5 Documentaries Worth Documenting

Hoop Dreams (1994) – A heartbreaking film that captures the hopelessness and disheartening existence of an inner city ghetto. The only way out for Arthur Agee and William Gates, the two subjects of the film, is basketball. Talent is not enough. Luck and other external forces like poverty, bad parenting, and precocious responsibilities can hold you back. The astonishing commitment and patience of the directors is demonstrated over a 5 year course as life happens to the 2 athletes. It’s amazing how fast 3 hours flies by watching this. The commentary on the DVD is funny and informative.

Hearts and Minds (1974) – I find the Vietnam programs very hard to watch on the History Channel. Maybe it’s because the geography of the battles are harder to understand than Antietam or Iwo Jima. Maybe it’s because the scars left from the war still affect many of my family members. This one is fascinating to watch, however, because it seems to encompass all the important events, images, and videos of the war. From the napalm girl to the prisoner getting his brains blown out, it’s all here – presented with a blood-soaked, guilt-ridden bow. When my kids ask me what Vietnam was, I’ll start with this DVD. Note: There is strong nudity in one scene, apparently gratuitous at first, but I feel the scene is just another example of how America exploited Vietnam and its people.

Hearts of Darkness (1991) – The making of Apocalypse Now pretty much did Francis Ford Coppola in. He’s never recovered, falling from on high after an unmatched decade of excellence (only 1950s Hitchcock is in the same ball park). Eleanor Coppola accumulated behind-the-scenes footage of her husband and the troubling experience. This is perhaps the best movie about the artistic process ever made. The most memorable scene involves the Philippine government ordering the helicopters Coppola was using away from the film so they can use them to fight an uprising. Other great scenes show Coppola’s frustration with Marlon Brando as well as himself for spending so much time and money without a concrete ending. Unfortunately, it’s not yet released on DVD. No Direction Home (2005) –If I could apply the word “genius” to only one living filmmaker and one musician, it would be Martin Scorsese and Bob Dylan. When I heard Scorsese was hired to assemble unused documentary footage of Dylan, it was the equivalent of the Jessicas Alba, Biel, and Simpson asking me for a four-way. The movie is nearly 3 ½ hours beginning with Dylan’s childhood in Minnesota, continuing through his transformative Woody Guthrie phase, and into his early and mid 60s virtuosity. It’s centered on a 1966 performance in England where he played acoustic songs during the first half, and turned electric in the second half (which did not please the audience). The narration and songs are filled with so many brilliant ideas and deep thoughts that it’s hard to digest it all. Much of the film is spent on showing how uncomfortable Dylan was becoming a leader in the political changes in the 60s. He withdrew from politics and refused to be labeled by the media and fans. As a bonus, the movie also serves as terrific review of one the most turbulent decades in American History.
The Thin Blue Line (1988) – All of Errol Morris’s films are worth watching, but this one is my favorite. It involves the case of Randall Adams, a man on death row in Dallas who was convicted of killing a Dallas police officer in 1976. The circumstantial evidence was shaky and the police were pressured to swiftly solve the case for political reasons. Their only other suspect (David Harris, the actual murderer) was too young to execute. Morris’s reenactment of the crime was groundbreaking at the time as was the use of a score (by Philip Glass). A frightening example of the abuse of power and misuse of the judicial system.

Note: This film was not eligible for the Best Documentary Oscar because of its scripted content. 14 years later, Michael Moore won Best Original Screenplay by the Writer’s Guild of America for Bowling for Columbine, which went on to win the Best Documentary Oscar.