okfinds good documentaries

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Documentary Description             Movie Types:  1-Inspiring   2-Excellent   3-Enjoyable => T
Above and Beyond - In November 1947 the United Nations voted to partition Palestine into Jewish and Arab territories. The British scheduled their departure for May 1948. The surrounding Arab nations disagreed strongly with the partition and started making preparations to invade Palestine as soon as the British left.. The Jews on their side started creating an army to defend their new territory. They had no air force so they started recruiting young american jewish pilots who had flown in WWII. This is the story of those young airmen who started the Israeli air force from scratch in 1948. Very well done and fascinating to watch - you do not want to miss this one (Roberta Grossman 2014). 1
  Age of Tanks - Superb 4 episode French documentary in Netflix from the invention of tanks in WWI to the latest Russian tank developed under Putin when many countries considered the concept obsolete. The series interviews participants of the most significant and surprising tank battles of history while using original footage from the field. Incredibly interesting. (2018) 2
Amandla - means "power" in Zulu and Amandla is the title song of the movie. South African blacks defended themselves spiritually from the hurt of apartheid segregation by distilling their grief into songs. These songs will touch you with the beauty that can be created by suffering in the human soul. (Sherry Simpson Dean and Lee Hirsch 2002) 3
American Bullfighter - Surprising to find out there is a school of bullfighting in San Diego for Americans where the protagonist enrolls. Amazingly entertaining documentary filmed by an expert in keeping one interested. Very worthwhile from many angles (Alex LeMay 2004).  
Angry Monk-Reflections on Tibet - A documentary on the religious fundamentalist Tibet that the West never hears about. Based on the life of dissenting genius monk, Gedun Chophel, who died of natural causes towards the beginning of the Chinese occupation. (Luc Shaedler 2005) 3
Animals are Beautiful People - Documentary of the most interesting aspects of African animals that give them personalities that seem almost human. (Jamie Uys 1975) 3
  Around the Next Bend - Two naive American friends that are pretty handy with a handheld camera get the idea of floating on an inflatable down the Ganges from the heart of India in New Delhi to the Bay of Bengal. They had not heard that the river is the main conduit for the raw sewage of New Delhi. They incredibly persist and complete their voyage and film it all. A fascinating trip. We can only hope that the serious sickness they get from the river's contamination in the middle of the trip has not remained with them for the rest of their life. (2012) 1
  Athos - Very well made documentary of the lives of several monks in the monks republic of Athos in Greece. A monastery has monks leading different lives like the lone hermit, the group hermits, the cook of the monastery, the monk restoring the old vineyard and fishing for the monastery, the charnel house with the craniums of past monks that are cleaned regularly, Gregorian Chant for Christmas, and chanting for the solemn ordination of one of the hermits. Throughout we hear the narration of the different monks about the meaning of their life, their private prayers (the Orthodox prayer of Christ occurs often throughout their day). This is the first time that many monks consented to share their lives to show the world how such lives are led and the difficulties involved. The result is a coherent view of life on the Mount Athos Peninsula. (Peter Badehle 2016) 3
  Awaking Arthur - A superb integration of all the sources of the King Arthur legend into a coherent history by people who have a special insight for history and literature. This combination is rarely found among all the so called experts on King Arthur. Strongly recommended. (Direction Michael MacRae, script Jacqueline Houghton, C-Far Production, 2006) 1
Byzantium, The Lost Empire - Lost because in spite of being the unanimously accepted glory of western civilization for many centuries we know very little about it at present. John Romer takes us in a fascinating voyage of discovery of the zenith of civilization and aristocracy that was Byzantium for 10 centuries. (John Romer 1997). You can find the series in You Tube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aWljhb1DEQ8 3
Defamation - A famous Israeli documentary maker is accused of being anti-semite. Intrigued, he makes a documentary to see how they arrived at such an incomprehensible accusation (since he is 100% jewish). The movie examines the unreal world of paranoid semitism.(Yoav Shamir 2009) 2
Doing Time, Doing Vipassana - Vipassana means to correctly see reality. It was taught by the Buddha in India many centuries ago and it allows a person to live in peace with himself and with all. In the mid 1970's, a 10 day course in Vipassana Meditation was tried in Indian jails and revolutionized their system by removing the unrest from many prisoners minds. This Israeli documentary tells that story. (Eilona Ariel, Ayelet Menahemi 1997) You can watch it in YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w1_DVac9kkI 1
  Egypt, The Series - A very good series exploring the whole history of Egypt from its early mysterious start more than 4,000 years ago, to recorded history. Following the best experts in archeology exploring the very early history, we are taken over the centuries to explore the incredible expansion of this civilization that still amazes us (the pyramids were an achievement that nobody would have expected at the time the Europe was still in the stone age!). (Amazon Prime) 2
Evolution: Why Sex? - Sex is one of the weirdest features of nature. That the majority of the animal kingdom regularly spend a substantial part of their life and energy looking for, fighting for, preening for, a mate is one of the strangest facts in all of life since it would be so much more effective and easier to spend energy for more productive ends. Since nature does not seem to spend energy foolishly otherwise, why this extreme insanity? This documentary does a great job of answering this question. Very worthwhile if you are interested. (A chapter in the Nova series Evolution 2
Forgotten Planet: Abandoned America - A documentary of what went wrong in 5 abandoned sites: Pilcher, Oklahoma Poisoned Lead mines, Animal-killer Salton Sea, California, Hunter's Point Radioactive Lab, Detroit, Michigan Packard Plant, Bodie, Nevada Gold Ghost Town. (Narrated by James Lurie, 2011) 3
Frontline: Behind Taliban Lines - An Afghan travels and interviews Taliban operatives in a remote region of Afghanistan. Amazing live interviews candidly given to this outsider - we get to travel and meet this people. An incredible documentary showing the everyday life of the people installing the IED's on the roads (yes you see them do this!). (2010) 3
Frontline: Breaking the Bank - One look inside the US 2008 Financial Crisis by insightful director Michael Kirk. The story of the government leaning on Bank of America President Ken Lewis to rescue the Financial Markets in the dark hours of 2008. Candid conversations and expert interviews. It does not get any better if you want to understand what really happened behind the closed doors of high finance and government in those fateful days. A must! (2009) 2
Frontline - House of Saud - An examination of Saudi Arabia that shows how the billions of dollars that the US pays for their oil ends up being used to support fundamentalist extreme Islamist terrorists in every country in the world. This is a classic case of economic hidden costs. The huge costs of the US War on Terror needs to be added to the price of each oil barrel that the US buys from Saudi Arabia. After that simple accounting cost is added, the oil from Saudi Arabia comes at an exhorbitant price that US taxpayers should try to stop buying immediately. This oil is too expensive. An excellent documentary that gives a comprehensive view of the Saudi Kingdom. (2005 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H-HyrIAL5Bc) 2
Frontline: Inside the Meltdown - Another look inside the US 2008 Financial Crisis by insightful director Michael Kirk. It was the turn of Treasure Secretary Henry Paulson to save the US and the World Financial Markets. High finance, high suspense, surprise moves. Superb content that clarifies those times. (2009). 2
Frontline: The Warning - A researched look inside the US 2008 Financial Crisis by insightful director Michael Kirk. A woman almost saved us! The inside story of how Alan Greenspan, Frank Sommers, and Robert Rubin in 1998 prevented regulator Brooksley Born from properly controlling the derivatives market and thereby quite possibly saving the US from the severe and consecutive financial crisis of the following decade. Brilliant analysis and narration from financial documentary director Michael Kirk. (2009) Highly recommended - watches like a suspense movie. 2
  Gaffigan, Jim, Stand Up Comedian - The funniest, clean comedian of all. He is an endless chain of intelligent funny jokes and meditations. Find 5 of his episodes in Netflix: Cinco, Mr. Universe, Obsessed, King Baby, Beyond the Pale, and 1 of his specials in Amazon Prime called The Noble Ape) 1
  Herd - Aone hour documentary about the effect of nature on us. It was produced by Liz Mitten Ryan, a painter from British Columbia, who after a successful work life and raising 6 kids, moved with her architect husband to a remote ranch in the country where her herd of mares, one ox, a cat and two dogs became a team for her to explore life. Liz discovered that horses would react to her truth. If she was being totally comfortable with herself, horses would become peaceful and accepting. In that state, they seemed to enjoy her company and would follow her and nose her gently. This effect on the horses felt therapeutic, she felt accepted. She described the experience as living in her truth. (Stefan Morel 2016)  
I AM - After experiencing severe pain for a year a Hollywood director starts asking famous leaders what is wrong with humans and how to fix it. The amazing answers he finds in his pilgrimage show that our sages are beginning to discover unexpected patterns in human society that will revolutionize our future (Tom Shadyac 2010) 1
Inequality for All - The rich are not earning as much as they could is one of the surprising conclusions from this enlightening movie by ex Secretary of Labor Robert Reich. He teaches C180U Wealth and Poverty at the University of California at Berkeley and in this film based on his course we get his insights on US Economics. Very clear; makes economics enjoyable. (Jack Kornbluth 2013). 1
  Inner Worlds, Outer Worlds - Very good description and representation of God and of God's creation using beautiful abstract images. 3
In Search of Beethoven - A most rewarding biography peppered with beautiful performances of his greatest works. (Phil Grabsky 2009) 3
  Look and See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry - The portrait is delayed by the most important message Berry has to give: The industrialization of US Agriculture in the 1970's killed US Agriculture. Earl Butz, US Secretary of Agriculture, is shown making his crazy 1974 speech that only industrialization which would maximize profit could save US Agriculture. Berry is both a famous writer and a farmer in Kentucky. A neighbor of his gives his story. For years he tried to farm more and more profitably by mechanizing and industrializing his farm. He had to work close to the edge of bankruptcy under the high cost of machines and fertilizers which exhausted the land.. Then he gave up and became an organic farmer in a fraction of his former farm. Immediately he was rewarded by the premium market for organic produce and his land started to recover its productivity without any fertilizers. An eye opening movie about how US Agriculture was taken over by false industrial prophets and recovered its sense when small farmers found out they could be profitable. (Netflix 2016 Laura Dunn) 2
May I be Frank - Frank Ferrante, a charming italian american food and alcohol addict, walks into the health restaurant Cafe Gratitude in San Francisco one day in 2012 and the manager gets an idea. If he could help Frank try the Cafe Gratitude diet for the 42 days of a detox program it would be a superb demonstration that the claim that their health food can return people to health is true. So 4 friends working in Cafe Gratitude create a project to heal Frank and to record the process in the movie May I be Frank. It worked but not as cleanly as the friends had hoped. (2013) 3
  My Wild Affair - A superb PBS wildlife series which starts with the moving story of Daphne, the wife of a game warden in Tsavo Kenyan National Park and Aisha, an orphan female elphant cub that she adopts and brings back to life. Elephants live around the same years as humans and have very strong lifelong family relationships. And so it is with Daphne as mother and Aisha as her elephant daughter. Remarkably moving documentary of the intersection of the lives of humans and elephants - you will be moved. (Amazon Prime 2018) 1
Nature: Legendary White Stallions - A gorgeous documentary of the idyllic life of the Austrian Lipizzaner Stallions of the Spanish Riding School in the center of Viena. Good coverage of their breeding farm, birth, and early life. Followed by their training, special characteristics, and how their socialization with both adult horses and benevolent humans produces their sweet disposition. A horse lovers delight. (Nature 2013) 2
Nature: Living with the Mule Deer - This documentary could be called "My Life as a Mule Deer". Biologist Joe Hutto on another project becoming accepted by an animal species as one of their own through infinite patience. A delightful look into the life of a wild mule deer herd in Wyoming as if you were part of them (2014) 1
Nature: My Life as a Turkey - A biologist wants to feel the immediate life that animals live and plans a project to give himself the experience. Animals will think whoever they encounter upon being born as their mother. What if he were to hatch wild turkey eggs, would they take him for their mother? This strange and fascinating experiment actually did happen and you can seewhat happensl in this film. . (Nature 2011) 1
No End in Sight - The final verdict on the Iraq war conducted by Rumsfeld, Cheney, and Bush under the known false pretense of Hussein's WPM (Weapons of Mass Destruction). The war removed the strong secular Iraq buffer against our greatest enemy Shiite Iran. Rumsfeld ordered Brenner to stop the formation of an interim Iraqui government (outraging the Iraquis), to fire all the Ba'ath Party government administrators (destroying most of the country's government infrastructure) and to fire all the Iraqui military (affected 500,000 career military destroying law and order in Iraq). As an American military sadly concludes at the end of this documentary: "The US can do so much better than this…" (2007) 2
Passione - A documentary on the music of Naples in the style of Carlos Saura's documentaries on flamenco and fados. A great documentary if you have an interest in Neapolitan music. (John Turturro 2011) 3
Peace One Day - In 1998, Jeremy Gilley, a young UK filmaker, decided to dedicate himself to having the United Nations of the World establish the 21 of September of every year as a ceasefire day on every ongoing war in the world. This actual concrete step towards world peace would publicize the concept so that all the peoples of the world would begin to see the feasibility of one day extending to complete World Peace some day. This movie tells the suspenseful story of how Jeremy was able with the help of some receptive powerful individuals and a lot of luck to create a small crack in the huge yearly agenda of the United Nations so that the resolution could become a reality in 2001. Very exciting to watch. 1
  Pixar Story, The - In the 1980's a group of scientists and a talented animator called John Lasseter got together at Lucas Films and started painstakingly locating reference points around objects in order to animate them with computer mappings. Lasseter was a veteran of the Disney University of Animation where he had learned from the 9 genius animators that produced the Disney famous films of the past, the key insight that to make a successful cartoon one needed to concentrate on the emotion that the cartoon character was feeling. True to this insight Lasseter steered the path of the team into the first successful animation shorts that showed emotion.This primitive beginning started to show promise in graphics programs around the early 90's and caught the eye of Steve Jobs who decided to invest in it. Pixar was born and succeeded in creating Toy Story, a fairly accomplished full-length cartoon computer animation. Success after success led to the current incredible hit "Coco," where emotions can move us just as much as great actors will move us. (Netflix 2007) 2
  Rabin, The Last Day - Docudrama composed of original documentary film integrated with acted scenes, showing how some extreme orthodox Israeli Rabbis had spoken that killing Rabin could be justified under the Torah principle of "din rodef" (self-defence, because Rabin intended to create peace by allowing a Palestinian state, partly removing illegal Israeli settlements from the West Bank). The "din rodef" rhethoric influenced law student Yigal Amir to kill Rabin in 1995. This example has become a warning in the era of Trump of how inflaming people with violent words can easily lead some individuals to murder political leaders. Killing Rabin was very successful at killing the best chance for peace in the Middle-East. The New York Times review of the movie is at https://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/29/movies/review-amos-gitais-rabin-the-last-day-looks-back-in-anguish.html?referrer=google_kp and The New Yorker review of Dan Ephron's book on the subject is at https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/10/26/shot-in-the-heart(both will give you full information on the subject) 2
  Saving Brinton - Around 1900 Brinton and his wife had a movie business, before movies existed. They used film to create illusions with special editing that were shown in theatres around Iowa. These were processes like the Melies French company used. In fact Brinton had many Melies films that have disappeared from France. In comes Zahn, an Iowa farmer with a penchant for collecting and saving antiques. Zahn purchased the whole set of remnants from the Brinton corporation before they were destroyed and restored both the films and the antique movie machines. He used the whole to mount an impressive restrospective in an old movie theatre in Iowa. This documentary has legs. Quite interesting and inspiring. Who knew Iowa was this cultured... . 1
  Saving Sirga - Valentin, a European game warden saves a starving lioness cub but then is presented with the problem of how will the lioness live. Without hunting skills she will starve or be killed by other lions. So he decides to try to teach her to hunt himself and to protect herself from other lions. This is an incredible wildlife adventure that never tires after many episodes following the two friends over several years. (Netflix 2011) 1
Secrets of Jerusalem Holiets Sites (National Geographic) - Very interesting documentary that delivers what it promises... (National Geographic 2006) 3
Six Days in June - The History of the 1967 one week Jewish Victory. A very interesting documentary of the war that changed everything for Jewish religious ultra orthodox. Up to then this group had felt that God did not want jews to own Palestine because of the series of routing exhiling defeats they had suffered starting with the Roman expulsion in the year 70 CE. When Israel so definitely won the 1967 war in a miraculous 6 days, jewish orthodox took it as a sign from God that they were to conquer Palestine again as in the stories of the Bible. The jewish settlements were part of their response to this perceived mandate from God. This is a "must see" to understand the part orthodox Jews are playing in the modern Israeli conflict. (llav Ziv 2007) 1
South of the Border - A lucid investigation of several South American countries. It is surprising to find the amount of misinformation floating around about South America. Very good rebalancing by one of our top directors. (Oliver Stone 2009) 2
The Botany of Desire - Michael Pollan analyzes how certain plants have manipulated the human population to become favorites and therefore gain plantings over other plants. A fascinating picture of how some plants became popular and displaced other plants. (Michael Schwarz 2009) 3
  The Enlightenment - A beautiful lyrical movie documenting the important Kalachakra initiation given by the Dalai Lama in Daramshala. The poetic and narrative approach mix of the movie gives a sense of the initiation but glosses over details in order to present an informative and beautiful overview. Tibetan Buddhism is discovered as a religion where service to others is paramaount but there is also an emphasis in other wordly experiences through dreams and trances which help the practitioners feel the reality of the spiritual world. Very worthwhile viewing of an ancient traditional religion. (Natalie Fuchs 2017) 3
  The Galapagos Affair - Fascinating documentary about a 1930's German doctor and his lover who flee civilization for an uninhabited island in the Galapagos. With much difficulty they make a go of it only to find, after their adventure is publicized in newspapers, that other people want to try to do the same ... but in their same island! The newcomers are extremely unconventional and create colorful conflicts with the earlier colonist. And then dissappear as suddenly as they appeared under mysterious circumstances which this documentary pieces together for the viewer. Includes much footage filmed by the original settlers. Very Interesting. (Dan Geller, Dayna Goldfine 2014) 3
The Gatekeepers - An Israeli film that interviews 6 of the former heads of the counter terrorism agency of Israel, Shin Bet. It is fascinating to watch how with much difficulty their real views start ot come out in an agreement that the way the Israeli government has conducted these operations is untenable and will never allow for peace to exist. (Dror Moreh 2012) 1
The Jews, A People's History - The most interesting brand new German documentary about the Jews. Every frame of its extensive 5 parts is fresh and full of insight. It was broadcast by PBS, some of it is in youtube, and you might find it in your library. Any way you find it you will surely enjoy it. (Nina Koshofer 2009) 1
The Life of Muhammad - In a journey that is both literal and historical, host Rageh Omaar retraces the footsteps of the Prophet, from his beginnings in Mecca to his struggles with accepting his Prophetic role; from his flight to Medina to his subsequent military and political successes and failures, through to his death and his legacy. An excellent, recent documentary from the BBC that is not afraid to mention controversial issues, but does so in a very respectful and impartial manner. (PBS Distribution, BBC 2013) 1
  The Man Who Stopped the Desert - In Burkina Faso, the desertification of once fertile plains caused droughts and ruined harvests, sparking a mass exodus and famines. Yet one illiterate peasant farmer and his ingenious farming methods have proved the key to achieving what experts have failed to do: stop the desert. This is the unique story of Yacouba Sawadogo, whose years of toil have transformed the lives of thousands. (Mark Dodd 2012 Amazon Prime)  
  The Moo Man - The most charming English dairy farmer and his beautiful Holstein-Friesian black and white cows show you how a dairy works. For a year you get to see what a dairy farmer has to do including bringing them from pasture to the milking machine daily, birthing cows, problems of a dairy, showing prize cows to promote milk sales, selling raw milk bottles in fairs, and many other activities. If like me you had questions about how this business works this will provide all the answers in a pleasant way. (Sundance prize winning documentary in Amazon Prime Videos) 1
The Science of Sex Appeal - A thoroughly scientific and very entertaining study of what makes people attractive to other people. You get real knowledge about how "sex-appeal" works and why.(Discovery Channel 2009) 2
The Story of India - Noted British historian Michael Wood hosts a 2007 exploration of India. After you watch this amazing series you will feel like you really know India! (2009) 2
  True Apaloosa, Quest for the Secret Horse - A tough old 69 year old hen who is in love with Apaloosa horses and breeds them in New Zealand where she owns a few of the 109 remaining Apaloosas in the world, knows down deep that they are so different they could not be descended from the Spanish horses that were supposed to have introduced horses in North America. By chance she notices an horse that looks like an Apaloosa in a documentary of a horse market in Kirgyztan and she is launched. She finds a Western horse trader and convinces him to come to Kirgyztan with her to find the local horse she saw in that documentary. They go looking in very remote areas of Kirgyztan hoping to find evidence that the Apaloosas are an Asian horse that migrated through the Bering land bridge in time immemorial. A most interesting search to watch. (Conor Woodman 2015 Amazon Prime) 3
The Story of the Jews - A very interesting British 5-part documentary including Schama's passionate personal viewpoints from his life (Simon Schama 2013) 2
  Time Sequential Movie List Starting in 2017  
  The Best Democracy Money can Buy - Good thorough investigate reporting documentary by Greg Palast about the voter suppression conspiracy of the right in the US and its effectiveness. Unfortunately it is done in a cartoonish fashion that detracts from the seriousness of the subject and the significant facts that it uncovers.  
  The Art of Presence - Excellent Eckhart Tolle Retreat on what is Presence and how it works.  
  Banking on Bitcoin - The closest I have come to understanding how bitcoins work based on the invention of the single "BLOCKCHAIN", the electronic ledger of every bitcoin transaction and every stash of bitcoins in the world held in identical copies by multiple computers around the world. This is the authority to determine which bitcoin stash is owned by whom. Essentially this is the one common bank for bitcoins for all existing bitcoins in the world that gives bitcoins their value. Excellent documentary up to 2015.