Documentaries are rarely blockbusters, and sometimes it's quite difficult to access those titles that you really want to see. You've read about all of the following highly recommended films right here, at Documentaries.About.com, but if your were unable to see them in theaters or on television, you can now view them on DVD:
- Harvard Beats Yale 29-29 (2008) - Kevin Rafferty, filmmaker and Harvard grad, uses archival footage and interviews with team members to 'replay' the legendary football game in which the undefeated teams of Harvard and Yale battled it out for the 1968 season's final victory. The film's title, Harvard Beats Yale 29-29, may give away the results, but the football plays, commentaries and remembrances presented in this sports documentary are gripping--even if you're not a football fan. Also worth mentioning is that Tommy Lee Jones makes a nonfiction appearance in the film as one of the players on the legendary team, and in a close up and personal interview.
- Tyson (2009) - Director James Toback is a friend of Mike Tyson's, and makes no pretense of presenting an objective view of the boxing champ, his life and troubles in this film. Fact is, the relationship between these two infamous bad boys allows the director to get access a fascinating up close and personal view of the boxer, who surprisingly reveals his feelings in an intmate way -- almost as through he were speaking to a psychiatrist. Whether you like boxing or not, and whether you're a fan of the former champ, or not, Tyson is a larger than life figure whose story is entirely engaging, and indicative of social issues that extend beyond the boxing arena.
- The Class (2008 ) - French filmmaker Laurent Cantet deftly bridges the narrative and documentary genres in the Oscar-nominated The Class, about a junior high school class in a lower income Paris neighborhood. The script is based on a bestselling nonfiction book by a school teacher who head's the ensemble, which also features real life high school kids, most of whom are not trained actors. The film has an astonishing authenticity as it shows the teens coping with problems of adolescence, grappling with their ethnic identities and discussing racism as they read and discuss The Diary Of Anne Frank in class. This film is a remarkable blending of narrative and documentary approaches to filmmaking.
- Trouble The Water (2008) - This Oscar-nominated documentary follows Hurricane Katrina survivor Kimberly Roberts and her family as they struggle to re-establish their lives in devastated New Orleans. Their horrifc odyssey triumph present a gripping narrative that represents what thousands of people suffered in the aftermath of Katrina, and this film stands out as one of the most dramatic and compelling documetaries about the hurricane. Directors Tia Lessen and Carl Deal have incorporated Kim Roberts' extraordinary hurricane and flood footage to heighten awareness of what it was like to experience the natural disaster that brought our country to a stunned stand still and is still a topic at the core of our social and political debate.
- You Must Remember This: The Warner Brothers Story (2008) - Noted film critic and historian Richard Schickel wrote and directed this superb compilation documentary tribute to the Brothers Warner and their amazing contributions to our cinema culture. The film features clips from some of your favorite movies, as well as interviews and testimonials from some of Hollywood's beloved personalities, including Clint Eastwood, George Clooney, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Jack Nicholson and many more. If you like movies enough to want to know a bit more about their history, this thoroughly researched and well presented film is a must see.
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