OT: The Craziest Documentary
My wife and I are obsessed with wild docs/docuseries with the sweet spot being these three episodes, easy-to-binge setups. While this list ranges in episodic length, the ones we find the most bananas so far are:
- Wild, Wild Country
- Don’t F@$k with Cats
- The Invisible Pilot
- Class Action Park
- Three Identical Strangers
All of the big ones (Tiger King, Making a Murderer, etc) we’ve likely seen (but maybe we’re missing a few) so I ask you:
What should be next?
April 12th, 2023 at 10:09 AM ^
That's on my watch list too - I like both Ali Wong and Steven Yeun
Watched the first two episodes yesterday. Really liking it.
I haven't seen it but when I read the thread title I assumed that Free Solo would be the answer.
I am disappoint.
And also The Dawn Wall.
Climbing is far and away the most underappreciated sport.
I had no appreciation for that sport until I watched "The Alpinist" on Netflix. It takes a differend kind of crazy to do what those free climbers do...
April 11th, 2023 at 11:29 AM ^
I have never been afraid of heights. I was a college gymnast, so I'm used to doing risky things high above the ground, and I have even climbed a few times. But, I can't watch those free-climbing docs; they make me so tense, it's like I'm about to be eaten by a swarm of insects, I can't take it.
The ones you listed are all great. A couple others that my wife and I enjoyed were Blackfish, Out for Blood in Silicon Valley, and the docuseries BUD/S Class 234.
Not a documentary, but the 2018 Waco series completely altered my view of the whole event.
I just watched the Waco series a couple weeks ago. I remember the event being on the news as a kid. After watching that series, I now know I had no clue what happened down there. The footage was ridiculous, it was an absolute war zone.
You really need to check out Documentary Now, a series which very skillfully satires docs of all ranges. My favorites are their takes on Wild, Wild Country, Gray Gardens, Stop Making Sense, Kid Stays in the Picture and the recording of the Company cast album. The Spalding Gray send up is great too. You generally don't have to have seen the doc they're spoofing to enjoy it, but it usually adds a lot. NB: there are a few duds in the mix, but since there's no continuity (except in the two parters) you can skip any episode that isn't honking your bobo.
The Last of Us
it's riveting
pretty sure it's almost all real
Just like Red Dawn.
oh yeah that was a good one.
WOLVERINES!
The Family is about how the National prayer breakfast is run by a cult.
Going Clear. about Scientology
Q: Into the storm
Heavens Gate: cult of cults
I'm not a huge fan of The Dead but Long Strange Trip on Prime was a really interesting watch
I like the shows you listed but will rec a couple of a different style b/c I haven't seen these listed:
- Hoops Dreams - this single best sports doc I've seen (all respect to Fab Five as well). A look at 3 youth basketball players from Chicago (Juwan Howard's neighborhood)
- I am Not Your Negro - James Baldwin doc that I saw recently. I feel like it changed me. I was not expecting to be so impressed and moved
But your Thread Title says "craziest documentary" - and there is clearly a winner:
- The Act of Killing - Oscar nominated. Insane concept. Indonesian political death squads. But told through filming the actual killers making a movie about what they did. Seriously. Amazing. Just watch this trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_cXCOBcH5c
If you like getting a little chill down your spine watch Night Stalker on Netflix. They almost caught Ramirez twice before actually getting him.
If you like a little information about what 'makes' a serial killer, then Crazy, Not Insane on HBO is the the ticket. It was one of the more fascinating explorations into the human mind that I've ever seen. It's a little worrisome, too.
April 11th, 2023 at 10:01 AM ^
Also highly recommend Myth & Mogul: John DeLorean. The Northern Ireland elements of his story in particular are very interesting.
April 11th, 2023 at 10:24 AM ^
A set of documentaries with less focus on human misbehavoir are:
The Wrecking Crew - about the tight circle of studio musicians in LA in the 60's
Muscle Shoals - about the legendary F.A,M.E. recording studio
Bathtubs over Broadway - About the search for Industrial Music recordings for conventions. Beautiful and sweet.
April 11th, 2023 at 11:06 AM ^
The only documentaries I typically watch focus on science, space & military stuff, history, or art, but about a year ago completely by accident I stumbled on the Muscle Shoals documentary on YouTube. I started watching and was completely hooked right away. If you like popular music, it's fantastic.
It's got a number of famous musicians—Jagger, Richards, Bono, Winwood, etc—periodically commenting, but I found them much less interesting than Rick Hall—the guy who founded Muscle Shoals—and the musicians he worked with.
April 11th, 2023 at 10:40 AM ^
Icarus is good. Takes a wild turn, fascinating on many levels!
April 11th, 2023 at 10:51 AM ^
All-American Murders (the SLC guy who killed his family)
A Southern Scandal (Murdaugh murders)
The Cold Blue (B-17 crew and daylight raids over Germany)
Madoff - The monster of Wall Street (this one is nuts)
FWIW OP THANK YOU for creating this thread. I love documentaries and my wife hates them so I watch them while working out in the morning. This gives me a huge "playlist" of stuff I wouldn't know about otherwise. Wish I had more than one upvote to give.
April 11th, 2023 at 11:43 AM ^
Both the RAF and USAAF crews had near 50% death rates in Europe during WW2.
April 11th, 2023 at 11:00 AM ^
There is Something Wrong with Aunt Diane on HBO (came out probably 10 years ago) is probably the most existentially upsetting documentary I have ever seen. It is not a "light watch." But it is fascinating, sad, and it sticks with you permanently.
April 11th, 2023 at 11:28 AM ^
Wow, was that a tough, sad watch! It was about 10 years ago, and yes indeed it sticks with you. I may watch it again.
April 11th, 2023 at 11:34 AM ^
It is an unusual kind of story, in that it is obvious "what happened," but that does not answer the question of what happened. I especially like that the director does not force it to be about any particular part of the tragedy, or force any narrative. She doesn't have answers, or even really the questions. The film says to the viewer "this happened, how do you feel about it?"
It was really good. Awful. But really good.
April 11th, 2023 at 11:42 AM ^
Yeah, even after watching you still don't grasp how it happened. Signs were missed, and then there really weren't signs of her having a serious problem. And, the fact that the title came from one of the kids phone calls is still haunting to me.
April 11th, 2023 at 11:59 AM ^
You have me curious about this one. I might have to check it out tonight.
April 11th, 2023 at 11:07 AM ^
Every time I start one of these documentaries I get a couple episodes in and think is anything even happening? There is some meat on the bone but they drag out 60 minutes to 8 hours of material.
April 11th, 2023 at 11:27 AM ^
Taking notes. And posting here so I can more easily find this in the future!
April 11th, 2023 at 11:38 AM ^
I kept HBO for years because of all the great documentaries they air. Most of their library is viewable On Demand. If you want a heavy, but short watch, In The Shadow of the Towers is about the high school students whose school was within sight of the Twin Towers (Stuyvesant High School). It's only about a half hour, but it's real heavy.
April 11th, 2023 at 11:40 AM ^
The Witness which is about the Kitty Genovese case is very good too. It was made by her brother.
April 11th, 2023 at 11:54 AM ^
Ah, one of the stories that gave NYC the reputation of being a cold, distant, uncaring city. I'm gonna give this a watch. It seems like a fascinating analysis of how the media and public (mis)perception of New York came to be.
April 11th, 2023 at 11:47 AM ^
"Pepsi, Where's My Jet?"
April 11th, 2023 at 11:56 AM ^
Command and Control is about the time Arkansas (and then some) was nearly leveled by a Titan II missile mishap. It’s a PBS American Experience doc which I think you can access on Prime Video with a PBS documentaries subscription for a few bucks a month. One of those “I didn’t know that happened” incidents for a lot of Americans.
April 11th, 2023 at 12:07 PM ^
Some suggestions:
- Finders Keepers: Amputee John Wood finds himself in a stranger-than-fiction battle to reclaim his mummified leg from entrepreneur Shannon Whisnant, who found it in a grill that he bought at an auction.
- The Wolfpack: Locked away from the outside world in a Manhattan apartment, the Angulo siblings satisfy their curiosity, imagination and need to explore by re-enacting their favorite movies.
- Class Divide: Filmmaker Marc Levin examines income inequality and gentrification in Chelsea, N.Y.
April 11th, 2023 at 12:50 PM ^
HBO’s Chernobyl and HBO’s John Adam’s leapt out to me right away
1. King of Kong: A fist full of quarters- About breaking the high score in Donkey Kong
2. Hail Satan?- About the Satanic Temple
I loved King of Kong. I'll be gone in the dark on HBO is good too.
April 12th, 2023 at 12:26 AM ^
I love documentaries. I’d say check out Tickled, Red Dog Saloon, and Command and Control.
Chernobyl on HBO. Not a documentary series (a docudrama series), but accurate in most respects (in my opinion as a Michigan nuclear-engineering grad). Awesome, awesome, awesome.
Searching for Sugar Man. Don't miss that one. You will thank me. :)
The Russian Five.
Murderball.
The King of Kong.
Citizenfour.
Waco: The Rules of Engagement.
Super Size Me
Watched it in a high school science class.