| Author |
Message |
Mamie316
Member
07-08-2003
| Monday, October 22, 2012 - 7:32 am 
I watched Ethel yesterday and was so touched by it. I think I had a completely different idea of what Ethel Kennedy was all about but it really was a very loving tribute by her kids.
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Saturday, November 03, 2012 - 11:58 am
Watched "Waking Sleeping Beauty" on Rissa's recommendation - it was wonderful. Mind you we both hate Disney with a passion, and we both loved this documentary. Animators are particularly hilarious when they are animating their own experiences, and Howard Ashman was a revelation. What a loss. In the extras they include a lecture by him to the animation department. Very interesting.
I realized my hatred is actually of Disney World and Disney Land, not all things Uncle Walty.
Totally recommend and thank you, Rissa.
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Spunky
Member
10-07-2001
| Tuesday, November 20, 2012 - 7:12 am
I love documentaries and usually watch the PBS ones, they never disappoint (I didn't see a thread in the TV Shows on this board) and last night I watched The Dust Bowl"Reaping the Whirlwind", how many families in the 1930's sought refuge from the Great Plains in California (they were called Okies and suffered discrimination)their farms turned to dust but not just because of the drought but wrong farming and how Roosvelt helped in soil conservation efforts to restore the land in conjunction with a break in the drought and so stabilized the soil and injected new life onto farms. What a great history lesson, I had no idea that the central Unites States were becoming a desert, and then when they discovered huge quantities of underground water they started irrigating, but that seems now a danger for the future generations when that water supply will end and the Dust Bowl will happen again.
The grasshoppers devastating the grass land must have seemed like a biblical plague, just when the soil was starting to give some crops, here they come devouring everything. Wow! I think Roosvelt was a great President for not giving up on those farmers.
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Lakecat
Member
10-01-2006
| Tuesday, November 20, 2012 - 8:11 am
I saw it too Spunky and found it very interesting. My 93 yr old Grandmother has lots of great stories during those times.
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Spunky
Member
10-07-2001
| Wednesday, November 21, 2012 - 12:47 pm
God bless your grandma!! One thing that surprised me watching that show were the witnesses, very very old ladies re-telling their stories and it amazed me how they could live such a long life after suffering those tremendous years in their youth, there must be something good in that region for them to live this long! God bless them all!!!
Another thing that surprised me was the absence of stories regarding tornadoes, they talked about horrible dust storms but nowadays all you hear from that region are terrible tornadoes.
Anyway, I was glad to see those farmers living that long (the couple in their 80's still looking after their farm without help till they both died) Simply amazing!
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Saturday, February 02, 2013 - 6:34 pm
I just watched the Oscar nominated documentary 'Searching for Sugar Man' and loved it!!
It's about a 1970's singer songwriter from Detroit named Rodriguez. His two albums went nowhere in the US, but unbeknownst to him he became a legend in South Africa during the anti-apartheid movement. In South Africa nothing was known about Rodriguez so a real mystique built up as to who this man was. In the late 90's the two of his fans set out to find what happened to "Sugar Man" (named for one of his songs).
Very captivating and moving. His songs are quite haunting. I'll be rooting for it's win on Oscar night!
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Jezzedout
Member
09-07-2006
| Saturday, February 02, 2013 - 10:04 pm
Hi all,
Just popped in on this thread for the first time in a while and notice a few great docs missing from the mix. All of the following are available on Netflix streaming currently.
First Position - About young ballet dancers competing in the prestigious Youth America Grand Prix.
Jiro Dreams of Sushi - About an aging sushi master.
The September Issue - Profiling Vogue editor Anna Wintour.
Girl 27 - About a 65 year old rape case involving MGM studio execs. (Watch for the scene contrasting JLo's dancing with the old style dancing - brilliant.)
El Bulli - Cooking in Progress - Follows El Bulli chef Ferran Adria as he plans and perfects his new menu.
Resurrect Dead - Investigating the mystery of "The Toynbee Tiles."
Kings of Pastry - An up close look at chefs preparing for a prestigious French pastry competition.
A Matter of Taste - Profiling controversial NY chef Paul Liebrandt.
Orgasm Inc. - Is there really such a thing as "Female Sexual Dysfunction" or is that just a label invented by drug companies to sell more drugs? That is the intriguing question posed by this doc.
Life After Django Reinhardt - Featuring men who are obsessed with the music of Django Reinhardt.
The Queen of Versailles - A clueless rich couple spend a fortune building a replica of the Palace of Versailles but run out of money along the way.
These are in addition to those recommended earlier in this thread such as Marwencol, Exit Through the Gift Shop, Client 9, Being Elmo, I Like Killing Flies, Religulous, The Up Series, Touching the Void, Grizzly Man, Man On Wire, etc.
One last recommendation -- not quite a documentary, perhaps more of a mocumentary, is the film The Trip, a travel and food doc featuring Brits Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon on a week long road trip around England. It starts a bit slowly but has some real laugh out loud moments. I highly recommend it.
Enjoy!
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Sunday, February 03, 2013 - 7:18 am
Thanks Jezz. I was channel flipping a few weeks ago, and saw a bit of Jiri Dreams of Sushi. What little I saw, looked pretty good.
Love the UP series!!! Saw Religulous in the theatre, it was okay, didn't rock my world. Haven't seen Being Elmo, but hope to someday.
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Tishala
Member
08-01-2000
| Sunday, February 03, 2013 - 9:28 am
Jiro Dreams of Sushi is AMAZING. I also loved The Queen of Versailles.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Sunday, February 03, 2013 - 11:58 am
Watched a quick 45-minute documentary on Amazon Prime last night called Gypsy Vanner Horses. Now I want one....
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Lakecat
Member
10-01-2006
| Sunday, February 03, 2013 - 12:31 pm
Been waffling back and forth about paying the $7.99 a month for Netflix.If I told you how much this household of two already spends monthly on TV youd be appalled. All these docs suggestions look interesting. Netflix is looking better and better.
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Teachmichigan
Member
07-22-2001
| Sunday, February 03, 2013 - 12:57 pm
Lakecat, do you have an Amazon Prime account? DH and I have said that when DS moves out, we'll cancel Netflix b/c Amazon actually has more free, good stuff. DS likes Netflix because of the TV shows, but when he's gone, it will be, too. As an added bonus, a Prime account is cheaper than Netflix (about $6.50 a month).
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Lakecat
Member
10-01-2006
| Tuesday, February 05, 2013 - 7:40 am
Ill look into it. Never heard of Amazon Prime,must be fairly new.
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Brenda1966
Member
07-02-2002
| Tuesday, February 05, 2013 - 10:57 am
56 Up is making the rounds! Playing in Denver for 1 week next week. I can't wait.
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Jezzedout
Member
09-07-2006
| Tuesday, February 05, 2013 - 11:58 am
Hey Brenda, thanks for the heads up about 56 UP!! Have been waiting for a few years now for the next installment - and I expect I'll be waiting another few years for it to come to Netflix - but nice to know the next edition is out there. Will be curious to hear if anyone is able to see it.
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Brenda1966
Member
07-02-2002
| Tuesday, February 05, 2013 - 2:11 pm
I'm going to see it next weekend Jezzed, come hell or high water!  I've been waiting 7 long years.
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Naja
Member
06-28-2003
| Sunday, February 24, 2013 - 1:33 pm
If you have Showtime, they have been playing a new documentary called "History of The Eagles". It is so good! It's also in on-demand under Showtime documentaries. This really is a must see for Eagles fans.
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Brenda1966
Member
07-02-2002
| Sunday, February 24, 2013 - 2:30 pm
I did see 56 Up. I would say that this episode doesn't have any real riveting revelations. It's like getting caught up with old friends. I'm glad I went to see it and it gives me things to think about in my own life and how we age and how we look back on things and how we feel about things.
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Snoopsmom
Member
02-19-2003
| Sunday, February 24, 2013 - 2:41 pm
Naja, I've already watched the History of the Eagles twice! Thgought is was wonderful! Not only am I a huge Eagles fan (even have a dog named Henley), but loved all of the clips of Jackson Browne who is my favorite musician of all time.
This show was soooo good and captured the era perfectly, so that anyone with an interest in the '70's, whether an Eagles fan or not could enjoy it.
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Goddessatlaw
Member
07-19-2002
| Sunday, February 24, 2013 - 3:08 pm
Just ordered "Resurrect Dead" and "First Position" from the library. Thanks for the recommendations, Jezzedout!!
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Sunday, February 24, 2013 - 3:10 pm
I wonder if there is a boxed set of the UP series?
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Colordeagua
Member
10-24-2003
| Saturday, March 02, 2013 - 10:41 pm
I'm interested in movie making in general. When I was looking through list of movies available for free to Amazon Prime members, I came across a documentary Side By Side. It's about transition from film to digital cameras in the movie industry. In any case, I was blown away by all the cameras and equipment, etc. that can be involved!!!
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Rieann
Member
08-26-2006
| Saturday, March 02, 2013 - 11:49 pm
Color, I saw 'Side by Side' a while back and enjoyed the discussions presented. It was so interesting to hear the filmmakers thoughts on digital versus film. Yes, there are so many different cameras!
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Rissa
Member
03-19-2006
| Sunday, March 03, 2013 - 7:02 am
Mame, I know it exists because I own it. Complete set of all but the most recent obviously, but when I took a look on Amazon for you it wasn't showing availability. My local library had it at one point (if memory serves) so you might be able to find it that way or put it on your wish list at Amazon and they will notify you when they get more stock (which I bet will be when this newest one hits DVD).
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Mameblanche
Member
08-24-2002
| Sunday, March 03, 2013 - 7:21 am
Thanks for the UPdate on the boxed set Ms. Rissa. ;) I wouldn't have thought of the library. Smart! :-)
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