True Films 3.0 - Kevin Kelly

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Good Docs The difference between Great and Good is often subjective. For various reasons, I didn’t find the following true films to be great, although most of them were good. Some of them appear on the great lists of friends or other critics, so I mention them here without my full treatment. Just about all of them can be found on Netflix or Amazon. There’s a whole bunch of documentary films that are just okay; I see no benefit in mentioning them. <strong>Films</strong> are listed in chronological order. Man of Aran (1934) – Poetic romantic record of Irish peasants filmed in the 1930s. Kon-Tiki (1950) – Early documentary about a legendary journey across the Pacific on a straw raft. Mondo Cane (1962) – The original shockudrama, showing people dying, and other censored material. The Battle of Algiers (1966) – Re-enactment of the first modern Islamic uprising and terrorism. Sorrow and Pity (1969) – Interviews with French villagers who may have co-operated with German Nazis. F for Fake (1974) – Very weird film about fakes (primarily art fakes) which itself is a fake. Grey Gardens (1975) – Crazy ladies who live in an old estate house. Gates to Heaven (1976) – Wry look at pet cemeteries and the man who invented them. The Long Way Home (1997) – How the Jews were shuttled unwanted until the state of Israel was founded. The Saltmen of Tibet (1997) – A semi-documentary about a caravan to distant salt mines. Charcoal People (1999) – The lowest of the low, the people who burn the wood cut in the Amazon of Brazil. The Endurance (2000) – William Shackleton’s epic journey to the South Pole. Eyes of Tammy Faye (2000) – Extensive portrait of the infamous televangelist, who is not what you expect. Children Underground (2001) – Documents the sad lives of Bulgarian street urchins. Beyond the Gates of Splendor (2002) – Missionaries who befriend cannibals who ate their husband/fathers. Journeys with George (2002) – George Bush on the campaign trail filmed by Nancy Pelosi’s’ daughter. Capturing the Friedmans (2003) – A son investigates his father, brother who were arrested for pedophilia. Lost Boys of Sudan (2003) – Follows young men refugees as they settle in Texas. Speedo (2003) – Good portrait of a famous but struggling auto demolition speed freak. Bright Leaves (2003) – The central role tobacco plays in the Carolinas, and the dilemma it still holds. Born into Brothels (2004) – Children of Bombay prostitutes are given cameras to record their plight. Control Room (2004) – Inside view of al Jazeera TV station as it tries to cover Iraq and Mid-East. Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) – Court jester Michael Moore makes fun of Bush’s ineptitude and agenda. Slasher (2004) – Profile of a super salesman called in by used car lots to (hopefully) sell lots of cars. Jockeys (2004) – Gets into the sacrifices (constant dieting and bulimia) required to be a great jockey. I Like Killing Flies ( 2004) – Memorable character who runs a beloved diner in New York City. Manufactured Landscapes ( 2007) – Stunning, and surprising images of pollution and industry in China. 197
Subject Browsing Reviews are grouped by subject in the Bookmarks Navigation Panel. Click the traingle to expand/contract the list. Clicking on top-level bookmarks will take you to this page; clicking on a film title will take you to the review. Top-level bookmarks include: Artists at work Competition stories Culture Design Disenfranchised / downtrodden / poor Explaining Explaining Science Extremists Hard to believe / extraordinary History How to do it Investigative Lengendary characters Living history / reality survivors Monologues/interviews Music Performances People at work / inside view Play Sports <strong>True</strong> adventures Visual anthropology Visual wit / cinematic poetry Wackos / crazies / eccentrics Wonders of the living world 198
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TRUE FILMS 3.0 This is the golden a
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The way Netflix works is this: the
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10 mph This is a mildly amusing com
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1900 House The premise of this real
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Air Guitar Nation Serious fun! Foll
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Amazing Grace The simplest are some
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American Splendor This odd work is
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Atomic Cafe This is a self portrait
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Baraka A cinematic poem celebrating
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Billabong Odyssey • Riding Giants
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Blue Planet: Open Ocean, The Deep Y
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Bounce: Behind the Velvet Rope Who
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The Boys of Baraka Extreme interven
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Brother’s Keeper Four elderly bro
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Burden of Dreams Occasionally the m
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Cane Toads: An Unnatural History An
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China: Beyond the Clouds A million
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Chuck Jones: Extremes and In-Betwee
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Civilisation Civilization as seen t
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Colonial House The premise is famil
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Cool & Crazy Mild-mannered Norwegia
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By Bennett Miller 1998, 76 min. The
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Dark Days The urban legend about ci
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The Devil At Your Heels Another cra
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Divine Horsemen A 1950s capture of
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Dogtown and Z-Boys You wouldn’t e
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The Elegant Universe A crash course
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The Endless Summer II Bruce Brown r
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The Farm: Life Inside Angola Prison
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Fire on the Mountain In the pre-daw
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The Fog of War Strictly a talking h
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Frontier House By Maro Chermayeff 2
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Genghis Blues What a wonderful adve
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Girlhood Girlhood follows two young
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Good Stuff Supremely bored skydiver
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Grass: A Nation’s Battle for Life
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Guns Germs and Steel An all-out fiv
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Hands on a Hard Body In the South o
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Hearts of Darkness A film is like a
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Helvetica At their best, documentar
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How Art Made the World This fancy B
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With John Cleese 2001, 195 min. Ava
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Ile Aiye (The House of Life) An art
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In the Realms of the Unreal By Jess
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Jesus Camp This film succeeds in ma
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Jonestown It’s so bizarre. On the
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The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyss
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Jupiter’s Wife A sophisticated Ne
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Kestrel’s Eye Nature photography
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Koyaanisqatsi A mind-tripping impre
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Latcho Drom This one is very hard t
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Life in the Undergrowth Amazing! As
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The Life of Mammals I’ve long mar
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Long Way Round What vicarious fun!
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Lumière & Co. What would world fam
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The Man Who Skied Down Everest Why
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Man With the Movie Camera Think of
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March of the Penguins It must be th
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Michael Palin: Himalaya I love pers
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Microcosmos It begins as a small no
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Murderball By Henry Alex Rubin and
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My Voyage to Italy Famous film dire
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The Mystery of Picasso Astounding t
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The Natural History of the Chicken
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New York Doll Not many documentarie
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Off the Charts You know those tiny
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On Any Sunday By the same guy who d
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Project Greenlight Should the desir
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Project Grizzly A Canadian outdoors
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Pumping Iron Filmed more than 25 ye
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Rick Steves’ Travel Skills I rely
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Ring of Fire: An Indonesian Odyssey
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Roger & Me More guerilla theater th
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Page 152 and 153: Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus
Page 154 and 155: Shape of the Moon A magical work. T
Page 156 and 157: Short Cut to Nirvana This film lack
Page 158 and 159: Silk Road Even in Marco Polo’s ti
Page 160 and 161: Sketches of Frank Gehry A famous mo
Page 162 and 163: Sound and Fury Many deaf people rej
Page 164 and 165: Startup.com Boy, did this documenta
Page 166 and 167: Stone Reader Everyone has a book th
Page 168 and 169: Style Wars Made in the early 1980s,
Page 170 and 171: Survival Research Laboratories: 10
Page 172 and 173: Swimming to Cambodia This monologue
Page 174 and 175: Thin Blue Line This unforgettable a
Page 176 and 177: Touching the Void This true film re
Page 178 and 179: Triumph of the Will A prime record
Page 180 and 181: Unzipped The concept is simple. Rev
Page 182 and 183: Waco: The Rules of Engagement This
Page 184 and 185: The Way Things Go This supremely de
Page 186 and 187: When We Were Kings This is the most
Page 188 and 189: Why We Fight This is a complex anti
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Page 192 and 193: Winged Migration Fly! Watching this
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Page 202: Dedicated to my family, Who watch w
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True Films 3.0 - Kevin Kelly

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