Ask Lemmy

I really liked Behind the Curve. A crew follows around some flat earthers to see how they got into it and what it's like living your life believing the Earth is flat. All of them talk about the friendship and comradery of the group more than why they believe the earth is flat. In fact, one of the members explains that if he was given definitive proof the Earth wasn't flat, he'd still pretend it was because he wouldn't want to lose his friends.

It really shows how people who hold extreme views often hold them because it gives them a group to be a part of. You'll never be able to get someone to leave an extremist organization without giving them another group to be a part of.

“Who killed the electric car?” A fascinating look at the EV1 — an electric car developed by GM in the early 90s and leased to customers in California. The customers then had to give it back when the lease was over… so that GM could crush them all into little pieces and pretend the car never existed. It will make you angry.

Second choice would be “Hands on a Hardbody” about a radio station giving away a truck in East Texas. It’s a great time capsule of its time and place. Both sad and funny.

The private life of plants, by David Attenborough. I love it because it shows plants living at our speed (timelapses) with clear explanation and interesting facts. The soundtrack is nice and weird with a lot of synths, which is different from the normal orchestral backing. Also I love David :)

An Honest Liar.

World-renowned magician and escape artist James "the Amazing" Randi dedicates his life to exposing fake psychics and others who claim paranormal powers, while keeping a secret of his own that takes up the latter portion of the Documentary.

Searching for Sugar Man

It's like a modern fairytale. An aging Latino day labourer from detroit with an assumed failed 1970's music career is unearthed to be utterly successful in South Africa without knowing it. And the music is great.

The "Alone in the Wilderness" videos by Dick Proenekke. Middle-aged guy gives up on the rat race and heads to a remote spot in Alaska, builds a cabin, chills there for 30-years.

The man is amazing. Using hand tools he packed in by himself, he builds a nice cabin, hunts and fishes, all that. Dick needs a spoon or a table or a shelf? He makes one. He makes everything he needs.

No video has ever brought me such peace as listening to the narrator.

Action Park

Supposedly there is another one that doesn’t make it sound quite so awesome and emphasizes more for balance purposes the negligence and corruption that killed a bunch of people aspect. But many people who were around at the time seem to like this one.

Also, “Kunuk Uncovered” from Documentary Now on Netflix.

https://youtu.be/sRlvDKcDvsI?si=C6nf9dL3A7j32tEL

The Realms of the Unreal. It's a documentary about a hermit named Henry Darger who created his own little world while living alone all his life. The guy could read and write, but lacked an education on just about everything else.

I just find it neat that this entire world he created could have been easily thrown away, never to be discovered if his landlord wasn't curious. The guy had some serious mental issues, but it's still fascinating.

The wonderful whites of West Virginia.

Just watch it.

Ghenghis Blues

American musician with a short wave radio hears Mongolian music for the first time and it changes his life.

He goes on a trip 1/2 way around the world to discover it in person.

Oh, and he's blind.

https://youtu.be/-_xlbCq0WTw

If you're looking for a 'wild ride,' watch Wild Wild Country mini TV series.

If you're looking for a music-related documentary, watch Metal Evolution. (You can find most of the episodes on Youtube.)

If you're looking for something more biographical and about someone intriguing, and have some laughs while doing it, watch George Carlin's American Dream.

If you like space/NASA

Good Night Oppy (2022).

It's about the Opportunity Rover on Mars. Great little doc about an amazing little rover.

Does This Is Spinal Tap count? It's hilarious!

BBC The People’s Century. Goes over history from 1900-2000. Has actual interviews with 100 year olds at the time, like a guy who stormed the palace with Lenin.

Touching the Void

It's a wild ride that showcases just how strong humans really are. Definitely worth a watch!

In 1985 two friends, Joe Simpson and Simon Yates, set out to climb Siula Grande in Peru via the West Face, a hitherto unaccomplished feat by any climber. After a tough ascent they succeed but on the descent they run into significant problems. Soon they are both in dire danger and the chances of surviving are slim.

Dear Zachary - the most uniquely produced and one of the most heart-wrenching docs I've ever seen.

Once Upon a Time in Iraq - Interviews with Iraqis, describing the war with their own eyes.

The Corporation - if everyone watched this perhaps people would be more concerned about Big Cor'prit than Big Guv'mint.

A Certain Kind of Death. It's a very stark and dry documentary about what happens to the bodies of people who die with no next of kin. It follows the journeys of three people who die alone, with no heirs, and no relatives to come pick up their stuff.

I remember the guy in charge of the place talking about how very often he'd call the family of a decedent and the survivor would say something like "Oh... well, we always wondered what happened to him." It struck me, made me realize that this is how I was going to go at some point if I didn't change my ways.

I have yet to change my ways.

Earthlings (2005) was life-changing for me, opening my eyes to veganism. A more recent version is Dominion (2018).

But these deal with a gruesome topic. Planet Earth (2006) is more suitable for "favorite". It blew me away, because I've never seen wildlife footage like this before.

Senna. I care not for formula 1 or any other racing but that was amazing. Brilliant music too. I always think it's the best documentary I've seen because of how little I care for the subject topic and how much I got from the movie. The guy was just really cool and the film makers told his story so well.

The Most Unknown (2018). Described as ""nine scientists... who visit one another blind-date style", it follows a scientist of one field/ discipline and they nerd out, travel to another scientist of a completely different field, and talk to them about their work next. But they have a discussion, and you can see how different these minds are, yet how they can value the insight of the other. The next scientist travels to another, and it daisy-chains until 9 scientists' work are explored.

It's quite neat, and it just brings a feeling of the joy of curiosity and the wonder of the universe we live in. It's an easy watch, I'd say. Here's the Wiki.

Going Clear, it's about scientology, how it started and spread, how they abuse their people, harass anyone who challenges them. It really shows the true power of money and manipulation, and also shows why freedom of religion should be restricted.

HyperNormalization by Adam Curtis. It recounts decades of world events to shape a picure of how the world as we see it has been carefully cultivated. "You were much a part of the system that it was impossible to see beyond it." It's colored to my entire worldview.

https://youtu.be/yS_c2qqA-6Y

Not my favorate to watch, but the one I prefer to recomend.

Vernon, Florida

I happened to live near there for a couple years. When I went online, to see if I could show some proof of the things I witnessed there, to friends not from there, this documentary came up. Though it takes place like 15ish years before I was there, it still was a good overview of my experience there. Basically the documentarian went there to make a film about the very high rate of lost limbs there, and ended up just showcasing the strange white-trashness of the place.

This documentary is way under appreciated. I highly suggest it.

Recently found out about Toxic Puzzle, a doc about how a guy, searching through cultural medicines for cancer cures, switched to finding causes & help against ALS & how that search led to new information about cause of Alzheimers.

Cyano-bacteria is a terror!

Vital Medical information & forward movement not pursued by pharmaceuticals (cause they can't figure out how to market it).

I enjoy documentaries where the footage comes from people who are shooting without a very good reason to be doing so. Top picks are likely:

• Exit Through the Gift Shop
• Grizzly Man

Very different reasons I liked these. And liked is maybe the wrong word for Grizzly Man.

Would love to suggestions of similar if anybody in this thread has favs.

Dig! It is a fascinating rockumentary.

Icarus was insane. From an amateur cyclist trying to up his game that leads him on a journey of discovery into the world of performance enhancing drugs and escalates to literally the highest echelons of the sporting world leading to global ramifications, maybe a war.

King Corn great documentary couple guys lease an arce of corn and go through the process of how the majority of corn produce in this country (USA) is unbeatable and used for producing corn syrup.

Planet earth 2 (and also one), for the sheer eye candy.

The Barkley Marathons

Very goofy race rules, I rewatch it every year or two

Kind of an obvious one, but Free Solo. Even knowing what happens, it's one of the most tense things you'll ever watch.

American Movie. Sweet film about a quirky but determined film maker to make a movie and hit it big. The characters are fantastic slices of Americana.

Anvil. Film about a heavy metal band who almost made it and try one last time. The crazy part is the night I watched it they were playing in my home town. I regret not going to see them. They are just a few normal guys who are lived by their community and once rocked out on the same stage as Metallica.

Field Trip: West Siberia

A homely, DIY look at Siberian wildlife, people, country, and culture. I like the view into an area I am so far from, and previously knew nothing about.

• It is 20yrs old and in Russian language. Not meant to push any agenda, I just like the animals and countryside.

Wild Wild Country

A bit overlong (typical for Netflix), but it has that irresistible "Surely this won't get any crazier" thing going for it. It's also a bit unique among cult documentaries in that the cult leader (technically second in command I think, but the de facto leader for a time) is interviewed and is remarkably candid about everything.

Hold Fast. A documentary by Moxie Marlinapike (Founder for signal amongst other things).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lwbHYOFD-4

Its a wonderful look behind the curtains. Gives a good impression who he is as a person long before he had any success.

Return of the scorcher

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105248/

“this film discovers an evolving bicycling renaissance, exploring bike culture and lifestyles around the world with beautiful and inspiring scenes of bike use in China, The Netherlands, Denmark, and the U.S.”

I love docs about civil engineering, especially bridges and dams. Modern Marvels has a couple of good episodes on the subject, told/produced in that program's typical format, including the Golden Gate Bridge and The Hoover Dam.

But my favorite is a 1997 episode of Nova called Super Bridge ( https://thetvdb.com/series/nova/episodes/1357201 ). The footage is great, the narration is great (I think its Hal Holbrook!), the storytelling is great, and it showed a great deal of stuff I didn't know I would be fascinated by, while remaining down to earth.