Category: Documentaries
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Great Docs: The Lost City of Melbourne (2022)
As technology progresses at a lightning pace, especially in the building industry, the desire to replace old with new fast becomes a necessity. Combine that with the fast expansion of cities and those old buildings are sitting on prime real estate. The choice to preserve any of these relics from another era must be done…
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Great Docs: The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)
y the time I had discovered punk (~1998), it’s safe to safe to say that the movement had petered out into little more than a soundtrack for skater culture with songs that were simple and catchy enough that they could be played on the radio. The speed and aggression were still there but filtered through…
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Great Docs: Gates of Heaven (1978)
As anyone who has had the misfortune of watching reality TV, editing is the great narrative creator. A meandering speaker can be made pithy and quick witted, a statement can be contextualised by pairing it with an entirely separate context, and the would-be speakers can become part of a narrative-spinning team of similarly edited speakers.…
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Great Docs: Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008)
For many who voluntarily pick up an instrument, and I include myself in this, there is the dream of being able to use that to make a living. While I recognised early on that my aspirations far exceeded my ability and went down a different path, I can understand that desire to succeed. Music is…
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Great Docs: The Aristocrats (2005)
There’s a line in everyday speech that most of us cannot cross, at least not in good company. Whether these taboos are arbitrary or exist for good reason, transgressing them presents a problem. Comedians are some of the few who can safely transgress these taboos because they are comedians. In King Lear, it’s only the…
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Great Docs: The King of Kong (2007)
To be the best at anything takes a combination of extreme skill, perseverance, and sacrifice. For those who are at the peak of certain talents, the rewards are great. For those outside the mainstream, the efforts put into being the best can seem a little strange. Being the best at tennis is different to being…
A Random Walk Through Film History 