Civilisation: The Skin of Our Teeth
1.
The Day the Dinosaurs Died (2017 / Nick Green; Ben Lawrie; Toby Macdonald) 6/10
Less about the dinosaurs themselves than about the effects of the immense asteroid that landed off the coast of Mexico, which is believed to have brought about the dinosaurs' extinction. Some interesting points on how geologists deduce the effect of the impact from the remaining evidence.
2.
Stories from the Stone Age: Daily Bread (2003 / Roger Scholes) 8/10
Stories from the Stone Age: Urban Dream (2003 / Roger Scholes) 8/10
3.
Stories from the Stone Age: Waves of Change (2003 / Roger Scholes) 8/10
Excellent series on man in the Stone Age, the gradual but often pivotal innovations as he moved from hunter-gatherer to farmer to city-dweller. No doubt overly simplified (it's mostly linear and focuses primarily on the Middle East and Europe), but very clearly laid out.
Civilisation: The Skin of Our Teeth (1969 / Michael Gill) 8/10
4.
Civilisation: The Great Thaw (1969 / Peter Montagnon) 7/10
5.
Handicapped Future (1971 / Werner Herzog) 6/10
6.
Huie's Sermon (1981 / Werner Herzog) 6/10
Recording of a sermon given by a charismatic Brooklyn preacher. Interesting for his frenzied delivery and for how several of the topics he touches on (transgenderism, economic crashes, green energy, environmental damage) are still at the forefront of discussion today.
7.
Diego Maradona (2019 / Asif Kapadia) 6/10
This wasn't bad but a little disappointing, particularly when contrasted with Kapadia's earlier 'sporting legend' documentary
Senna. There wasn't enough about why Maradona was a great footballer - little input from fellow footballers - and too much mundane home movie footage, which seems to have been one of the film's main selling points, so that the football became more a backdrop to the character study. But aside from the controversies, Maradona doesn't seem to have been an interesting enough character to sustain the devotion the film lavishes on him. A small, but persisting, annoyance was the use of sound effects to accompany every kick and punch in the on-pitch footage.
8.
Civilisation: Romance and Reality (1969 / Michael Gill; Ann Turner) 7/10
Civilisation: Man: the Measure of all Things (1969 / Ann Turner) 6/10
9.
Men of Ideas: An Introduction to Philosophy (1978) 7/10
Civilisation: The Hero as Artist (1969 / Michael Gill) 7/10
10.
Civilisation: Protest and Communication (1969 / Peter Montagnon) 7/10
11.
Civilisation: Grandeur and Obedience (1969 / Peter Montagnon) 7/10
Artsnight: Michael Palin Meets Jan Morris (2016 / John O'Rourke) 6/10
12.
Civilisation: The Light of Experience (1969 / Michael Gill) 7/10
Civilisation: The Pursuit of Happiness (1969 / Peter Montagnon) 7/10
13.
Post-Haste (1934 / Humphrey Jennings) 4/10
The Farm (1938 / Humphrey Jennings) 5/10
London Can Take It! (1940 / Humphrey Jennings; Harry Watt) 6/10
Civilisation: The Smile of Reason (1969 / Michael Gill) 7/10
14.
Civilisation: The Worship of Nature (1969 / Peter Montagnon) 7/10
Civilisation: The Fallacies of Hope (1969 / Michael Gill) 7/10
15.
Civilisation: Heroic Materialism (1969 / Michael Gill) 8/10
16.
Andrew Marr's History of the World: Survival (2012 / Neil Rawles) 5/10
Andrew Marr's History of the World: Age of Empire (2012 / Neil Rawles) 6/10
17.
Andrew Marr's History of the World: The Word and the Sword (2012 / Renny Bartlett) 6/10
18.
Andrew Marr's History of the World: Into the Light (2012 / Renny Bartlett; Mark Radice) 6/10
19.
Andrew Marr's History of the World: Age of Plunder (2012 / Renny Bartlett) 6/10
Andrew Marr's History of the World: Revolution (2012 / Robin Dashwood) 6/10
20.
Andrew Marr's History of the World: Age of Industry (2012 / Robin Dashwood) 6/10
21.
Andrew Marr's History of the World: Age of Extremes (2012 / Guy Smith) 6/10
Not really a history of the world - how could it be? - instead a series of dramatic re-enactments (around six per episode) of significant events in history, ranging from Stone Age people migrating out of Africa to the Deep Blue vs. Garry Kasparov chess match in the 1990s, accompanied by Marr's narration in various modern day locales. Inevitably quite Eurocentric, but world history often is. Marr's goofy presenting style and snarkiness are quite annoying.
America: The First Impact (1972 / Ann Turner) 6/10
22.
America: The New Found Land (1972 / Michael Gill) 6/10
23.
America: Home from Home (1972 / Ann Turner) 6/10
America: Making a Revolution (1972 / Michael Gill) 6/10
24.
America: Inventing a Nation (1972 / Michael Gill) 6/10
25.
America: Gone West (1972 / Tim Slessor) 7/10
Men of Ideas: Marcuse and the Frankfurt School (1978) 6/10
26.
America: A Firebell in the Night (1972 / Michael Gill) 7/10
America: Domesticating a Wilderness (1972 / Tim Slessor) 7/10
27.
America: Money on the Land (1972 / David Heycock) 7/10
28.
America: The Huddled Masses (1972 / David Heycock) 6/10
America: The Promise Fulfilled and the Promise Broken (1972 / David Heycock) 7/10
29.
America: Arsenal (1972 / David Heycock) 6/10
America: The More Abundant Life (1972 / Michael Gill) 6/10
Amiable journalist Alistair Cooke conducts a tour through American history.
30.
Travel Man: 48 Hours in...: Copenhagen (2016 / Leo McCrea) 7/10
Napoleon: The True Story: Episode #1.1 (2015 / David Barrie) 6/10
31.
Napoleon: The True Story: Episode #1.2 (2015 / David Barrie) 6/10
32.
Napoleon: The True Story: Episode #1.3 (2015 / David Barrie) 6/10
33.
Panorama: Britain's Wild Weather (2020 / Joseph McAuley) 5/10
The World at War: A New Germany: 1933-1939 (1973 / Hugh Raggett) 8/10
34.
The World at War: Distant War: September 1939-May 1940 (1973 / David Elstein) 8/10
35.
The World at War: France Falls: May-June 1940 (1973 / Peter Batty) 7/10
So Can I (1975 / Abbas Kiarostami) 5/10
Without Walls: Hell's Angel: Mother Teresa (1994 / Jenny Morgan) 7/10
A scathing hatchet job on the Albanian nun by everyone's favourite contrarian, Christopher Hitchens. Watching this in 2020, I get similar vibes from how the media and governments received Teresa 30+ years ago to how they do Malala Yousafzai and Greta Thunberg now. Unfortunately the 25 minute runtime doesn't allow for much depth.
36.
The World at War: Alone: May 1940-May 1941 (1973 / David Elstein) 7/10
The World at War: Barbarossa: June-December 1941 (1973 / Peter Batty) 7/10
37.
The World at War: Banzai! Japan 1931-1942 (1973 / Peter Batty) 7/10
38.
Men of Ideas: Heidegger and Modern Existentialism (1978) 6/10
Men of Ideas: The Two Philosophies of Wittgenstein (1978) 6/10
39.
The World at War: On Our Way: U.S.A. 1939-1942 (1973 / Peter Batty) 8/10
The World at War: The Desert: North Africa - 1940-1943 (1973 / Peter Batty) 8/10
40.
The World at War: Stalingrad: June 1942-February 1943 (1974 / Hugh Raggett) 8/10
The World at War: Wolf Pack: U-Boats in the Atlantic - 1939-1944 (1974 / Ted Childs) 6/10
41.
The World at War: Red Star: The Soviet Union - 1941-1943 (1974 / Martin Smith) 7/10
The World at War: Whirlwind: Bombing Germany - September 1939-April 1944 (1974 / Ted Childs) 7/10
42.
Winning Your Wings (1942 / John Huston) 4/10
San Pietro (1945 / John Huston) 4/10
43.
Report from the Aleutians (1943 / John Huston) 4/10
44.
Tunisian Victory (1944 / John Boulting; Roy Boulting; Frank Capra; Hugh Stewart; John Huston) 5/10
45.
Naples '44 (2016 / Francesco Patierno) 6/10
46.
The World at War: Tough Old Gut: Italy - November 1942-June 1944 (1974 / David Wheeler) 8/10
The World at War: It's a Lovely Day Tomorrow: Burma - 1942-1944 (1974 / John Pett) 8/10
47.
The World at War: Home Fires: Britain - 1940-1944 (1974 / Angus Calder) 8/10
48.
The Eternal Jew (1940 / Fritz Hippler) 4/10
49.
The Birth of the Tramp (2013 / Serge Bromberg; Eric Lange) 6/10
A decent overview of Charlie Chaplin's early years, from childhood up until the early '20s. It was interesting to learn about other performers creating blatant, shot-for-shot counterfeits of Chaplin's films, including a female tramp (complete with moustache).
50.
The World at War: Inside the Reich: Germany - 1940-1944 (1974 / Neal Ascherson) 8/10
The World at War: Morning: June-August 1944 (1974 / John Pett) 8/10
51.
The World at War: Occupation: Holland - 1940-1944 (1974 / Michael Darlow) 7/10
52.
The World at War: Pincers: August 1944-March 1945 (1974 / Peter Batty) /10
Men of Ideas: Logical Positivism and Its Legacy (1978) 5/10
53.
Men of Ideas: The Spell of Linguistic Philosophy (1978) 6/10
The World at War: Genocide: 1941-1945 (1974 / Michael Darlow) 8/10
54.
The World at War: Nemesis: Germany - February-May 1945 (1974 / Martin Smith) 8/10
55.
The World at War: Japan: 1941-1945 (1974 / Hugh Raggett) 8/10
The World at War: Pacific: February 1942-July 1945 (1974 / John Pett) 7/10
56.
The World at War: The Bomb: February-September 1945 (1974 / David Elstein) 7/10
57.
The World at War: Reckoning: 1945... and After (1974 / Jerome Kuehl) 8/10
The World at War: Remember (1974 / Jeremy Isaacs) 7/10
Excellent, broad overview of WW2, narrated by Laurence Olivier. The way it's constructed - with episodes focusing on particular themes, theatres and events, rather than a straight chronological account - helps make things easy to follow. It wasn't until watching that I realised just how much of the war I'd already imbibed through various channels (high school, cultural references, movies, the odd documentary) without ever having strictly studied it.
58.
Russia 1917: Countdown to Revolution (2017 / Renny Bartlett) 3/10
Pretty awful account of the lead up to the Russian Revolution. The talking heads often just spout unedifying generalisations, which makes me wonder how expert they are on the subject. The hammy dramatisations are the worst part, however.59.
Ways of Seeing: Part One (1972 / Michael Dibb) 8/10
I Am Not a Freak (1987 / Kirby Dick) 5/10
60.
Ways of Seeing: Part Two (1972 / Michael Dibb) 8/10
Ways of Seeing: Part Three (1972 / Michael Dibb) 8/10
61.
Ways of Seeing: Part Four (1972 / Michael Dibb) 8/10
An Ocean Apart: Hats Off to Mr Wilson (1988 / Adam Curtis) 6/10
62.
The God Who Wasn't There (2005 / Brian Flemming) 3/10
63.
The Soviet Story (2008 / Edvins Snore) 6/10
64.
Hellstorm (2015 / Kyle Hunt) 2/10
Neo-Nazi take on Allied violence during WW2. The narrator says at the outset that they make no attempt to analyse the violent actions of the Axis, but this means the criticisms of several Allied actions are near worthless as they are divorced from context. Worse still, I'm suspicious about many of the claims and quotes given throughout the film. Searching for several of them on Google returned results only for this film and the book on which it was based, which leads me to suspect they are fake. No experts are interviewed.
65.
An Ocean Apart: Home in Pasadena (1988 / Adam Curtis) 5/10
66.
An Ocean Apart: Here Come The British! Bang! Bang! (1988 / Adam Curtis) 6/10
An Ocean Apart: Trust Me To The Bitter End (1988 / Adam Curtis) 6/10
67.
An Ocean Apart: If You Don't Like Our Peaches, Quit Shaking Our Tree (1988 / Adam Curtis) 6/10
68.
An Ocean Apart: Under The Eagle's Wing (1988 / Adam Curtis) 6/10
An Ocean Apart: Turning Up The Volume (1988 / Adam Curtis) 6/10
69.
Men of Ideas: The Ideas of Chomsky (1978) 7/10
70.
The Killing of America (1981 / Sheldon Renan; Leonard Schrader) 4/10
A mondo film tour, via news footage, through many of the most high-profile American killings, from the Kennedy assassination to John Lennon's death. Although it has a serious approach, I felt the way it gloried in frequent scenes of graphic violence undermined the supposed anti-gun message it purports to carry.
71.
The Untold History of the United States: Prologue Chapter A - World War I, the Russian Revolution & Woodrow Wilson (2013 / Oliver Stone) 5/10
The Untold History of the United States: Prologue: Chapter B - 1920-1940, Franklin D.Roosevelt, Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin (2013) / Oliver Stone) 5/10
72.
The Untold History of the United States: Chapter 1: World War Two (2012 / Oliver Stone) 5/10
I think I've given up on this after three episodes. Stone's narration, listless yet too-rapid, is so unengaging. Its like having a encyclopaedia entry read out for an hour at a time. It really needed a more professional narrator and interviews with other subjects.
73.
Liverpool FC: The 30-Year Wait (2020 / Louis Myles) 5/10
74.
Leaving Neverland (2019 / Dan Reed) 7/10
75.
Square One: Michael Jackson (2019 / Danny Wu) 3/10
76.
Living with Michael Jackson: A Tonight Special (2003 / Julie Shaw) 5/10
77.
The Michael Jackson Interview: The Footage You Were Never Meant to See (2003) 4/10
78.
Michael Jackson: Chase the Truth (2019 / Jordan Hill) 5/10
79.
Neverland Firsthand: Investigating the Michael Jackson Documentary (2019 / Eli Pedraza) 4/10
It's odd with these Jackson documentaries. I finished Reed's film more or less convinced the allegations were true. I think that's partly a consequence of the four hour duration, giving you plenty of time to become absorbed in the story, plus the fact that you're solely ensconced with the accusers and their families the whole time, all of whom seem very believable, plus the ethereal production style - gentle score and copious floating drone shots. But then afterwards you kind of snap out of it and consider the selective editing and other choices that must have gone into it. The pro-Jackson films in response to it were more blatantly skewed in his favour, often going into praise of Jackson that adds nothing to his case, but there were certain worthwhile points made, particularly in Hill's film regarding inconsistencies, if not downright falsehoods, in the accusers' stories.
They Do Not Exist (1974 / Mustafa Abu Ali) 3/10
Talking Movies: Bette Davis Special (2020) 6/10
80.
Kissinger (2011 / Adrian Pennick) 6/10
81.
The Trials of Henry Kissinger (2002 / Eugene Jarecki) 7/10
:origin()/pre00/aa2b/th/pre/f/2012/007/1/8/videodrome_2_by_jonysilva-d4lmpcq.jpg)
Despite the incredibly sterile, matter-of-fact narration from a doctor, you can tell it still leans into the exploitive nature of what it's covering at times like how it will show a cavalcade of various nude photos to "illustrate the point" of what the narrator is discussing. Feel free to watch this to laugh at it but don't go in expecting to be terribly informed.
