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** STICKY ** Documentary Thread

arg-fallbackName="JustBusiness17"/>
Hey, did anyone know that the guy from 'Supersize Me' made a documentary about Osama Bin Laden that really busts some of the American preconceptions about the Middle East?



Speaking of 'Supersize Me', here's a light hearted documentary about marijuana and a professional comedian's 30 day binge on the product.

 
arg-fallbackName="tangoen"/>
If you want a documentary about antartica that not just about how cute penguins are the you should watch "Encounters at the End of the World" by Werner Herzog. also "Grizzly Man" by the same director
 
arg-fallbackName="WarK"/>
I've just watched "Who killed the electric car" and found it both interesting and sad at the same time.
For any of you who are interested in alternative energy sources I'd recommend third part of James May's "Big ideas" - "Power to the People"

I couldn't find the full vid on YT so here are couple of links about the show:

wikipedia page
BBC 2 site
imdb

ok, found something on dailymotion, the title seems to be that of the other episode but in fact, it is the one about energy

part 1
part 2
part 3
 
arg-fallbackName="theyounghistorian77"/>
Hammer and Tickle. A history of the Soviet Union through Jokes. Or about the history of humor under communism :lol:
Just an awesome and funny documentary.

.

.

.

.

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arg-fallbackName="JustBusiness17"/>
theyounghistorian77 said:
Hammer and Tickle. A history of the Soviet Union through Jokes. Or about the history of humor under communism :lol:
Just an awesome and funny documentary.

Click to expand...

With a name like that, you better contribute to this thread ;)

Next time, save the effort and just post the first in the series. I don't think anybody would watch more than one clip before going to the dedicated page.
 
arg-fallbackName="australopithecus"/>
Not a documentary as such, but the BBC have posted a few clips of Richard Feynman being all explainy. Might not be available outside the UK.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/archive/feynman/

Part 2 explains fuckin' magnets and how they work.
 
arg-fallbackName="nasher168"/>
A bunch of historical docudramas about the Roman Republic and later Empire:

Hannibal: Rome's Worst Nightmare- covers the campaigns of Hannibal Barca during the second Punic War:


Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire 1- covers Julius Caesar's Civil War:


Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire 2- covers the reighn of Nero the Mad:


Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire 3- covers the Jewish rebellion during the reign of Nero which propelled Emperor-to-be Vespasian to glory:


Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire 4- covers the career of Tiberius Cracchus, who put Rome on the path to becoming an Empire:


Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire 5- covers the christianisation of the Roman Empire by Constantine the Great:


Ancient Rome: The Rise and Fall of an Empire 6- Covers the dying days of the empire when it was sacked by the Visigoths:


Heroes and Villains: Spartacus- covers Spartacus' slave rebellion:
 
arg-fallbackName="Pennies for Thoughts"/>
The True Story of Charlie Wilson (History Channel)
Tom Hanks was miscast in the movie version, but Charlie Wilson shines as himself in this documentary about the hard drinking, Casanova, one-man-army Texas Congressman, and Joanne Herring, a high-society redneck woman, whose arming of the Mujaheddin with Stinger missiles broke the back of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
http://www.unclebarky.com/reviews_files/b757c44bad4f651d947eb3601446e842-311.html
.
Con Man
In his mid-twenties, boyish looking James Arthur Hogue conned his way into a prestigious high school where, as a track star, he was taking all the trophies until he was caught. A pathological chameleon, he later conned his way into Princeton where he was doing well until the other shoe dropped. Lovers of oddball character studies will enjoy this. Critics of this doc have come away wanting for answers, unable to consider that there may not be any.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/con_man-2006/

Do You Believe in Miracles?
This is not a religious documentary nor is it exactly a sports documentary. It is about the USA's "Miracle on Ice" win over the mighty Soviets in the 1980 Olympics, but more significantly it's about a Cold War low point when the US was gripped by what President Carter called a "crisis of confidence." Energy prices had risen through the roof, gas lines stretched for blocks, inflation was eating up incomes, and Iranian students had overrun our embassy in Tehran. Then a bunch of college kids beat the Soviet Olympic team which was amateur in name only. There's also great production in the doc itself -- interviews, editing, sound, etc. are all top notch.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0276918/

Sea Biscuit(American Experience) has been called the greatest athlete on four legs. Running during the Great Depression of the 1930s, the little horse that could did. They really don't make heroes like this anymore.
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/american_experience_seabiscuit/

The Crusades
Terry Jones, the Monty Python one, not the Koran burning one, is a medieval scholar who narrates this excellent doc on the First Crusade. Jones cracking wise about Crusader in-fighting, slaughter, suffering and cannibalism is different, but his knowledge plus views from both sides of the conflict carry the story. Also excellently produced.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111931/
 
arg-fallbackName="Pulsar"/>
Land of the Tiger, a beautiful 3-part documentary that was on BBC the past few days:

 
arg-fallbackName="Laurens"/>
If you can find it look for a BBC Panorama Episode called 'What Happened Before The Big Bang'. It's a very interesting look at the theories around, as the title suggests, what happened before the Big Bang. It doesn't present a conclusive explanation of what happened before, merely and overview of popular hypotheses. It's main conclusion is that nowadays a lot of scientists accept that there was a 'before', rather than it being an irrelevant question (there was no before), which is what the consensus was until fairly recently.

Definitely worth looking for.
 
arg-fallbackName="DepricatedZero"/>
http://www.getlamp.com

Here he (somewhat) condones torrenting the documentary, though sincerely it deserves a buy. It's amusing that he was bothered by the fact that it was ripped wrong and wanted that fixed, rather than it being ripped.

http://inventory.getlamp.com/2010/10/16/to-my-esteemed-colleages-at-flair/
 
arg-fallbackName="australopithecus"/>
Laurens said:
If you can find it look for a BBC Panorama Episode called 'What Happened Before The Big Bang'. It's a very interesting look at the theories around, as the title suggests, what happened before the Big Bang. It doesn't present a conclusive explanation of what happened before, merely and overview of popular hypotheses. It's main conclusion is that nowadays a lot of scientists accept that there was a 'before', rather than it being an irrelevant question (there was no before), which is what the consensus was until fairly recently.

Definitely worth looking for.
Click to expand...

This. Here's the iPlayer link for anyone in the UK that missed it.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00vdkmj/Horizon_20102011_What_Happened_Before_the_Big_Bang/
 
arg-fallbackName="RichardMNixon"/>
How has no one mentioned Cosmos yet? Is that just required watching for being a member here?

 
arg-fallbackName="Laurens"/>
I'm not sure if it's turned up on youtube, but there is a series called 'The History of Christianity' from the BBC. It's one of the best things I've watched for a long time.
 
arg-fallbackName="Laurens"/>
BTW this topic could do with some editing/updating, it's filled with pages of videos that are no longer available.
 
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