Documentaries are in the unique position to both entertain and enlighten us by taking us places we've never seen and introducing us to people who are at once very different from us and very similar, too. Learn about an issue, relive history or enjoy the scenery in these and many more entertaining documentaries in the Library.
| Who Killed the Electric Car? director: Chris Paine Investigates the development and demise of the fuel-efficient, environment-friendly electric car. Examines the Bush administration's role in the car's being peremptorily pulled from production, the influence of the automobile industry and oil interests, and implications for the future of sustainable energy in the United States. |
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| Wordplay director: Patrick Creadon A journey into the world of Will Shortz, the crossword puzzle editor at The New York Times. Shortz has spent his entire lifetime studying, creating and editing puzzles, and has built a huge following along the way including Bill Clinton and Bob Dole. |
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| Grizzly Man director: Werner Herzog Acclaimed director Werner Herzog explores the life and death of amateur grizzly bear expert and wildlife preservationist Timothy Treadwell, who lived unarmed among grizzlies for 13 summers. Winner, 2005 Sundance Film Festival Alfred P. Sloan award ; winner, Best Documentary Feature, Mountainfilm in Telluride Festival. |
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| Jesus Camp directors: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady A first-ever look into an intense training ground that recruits born-again Christian children to become an active part of America's political future. Follow these children at summer camp in Devil's Lake, North Dakota as they hone their 'prophetic gifts'. |
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| This Film Is Not Yet Rated director: Kirby Dick Kirby Dick's provocative film investigates the secretive and inconsistent process by which the Motion Picture Association of America rates films. Kirby looks at some of the controversial rating decisions of the past four decades, hires a private eye to find out who these anonymous raters are and puts his own film through the rating process. |
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| Murderball directors: Henry Alex Rubin, Dana Adam Shapiro A film about tough, highly competitive quadriplegic rugby players. These men have been forced to live life sitting down, but in their own version of the full-contact sport, they smash each other in custom-made gladiator-like wheelchairs. Tells the story of a group of world-class athletes unlike any ever shown on screen. In addition to smashing chairs, it will smash every stereotype you ever had about the disabled. |
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| When the Levees Broke: A Requiem in Four Acts director: Spike Lee A film structured in four acts, each dealing with a different aspect of the events that preceded and followed Hurricane Katrina's catastrophic passage through New Orleans on August 29, 2005. The U.S. government's role in the emergency response and recovery effort is examined. |
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| The Wild Parrots of TelegraphHill director: Judy Irving Follow the ups and downs of a flock of wild urban parrots within the green niches of San Francisco. Along the way meet unforgettable characters like Picasso and Sophie, the inseparable parrot lovers, and Connor, the lovable outcast of the flock. |
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| Grey Gardens directors: David Maysles, Albert Maysles Portrait of the relationship between Edith Bouvier Beale and her grown daughter, Little Edie, once an aspiring actress in New York who left her career to care for her aging mother in their East Hampton home, and never left again. The aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis feed their cats and raccoons and rehash their pasts behind the walls of their decaying mansion, Grey Gardens. |
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| Sherman's March: An Improbable Search for Love director: Ross McElwee Ross McElwee sets out to make a documentary about the lingering effects of General Sherman's march of destruction through the South during the Civil War, but is continually sidetracked by women who come and go in his life, his recurring dreams of nuclear holocaust, and Burt Reynolds. |
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Questions or requests? Contact:
Jennifer Kelley
Resident Librarian
kelleyj@cod.edu