Best Documentaries in a DVD so far?

[ianlow]

Lets get some views on this ...

My personal favs:

1. Casablanca - Short but informative and features a number of surviving crew and cast to reminisce. As magical as the film itself.

2. Lawrence of Arabia/Bridge on the River Kwai - Laurent Bouzareau's documentaries are brilliantly insightful and they come in a pair for David Lean's masterpieces.

3. Cleopatra - 2 hrs for a documentary? Well, despite a flawed film, the making of seems to be even more interesting than the actual movie!

4. Ben-Hur - Wonderfully detailed and examines earlier incarnations of the movie as well. This is one that really gears you up to watching the actual movie!

5. North by Northwest - Well hosted by Eva Maries Saint, it traces the movie from inception till its release. Charming, light and informative.

6. Rear Window - Another Hitchcock classic getting a well informed making of feature, this time by Bouzareau himself. Touches on restoration itself.

7. ID4 mock invasion news broadcast - Out of 3 documentaries, this was the most innovative and fun. But it loses its lustre when it switches to normal making of mode.

8. World of 007 on Goldeneye - Well not focused on the bond flick in question, it actually gives a overview of all the bond films up to that point, plus behind scenes of Goldeneye and hosted by a luscious Liza Hurley.

9. The Sound of Music - As again, Fox delivers a great documentary pulled from its original LD release. In depth and includes actual Von Trapp family members.

10. Bloodsport from Gladiator - Not focused on the film, but the roman sport that it was based on. It feels like a discovery channel piece and thoroughly educational and enhances the enjoyment of the actual movie

[deepfry]

I have the two Walking With Dinosaurs discs and they are just fantastic.

[TheJeffy]

That Moment: Magnolia Diary is my personal favorite. Just amazing.

In 2nd place would be the wonderful documentary for On Golden Pond

Some honorable mentions:

Walking the Tracks: The Summer of Stand By Me

Pink Floyd The Wall (the newer 2-parter documentary)

My least favorite is the edited documentary for Jaws. Thank goodness I still have the 2 hr, 17 minute original on tape from laserdisc. (and yes I signed the petition )

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Jeff
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Experience is the toughest teacher. You get the test first and the lesson later.

View my incredibly diverse collection

[dvdrcha]

The "Field of Dreams" documentary is one of the best I've seen. It showed interviews with all the major actors, the writer of the original short story, and the part where Phil Alden Robinson is talking about his insecurities intercut with the cast members praising him, is just hilarious. Plus, towards the end I thought the one-on-one with Robinson and James Horner was fantastic where they talk about the score and the different musical themes. Excellent.

[mbowen]

I'd have to vote for;

"The Hampster Factor..." from the 12 Monkeys SE

"Full Tilt Boogie" from the From Dusk Till Dawn SE

Both excellent, with the latter really taking on it's own personality. It doesn't focus so much (like many others do) on SPFX shots and actor interviews. It really relays what it's like to make an indie picture from more of a "crew" perspective. Very cool.

[DrDetroit]

The Criterion edition of Brazil has two great documentaries: "What is Brazil?" and "The Battle of Brazil". The former is great because of the incredible Michael Palin bit on it ("You'll 'ave to see Mistuh Katzenburg"), and the latter is great because of its informative interviews.

[black__omega]

Ah. I'm rather fond of the documentary on The Abyss and Magnolia.

[esc]

i think the new documentary(s) on Superman I went above and beyond the call of duty.

Vertigo, Psycho and The Hampster Factor are great too.

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I'm just not used to being chased around the mall
in the middle of the night by killer robots.
-Linda, Chopping Mall

[Seckin]

I liked the one on It's a Wonderful Life.Although it was not really long, it was quite enjoyable to watch.

North By Northwest documentary was cool, too. In my opinion, the best one up to date (It is also my favorite film)

Brazil..Well, what can I say?

Two other Hitchcock films have to be mentioned here..Vertigo and Psycho.. Great documentaries in both, but what I loved was the alternate ending in Vertigo.

It's a shame that these moviess are not treated better and have any kinds of documentaries:

Sneakers
Shock Corridor
Amadeus
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Forever Young

The ones on Braveheart, the Green Mile, Notting Hill were not really long. The Braveheart documentary was for publicity reasons anyways.


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seckin