An Impossible Job: ILX's 40 Favorite Documentaries

I showed Winged Migration to my two grade 6 science classes last year, and most of them were pretty attentive through most of it.

The only thing I really remember about Winged Migration is that I bought a bottle of wine and some brie and crusty bread to consume while I watched it.

that really sounds delicious

Obviously I provided my students with wine and crusty bread.

wd do the same w/ showing a class Sex Positive

three of mine placed so far. (i was the other shoah voter if it makes you feel any better morbs.) (on the other hand, i voted for fog of war.) enjoying this so far. thanks, c.

whoops, make that four. i figure about another three have a shot. the other three, not so much.

i think i have ~10 that still have a shot at placing.

Oh man I haven't had a chance to read through this yet but I'm psyched that brother's keeper placed. I gave it a lot of points iirc. I think I may have voted for hated too but I can't remember.

Brother's Keeper is so heartbreaking, the non-fiction equiv. of "A Simple Plan."

Loved it, have to see it again.

Fans of Anvil who wished it had more pathos and OCD dramedy should check out Driver 23, which is almost a companion piece to American Movie (American Metal?). I didn't vote for any of those but they'd make my Top 100.

Josh you were the one who recommended it to me on the netflix thread! :)

I thought Brother's Keeper was really quite boring

i would love to see driver 23 but it is oop yes?

also how in the world is brothers keeper boring

Like, it bored me. It seemed realllllly drawn out and ultimately rather pointless. It just wasn't "well-crafted" (can't think of a better term, sorry)

huh. experiences differ etc i guess

i found it engaging but i wasn't really blown away. it's a unique and sad story, but formally it's a very familiar kind of doc.

i guess i can see that - the story outweighed the style for me prob - which is super true of one of my other choices but im not saying anything because i am still holding out hope that it places

oh yeah i'm not making a style v. substance argument here. i mean i prefer to have both, but "transparent style" is also a style etc etc.

i need to revisit it, but like admrl, i was left v v cold by BK a few years ago.

apologies for not participating in this (seventeen would have made it, i bet!), good work getting this together clemeneza, etc. but srsly fuck the canon, it's missing almost everything i love.

clemenza*

here's a question i meant to ask during the nominations thread, but forgot to: has anyone on ilx ever MADE a doc?

yes, someone on this thread is a very good filmmaker

I have. And gbx has. And s1ocki made a faux-documentary. Sure there are others

i knew dr. morbius would finally put his money where his mouth is.

xpost: oh well thanks for ruining my joke ADAM.

seriously though where/how can i see your film?

(i was referring to adam, idk about gbx and s1ocki's films)

I don't get it! =/ But I don't think I want it explained

xp

me? I don't know...which film? Are you in Baltimore or Philadelphia or something? Let's save this for another thread!

that was to strongo

haha! i am everywhere you want to be. but yes.

me? I don't know...which film? Are you in Baltimore or Philadelphia or something? Let's save this for another thread!

― A41 (admrl), Sunday, 14 August 2011 00:31 (2 minutes ago) Bookmark

you shouldn't be so modest/should agitate for yr work to be discussed in the 'top 40 documentaries' thread. i'd be innarested ...

As I mentioned on the previous thread, I was in Alan Zweig's Vinyl for about half a minute. And I once had an idea to make a documentary about Denny McLain. The next step of actually doing anything about it was just too much to bear.

I'm a little lost--which person has made a documentary?

Haha, I do not think my film would be on this thread even if every ilxer ever had seen it and I don't really much want to talk about it on ILX. I also wouldn't presume that because I have worked on documentaries, I know anymore about what makes a good one than any of you guys. If y'all want to rep for Brother's Keeper, that's cool.

xp I saw Vinyl! Are you a record nerd and/or sad person?

Hmmmmn...Both? A friend posted my clip on YouTube a few years ago, so here's a non-embedded link: www.youtube.com/watch?v=rCAGSnsnkVA.

Ha! I love that after my clip, the "Up Next" one is "8-1/2 minutes with Robert Crumb."

Woaaaaah! I remember you!

I think I posted that clip on I Love Vinyl, actually

i keep meaning to hassle gbx into seeing his doc - it was about seeland, and theres a thread around here somewhere

And it showed on a bus!!

s1ocki's film(s) is also great, fwiw, but not an actual documentary. And his new film is hilarious

I was hoping for Vinyl: The Next Generation and Vinyl: The Final Conflict, but the franchise just never happened.

It was a good film about record collecting, but it made my wife sad (she is not a record person, though).

If Vinyl is #1 in this poll, I will now be very suspicious...

oh whoops "sealand", seeland was the negativland label thing

I did a search on "Seeland"--a band?

(I gave it 164 points, just enough to take #1.)

"Island nation"

As in, it's about the island nation of sealand, that's not what the film is called.

i have been mulling a doc for several years now but have no idea how i'd get started etc etc. hats off to anyone who's done is, is my take.

I would like to see a strongo doc, do it!

ugh you actually made me say doc