Documentary HOF

[seanc]

Mushroom needed till the 6th. You need more time than that?

[neiba]

No, I'll try to be done before New Year's Eve!

[Nope1172]

Baraka
Watching this film was a very trippy experience. The film made me feel incredibly relaxed and I just kind of dazed off. This could possibly be the most beautiful film I have ever seen. Every single shot was breathtaking. That being said this wasn't necessarily the film for me. I 100% respect the filmmakers and can see why people love this film, but I prefer a narrative. I still enjoyed the movie, but I will probably put it somewhere towards the end of my list.
rating_3_5-

[Citizen Rules]

What did you think of the scenes inside the chicken factory? With the baby chicks getting their upper beaks burnt off and then dropped down a chute?

[Swan]

That scene means a lot to me, because one time I was mistaken for a baby chicken and almost had that happen to me. Thankfully they noticed I was white and probably dumb, and no one wants to eat dumdum chicken or even swan meat, so they let me go.

[Citizen Rules]

Ha!

Swan did you know that if a baby chick is yellow it will go up to be a white chicken? (not kidding, I use to have chickens)

[Swan]

I didn't. Maybe I'm secretly a chicken then, and am fooling myself. :(

[Nope1172]

What did you think of the scenes inside the chicken factory? With the baby chicks getting their upper beaks burnt off and then dropped down a chute?
I forgot to mention that. My favorite part of the movie was when people were compared to chicks.

[Thursday Next]

Beauty Day

I would never watch a show like Cap'n Video's, someone doing dangerous stunts just doesn't appeal to me. However, that doesn't mean he doesn't make a good subject for a documentary. This was a well made film, easy to watch and interesting enough. What makes someone want to do crazy stunts like these? I'm none the wiser after watching this, but I was fairly entertained for an hour and a half.

All films watched and list submitted :)

[neiba]

Last Train Home

Heart wretching. Migrations is a subject that interests me a lot, so I've seen dozens of documentaries about that.
This one is one of the most impressive I've seen so far. The fact that it focus so much on who's left behind is amazing, because it solves, in part, one of the mains problems with observatory docs - the Schrodinger cat effect:
When you shoot a subject like this one, it's impossible to have everyone behaving exactly like the camera was not there, even when you live with the family for some time, which most directors do. The 2 kids, Qin and Yang have a lot less filters. You can see how they are disconnected from their parents who are giving away their lives so they can have a better life and education. The fact that Qin eventually distances herself from that education is a painful and sad irony. To me, one of the strongest docs on the HoF, thanks Sane.

[Friendly Mushroom!]

I just have Leni left so I'll send in my list before Monday.

[neiba]

I finished the first half of Leni. I'll finish the rest tomorrow and I'll send my list.

But this is probably the best nomination of the HoF.

[neiba]

The Wonderful Horrible Life of Reni Riefenstahl (Ray Müller, 1993)

What a woman...
Having watched Triumph of the Will, my opinion on Leni Riefenstahl was not the best! I knew she was technically gifted but it was easy to just say she was a Nazi therefore not worthy of any acclaim whatsoever!
The fact is that it's not that simple and this documentary shows it perfeclty. I find it, first of all, an amazing testimony to how things started in Nazi Germany! What was the opinion everyone had of Hitler before the killing spree began, how he raised to power and how easy it is now to criticize everyone who "let" him do what he did. The fact that Triumph of the Will won so many awards outside Germany is the first clear sign that she wasn't in the minority.
I believe Leni had an obsession for the male body as the perfect element of beauty, but I don't think that's a fascist ideal. Every artist has something that awakens his/her creativity and the male body was Leni's thing. Being she as athletic as an actress as she was, it's easy to understand that!

Now, she may have been a sympathizer of the Third Reich, I don't buy the idea that she was completely unaware of what was happening around her. But I believe she prefered to ignore it, as many did. There are examples of great artists that worked closely with dictators and that realized afterwards their mistakes. Beethoven admired Napoleon until he started invading countries, Shostakovich loved Lenin and was the government main composer. Riefenstahl was not the first nor will be the last artist being used in regime propaganda without understanding the full meaning of her own work.

I believe that what has been done to her for the past 70 years is incredibly unfair.

Amazing nom CR!

[neiba]

List submitted!

[Camo]

Yeah, i watched Beauty Day 2 days ago so i'll send you my list soon Sean.

[Nope1172]

Just finished watching the last 3 movies I had left, here are my short reviews on all of them:

Last Train Home
Besides Dear Zachary this is probably one of the saddest documentaries I have seen. The story was heart wrenchingly sad, and I completely understood the theme of wanting to give your children a better life. That being said I think this doc was a little to slow for my taste. I still enjoyed it and thought it was well made, but it just wasn't my kind of doc.
3.5-

West of Memphis
I'm a fan of court movies, so this doc was more up my alley. My main problem with the film was that it dragged on for a little bit too long. My favorite part was definitely the imagery used. I thought the documentary was also incredibly well edited and shot.
3.5+

The Wonderful, Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
This was probably one of the most interesting docs nominated in the HoF. Before I saw this film I had no idea who Leni Riefenstahl was, and the first I heard of her was after seeing Triumph of the Will. Her life story was one of the most interesting I have seen, and I enjoyed hearing about it. I very much appreciated the amounts of detail the filmmakers went in to.
3.5

[Nope1172]

Sent my list

[honeykid]

West of Memphis

If you've not seen it, watch Paradise Lost: The Robin Hood Hill Child Murders.

[Camo]

Sent mine.

[Nope1172]

How many lists are in?

[Citizen Rules]

The Wonderful Horrible Life of Reni Riefenstahl (Ray Müller, 1993)

What a woman...
Having watched Triumph of the Will, my opinion on Leni Riefenstahl was not the best! I knew she was technically gifted but it was easy to just say she was a Nazi therefore not worthy of any acclaim whatsoever!
The fact is that it's not that simple and this documentary shows it perfeclty. I find it, first of all, an amazing testimony to how things started in Nazi Germany! What was the opinion everyone had of Hitler before the killing spree began, how he raised to power and how easy it is now to criticize everyone who "let" him do what he did. The fact that Triumph of the Will won so many awards outside Germany is the first clear sign that she wasn't in the minority.
I believe Leni had an obsession for the male body as the perfect element of beauty, but I don't think that's a fascist ideal. Every artist has something that awakens his/her creativity and the male body was Leni's thing. Being she as athletic as an actress as she was, it's easy to understand that!

Now, she may have been a sympathizer of the Third Reich, I don't buy the idea that she was completely unaware of what was happening around her. But I believe she prefered to ignore it, as many did. There are examples of great artists that worked closely with dictators and that realized afterwards their mistakes. Beethoven admired Napoleon until he started invading countries, Shostakovich loved Lenin and was the government main composer. Riefenstahl was not the first nor will be the last artist being used in regime propaganda without understanding the full meaning of her own work.

I believe that what has been done to her for the past 70 years is incredibly unfair.

Amazing nom CR! Neiba, I'm so happy that you made a connection with this doc and it's story of Leni Refenstahl. To me that's better than winning, as at least one person has 'seen' what I had seen. Everything you said is what I thought too about Leni.

[seanc]

I can announce the winner tonight. I will update the Organization thread as well.

[Camo]

If you've not seen it, watch Paradise Lost: The Robin Hood Hill Child Murders.

Yeah Nope, you should watch this before you send in your Docs Countdown list (if you are sending one), IMO it is by far the best of the four of these docs. Not sure what you'll think after seeing West of Memphis first though.

[seanc]

Really sorry guys, I had a PM in my box that I thought was Mushroom's list but it wasn't. I told him he could have till the 6th so it will be a couple more days. Close at the top so it should be interesting. I am going to shoot Sane a PM as well. Pretty sure if he was around he would have sent a list but it's worth a shot.

[Camo]

No problem Sean. I remember you saying Mushroom had to the 6th that's why i took my time to think my list over a bit before sending it.

[Citizen Rules]

Sean, I'm cool with waiting. FM should have his list in soon. Sane seems to have disappeared, his last activity was 2 weeks ago.

[Friendly Mushroom!]

Sorry about my inactivity. I made my list, with Leni excluded as im only 1/3 in. I will pm it tomorrow night.

[Zotis]

I'm not planning on joining, but here are my favorite recs:


http://www.musicfilmweb.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/americanhardcore2.jpg
American Hardcore (2006)


http://static01.nyt.com/images/2008/11/05/arts/television/lioness.span.jpg
Lioness (2008)


http://www.kinosmith.com/images/posters/98-army_of_one.jpg
Army of One (2003)

[cricket]

I'm not planning on joining

No, you should join.

[Zotis]

I don't want to watch all of the nominations. I don't like sitting through a movie after I reach the point where I realise I can't stand it.

[Camo]

No, you should join.

Yeah Zotis you have to the Sixth to watch all 12 nominations, plenty of time :p

[cricket]

Yes, then you can join the 7th HoF

[Zotis]

Lol, you guys.

[Friendly Mushroom!]

Sent list

[Citizen Rules]

Sent list Did you watch Leni?

[foster]

whats the difference between this and the mofo top 100 documentaries?
i just spent some time making a doc list

[cricket]

This was just a small tournament in which a few people nominated one movie.

[Friendly Mushroom!]

Sent list Did you watch Leni?

Yes. Great doc

[Camo]

whats the difference between this and the mofo top 100 documentaries?
i just spent some time making a doc list

:up: for sending a list for the Countdown

[foster]

This was just a small tournament in which a few people nominated one movie.

I have one to nominate then. is it too late ?

[cricket]

I have one to nominate then. is it too late ?

Yea this one is over, but I can pm you when the next Hall of Fame starts.

[Citizen Rules]

Foster, it's to late for this one, but why not join the next one? There might even be a Part 2 to the 50s Hof, so you could join that one.

[Camo]

I have one to nominate then. is it too late ?

Was it the Beer Pong Doc with you in it?

[foster]

Was it the Beer Pong Doc with you in it?

:shifty:

[Nope1172]

When should we be expecting the results sean?

[Citizen Rules]

Can we take a guess at who's going to win?

[Friendly Mushroom!]

The three i think that have the highest chances of winning are Zachary, Leni and Gift Shop

[Nope1172]

The three i think that have the highest chances of winning are Zachary, Leni and Gift Shop
Agreed

[seanc]

When should we be expecting the results sean?

Couple hours. I left totals at home. Guess away.

[Citizen Rules]

The three i think that have the highest chances of winning are Zachary, Leni and Gift Shop That'd be my guess too.

I predict Triumph of the Will, Enron, Kingdom of Dreams to be towards the bottom

[neiba]

I'm betting:

1. Leni
2. Zachary
3. Gift Shop

[Camo]

Dear Zachary will win,

[Nope1172]

My somewhat bias predictions:
1. Zachary
2. Leni
3. Gift Shop

[Citizen Rules]

I think ALL of the Docs were fine nominations. I have to say I was a bit concerned that there would be a lot of docs I didn't care for but all of them were well worth watching:)

[Swan]

Even mine, Citizen?

[Citizen Rules]

I didn't watch yours Swan, but it did sound interesting.

[neiba]

There were a couple of docs with a theme that I don't find interesting, like Beauty Day and Enron, but even these 2 were really well done, so I think it was a very good HoF, full of great noms!

[matt72582]

Gosh, this is difficult! I don't want to send it in until I fully thought this out. I keep remembering of some between music, movies, sports, politics, etc etc.

Anyone have a good list to jog my memory? Especially for the "indie" docs.

[seanc]

Here are your bottom nine. Great list and it was basically chopped up very closely by thirds.

12) Triumph Of The Will 48 points
11) Food Inc 53 points
10) Baraka 57 points
9) Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room 58 points
8) The Kingdom Of Dreams And Madness 66 points
7) Wonderful Horrible Life Of Leni Riefenstahl 73 points
6) Last Train Home 74 points
5) West Of Memphis 76 points
4) Beauty Day 78 points

[Nope1172]

Nice! My top three picks are the top three!

[seanc]

3) The Impostor 88 points
2) Dear Zachary 90 points

Your Winner with 99 points

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/5/57/Exit-through-the-gift-shop.jpg

[seanc]

I loved this doc. I feel like it kind of set off a string of docs that are more mysterious and use misdirection to entertain us instead of using straight talking heads. I absolutely love that approach and many of the docs on my list fall a bit into that category. I was glad to see it nominated and glad it won. Great HOF everyone. These specialty HOF are proving to be my favorites.

[cricket]

Thanks to Sean for running this; it was an exceptional Hall of Fame!

My list-

1. West of Memphis
2. The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
3. Beauty Day
4.*The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
5. Last Train Home
6.*Dear Zachory: A Letter to a Son About His Father
7.*Exit Through the Gift Shop
8.*Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
9. The Imposter
10. Triumph of the Will
11. Food Inc.
12. Baraka

Swan's nom would have been my #1

[Nope1172]

This is the second time I've come in second place! :furious:
Anyway congrats to Thursday Next here is my list including American Movie:

1. Dear Zachary
2. The Imposter
3. American Movie
4. Exit Through the Gift Shop
5. Beauty Day
6. West of Memphis
7. Food Inc
8. The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefentahl
9. Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
10. Baraka
11. Last Train Home
12. Triumph of the Will
13. Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

[Camo]

Deserving winner, my #3. Enron did slightly better than i thought as i expected it to be it or Food Inc last, just glad no one hated it. Great nominations all around the only one i disliked was Food Inc and that was only because i wasn't interested in the subject matter, it was very well made.

Thanks for running this Sean :) . My list:

01.Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
02.Dear Zachary
03.Exit Through the Gift Shop
04.The Imposter
05.American Movie
06.Baraka
07.The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
08.Last Train Home
09.Beauty Day
10.Triumph of the Will
11.West of Memphis
12.Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
13.Food Inc

[TheUsualSuspect]

I honestly thought The Imposter had a chance to take it, since a lot of people reacted positively to it. I'll win one of these things one day!!!!

1. Dear Zachary
2. The Imposter
3. West of Memphis
4. Exit Through The Gift Shop
5. Baraka
6. Food Inc
7. Enron: Smartest Guys in the Room
8. American Movie
9. Yume to kyôki no ohkoku
10. Last Train Home
11. Triumph of the Will
12. Wonderful Horrible Life....

I didn't get a chance to see Beauty Day.

[Citizen Rules]

Congratulations to Thursday Next! and Thank You to Sean for running a fun HoFo!

ALL of the nominations were excellent choices, thanks guys for a great Hof! This has been one of my favorite Hofs:)

1 Triumph of the Will
2 The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
3 The Imposter
4 Beauty Day
5 Last Train Home
6 Food Inc
7 West of Memphisp
8 Exit Through the Gift Shop
9 The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
10 Baraka
11 Enron The Smartest Guys in the Room
12 Dear Zachary:A Letter to a Son About His Father

Notes: Triumph of the Will, my #1 vote was for the skill of the film maker Leni Riefenstahl, so my vote was for Leni. The subject matter of the film didn't influence me and I'm sure a lot of people said Nazis=last place.

I voted Zachary last for the same reason, I ignored the subject matter (which was dramatic and touching) and looked at the skill of the film maker and found it lacking.

[TheUsualSuspect]

Great job Sean!!!! Honestly, well done.

[neiba]

Damn, this is by far the lowest I ever ranked in one of these... :(

I'm glad Exit Through the Gift Shop won this, it was one of my favourites! Congratulaions Thursday Next!!! :)


Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
Baraka
Exit Through the Gift Shop
Zachary: A Letter to a Son about his Father
Triumph of the Will
Food Inc
Last Train Home
The Imposter
West of Memphis
Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
Enron: The Smartest Guys on the Room
Beauty Day

And thank you Sean for doing such a great job hosting this!!! :)

[Citizen Rules]

1 Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl

Bless you! Neiba

[Thursday Next]

Cool, I've never had any of my nominations win before!

Glad people liked Exit Through the Gift Shop, hopefully it will put up a good showing in the documentary countdown as well. Guess it was good I got in and nominated early ;)

My list:

Exit Through the Gift Shop
Last Train Home
Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room
West of Memphis
Beauty Day
The Imposter
The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
Food Inc
Baraka
The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
Dear Zachary
Triumph of the Will

[Friendly Mushroom!]

Congrats to Thursday! :highfive:

Here's my list.

1. Dear Zachary
2. The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
3. Exit Through the Gift Shop
4. The Imposter
5. The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
6. Triumph of the Will
7. Food Inc
8. Beauty Day
9. Last Train Home
10. Enron
11. Baraka
12. West of Memphis

[Swan]

Congrats to Thursday! One of my favorite docs and a great pick for winner.

Swan's nom would have been my #1

:)

[SilentVamp]

This was announced 2 days ago and I just saw it. Sorry. :)

Congratulations to Thursday Next. That was, obviously, one of the ones that I enjoyed the most. My list:

1. West of Memphis
2. Dear Zachary
3. Exit Through the Gift Shop
4. The Imposter
5. The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness
6. Beauty Day
7. Enron
8. Last Train Home
9. Baraka
10. The Wonderful Horrible Life of Leni Riefenstahl
11. Triumph Of the Will
12. Food, Inc.

Swan's nom would have been my #1
You know what? The more I thought about it. The more I was planning on placing it in my top spot, too. I really enjoyed it.

[foster]

i got confused for a second and thought this was the other documentary thread.

o_0 whoops