The King of Kong and Man on a Wire have reminded me how much I love documentaries! Here are six others that I think are worth watching:

1. The Cruise (best movie about New York City, especially as it unwittingly relates to 9/11, not unlike the Wiz in that regard)

2. Sherman’s March (the world of 1970s bachelorhood comes to the South)

3. American Movie (what King of Kong is to video games, this film is to homemade zombie movies from the mid-west)

4. Unzipped (The Cruise of fashion, this movies says all that nobody can think of to say about the forgettable 90s)

5. Burden of Dreams (you won’t won’t believe what goes into the making of some movies! Kinski is beyond beyond)

6. Jimmy Carter: Man from Plains (dripping with Gospel, Demme makes a great doc! note: this one never makes documentary “lists” because its material is so sensitive)

COMMENTS

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10 responses to “6 Favorite Documentaries”

1. Dusty says:

   01/31/2009 at 7:07 pm

   American Movie is one of my all time faves. When it came out in the theater I actually mail ordered a copy of Coven in video from Mark Borchardt. It was the only way his movie got distribution. It was so cool, he gave me a hand written receipt.

   Reply
2. JDK says:

   01/31/2009 at 7:29 pm

   I watched “American Movie” and was really shaken. Great movie, but what a commentary on middle America–both then and now–the scene on Veterans day was amazing.

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3. John Stamper says:

   01/31/2009 at 7:44 pm

   Hey John. Thanks so much. People often think of the “documentary” is something dry or something you get forced to watch in school to educate you. But they can be incredibly touching looks at real people, relationships, feelings. Glad to see Mbird talking about them lately.

   I’ve never seen “American Movie” — I’ll definitely add to my queue. Thanks John (and Dusty and Jady).

   I think I have already gone on record recently in another thread, but for what it’s worth my current list of documentary loves is:

   Man On Wire
   King of Kong
   My Kid Could Paint That
   Bigger, Stronger, Faster
   Surfwise
   (all in the last 2 years)

   And before that (2003):
   Capturing The Friedmans
   My Architect

   All have a major Law/Grace dimension.

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4. Trevor says:

   01/31/2009 at 11:31 pm

   Timothy “Speed” Levitch! The Cruise is definitively mind altering.

   Reply
5. DZ says:

   02/02/2009 at 11:51 am

   All this without mentioning any of the great music docs! A quick list:

   1. Don’t Look Back
   2. I Am Trying To Break Your Heart
   3. End Of The Century
   4. No Direction Home
   5. Be Here To Love Me
   6. Come Feel Me Tremble

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6. John Zahl says:

   02/02/2009 at 12:11 pm

   You know that I don’t like music! 😉

   p.s., The Eyes of Tammy Faye is another good one.

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7. John Stamper says:

   02/02/2009 at 3:35 pm

   I luvvvvvv “The Eyes of Tammy Faye.” Where do the Zahl boys get such great taste?

   EYES OF TAMMY FAYE is very touching. It reminds me a bit of the Chris Guest movie WAITING FOR GUFFMAN — when the movie starts, you think that these are silly people you are going to have fun laughing at, but gradually their concerns become your concerns, and you care a lot what happens to them.

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8. John Zahl says:

   02/02/2009 at 3:57 pm

   I think that Eyes of Tammy Faye (not Laura Mars, hehe) captures something very powerful having to do with possible tensions that exist between church and gospel, where, in her case, she is basically kicked out of the world of church leadership because of her graciousness. The film is powerful too, because it’s clearly made by left-wing, most likely non-believing filmmakers, who wish to defend her honor and her faith. Quite touching.

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9. John Stamper says:

   02/02/2009 at 4:23 pm

   Yup… JZ nails it….

   Reply
10. DZ says:

    02/03/2009 at 3:54 pm

    I’m really excited about this one:

    http://dust-digital.com/news/?p=93

    Reply