Essential Documentaries: The Criterion Collection

Hello readers. This week's entry will be on documentaries that are in the Criterion Collection. In last week's posts I discussed some documentaries in my Movies on Music entry so I feel that this is a nice segue for this week's post. I've been interested in documentary film-making for quite a while now and thanks to Criterion, I have seen a lot of interesting stuff. I have picked two documentaries that I feel are compelling and absorbing in the stories that they are telling.

Hearts and Minds (1974) - Directed by Peter Davis

A documentary about the Vietnam war, told in interviews with those involved on both sides at every level of the conflict, shown without a narrator's commentary. Davis does this by juxtaposing raw interview footage (with veterans, U.S. officials who were behind the war, and citizens of Vietnam), political speeches, footage of bombing runs, and many other types of scenes to paint a detailed, damning picture of the Vietnam war. This is a relentless film that does not shy away from the most disturbing and shocking images of the war. With that in mind, It examines themes of power, patriotism, militarism, racism, and perception verses reality, overall making it, insightful, emotional and downright excellent and informative piece.

My Personal Experience with Hearts and Minds - I first saw Hearts and Minds a long time ago. I was interested in this movie because it was about the Vietnam War and it had a haunting stark red on the cover art on the DVD/Blu ray that caught my eye. After I saw the movie, I not only thought it was one of the great documentaries of all time, but one of the best war movies of all time. Like the other great Vietnam war films such as Apocalypse Now (1979) and Full Metal Jacket (1987), they depict war in the most horrific way possible. It's never glorified. And this documentary stays true to that. This documentary shows how inhumane the war was. It doesn't spend the time showing us glorified battle sequences. There is a powerful funeral scene towards the end of the film that will never leave my mind. Children are at the funeral crying and Davis inter-cuts to an interview with General William Westmoreland, who is commander of military operations in the peak of the Vietnam war. He says that 'the oriental doesn't put the same price on life as a Westerner.' This documentary left a lasting impression on me. Below is a video of some outtakes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyE9Fwmhg8M

Hoop Dreams (1994) - Directed by Steve James

This documentary follows two boys during five years as they group up and go through high school, trying to make it in the big basketball leagues in hopes of one day playing in the NBA. Originally meant to be a short half and hour PBS documentary, Hoop Dreams eventually would become a three hour message on racism and the struggle of living in inner city Chicago. This is a documentary more than basketball. It's a movie that mixes bleakness and hope. The story is so grand that sometimes it feels like you are watching a fictional drama.

My Personal Experience with Hoop Dreams - As a hoops enthusiast, I had to watch this documentary. The way the film captures the essence of family life in the inner city of Chicago is sublime. The movie has some similar touches to HBO's The Wire in that you see these people trying to survive in a broken system. The flow of the movie is so free despite it's three hour running time. My favorite moment in the film is when Spike Lee briefly visits the Nike All-American camp and tells all the players that no one in basketball cares about them regardless of seductive college offers. 'Money is the Bottom Line,' he yells. Here is a three reasons video on why you should watch Hoop Dreams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AglLHi4_0MM

Stay tuned readers for the final entry which will be on Criterion cover art designs.