I Love Documentaries

I love documentaries. I am not sure I have told you that (fewer than a million times) so I wanted to make that clear again. Anyway, in my love of documentaries, I am constantly bombarded with doc emails. Half of them have recommendations for me. These recommendations have proved helpful from time to time, so keep them coming.

The other half of emails want to know my favorites. Of course, my favorites can encompass so many, but I did want to release my list of 10 “essential documentaries” for the genre I would try to describe here – which I have decided to alter to Top 12 since I couldn’t narrow it to 10.

Now, I am eliminating all Ken Burns-type, historical, and educational documentaries. I love those, but those would automatically be rated higher than the silly types – so let’s just do our best to leave those out of this mix. I am compiling this list entirely of the absurd, the odd, the weird, the uncomfortable, and the off-the-beaten path films. The documentaries that likely would never make the PBS cut, but surely are worth your time, and will have you talking about them with your buddies for years to come.

Also, because they are so difficult to differentiate, I have chosen to list my 12 in Alphabetical order, rather than ranking them 1-12. Like my children, I love all 12 of these docs equally. So here they are.

MY 12 ESSENTIAL DOCUMENTARIES

American Movie – 1999

One of our earliest obsessions on our radio show, the lives of Mark Borchardt and Mike Schank will amuse you as Mark has a quest to make a movie. Mike has a quest to tell stories of his unfortunate drug experiences. I really love it. Although the idea that they are two burnouts from Wisconsin no doubt affects my judgement.

Watch the Trailer Here



Comedian - 2002

A look at the world of the standup comedian. Jerry Seinfeld is a big player, as are a few spare comedians trying to make it in the big leagues with varying levels of failure. Writing jokes, practicing, travel, and the whole bit is examined in this film.

Watch the Trailer here



Confessions of a Super Hero – 2007

This is a great look at the life of those who stand on Hollywood Blvd in Hollywood dressed as various comic book superheroes and the lives that go with them. Many are there because they are on the road to stardom (they hope) and it is the more realistic outcome of the “Hollywood dream”. Fascinating and wonderful all at the same time.

Watch the Film here from Snagfilms.com



Dogtown and Z-Boys – 2001

A fabulous historical account of something I have no use for…Skateboarding. Sean Penn narrates the story of empty pools, stunts, and the wheels-off life of Jay Adams. Loved it.

Watch the Trailer Here



Grizzly Man – 2005

Without question, one of my absolute favorites. The Werner Herzog look at the incredibly odd Timothy Treadwell and his relationship with the Grizzly Bears in Alaska. They loved him, he loved them, they ate him. So crazy, that most think this is not a real documentary. But alas, it is.

Watch the Trailer Here



Hoop Dreams – 1994

Two Chicago kids are followed as they follow their big time basketball dreams. Reality ensues, and it is somewhere between sad and amazing. One of the true documentary classics.

Watch the Trailer Here



King of Kong – A Fistful of Quarters – 2007

I wasn’t sure about this one, but when I gave it a chance it absolutely got a great review from me. Love Steve Wiebe, hate Billy Mitchell, love everything about Steve and Billy’s quest to out Donkey Kong eachother. The amazing real people who surround the governing bodies of video game record keeping is too great to believe. A very solid film.

Watch the Trailer Here



Roger and Me – 1989

Like Michael Moore or not, the fact is that he is a pioneer of making great documentaries. His critics don’t care for his insistence on making himself the star of his films, but I kind of like it. Also, he will be ripped for injecting his views into his films, but isn’t that the whole point of a documentary? The Film maker has a blank canvas and a chance to say what he wants the world to hear for 90 minutes. In Roger and Me, he attacks the big corporation for forgetting the little guy. I still say it is his finest work.

Watch the Trailer Here



Some Kind of Monster – 2004

This is about the only documentary in the whole lot that centers around really famous people, because usually really famous people do not allow cameras to show every wart and reality about them. Well, Metallica obviously was not worried about that. They agreed to do it, and the filmmakers hit a home run. What an amazing account of life in a huge rock band.

Watch the Trailer Here



Spellbound – 2002

A doc on the national spelling bee and all of the study, obsession, and work that goes into that. Just another look into a segment of society we would never see otherwise, but it once again is wildly entertaining to me.

Super Size Me – 2004

Morgan Spurlock’s amazing look at why America is fat..and getting fatter. His experiment of eating nothing but McDonald’s for 30 straight days may in fact shorten his life, but it was very entertaining. A very good job of experiments inside documentaries that proved solid.

Watch the Entire Film Here from SnagFilms.com



Trekkies – 1997

A good documentary to me is one that focuses on a corner of civilization that you would not otherwise see, and then just let the cameras tell the story. This film is about those who are obsessed with Star Trek and all things that go with it. I especially enjoyed the lady who wore her Star Trek uniform to her jury service for the Whitewater Trial. So many documentaries have basically used this as a template for their film, and it works quite well.

And, the Honorable Mention of Documentaries that I rate as worth watching:

Bowling for Columbine

Cowboys Del Amor

Darkon



Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

Gates of Heaven

Hands on a Hard Body

Heavy Metal in Baghdad



Lost in LaMancha

Murderball

My Kid could paint that

Okie Noodling

Wordplay

Year of the Yao