Absolut Warhola (2001)

Director:

Stanislaw Mucha

IMDB

Review:

Absolute Warhola is a wry but affectionate look at the village in Slovakia where Andy Warhol's parents were born and which proudly claims the artist as its native son. This is not a purist's documentary. The seasons shift inexplicably. The pace feels a bit aimless. It contains no useful information about Warhol nor his work. Instead of cinematic orthodoxy, however, Absolut Warhola offers the quirky poignancy of a documentary on the Cargo Cult, combined with a bizarre juxtaposition that perhaps would be found in a Lawrence Welk special on Abstract Expressionism. The filmmakers visit Warhol's cousin who recalls, at one point, how Andy sent them a pack of drawings and paintings which they didn't much care for, so they rolled some up to use as paper cones and pitched the others into the water after the house was flooded. The curator of the Warhola Museum explains how he chose the works to be included in the collection primarily on the basis of their relevance to the local community: cows, butterflies, Lenin, and Ingrid Bergman as a nun. The touching absurdity of his discourse is rivaled only by David St. Hubbins' explanation in Spinal Tap as to why the amplifier whose dial goes up to eleven is better than the ones that only go to ten. Absolut Warhola may not be a textbook work of documentary filmmaking, but it presents a consistent vision of people whose lives under the shadow of Chernobyl are somehow brightened by the memory of a man they never knew nor remotely understood.

William S. Burroughs: A Man Within (2010)

Director:

Yony Leyser

IMDB

Review:

William S. Burroughs: featuring never before seen footage as well as exclusive interviews with his closest friends and colleagues. Born the heir of the Burroughs' adding machine estate, he struggled throughout his life with addiction, control systems, and self. He was forced to deal with the tragedy of killing his wife and the repercussions of neglecting his son. His novel, Naked Lunch, was one of the last books to be banned by the U.S. government. Allen Ginsberg and Norman Mailer testified on behalf of the book. The courts eventually overturned their decision in 1966, ruling that the book had an important social value. It remains one of the most recognized literary works of the 20th century. William Burroughs was one of the first to cross the dangerous boundaries of queer and drug culture in the 1950s, and write about his experiences. Eventually he was hailed the godfather of the beat generation and influenced artists for generations to come. However, his friends were left wondering, did William ever find happiness? This extremely personal documentary breaks the surface of the troubled and brilliant world of one of the greatest authors of all time. "William S. Burroughs: A Man Within" is the first and only posthumous documentary about this legendary figure.

Häxan: Witchcraft Through the Ages (1922)

Director:

Benjamin Christensen

IMDB

Review:

Based partly on Christensen's study of the Malleus Maleficarum, a 15th century German guide for inquisitors, Häxan is a study of how superstition and the misunderstanding of diseases and mental illness could lead to the hysteria of the witch-hunts.The film was made as a documentary but contains dramatized sequences that are comparable to horror films. With Christensen's meticulous recreation of medieval scenes and the lengthy production period, the film was the most expensive Scandinavian silent film ever made, costing nearly two million Swedish krona.Although it won acclaim in Denmark and Sweden, the film was banned in the United States and heavily censored in other countries for what were considered at that time graphic depictions of torture, nudity, and sexual perversion.

Python Night: 30 Years of Monty Python (1999)

Director:

Terry Jones and Elaine Shepherd

IMDB

Review:

A BBC 30th anniversary commemoration of the debut of Monty Python's “Flying Circus” with a treasure trove of new sketches performed by the Pythons (minus spoilsport Eric Idle, and, of course, ex-Python Graham Chapman); new interviews with all the surviving members; classic clips; and recently discovered and rarely seen Python material unearthed from the BBC archives. “It's... the Monty Python Story”, is a sketchy history, recalling the highs (the first two seasons of the groundbreaking TV series and The Life of Brian) and the lows (the death of Chapman, who in a poignant clip from his memorial service is eulogized by John Cleese as a "freeloading bastard"). The disk includes a long-lost 10-minute film Monty Python created for the 1971 Pan-European May Day Festival. Michael Palin spoofs his travel shows by giving viewers a tour of "Pythonland." He revisits the actual locations where such classic Python sketches as the Ministry of Silly Walks and the Fish Slapping Dance were filmed. South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone offer an animated tribute (the Dead Kenny sketch), while Meatloaf goes behind the music to reveal the inspiration behind the Python's most memorable songs.

A Film Unfinished (2010)

Director:

Yael Hersonski

IMDB

Review:

Yael Hersonski's powerful documentary achieves a remarkable feat through its penetrating look at another film-the now-infamous Nazi-produced film about the Warsaw Ghetto. Discovered after the war, the unfinished work, with no soundtrack, quickly became a resource for historians seeking an authentic record, despite its elaborate propagandistic construction. The later discovery of a long-missing reel complicated earlier readings, showing the manipulations of camera crews in these "everyday" scenes. Well-heeled Jews attending elegant dinners and theatricals (while callously stepping over the dead bodies of compatriots) now appeared as unwilling, but complicit, actors, alternately fearful and in denial of their looming fate.

Chevolution (2008)

Director:

Luis Lopez and Trisha Ziff

IMDB

Review:

ocumakers Trisha Ziff and Luis Lopez begin with an intriguing premise: Trace the history of the most frequently reproduced image of the 20th century, Korda's famous photograph of Che Guevara. "Chevolution" covers every conceivable aspect of the photo: its subject, its creator (a fashion photog turned revolutionary shutterbug), its initial obscurity, its explosion on the '60s politico-cultural scene and its final commodification, as capitalism co-opted the image to peddle everything from T-shirts to vodka. Offering multiple viewpoints on the mass phenomenon, docu seems tailor-made for Netflix distrib Red Envelope Entertainment. Steven Soderbergh's Cannes-premiered "Che" could add fuel to the fire.  Filmmakers manage to recap Guevara's short life succinctly and nonjudgmentally. Photographer Alberto "Korda" Diaz emerges as less fully fleshed out, though filmmakers interview several associates who recall the man and his work. But, as the title suggests, it is the evolution of one specific image the film addresses. But why this image, so replete with Mona Lisa-like ambiguity? What does it imply?  Diaz's iconic photo of Che in a beret staring (sadly? adamantly? pensively?) slightly off to the left of the frame, titled "Guerillero Heroico," was snapped during a mass funeral for those killed in a suspicious explosion at Havana harbor. Passed over for publication in the periodical Revolucion, the informally captured photo remained pinned up in Diaz's studio until a left-wing Italian entrepreneur turned it into an instantly recognizable worldwide symbol of '60s political ferment.  Cuba did not recognize copyright law until relatively recently, but Diaz initially had no objection to the unpaid proliferation of his work -- whether repurposed by artists (in the age of Warhol, such raw material proved irresistible) or used to adorn placards -- until corporations appropriated it to sell their products.  Filmmakers then examine what the photo became: Do those who wear images of Guevara on their shirts and bikini bottoms know who he was? The man-on-the-street answers are as generally amusing as they are potentially disturbing (most of "Chevolution" was shot in the U.S., though co-helmers Ziff and Lopez are Mexico-based).

Sharkwater (2006)

Director:

Rob Stewart

IMDB

Review:

For filmmaker Rob Stewart, exploring sharks began as an underwater adventure. What it turned into was a beautiful and dangerous life journey into the balance of life on earth. Driven by passion fed from a life-long fascination with sharks, Stewart debunks historical stereotypes and media depictions of sharks as bloodthirsty, man-eating monsters and reveals the reality of sharks as pillars in the evolution of the seas. Filmed in visually stunning, high definition video, Sharkwater takes you into the most shark rich waters of the world, exposing the exploitation and corruption surrounding the world's shark populations in the marine reserves of Cocos Island, Costa Rica and the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador. In an effort to protect sharks, Stewart teams up with renegade conservationist Paul Watson of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society. Their unbelievable adventure together starts with a battle between the Sea Shepherd and shark poachers in Guatemala, resulting in pirate boat rammings, gunboat chases, mafia espionage, corrupt court systems and attempted murder charges, forcing them to flee for their lives. Through it all, Stewart discovers these magnificent creatures have gone from predator to prey, and how despite surviving the earth's history of mass extinctions, they could easily be wiped out within a few years due to human greed. Stewart's remarkable journey of courage and determination changes from a mission to save the world's sharks, into a fight for his life, and that of humankind. A true masterpiece. My recommendation. True must watch!

Inside Job (2010)

Director:

Charles Ferguson

IMDB

Review:

This is what I was waiting for. A documentary about the fake crisis that was made in order to satisfy the growing appetite of the filthy rich bastards of this world. Although there is even more to this story this doc covers much of it so take a look. My recommendation.

'Inside Job' provides a comprehensive analysis of the global financial crisis of 2008, which at a cost over $20 trillion, caused millions of people to lose their jobs and homes in the worst recession since the Great Depression, and nearly resulted in a global financial collapse. Through exhaustive research and extensive interviews with key financial insiders, politicians, journalists, and academics, the film traces the rise of a rogue industry which has corrupted politics, regulation, and academia.

Erasing David (2009)

Director:

David Bond

IMDB

Review:

David Bond lives in one of the most intrusive surveillance states in the world. He decides to find out how much private companies and the government know about him by putting himself under surveillance and attempting to disappear - a decision that changes his life forever. Leaving his pregnant wife and young child behind, he is tracked across the database state by two private investigators, on a chilling journey that forces him to contemplate the meaning of privacy - and the loss of it

back...

Hello documentary lovers. As you can see I am back and ready to bring you more interesting docs. However it will take time to find once again what I have lost but it will be worth it.

Cheers