Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen?

Re:Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen? by 70jS8h5L on Sunday September 11, 2022 @10:53AM (#32800086)

I love documentaries, and these are my favourites. All very worth a watch.

- The Crash Reel

- McConkey

- Buck

- Apollo 11

- Carts of Darkness

- The Wild and Wonderful Whites of West Virginia

- Samsara

- Baraka

- Brooklyn Castle

- Spellbound

- Drew: The Man Behind the Poster

- Crumb

- The Jinx

- The Art of Flight

- King of Kong

- Indie Game: The Movie

- Capturing the Friedmans

- OJ: Made in America

- The Barkley Marathons

- The Seven Five

- Murderball

- Unbranded

- Gringo: The Dangerous Life of John McAfee

- Big River Man

- Hoop Dreams

- Word Wars

- Free Solo

- Long Shot

- Meru

- Being Elmo

- All This Mayhem

- Jiro Dreams of Sushi

- The Cove

- Project Nim

- Alone in the Wilderness

- Behind the Curve

- The Dawn Wall

- Grizzly Man

- 13th

- Winnebago Man

- Man vs Snake: The Long and Twisted Tale of Nibbler

- Get Me Roger Stone

- Icarus

- 13th

- Koyaanisqatsi

- The Thin Blue Line

- An Inconvenient Truth

- Oklahoma City

- Virunga

- The Staircase

- Evil Genius

- Undefeated

- Betting on zero

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Re:Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen? by Overtonwindow on Sunday September 11, 2022 @01:13PM (#32801376)

Get me Roger Stone was brilliant, I never quite understood what a political provocateur was until I watched that. Now it’s amazing to spot them throughout the political universe.

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Re:Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen? by mtVessel on Sunday September 11, 2022 @08:53PM (#32804651)

Capturing the Friedmans is brilliantly constructed. Jarecki peels the onion one layer at a time, saving key details for when they'll have maximum impact.

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Re:Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen? by tra3 on Sunday September 11, 2022 @01:06PM (#32801307)

Appreciate the list very much. Do you think you could share the ones to start with and why you liked them?

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Re:Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen? by 70jS8h5L on Wednesday September 14, 2022 @06:47AM (#32835373)

To be completely honest - my memory for films is terrible, so I struggle to remember why I loved many of these. Also, many of them take unexpected twists and to say why I loved them so much risks ruining part of the surprise. I've watched countless documentaries and in order for them to make this list I have to _really_ enjoy them, and for the most part they require no interest in the subject matter in my opinion - they're just objectively good. So, I'd recommend literally any to start with, but with all that being said, some favourites amongst the favourites:

The Crash Reel - an amazing tale of a person preparing for the olympics, with an unexpected turn and just a very heartwarming/impressive journey - very very highly recommended.

The Cove - follows a whaling event that happens every year, and exposes the savagery of it. However, it's filmed almost like a thriller, in how the team set up to expose the event. Very eye opening, if a little sad, but very very good.

Drew: The Man Behind the Poster - just an amazing documentary about a man who makes amazing film posters - incredible, you'll see that he's responsible for so many recognisable posters from your childhood.

Being Elmo - lovely film about the puppeteer behind Elmo - really heartwarming

13th - very good film about racial injustice in the legal system.

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Re:Ask HN: What are some of the best documentaries you've seen? by tra3 on Wednesday September 14, 2022 @01:37PM (#32840526)

Thank you!

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