Documentaries
The following is a chronological collection of screen-caps from every
single documentary (feature, short, or miniseries) I watched between February 12, 2013 and
February 12, 2014. For a chronological lineup including narrative and experimental films as well,
visit my complete #WatchlistScreenCaps chronology. Links lead to previous pieces on a given film.
L'arrivee d'un train en gare de la Ciotat (1896), dir. Louis & Auguste Lumiere
A 19th-century train pulls in to my phone - where will it go next?
The Battle of Midway (1942), dir. John Ford
"Yes, this really happened."
Torpedo Squadron 8 (1942), dir. John Ford
Shapes in the sky echo shapes in the sea
December 7th (1943), dir. John Ford
Family of the fallen in Castalia, Iowa
Chronicle of a Summer (1961), dir. Jean Rouch, Edgar Morin
History incurs into the personal sphere
Ingmar Bergman Makes a Movie (1963), dir. Vilgot Sjoman
Bergman can't help smiling as table turns & filmmaker presses critic on his own process
The House is Black (1963), dir. Forough Farrokhzad
Pausing at the moment of expression
Before Hollywood, There Was Fort Lee, N.J. (1964), dir. Thomas Hanlon
Movie stars and yogis lounge in glamorous New Jersey
The Love Goddesses (1965), dir. Saul J. Turrell
Great reminder that even in the sixties, screen sex was nothing new
Two American Audiences (1968), dir. Richard Leacock, D.A. Pennebaker
As soon as he slips into French and filmmaking, he sounds more authoritative
Civilisation (1969), pres. Kenneth Clark
"I feel, therefore I am."
Phantom India (1969), dir. Louis Malle
Even cattle are camera-conscious before the foreign lens
Gimme Shelter (1970), dir. Albert & David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin
"Nice to have a chick occasionally" (especially when she steals the show)
Godard in America (1970), dir. Ralph Tranhauser
The children of Mao and Coca-Cola
Malcolm X (1972), dir. Arnold Perl
"Stop talking about the South. If you're south of the Canadian border, you're in the South!"
Kenji Mizoguchi: The Life of a Film Director (1975), dir. Kaneto Shindo
Mizoguchi's favored urine bottle (he didn't want to miss a moment on set)
Liquid Crystals (1978), dir. Jean Painleve
Crystallization as hallucination
The Battle of Chile (1975 - 1979), dir. Patricio Guzman
The Right loses its phony mask of "freedom" & reveals true identity in the streets of Santiago
A Weekend at the Beach with Jean-Luc Godard (1979), dir. Ira Schneider
Wim Wenders, dressed for the beach
The Solar Film (1980), dir. Elaine & Saul Bass
Despite title, more about industrialization & subsequent malaise than making case for solar
Act of God (1980), dir. Peter Greenaway
Greenaway does a for-real doc (I think). Btw, I too was (almost?) struck by lightning
Larisa (1980), dir. Elem Klimov
Moving tribute from one filmmaker to another, but also from a husband to his wife
New England Time Capsule (1987), dir. unknown
Love that dirty water
The Making of "Gorillas in the Mist" (1988), dir. Robert Nixon
The real Fossey, briefly observed amidst movie promotion
Isle of Flowers (1989), dir. Jorge Furtado
What's worth more: a chicken or a whale, a person or a pig?
Anamorphosis: De Artificilia Perspectiva (1991), dir. Stephen & Timothy Quay
Sixteenth-century paper dolls play with anamorphic strings
Black Is...Black Ain't (1994), dir. Marlon Riggs, Christiane Badgley
Not going quietly into the night
The Beatles Anthology (1995), dir. Kevin Godley, Bob Smeaton, Geoff Wonfor
"The people in the cheaper seats, clap your hands. And the rest of you, if you'll just rattle your jewelry..."
The daughter of Joan of Arc
Chile, Obstinate Memory (1997), dir. Patricio Guzman
Heartbreaking tribute to a dream destroyed
In Search of History: The Knights Templar (1997), prod. FilmRoos Inc. for A&E Network
The mysterious order whose destruction forever cursed Friday the 13th
Arguing the World (1998), dir. Joseph Dorman
Leaping from the immigrant experience into the socialist future
Histoire(s) du cinema (1988 - 1998), dir. Jean-Luc Godard
The man who walked through paradise in dreams and woke up with a flower in his hand
Parsifal: The Search for the Grail (1999), dir. Tony Palmer
Wagner enters the Grail Castle
The James Bond Story (1999), dir. Chris Hunt
007 may be invincible, but his stuntman isn't so lucky
King Arthur - The Search for the Holy Grail (2000), dir. Jens-Peter Behrend
The hidden chamber which Parsifal sought in his quest?
Peter Pan & J.M. Barrie: The Boys Who Wouldn't Grow Up (2000), prod. ArtsMagic
My own earliest memory is my father taking me to a bookstore for an edition of this story
The Universal Clock: The Resistance of Peter Watkins (2001), dir. Geoff Bowie
The commune infiltrates the corporation
A Decade Under the Influence (2003), dir. Ted Demme, Richard LaGravenese
New Hollywood nostalgia, too sprawling at times but with some interesting tangents
Guerrilla: The Taking of Patty Hearst (2004), dir. Robert Stone
"Death to the fascist insect that preys upon the life of the people!"
Bergman Island (2004), dir. Marie Nyrerod
Recalling the times good and bad as his life draws to a close
Ryan (2004), dir. Chris Landreth
This is what creative block looks like
The Secret of the Holy Grail (2005), dir. Susanne Aernecke
Low-key, low-fi Grail doc with terrible Netflix reviews, but I quite enjoyed it
Electric Purgatory: The Fate of the Black Rocker (2005), dir. Raymond Gale
6 degrees of Little Richard connects him to every rock 'n' roller since
Revisiting Brideshead (2005), prod. Free At Last TV
Celebrating with silly string
Returning Excalibur to its watery home
The fox says...Merry Christmas
Becoming John Ford (2007), dir. Nick Redman
The bedridden auteur counts his blessings
The Last Lecture (2007), pres. Randy Pausch
Autobiography as motivational speech
I Knew It Was You: Rediscovering John Cazale (2009), dir. Richard Shepard
Seventies cinema's lonely man
Nightmares in Red, White and Blue: The Evolution of the American Horror Film (2009), dir. Andrew Monument
Good clips, but Freddy Krueger = metaphor for National Debt? Color me skeptical.
On the Cusp (2009), prod. Issa Clubb
Pushing himself over the edge
Waking Sleeping Beauty (2009), dir. Don Hahn
Despite hype surrounding execs, an artist provided the heart behind Disney renaissance
Holy Grail in America (2009), dir. Andy Awes
Quite a lot of leaps of faith required
A Cautionary Tale of Campus Revolution and Sexual Freedom (2009), prod. Criterion Collection
Jack Nicholson recollects Keith Richards' child disrupting the Cannes screening
Henry Jaglom Finds A Safe Place (2009), prod. Criterion Collection
Explaining how Anais Nin provided free publicity for his movie
BBStory (2009), dir. Greg Carson
"The real story is...we were just one bunch of lucky motherfuckers."
Waste Land (2010), dir. Lucy Walker, Karen Harley, Joao Jardim
The materials for art are everywhere
Two in the Wave (2010), dir. Emmanuel Laurent
Apparently tracking shots and morality are no longer so conjoined
Nightfall: 100 Years of Vampire Films (2010), dir. J. Balazs
Tired last night, so went for this 60-min doc. Cheesy execution, cool clips.
These Amazing Shadows (2011), dir. Paul Mariano, Kurt Norton
National Registry as a mosiac of cinema's diversity
The Pruitt-Igoe Myth (2011), dir. Chad Freidrichs
Ugly memories conceal earlier dreams
Battle for Brooklyn (2011), dir. Michael Galinsky, Suki Hawley
Demolishing the facade of liberty and democracy
The Story of Film (2011), dir. Mark Cousins
I tweeted screen-caps from each episode, highlighting favorite moments from the series
Room 237 (2012), dir. Rodney Ascher
Staring at the picture until it stares back at you
56 Up (2012), dir. Michael Apted
Walking down memory lane
The Lion King: A Memoir (2012), hosted Don Hahn
Amazing how many cooks there are in the Disney kitchen
London - The Modern Babylon (2012), dir. Julien Temple
Monitoring the city that won't be controlled
Mankind: The Story of All of Us (2012), dir. Dan Clifton, Hugh Ballantyne
Trimming the topknot of tradition - samurai becomes entrepreneur
Blackfish (2013), dir. Gabriela Cowperthwaite
A killer whale who lives up to the name
Antonio Campos and the Case of the Conscious Camera (A Mystery) (2013), inter. Zach Wigon
The subject begins directing the interview
San Francisco (2013), dir. Jason Bellamy
Video postcard from the city of odd angles
Two American Families (2013), wri. Kathleen Hughes, Bill Moyers
Evening prayer remembered several sad decades later
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