8 ms·

Ask HN: Mind blowing documentaries?

35 points by browsercoin 8y ago

ilove_banh_mi 8y ago
Everything by David Attenborough, starting with his "Life" series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough#Return_to_broadcasting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough#Return_to_b...
troydavis 8y ago
These aren’t necessarily the best I’ve seen, but, as requested, they’re the most mind blowing: Restrepo Citizenfour Grizzly Man Up The Farmer’s Wife
MichaelvdH 8y ago
Manufacturing Landscapes
BLKNSLVR 8y ago
Chasing Ice The timelapse imagery towards the end is existentially distressing.
jboles 8y ago
Riding Giants
stephen82 8y ago
Anything by Gary Hustwit, really. I have seen "Objectified", "Helvetica", and "Urbanized"; it blew my mind and changed my perspective on so many things I was taking for granted for years, especially around design.
- lewisflude 8y ago
  He has a new documentary out soon all about Dieter Rams, called "Rams". https://www.hustwit.com/rams/ https://www.hustwit.com/rams/
  - stephen82 8y ago
    Oh my God, I want to see it right now; I just love Dieter! When I first saw him in Objectified I went nuts by what has he done with his design, how he has impacted the world we live in today. Thanks for letting me know mate, I will check it as soon as possible. Cheers +1!
ilove_banh_mi 8y ago
Anything by Werner Herzog [1]. These are my three favorites: - Encounters at the End of the World (2007) - Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) - Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Herzog#Documentary_feature_films https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Herzog#Documentary_feat...
- daodedickinson 8y ago
  My faves are: Into the Abyss Grizzly Man How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck?
  - browsercoin 8y ago
    just saw Death Row kinda changed my perspective on death penalty.
- bootsz 8y ago
  +1 for Happy People
frabbit 8y ago
Adam Curtis's Bitter Lake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRbq63r7rys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRbq63r7rys Monty Don's Italian Gardens series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY413RwBzB0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY413RwBzB0 The original Cosmos (Carl Sagan). https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKSi40WEKtMxykDBP8_vrC6bKXotys8KJ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKSi40WEKtMxykDBP8_vr...
- browsercoin 8y ago
  half way through bitter lake....shit is gold. this is why i created this thread. thanks.
  - frabbit 8y ago
    Glad you like it. He has about 4 more "Power of Nightmares", "Hypernormalization", "The Mayfair Set" . He has been criticized for lacking precision and rigor, but I am willing to forgive that for the experience and the overall argument: that old models of describing the world have lost their power.
    - browsercoin 8y ago
      immediately started watching mayfair set. i love documentaries like this.
anon4738383 8y ago
- The Cove - Requiem for the American Dream - VICE s02e01 Afghan Money Pit - VICE s02e02 Greenland is Melting
bitshepherd 8y ago
Trinity and Beyond narrated by William Shatner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_and_Beyond https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_and_Beyond
DoreenMichele 8y ago
http://graceofgodmovie.com http://graceofgodmovie.com
ilove_banh_mi 8y ago
Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen (1965): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv4J7sID3Pk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv4J7sID3Pk
ilove_banh_mi 8y ago
Ballon sur bitume (2016) -- French documentary about street football culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhW2CwKXsfE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhW2CwKXsfE https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/dec/14/balllon-sur-bitume-street-football-france https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/dec/14/balllon-sur...
yesenadam 8y ago
Great question! Patricio Guzman: La batalla de chile, Nostalgia de la luz, El boton de nacar (i.e. everything I've seen so far) Bob Connolly & Robin Anderson - First Contact, Joe Leahy's Neighbours, Black Harvest (Trilogy about a half-white, half-native New Guinean farmer) Werner Herzog - (apart from those already mentioned) Lessons of Darkness, Les Blank's Burden of Dreams Everything by Scott Noble - watch on metanoia-films.org/ Bus 174, Harlan Country USA, How To Start A Revolution, Silenced (2014), War on Whistleblowers, The Century of the Self Man with a Movie Camera, Man on Wire, Dark Days, Kumaré, Dear Zachary, Children Full of Life (2003)
- yesenadam 8y ago
  *Harlan County (Well, I didn't expect to get downvoted for that list! I have no idea why. Sorry I bothered.)
  - browsercoin 8y ago
    no idea why somebody downvoted you. hn can be a strange place
amitprayal 8y ago
Solar Mamas: Who is Rafea? - Why Poverty? - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YeqM2OnVu0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YeqM2OnVu0
l33tbro 8y ago
'The Act of Killing' is arguably the most forward-thinking documentary of the last 20 years. Heavy going, but unflinching. That both Erol Morris and Werner Herzog executive produced after Oppenheimer made it should tell you how formally important it is.
badideaprojects 8y ago
McConkey Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiFo-osFHwQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiFo-osFHwQ Brilliant documentary about the life of Shane McConkey and his progression from skiing, BASE jumping and ski wingsuiting.
freediver 8y ago
If you are into history Jeremy Clarkson’s War Stories For example this one https://youtu.be/QjfErR81sQA https://youtu.be/QjfErR81sQA
siruncledrew 8y ago
Jiro Dreams of Sushi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiro_Dreams_of_Sushi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiro_Dreams_of_Sushi Man on Wire: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_on_Wire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_on_Wire
illwrks 8y ago
"the century of the self". It's a 4 part documentary by Adam Curtis about the development of Public Relations and persuasion in advertising.
drakonka 8y ago
I've seen two documentaries that really have stuck with me. One is Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (watched in multiple long parts from memory); the other is Icarus.

35 points by browsercoin 8y ago

Everything by David Attenborough, starting with his "Life" series. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough#Return_to_broadcasting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Attenborough#Return_to_b...

troydavis 8y ago

These aren’t necessarily the best I’ve seen, but, as requested, they’re the most mind blowing: Restrepo Citizenfour Grizzly Man Up The Farmer’s Wife

MichaelvdH 8y ago

Manufacturing Landscapes

BLKNSLVR 8y ago

Chasing Ice The timelapse imagery towards the end is existentially distressing.

jboles 8y ago

Riding Giants

stephen82 8y ago

Anything by Gary Hustwit, really. I have seen "Objectified", "Helvetica", and "Urbanized"; it blew my mind and changed my perspective on so many things I was taking for granted for years, especially around design.

lewisflude 8y ago
He has a new documentary out soon all about Dieter Rams, called "Rams". https://www.hustwit.com/rams/ https://www.hustwit.com/rams/
- stephen82 8y ago
  Oh my God, I want to see it right now; I just love Dieter! When I first saw him in Objectified I went nuts by what has he done with his design, how he has impacted the world we live in today. Thanks for letting me know mate, I will check it as soon as possible. Cheers +1!

ilove_banh_mi 8y ago

Anything by Werner Herzog [1]. These are my three favorites: - Encounters at the End of the World (2007) - Cave of Forgotten Dreams (2010) - Happy People: A Year in the Taiga (2010) [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Herzog#Documentary_feature_films https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Werner_Herzog#Documentary_feat...

daodedickinson 8y ago
My faves are: Into the Abyss Grizzly Man How Much Wood Would a Woodchuck Chuck?
- browsercoin 8y ago
  just saw Death Row kinda changed my perspective on death penalty.
bootsz 8y ago
+1 for Happy People

frabbit 8y ago

Adam Curtis's Bitter Lake: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRbq63r7rys https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRbq63r7rys Monty Don's Italian Gardens series: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY413RwBzB0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OY413RwBzB0 The original Cosmos (Carl Sagan). https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKSi40WEKtMxykDBP8_vrC6bKXotys8KJ https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLKSi40WEKtMxykDBP8_vr...

browsercoin 8y ago
half way through bitter lake....shit is gold. this is why i created this thread. thanks.
- frabbit 8y ago
  Glad you like it. He has about 4 more "Power of Nightmares", "Hypernormalization", "The Mayfair Set" . He has been criticized for lacking precision and rigor, but I am willing to forgive that for the experience and the overall argument: that old models of describing the world have lost their power.
  - browsercoin 8y ago
    immediately started watching mayfair set. i love documentaries like this.

anon4738383 8y ago

- The Cove - Requiem for the American Dream - VICE s02e01 Afghan Money Pit - VICE s02e02 Greenland is Melting

bitshepherd 8y ago

Trinity and Beyond narrated by William Shatner: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_and_Beyond https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trinity_and_Beyond

DoreenMichele 8y ago

http://graceofgodmovie.com http://graceofgodmovie.com

ilove_banh_mi 8y ago

Ladies and Gentlemen, Mr. Leonard Cohen (1965): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv4J7sID3Pk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uv4J7sID3Pk

ilove_banh_mi 8y ago

Ballon sur bitume (2016) -- French documentary about street football culture: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhW2CwKXsfE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhW2CwKXsfE https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/dec/14/balllon-sur-bitume-street-football-france https://www.theguardian.com/football/2016/dec/14/balllon-sur...

yesenadam 8y ago

Great question! Patricio Guzman: La batalla de chile, Nostalgia de la luz, El boton de nacar (i.e. everything I've seen so far) Bob Connolly & Robin Anderson - First Contact, Joe Leahy's Neighbours, Black Harvest (Trilogy about a half-white, half-native New Guinean farmer) Werner Herzog - (apart from those already mentioned) Lessons of Darkness, Les Blank's Burden of Dreams Everything by Scott Noble - watch on metanoia-films.org/ Bus 174, Harlan Country USA, How To Start A Revolution, Silenced (2014), War on Whistleblowers, The Century of the Self Man with a Movie Camera, Man on Wire, Dark Days, Kumaré, Dear Zachary, Children Full of Life (2003)

yesenadam 8y ago
*Harlan County (Well, I didn't expect to get downvoted for that list! I have no idea why. Sorry I bothered.)
- browsercoin 8y ago
  no idea why somebody downvoted you. hn can be a strange place

amitprayal 8y ago

Solar Mamas: Who is Rafea? - Why Poverty? - YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YeqM2OnVu0 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9YeqM2OnVu0

l33tbro 8y ago

'The Act of Killing' is arguably the most forward-thinking documentary of the last 20 years. Heavy going, but unflinching. That both Erol Morris and Werner Herzog executive produced after Oppenheimer made it should tell you how formally important it is.

badideaprojects 8y ago

McConkey Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiFo-osFHwQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiFo-osFHwQ Brilliant documentary about the life of Shane McConkey and his progression from skiing, BASE jumping and ski wingsuiting.

freediver 8y ago

If you are into history Jeremy Clarkson’s War Stories For example this one https://youtu.be/QjfErR81sQA https://youtu.be/QjfErR81sQA

siruncledrew 8y ago

Jiro Dreams of Sushi: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiro_Dreams_of_Sushi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jiro_Dreams_of_Sushi Man on Wire: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_on_Wire https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_on_Wire

illwrks 8y ago

"the century of the self". It's a 4 part documentary by Adam Curtis about the development of Public Relations and persuasion in advertising.

drakonka 8y ago

I've seen two documentaries that really have stuck with me. One is Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (watched in multiple long parts from memory); the other is Icarus.