#10 Bobby Fischer Against The World It is not a prerequisite to enjoy or even know how to play chess to enjoy this film. I have absolutely no idea how to play chess; the closest I ever came to enjoying it was watching Faye Dunaway play Steve McQueen in The Thomas Crown Affair. The excellence of this film is derived chiefly then, from the insight gleaned into the tragically strange world of troubled chess grand master Bobby Fischer. There appears to be a recurrent theme among the finest chess players in the world that they will eventually go mad. Fischer apparently in this way alone did not break the mould.
#9 The King of Kong: A Fistful Of Quarters Comprising the one and only lighthearted entry on this list is this glimpse into the bizarre world of competition for the highest recognised score at oldschool arcade game Donkey Kong. Prepare to give yourself up to a weird and wonderful world of subterfuge, jealousy and gaming. Then wait and see who will ultimately prevail in the ever intensifying battle to become King of Kong. Who will it be, Chuck Norris wannabe Billy Mitchell or mild mannered family man Steve Wiebe?
#8Winter Soldier Ok people, stick with me. No we are getting into some serious shit. Filmed over the course of three days in a Detroit hotel this film documents the shocking testimony of Vietnam war veterans who engaged in horrific acts of terror and violence against the Vietnamese people. This documentary enlightens on the horrors that can ensue through the dehumanising processes of war. Also keep your eyes peeled for a young John Kerry.
#7 The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara A compelling and personal look at the life and career of former United States Secretary of Defence Robert McNamara. From his beginnings as a strategic bombing planner during World War II to his role in Vietnam this film is a revealing insight into the rational technocrat who was one of the chief architects of the Vietnam War. McNamara himself speaks candidly throughout about the regrets and accomplishments of his long and varied career. Also keep your eyes peeled for an elderly Robert McNamara.
#6 The War on Democracy For several decades John Pilger has been a committed advocate of human rights and a tireless upender of received wisdom. In this documentary he continues this trend by examining the relationship between the United States and its Latin neighbours. With a particular emphasis on the Venezuela of Chavez and the Chile of Pinochet Pilger unearths some of the truly awful consequences on the ground of decisions taken many miles away in Washington.
#5 Control Room Examining the Qatari based Al Jazeera news network's preparations for the impending 2003 US invasion of Iraq this documentary gives insight not just into a media outlet but their ongoing battle with the US administration. Giving Arab interpretations of the invasion with a view to providing news chiefly to the Arab world Al Jazeera found themselves consistently bombarded by accusations of propagandising against American efforts in Iraq culminating in the bombing of their offices in Iraq.
#4 Defamation Having grown up in a society that persistently discussed anti-Semitism Israeli director Yoav Shamir seeks to unearth it in its modern form. Following Israeli schoolchildren on a rite of passage to Auschwitz, interviewing senior members of the Anti-Defamation League and talking to the dissenting voices, Shamir attempts to shed light on the ubiquitous bogeyman with which he was raised. Watch carefully for an interesting cameo by "controversial" scholar Norman Finkelstein.
#3 The Revolution Will Not Be Televised: Chavez: Inside the Coup An unwitting Irish film crew seeking to make a film about Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez find themselves in the midst of an attempted coup against him. This film is absolutely compulsive viewing giving insight into the lethal power struggle that ensued in Venezuela in 2002. As confusion reigns the cameras keep on rolling inside the presidential palace as both sides seek to gain the upper hand through control of the nation's media outlets. The video below is supposedly a trailer for the film and is the best I could find. There are a number of full versions doing the rounds on Youtube though the video quality of them is not very good.
#2 American Radical: The Trials of Norman Finkelstein Number two on my list is an intimate portrait of aforementioned "controversial" scholar Norman Finkelstein. Involved in the Israel Palestine Conflict his entire adult life Finkelstein has provoked the ire of many for his erudite and forceful scholarship exposing Israel's disproportionate use of force against the Palestinians as well as its appalling human rights record. In this film Finkelstein discusses his parents; both survivors of the Nazi Holocaust, as well as his infamous battle with Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz. Previous posts on this blog have discussed these issues and I have linked to the film in two parts on the Al Jazeera website in the above post. Nonetheless here is the trailer to wet the appetite.
#1 Manufactuirng Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media In this film the ideas and consequent tribulations of indefatigable propagandist and intellectual Noam Chomsky are examined. Following Chomsky throughout the world, from Tokyo to Amsterdam, filmmakers Mark Achbar and Peter Wintonick give revealing insight into the ideas and workload of "arguably the most important intellectual alive." While above I said I would only link to trailers there does happen to be a relatively high quality version of Manufacturing Consent on Youtube and since I am declaring it my favourite documentary of all time I figure what the hell, I will link the whole film. Hopefully, for reasons that will also become apparent to you, I regard this film as unparallelled in the whole genre of the documentary. As one of Chomsky's fanboys I may be considered biased but regardless of your opinion of the man this is one not to be missed. And who knows by the end you may like him more.
These are my top ten documentary films. Enjoy, or endure whatever the case may be.
