What was the last documentary you watched?

[Angela Channing]

Tina (2021)

An interesting documentary of the singer. There were no major new insights or revelations about her. The first half focusses on her life and career with her husband Ike while the second half concentrates on how she reinvented herself after her divorce to become the star that she is. The story of the abuse she endured while married to Ike is what she is best known for but I found the most interesting part of the documentary was how she was determined so come out of his shadow and be a successful solo artist in her own right. I didn't realise that the song that revived her career, What's Love Got To Do With It, was originally recorded by Bucks Fizz.

 

[pete lashmar]

Nail Bomber (Netflix). A very good account of the London Nail Bombings in the late 90's. It's just a one off but worth a watch. Just starting the documentary on Peter Tatchell, again on Netflix. Cannot stand the man but looks very interesting with Sir Ian McKellen interviewing him.

 

[stevew]

Sometimes I wasn't sure if it was fiction or real, but that also seems to be the essence of this underground culture, although part of it was popularized and commercialized in the 90s.
What really surprised me is that so many of these people dreamt of being rich and famous, looking or posing like a glamorous woman wasn't enough anymore, they wanted to have what Rich White America had - or how it was perceived in the magazines and commercials (and soaps).
And to think that "looking fab and feeling great" was going to achieve that.
With these different themes going on at the same time, and the entertainment value of some of these colourful people, it almost looks like brilliant fiction.

It's strange that the characters from POSE turn out to be so victim-y and uninspiring, if you consider the amazing source material.

Saw Paris is Burning in the 90's in college in a theater in Ann Arbor, Michigan. How you brought back memories.

 

[stevew]

All In: The Fight for Democracy (2020)

This is such an important documentary and a real eye-opener to how one political party in the USA is attempting to exclude black people from voting or making it increasingly difficult for them to do so. The documentary compares things happening now with attempts made to stop ex slaves from voting after they were freed. In many ways the USA hasn't changed that much in one a half centuries.

Well in a democracy you need a majority of the people. When you can't get that you turn to dirty tricks to get only the voters you want to the poles. Tyranny 101.

 

[stevew]

Had to race to the end - to long of a thread for me.

Titians Who Built America: Henry Ford, Pierre Dupont, William Boeing, Walter Chrysler, J.P. Morgan, Jr., the squeal to the Men Who Built America: Cornelius Vanderbilt, John Rockefeller, Andrew Carnegie, J.P. Morgan, Sr., Henry Ford (which should have come after the men who created American, John Adams, Alexander Hamilton, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and George Washington). The next is the series should be the People Who Squandered America: love to see that list of 5.

 

[9unfold]

WW1 In Numbers. Really interesting to see different approach to the subject. Also talked about the political aspects during and after.

 

[Angela Channing]

Heist (2021)

A brilliant Netflix documentary series covering 3 true life robberies using recreations, interviews with key participants in the crimes on both sides of the law and archive news footage. Engrossing and very well made.

 

[Sarah]

Reclaiming Amy

 

[Alexis Colby Carrington]

The Movies - Sky Documentaries.

 

[pete lashmar]

Heist (2021)

A brilliant Netflix documentary series covering 3 true life robberies using recreations, interviews with key participants in the crimes on both sides of the law and archive news footage. Engrossing and very well made.

Loved this series, thought it was very well produced and gave the story room to breathe with 2 episodes per case. Loved The Bourbon King the most, with a great twist at the end.

 

[Grant Jennings]

Woodstock 99: Peace, Love and Rage about a music festival/drunken frat party/feces-smeared riot.

 

[pete lashmar]

Memories of a murderer - The Nilsen Tapes. (Netflix).

A fantastic insight into one of the UK's worst serial killers. Well worth a watch.

 

[pete lashmar]

NETFLIX - Turning Point 9/11 & The War On Terror. Fascinating, terrifying and totally engrossing.

Although a huge chunk is about 9/11 itself, the series also looks back at how and why it happened, which is a very informative for people unaware of the full story.

 

[Richard Channing]

UNTOLD: Caitlyn Jenner. Surprisingly riveting and moving. I didn't know too much about Bruce Jenner's life and the story of his journey to Olympic glory is really compelling viewing.

 

[Sarah]

I watched Inside the President's War Room on BBC iPlayer. Absolutely brilliant. I find it hilarious how I went from absolutely despising George W Bush 20 years ago to thinking he is actually quite cute now. (Still don't agree with some of his actions).

 

[Angela Channing]

Kipchoge: The Last Milestone (2021)

A Documentary about how Eliud Kipchoge ran the first marathon in less than 2 hours. I watched this event live and it was a genuinely exciting sporting moment and this documentary still has that excitement even though I knew how it ended. The detail they went to to enable him to achieve that goal was astonishing.

 

[Mel O'Drama]

A Killing In Tiger Bay (2021)

I remember the horrific murder of Lynette White being huge news when it happened in 1988. The headlines, and that Crimewatch reconstruction with its photofit.

But perhaps more chilling than the murder itself is the way the investigation was handled by the criminal and judicial systems.

Despite eyewitness accounts of a white man with a bloodied hand at the scene, five black and mixed race men were brought in, repeatedly and intensively interrogated and eventually tried. None of them matched the blood type found at the scene - and one was even working elsewhere, surrounded by colleagues - but three of the men were still found guilty and imprisoned. It was many more years before the actual killer - a white man - was found through DNA evidence.

This three-part documentary includes interviews with some of the men who were falsely charged and others who were involved in the process. It contains a lot of detail and information I wasn't aware of before - some of it quite shocking. I found it gripping and watched all three hours in one sitting.

On a lighter note, it's always a treat to see vintage Eighties footage of cities such as Cardiff, complete with Morris Marinas.

 

[Sarah]

I find the title of this one rather confusing as we have a Tigers Bay in Northern Ireland where..other stuff happens…. @Mel O'Drama

 

[Mel O'Drama]

I find the title of this one rather confusing as we have a Tigers Bay in Northern Ireland where..other stuff happens….

Oh, I hadn't realised this.

The Bay area of Cardiff has quite a fascinating history. Being a port it was often the first stop for immigrants and has one of the UKs most established ethnically diverse communities.

It's also the title of a film set in the area starring John Mills and his daughter Hayley.

Shirley Bassey - who grew up there - was known as "the tigress (or temptress) from Tiger Bay". And eventually recorded this track:

 

[Sarah]

Oh, I hadn't realised this.

The Bay area of Cardiff has quite a fascinating history. Being a port it was often the first stop for immigrants and has one of the UKs most established ethnically diverse communities.

It's also the title of a film set in the area starring John Mills and his daughter Hayley.

Shirley Bassey - who grew up there - was known as "the tigress (or temptress) from Tiger Bay". And eventually recorded this track:

Yes when I was younger I remember being very impressed that Shirley Bassey was from North Belfast.