10 must-see documentaries that tackle issues ranging from political to musical
There is more to films than the red carpet and glitz of the Oscars. ET focuses on 10 must-seedocumentaries that tackle issues ranging from political to musical.
Triumph of the Will
Director: Leni Riefenstahl, 1934
By far the most famous propaganda film ever made, Triumph... became the prototype for many that followed. It's not a question of liking or hating Hitler. But what Riefenstahl was asked to do, she does and delivers a tour de force. The film chronicles the Nazi party congress held in Nuremberg in 1934. It is technically impressive — the camera pans, tracking shots, close-ups and angles together with the rousing music — and that is one reason why it should be seen more than once. And how art can be used to send political signals.
Nanook of the North
Director: Robert Flaherty, 1922
There have been criticisms of many sequences in the film being staged. But as the first full-length documentary, its place in the history of cinema can never be denied. Also considering that Flaherty was not a professional filmmaker and the difficult subject he chose, his attempt to document the life of an Inuit Eskimo deserves all the more credit. Nanook stands out for its depiction of man's struggle against nature. Wonderfully shot, it remains a classic.
Buena Vista Social Club
Director: Wim Wenders, 1999
This is a pure celebration of music. It is a documentary of an era when song and dance and flirting were an integral part of pre-revolution Cuba and Buena Vista Social Club in Havana was the hub. Music producer Nick Gold and guitarist Ry Cooder tracked those musicians who played in the '40s and '50s and got them into a studio. Wim Wenders was present to film the sessions. The end result is a joyful rediscovery of artists — many of them in their late 70s and 80s. Both the film and the album are infused with a joie de vivre rarely seen or heard.
Fire in Babylon
Director: Stevan Riley, 2010
It is notionally about cricket, about West Indies cricket to be precise. The peg is the rise of the fearsome pace attack in the late '70s. But two random quotes from the film will tell you that there is more: "Out there it was a war," says Gordon Greenidge, and "if you can't take the heat... get out" from Andy Roberts. There are various subtexts, including racism, colonialism and the desire to prove a point. Absolutely riveting.
Man With a Movie Camera
Director: Dziga Vertov, 1929
According to the filmmaker, "[This] film is an experiment in cinematic communication... [it] aims at creating a truly international language of cinema based on its absolute separation from the language of theatre and literature." In other words pure cinema. See it for its innovations — jump cuts, tracking shots, freeze frames, double exposure, techniques few dreamt of in the '20s. The film is startlingly radical even now.
The Hour of the Furnaces
Director: Fernando Solanas & Octavio Getino, 1968
It became the meme for all revolutionary films made in the '70s and '80s. It was the cinematic bible for all anti-fascist fellow-travellers. And it would be the centre piece for all anti-neo-colonial jamborees. All for good reason. Furnaces is the result of artists who held strong political beliefs and were not afraid to air them. And the situation in many South American countries was so bad that the only way out was activism. Furnaces captures in grim detail the fight for freedom as the Argentinian army runs havoc.
Glass
Director: Bert Haanstra, 1958
The Dutch master at his best. In this short 11-minute documentary about glass-making, Haanstra packs in a unique visual style, political statement, a dash of wry humour and a wonderful jazz score. But more than anything else, it is a human document about man and his creations. Not only did it win an Oscar in 1959, but it is even now a text in many film schools across the world.
Night and Fog
Director: Alain Resnais, 1955
It is the irony that jolts you. And it is the voice-over — dead pan, never judgemental — that takes you deep into history's biggest civilisational wound. Why Resnais' Night and Fog remains one of the bestdocumentaries ever — or as Francois Truffaut said "the greatest film ever made" — is that never in its 32-minute running time does it become maudlin. In its detachment, the film shocks us into the realisation of how terrible the Holocaust was.
Terror in Mumbai
Director: Dan Reed, 2009
The director eschews news footage of fire and mayhem; instead he uses, to chilling effect, phone recordings (between the terrorists and their handlers) and interviews with survivors. Besides CCTV footage from inside the hotels as the terrorists go berserk, there is also one of Ajmal Kasab talking to police after his arrest. The end result is a numbing portrayal of the 26/11 attack on Mumbai. It is as if you are not a bystander but one caught in the middle of the carnage.
Woodstock
Director: Michael Wadleigh, 1970
Everything you've heard about Woodstock — music, love, drugs, hippies — is true and wonderfully captured in Wadleigh's three-hour film. Of course, it is basically the music. Where else do you find Hendrix, Joplin, CSN&Y, Santana, among so many others, perform live? But the film transcends the music and captures the zeitgeist of the '60s and of an innocent era. Perhaps the best rockumentary ever.
Source : YUSUF BEGG,ET BUREAU
10 must-see documentaries that tackle issues ranging from political to musical
There is more to films than the red carpet and glitz of the Oscars. ET focuses on 10 must-seedocumentaries that tackle issues ranging from political to musical.
Triumph of the Will
Director: Leni Riefenstahl, 1934
By far the most famous propaganda film ever made, Triumph... became the prototype for many that followed. It's not a question of liking or hating Hitler. But what Riefenstahl was asked to do, she does and delivers a tour de force. The film chronicles the Nazi party congress held in Nuremberg in 1934. It is technically impressive — the camera pans, tracking shots, close-ups and angles together with the rousing music — and that is one reason why it should be seen more than once. And how art can be used to send political signals.
Nanook of the North
Director: Robert Flaherty, 1922
There have been criticisms of many sequences in the film being staged. But as the first full-length documentary, its place in the history of cinema can never be denied. Also considering that Flaherty was not a professional filmmaker and the difficult subject he chose, his attempt to document the life of an Inuit Eskimo deserves all the more credit. Nanook stands out for its depiction of man's struggle against nature. Wonderfully shot, it remains a classic.
Buena Vista Social Club
Director: Wim Wenders, 1999
This is a pure celebration of music. It is a documentary of an era when song and dance and flirting were an integral part of pre-revolution Cuba and Buena Vista Social Club in Havana was the hub. Music producer Nick Gold and guitarist Ry Cooder tracked those musicians who played in the '40s and '50s and got them into a studio. Wim Wenders was present to film the sessions. The end result is a joyful rediscovery of artists — many of them in their late 70s and 80s. Both the film and the album are infused with a joie de vivre rarely seen or heard.
Fire in Babylon
Director: Stevan Riley, 2010
It is notionally about cricket, about West Indies cricket to be precise. The peg is the rise of the fearsome pace attack in the late '70s. But two random quotes from the film will tell you that there is more: "Out there it was a war," says Gordon Greenidge, and "if you can't take the heat... get out" from Andy Roberts. There are various subtexts, including racism, colonialism and the desire to prove a point. Absolutely riveting.
Man With a Movie Camera
Director: Dziga Vertov, 1929
According to the filmmaker, "[This] film is an experiment in cinematic communication... [it] aims at creating a truly international language of cinema based on its absolute separation from the language of theatre and literature." In other words pure cinema. See it for its innovations — jump cuts, tracking shots, freeze frames, double exposure, techniques few dreamt of in the '20s. The film is startlingly radical even now.
The Hour of the Furnaces
Director: Fernando Solanas & Octavio Getino, 1968
It became the meme for all revolutionary films made in the '70s and '80s. It was the cinematic bible for all anti-fascist fellow-travellers. And it would be the centre piece for all anti-neo-colonial jamborees. All for good reason. Furnaces is the result of artists who held strong political beliefs and were not afraid to air them. And the situation in many South American countries was so bad that the only way out was activism. Furnaces captures in grim detail the fight for freedom as the Argentinian army runs havoc.
Glass
Director: Bert Haanstra, 1958
The Dutch master at his best. In this short 11-minute documentary about glass-making, Haanstra packs in a unique visual style, political statement, a dash of wry humour and a wonderful jazz score. But more than anything else, it is a human document about man and his creations. Not only did it win an Oscar in 1959, but it is even now a text in many film schools across the world.
Night and Fog
Director: Alain Resnais, 1955
It is the irony that jolts you. And it is the voice-over — dead pan, never judgemental — that takes you deep into history's biggest civilisational wound. Why Resnais' Night and Fog remains one of the bestdocumentaries ever — or as Francois Truffaut said "the greatest film ever made" — is that never in its 32-minute running time does it become maudlin. In its detachment, the film shocks us into the realisation of how terrible the Holocaust was.
Terror in Mumbai
Director: Dan Reed, 2009
The director eschews news footage of fire and mayhem; instead he uses, to chilling effect, phone recordings (between the terrorists and their handlers) and interviews with survivors. Besides CCTV footage from inside the hotels as the terrorists go berserk, there is also one of Ajmal Kasab talking to police after his arrest. The end result is a numbing portrayal of the 26/11 attack on Mumbai. It is as if you are not a bystander but one caught in the middle of the carnage.
Woodstock
Director: Michael Wadleigh, 1970
Everything you've heard about Woodstock — music, love, drugs, hippies — is true and wonderfully captured in Wadleigh's three-hour film. Of course, it is basically the music. Where else do you find Hendrix, Joplin, CSN&Y, Santana, among so many others, perform live? But the film transcends the music and captures the zeitgeist of the '60s and of an innocent era. Perhaps the best rockumentary ever.
Source : YUSUF BEGG,ET BUREAU
