Six Documentaries We Like

We love a good documentary. Unfortunately there are many documentaries out there that cover incredibly interesting subjects but fail spectacularly when it comes to narrative focus. Here are a few that we feel deliver on content as well as presentation!

American Movie:

This might be the quintessential 90s documentary. The filmmakers follow Wisconsin native Mark Borchardt on his futile quest to make a feature film called Northwestern. He's not a filmmaking novice, having made short films from an early age with a group of his closest friends, and he has endless support of friends and family, but he just can't seem to pull it together. The documentary covers three years of Mark's life and efforts, but even after the film is done this gem keeps on giving. The special features of the DVD include a commentary track featuring the two filmmakers Chris Smith and Sarah Price, as well as the two main stars Mark and Mike. It gives you an idea of what was going on from each side of the filming, and it's almost as good as the movie itself. Another choice special feature is the inclusion of the short film Coven that Mark manages to finish over the course of American Movie, despite himself.


Not Quite Hollywood:

Ozploitation filmmakers are some of the most gonzo people to walk the earth, but this isn't just a look into the world of guerrilla filmmaking of 1970s Australia, this also a surprisingly well structured documentary. Directors admit to things like firing live rounds at actors when effects budgets ran thin, a liquor soaked Dennis Hopper is declared dead, you meet Grant Page who's such an amazing stunt guy that Brian Trenchard-Smith made a movie solely to highlight his astounding feats. Seriously, if you love geeking out on movie stuff, watch this movie right now.

The King of Kong:

Some of the most enjoyable documentaries have clear cut villains and heroes, and King of Kong is no exception. The wild characters that inhabit the world of stand up-arcade record holders will blow your mind, but the best of the best is Billy Mitchell. He's likely not as bad as the filmmakers edit him to be, but there's no doubt that he's not as nice as he thinks he is. If you want to see a well made documentary featuring the live action Snidely Whiplash and Dudley Do-right battling each other for the high score in Donkey Kong, this is your jam.


Black Fish:

I do love a good soul crushing documentary, and this one is pretty much soul crushing from all angles. Not only an animal rights doc, it's also a pretty great peak into the ways the corporations brainwash their employees to believe whatever nonsense they want disseminated to the public. Though, unlike most corporation doublespeak, these people are putting their own lives in danger every time they don't question their bosses. It's mind boggling, it's soul crushing, it's the kind of documentary that leaves you questioning every aspect of your life for months, and that's a good thing.

Dark Days:

Now, despite the name, this is one of the most uplifting documentaries we've ever seen. It follows a community of homeless New Yorkers that build a temporary housing project from scrap and castoffs in an abandon subway. It will make you rethink your view homeless men and women, community building, community outreach, use of abandoned space, ownership, and documentary filmmaking in general (as the subjects of this film are also the principle crew). If you only watch one film on this list, make it this one. (And then all the rest...)

Jodorowsky's Dune:

We've seen this movie almost as many times as we've seen American Movie, and the stories have some strong parallels. Namely, each film is about a man on a quest to make a film, and each man grandly fails. But where Mark Borchardt works towards a selfish goal and is his own undoing, Alejandro Jodorowsky inspires everyone around him to produce their best work, making their collective failure a particularly crushing one. Though, through the failure of Jodorowsky's Dune many wonderful and influential films were born so it's hard to reasonably assess what would have been better for the cinematic world. If Jodorowsky's Dune was made and turned out to be a box office failure, would there be a Star Wars or Alien? Likely not in the forms we know them today.

Bonus movies!

Casting By:

A nice little documentary we found on Netflix one night that blew our minds. Some of the most influential and iconic American films were all casted by the same two people. But for many years, casting was looked at as an inconsequential element in filmmaking and casting agents weren't even given credits. It's the kind of movie you should watch if you want to be amazed (the same woman did the casting for Midnight Cowboy, The Graduate, The Lost Boys, Batman, Full Metal Jacket and Lethal Weapon) and angry (when filmmakers banded together to get the Academy to give Marion Dougherty an honorary Oscar, she did not receive one). 

Also, watch any Errol Morris documentary. We like Thin Blue Line, Mr Death, and Tabloid, but we can't imagine there are bad ones...

Turkey Shoot (aka Escape 2000)

This is another genre mash-up movie with future prison and human hunting elements. This genre mash-up is made extra exciting when filmmakers actually shoot live rounds at the actors...

The plot unfolds something like this: Select inmates in a co-ed prison are given the opportunity to end their imprisonment. The only catch? A group of ultra-rich big game hunters have paid for the opportunity to hunt these potential free men and women. Who will come out triumphant in this game of cat and mouse?

Things to watch for: A chess set with pieces the size of house cats. Live ammo being fired at an actor hanging from a cliff face. Fun caricaturization of ultra-rich big game hunters. Lots of satisfying kills. A half man, half beast hunting partner who likes to eat toes.

Things to look away for: There's an unnecessary amount of sexual violence threatened on Olivia Hussey's character, though they (thankfully) don't follow through with any of it on camera.

Another Brian Trenchard-Smith movie: He has cornered the market on Ozploitation movies we love right now (Man from hong kong, BMX Bandits, Dead end drive in)

Yep that's: Olivia Hussey (Black Christmas), Steve Railsback (Lifeforce), Roger Ward (Mad Max, The Man from Hong Kong).

The UK to the rescue: Apparently the American and Australian release of Escape 2000 were pretty lackluster, but in the UK it was re-packaged as Blood Camp Thatcher (as a reference to the movie's prison warden Charles Thatcher and UK Prime Minister at the time Margaret Thatcher) and it made a killing.

Dead End Drive-in

What we wouldn't give to see this movie at an actual drive-in! It's not the best of the Ozploitation but if we ever get to schedule a line up at a drive-in, this is on our list to play last! The social commentary juxtaposed with the new-wave/punk elements mostly make up for the go-nowhere plot and lack of pre-climax action and the final car stunt is pretty epic, which is a pretty good recipe for brainless fun.

The plot unfolds something like this: With crime waves sweeping the city, police have teamed up with local drive-in owners to convert their theaters into prison camps. Social misfits, petty criminals, and unemployed youth are loured in with the promise of food, shelter, and entertainment, but the catch is, they're never allowed to leave. Local health nut Crabs apparently has no knowledge of the new direction the drive-ins are taking, he just remembers the fun hangout of his youth and wants to take his new girlfriend Carmen on a trip down memory lane. If only they knew this trip was one way...

Totally a youth, not a 35 year old: The lead in this film, Ned Manning, allegedly informed filmmakers he was 24 to get the part. In actuality he was 36.

Possible modern throw back: Mad Max: Fury Road has a few nods to other Ozploitation movies (The Cars That Ate Paris for instance) and that leads me to wonder if the Fury Road "Warboys" get their name from the Dead End Drive-in "Carboys".

Expensive car stunts: It would hardly be an Ozploitation movie without a car crash, the final stunt of this flick was both costly and record setting. At the end of the film stunt man Guy Norris jumps a truck an impressive 162 feet, through a twentyish foot neon sign, giving the stunt with a price tag of $75,000.

BMX Bandits

This was a pretty straight forward 80s kids movie but it was pretty fun! Nicole Kidman was obviously interesting to watch in a role at the start of her career, but there were some other familiar faces from Ozploitation movies that were nice to see in a less gritty atmosphere. This is also an interesting departure for director Brian Trenchard-Smith, who had quite a few of our favorite Ozploitation films under his belt before this movie.

The plot unfolds something like this: A gang of criminals are planing the heist of a lifetime, but first they must obtain a box of police-issue walkie talkies. Meanwhile, some BMX-enthusiast kids are also on the look out for some quick cash after inadvertently getting their new friend (Kidman) fired from her summer job. She needs money for a new set of wheels, and her new friends have some ideas on how to get money quick. But when they find a box of expensive walkie talkies floating off a pier, their summer takes a turn for the dangerous...

Reasons to watch: Some genuinely fun new-friendship banter scenes, a couple of boys befriending a girl without making a huge deal that she is indeed a girl, some "sweet" BMX bike stunts, and the dimmest police force on the planet.

You might recognize: David Argue (Razorback), John Ley (Escape 2000, Mad Max), Bryan Marshall (The Punisher (1989)), and Nicole Kidman!

Now enjoy this supremely surreal interview with Nicole Kidman (be sure to watch it all the way to the end, you won't be sorry):

The Man from Hong Kong

There's a long standing rule in the film industry; if you've had a bad experience working with someone, you lie through your teeth about how just great that person was. But while watching Not Quite Hollywood we learned that might not be the standard in Australia as filmmakers explicitly talk about Yu Wang's seething hatred of his co-workers. I've never seen so many people talk so honestly about what it was like working with a hostile star, but Wang's work on The Man from HK just scratches the surface of Wang's assholery. He's been through two divorces; one marriage ending due to domestic violence and the other he ended only after drawing out for years and finally very publicly humiliating his partner. Every article I read on him cited a different fist fight he was famous for, he just recently ended his relationship with his girlfriend 40 years his junior over her parents disapproval of the relationship, and he's the prime suspect in a murder in Taiwan that lacks enough evidence for an arrest. Knowing all these things makes watching The Man from Hong Kong strange, because you find yourself rooting for the bad guys through the whole movie. However, that doesn't change how AMAZINGLY INSANE this movie is from start to finish.

The plot unfolds something like this: A pair of Australian detectives have busted up a drug buy involving a Hong Kong drug runner (Sammo Hung) and they've called in Hong Kong Inspector Fang Sing Leng (Yu Wang) to handle the extradition. But, Inspector Leng isn't just interested in bringing a drug runner back to his home country, he want's to bring down Sydney's largest crime organization to boot. And, if he has time, maybe woo some lovely ladies, kick a ton of bad guys around, and destroy more public and private property than The Avengers. You know, whatever he can fit in a weekend.

Things to watch for: A car door almost taking out the camera and crew during an explosion. George Lazenby's frightening scene in which he is, in real life, unable to remove his flaming jacket and is burned as a result. Some insane stunts by Grant Page. A car chase that tears through a house, literally. A no-holds-barred five and a half min fight that gives the infamous They Live fight scene a run for it's money. Some fight scenes that might have had some influence on The Raid and The Raid 2.

Holy shit, is that: A really young Sammo Hung? Why yes it is.

Yup that's: Fifi and Toecutter from Mad Max as the Australian detectives on the case. (Surprisingly, this movie came out four years before the original Mad Max.)

What we learned: If your leading man hates your country, women in general, and the director especially, possibly look into a different leading man...

Now please enjoy this segment from Not Quite Hollywood on the Man from HK: