about that one is that they interview a fair amount of people on both sides who served and they don't let them off of the hook at all.

You can tell some of these guys have had the same standard response to certain questions for decades and the interviewers often aren't having it. The veterans are also surprisingly honest at times too.

I highly recommend it. There are two versions. One with an American narration and dubbed translations, the other British narration and subtitles. I've watched both and the British one is a little better (it's also edited slightly differently and has one or two more scenes.

http://www.amazon.com/War-Century-Hitler-Fought-Stalin/dp/B00097DY6G/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1324183860&sr=8-1

[Adsos Letter]

2. Thanks! I'll check out your link tomorrow.

I thought Strachan's treatment of the events leading to war was very good.

[Mac1949]

3. The problem is, I have so many.

Any of the Michael Palin travel series, but especially Pole To Pole
The Road to Guantanamo
Taxi To The Dark Side
Auschwitz: Inside The Nazi State
Hitler's Children (six part series)
White Light, Black Rain (Hiroshima)
The Emperor's Tram Girls (Hiroshima)
Last Chance To See (endangered species)
Lost Kingdoms Of Africa

immediately spring to mind, but there are quite a few I know I'm forgetting.

[melonkali]

4. A "Vichy" documentary at Netflix

Not sure of the exact title, I think the term "Vichy" is in it, excellent documentary, French, perhaps?

[zipplewrath]

5. Connections

Great PBS series from the '80s. I think they may have tried to revive it in the '90s. Explored the extensive connections over history of various scientic accomplishments and how they built on each other and how the culture tended to drive their advancement.

[Adsos Letter]

6. I loved Connections!

Burke seasoned that show with his fantastic dry English humor. He always started with a question like "how did the search for ripe blueberrys lead to development of the modern jetliner," or some such thing as that.

The segment that always comes to mind when I think of that show was the time he was demonstrating the lethality of the broadsword by hacking into a side of beef, and then saying something like "in battle that is all a man really is."

Thanks for reminding me! I've got several of them recorded on video tapes; I'll have to dig them out as a Christmas present to myself.

[a la izquierda]

7. Which Way Home

and De Nadie. They go well together- both about immigration, but one from the perspective of kids, the other from adults.

[canetoad]

8. Too many to remember!

But if pushed:

Auschwitz - The Nazis and the Final Solution
Shock and Awe - the story of Electricity
Seven Wonders of the Industrial World
Savage Earth

[winktank]

9. I like the unsettling ones.

I like documentaries that leave me unsettled--not disturbed, but unsettled. I feel that way when a documentary highlights conflicting points of view and has me agreeing with all of them.

In this vein, I love Plug and Pray, a documentary about transhumanism. I found myself getting excited with the scientists and inventors who explained why they conspire to create consciousness, but then I appreciated the caution of Joseph Weizenbaum, who wonderfully explains how science can and has gotten out of hand without a moral compass. That's my summary, but there is so much good stuff in the documentary.

I also really enjoyed Kumare (which many others hated); I've watched it several times and I go back and forth between thinking it was an immature prank or a profound exploration of religion and spirituality. My current conclusion is that it was an accidental profound exploration, which overrides the initial pretensions of the filmmaker.

And while I wouldn't say that Frontline documentaries are neutral and objective, I always appreciate them. They do a great job of delivering punches to the gut and making me feel like a selfish lucky US citizen.

[hrmjustin]

10. Welcome to DU my friend!

[Adsos Letter]

11. Absolutely agree about the FRONTLINE series

"Ghosts of Rwanda" was one of those, but I've enjoyed all the others I've seen.

Plus, we get the superb narrative voice of Will Lyman.

I've not seen the others you mention. When it comes to documentaries on Spirituality/Religion, the one that comes to mind looks at snake-handling Pentecostalism in West Virginia. Darned if I can remember the title, though.

As hrmjustin said, welcome to DU.