Could anyone recommend any excellent documentaries?

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fatbattery

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thadman said:
I finished "The Trap" and "The Power of Nightmares". brilliant:D

I also ended up watching "The Battle of Algiers" after it was referenced in the aforementioned BBC documentaries. Excellent IMO, especially if you're interested in the conflicts in the middle east and don't mind watching a French Film from the 1960s.

I'm open to anything, as long as it's educational / intellectual. I canceled my television contract with Comcast last semester. I do enjoy media, but there isn't anything worth watching anymore on TV. MTV has a show that I found my buddies girlfriend watching called "My Life as Liz" which is a scripted show about this emo girl who is on a reality TV show (scripted TV is now trying to emulate reality TV shows). When I was a kid, I used to love the History Channel. Now, they offer an absolutely horrible version of the BBCs "Top Gear" and promote series filled with misinformation (ex. Ancient Aliens). Other than having to walk to my buddies apartment to watch the away games, it's kind of refreshing.

I truly hate watching commercials. Is anyone familiar with the Charlie Chaplin mask optical illusion? I feel as if something similar may be happening with modern advertising / product placement. I'm distinctly aware of it, but can't prevent my mind from making the associations (ex. NFL and Bud Light). I think it's funny how Joseph Goebbels' (Minister of Propaganda) name lives in infamy due to his role in the German government and his association with Hitler (modern connotation, Goebbels=NAZI! DIE!), yet propaganda is embraced and respected in the US. Of course, its not called "propaganda" its called "public relations" and you can get such a degree from our most respected universities.

I prefer reading, but in certain cases, films offer further insight since they can provide accurate historical footage and/or visuals along with the narrative.

Thanks for all the recommendations so far!
Thadman
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Mate how bad do you hate adds? Get mystar if you in Australia or tevo or a hardrive recorder. Life is to short to watch adds. Dam most entertainment on TV now are basically written around advertising. Like for eg Nurse Jacki on showcase is written and payed for my drug companies to promote the abuse of vicoden. Notice the popularly of historical shows like the British time traveling show Life on Mars. This whole show was written so it could be cool again to smoke. There all smoking constantly. Nothing about carrying the story. Just a clever way to promote smoking as still being cool and getting away with it. Check out almost every major movie and the hero has to light up.

Even Avatar had to take money from the tobacco lobby . I couldn't believe it when Sigourney Weaver had to light up a cigarette. Surely she has made enough money in her Career that she doesn't have to prostitute her self to the evil tobacco company's. I know most think I am crazy. Surely they would not write a whole showcase series about abusing vicoden right.? Another show funded my the pharmaceutical lobby's . Is big Love. It is about polygamy and how the husband needs to take Viagra to please all his wifes. But whats more insidious is all the victims of the war on drugs sitting in jail being preyed on by real criminals because of the drug company's hold of power the united states.

I look foward to seeing the trap. I wonder if Austar will play such a series. I am not so sure.
 
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Bas Horneman

Bas Horneman

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One that I thought was amazing, and perhaps appropriate to this forum, is "making of a Steinway" or a title close to that. It is available on the PBS website I believe. Jaw dropping artisanship in making one of those. And a dying art.
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Thanks for that suggestion. I tried to order it from the PBS website. No go. Only USA and Canada. So I resorted to eBay.

Can't wait to see it. I'd love to see similar suggestions. In the absence of documentaries related to our hobby I've had to satisfy my tastes for diy voyeurism with "Grand Designs"
 
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sharpi31

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Francec

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"How the Earth Made Us" - Multi part doco with stunning photography which also gives amazing facts. Did anyone know that Britain was essentially denuded of trees in the 16th century to feed the charcoal industry. They ran out of trees and found............coal.
The start of the industrial revolution came about because machinery was needed to pump the water out of deep coal mines. Soon or later, another source of carbon fuel was found, yep, you guessed it, oil.

There are clever people who ride on the shoulders of geniuses. Sadly, the rest of ride on their backs and most of those don't even appreciate it.

Frank
 
Bas Horneman

Bas Horneman

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Did anyone know that Britain was essentially denuded of trees in the 16th century to feed the charcoal industry.
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I did know that it went from 96% or so forest to almost none because of humans. Never knew that it was to feed the charcoal industry.

On that note. Did you know that Chinese cooking as we know it todays was "invented" because there was not enough wood? They used to do stews and soups. But that took so much wood that they had to do something else. Hence the high temperature / short cooking of Chinese food. They adapted their pans or woks to soak up as much heat as quickly as possible.
 
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