Waco: The Rules of Engagement and other Documentaries

[La Brujita]

After Fahrenheit 911 I decided to review my don't rent documentaries rule and rended Waco:

Rotten Tomatoes Review

It was a pretty solid movie, although for me it downplayed three things:

1. Koresh did likely molest children

2. They possibly/probably did have illegal guns

3. They did not come out when served with a warrant.

Other than the Moore movies and Spellbound (pretty entertaining) I haven't seen many documentaries. Any other good/great ones to check out?

Mr. Death is on my queue.

[elwoodblues]

The Thin Blue Line is really, really good.

Blood in the Face is also pretty good (Michael Moore was involved, but it isn't a "typical" Michael Moore documentary)

[David Steele]

"Capturing the Friedmans" was interesting.

D.

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

First, let's be honest and not call Fahrenheit 9/11 a documentary. Documentary style, yes, but not documentary.

Second, Ken Burns is brilliant. I highly recommend Baseball and The Civil War. There was also an awesome World War II documentary, but I don't remember the title or who made it (there are so many). It might have been The World At War.

[Ulysses]

There was a documentary thread a while back. Try searching this and the older archives for "documentary" if you're really interested.

I also enjoyed Spellbound and a number of the Moore movies.

Others:

Everything by Errol Morris.

I haven't seen this one yet, but Touching the Void has been recommended to me by numerous people.

Rivers and Tides.

Hoop Dreams.

Crumb.

When We Were Kings.

Super Size Me.

American Pimp.

Capturing the Friedmans.

Control Room, in theaters now, is getting some good reviews. I haven't seen it yet.

That's off the top of my head. There were a few other good ones listed in the older thread.

[mikeyvegas]

If you're looking for a documentary about pimps that rates as a 10 on the UCR scale:

Pimps Up, Ho's Down

[Six_of_One]

Check out Paradise Lost. Very interesting stuff.

[John Cole]

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.