Documentaries are great. They're shorter than fictional films (for the most part), they're real stories (for the most part), and they make us realize how horrible we are as people (for the most part). After recently noticing that some of my friends, family, and enemies are becoming increasingly interested in documentaries, I decided it would be a good idea to share some of my favorites that are also viewable on Netflix.
In All Seriousness:
(These are in no specific order, just a list of 10)
1. A Few Documentary Series
Because I can never make these lists without cheating somehow, here is the sole cheat entry on the list. In this slot I'd like to recommend ESPN's 30 for 30 series, Cosmos, The Story of Film: An Odyssey, and Planet Earth. These are 4 very different documentary series that I enjoy quite a bit. ESPN's 30 for 30 series is nearing the end of it's second season, and for those who are unaware of the greatness that is 30 for 30, it is a sport's documentary series presented by ESPN films, and they have released upwards of 70 sports-related documentaries that can be found (for the most part) on Netflix. They also have made more than 30 shorts about various sports events/figures/etc, that can be found online. I'll recommend Survive and Advance as my favorite of the 30 for 30 docs, but I would have felt bad not suggesting watching all or as many of these as you can. Maybe in the future I'll have a ranking of my favorites from this series, but for now you're on your own.
The other series that I recommend are Cosmos, which is Neil Degrasse Tyson's reboot of the science series of the same name from the 80's. He uses beautifully animated graphics, and narration straight from his vast knowledge of science. The Story of Film: An Odyssey is similar in it's story telling, the history of film is told through narration by film historian/critic Mark Cousins, and through use of film clips (some popular and some that even the most avid filmgoer has never seen before). And lastly, Planet Earth is a great series that showcases wildlife in every corner of our home, from the arctic to the rainforest to the deepest parts of the ocean, pretty much everything is touched upon, and yet there is still so much that hasn't been. These documentaries are geared towards four separate interests (sports, science, film, and nature), and while the more curious of us who want to learn about everything should seek out all 4 series, they may not all be for you, so start with what you find interesting and work from there.
2. Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)
Exit Through the Gift Shop takes a look at the mysterious world of street/graffiti artists. It starts off with a man traveling around with and film famous artist Shephard Fairey, and then eventually with the anonymous Banksy, who then turns it around on the guy. Anyone who's even remotely curious about how street art is made should make this the next documentary they see. Filled with some really interesting people, and a particularly exciting segment at Disney World, I can not recommend this film (which I've stated is my favorite documentary) enough.
3. Man on Wire (2008)
This thrilling documentary, set-up kind of like a heist film, is about Philippe Petit (a french tightrope walker), and his plan to break onto the roof of one of the Twin Towers to tightrope walk from one to the other. With first hand accounts from Petit himself and the crew who helped him accomplish this feat, along with re-enactments and actual footage from the "artistic crime of the century", you get placed right in the middle of all the chaos. The story is so exciting that it's being made into a non-documentary film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Petit.
4. The Act of Killing (2013)
What is probably the most critically-acclaimed documentary of two years ago, director Joshua Oppenheimer asks Indonesian death-squad leaders to create short films based on the mass-killings that they performed during an Indonesian genocide years ago. At times hard to stomach for the viewer and even occasionally the death-squad leader subjects of the film, The Act of Killing is one of the most creative documentaries to be released in recent years. If you wind up liking it, keep an eye out for the not-exactly-a-sequel, counterpart documentary to this that was just released this week, called The Look of Silence. It's also by Joshua Oppenheimer, and about a family that survived the genocide and confronts the men who killed their brother.
5. Stories We Tell (2013)
In Stories We Tell, actor/writer/director Sarah Polley asks various members of her family as well as close friends to tell stories about Sarah's mother, who is deceased. She seeks to uncover the truth about her mother, but that can be difficult when your family's stories start to not line up. Polley, makes her quest for the truth, both entertaining and at times saddening. A great story(ies) told by a family of storytellers.
6. The Imposter (2012)
This film is insane. It's about a french man who pretends to be the missing son of a Texas family. Beautifully filmed with re-enactments and talking head accounts from the family, and the imposter himself. Without getting into too much of the plot, all I can say really is that the film digs a lot deeper than just this one case of him pretending to be this family's child, and by the end you're not gonna know who's side your on, or if there even is a side to be on.
7. Grizzly Man (2005)
Timothy Treadwell, the Grizzly Man who is the subject of this documentary, lived among grizzly bears for several consecutive summers in Alaska until he was killed by one in 2003. The film documents his life as a grizzly bear activist, with Survivorman-esque footage shot by Treadwell himself over the years. Director Werner Herzog carefully, and magnificently pieces together the right footage from the hours of footage recorded, in order to portray Treadwell as a complex human being, and not just a crazy guy living with bears.
8. The Thin Blue Line (1988)
This documentary was famously rejected from the Best Documentary category at the Oscars, because of it's use of scripted re-enactments. This was the first time that these were used in a documentary about crimes, and started what you would later see in countless documentary and true crime tv shows later on. This is documentary goes very in depth into this case of the murder of a cop, bringing in pretty much every one involved with the case, and giving really greatly film reenactments, and edited brilliantly. Most crime documentaries that you have seen in your life, owe a lot to this one right here.
9. Hoop Dreams (1994)
This story of two inner-city Chicago African-American boys, following them through their journey as high school basketball players with dreams of making it into college and then the NBA, can be both heart-breaking and uplifting. At nearly three hours, Hoop Dreams takes the time to touch upon several key moments in these two kids lives as high schoolers. Whether it is injuries, getting good grades, or family problems, director Steve James shows us every struggle these boys have had to face realistically, without diving into the sea of sports movie clichés that he easily could have filled this movie with by interfering. Like The Thin Blue Line was the godfather of crime documentaries, Hoop Dreams is the godfather of sports documentaries.
10. Life Itself (2014)
Director Steve James who I just talked about in the previous entry, also directed this touching portrait of the most famous film critic to ever put pen to paper, Roger Ebert. James explores Ebert's life leading up to adulthood, and then his career as a film critic, leading up to the painful-to-watch last months of his life. Ebert was an interesting man, and a brilliant film critic, and it's proved time and time again in this film. A must-watch for any film fan.
Well those are 10 documentaries for you to watch on Netflix, but there an unbelievable amount of docs available on instant streaming, so let me know if there are any others you think are worth me giving a watch and maybe they'll be on a list like this in the future.
-Ryan
