Top Docs: A Baker’s Dozen
Hello and welcome to Cinema Wellman! Today we’re going to be serving up a “Baker’s Dozen” of Top Documentaries we have screened over the years.
Before we begin the countdown, I want to mention two housekeeping items.
Number One: While trying to narrow down today’s list I made a decision to divide the documentaries into categories.
This initial episode will be about straight up (for lack of a better term) documentaries as opposed to music documentaries, sports documentaries, or documentaries about movies.
If you (and I) stick around for the next few years, we’ll do episodes in seasons three, four, and five covering our favorite music, sports, and movie documentaries.
We hope you’re here for all of those future episodes!
Number Two: I decided not to mention documentaries that I have already highlighted here in the cinema.
So, I will not be mentioning the many great Banksy documentaries out there (if you’re a Banksy fan, see them all!).
I also won’t go into more depth about an awesome triple feature dealing with amusement parks. Coney Island, Prater, and Class Action Park since I’ve already told you about those. That’s a beauty trifecta!
Documentaries can be about absolutely anything and everything. They can be dark, funny, provocative, uplifting, disturbing, mysterious, and even profane (as #8 on today’s list will prove).
We’ll begin with a sad story about a tragic event from 2009.
#13: There’s Something Wrong with Aunt Diane (2011)
In July of 2009, a suburban mother was killed along with seven others when the SUV she was driving the wrong way on the Taconic Parkway in New York struck another vehicle head on at 85 mph.
The woman’s daughter and three nieces were all killed as were three men in the other vehicle.
This film documents the tragedy in painful detail.
The driver had high levels of alcohol and THC in her system even though her husband, friends and family members said she had no issues with alcohol or substance abuse.
The woman had been suffering from an abscessed tooth and may have been seeking relief from the pain by drinking or smoking marijuana. The combination of the two, along with over-the-counter pain meds may have even caused a stroke. This is according to the husband.
Most other accounts blame the driver and add this event to the list of tragic DUIs.
This documentary stuck with me for a long time. Me talking about this film is one thing. Watching it and seeing the pictures of those kids is another thing all together.
Next is a bittersweet story of a great man who was taken from us too early as he was trying to make positive changes in both the government and the world.
#12: The Times of Harvey Milk (1984)
NR/90 m/IMDb: 8.2
I mentioned the biopic Milk and Sean Penn’s Oscar winning performance in an earlier “City Spotlight” episode on San Francisco.
When making a dramatic depiction of a person’s life, filmmakers will always alter real events and embellish things a bit to add to the drama of the film.
I think this is to be expected.
When you see documentaries based on the life of a person, you are theoretically getting the “real deal” of a story.
And Harvey Milk’s story was a positive and heroic story up to its tragic end.
If you’ve heard of Harvey Milk, but aren’t sure why you’ve heard of Harvey Milk, this is a must see.
Maybe a double feature with Sean Penn in Milk.
#11: Paradise Lost Trilogy (1996, 2000, 2011)
NR/401 total m/IMDb: 8.2, 7.5, 8.0
This trio of documentaries centers around the “West Memphis Three” and the murders of three eight-year-old boys in 1993 in West Memphis, Arkansas.
It is not, by any means, a cheerful or uplifting story. Three young children were murdered.
What makes this series of documentaries amazing is the courtroom drama and controversy surrounding the trial.
Three teenage boys were arrested and put on trial. They were all found guilty and sentenced; one to death and the other two to life imprisonment.
The trial was filled with arguments about the evidence found at and around the scene. Defense attorneys claimed that the defendants were scapegoats and easily blamed because of previous behaviors and brushes with the law.
Celebrities and musicians, including Eddie Vedder of Pearl Jam, came to the aid of the “West Memphis Three” and fought to keep the case alive in the hopes of freeing the trio who they thought were not involved in the deaths of the three young boys.
This is a fascinating look at our legal system and certainly makes you wonder how many innocent people are behind bars in our country.
The outcome of the case, which took almost 20 years, has always frustrated me.
I am only mentioning the tip of the iceberg in this complicated case.
If you’re a fan of true crime stories, this trio of documentaries is a must see.
#10: Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
NR/86 m/IMDb: 8.2
This film is difficult to explain, so I’ll let IMDb take a shot at it. “A collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on nature, humanity, and the relationship between them.”
Well done, IMDb! Koyaanisqatsi is certainly difficult to explain.
Along with there being no plot, there’s also no dialogue. The soundtrack is beautifully done by Phillip Glass and it’s a total match for the images we are seeing.
“Koyaanisqatsi” is the Hopi word meaning “Life out of balance,” and the way the visuals flow with Glass’ score does keep you a bit off balance.
This is a beautiful, trippy film that will have you thinking many thoughts. Not really a bad thing.
#9: Jiro Dreams of Sushi (2011)
PG/82 m/IMDb: 7.8
Let’s begin with the information on the trailer, “At a tiny sushi bar in a Tokyo subway…Jiro is renowned as the world’s greatest sushi chef…Japan has declared him a national treasure…He is the first sushi chef to receive three Michelin Stars…But for Jiro, the journey isn’t over.”
Excellent job, trailer!
This is a delightful movie about 85-year-old sushi chef Jiro, his son and successor, and his legacy.
If you love food, especially sushi, this one is as delicious as (insert your favorite sushi here - I don’t eat the stuff).
#8: The Aristocrats (2005)
UR/89 m/IMDb: 6.4
When I mentioned in the opening that documentaries can be profane, I was referring to The Aristocrats.
Wow.
This one is a LOT.
This documentary is about a joke.
One joke.
One very dirty joke.
As the legend goes, comedian Gilbert Gottfried told a 9/11 joke to an audience at the Friars Club 18 days after the attacks.
Eighteen days is not a very long time.
When the joke did not go over well at all, Gottfried “panicked” and told a joke that has been an inside joke among comedians for generations.
Gil Gottfried pulled back the curtain and told the epic joke “The Aristocrats” to an audience.
It is, without a doubt, the most vile and disgusting joke you will ever hear.
And in this documentary, made by Paul Provenza and Penn Jillette, you get to hear about 100 versions of it.
Yes, it’s disgusting, yes it crosses ALL of the lines (no matter where your lines are!), and yes, it’s hysterical when you see it told by people who tell stories and jokes for a living.
Lewis Black, George Carlin, Phyllis Diller, Penn & Teller, Bob Saget, Sarah Silverman, the Smothers Brothers, Jon Stewart, and so many others (yes Gil Gottfried is here!) tell their version of it and it’s like watching jazz musicians riffing.
It’s amazing to watch if you can sit through it. I bought the DVD because I knew a handful of people who would enjoy it. Make that less than a handful.
I know people who HATED this movie, and I get it. So many people walked out of this movie when it was shown in theaters that several theaters started to make the announcement that there would be NO REFUNDS.
I certainly wouldn’t recommend this to EVERYONE, but I know some of you out there would get a kick out of it.
Oh, and by the way, the joke is about a family that walks into a talent agency and performs their “act” for him.
The punchline, after all of the vulgar and obscene things they do, comes when the talent agent asks them the name of the act. The reply, very simply…
“We’re The Aristocrats!”
#7: Under Our Skin (2008)
UR/104 m/IMDb: 7.8
Since documentaries are made about so many real subjects, chances are you’ll run into some that are more important to you due to your life experience.
Under Our Skin is about Lyme Disease, and I’ve had Lyme Disease twice. The first time I was sick for an entire summer. Spent most of it in bed with a fever (sometimes high), and aches and pains that wouldn’t go away.
I was misdiagnosed over and over. I saw the doctor more than a few times with no help. Later in the summer a family friend who is a nurse noticed a mark on my arm and said, “That’s Lyme Disease! You need to get that taken care of!”
I laugh about it now, but this was not a fun experience. As it turns out, my experience was pretty minor compared to the stories of some of the people in this documentary.
The frustrating part of it all is that, when this was made in 2008, almost HALF of medical doctors didn’t think there was even any such thing as Lyme Disease.
One doctor told the husband of a woman who was literally paralyzed and needed to be fed that she should be taken to a psychiatrist because, “There’s nothing wrong with her. It’s all in her head.”
Maybe this was only interesting to me because I’ve suffered from the disease, but I still think it deserves mention on this list.
#6: The Way Things Go (1987)
NR/30 m/IMDb: 7.6
I can’t think of this movie without thinking of my friend Leenie who taught science on my team for many years at the C.G.S.
This German film, original title: Der Lauf der Dinge, is a mesmerizing and magical 30-minute-long Rube Goldberg machine come to life.
It was filmed in a large vacant warehouse and features all-natural sound, no music, and no dialogue.
There is, however, a lot of chemical reactions, smoke, fire, and explosions.
And there are very few cuts in the 30 minutes, which is amazing.
The structure is 100 feet long and made out of common household items including tea kettles, tires, old shoes, balloons, etc. Add to that fire, water, gravity, and chemistry, and it’s quite impressive!
It was great fun watching this with my classes since parts of it were quite suspenseful. We were constantly trying to figure out what was going to happen next and when it would happen.
#5: Man on Wire (2008)
PG-13/94 m/IMDb: 7.7
When I finally narrowed down this list to my “Baker’s Dozen,” I realized that I own some of these wonderful documentaries on DVD from back in the day when I bought an awful lot of DVDs!
I actually own six of the thirteen, including Man on Wire.
When I re-read the back of the box, I thought I’d just share that with you instead of giving you my two cents since it’s pretty much what I was going to try to say.
“On August 7th, 1974, a young Frenchman named Phillippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between the New York World Trade Center’s Twin Towers. After dancing for nearly an hour on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. This extraordinary documentary incorporates Petit’s personal footage to show how he overcame seemingly insurmountable challenges to achieve the artistic crime of the century.”
As a native New Yorker, it was fun seeing 1974 New York on film in all of its dirty glory, and it was obviously bittersweet seeing the Twin Towers when they were only a year old.
As a person who suffers from acrophobia, parts of this were extremely hard to watch.
Petit is quite a character, and to see him tell the tale of this thrilling day is great fun.
And the back of the box wasn’t lying, he was dancing up there on that wire over 1,300 feet above the ground.
#4: The Bridge (2006)
R/94 m/IMDb: 7.2
This is another powerful documentary dealing with a difficult subject. The Bridge deals with suicide, in particular those that were carried out at the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco.
Sad to say that the Golden Gate Bridge is one of the most popular suicide spots in the world. It is number one in the United States and second in the world to the Aokigahara Forest in Japan.
Not a ranking you’d like to be included on.
During the filming of this documentary, there were 24 Golden Gate suicides.
What I enjoyed about this documentary is how it focused on mental health and suicide prevention. The interviews with victims’ families are painful to watch, but this film was looking for answers while being compassionate to those involved.
Due in part to this film, bridge patrols were ramped up to help intervene in possible attempts, and “Suicide Deterrent Nets” began being installed in 2018 at the bridge and should be completed this year.
When I did a Google search to see if the nets had been installed, the first thing that popped up was the 988 number and a “Help is Available” message.
That was good to see since it’s true. Help is always available.
#3: Super Size Me (2004)
PG-13/100 m/IMDb: 7.2
This is another film that reminds me of my teaching days because after its release in 2004, I talked about it and showed segments of it to every class I had after that.
You may not think it by looking at me, but I do not eat fast food. I have in the past, but I just don’t do it. I had a 15-year non-fast-food streak broken on my birthday a few years ago by a student who had her dad drop off a Big Mac, large fries, and vanilla shake for me after hearing my story.
I was so touched by the gesture that I ate it all (and suffered the consequences).
Super Size Me is a cautionary documentary that is also very funny about the evils of fast food and its effects on our bodies.
Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock put himself through a “McDonald’s only” diet for thirty straight days, and this film documents it in graphic detail (including a scene in which he vomits). There’s even vomiting in documentaries!
Spurlock’s rule was that he could only ingest anything that was sold at McDonald’s, so there was no pain relief in sight for him when he didn’t feel well.
He also had to automatically say yes anytime he was asked if he’d like his order “Supersized,” and that caused a lot of difficulty on its own, as you would imagine. The sizes of those “Supersized” orders were way too much for any one person to ingest in one sitting.
Spurlock’s spleen and liver were negatively affected, his doctors pleaded with him to stop, he gained over 24 pounds, and he ingested over 7 pounds of SUGAR!
The most fascinating part of this documentary was included in the bonus features. Spurlock took the following and placed them in glass cookie jars in his office: McDonald’s Quarter Pounder, McDonald’s cheeseburger, McDonald’s Filet of Fish, McDonald’s fries, a “restaurant” hamburger, and an order of “restaurant” fries.
After a week, the restaurant food was well on its way to decomposition, breaking down and getting moldy and nasty.
The McDonald’s food looked brand new after a week. And after two weeks. And after three weeks. And after a month.
There’s a reason for that, and it has to do with organic matter vs. preservatives.
I’m not going to say that fast food in any amount is bad, but it’s definitely poison when eaten as a matter of course.
You can’t eat this stuff regularly and be healthy.
#2: The Endurance (2000)
G/97 m/IMDb: 7.8
The Endurance tells the harrowing story of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s 1914 expedition to be the first to cross the Antarctic continent.
Shackleton’s ship, The Endurance, becomes beset in the ice off the coast of Antarctica and eventually crushed.
Shackleton and his crew survived for 635 days and nights without proper shelter or rations in extremely harsh conditions.
After about 16 months, Shackleton leaves in a small boat with a few crewmembers to get help and tells his crew he’ll be back.
He returned with help 128 days later, and not one member of his crew was surprised. To paraphrase a crewmember, “He told us he’d be back to save us, we knew he’d be back to save us.”
An unbelievable story of courage and leadership. Sir Ernest Shackleton belongs on the Mt. Rushmore of leadership.
The head next to him would be that of Mark Messier. The greatest and only real captain in sports history.
I’ve been waiting for a dramatic movie to be made about this expedition for a long time. Nothing yet. I also wished for the story of the U.S.S. Indianapolis on the big screen, and when I finally got that, it starred Nick Cage and I never saw it.
Be careful what you wish for, I guess.
And that leaves us with the #1 ranked documentary according to Cinema Wellman…
#1: 13th (2016)
NR/100 m/IMDb: 8.2
I wish I could also say that I showed this important documentary to my classes after its release in 2016, but I would never have been allowed to do so.
School administration at my building was so lacking that I would have been reprimanded or worse for screening this for my 8th graders even though it was a truthful film that they should definitely see.
13th is, according to IMDb “An in-depth look at the prison system in the United States and how it reveals the nation’s history of racial inequality.”
Filmmaker Ava DuVernay’s unflinching look at our country’s systematic racism and its pivot from slavery to prison inmate forced labor is tremendous and it should be shown in high schools across the country.
It’s an amazing story of injustice, inequality, racism, and frustration about how it still exists in America.
Documentaries don’t always make you smile, but the great ones always make you think.
That is a wrap for our Baker’s Dozen of Top Docs here at Cinema Wellman.
We hope you join us next week when our City Spotlight shines on our first international cinematic city as we present “City Spotlight: Paris.”
Hope to see you in Paris, and until then, take care.
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