Beer Wars (2009)

Director:

Anat Baron

IMDB

Review:

A contemporary David and Goliath story that takes you inside the cutthroat world of the big business of American beer. This is a must watch even if you are not a beer-drinker.

Proud to Be British (1973)

Director:

Nick Broomfield

IMDB

Review:

Racist, patriotic, and imperialistic, the subjects of Broomfield’s second film - in which citizens from across the class spectrum are asked for their views about being British and Britain in general - manage to hang themselves, without the need of any commentary, with their own arrogant, complacent views.  Gathering numerous face-to-face interviews with residents of the conservative stronghold of Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, Broomfield paints an ironic portrait of racist parochial views. Spread throughout the community, from the working class patriot Mr Feltham, to the local MP Ronald Bell and even the vicar, we see a cast of regressive, hypocritical creatures.

West Memphis Three - 18 years has passed

West Memphis Three are free at last

http://www.wm3.org/

The Human Behavior Experiments (2006)

Director:

Alex Gibney

IMDB

Review:

This movie is not a gem of documentary films, it's not fancy, pretty or spectacular, but the information contained in it is extremely well structured and very important. Only 40 minutes long, the documentary focuses on the experiments undertaken by Milgran, Darley and Zimbardo, but also presents real cases that validate those experiments, including Abu Ghraib, the Kitty Genovese story and others. I highly recommend searching on Wikipedia about these experiments after you see the movie, as they were a lot more detailed and some had many variations. Bottom line: It says the things that you don't want to believe are true, but they are, and that no one is willing to teach you, because they go against the ideas of blind obedience, peer pressure, etc.

Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child (2010)

Director:

Tamra Davis

IMDB

Review:

Centered on a rare interview that director and friend Tamra Davis shot with Basquiat over twenty years ago, this definitive documentary chronicles the meteoric rise and fall of the young artist. In the crime-ridden NYC of the 1970s, he covers the city with the graffiti tag SAMO. In 1981 he puts paint on canvas for the first time, and by 1983 he is an artist with “rock star status.” He achieves critical and commercial success, though he is constantly confronted by racism from his peers. In 1985 he and Andy Warhol become close friends and painting collaborators, but they part ways and Warhol dies suddenly in 1987. Basquiat’s heroin addiction worsens, and he dies of an overdose in 1988 at the age of 27. The artist was 25 years old at the height of his career, and today his canvases sell for more than a million dollars. With compassion and psychological insight, Tamra Davis details the mysteries that surround this charismatic young man, an artist of enormous talent whose fortunes mirrored the rollercoaster quality of the downtown scene he seemed to embody.

Genuine Nerd (2006)

Director:

Wayne A. Harold

IMDB

Review:

From his appearances in Harvey Pekar’s AMERICAN SPLENDOR comic book to MTV segments to movies like KILLER NERD, TOWNIES and the award-winning, big-screen AMERICAN SPLENDOR adaptation, Toby Radloff has achieved fame — for being a "Genuine Nerd!" Underground filmmaker Wayne Alan Harold (TOWNIES) profiles his friend and collaborator in this truly unique, truly nerdy documentary! See Toby’s customized "Nerd Mobile," check out his swinging bachelor pad and hear his hilarious musings on hamburgers, the Internet, world politics and (of course) being a nerd! Featuring appearances by AMERICAN SPLENDOR creator Harvey Pekar, Judah Friedlander (the actor/comedian who played Toby in the SPLENDOR movie) and comic book artist P. Craig Russell!

Frisbee: The Life and Death of a Hippie Preacher (2005)

Director:

David Di Sabatino

IMDB

Review:

Lonnie Frisbee was a young hippie seeker fully immersed in the 1960s counter culture when he claimed to have experienced an encounter with God while on an acid trip. This event so transformed him that Lonnie became an itinerant Christian evangelist, something of a John the Baptist of Southern California who compelled thousands of fellow spiritual seekers to make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. During the 1970s Lonnie Frisbee became widely known as California's "hippie preacher," the quintessential "Jesus freak" whose pictures frequented such magazines as Time and Life as the media told the story of a burgeoning "Jesus movement." Lonnie Frisbee provided the charismatic spark that launched the Calvary Chapel church into a worldwide ministry and propelled many fledgling leaders into some of the most powerful movers and shakers of the evangelical movement. During the 1980s Lonnie was at the center of the "signs and wonders" movement.

Tattooed Tears (1979)

Director:

Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill

IMDB

Review:

Before he became an onscreen documentary provocateur, Nick Broomfield got his start with this made for PBS look at life in the California Youth Authority. It was quite a coup for Broomfield to get access to the Authority, and this remains an extremely powerful, disturbing, and moving document. Focusing on a handful of incarcerated youngsters, including kids in jail for glue sniffing and B.B. gun use, the film is a raw depiction of a dehumanizing penal system that crushes the hopes and dreams of at risk teenagers.

The Beales of Grey Gardens (2006)

Director:

Albert Maysles and David Maysles

IMDB

Review:

Mother and daughter - Big Edie and Little Edie Beale - live with six cats in a crumbling house in East Hampton. Little Edie, in her 50s, who wears scarves and bright colors, sings, mugs for the camera, and talks to Al and David Maysles, the filmmakers. Big Edie, in her 70s, recites poetry, comments on her daughter's behavior, and sings "If I Loved You" in fine voice. She talks in short sentences; her daughter in volumes. Utilizing hours of unseen archival footage, The Beales is a new take on the women of Grey Gardens.

A Brief History of Errol Morris (2000)

Director:

Kevin Macdonald

IMDB

Review:

What to say about Errol Morris? Man with vision, genius and a briliant director. All of his documentaries are  eyecatching and with a stunning stories. Unfortunately this is a vhs rip from an Israeli television broadcast with hebrew subs hardcoded and the sound's a little out of sync, but it's still perfectly watchable and since most of the sound is in voiceover it shouldn't bother you too much. This is as rare as it gets so make sure you get your "copy". My recomendation.