"Best Documentary You've Ever Seen" Topic

I don't necessarily mean military based but whatever you regard as most entertaining or educational or hopefully both…

Probably one of my own favourites which isn't particularly military based or educational but I found superbly entertaining is "Lost Soul: The Doomed Journey of Richard Stanley's Island of Dr. Moreau"

But what would you recommend? Any topic….

Two by Ken Burns: The Civil War and Baseball. The World at War -- narrated, of course, by Laurence Olivier -- is also hard to beat.

Ken Burns: The Civil War is the best military documentary I've ever seen and The World at War is right up there with me too.

The Battle of Culloden, BBC, 1964

A documentary about Burlesque on PBS,when I was about 11.
You did ask-;^)

World at war

There was a documentary done by one of the Monty Python gang on the Crusades. One of the best documentaries I've ever seen.

"Barbarians" by Terry Jones. He brought a different view of how the ancient barbarians were viewed back then and how they are viewed today. For example, in one episode, he said that Rome was not "sacked" by the Barbarians as history records, but since they were Christians, were there as tourists who wanted to see the seat of Christianity at that time, and it got a little out of hand, or something to that effect. Like I said, a different perspective…

Another vote for the World At War.

The other one that is right at the top is Life On Earth by David Attenborough. A work of genius….

Medieval Lives (I think that is the title) by Terry Jones---funny and informative. Burns' Civil War, World at War and the First World War are great military documentaries. There is a great low budget doc out there about the murderer H.H. Holmes (was on Netflix at one point).

Now that I think about it, there are tons of excellent documentaries out there, to the point where I can't even decide! PBS alone cranks out several a month, such as City in the Sky (3 parter about the airline industry and how it functions) and another just the other day about changing bedding for English royalty that was a neat way of looking at the period. (I believe a number of the PBS stuff are joint ventures with others like the BBC.)

The Thin Blue Line about a cops murder in Dallas and the unfortunate Yankee they pinned it on.

So many great ones it's hard to choose. Though I love almost anything by Ken Burns, and actually have a copy of Terry Jones wonderful Crusades doc, my favorite is the Great War and the Making of the 20th Century. Unfortunately it was never made into a DVD, though it can be streamed on youtube. It doesn't just focus on the military aspects of the First World War, it's very much a social history as well. Just brilliantly done, but often repulses Great War purist.

And if you're into something completely different-a lover of music-try Dave Grohl's Sonic Highways on HBO in which he visits eight cities and explores some of the musical roots of each while making developing a song reflective of his learning. The songs, by and large, aren't great, but the exploration is fascinating. Some really interesting, different stuff.

I would also like to mention "The Revolutionary War" narrated by Charles Kuralt, which was put out on VHS only by The Learning Channel. I enjoyed it greatly. Somebody PLEASE issue this on DVD…PLEASE!

Ken Burn's Civil War.

The Walking Dead

I really love Errol Morris' Fog of War, in both style and story. McNamara is such an interesting figure, and whatever you may think about him, he had one quality that made him an especially good subject for a film in this style – the capacity for introspection.

If you want to see what the exact same approach would look like with a subject utterly incapable of that sort of introspection, look no further than Morris' later film The Unknown Known, with Donal Rumsfeld.

Yet another vote for the World at War series. I also found 'The War That Made America' quite good, with dramatized illustrations of the key events in the lives of the participants of the FIW. The actors would speak to the camera, their lines coming straight out of their letters.

From a non-military subject, my wife and I both enjoyed 'The search for General Tso'. It begins as a search for the origins of a tasty dish, but also becomes a history of the Chinese in America, and the impact of Chinese restaurants in America. Fascinating!

23 Days in July (1985)
link

The Battle of Culloden, BBC, 1964 would be a close second.

Godzilla vs Bambi.

(Ahem)--It's "Bambi Meets Godzilla",in case you're looking for it:

youtu.be/8s3UogfAGg0

"Victory At Sea," "World at War," and "Ascent of Man."

Ken Burns – Civil War

Or Four Years of Thunder

The Discovery Channel had a great series of documentaries on animals having sex.

There's even a song about it:

YouTube link

Another good one, if you want an interesting history of American race relations, is "The Last Conquistador," about the building of a statue in El Paso, TX celebrating the history of a Spanish soldier in the 1500s. It examines the way that communities in a single town can have very differing views of history.

The artist who sculpted the (admittedly impressive!) statue is an interesting character in the documentary, simultaneously introspective and oblivious, sympathetic and infuriating.

Highly recommended.

I am really looking forward to Burns' Vietnam War doc comming later this year.

As a kid I probably enjoyed Victory at Sea as much as any TV show ever.

For pure quality, I like Ken Burns "Baseball".

Ken Burns Civil War.

Christopher

World at war. I also love James Burke's Connections.

(Ahem)--It's "Bambi Meets Godzilla",in case you're looking for it:

You are looking at the wrong documentary Hafen.
link

When I read the question, the battle of Culloden popped right into my mind. Glad to see Nick enjoyed it too. It has special meaning as it was playing on the day that I brought my son home from the hospital :-)

I wonder if it might better be considered as a docudrama.

The World at War

James Burke's connections and The Day the Universe Changed.

The World at War.

The superb The Nazis: a Warning from History

The original "Cosmos" with Carl Sagan.
"The End" – about London's East End criminal culture.
Ken Burns' "Jazz"
A contemporary one I saw, tabula rasa, was "Searching for Sugar Man". Loved it!
Music documentaries are pretty good these days:
Iron Maiden, "Flight 666"
Rush, "Beyond the Lighted Stage"
Suprisingly – Quiet Riot, "Well Now You're Here"

Best ongoing documentary series is Frontline, Nova and especially, How It's Made – especially the Perry Miniatures one: link

Ken Burns, "The Civil War" (1990).
Robert Hughes, "Shock of the New" (1980).

Stretching the definition of "documentary" a little:
Wayne Douglas Barlowe/Discovery Channel, "Alien Planet" (2005).

Black and White "King Kong"

The World at War – for a military documentary

The West of the Imagination – for "other" documentary

"Searching for Sugar Man" – An amazing story that had to be told. Not only is the movie inspiring, so is the story of it's making.

Military theme it has to be Ken Burn's Civil War. Look at what came before and then the wealth of documentaries that have come after. My sentimental favorite would be the "You Were There" series, especially the Waterloo episode.

Ship Building on The Clyde….. it was Rivetting!

The World at War

The Tragedy of HMS Glorious

Carl Sagan's Cosmos and James Burke's Connections.

I'm quite enjoying WW2 in Colour at the moment, but World at War was a classic.

Branagh's Cold War was very good.

Ken Burn's Civil War

Oh! I would second Fog of War. Very well done and fascinating for someone that was a kid during Vietnam.

Anything by Michael Moore. I like his incisive analysis of America's political and social ills, and his witty, sarcastic style.

Since I posted this on Polls. Considering the amount of Disney fans on TMP I'm surprised 4 didn't get more votes

1. World at War: 11 Votes

2. Ken Burns Civil War: 10 Votes

3. The Battle of Culloden: 3 Votes

4. "Bambi Meets Godzilla" 2 Votes

Shipbuilding on the Clyde sounds good!

The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau

Best one,hard to say. Victory at Sea would be one,in my personal top 10,not quite in order. Ken Burns' Civil War,Baseball,The World At War,CBS' World War One(ca. 1964),Cosmos(both versions),Undersea World Of Jacques Cousteau,Life After People,several ones about shipwrecks,and a fair number more.

Please add my vote for Ken Burns' Civil War.

Joint lead

1. World at War: 12 Votes

1. Ken Burns Civil War: 12 Votes

2. The Battle of Culloden: 3 Votes

2. Ken Burns Baseball 3 votes

2. Victory at Sea 3 votes

2. Carl Sagan's Cosmos 3 votes

3. James Burke's Connections. 2 votes

3. The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau 2 votes (My Dad dived with him for years)

3. "Bambi Meets Godzilla" 2 Votes

3. Terry Jones Crusades 2 votes

3. "Searching for Sugar Man" 2 votes

3. Errol Morris' Fog of War 2 votes

Hypernormalisation
The Civil War (Ken Burns)
The World At war

Son of Bambi and Bambi"s Revenge Do not let gert see the 2nd one