Re: Waco: The Rules of Engagement and other Documentaries
Agree with another poster about Errol Morris; Dr. Death is fabulous, but Vernon, Florida is my favorite.
Unfortunately, none of Fred Wiseman's documentaries are available on DVD or video, but if you get a chance to see Titticut Follies--run.
Werner Herzog makes great documentaries, and Les Blank has made documentaries about Werner Herzog. Highly recommended.
9/11 is a documentary, as are all of Moore's films. When a director like Wiseman shoots five hundred hours of film, and then arranges the shots, determines a pace and rhythm, and provides two to three hours of finished film, he has significantly altered "reality." Sometimes, it just doesn't seem that way.
At opposite ends, Night and Fog, at a half hour, and Shoah, at eight hours, are two of the best Holocaust documentaries.
Also, look for The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie and The Sorrow and The Pity.
Last--this should keep you busy--all the films of the Maysle Brothers, who made Gimme Shelter, but surpass that work by far in Salesman and Grey Gardens.
Best fiction film masquerading as a documentary--Battle of Algiers.
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