Ask HN: What are some of your favorite documentaries?
25 comments
My second favorite “Wild, Wild, Country”, but it was mentioned already at the top of the first list. I enjoy it as a cautionary tale, but I also unironically find it an inspiring tale of building, even if it turns out to bad.
My favorite documentary is “The Barkley Marathons, the race that eats it’s young”
I return to it at least once a year, and while the root of the story - watching people attempt the impossible is certainly inspiring, I find its moral themes are what I appreciate about it the most. The idea of competition as a collective activity, that everyone wants to win, but also everyone wants to see others win their own race, that there’s something about the way that it advances our understanding of humanity that is more important than individual success.
Then also - that your race is yours alone, and that the most important victory is the one you define for yourself. There are people who finish only one or three laps of the five lap marathon, and that failure is a greater achievement than most people will ever know, and they clearly see it that way, there’s near no shame in anyone’s performance and people are clearly defining success for themselves, mostly clearly beyond what anyone else would define it for them. And finally, it’s kind of a throwaway line, but one of the runners says “I think most people could use more pain in their lives.” And it made me realize that often, when enduring hardship, rather than turning away from it, finding ways to challenge myself on my terms is a healthier approach to stress than “relaxing”.
My favorite documentary is “The Barkley Marathons, the race that eats it’s young”
I return to it at least once a year, and while the root of the story - watching people attempt the impossible is certainly inspiring, I find its moral themes are what I appreciate about it the most. The idea of competition as a collective activity, that everyone wants to win, but also everyone wants to see others win their own race, that there’s something about the way that it advances our understanding of humanity that is more important than individual success.
Then also - that your race is yours alone, and that the most important victory is the one you define for yourself. There are people who finish only one or three laps of the five lap marathon, and that failure is a greater achievement than most people will ever know, and they clearly see it that way, there’s near no shame in anyone’s performance and people are clearly defining success for themselves, mostly clearly beyond what anyone else would define it for them. And finally, it’s kind of a throwaway line, but one of the runners says “I think most people could use more pain in their lives.” And it made me realize that often, when enduring hardship, rather than turning away from it, finding ways to challenge myself on my terms is a healthier approach to stress than “relaxing”.
"Unbreakable: The Western States 100" [1] came to mind after you reminded me of the Barkley documentary. “The Barkley Marathons, the race that eats it’s young” seems more human and better grounded than "Unbreakable", but "Unbreakable" captured the excitement of running ultra marathons so completely for me.
1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy1as6CTYXI
1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zy1as6CTYXI
Thanks! I’ll check it out.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/9/11_(2002_film)
A crazy watch. Two brothers are making a documentary on rookie firefighters in late 2001. The crew goes out to look at a possible gas leak, a loud plane is heard, the camera pans up, and the North Tower is hit. It was one of three recordings of that hit and the only clear one. The rest of the documentary follows the crew into the towers. No one knows what's going on, the scenes are chaotic but also calm as the firefighters try to figure out what to do. Then the second tower falls while (one of the brothers) is in the first. One of the most incredible things I've ever seen.
I think it was well known when it came out, but it's been overshadowed especially since searching "9/11 documentary" gives a million results. If you want to see one of the craziest human experiences unfold in front of you, there's no other film like this.
A crazy watch. Two brothers are making a documentary on rookie firefighters in late 2001. The crew goes out to look at a possible gas leak, a loud plane is heard, the camera pans up, and the North Tower is hit. It was one of three recordings of that hit and the only clear one. The rest of the documentary follows the crew into the towers. No one knows what's going on, the scenes are chaotic but also calm as the firefighters try to figure out what to do. Then the second tower falls while (one of the brothers) is in the first. One of the most incredible things I've ever seen.
I think it was well known when it came out, but it's been overshadowed especially since searching "9/11 documentary" gives a million results. If you want to see one of the craziest human experiences unfold in front of you, there's no other film like this.
I really enjoyed the Half Life 2: 20th Anniversary documentary. It gave a pretty neat perspective of what the games' industry was like at the time, and also made me really appreciate the technology that Valve was building. A lot of really innovative stuff came out of the creation of that game.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCjNT9qGjh4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YCjNT9qGjh4
- 20 Days in Mariupol: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20_Days_in_Mariupola
- Icarus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icarus_(2017_film)
- The Civil War: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civil_War_(miniseries)
- The Contestant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Contestant_(2023_film)
- Icarus: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Icarus_(2017_film)
- The Civil War: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Civil_War_(miniseries)
- The Contestant: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Contestant_(2023_film)
If you're not afraid of heights (or maybe if you are):
- Free Solo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Solo
- Man on Wire: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_on_Wire
And one with the greatest ever road cyclist in the greatest one day race:
- A Sunday in Hell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Sunday_in_Hell
- Free Solo: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Free_Solo
- Man on Wire: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Man_on_Wire
And one with the greatest ever road cyclist in the greatest one day race:
- A Sunday in Hell: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Sunday_in_Hell
Personally, regarding Free Solo and the amygdala shenanigans, "Meru" is an even better one.
Tl;dr is three guys go up a mountain, fail, one of them cracks a skull in the meantime, and then they make another attempt...
Tl;dr is three guys go up a mountain, fail, one of them cracks a skull in the meantime, and then they make another attempt...
Europa: The Last Battle (2017) https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7528992
I made it only three episodes in because it's too content-dense. But quite an eye opener. I knew Churchill was a massive POC but I had no clue he sold out England like that. Any way, worth a watch. It is freely available on VoD streaming platforms.
Every since I stopped watching TV, years ago, I have not seen much documentaries as you have to specifically go and look for one instead of it just randomly showing on Discovery or similar TV channel.
I made it only three episodes in because it's too content-dense. But quite an eye opener. I knew Churchill was a massive POC but I had no clue he sold out England like that. Any way, worth a watch. It is freely available on VoD streaming platforms.
Every since I stopped watching TV, years ago, I have not seen much documentaries as you have to specifically go and look for one instead of it just randomly showing on Discovery or similar TV channel.
I don't tend to watch documentaries often but when I do they usually are 3 main subjects that I always have a constant interest in
1.History documentaries:I love to watch history documentaries when I get the chance to but I rarely find them I would love to know good places of where to watch them I have a main focus on when king Henry the 8th(VIII) was in rule and also both world wars more specifically pearl harbor and Hiroshima and Nagasaki for the second world war(or Japan and Hawaii in general)
2.Air force/cool A$$ planes:I love the air force there planes are so cool my favorite has to be the B-2 and the nighthawk is also cool there's a nice kind of recent documentary that's on Netflix I believe its called Thunderbirds(not 100% on that) it is about 2 hours long and it shows the process of how people get trained to do airshows its nice and I would also love recommendations on what else to watch
3.horror/true crime:I haven't watched documentaries on this but I would love to find some I watch things that are similar to documentaries of it but not 100%
I would love any recommendations and will try to watch them
I would love any recommendations and will try to watch them
The trilogy of design-related documentaries by Gary Hustwit! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Design_Trilogy
1. Objectified (on the design of objects)
2. Helvetica (on the design of typefaces)
3. Urbanized (on the design of cities and urban spaces)
1. Objectified (on the design of objects)
2. Helvetica (on the design of typefaces)
3. Urbanized (on the design of cities and urban spaces)
Jiro Dreams of Sushi appears again and again in those lists and it was the first to pop into my head.
An old HN thread on this (2012): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4462539
An old HN thread on this (2012): https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4462539
All of Errol Morris' first person documentaries are good
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrZ_xn1QQHI&list=PLVmRJGCDzW...
Ocean with David Attenborough: https://www.oceanfilm.net/
"The World at War" with Lawrence Olivier narrating and interviews with people that lived thru the war on both sides
The Story of Drug Trafficking
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12060102/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12060102/
Icarus - the way it went from a semi-interesting topic of a guy doing steroid self-experimentation to blowing open a whole Russian doping operation brought me joy.
The Way of All Flesh https://youtu.be/cTXaJOk_bjQ
Here's another previous post: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=25624456 which includes an answer of mine. To add to that list:
[1] "Andermatt - Global Village" - tracks the construction of a luxury resort in the Swiss village of Andermatt and how it affects people there. The village and the project still make the news occasionally. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0NjZjWpXyw
[2] "The Forgotten Space" - essayist movie by Allan Sekula, featured at documenta14. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0ZSlhoKiY
[3] "Cold Case Hammarskjöld" by Danish film maker Mads Brugger about the death of former UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld; absolutely wild ride. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Case_Hammarskj%C3%B6ld
[1] "Andermatt - Global Village" - tracks the construction of a luxury resort in the Swiss village of Andermatt and how it affects people there. The village and the project still make the news occasionally. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0NjZjWpXyw
[2] "The Forgotten Space" - essayist movie by Allan Sekula, featured at documenta14. Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rY0ZSlhoKiY
[3] "Cold Case Hammarskjöld" by Danish film maker Mads Brugger about the death of former UN Secretary General Dag Hammarskjöld; absolutely wild ride. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_Case_Hammarskj%C3%B6ld
Crumb was fascinating
1. Bill Cunningham New York
2. General Magic(2018)
3. The Armstrong Lie
4. Icarus (2017 film)
5. Man on Wire
6. Baraka & Samsara
7. BBC Planet Earth
8. Finding Vivian Maier
2. General Magic(2018)
3. The Armstrong Lie
4. Icarus (2017 film)
5. Man on Wire
6. Baraka & Samsara
7. BBC Planet Earth
8. Finding Vivian Maier
#8 is free on yt with ads (hint, use an ad blocker) https://youtu.be/TPSzGgtOxBc?si=O74sDCL5KwSVv5UN
Pirates of Silicon Valley, which famously features Steve Ballmer turning and talking directly to the viewer ala kevin spacey and Bill Gates Yelling At Steve Jobs also Woz gets gassed and runs like hell, that's not much of a spoiler because that's how it opens: Woz hauling ass away from a protest into the computer building. sweet, safe computer building!
anyway if we're putting herzon movies in here i say it fits :-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_of_Silicon_Valley
anyway if we're putting herzon movies in here i say it fits :-)
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pirates_of_Silicon_Valley
Jeremy Clarkson's the Greatest Raid of All
Thoughts on why are also appreciated.