[Aurora]

Anyone recommend any documentaries on philosophy, astronomy, or conspiracy?
Im all out. Ive watched so many lately, I think Im obsessed. I need a new one to watch.

 

[IHeartSteveMcQueen]

its doesn't really fall under any of those categories, but Spike Lee's When The Levees Broke sheds incredible light on hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. It made me angry and it made me cry, just some of the images and stories are so frustrating and heartbreaking. Definitely one of the best documentaries I have ever seen.

 

[SoloSage]

I guess you've already watched the Zeitgeist documentaries, if you haven't, give them a go. "Who killed the electric car" is also pretty good. "Stephen Hawkins' Universe" is also a pretty good documentary series - I think there are 7 different episodes in the series. Theses are the only ones I can think of atm.

 

[ThirdEyeGrind]

The Obama Deception is pretty good. Even though you feel sorta like a conspiracy nut while watching it.

 

[SilentLoner]

I like all of Michael Moore's documentaries.
Some other favorites of mine:
Dark Days
The God Who Wasn't There
The Root of All Evil

I'm also a fan of faux (fake) documentaries, my favorites are Death of a President and Curse of the Blair Witch - a SciFi "documentary" on the events of the Blair Witch Project. I wasn't too fond of the movie but the documentary is very worth watching and entertaining. Scary even! Whole thing is up on youtube if you want to see it.

 

[EagerMinnow84]

Capturing the Friedmans is very good.
If you want to feel like your heart has been ripped out of your chest and stepped on repeatedly, watch Dear Zachary: A Letter To A Son About His Father.

 

[IHeartSteveMcQueen]

oh yeah Capturing the Friedman's thats a good one, sooooooooo uncomfortable.

 

[huh]

Not necessarily all are from the topics you requested, but they are some of the better ones I've seen...

Nova - Elegant Universe
Guns, Germs, and Steel
History of Disbelief
Manufacturing Consent
Orwell Rolls in His Grave

 

[redtogo72]

its doesn't really fall under any of those categories, but Spike Lee's When The Levees Broke sheds incredible light on hurricane Katrina in New Orleans. It made me angry and it made me cry, just some of the images and stories are so frustrating and heartbreaking. Definitely one of the best documentaries I have ever seen.

I thought When The Levees Broke was amazing too. I'm a big Spike Lee fan so maybe I'm a little biased. I live in New Orleans and thought that it captured a lot of the thoughts and emotions I was dealing with after the storm. I know a few didn't care for it because it was either too focused on lower/middle class, New Orleans residents, or other reasons. I've only really seen it once when it originally aired and I don't think I could ever watch it again.

I'd recommend The Universe series on the History channel (US station). 3 seasons have aired. I think now you can find all of the episodes on dvd or itunes.
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=54036

 

[pita]

My recent favourites are Radiant City, which is a semi-mocumentary about suburbs, and Living City: A Critical Guide, which is all about the livability of major Canadian cities. I'm wild for anything related to urban and regional planning, although I don't have much to recommend in the categories you mentioned, unfortunately.

I watched Jesus Camp the other day and I found it really upsetting. Sobbing children are too much for me.

 

[bezoomny]

I'd recommend The Universe series on the History channel (US station). 3 seasons have aired. I think now you can find all of the episodes on dvd or itunes.
http://www.history.com/minisite.do?content_type=mini_home&mini_id=54036

Agreed. This is one of my favorite TV shows, always makes you think and keeps it understandable. Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson is a badass.

 

[nubly]

yes yes yes. i'll come back later tonight for the name but its about radical muslims. i received a free dvd through the mail a few months ago but the docu was done around 2004-2006.

 

[Aurora]

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[Aurora]

I watched Jesus Camp the other day and I found it really upsetting. Sobbing children are too much for me.

I found Jesus Camp very upsetting too. It disgusted me.

 

[EagerMinnow84]

I found Jesus Camp very upsetting too. It disgusted me.

That was upsetting. I felt so bad for those kids, all of that pressure and responsibility that their parents and pastors put on them. It's rather sick.

oh yeah Capturing the Friedman's thats a good one, sooooooooo uncomfortable.

It was and it was very thought provoking.

Man on Wire is a great documentary. Highly recommended!

 

[hyacinth_dragon]

Wow thanx for all your replies! Im going to check em out.

Some of my faves (That Ive seen) are:

Planet Earth series
The Life of Birds (I like birds okay? lol)

Zeitgiest & Addendum
The Illuminati
Esoteric Agenda
Kymatica
The Pharmacratic Inquisition
2012 Science or Superstition

Cosmos

Philosophy - A guide to Happiness
The life of Buddha
This Primacy of Conciousness
Thunderbolts of the Gods

Pale Blue Dot
Decoding the past
Supermassive Black Holes
Parallel Universes
Dangerous Knowledge

Richard dawkins - The Root of all Evil
Richard dawkins - Enemies of Reason
(Even though I find Dawkins very arrogant, I still find the subject interesting)
The God who wasnt there

Ones Im watching now:
Nova - The Elegant Universe
Origins - The Earth is Born

Great documentary selection, I miss having the Discovery Channel and TLC, ( I miss having tv) so I could watch that kind of thing.

 

[Aurora]

*

 

[reify]

Man on Wire is a great documentary. Highly recommended!

Man on Wire, I saw that! The part where he decided the only way to find the wire was to take all his clothes off and flail around on the floor... what an unusual person. But it worked!

I liked NOVA's Elegant Universe, about String Theory, although that theory is not as prominent as it once was, kindof out of date now. It was pretty accessible if you just kindof go with it and don't try to think too hard.

Not a documentary, but I absolutely loved reading Fast Food Nation. Soo much better than Supersize Me. You learn pretty much everything you never knew you wanted to know about fast food and fast food chains, the history and how it is intertwined in all sorts of things in modern politics etc etc. A lot wider impact than I ever imagined. Plus the inevitable cow becomes burger description which was gross, but I think necessary.

Edit: So I totally missed the part where you already said you were watching Elegant Universe, Aurora. What do you think of it?

 

[dax]

Dr. Neil deGrasse Tyson is a badass.

haha he wicked is. :yes

Two I've seen and would recommend are Supersize Me and Fog of War.

 

[seanybhoy]

Yeah Morgan Spurlock and Micheal Moore documentaries are really good.

In an unrelated subject another documentary i found intriguing yet really upsetting was " The boy whose skin fell off ".