MetaFilter posts tagged with documentaries and movies

Short films, court métrages and more from up north

Shepherd — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 03:21:52 -0800

Mentioned here earlier in its beta form, Canada's National Film Board has released the bulk of its films online, for free, in the NFB Screening Room. With hundreds of films from the 1920s onwards, including groundbreaking work by animator Norman McLaren, documentaries, dramas, bizarre anti-smoking (or pro-smoking?) screeds and much, much more, it's a breathtaking trove of amazing film to be discovered from north of the 49th. Personal favourites: The Sweater, the story of a young Quebecer's crushing blow due to the malfeasance of the Eaton's catalogue; Waterwalker, a feature-length documentary about one man and his canoe; Cartoons by Zlatko Grgic, a master of comic timing; Our Northern Neighbour (1944), a short film about how awesome it is to be allied with the Soviets and how nothing can possibly go wrong with that plan. See also Inside Fighting China (1942); Carts of Darkness, a recent documentary about homeless people who have turned cash recycling into an extreme sport. How can one viewer manage all this content? I recommend the Playlists, a section of the site where guest "curators" present a selection of NFB films around certain themes. I should note that the site launched yesterday or the day before, and their servers seem to be getting slaughtered -- connections are somewhat spotty, and YMMV but bookmarking the site and the films you want to check out and coming back to it in a couple of weeks might be more fruitful than "stalling out" halfway through a 60-minute documentary.

Orson Welles: The One Man Band

Burhanistan — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 21:30:17 -0800

Orson Welles: The One Man Band - a movie that takes a look at the last years of Mr. Welles. German/English with English subtitles. Full .avi download available.

A film on homeless veterans

riley370 — Sun, 21 May 2006 10:29:08 -0800

When I Came Home: Iraq War veteran Herold Noel suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and lives out of his car in Brooklyn. Using Noel's story as a fulcrum, this doc examines the wider issue of homeless U.S. military veterans-from Vietnam to Iraq-who have to fight tooth-and-nail to receive the benefits promised to them by their government.

Buddhanet

plep — Tue, 31 May 2005 23:26:19 -0800

Buddhist photo documentaries and more.

Goin' down the road feeling bad

euphorb — Tue, 13 Jul 2004 18:43:24 -0800

The Road to Tyranny (Realvideo). A sensational and informative film by Alex Jones. Ignore the presentation, or, consider it entertainment if you wish, but there's some pretty good content in there including some surprising news footage from the aftermath of the OKC bombing 19 minutes in.

fact check one two

reklaw — Tue, 13 Jul 2004 06:05:51 -0800

Read-a-long-a-Fahrenheit-9/11. Michael Moore posts six pages of quotes and links to back up his movie. And since he doesn't mind you downloading it, why not watch it on your computer and fact-check his ass as you go?

Free Falling...

jonson — Fri, 15 Aug 2003 17:11:42 -0800

In the 1980's, Mark "Gator" Rogowski was on par with Tony Hawk at the top of the nascent world of professional skateboarding. Contrasting the path Hawk took in the 90's (video games, ESPN tie-ins), things did not go so well for Gator. After surviving a hideous accident in 1989, Mark turned to Jesus, and then shortly thereafter he brutally raped & murdered a female friend of his ex-girlfriend's. The documentary of his rise & amazing fall appears today in limited release.

'Miguk-saram!' the children shout

stavrosthewonderchicken — Fri, 18 Apr 2003 23:42:03 -0800

Miguk - A film documentary on the life of an expat English teacher in Korea. If you've done it, this will bring back memories. If you're thinking of doing it, this is worth watching. If, like me, you're in Korea now, watching it on 'film' somehow dignifies the experience. Two thumbs up. [.wmv format, 16 segments]

kirkaracha — Mon, 23 Sep 2002 23:34:46 -0800

I vividly remember watching Ken Burns' amazingly great The Civil War during the Gulf War. Now that we're apparently having a Gulf War sequel, The Civil War has been remastered and re-released. The Washington Post jumps on the bandwagon with an online discussion with Ken Burns and a great Flash map of the campaign from the Seven Days to Antietam.

Bixby23 — Mon, 02 Sep 2002 19:56:51 -0800

The British Empire in Colour -- a three-part documentary series from the producers of the BAFTA (British Academy of Film and Television Arts) award-winning Britain at War in Colour will air this month. The series is supposed to include "a treasure-trove of early colour movies filmed before 'technicolour' transformed film making in the 1930s. Unique colour footage of the Edwardian splendour of 1906 British India, soldiers of the First World War and class divided Britain in 1926 as seen for the first time by a modern visually sophisticated audience." Apparently, it also includes Horrifying footage of last days of Raj.

asok — Wed, 30 Jan 2002 04:53:52 -0800

Lisa Gier King - 'clearly willing and consensual sexual intercourse'

'Yahraus has consistently maintained that his sexual relations with King were consensual, a view shared by the police, the state attorney's office and the court'

or institutional misogyny?
Difficult to comment without seeing the film. Will releasing this film help either case? Hard to find anything online from the alternative viewpoint

mathowie — Thu, 23 Mar 2000 22:59:00 -0800

If you're in or around LA this weekend, you might want to check out all the academy award nominated documentary films being screened at the Director's Guild theater.