Say what you like about Netflix, it’s extremely good for one thing and that’s documentaries. I’ve been watching a lot of them recently and would love some recommendations!
I have a lot of favourites.
The Civil War by Ken Burns is a real favourite of mine. I love the style of it, the narration, the heart-breaking stories. It’s a real piece of incredible history. This is not on Netflix, but you should try and pick it up somehow.
I really enjoyed The Jinx, a super recent HBO documentary series. I don’t want to spoil it for anyone. Just watch it and watch it till its insane conclusion.
A couple of other recommendations:
— Downloaded: a documentary by the man who played Bill in Bill and Ted’s Excellent adventure of all people. It’s about the rise of Napster. It’s top notch.
— Jiro Dreams of Sushi: difficult to describe this one. It’s about a man who makes the best sushi in the world. Obviously there’s more to it than that! Watch it.
— Fog Of War: this is nothing more than a one-on-one with Robert S. McNamara the Secretary of Defence for the US during the 60s. It’s incredible.
Okay, now for the reason why I wrote this post in the first place: give me recommendations! I want some new stuff to watch!
Comments
92 responses to “Off Topic: Let’s Talk About Documentaries”
My favourite is a short but hilarious Scottish documentary about a very young heavy metal band called Heavy Metal Junior: a Portrait of Pre-Teen Rebellion. Average age of the kids is 11.
One of the kid’s fathers reminds me so much of David Brent it can be painful, and a Christian mother struggling to make excuses for her son’s blatantly pro-devil lyrics are highlights. Probably not on Netflix, but easy enough to view online.
If you like heavy metal documentaries, check out “Anvil: the story of Anvil”. It’s fantastic.
Yep, that is a good doco. Another one I enjoyed is Last Days Here, about Pentagram’s lead singer’s battle with addiction.
Blackfish on Netflix, real life horror stories about Orca living conditions in theme parks
Blackfish is pretty amazing. I would 100% recommend this.
I’ve tried to recommend this but people dismiss it as some sensationalist “free the whales” docudrama to make SeaWorld look bad on trumped up BS.
It’s… not that. And there’s no way you can present the facts and make SeaWorld look good.
Do they know it’s a different SeaWorld to the one in Aus? Just wondering why they’d defend it…
They’re not defending SeaWorld, they just don’t want to watch Blackfish – presumably because PETA and other animal rights groups have been harping on about how Sea World and other aquatic theme parks trap animals in conditions that are bad for them for decades and they’re probably just sick of hearing it, and don’t feel the need to watch another doco about it.
I don’t want to give them too much info about what it’s really about because I don’t want to spoil it in case they do watch it.
Yeah I mean the whole SeaWorld side of things is important, but it’s also a great analysis of the psychology of Orca’s, not only how intelligent they are, but a case study on mental illness in general. A lot of the stuff related to attacks, the stuff in Spain, it’s compelling because it’s all so murky and dark. Like you said, making SeaWorld look bad is just kind of incidental in the end.
Man on Wire!
The Death of “Superman Lives”: What Happened?
Is that out yet?
Not sure, a mate of a mate of mine borrowed it from Internets and then she let me watch it
The ecstasy of order, it’s a documentary focusing on a NES Tetris tournament. It’s really good.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi was quite good. An interesting look into someone who has dedicated their whole life to a single pursuit, and the ways that single-mindedness has shaped his life both for better and worse.
I haven’t caught that many documentaries on Netflix yet, I’ve been doing Star Trek marathons as well as trying to finish The Office (I’m up to season 8) and make some time to watch the rest of the new season of Orange is the New Black. I watched a few documentaries on Chinese history but nothing that stood out as noteworthy.
The Office US is not on Netflix? I haven’t seen it on there.
It’s probably available on the US version, a lot of people use VPNs to access other countries libraries because they’re significantly bigger than Australia’s currently is.
Yeah, I plan on doing that once I get through a bunch of the Aus stuff.
The only show I’m really hanging out for is Parks & Recreation, which I assume we’ll get eventually. I’m guessing Foxtel might hold a license to it currently.
I’m watching it on US Netflix, didn’t know it wasn’t available on the AU one.
We have the UK one available. Which I always thought was better after watching the first episode of the US one and it being a complete copy.
But it went on a lot longer and seems to have a pretty good following so I would like to watch a bit more and maybe reconsider.
I haven’t watched enough of the British one to compare, but Ricky Gervais was involved with the making of the US version, even to the point of a cameo in one episode. It does start to get a bit silly in the later seasons – it’s hard to make an office environment interesting for that long – and it definitely took a hit in quality when Steve Carell left at the end of season 7.
First season was terrible, second until later seasons are much better
I just watched “An honest liar”; the bio of James Randi. He has done so much to fight for reason and science, and he inspired Penn and teller, who are just so great.
I also really liked the Ken burns series on the prohibition era in the US. It’s not quite as good as the civil war, but it’s massively enlightening about our current taxation system! Gangsters, fascism, corruption, and income tax; all the evils.
I also really like watching the new series of Cosmos every now and then. It’s not particularly high-end science, but Degrasse Tyson is incredible at extolling the virtues of science without offending the ignorant.
But the way he says “come with me” needs work for the next season.
Is the James Randi one on Netflix? He’s great and I’d love to watch a doco about him!
Can’t remember if it’s only on the US version, but it came out a couple of weeks ago.
James Randi is a boss, I’ll check that out as soon as it’s available on Australian Netflix.
Anything with David Attenborough narrating. Seriously, he could read an annual statement or a book about the vagaries of accounting practices and still make it the world’s most exciting subject matter 🙂
Also a lot of his documentaries are stunningly shot.
I agree they are amazing. How much say does he have in them, how they are shot etc. For all I know he could be just reading a script.
I’ve often said that David Attenborough could tell me the sky was red and I would believe him.
Fog of War is my all time favourite documentary. However, I didn’t realise it was on Netflix, will have to watch it again tonight.
Edit: It’s not on Netflix, I just assumed this article was referring to documentaries only on Netflix 🙁
Man, sorry for misleading you!
It’s on Ireland, Netherlands and UK Netflix.
https://flixsearch.io/movie/the-fog-of-war-2004
Being Elmo is cute an an awesome watch i would recommend that.
All of the Planet Earth series.
Atari: Game over, for all the gamers out there.
Bowling for Columbine. Great docu recommend if you havent seen it.
I love anything to do with US politics/health care/food industry. That stuff is insane. Dem bitches be cray cray!
Seen Fed up? Oh man, the power of the US lobbyists is insane! You feel bad for Michelle Obama getting bitch slapped by them for thinking of the children.
I enjoy all of those doco’s too, they’re enjoyable like horror films to me. Frankly, I’m shocked that despite all of these examples of the appalling abuse of power there, the people haven’t revolted (even though it’s their right to and they’re all armed for it).
Fed Up is great. It inspired Kevin Smith to cut sugar out of his diet and he’s losing weight by the stone.
A great doco and a real eye-opener.
Touching The Void is an astonishing and terrifying tale of survival after a mountaineering disaster. Some of the best made recreation footage I’ve ever seen as well.
Otherwise, I tend to watch TV documentary miniseries, like the stuff Michael Mosley puts together. Or maybe a bit of Louis Theroux.
Apparently, they needed to re-write the rules for Oscars of how much “real” footage was to be required in a doco for it to be eligible for the “Documentary” award. Because all the footage apart from the interviews was re-enacted, some argued it was a “dramatization” rather than a “documentary”.
Excellent recommendation, that flick is harrowing as shit.
Oh cool, I never knew that. Thanks 🙂
Ken Burns’s Baseball is good also. Provided you like baseball.
I started watching Print the Legend (not finished it yet). Gives a history of 3D printing – very interesting to see how a small startup really appears to catch the industry heavyweights offguard with how popular consumer 3D printing would be.
+1 on this, I watched it to the end and it was very interesting and informative.
The Internet’s Own Boy.
Saw it on SBS 2, was fascinated by it.
I watched this on Netflix for the first time yesterday. Fascinating is indeed the word I would use. It’s tragic, but inspiring as well.
I’ve really been enjoying the Cosmos: A Spacetime Oddyssey series (presented by Neil deGrasse Tyson), but you need a US VPN to watch it.
The ESPN 30 for 30 series is fantastic. Highlights for me are “The 2 Escobars” – about the Colombian soccer team during Pablo Escobars reign over the Medellin Cartel, “Once Brothers” – about how the Yugoslavian split & subsequent conflict affected the friendship of NBA players Drazen Petrvic & Vlade Divac and “Hillsborough” – about the Hillsborough disaster during the Liverpool vs Nottingham Forrest game in the late 80’s.
Another war doco I thought was great besides the ones mentioned is “Restrepo”. It covers a deployment during the Afghanistan war.
You should check out The Announcement. Its a tear jerker about Magic Johnson quitting basketball after contracting HIV.
The team that made Jiro made Chef’s Table, which is a series on Netflix. It’s great. Speaking of Netflix, they have an original doco on Nina Simone that came out a few weeks ago that’s very good.
Man on Wire, obviously. I know they’re doing a feature film on the same story, but it’s totally unnecessary. Genuinely teared up at Man on Wire.
Jesus Camp is one of the scariest films I’ve ever seen. About religious indoctrination in America. Children chanting “righteous justice.” Horrible.
Anything by Errol Morris is great, but I’ll second The Fog of War. Mcnamara is such a good subject.
Jesus Camp. Ugh.
The scenes where they’re focussing their anger by “breaking the cups of sin” and taping the children’s mouths closed gave me the bad kind of goosebumps.
Those ones, as well as every other scene in it.
That Nina Simone one was pretty revealing. And never knew she played piano in her songs. Really talented.
The Imposter is amazing, even half way through you ask “did this really happen?” Shot in a really interesting way for a doco too. Another great but heartbreaking doco is Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father.
I see Netflix had just added a few PBS docos as well. I watched one on The Tower of England and another on Highclere Castle, pretty cool!!
Ah yeah, like 8 or so “Secrets of [places]” just went up. Going to check them out this week.
searching for sugarman, man on wire, blackfish, enron smartest guys in the room, food inc, the cove, the armstrong lie
Enron is an excellent doco. Food Inc. seemed a bit too sensationalist for me.
I watched The Queen of Versailles on the weekend, that was fairly interesting. I also watched Mitt which is basically an on the road embedded piece about Romney’s 2012 presidential campaign.
If you’re a big fan of music, check out Twenty Feet From Stardom. It follows notable backup singers, those who have worked in the industry under huge names like the Stones, Stevie Wonder, Meatloaf, Springsteen. It shows how amazingly talented they are and reveals a dark side to the industry, low pay, demanding hours, lack of appreciation. Some could be superstars but can’t deal with the spotlight, while others never get a chance in the industry. All I’ve showed it to have loved it, it really makes you appreciate the classics more. Gimme Shelter gives me shivers now
The Great Chicken Wing Hunt is the most profound documentary ever made.
Huge doco fan. Here are some I heartily recommend:
– Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief
– The Fog of War
– Touching the Void
– Deep Water
– Anything by Louis Theroux or John Safran
– Blackfish
– Wonders of the Universe
I really liked “The Men Who Built America”.
I liked the jinx and going clear was good too. The best documentary series imo is the 30 for 30 series by ESPN. Even if it’s a sport I’m not that in to they are usually good stories. I watch a lot of history documentaries too but I usually don’t remember what they are called. There was a really good Magic Johnson and Larry Bird doco too, I think it was just called magic & bird.
30 for 30 is great, I love the story of the 2 Escobars (Pablo and the soccer played cant remember his first name) and once were brothers (about Vlade Divac and Drazen Petrovic and the war in the Yugoslavia.
I have been trying to get a copy of civil war i think i downloaded all of the episodes but not 100%.
Cocaine Cowboys is not too bad. Air Crash investigations is my sons go to (usually days before he flies somewhere).
What was the one called where no one wanted to play ball with Magic anymore after they found out about his HIV?
can’t remember the names but there’s one on magic by 30 for 30 and then there’s another on him not from the series that talk about it.
Ah, my category!
-All This Mayhem – Aussie skater brothers take over the world of professional skateboarding and their fiery demise.
-The Union / The Culture High – examine the business of pot, and the futility of the drug war, respectively.
-The House I Live In – examination of the privatization of the US prison system, the drug war, and how it’s being used to repress the poverty stricken minorities of the US.
-Cocaine Cowboys – a rundown of the violence-fuelled cocaine wars of the late 80’s in Miami. (noticing a theme?)
-The King of Kong – the two top Donkey Kong players in the world have a massive tiff and settle it over the joystick.
-American Teen – follows a group of five radically different teens as they finish high school and prepare for college.
-Catfish – A bloke falls in love online and investigates his “girlfriend” after her story starts falling apart.
-Minecraft: The Story of Mojang – Really? You need a synopsis? You really need to watch it, then.
-Indie Game: The Movie – follows the development and release of Fez and Super Meat Boy, with insights from Jonathon Blow. Some people despise this one but personally I loved it.
That’ll do for now. More will come to me, and I’ll update the post if I can be arsed.
I think people like the premise of Indie Game but can’t stand Jonathan Blow or Phil Fish.
I thought Phil was ok. He was very neurotic but there was something authentic about him. I loved his breakdown at the pool.
Yeah I quite like American Teen, except… I hate how clearly they recontextualise shots, like the girl reading her phone and theyre trying to make it out like they happened to catch her reading a break up text. Wouldve been better if they treated it all more naturally. Really interesting stories in there though.
Yeah, that’s true. They also made out that Hannah (awesome arts chick) and the blonde brat were always at odds but apparently they were friends before and during filming.
But still! All in the name of storytelling, I guess. Given the triviality of the content I’ll forgive it.
Another one – not a TV doco, but if you’re into history I highly recommend Dan Carlin’s Hardcore History podcasts. Covers all sorts of periods from the Roman Republic, to Genghis Khan, to the World Wars. He is a fantastic orator. Whenever I’ve got a decent commute in the car I’ll listen to one of his episodes.
Totally – Hardcore History is imo one of the best podcasts on the net.
Chef’s Table on Netflix is pretty amazing
New one I noticed on Netflix last night – Tesla: Master of Lightening
Fantastic look at Nikola’s inventions and the people who profited from them!
The other night I watched one on Alan Turing – I think on Youtube. Somehow over my 29 years on this Earth I had missed the part of his history where he was a proud gay man and could potentially have been offed by the Secret Service! I knew he was troubled but not how much
Great selection above!
Chasing Ice was a good watch. Hard too – seeing how some scientists break themselves to get data…. and the footage they got was amazing and not a little scary.
I’m also a big fan of Air Crash Investigation – it mostly manages to avoid sensationalising crashes (while simultaneously highlighting how the media at the time viewed the crash), humanises the victims/survivors and contextualises the crash with a “what we learnt/how this crash made flying safer. Good show.
Hell yeah, Chasing Ice! The part where the ice floe breaks off and disintegrates was just… gobsmacking.
One of those real, “what the hell are we doing?” pieces.
Strongly recommended.
The piece of ice the size of… Manhattan. 😮
Some more: Virunga is about a forest in the DRC that’s in the way of a potential mine; Dirty Wars is an interesting look at US military actions in the Middle East that haven’t exactly been above board; What Happened Miss Simone? is about Nina Simone’s depressingly awful life. Also, E-Team and The Square look pretty interesting and Hiroshima’s about the two A-bombs from both sides; may not be new but interesting, anyway.
I don’t know if it’s on Netflix, but the “When we left earth: the nasa missions” is fantastic. A great look at how humanity got into space exploration, and makes your realise how terribly sad the shutting down of the space shuttle program is.
Supermensch – Mike Myers doco about legendary music manager Shep Gordon. Really interesting
Watched one about Jeffrey Dahmer last night – Dahmer Files or something which follows the people around the case, detectives, neighbors etc.
There are a few new crime shows popping up as well like Killer Speaks, First 48 etc. which are all decent. This is the US netflix though.
Aw man, a doco talk I’m late to! Dang. Anyway, Fog of War really is incredible.
So many to remember! My all time fave is ‘Cutie and the Boxer’, such a beautiful couple, could watch that film over and over and never tire of them. I really loved ‘We Were Here’, a doco about aids first spreading through San Fran, really heartbreaking stuff. ‘Stories We Tell’ is reaaaally good. ‘Murder on a Sunday Morning’ is quite good too. Ahhh whatever, too many to remember! How good are docos!
The Act of Killing.
Looks at the leader of one of the death squads during the Indonesian communist purges in the 60’s, who is now celebrated and totally unrepentant. He helps stage stylized re-enactments of the atrocities…
Absolutely fascinating.
It’s so damned chilling….especially the asides between the main guy and the local gangster essentially using the film-maker to get notoriety.
and I had to add: when he talks about there being so much blood he was slipping over and had to invent a new torture technique to minimise bloodloss and how proud he was for being an inventive torturer….the on-air interview with the crowd applauding his ingenuity is flabbergasting.
Someone beat me to it.
One of the most chilling and fascinating doco’s of modern time. There is no gore shown that I recall but the horror comes from the killers describing their acts without any obvious sign of regret or guilt.
There is a sequel covering similar themes, called The Look of Silence. It explores the same events but from the victims’ perspective.
A companion to The Act of Killing: The Look of Silence
Podcast with the Director Joshua Oppenheimer discussing both:
https://soundcloud.com/samharrisorg/the-moral-gaze-a-conversation-with-joshua-oppenheimer
The Unbelievers http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2636522/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Four Horsemen (2012) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1671513/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Capitalism: A Love Story http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1232207/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Food Inc. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1286537/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Sharkwater http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0856008/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
The Corporation (older but the rules discussed are still in place) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0379225/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
The Pervert’s Guide to Cinema http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0828154/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
The Pervert’s Guide to Ideology http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2152198/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
Chasing Ice http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1579361/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Sushi: The Global Catch http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1834234/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
The End of the Line http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1176727/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
The Science of Interstellar http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4415360/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1
Manufacturing Consent (1992 but totally relevant today) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104810/?ref_=fn_al_tt_2
The Unknown Known is a fascinating doco due to the brazen openness of Donald Rumsfeld in it.
Going Clear is a great documentary about how insane scientology is. It’s terrifying but captivating.
It is actually on Netflix – I’m in the middle of watching it right now. I think it’s just the US Netflix though, so go forth and take up that Getflix subscription. I also loved the other Ken Burns one I watched on Netflix, The War. Similar to The Civil War, but covers World War 2. Only downside is that it only covers the war from Pearl Harbour onwards (i.e. the USA’s involvement), not the entire thing. Which is fair enough, since the doco is about the USA’s involvement in the war. But just makes you wish you could see more.
Netflix has a whole bunch of Ken Burns doco’s, actually, stuff like the west and prohibition and baseball (the exact names escape me right now) etc. Good stuff.
If Metal Evolution is on Netflix, I highly recommend it. Brilliant series about the history of Metal, with lots of great interviews. Probably my favourite doco ever.
Downloaded is great – any sort of corporate history I’m a complete sucker for.
Netflix is good, but don’t forget about ABC iview and SBS on Demand – both have lots of great documentaries (and they’re free!)