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

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171–180 of 568 posts

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

#171
Resolved - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Resolved_(film)

- Follows a high school debate team that eschewed the normal speed and pitch common in debate and instead argued against the structure of debate on the whole.

Class Action Park - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Class_Action_Park

- Covers the history of Action Park, and amusement park which was located in Vernon Township, New Jersey and was infamous for its poor safety record.

The Last Dance - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Last_Dance_(miniseries)

- Chronicles the career of basketball great Michael Jordan

The Captain - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Captain_(miniseries)

- Chronicles the career of baseball great Derek Jeter

Andre the Giant - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andr%C3%A9_the_Giant_(film)

- Examines the life and career of professional wrestler Andre the Giant

6 Days to Air: The Making of South Park - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6_Days_to_Air

- Follows Trey Parker and Matt Stone as they produce an episode of the adult cartoon series South Park in the 6 days before it is due to air.

The Alzheimers Project - https://www.hbo.com/the-alzheimer-s-project

- A bit aged, but a multi-part series covering Alzheimers disease and its impact on those affected by it and their families.

Alive Day Memories - Home From Iraq - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alive_Day_Memories

- Interviews with Iraq War veterans about the days they should have died, but didn't.

Assume the Position with Mr. Wuhl - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assume_the_Position_with_Mr._W...

- Talks about facts and myths of American history in a comedic view

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

#173
post #167

My favorites on Netflix this year were: Trainwreck: Woodstock '99 https://www.netflix.com/title/81280924 Challenger Final Flight https://www.netflix.com/title/81012137 FYRE (Festival) https://www.netflix.com/title/81035279 From a long time ago, and I don't even know if you can still watch it anywhere, but that FogBugz Aardvark'd documentary was really fun to watch too. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aardvark%27d:_12_W…

Oh yeah, that Woodstock documentary was really good. Didn’t know what happened back then, and was surprised to learn that there was another Woodstock.

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

#174
The Price of Everything

It's about how the global art world interacts with the bottomless well of cash that has been gushing into it during the last few decades, with a focus on one older artist who is quite successful but not by those standards.

Before anybody gets too depressed about it I would add that the kids are alright: the generations who witnessed the arrival of this stinking freight of mammon find it a lot more offensive than the people who just grew up in its shadow. The art world is thriving like never before, and I emphatically include the broke-ass majority of it in that statement.

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7475540/

Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mbqcY9g5CM

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

#175
Countdown: Inspiration4 Mission to Space (2021)

A 5 part Netflix docuseries detailing the background and story of the Inspiration4 mission. I thought it was literally inspirational.

The Imagineering Story (2019)

A Disney docuseries focused on Walt Disney Imagineering and the history and creation of the Disney theme parks and attractions around the world. After watching this I had a whole new respect for Disney.

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

#176
This isn’t quite what you’re asking for, but Paris Is Burning is the best documentary I’ve ever seen. It’s about the drag ball scene in New York in the 80s, and watching it now is fascinating to see how such a niche culture was 40 years ahead of its time and has become dominant in 2022. On top of that, it’s just a great portrayal of a few fascinating characters.

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

#177

Fires of Kuwait - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tUzkF_Dp8M A first hand account of the firefighters who were sent to cap the oil wells that Saddam set on fire during his attempt to invade the country. Senna https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-aPLOQeSHrM The story of famed F1 driver. I'm not a racing fan but this one was amazing. Apollo 11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Co8Z8BQgWc Completely new footage was found of…

For a poetic treatment of the fires of Kuwait, see Lessons of Darkness by Werner Herzog:

https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104706/

Trailer: https://youtu.be/vMIM-ma2juo

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

#179
post #63

“The Century of the Self” by Adam Curtis. https://youtu.be/eJ3RzGoQC4s It goes through each decade of the 1900s and explains how Freud’s psychology and the new field of marketing completely reshaped society. For the first time in my life I feel like I understood the “why” of how things work in American society. This film is probably best if you’re age 40+ and actually remember some of the events.

Amazed given the site we are on nobody mentions "All Watched Over by Machines of Loving Grace" by Curtis.

I loved it, even being in the industry at the center of the topic.

However the narrative is judged, it at least has a spark I find has died in our own.

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

#180
I saw Seeking Asian Female for a class and couldn't get it out of my head. It's a documentary about this older man who has a pretty...egregious Asian fetish. He finds this woman in China who he flies over to the US with the intent of marrying her ASAP. At this point most people have a preconceived notion of where the story is going, but I'll just say it ends up being a lot more complicated. There's a really nice reflexive quality, as filmmaker is an Asian woman herself, albeit Asian-American. Because of this, she ends up playing a role that goes beyond filmmaker, and part of the movie is her reflecting on this transgression.
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