Looking for Documentary recommendations

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RCBH928
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Looking for Documentary recommendations

Post by RCBH928 »

I would appreciate any recommendation for tech, business, or history documentaries. I have already watched BBS documentary, indie game the movie, i think the King of Kong, Silicon Cowboys. There was an Amiga documentary that I wanted to see but I think the reviewers were upset because it was mostly people talking to the camera. I also watched Rise of the Ottoman Empire on Netflix which was good and currently Roman Empire but I don't think I will continue this one because its seems more concerned to create an extended tv show more than talk about the history part of it.

I want to join CuriosityStream but I am afraid the content is limited and underwhelming while most of it is available on YouTube. Free content from channels like Technology Connections, Techmoan, and LGR are really great, I would say its on par with tech tv shows form the 90s...which I like.
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PretentiousHipster
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Re: Looking for Documentary recommendations

Post by PretentiousHipster »

Black Harvest is my 3rd favourite film of all time and my favourite doc. I guess it can count as a business documentary as it's about a man opening his 2nd coffee plantation in New Guinea. However, it has so many twists and turns, and ends up becoming something that no one will expect.

The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu is good for history. Only uses footage approved by him when he was the leader.

The Great White Silence is another history documentary about the expedition to Antarctica in 1910.
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isiolia
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Re: Looking for Documentary recommendations

Post by isiolia »

If you haven't watched The Toys that Made Us on Netflix that might be one to check out.
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racketboy
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Re: Looking for Documentary recommendations

Post by racketboy »

Ones I've enjoyed on Netflix
Abstract: The Art of Design (series)
American Factory
The Pixar Story
The Toys That Made Us (series)
The Movies That Made Us (series)
Inside Bill's Brain (series) [Bill Gates]
Jack of all Trades [Baseball Cards]

They used to have one on the story of Compaq (can't remember the name exactly), but I don't see it there anymore
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Re: Looking for Documentary recommendations

Post by marurun »

For lighter fare, Netflix is great, but be wary of anything purporting to address health claims or important issues. Netflix has been very willing to pick up some highly questionable "documentaries" because they are entertaining drama.
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RCBH928
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Re: Looking for Documentary recommendations

Post by RCBH928 »

Thanks for the suggestion guys!

marurun wrote:For lighter fare, Netflix is great, but be wary of anything purporting to address health claims or important issues. Netflix has been very willing to pick up some highly questionable "documentaries" because they are entertaining drama.


Yes, I tend to refrain from anything that seems to be riding the wave, being dramatic, or biased towards a political or social stand. I would like to view things that are more concerned with the facts and knowledge part of it. The other ones that I avoid are about negligible things, there is a mini series documentary about how a group of online people caught a guy who tortures cats online. If it entertains you ok, but... I don't consider that a documentary. It seems that people are willing to make a documentary about anything nowadays.
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Re: Looking for Documentary recommendations

Post by Ziggy »

Becoming Bond was a very fun documentary on how and why George Lazenby starred as James Bond for only 1 film. It's almost an autobiography, since George pretty much narrates the entire thing. I think it's an interesting enough story for anyone, but definitely a must-watch if you're a Bond fan. This is a Hulu exclusive.

History of the Eagles is a very well-made documentary of the band The Eagles (and if Luke was here he would say what he always says when I bring up the Eagles). As far as band documentaries go, this is the best one I've ever seen. Just the way it's edited, it's very entertaining to watch. Most other band documentaries I've seen where very boring to watch. This documentary makes me want to sell all of my possessions, with the exceptions of my musical stuff, move to California and try to "make it" in a rock band. This was on NetFlix, but I don't know if it still is.

Room 237 is a documentary about the movie The Shining. Stanley Kubrick's films are.. well, they're Kubrick films. You can pick them apart and come up with a million different meanings for things. Room 237 explores many theories of what exactly is going on in the movie The Shining. I find this documentary very fun to watch. There's something about it, maybe just the way it's edited, that makes it feel like you're really uncovering hidden meanings within the movie. I've seen this come and go on various streaming services, not sure where it's available now.

The Men Who Built America was a miniseries that aired on The History Channel. Vaderbilt, Rockefeller, Carnegie, JP Morgan, Edison, Henry Ford. These people all died ~100 years ago, and they are still household names. This documentary explains why. I don't know how historically accurate it is, but it was pretty entertaining.

These next ones aren't so much documentaries, but along those lines.

Dark Matters: Twisted But True is a series I use to watch back when I had cable. Each episode is a couple of short (true) stories, and the stories are all something slightly or completely horrific. Narrated by John Noble (Walter Bishop from Fringe) with recreations for each story.

Select episodes of How It's Made stream on Hulu or NetFlix, and I think you can even catch some of them on YouTube. I've always enjoyed watching this one.

If you like Technology connections, LGR, et cetera (those are all great channels!) then you may also like The Computer Chronicles. This is a TV show that aired from 1983 to 2002, and a lot of the episodes are on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/user/ComputerChroniclesYT/about
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Re: Looking for Documentary recommendations

Post by Jagosaurus »

Check out these YT channels. 2 of my favorites.

LGR - Tech Tales
https://youtu.be/a0EU7sb4BVc

Dark Docs
https://youtu.be/EKFL6DdWwiM

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Re: Looking for Documentary recommendations

Post by emwearz »

If you are a fan of 80's horror, In Search of Darkness is fantastic.
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Ziggy
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Re: Looking for Documentary recommendations

Post by Ziggy »

emwearz wrote:If you are a fan of 80's horror, In Search of Darkness is fantastic.


I'd love to check that one out (as well as the upcoming In Search of Tomorrow) but it seems the only way to get it is a limited release Blu Ray from the official site.
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