[Mashiro]

Documentary Recommendations Thread

Hello Community!

I would like to introduce you to some very interesting and great documenatries that I have watched over the years. At the same time I would also like to give you the opportunity to share your own collection of documentaries alongside your opinions. This thread will hopefully serve as a compilation / collection thread where we all can make a superb list of the greatest and most interesting documentaries.

Let's get started. Below you can find my list of documentaries. You may notice that my fair share is mostly based on content from Netflix. I can freely and happily admit that Netflix introduced me into some really interesting and very entertaining documentaries. No matter how controversial they might be I really like them and can happily recommend them.

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The Devil Next Door

Description

The Devil Next Door is a documentary series of five episodes by Netflix about John Demjanjuk, accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity carried out while serving as a guard at Nazi extermination camps during World War II, who spent years living in Cleveland.

Opinion

In my opinion this is a great documentary that is a) reminding about the horrible crimes that were done by the Nazis and b) that shows how witch hunts still exist nowadays. You have to see yourself to understand what I mean. Regardless of the final verdict the whole process is / was a very interesting one. The stories by the victims and witnesses. Everything simply was very interesting and it kept me watching and finishing it episode for episode in one day.

My rating 7.5/10.

Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/de/title/80201488
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11165002/

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The Staircase

Description

The Staircase a Netflix documentary series of 13 episodes follows the indictment, trial, and conviction of crime author Michael Peterson for the death of his wife, Kathleen. In December 2001, she was found dead at the bottom of the staircase in their North Carolina home. Peterson was the only person in the house at the time.

Opinion

This in my opinion is a very great documentary about a case of an accident or murder(?) that shows every aspect and side of the defendant and prosecution. You get to see experts from both sides reconstructing the whole process and explaining everything. At the same time they try to discredit each other in order to make the jury believe their own story and disregard the other side. The detail in investigation and the things that get revealed is really interesting and also heart breaking. See it yourself. Some things I simply couldn't even believe and still wonder how could the jury believe it when they got a lot of information that would proof the opposite??? Honestly... the American justice system is very often questionable to me (being from Europe).

My rating 8/10.

Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/de/title/80233441
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388644/

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Making a Murderer

Description

The Netflix documentary show of two seasons (10 episodes per season) tells the story of Steven Avery, a man from Manitowoc County, Wisconsin, who served 18 years in prison for the wrongful conviction of sexual assault and attempted murder of Penny Beerntsen. He was later charged in 2005, and convicted in 2007, for the murder of Teresa Halbach. The connected story is that of Brendan Dassey, accused and convicted as an accessory in the murder.

Opinion

The story of this documentary is still unbelievable to me til today. This again seems like a huge witch hunt or conspiracy theory against one man. The insane things that happen and the horrible work of the US justice system... watch it yourself. How the police was doing their work and etc... ignoring certain laws and so on. I don't really believe that the two main characters are actually guilty.

My rating 8.5/10.

Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/de/title/80000770
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5189670/

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Wild Wild Country

Description

Wild Wild Country is a Netflix documentary series of 6 episodes about the controversial Indian guru Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh (Osho), his one-time personal assistant Ma Anand Sheela, and their community of followers in the Rajneeshpuram community located in Wasco County, Oregon.

Opinion

A hell of a great documentary about a hell of a dangerous cult and their leader. What can go wrong if a cult forms in the US? Well, we know this isn't the first horrible story about a cult in the US. Dangerous minds mixed with a country where a weapon is available legally at ever corner is a really explosive mix. Where else would such a thing be possible (again)? Watch it and decide for yourself.

My rating 8/10.

Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/de/title/80145240
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt7768848/

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Evil Genius

Description

Evil Genius is a 2018 true crime documentary series about the death of Brian Wells, a high-profile 2003 incident often referred to as the "collar bomb" or "pizza bomber" case. It was released on Netflix as a four-part series on May 11, 2018.

Opinion

I will keep it short and simple. This is a great documentary about a crazy bank heist and its absolutely sick story. You have to watch it and witness it yourself.

My rating 7.5/10.

Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/de/title/80158319
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt8342862/

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The Confession Killer

Description

The Confession Killer is a 2019 Netflix American true crime documentary miniseries directed by Robert Kenner and Taki Oldham. The plot revolves around the 1983 case of Henry Lee Lucas who confessed to over 200 murders in the United States. Years after his admissions, they turned out to be lies.

Opinion

Would you confess to hundreds of murders even if a huge part of them never happened? Why would you? This kind of questions are answered in this documentary. It was really interesting to see the persona "Henry Lee Lucas" and his story. Most may know about this guy and his history. If you don't know - watch this documentary.

My rating 7.5/10.

Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/de/title/80213588
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt11307176/

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A Perfect Crime

Description

A Perfect Crime is a 2020 German docuseries released on Netflix on September 25, 2020. It centers around German politician Detlev Karsten Rohwedder, head of the Treuhandanstalt, who was assassinated at his home in Düsseldorf on April 1, 1991.

Opinion

The first German documentary by Netflix that has hit the right tone. It is very interesting and intriguing. The murder remains unofficially unsolved til today although it is written off as an successful assassination attempt by the RAF. The persona of Mr. Rohwedder is really interesting. It shows how much power he received from the Germany government and almost zero proper protection. He was basically used as a scapegoat if this can be said so.

My rating 7/10.

Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/de/title/81022994
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt12939836/

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Amanda Knox

Description

Amanda Knox is a 2016 American documentary film by Netflix about Amanda Knox, twice convicted and later acquitted of the 2007 murder of Meredith Kercher. It premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 10, 2016 and on Netflix on September 30, 2016.

Opinion

What a love story. Twice convicted! Finally cleared and free. A great documentary movie. Not to be confused with a actual movie based on the story of Amanda Knox (which I don't watch due to its rather bad reception).

Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/de/title/80081155
IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5952332/

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L.A. Burning: The Riots 25 Years Later & LA 92

Description

L.A BURNING: The Riots 25 Years Later is a 2-hour documentary film exploring the lives of the people at the flashpoint of the LA riots, 25 years after the uprising made national headlines and highlighted the racial divide in America.

LA 92 is a 2017 American documentary film about the 1992 Los Angeles riots, directed by Daniel Lindsay and T. J. Martin. It premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2017, opened in theaters on April 28, 2017 and aired on National Geographic Channel on April 30, 2017.

Opinion

Both documentary movies show the riots in L.A. 1992 that were started by the beating of a black man by several police officers. We all know this subject is very iffy nowadays in the US and recent very similar cases that ended with the death of the victims have lead to yet another wave of riots all over the US that are still on going! Georg Floyd and many others... have been brutally killed by US police forces or extremely beaten up. You should watch both. Start of with L.A. Burning and after that watch LA 92. LA 92 will provide you with a lot of additional information and views from other perspectives. Racism in the US is part of their culture and history repeats over and over again. Once again the US justice system is very corrupt!

My rating 8/10 for both.

Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/de/title/80184131
Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/L-Burning-Riots-Y...B06ZXX9FJ3
IMDb:
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6794424/
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6728618/

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Information regarding descriptions: The description material has been sourced from the Internet on sites such as Wikipedia and so on. The descriptions have been freely cited and modified with additional information.

Sources:
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Devil_Next_Door
- https://www.indiewire.com/2018/04/the-st...201955455/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Making_a_Murderer
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wild_Wild_Country
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evil_Genius_(TV_series)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Confession_Killer
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Perfect_...TV_series)
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amanda_Knox_(film)
- https://www.imdb.com/title/tt6728618/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LA_92_(film)