Beyond Vanilla (2001)

Director:
Claes Lilja

IMDB

Review:
Much as the title suggests, Beyond Vanilla explores the kinkier aspects of sex on the other side of vanilla. With interviews, demonstrations and a good dose of how-to instructions, this documentary covers the gamut of fetishes and SM practices. From bondage, flogging and fisting to knife play, fire and golden showers, director Claes Lilja takes us on an unforgettable journey to the wilder side of sex. Sharing fantasies, experiences and pleasures, the over 60 people interviewed in the film help to blur boundaries and shed new light on sexuality and sexual practices. Open your mind and the rest will follow.

Unforgettable: The Korean War (2010)

Review:
Korean War veterans recount their memories of America in the late 1940s and early 1950s, when young men from all over the country were being shipped off to defend South Korea against the advancing Red Army in the north. Unforgettable: The Korean War recalls the "un-won" war that never ended. The Korean War killed tens of thousands of U.S. soldiers and affected many more lives at home.

The Executioners (2008)

Review:
This series explores the social history of Capital Punishment in Britain, America and France with a unique perspective through the often-overlooked and shadowy figures of the executioners themselves. Who were these men? What did they do? And what did it do to them?



Episode 1 - Hangman

This is the story of The Private Executioners…a unique history of British capital punishment, seen through the eyes of those who dispensed it. Though the hangman’s duties were grim, their experiences encompassed pathos, passion and even genuine humor. The program asks: How were hangmen selected? How were they trained? How much responsibility did they bear? Finally, did the hangmen ever believe they had executed the innocent?


Episode 2 - Dynasties of Death


The story of the French ‘bourreau’ is perhaps the most remarkable in the history of judicial executions. Nowhere were executioners more shunned than in France. Since they were carrying out the King’s work, by divine right, they were seen as mystical figures. Holy but unclean. It was nigh impossible for them to carry out any other trade. They were often forced to live outside town and city walls. Tradesmen refused to serve them. The only prospect of marriage was to marry into another.

Episode 3 - States of Death

In Britain it was the rope. In France; the guillotine. But in its short history the United States of America has experimented with a bewildering array of execution methods….And continues to do so. This programme examines the history of the five principal methods: Hanging, Firing Squad, Electric Chair, Gas Chamber and Lethal Injection.

Illuminati Hollywood Insiders: Beneath The Surface

Review:
Beneath the surface follows the career of movie writers such as: James Cameron, Roland Emmerich, David Goyer, and Michael Ferris. It also examines Illuminati symbolism in movies like: Avatar, 10000BC, 2012, The men who stare at Goats, Sherlock Holmes, Surrogates, Jumper, and The Crow 2. Further, it analyzes predictive programming, the mayan calender, global warming, the supernatural, mythological retellings in movies.

No Impact Man: The Documentary (2009)

Director:
Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein

IMDB

Review:
Colin Beavan decides to completely eliminate his personal impact on the environment for the next year.  It means eating vegetarian, buying only local food, and turning off the refrigerator. It also means no elevators, no television, no cars, busses, or airplanes, no toxic cleaning products, no electricity, no material consumption, and no garbage.  No problem – at least for Colin – but he and his family live in Manhattan. So when his espresso-guzzling, retail-worshipping wife Michelle and their two-year-old daughter are dragged into the fray, the No Impact Project has an unforeseen impact of its own.  Laura Gabbert and Justin Schein's film provides an intriguing inside look into the experiment that became a national fascination and media sensation, while examining the familial strains and strengthened bonds that result from Colin and Michelle’s struggle with their radical lifestyle change.
If you liked this doc also check out Recipes for Disaster.

A Skin Too Few: The Days of Nick Drake (2000)

Director:
Jeroen Berkvens

IMDB

Review:
The archetype of the sensitive singer/songwriter, British musician Nick Drake released a mere three LPs before his untimely death from an overdose of antidepressants in 1974 at the age of 26. Dutch director Jerome Berkvens' lyrical, meditative documentary, A SKIN TOO FEW, attempts to shed light on the brief life of this mysterious figure, whose stature and fan base has grown exponentially since his tragic end. The film divides his life into segments: his first early years in Burma, his youth at his family home in Tanworth-In-Arden, his college years at Cambridge, and so forth. Interviews with his few confidants provide valuable background information--college chum Robert Kirby, producer Joe Boyd, and most importantly, his sister Gabrielle, whose readings from Drake's letters give insight to a private and increasingly introspective soul. The only existing footage of Drake--performance or otherwise--is a brief home movie from his childhood. Berkvans overcomes this obstacle with striking sequences in which the camera travels in Drake's footsteps (his bedroom, the streets of Cambridge) while his songs unfurl on the soundtrack. Though a reverent, beautiful work, at a mere 49 minutes, fans will probably find A SKIN TOO FEW all too short--just like the life and career of its enigmatic subject.

The Devil Came on Horseback (2007)

Director:

Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg

IMDB

Review:

The tragedy taking place in Darfur as seen through the eyes of an American witness and who has since returned to the US to take action to stop it. Uses the photographs and first hand testimony of former U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle to take the viewer on a journey into the heart of Darfur, Sudan, where an Arab run government is systematically executing a plan to rid the province of its black African citizens. As an official military observer, Steidle had access to parts of the country that no journalist could penetrate. Ultimately frustrated by the inaction of the international community, Steidle resigned and returned to the US to expose the images and stories of lives systematically destroyed. We witness Steidle's transformation from soldier to observer to witness and, finally, to passionate activist and moral hero.

Global Metal (2008)

Director:
Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen

IMDB

Review:
Directors Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn set out to discover how the most maligned musical genre - heavy metal - has impacted the world's cultures beyond Europe and North America. The film follows metal fan and anthropologist Sam Dunn on a whirlwind journey through Asia, South America and the Middle East as he explores the underbelly of the world's emerging extreme music scenes; from Indonesian death metal to Chinese black metal to Iranian thrash metal. GLOBAL METAL reveals a worldwide community of metalheads who aren't just absorbing metal from the West - they're transforming it - creating a new form of cultural expression in societies dominated by conflict, corruption and mass-consumerism.

Who Killed Nancy? (2009)

Director:
Alan G. Parker

IMDB

Review:
On October 12th 1978 New York Police discovered the lifeless body of a 20 year-old woman, slumped under the bathroom sink in a hotel room. She was dressed in her underwear and had bled to death from a stab wound. The woman was Nancy Spungen, an ex-prostitute, sometimes stripper, heroin addict, and girlfriend of Sex Pistols' bassist Sid Vicious. In a trial by tabloid newspapers Vicious was pronounced guilty before noon the following day. But the case never had the chance to be brought to trial, and a number of New York cops weren't convinced. Less than six months later in a flat in New York's Greenwich Village, Sid, himself aged only 21, died of a heroin overdose. For the next 28 years the assumption was that Sid did it - case closed. Over time, the death of Sid and Nancy has passed into rock legend and has only added to the controversial and notorious image of the Sex Pistols and punk music. At the request of Sid's mother, who committed suicide in 1996, rock author and punk expert Alan Parker has devoted himself to discovering what really happened in room 100. Parker has re-interviewed 182 people, re-examined NYPD evidence, and gone back to his original interviews with Sid's mother.

The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara (2003)

Director:
Errol Morris

IMDB

Review:
Robert S. McNamara discusses his experiences and lessons learned during his tenure as Secretary of Defense under John Kennedy and Lyndon Johnson. He talks about his work as a bombing statistician during World War II, his brief tenure as president of Ford Motor Company, and the Kennedy administration's triumph during the Cuban Missle Crisis. However, the film focuses primarily on his failures in Vietnam. The theme of the film are his "eleven lessons" learned during this time. Some of these include improving military efficiency, understanding your enemy, and the frustrations of trying to deal with (and unsuccessfully trying to change) human nature.

R.S. McNamara's eleven lessons of war :

01. Empathize with your enemy
02. Rationality will not save us
03. There's something beyond one's self
04. Maximize efficiency
05. Proportionality should be a guideline in war
06. Get the data
07. Belief and seeing are often both wrong
08. Be prepared to re-examine your reasoning
09. In order to do good, you may have to engage in evil
10. Never say never
11. You can't change human nature

An Inconvenient Truth (2006)

Director:
Davis Guggenheim

IMDB

Review:
Director Davis Guggenheim eloquently weaves the science of global warming with Mr. Gore's personal history and lifelong commitment to reversing the effects of global climate change.  A longtime advocate for the environment, Gore presents a wide array of facts and information in a thoughtful and compelling way.  "Al Gore strips his presentations of politics, laying out the facts for the audience to draw their own conclusions in a charming, funny and engaging style, and by the end has everyone on the edge of their seats, gripped by his haunting message," said Guggenheim.

Standing in the Shadows of Motown (2002)

Director:
Paul Justman

IMDB

Review:
In 1959, Berry Gordy Jr. gathered the best musicians from Detroit's thriving jazz and blues scene to begin cutting songs for his new record company. Over a fourteen year period they were the heartbeat on every hit from Motown's Detroit era. By the end of their phenomenal run, this unheralded group of musicians had played on more number ones hits than the Beach Boys, the Rolling Stones, Elvis and the Beatles combined - which makes them the greatest hit machine in the history of popular music. They called themselves the Funk Brothers. Forty-one years after they played their first note on a Motown record and three decades since they were all together, the Funk Brothers reunited back in Detroit to play their music and tell their unforgettable story, with the help of archival footage, still photos, narration, interviews, re-creation scenes, 20 Motown master tracks, and twelve new live performances of Motown classics with the Brothers backing up contemporary performers.

Until The Light Takes Us (2008)

Director:
Aaron Aites and Audrey Ewell

IMDB

Review:
Until the Light Takes Us is a feature length documentary chronicling the history, ideology and aesthetic of Norwegian black metal - a musical subculture infamous as much for a series of murders and church arsons as it is for its unique musical and visual aesthetics. This film truly sheds light on a movement that has heretofore been shrouded in darkness and rumor and obscured by inaccurate and shallow depictions. Featuring exclusive interviews and verité with the musicians, a wealth of rare, seldom seen footage from the "Inner Circle"s earliest days, Until the Light Takes Us explores every aspect of the controversial movement that has captured the attention of the world. This is the movie that gets inside the minds and hearts of black metal's musicians. The filmmakers moved to Norway, living and filming there for two years. The movie is not about them though - it's about the extraordinary people and events that make black metal unique, unforgettable, and inevitable. This is black metal as seen through the eyes of those who created it, of those who live it, of those who are at the center of the story of black metal. Featuring: Gylve "Fenriz" Nagell, Varg Vikernes, Jan Axel "Hellhammer" Blomberg, Kjetil "Frost" Haraldstad, Ivar Bjornson, Abbath and Demonaz Doom Occulta, Kris "Garm" Rygg, Bjarne Melgaard, Harmony Korine, and more.

Pripyat - Ghost City Chronicles (2008)

Review:
The word Chernobyl became known worldwide shortly after the 1986 blast. The small town Pripyat, situated just 3000 metres from the Chernobyl nuclear power plant, up to this day serves to remind about the extent of the tragedy. Pripyat used to be a lively little town, both a powerful nuclear centre and a conveniently planned city with schools and urban apartments. It is now a dead, lifeless stretch of land littered with scraps of the past. Aleksey Yaroshevsky takes a walk along the streets of the ghost town.

Reverend Death (2007)

Director:
Ron Jonson

Review:
Six years ago the award-winning journalist Jon Ronson began filming what has turned into a most extraordinary and thought-provoking documentary. The Reverend George Exoo is a seemingly jolly, but not very successful Unitarian minister from Beckley, West Virginia who has drifted into helping non-terminally ill people commit suicide. George claims that so far he has helped more than 100 people commit suicide. George extols the afterlife and explains how he looks forward to his own death because it will be a great adventure.  At the start of filming, Jon Ronson believed that everyone has the right to terminate their own lives. However, as the film progresses, Jon begins to change his mind and also starts to have serious reservations about what Rev. George Exoo does and about the motives of his new assistant Susan, who claims she'll help practically anyone kill themselves if the price is right: 'For George it's a calling,' she says. 'For me it's a business.' At the same time, George is facing extradition proceedings for his part in a suicide in Ireland. If you think your calling from God is to help people die, are you a saint or something more dangerous ?

I Was Possessed by God (2000)

Director:
Caveh Zahedi

IMDB

Review:
On Valentine's Day, 1993, Caveh Zahedi decided to ingest 5 grams (a very large dose) of hallucinogenic mushrooms. For the first time in his mushroom-taking history, he had an experience of "divine possession," in which he felt that a divine being took possession of his body and spoke through him, in a voice that was not his, and with knowledge that he himself did not possess. He later tried several times to repeat the experience. I WAS POSSESSED BY GOD is the documentary record of one such attempt.

Black Metal: The Norwegian Legacy?

Review:
This documentary tries to determine who originated the black metal genre, where the term “black metal” came from, and what makes metal truly black. Discussion is contributed by members of Enslaved, Behemoth, Dimmu Borgir, Ulver, Korovo, Unexpect, Gloomy Grim, King Diamond, Impaled Nazarene, Turisas, Belphegor, Finntroll, Dark Funeral, Naglfar, Rotting Christ, and Bloodthorn. Also includes tons of live performance footage.

Chocolate - The Bitter Truth

Review:
The truth, as BBC Panorama reporter Paul Kenyon discovered when he posed as a cocoa dealer in West Africa, leaves a bitter taste. In an investigation into the supply chain that delivers much of the chocolate sold in the UK - more than half a million tonnes a year - the BBC found evidence of human trafficking and child slave labour. Panorama also found that there is no guarantee, despite safeguards, even with chocolate marketed as Fairtrade, that child labour - as defined by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) - has not been involved in the supply chain.

Speak of the Devil (1995)

Director:
Nick Bougas and Adam Parfrey

IMDB

Review:
Having had his fill of the world’s relentless mediocrity, hypocrisy and repression, Anton LaVey declared war in 1966 by shaving his head and founding the Church of Satan. His literary blueprint for responsible self-indulgence, The Satanic Bible, soon sold millions of copies worldwide thus generating decades of media furor and Judeo-Christian wrath. But, as revealed in his presentation, LaVey’s detractors remain largely fanatical and uninformed and continue to attribute foul practices such as ritual animal sacrifices to his church, when, in truth, the nature-loving LaVey was an outspoken animal activist long before it was fashionable. Speak of the Devil explores dozens of other myths and misconceptions about Satanism and its “Black Pope”… in this, his first feature-length documentary in over twenty years, Anton LaVey will offer a rare and treasured glimpse into his private world and share remembrances of his many fascinating careers, which include stints as a lion tamer, theatre organist, crime photographer, and psychic investigator. You’ll tour the fabled “Den of Iniquity” where the maestro gives stirring concerts amidst a host of artificial human companions, designed and constructed by his own magical hands… you’ll also meet a colorful array of LaVey’s acolytes and admirers who have descended into his expansive labyrinth of ideas and practices, only to resurface far better equipped for the age-old struggle ahead.

Inside: American Skinheads (2007)

IMDB

Review:
From secret codes on the Internet to violent lyrics in head-banger metal music, this burgeoning white power movement is finding new ways to spread its message of racial pride. Interesting doc containing an interview with Tom Metzger and many other Skinhead leaders and members.

North Korea - Crossing The Line (2007)

Review:
The story of US soldier James Joseph Dresnok, who deserted his unit in 1962 while guarding the peace in South Korea. After walking the most heavily fortified area on earth, he defected to the Cold War enemy, finding fame as a film actor and being hailed as a coveted star of the North Korean propaganda machine. Forty-five years later, this film reveals the lives of Comrade Joe and other American defectors.

Attack of The Happy People (2006)

Director:
Nadav Harel

Review:
Ecstasy, which started out as a psychotherapeutic drug, has now become one of the most consumed recreational drugs around. This film by Nadav Harel documents the flourishing ecstasy party culture in Israel today. Navel says that Israel has one of the world's highest drug consumption rates. Affected by wars, an aggressive marketplace economy and very powerful religious forces, young people in Israel escape their harsh reality through excessive drug consumption. Ecstasy is particularly widespread. Many of the young Israelis interviewed for this documentary refer to it as “the drug of love” and say that when you're on it “everything becomes rosy; you're in a fantasy world; you love everyone you see...” This program features experts who believe in the therapeutic uses of the drug and also opponents of the drug who believe ecstasy use characterises our consumer-driven society, as many products such as music, clothes, dance parties and so on are being promoted through this drug trend.

A Jail in Colombia (2007)

Review:
A look inside the La Modelo prison in Bogota. Colombia. Called a "model" prison by Colombia officials the prison in reality is controlled more by the prisoners than the guards. With 5000 prisoners for 2400 spots, and not more than 150 security guards assigned to the prison. The prison is awash in violence, and drugs. Last year, 162 prisoners were killed there. The prison is controlled by three criminal groups: members of the guerrilla movement, paramilitary forces, and cocaine traffickers. They have broken the prison up into three different territories and each group has it's own security forces, defending it's own territory.

House of Numbers: Anatomy of an Epidemic (2009)

Director:

Brent Leung

IMDB:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1311710/

Review:

What is HIV? What is AIDS? What is being done to cure it? These questions sent Canadian filmmaker Brent Leung on a worldwide journey, from the highest echelons of the medical research establishment to the slums of South Africa, where death and disease are the order of the day. In this up-to-the-minute documentary, he observes that although AIDS has been front-page news for over 28 years, it is barely understood. Despite the great effort, time, and money spent, no cure is in sight. Born in 1980 (on the cusp of the epidemic), Leung reveals a research establishment in disarray, and health policy gone tragically off course. Gaining access to a remarkable array of the most prominent and influential figures in the field -- among them the co-discoverers of HIV, presidential advisors, Nobel laureates, and the Executive Director of UNAIDS, as well as survivors and activists -- his restrained approach yields surprising revelations and stunning contradictions. The HIV/AIDS story is being rewritten, and this is the first film to present the uncensored POVs of virtually all the major players -- in their own settings, in their own words. It rocks the foundation upon which all conventional wisdom regarding HIV/AIDS is based. If, as South African health advocate Pephsile Maseko remarks, "this is the beginning of a war...a war to reclaim our health," then House of Numbers could well be the opening salvo in the battle to bring sanity and clarity to an epidemic clearly gone awry.

A/E Biography - Albert Henry DeSalvo (The Boston Strangler)

INFO

Review:
Albert Henry DeSalvo (September 3, 1931 - November 25, 1973) was a criminal in Boston, Massachusetts, United States who confessed to being the "Boston Strangler", the murderer of 13 women in the Boston area. His confession has been disputed, and debate continues regarding which crimes DeSalvo actually committed. Between June 14, 1962 and January 4, 1964, 13 single women between the ages of 19 and 85 were murdered in the Boston area; they were eventually tied to the Boston Strangler. Most of the women were sexually assaulted in their apartments, then strangled with articles of clothing. The eldest victim died of a heart attack. Two others were stabbed to death, one of whom was also badly beaten. Without any sign of forced entry into their dwellings, the women were assumed to have either known their killer or voluntarily allowed him into their homes.

A/E Biography - Aileen Carol Wuornos

INFO

Review:
Aileen Carol Wuornos (born Aileen Carol Pittman) (February 29, 1956 - October 9, 2002) was an American serial killer who was convicted and sentenced to death by the state of Florida in 1992. She ultimately received five additional death sentences. Wuornos admitted to killing seven men in separate incidents, all of whom she claimed raped her (or attempted to) while she was working as a prostitute. She was put to death via lethal injection on October 9, 2002.

Ben: Diary of a Heroin Addict (2008)

Director:
 Olly Lambert

IMDB:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1316530/

Review:
Ben: Diary of a Heroin Addict is the best documentary about heroin addiction that I have watched so far. The documentary covers 2 last years of Ben's life and reveals all the hard times he had with his 15 year addiction. The interesting thing about this documentary is that Ben has filmed it by himself. Of course he didn't know that it will become a documentary. I cannot describe to you how greatly done is this documentary so take my word on it and watch it. You wont regreat it.

A/E Biography - Edward Theodore Gein (The Ghoul of Plainfield)

INFO

Review:
Edward Theodore Gein (August 27, 1906 - July 26, 1984) was a notorious American killer. Though only two murders on his part were proven, he gained great infamy due to necrophiliac behavior (which involved the skinning of his murder victims and exhumed corpses, the decoration of his home with parts of corpses, and the creation of articles of clothing and furniture from the skin of corpses). Although he is considered to have engaged in necrophiliac behavior, there is no significant evidence to prove that he engaged in sex with the corpses. Besides the death of his brother in 1944 under mysterious circumstances, six people disappeared from the Wisconsin towns of La Crosse and Plainfield between 1947 and 1957.  Ed Gein was the inspiration for Alfred Hitchcock and of course for the movie Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

A/E Biography - Dennis Lynn Rader (BTK)

INFO

Review:
Dennis Lynn Rader (born March 9, 1945) is an American serial killer who murdered 10 people in Sedgwick County (in and around Wichita), Kansas, between 1974 and 1991. He was known as the BTK killer (or the BTK strangler), which stands for Bind, Torture and Kill, which describes his modus operandi. Letters were written soon after the killings to police and to local news outlets, boasting of the crimes and knowledge of details. After a long hiatus these letters resumed in 2004, leading to his arrest in 2005 and subsequent conviction.

A/E Biography - David Richard Berkowitz (Son of Sam)

INFO

Review:
David Richard Berkowitz (born June 1, 1953), also known as the .44 Caliber Killer and the Son of Sam, is an American serial killer.

Shortly after his arrest in 1977, Berkowitz confessed to killing six people and wounding seven others in the course of eight shootings in New York City between 1976 and 1977. He has been imprisoned for the crimes since 1977. The crimes had terrorized New York for a year. Berkowitz subsequently claimed that a neighbor's dog was possessed by a demon that commanded Berkowitz to kill.

Berkowitz later amended his confession to claim he was the shooter in only two incidents, personally killing three people and wounding a fourth. The other victims were killed, Berkowitz claimed, by members of a violent Satanic cult of which he was a member. Though he remains the only person charged with or convicted of the shootings, some law enforcement authorities argue that Berkowitz's claims are credible: according to John Hockenberry of MSNBC, many officials involved in the original "Son of Sam" case suspected that more than one person was perpetrating the murders. Hockenberry also reports that the Son of Sam case was reopened in 1996 and, as of 2004, it was still considered open.

A/E Biography - Arthur Shawcross (The Genesee River Killer)

INFO

Review:
Profile of another notorious and coldblooded serial killer who murdered two children in Watertown, N.Y., and 11 women in Rochester, N.Y. Shawcross was captured when he was seen standing next to one of his victims, and was sentenced to 250 years in prison. He is also known as The Genesee River Killer.

A/E Biography - Gary Leon Ridgway (The Green River Killer)

INFO

Review:
Gary Leon Ridgway (born February 18, 1949), known as the Green River Killer, is one of the most prolific serial killers in American history. On November 30, 2001, as he was leaving a Renton, Washington factory where he worked, he was arrested for the murders of seven women whose deaths were attributed to the "Green River Killer". Four murders were linked to him through DNA and three through paint he used at his job. Two years later he pleaded guilty to 48 counts of aggravated murder, although the estimates run much higher. Ridgway has been married three times and has one son. He carried his son's photo in his wallet to lure most of his victims into his pickup truck.