Movie Theater Great Documentaries?

[sirhrmechanic]

Ok... so the 'Hollywood Sucks" thread started by Arrmyjerry gave me an idea for a new thread here. Which is to post great documentaries that are on YouTube, Netflix, Hulu... any of the streaming services. Or as DVD sets...

I watch almost no regular TV these days. I stream old documentaries via a Roku or a firestick. Or from YouTube. There are decades of superb documentaries out there. From back when they were made 'right' not just a bunch of reality TV crap we see now on the faux-educational channels. Typically I start something running on YouTube and then let it autoplay 'whatever's next.' I've stumbled on to some amazing documentaries that way!

Don't have to be war or military or sniper related. Just the stuff you found interesting or educational or worth watching!

I'll start with some of the most iconic and some of my favorites.

Victory at Sea (NBC's post WW2 history of the War Years, naturally focusing on the Navy."
World at War. BBC series on WW2
Cosmos (Carl Sagan version, not that idiot Dyson or whatever who wishes he was Carl Sagan.) It's an utterly amazing series.
Stephen Hawking's Universe (c. 1997 PBS show on cosmology)
The 10,000 Day war. Canadian documentary on Vietnam.
The Fog of War (Errol Morris interview with Robert McNamara)
Horatio's Drive. A Ken Burns Documentary that will get your 'wanderlust' going for sure!
Around the World in 80 Days. Michael Palin's trip around the world in the early 1980s. Masterful.
Rhodes (Docu-Drama about Cecil Rhodes)
SAS The Search for Warriors (About the Australian SAS selection process. Following a class of selectees.)
The Oil Fires of Kuwait (originally an Imax movie about the operation to extinguish the desert in 1991.)

I have many, many more... but this should get the list started.

There is a lifetime worth of free and educational entertainment out there on YouTube alone.... so who needs Hollywood B.S.? When you can learn something about history or the world around us... while getting entertained as all hell!! A good documentary is as good as anything Hollywood created in their heyday.

Cheers,

Sirhr

 

[Slapchop]

I got rid of cable several years ago as well. Never looked back. Now my main source of TV programming is Amazon Video and Hulu.

In any event, I just finished watching "Active Shooter: America Under Fire" on Amazon. Its an 8 part series that chronicles some of the worst mass shootings in the country. Surprisingly enough, it does not get into the politics of gun control at all. It mainly focuses on the impact that these events had on the victims and first responders and how the survivors go on with their lives. Very powerful documentary.

 

[shootist2004]

Civil War- ken Burns
Gimme Shelter
Shermans March to the sea
Decline of Western Civilization
Aileen:Life and death of a Serial Killer
Montery Pop
The Cove
Shoah
Restepo
The Fog of War
Hearts of darkness
Woodstock
March of the Penquins
Paradise Lost

 

[OzTRG]

Battle of Long Tan . Narrated by Sam Worthington. Great doco on YouTube about Australian troops in a famous fire fight.

 

[_Windrider_]

The Secret of Oz

 

[ArmyJerry]

The PRIZE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1stQW6i1Ko

Before you can watch any human events documentary about anything since our Civil War you should be required to read this book or watch the pbs documentary, I am heavily involved in the oil business and deal in billions of dollars a week you must watch this to understand things as they are today and view events through the proper lens. All events since that day in Pensy are derived from or related to the quest for energy. Even today it is the last cowboy industry left, all else has been regulated to death or controlled by oligarchies, energy is not.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1stQW6i1Ko

 

[308pirate]

When We Left Earth, narrated by Gary Sinise. 100% NASA archival footage, some of it so stunning it will leave you breathless. The absolute coolest thing is that when you see an astronaut or NASA controller doing something in the footage, the scene is often followed by that same man narrating/describing some insights from that moment. Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, Jim Lovell, Frank Borman, John Young, Bob Crippen, Scott Carpenter, Gene Cernan, Bruce McCandless, Bill Anders, Jim McDivitt, Gene Krantz, Chris Craft, John Glenn, Glynn Lunney and more are featured in the documentary as they were in 2007 when this was filmed

Used to be freely available on Amazon Video, now getting hard to find.

If you can somehow save a copy, I highly recommend it.

Excerpts still available on youtube

Here's chapters 1 and 2 in their entirety:

 

[quietmike]

Happy People: A year in the taiga

A documentary following people in a remote Siberian village who mostly live like its the 1800s.

Very hard work, rough conditions, and a meager existence (by our standards), but everyone is content.

One of my all time favorites.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Stumbled upon this over the weekend. Fantastic... more of a lecture than a documentary. But this guy is hilarious! It's as if the SR 71 pilot was Larry the Cable Guy. That's funny right there!

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Just watched "Into the Amazon" on PBS. Story of the Roosevelt expedition into the Amazon.

Amazing... the toughness of men of that era is mind-boggling.

Well worth watching...

Cheers,

Sirhr

 

[Strykervet]

You didn't have "The Fighting Season" on there. Embed with Abn. troops in A'stan. They don't cut out the language, it's how soldiers talk. For the civvie crowd, they show caps at the bottom of the screen to explain what "TOC" or "MASCAS" or whatever so everyone can understand it. They take fire, some do better than others, and if you were former infantry, you need to watch it. You'll be an armchair general halfway through the first episode, promise. It'll also show you the amazingly hard job some of them have in training and trusting ANA and ANP, how they can seldom fire back, etc.

 

[Forgetful Coyote]

You didn't have "The Fighting Season" on there. Embed with Abn. troops in A'stan. They don't cut out the language, it's how soldiers talk. For the civvie crowd, they show caps at the bottom of the screen to explain what "TOC" or "MASCAS" or whatever so everyone can understand it. They take fire, some do better than others, and if you were former infantry, you need to watch it. You'll be an armchair general halfway through the first episode, promise. It'll also show you the amazingly hard job some of them have in training and trusting ANA and ANP, how they can seldom fire back, etc.

x2 awesome show

 

[timesublime]

^^I cannot find this one at the library. Where did you watch it?

 

[hollowoutadime]

Netflix has 'the Fighting Season", watched most of it last night. IMHO, they need better optics while out on patrol.

 

[WATERWALKER]

Apocalypse: WW1. Well worth the time spent. The series starts w/ politics & current events which led to the Great War til it’s conclusion.

 

[sandwarrior]

I googled Restrepo, which I watched, and another one came up which was about the battle at Camp Keating. It's also called the battle of Kamdesh Vallery.

I find it amazing, we put these soldiers in this situation then play the blame game with mid level commanders/officers. Who were NOT the ones who decided to establish that, or in many cases, those, outposts. Of course, the level of support is lacking for the outpost as well.

 

[sirhrmechanic]

The PRIZE


Before you can watch any human events documentary about anything since our Civil War you should be required to read this book or watch the pbs documentary, I am heavily involved in the oil business and deal in billions of dollars a week you must watch this to understand things as they are today and view events through the proper lens. All events since that day in Pensy are derived from or related to the quest for energy. Even today it is the last cowboy industry left, all else has been regulated to death or controlled by oligarchies, energy is not.

yeah, Daniel Yergin's book (and the video) are among the finest documentaries made. I used to have it on VHS!!!! Now free on YouTube. I watch every couple of years. And always pick up a new Nuance.

Amazing, amazing book, too!

Cheers,

Sirhr

 

[sirhrmechanic]

When We Left Earth, narrated by Gary Sinise. 100% NASA archival footage, some of it so stunning it will leave you breathless. The absolute coolest thing is that when you see an astronaut or NASA controller doing something in the footage, the scene is often followed by that same man narrating/describing some insights from that moment. Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, Jim Lovell, Frank Borman, John Young, Bob Crippen, Scott Carpenter, Gene Cernan, Bruce McCandless, Bill Anders, Jim McDivitt, Gene Krantz, Chris Craft, John Glenn, Glynn Lunney and more are featured in the documentary as they were in 2007 when this was filmed

Used to be freely available on Amazon Video, now getting hard to find.

If you can somehow save a copy, I highly recommend it.

Excerpts still available on youtube

Here's chapters 1 and 2 in their entirety:

I think I might have seen bits of this... but this is going on my weekend watch list! This looks awesome!

The Right Stuff is still one of my favorite movies, ever. But reality is even better than the movie!

Cheers,

Sirhr

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Afghanistan: The Great Game, by Rory Stewart....

Fascinating history of why Afghanistan keeps being at the crossroads of invasion....

Cheers,

Sirhr

 

[308pirate]

I think I might have seen bits of this... but this is going on my weekend watch list! This looks awesome!

The Right Stuff is still one of my favorite movies, ever. But reality is even better than the movie!

Cheers,

Sirhr

I linked to episodes 1 and 2 on the tube. The others are hard to find for free and you may have to contact Discovery to see if you can buy it.

Hell, the score, by Richard Blair-Oliphant is outstanding on its own and incredible when combined with the footage.

It is WORTH IT. Spectacular.

 

[sandwarrior]

The legend of Y-29 is one of the most captivating stories I've ever seen on the P-51 Mustang

 

[sirhrmechanic]

I linked to episodes 1 and 2 on the tube. The others are hard to find for free and you may have to contact Discovery to see if you can buy it.

Hell, the score, by Richard Blair-Oliphant is outstanding on its own and incredible when combined with the footage.

It is WORTH IT. Spectacular.

I had this on in the shop today and was enthralled, but I was running a couple of machine tools and not paying attention. This weekend... I'm going to watch for sure! Thanks! Sirhr

 

[sirhrmechanic]

Hell, the score, by Richard Blair-Oliphant is outstanding on its own.

Funny, there was one part in the 'space music' score during an emergency scene during a Mercury mission that had me checking my lathe and looking for chatter... it was synched perfectly with a barrel turning... and I thought I had a big chatter. I was running the rheostat and checking the tool head... then realized it was on the ROKU Tv behind me. Funny as hell.

Cheers,

Sirhr

 

[308pirate]

Dude you will thank me for the tip

"Nobody knew where I was after my flight, but I knew exactly where I was"
Commander Malcolm Scott Carpenter, USN
Aurora 7 pilot and a fucking stud