We have the Documentary short list for the upcoming Oscars. Our friend Kristopher Tapley over at In Contention for the following hookup:
“At the Death House Door”
“The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)”
“Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh”
“Encounters at the End of the World”
“Fuel”
“The Garden”
“Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts”
“I.O.U.S.A.”
“In a Dream”
“Made in America”
“Man on Wire”
“Pray the Devil Back to Hell”
“Standard Operating Procedure”
“They Killed Sister Dorothy”
“Trouble the Water”
Of the above I have seen I.O.U.S.A. This means I need to hunt down the other 14 and check them out. I find the average documentary to be more interesting than the average film these days. Sadly it isn’t always easy to see these films if they aren’t playing in your city.
If any of you have seen films from the above list – please give us your own recommends!
I just saw Dear Zachary last night. Heartbreaking film.
I keep hearing great things about “Dear Zachary: A letter to a son about his father”. Thought I might see it on this list
I haven’t seen any of these films.
I’ve only heard of about three of these movies. Looks like I have a lot of documentary-watching to do.
I have seen half of those movies, and Man on Wire is easily the best. It’s my second favourite film of the year as of now (after Slumdog Millionaire). If another doc wins instead of Man on Wire… well, kudos to Academy for another bullshit call. Man on Wire is one of the best docs I’ve ever seen, period. Nice to see Encounters at the End of the World getting in the list.
I find it hard to believe Werner fucking Herzog was never nominated in his entire career. Not for a foreign film; not for the best director; not for the best documentary; not for the best picture… That’s a joke, right?
snow angels might be an a-grade indie picture, but it’s not a fuckin documentary
What happened to “Snow Angels”, they usually luuuuuvvvv Indies, and it rec’d A grades all across the press, etc…???? No justice!
where’s waltz with bashir? doesnt that qualify as a documentary?
Why isn’t “Bigger, Faster, Stronger” on there? Not saying it’s deserving of the Oscar or anything, but did something disqualify it from consideration or are there just that many good documentaries out there this year?
Man On Wire is the best documentary since King of Kong!
Man on Wire is easily one of the best films I’ve seen this year. I’d say only In Bruges and possibly the Dark Knight are better. Please check it out.
Man on Wire was amazing
Religulous not being on this list is blasphemous…
Man on Wire… great, great, great.
I’m so happy to see “Fuel” made the shortlist. I saw the film and talked with the director Josh Tickell for a bit. He is not an experienced filmmaker, and he went to a lot of effort to make the film – it took 11 years, and he’s gone through a ton of hardship. I hope he gets nominated.
Thank you very much for your thoughts Uhdare!
I saw a few of these at Full Frame this year. I was particularly impressed by “Trouble the Water” because of its unique perspective (parts actually through the camera lens of a survivor) on the Katrina disaster, and the amazing personality of Kold Madina. Beware if you are prone to motion sickness though, the amateur video parts are extremely shaky.
“At the Death House Door” is one of the most emotional and disturbing films I’ve ever seen. It is about a chaplain who ministered to men during their final hours on death row and during their executions. After each execution he would come home and vent into his tape recorder what he had just been through. Some of the tape recordings are used in the film. I had the privilege of meeting the chaplain and his wife at the screening and was very touched by their relationship. Several people however could not sit through the film and had to leave because the stories were so disturbing, and I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house by the end.
Man on Wire was excellent as well, the story is wonderful. “Encounters at the End of the World” is full of gorgeous cinematography you just can’t miss. See it on the big screen if at all possible, or at least a large HD screen. I unfortunately missed “The Betrayal” but heard some really good things from those who saw it. This is an excellent line-up, I really can’t pick a favorite from this list!
If there’s any justice – it’s Man on Wire.