What Political Documentary should I watch next? Advice please...

[Viva_La_Revolution]

I discovered a few months ago that Netflix has a pretty good selection of documentaries... and I have been trying to see them all (just in-case I have to drop the service due to their recent business affiliations.) :(

I very much want to see Power of Nightmares, the series from BBC, but they don't have it yet. Here is my recent list, does anyone have any must-see suggestions?

The Hunting of the President (2004)
Uncovered: The Whole Truth About the Iraq War (2003)
Going Upriver: The Long War of John Kerry (2004)
Unconstitutional: The War on Our Civil Liberties (2004)
Bush Family Fortunes: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy (2004)
Aftermath: The Remnants of War (2001)
Uncovered: The War on Iraq (2004)
Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election (2002)
Bush's Brain (2004)
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (2004)
Control Room (2004)
Voices of Iraq (2004)
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport (2000)



In the queue –

Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky (2002)
The Party's Over (2001)
The Corporation (2004)

[SoCalifer]

1. You can go here:

This website has several good documentaries you can steam or download, to include "The Power Of Nightmares".



Here's a link: http://www.thedossier.ukonline.co.uk/video.htm

(Power of nightmares is on the September 11th page)

[Al-CIAda]

3. Listen to this poster! Watch EVERYTHING on this site.

Watch the Sept. 11th collection first, then on to the war in Iraq, starting with 'Hijacking Catastrophe".

:thumbsup: :thumbsup: (two thumbs up for this site)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

4. Thank you!

Ain't technology wonderful!
:bounce:

[Richard D]

2. Loose Change

I don't know if netflix has it yet, but this is a film that can shake a person's reality.

What is Netflix's business association?

[Viva_La_Revolution]

8. Loose Change?

Loose Change" (1978)

Genre: Drama (more)

Plot Outline: The story of three girlfriends who came of age in the 1960s, and how that period affected each of their lives.

User Comments: A television mini-series about women in the sixties.

***OR***


Loose Change (1999)


This attempt to fuse action footage of expert surfers with a comedic material is uneven, but deserves some credit for effort. Skits purporting to show what some dudes would be if they weren't great surfers are interspersed with segments showing some phenomenal surfboard prowess. The comedic bits aren't terribly inventive, and if the acting is pretty bad, at least it's obvious that no one was taking it too seriously. In fairness, some of the action is weird enough to generate laughter: seeing skinny surfers in a barroom brawl is like watching a stampede of poodles. When it comes to the surfing footage, however, things are entirely professional, as the camera follows acrobatics on the waves to spectacular effect. The DVD menu allows viewers to watch the skits without the surfing, and after initial curiosity wanes, most will likely choose the option to watch the surfing without the skits. -- Robert J. McNamara


***Ah-ha!***

Loose Change from question911.com

http://question911.com/links.php

Thanks!

Edited to add: Netflix announced some sort of contract with Walmart a few months ago.

[Richard D]

28. Yup . . .

. . . .the last one. Quite an extraordinary work. Can make a MIHOP out of anyone who watches it.

Drag about Walmart.

[bvar22]

5. A great site for documentaries:

http://www.thedossier.ukonline.co.uk/index.htm

They have "The Power of Nightmartes", "Farenheit 911", Noam Chomsky, lots of BBC stuff, and much more.

on edit: OOPS, didn't see SoCalifer's post.
Great minds use the same resources!

[Sweejak]

6. "Peace Propaganda and the Promised Land"

Look for it, "Peace Propaganda and the Promised Land"

http://www.mediaed.org/videos/MediaRaceAndRepresentation/PeacePropaganda

[newyawker99]

13. Hi Sweejak!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[IndyOp]

7. On Netflix - don't miss Tim Robbin's "Embedded"

- about journalism today. I haven't seen it yet but Sam Seder from 'Majority Report' recommended it.

:bounce:

(On edit - I removed the site I had recommended for watching "Power of Nightmares" - the Dossier site suggest above looks better!)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

10. Found and moved to the top of the list!

:)

[IndyOp]

15. I live in the midwest and after I found "Embedded" and tried to add it in

my queue it got put in the "Saved" list and now has finally moved to my queue with a note that says "Short Wait" -- does it say 'available' in your queue? Do you live on a coast?

Just curious as to whether Netflix makes different DVD's available in different regions of the country...

:)

[Viva_La_Revolution]

20. yep, 'short wait'

My DVD's come out of Salem (I'm in Portland), and ever since I stopped watching TV :D I've been 'fully utilizing the service"

If you figure out how long the turnover is (from the day you mail one back - to the day you get a new one) then send back the old one just before the new one gets released, you will be one of the first to get it. But if you miss that first release day, it can sometimes say - LONG wait, and that REALLY SUCKS! lol!

I've had the best luck when I return them on Monday's (fastest turnover)

[Al-CIAda]

9. Here is another site with a great collection-

SLAVE REVOLT
Documentaries

http://mysite.verizon.net/res7dhyg/id3.html

[SoCalifer]

11. Thank you Al-CIAda & bvar22

Yes, I think The Dossier has lots of very good documentaries that everyone should see. This is another website, though not as good, also has some good documentaries.

LOL.. I guess bvar22 is correct.. Great minds do use the sources.. Because Al-CIAda, I was just going to post a link to that website as well.. :toast:

[Viva_La_Revolution]

14. another great one!

[TomClash]

12. Additions

Your list is pretty comprehensive.

Persons of Interest, Fog of War.

[IndyOp]

16. 'Fog of War' is incredible and McNamara continues to publish

articles against Bush administration hawkish policies. Trying to undo a bit of the vast amounts of negative karma he took upon himself with his actions during WWII and Vietnam.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

17. Persons of Interest - release date unknown..

:( but added to the queue :)

Fog of war :thumbsup:

[TomClash]

18. I would have added Battle of Algiers

but it is not really a documentary.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

22. ....

One of the most influential films in the history of political cinema, Gillo Pontecorvo's The Battle of Algiers focuses on the events of 1957, a key year in Algeria's struggle for independence from France. Shot in the streets of Algiers in documentary style, the film vividly re-creates the tumultuous Algerian uprising against the occupying French. The violence soon escalates on both sides in this war drama that's astonishingly relevant today.

I definitely think that counts!

[Douglas Carpenter]

19. Orwell Rolls in His Grave

There has been any number of films regarding the link between corporate power and control over the media. Along with Noam Chomsky's 1993 classic, "Manufacturing Consent" this is simply the best.

Orwell Rolls in His Grave is obviously timelier and devotes some attention to more recent events such as the 2000 election and the propaganda produced to sell the Iraq War.
Also, there is some history given to how the extreme right has used media through think tanks, manipulation and deregulation to gain and hold power. Orwellian use of language is demonstrated with chilling effect.

This film ties together the corporate, political and media machines in a particularly brilliant way with a combination of interviews, news footage and factually-based commentary.

Admittedly, this film is a bit depressing in the same way the Orwell's novel 1984 is depressing, but very, very powerful.

[bunny planet]

21. Watch 'The End of Suburbia', a Canadian documentary about the

coming energy crisis.

Also try
The Fog of War
The Battle of Algiers

[Viva_La_Revolution]

23. now on my list - thanks to you guys....

Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky
Embedded/Live
Power and Terror: Noam Chomsky
Troy (Documentary)
What the #$*! Do We Know!?
The Corporation
The Party's Over
The French Revolution
Ghosts of Rwanda: Frontline
Inside American Power: Air Force One
The Fog of War
The Battle of Algiers

release date unknown -

Downfall
Persons of Interest
The End of Suburbia


:bounce:

[MojoXN]

24. Not that I would endorse such conduct, but...

Hypothetically speaking, you COULD, if you were so inclined, get bittorrent and search for "The Power of Nightmares" on a torrent search engine. I've seen it, it's quite awesome. Ever notice how Islamofascists and Rightist Christofascists have a lot in common? You have no idea. You'll learn how neoconservatism was born, and where Islamic extremism has its roots. It's too bad it didn't air in the U.S. It might've opened a few eyes, but of course I doubt it. People are too goddamned apathetic to effect any sort of meaningful change. OK, now that I've quit ranting, see Bush's Brain. It'll teach you all about Rove. For example, how that pussy used to go to debates in high school with boxes of blank notecards to scare his opposition. Karl Rove has built an empire with a boy-king, smoke and mirrors. All flash, no substance.

MojoXN

[zulchzulu]

25. Atomic Cafe/Wag The Dog/Network/Soylent Green

Atomic Cafe is a great documentary and the others are certainly classics...although not documentaries...

[flpoljunkie]

26. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room

It is said to be a must see for all voters before 2006, and has received great reviews.

It is, of course, playing in very selected areas.

[MojoXN]

27. Night and Fog

It's excellent. Also, Hotel Rwanda. I once watched a rather compelling documentary about Pol Pot's genocide in Cambodia, unfortunately, its title escapes me. You might want to Google it. I've seen several of the ones on your list, and I greatly enjoyed them all. Have fun, and happy viewing!

MojoXN

[julianer]

29. If you're interested in socialism/capitalism

you might enjoy this:

http://www.socialist-tv.com/

and find 'Capitalism & Other Kids' Stuff -The CGI Version' on stream at the bottom of the page.

Cheers

[Lydia Leftcoast]

30. Two from 2004, one well-known, the other not

First the well-known one:

1) The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: a documentary about the coup against Venezuelan president Chavez in 2003 and the nationwide protests that got him back into office. The coup leaders condemn themselves with their own words and actions.

2)Morning Sun: Maybe not everyone will be as interested in this one as I, an Asian Studies person, was, but it's a look back at Mao's Cultural Revolution as told by people who lived through it, both as Red Guards and as victims. Interviewees comment on newsreel footage of events that they participated in.

And here's a real oldie, one that will depress you because of what hasn't changed:

Harvest of Shame: Edward R. Murrow's 1960 documentary about the lives of migrant workers.

And I second everyone's recommendations for The Power of Nightmares. I can't imagine PBS ever showing it, given the pressure it's under from the Republicanites. But perhaps Sundance could be persuaded to give it an airing.