Share Your Favorite Documentaries Thread!

[ManjuShri]

Picasso's Last Stand

 

 

 

Picasso's Last Stand reveals the untold story of the last decade of the great artist's life, through the testimony of family and close friends - many of them the people he allowed into his private world in the 1960s. As his health declined in these final years, Picasso faced damaging criticism of his work and intimate revelations about his bohemian lifestyle for the first time. And yet, in the midst of disaster, he rediscovered his revolutionary spirit with a creative surge that produced some of his most sexually frank and comic work. Exhibitions of the new style horrified and disappointed contemporaries. But now his biographer Sir John Richardson and granddaughter Diana Widmaier Picasso argue that this last enormous effort produced some of his greatest and most profound art: the stunning counter-attack of a protean genius coming to terms with old age.

 

[dingformung]

Not sure if mentioned already but "Life" narrated by David Attenborough is an excellent nature documentary. Excellent shots in there. I love the timelapses:

 

[cwmbrancity]

repost from youlube & hauntology vids

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGTd3HR62fo

 

 

[ManjuShri]

Into Great Silence (2005)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Great_Silence

 

 

 

In 1984 the German director Philip Groning asked permission to the Order of the Carthusians to shoot a movie inside in one of their monasteries. They said it was too soon. Maybe later. Sixteen years later he received a call. It was time ...

 

Into Great Silence is a documentary that shows for the first time every day in the "Grande Chartreuse" the Carthusian monastery in the French Alps of the legendary Carthusian Order, one of the strictest brotherhoods of the Catholic Church. An austere film, close to meditation, silence, life in its purest form. No music except the chants of the monks, no interviews, no comment ... a film about men who gave their lives to God in its purest form: contemplation.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww38sDBlxTo

[cwmbrancity]

one of the better documentaries on The Troubles in the north of Eire, profiling a series of events that illustrated sectarian violence at its worst & most futile

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b09wfrk0/the-funeral-murders

 

[ManjuShri]

Andrew Lloyd-Webber: A Passion for the Pre-Raphaelites

 

Playlist

Edited April 7, 2018 by ManjuShri

[ManjuShri]

The Pre-Raphaelites

 

Series examining the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, who brought notoriety to British art in the 19th century, bursting into the spotlight in 1848 and shocking their peers with a new kind of radical art.

 

Episode 1

The opening programme explores the origins of the Brotherhood and their initial achievements, and looks at some of their key early works, the hostile criticism they faced and the centuries of academic dogma their paintings overturned.

 

Episode 2

This second part looks at how they continued by transforming landscape painting with a microscopic examination of the natural world, some ten years before the French Impressionists.

 

Episode 3

The final part looks at how the Pre-Raphaelites had outgrown the avant-garde in their later years and began to embrace fame and fortune with art designed to please the masses. In so doing, they attained riches and celebrity and became the forefathers of the commercial modern artist.

 

Playlist

[hma]

 

 

The movie speaks about young people who perished as a result of growing up in Soviet society - their conflicts with parents and society, the patronizing attitudes of their teachers and the authorities, the fear that there is no meaning to their lives. Among the young people portrayed are high-schoolers looking for their place in life, a young mother worried about the future of her daughter after the Chernobyl catastrophe, a young man follower of the Hare Krishna movement (an 'unusual' religion that was discouraged even more than 'usual' ones by the Soviet government), as well young adults returning from compulsory military service in the Soviet war in Afghanistan and having become ones of 'the lost generation'. The film's opening scene documents a concert by the banned Latvian rock band, Pērkons.

The movie had a major impact in the Soviet Union. It was seen by at least 28 million people during its first year. In all, 85 countries bought the rights to show the movie. For a Latvian film, this was an incredible number.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Is_It_Easy_to_Be_Young%3F

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=baG4pvrue_o

[dingformung]

Human Flow by Ai Wei Wei

 

It's about flows of refugees happening right now. It's different to see the footage than to read about it in newspapers. More people should watch this documentary

 

[dingformung]

[whosebrian]

The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters

 

It Could Be Game Over for a Onetime King of Donkey Kong

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/19/movies/king-donkey-kong-score-mitchell.html?module=WatchingPortal®ion=c-column-middle-span-region&pgType=Homepage&action=click&mediaId=thumb_square&state=standard&contentPlacement=3&version=internal&contentCollection=www.nytimes.com&contentId=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nytimes.com%2F2018%2F04%2F19%2Fmovies%2Fking-donkey-kong-score-mitchell.html&eventName=Watching-article-click

 

[kaen]

I have a ridiculous archive of docs/series, mostly history/art/politics, heres some picks

 

1956 - The Mystery of Picasso

If you've ever just wanted to see Picasso working without some critics views being plastered all over it, this is it.

 

1972 - Painters Painting: The New York Art Scene 1940 - 1970

Artists talking about their work.

 

1984 - Streetwise

Candid look into the lives of several kids living on the streets of Seattle in the 80s.

 

1984 - The Dark Glow of the Mountains

This is a short look at legendary climbers Reinhold Messner and Hans Kammerlander and their attempt to climb two 8000m peaks in one trip. This is a Herzog joint.

 

1995 - Trinity and Beyond

The United States early nuclear bomb tests. Absolutely breathtaking footage accompanied by a haunting soundtrack and pitch perfect narration by William Shatner.

 

2000 - The Endurance

The greatest (imo) failed expedition to cross Antarctica sea to sea led by Ernest Shackleton. Narrated by Liam Neeson

 

2006 - Northern Renaissance

Dutch painters Jan Van eyck/Albrecht Durer/Bosch

 

2006 - Andy Warhol - A Documentary Film

Easily the best one on Andy, it's like 4 hours long.

 

2012 - A History of Art in Three Colours

A closer look at the colours Gold, Blue and White and the artists who fell in love with them.

 

2014 - Zero Days

A detailed look at how Symantec and others uncovered who was behind Stuxnet and how the malware attacked Iran's nuclear program.

 

2014 - Last Days in Vietnam

Told from the point of view of Vietnamese civilians and the US Military.

 

2013 - Counter-Intelligence

Espionage and black ops in the CIA throughout the years, I dont have the requisite knowledge to tell you how accurate this is, but I found it interesting nonetheless. Trigger warning: Conspiracy

 

2013 - September 11 - The New Pearl Harbor

Some interesting questions asked about 911, whether you believe in this stuff or not I found the attention to detail very entertaining. This is the daddy of 911 conspiracy docs, if you think you've heard it all and have not seen this, i highly recommend you watch it. Trigger Warning: Its 5 hours long / Conspiracy

 

2016 - Challenger - A Rush To Launch

Everything that went wrong leading up to the 1986 Space Shuttle Challenger disaster.

 

2017 - The Vietnam War

Ken Burns is back with a thoughtful look at the hot mess that was The Vietnam War.

 

Sorry if any of these have been suggested before, i didnt check. Most of these can be found on youtube/vimeo or dailymotion.

[dingformung]

good list

thenk u

[cwmbrancity]

Into Great Silence (2005)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Into_Great_Silence

 

 

 

In 1984 the German director Philip Groning asked permission to the Order of the Carthusians to shoot a movie inside in one of their monasteries. They said it was too soon. Maybe later. Sixteen years later he received a call. It was time ...

 

Into Great Silence is a documentary that shows for the first time every day in the "Grande Chartreuse" the Carthusian monastery in the French Alps of the legendary Carthusian Order, one of the strictest brotherhoods of the Catholic Church. An austere film, close to meditation, silence, life in its purest form. No music except the chants of the monks, no interviews, no comment ... a film about men who gave their lives to God in its purest form: contemplation.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ww38sDBlxTo

 

 

fuck yeah, mint, muchos appreciados

[ManjuShri]

^ There's also a UK version following Benedictine monks that aired recently if you didn't catch it.

 

Retreat: Meditations from a Monastery

 

Episode 1 of 3: Downside Abbey

 

 

The first film is set in Downside, a spectacular neo-gothic monastery set in the beautiful valleys of Somerset. It is home to fourteen Benedictine monks who live according to the 6th-century Rule of St Benedict. We follow two of the monks over the course of a typical, quiet monastic day, as they engage with carpentry and baking, religious services and moments of private prayer in the monastery gardens.

 

The pattern of the monks' day has changed little over hundreds of years and this programme encourages us to slow down to their pace, share their silence and eavesdrop on their rituals. Father Michael has been designing and making extraordinary pieces of furniture in his workshop for the past 48 years. He picked up his passion for woodwork from his father - but found when he joined the abbey in his early twenties that it was a role he could embrace and nurture. He's now a master craftsman and is on hand should the abbey need repairs, restorations or any new items of furniture. We watch him working on prie-dieu (a traditional prayer desk), carving, whittling and sawing until it's finished and we watch him use it in private prayer. 'Ora et labora' (prayer and work) is the Benedictine motto.

 

Father Christopher originally came from Malta where he developed his love of food and in particular bread. He first joined Downside Abbey when he was 24, but stayed only five years. Aged 60, he decided to become a monk again and joined the community for good. We watch him bake a loaf of sourdough bread for lunch, mixing, kneading and baking the dough. He also collects wild garlic from the monastery meadows and makes a garlic butter dish to serve alongside the bread.

 

Filmed with an eye to the beauty and peace of the ancient surroundings, the film has a painterly quality that creates a feeling of restfulness and quiet contemplation. And by focusing on the natural sounds of nature and the peace of the abbey we have created a meditative soundtrack that adds to this unique experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pluscarden Abbey is a remote Benedictine monastery on the edge of the Scottish Highlands in Moray and is home to 21 monks. It is the oldest practising monastery in the United Kingdom, dating back to the medieval era. The monks live by the 6th-century Rule of St Benedict and life has changed little in hundreds of years.

 

Given its isolated and weather-beaten position, the abbey is almost entirely self-sufficient. The monks grow their own crops, make their own clothes and have little contact with the outside world. Unlike most Benedictine monks who wear a black habit, the monks at Pluscarden Abbey wear white, a symbol of their austerity and strict interpretation of monastic life.

 

We follow a typical day in the life at Pluscarden Abbey - from the moment one monk knocks on the doors of the brethren and chants in Latin to wake them up for the first service of the day at 4.15am right up to compline, the final service of the day before the monks retire to bed.

 

Brother Michael is Pluscarden Abbey's resident tailor and weaver. Creating garments is his passion and we watch as he makes a distinctive white habit for another monk - measuring and cutting the material, hand stitching the design on an old sewing machine and finally washing it and presenting it to another monk. He also weaves a striking purple and white stole, a vestment worn around the neck by priests when giving confession, on an antique braid loom housed in one of the abbey's workshops.

 

Father Benedict served in the British army before becoming a monk at the age of 25. He is Pluscarden Abbey's beekeeper and when he's not attending one of the nine services the monks conduct throughout the day, he can be found at one of the many beehives scattered around the monastery grounds. We follow him as he collects a frame filled with honey from one of the hives and then processes it in his 'honeyhouse' by melting it down and sieving it into jars ready to serve to the other monks at supper. 'Monotonous tasks like going through a beehive are entirely compatible with being in a state of constant prayer.' (Father Benedict)

 

 

 

 

 

Belmont Abbey is a Benedictine monastery in Herefordshire on the Welsh border. The monastery itself has a warm and inviting feel which is amplified by the colourful, 19th-century decor inside the building. The monks that we follow at Belmont are true craftsmen - one is a renowned iconographer and one of the best in the western world, while the other creates manuscripts and rosaries.

 

We follow renowned iconographer Father Alex who travels to Belmont from his native Peru every year to teach his skills. He is the superior of Belmont Abbey's sister monastery in Peru. He uses centuries-old techniques - mixing his own egg tempera paints, using pigments made from semi-precious stones and burnishing gold leaf - to create a striking icon of Archangel Michael, the patron saint of Belmont Abbey.

 

We also meet Brother Bernard who makes rosaries - a devotional string of beads used in prayer. He uses pliers to link the beads, intricately threading them together to form the set of rosary beads which he then uses in private prayer.

 

Belmont Abbey's abbot, Father Paul, is responsible for the day-to-day running of the monastery. The majority of his duties are pastoral and religious, including running the services which take place throughout the day, leading the silent meals and creating an environment in which the monks can live and work in peace. He's also a dog lover and can often be seen walking his dog Toby through the monastery grounds. 'A wise man is known by the fewness of his words.' (Rule of St Benedict)

 

 

 

[cwmbrancity]

[ManjuShri]

Being Blacker (2018)

 

The film tells the story of the renowned reggae record shop owner and music producer Blacker Dread, his extended family, friends and the wider Brixton community. Made with director Molly Dineen's characteristic intimacy, the film focuses on a tumultuous time in Blacker's life - the death of his mother and the prospect of his first prison sentence.

 

While the documentary focuses on Blacker's journey, it also features a wider cast - best friend and former armed robber Naptali is struggling to go straight, sister June is trying to maintain family ties after their mother's death, and partner Maureen is ensuring their youngest son maintains his exceptional school grades in Jamaica, having been excluded from school in the UK.

 

With the unprecedented access granted by her old friend, Dineen shines a spotlight on the struggles the subjects face on a daily basis. Being Blacker offers a particular understanding of both the challenges and triumphs of family and community togetherness, as well as a unique insight into being black in Britain in 2018.

 

https://youtu.be/7VM2iWWUTdA

[Ragnar]

Being Blacker (2018)

 

The film tells the story of the renowned reggae record shop owner and music producer Blacker Dread, his extended family, friends and the wider Brixton community. Made with director Molly Dineen's characteristic intimacy, the film focuses on a tumultuous time in Blacker's life - the death of his mother and the prospect of his first prison sentence.

 

While the documentary focuses on Blacker's journey, it also features a wider cast - best friend and former armed robber Naptali is struggling to go straight, sister June is trying to maintain family ties after their mother's death, and partner Maureen is ensuring their youngest son maintains his exceptional school grades in Jamaica, having been excluded from school in the UK.

 

With the unprecedented access granted by her old friend, Dineen shines a spotlight on the struggles the subjects face on a daily basis. Being Blacker offers a particular understanding of both the challenges and triumphs of family and community togetherness, as well as a unique insight into being black in Britain in 2018.

 

https://youtu.be/7VM2iWWUTdA

 

 

I'll need to watch this, I saw something else and there was like this nun and like the point was she could've been like "waaaaa but this is secular music" but embraced it as enriching people's lives and I might've commented "coolest nun ever"

[Ragnar]

that one time I got pissed at WATMM "you guys couldn't even synthesize sound waves if not for middle eastern acheivements"

 

 

still need to watch the whole thing, but what I didn't know at first was like, the guy didn't write any actual formulas he just described a sort of real life math problem. like those dreaded ALGEBRA WORD PROBLEMS in school or something

 

that name Al-Khwarizmi is where "algorithm" comes from, it was just all Latinized

Edited May 20, 2018 by Ragnar

[ManjuShri]

A History of Art in Three Colours

 

1. Gold

For the very first civilisations, the yellow lustre of gold is the most alluring and intoxicating colour of all. From the midst of prehistory to a bunker deep beneath the Bank of England, Fox reveals how golden treasures made across the ages reflect everything that has been held as sacred.

https://youtu.be/ijxIVKHQ6f0

 

 

 

 

2. Blue

When, in the Middle Ages, the precious blue stone lapis lazuli arrived in Europe from the east, blue became the most exotic and mysterious of colours. And it was artists who used it to offer us tantalising glimpses of other worlds beyond our own.

 

3. White

In the Age of Reason, it was the rediscovery of the white columns and marbles of antiquity that made white the most virtuous of colours. For flamboyant JJ Wickelmann and British genius Josiah Wedgwood, white embodied all the Enlightenment values of justice, equality and reason.

 

 

[ManjuShri]

German documentary on the infamously overpopulated, decrepit, Triad-run, poverty ridden, sunless walled city-slum.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City

 

 

[Nebraska]

https://youtu.be/0B_vZCLDs-M

[Braintree]

German documentary on the infamously overpopulated, decrepit, Triad-run, poverty ridden, sunless walled city-slum.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kowloon_Walled_City

 

 

 

 

Kowloon City is fascinating. Thanks for sharing.

[beerwolf]

 

watched this again this morning after seeing the original broadcast, I find this more scary and captivating than most horror films tbh

 

Bernard Hills' narration is perfect

Edited September 17, 2018 by beerwolf

[joshuatxuk]

Interesting time capsule of post-'Nam cold war era US army. Came across this from a sample in a U2 song from the era when they were still good.