Greatest documentary film ever?

[begin_within]

Of course there are a lot of great ones that aren't listed here. Please reply with your choice if not listed here. They really need to change the software to allow 20 choices, not 10.

[Arkham House]

1. I saw "The Sorrow and the Pity" when I was in college...

...and have never forgotten it. One of the greatest films ever made...

[mark414]

2. Endless Summer

one of my favorite movies ever...

but since it wasn't on the list i voted for hoop dreams

[hickman]

3. The Thin Blue Line.

Made before activist documentaries were born. The first. Now it seems slow and clunky, but it started the genera.

[begin_within]

4. That was one I had on the list, but cut out to pare it down to 10.

[hickman]

9. bob, how do you eliminate the one that set the bar?

no offence but that's like saying "who were the best fillys that ever ran" and not including Ruffian.

[begin_within]

14. I don't know. It was just a random choice. Damn this software. I don't

know why I selected "Gates of Heaven" over "The Thin Blue Line" as the Errol Morris entry. Just a personal preference, but "Thin" is a great film and I'm glad the guy's conviction was overturned, because in part of the film.

[Wetzelbill]

17. oh I just watched it

a month or so ago for the second time. It's still awesome. That is one special film.

[LynneSin]

52. The same guy also did "The Fog of War"

amazing documentary and well deserving of the Oscar it won in 2004

[swag]

5. I haven't seen all the documentaries ever, but a few favorites are

Titicut Follies, directed by Frederick Wiseman

Grey Gardens, directed by the Maysles Brothers

The Land of Silence and Darkness, directed by Werner Herzog.

I like a lot of the ones you listed as well.

[begin_within]

7. All 3 sound fascinating, if a little shocking.

[swag]

11. All along the lines of the "Seven Up" series that I voted for in your poll

I think that one was a very revealing and very valuable set of films. May that series continue for a long while.

[begin_within]

13. I'd like to see someone do an American version of it.

[radwriter0555]

6. The Summer series, Riding Giants, the surfing movies made that world

ALIVE for us.

But March of the Penguins was brilliant.

[bertha katzenengel]

8. Older: "The Civil War" or "Baseball;" newest: "When the Levees Broke"

eom

[SeattleGirl]

12. When The Levees Broke is definitely a great documentary.

:thumbsup:

[and-justice-for-all]

10. WEAPONS OF MASS DECEPTION.

[elaineb]

15. Harlan County, U.S.A.

About the coalminer's strike in Harlan County, KY in the 1970's. I just saw it for the first time last week. Amazing! Draws you in from the first minute and keeps you spellbound for the entire length of the film. Incredibly inspiring and heartbreaking at the same time. The series of events and people in it were so amazing that you would almost believe it was based on a fictional script if you didn't know otherwise.

[begin_within]

26. Good choice

[Wetzelbill]

16. The War Room!

:)

[begin_within]

25. Gentlemen, you can't fight in here, this is the War Room

[cobalt1999]

18. So many to choose from...

BBC Blue Planet series
BBC Walking with...(Dinosaurs, Monsters, Cavemen)series

My favorite would probably be the Ron Howard/HBO From the Earth to the Moon series.

[Guava Jelly]

19. Murder on a sunday morning (hbo)

http://www.hbo.com/docs/programs/murder_sunday/index.html

Murder on a Sunday Morning

Brenton Butler was just a regular 15-year-old African American high-school student living in Jacksonville, Florida. But when a woman was murdered on a quiet Sunday morning, Brenton suddenly found himself accused of the killing in one of the most frightening cases of mistaken identity ever. This shocking documentary provides a candid look at the U.S. justice system at work and exposes the racial bias and abuse of power that resulted in Brenton's arrest. The film features exclusive courtroom footage as well as interviews with the youth's public defenders, including attorney Patrick McGuinness, who uncovered startling evidence that raised serious doubts about the police investigation and subsequent interrogation tactics.


Thing had me in tears seeing what this poor innocent kid and his family went through

[ForrestGump]

20. I can't pick one but I just watched "March of the Penguins" a couple of

nights ago. It was excellent. The filmmakers' achievement was incredible, as was what they went through (I know a few people whio've overwintered in Antarctica, and it's a rough gig). They're an inspiration to anyone who's working in natural history film. The DVD extra "Of Penguins and Men" was really interesting and well done, too (they also have a Bugs Bunny cartoon on there). Great stuff.

[begin_within]

22. That one scene alone of the sun rising and setting in one continuous shot

is worth the whole price of admission. Great cinematography.

[querelle]

21. I Voted "World At War".

I am a HUGE fan of anything to do with war. Movies, books, documentaries, etc. Any war too. Ancient wars all the way up to modern warfare. My obsession I guess.

Q

[begin_within]

27. Too bad two major wars aren't adequately documented...

The war between the U.S. and the Native Americans.

The ongoing class war within the U.S.

[Radical Activist]

23. Harlan County USA

Of the list, I voted for Koyaanisqatsi. Its impossible for me to pick one favorite, but Harlan County USA is one of the best without a doubt. All of Michael Moore's films are among the top as well. He really does have an amazing talent.

[begin_within]

24. Another one I had on the list, but dropped to fit the 10 slots.

I probably should have left "Harlan" as one of the choices. I debated whether to include "Roger & Me" or "Bowling" for the Michael Moore choice.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

44. Harlan gets my vote too

Incredibly moving...

It's amazing some of the things she was able to capture on film just by virtue of being in the right place at the right time.

[Tyo]

28. Triumph of the Will

I can't think of another film that is so beautiful and so terrifying

[begin_within]

32. Another one that was on the list, but I dropped it. They should allow 20

choices in these polls.

[Joe Fields]

46. Triumph of the Will is not a documentary.

It was a propaganda piece.

[Broken_Hero]

29. 500 Nations......nt

[JVS]

30. The Story of English with Robert MacNeill

[MountainLaurel]

47. Oooh good one! n/t

[speedoo]

31. "Band of Brothers" is currently my favorite.

I voted for "Koyaanisqatsi", the only one of your choices I have seen. It always blows me away, and the Philip Glass score is so intense. Great thread, I have made a note to see several of the films mentioned.

[Vidar]

33. Probably Riefensthal's "Triumph of the Will".

[begin_within]

34. I had that on the list, but swapped it out for "Night and Fog," which

nobody has voted for. Should have left in "Triumph" since more than one person has now replied with it.

[Vidar]

36. Interesting. Never heard of "Night and Fog,"

[Tyrone Slothrop]

45. One of my film professors once told me

That one of his favorite things was standing at the front of the theater and watching the students' faces when he screened "Night and Fog". He said that watching the horror and revulsion play across everyone's faces reminded him that there was hope for younger generations; no one was desensitized enough to be disaffected by that film.

I remember sitting there as one of those students; that's some powerful stuff.

[SKKY]

35. "Roger and Me". It's what started it all....

[begin_within]

38. I had that as the Michael Moore entry in the list, then changed it to

"Bowling" because I thought more people have probably seen "Bowling." I thought "Roger" was a laugh riot most of the way through, then heartbreaking at the end.

[elaineb]

37. Also "Hearts and Minds"

I don't know how I forgot to list that one earlier. Great, great film.

[CanuckAmok]

39. The "Up" series. How can anyone not choose a film 40+ years in the making?

So good.

[terrya]

40. Good choices, but I think "The Fog of War" may be the best.

Very timely right now.

[Radical Activist]

41. Now that I've thought about it a little more...

regardless of what my favorites are, The Civil War and Bowling for Columbine are the two most significant documentaries done in the last several decades. They both expanded the audience that sees documentary films and changed the way such films are made. They were both monumental films.

[Deep13]

42. The Civil War

THe Ken Burns pledge drive film for PBS.

[av8rdave]

43. omg..you forgot "Supersize Me" and "Farenheit 911"

[JackBeck]

48. My personal favorite is "Paris Is Burning".

I remember, as a closeted teenage white boy being raised in a middle class suburb of Philadelphia, when I first saw this documentary on PBS. I couldn't, for the life of me, change the channel. I knew we all shared something in common, even though we were from opposite ends of the Earth. It took only a few years to figure out what that one thing was. To this day, if this documentary is on, I still watch it from beginning to end.

And, sadly, we recently lost one of the film's stars. The father of "Voguing", Willi Ninja, who passed away last week.

[warrens]

49. F911 and the Why We Fight series

WHITE propaganda.

[XNASA]

50. Hearts of Darkness nt

[LynneSin]

51. Where the hell is "Fog of War"

Amazing Documentary which won the Doc Oscar back in 2004. Basically it's an interview with Robert McNamara, former Secretary of Defense for Kennedy and Johnson. He talks about his life experiences with war starting with the bombing of Japan all the way through Vietnam.

[LynneSin]

53. Another great one: "Southern Comfort"

It's about a transgender man who happened to get ovarian cancer and the struggle for him to find a doctor will to take him in as a patient. It really spoke about the difficulties that transgenders face everyday in a society that still is not willing to accept transgenders for who they are.

I bawled my fricking eyes out on that one. It was another HBO documentary and they do show it from time to time

[JackBeck]

54. HBO can really kick some ass when it comes to documentaries.

We saw that as well and it was devastating. The ignorance that some of the doctors displayed, in the face of a man dying from cancer, was heartbreaking.

[RushIsRot]

55. Victory at Sea

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