This Week In Documentary
Theatrical & Streaming Releases - New & Recommended - October 4-October 10, 2024
October is here, and for most people that means it’s the “spooky month,” in anticipation of Halloween. While there are plenty of documentaries about scary movies and other stories or folklore based on fright, including the classic 1922 hybrid Häxan, we understand that nonfiction films are often actually more terrifying in their real-life subjects than any horror movie. Some scare us short-term, such as this year’s political docs, and other films give us long-term scares, like Countdown to Zero.
Before getting to the meat of this newsletter, I wanted to mention that last week, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story received the Critics Choice Association’s Seal of Distinction based on members’ favorable votes for the film. The documentary, which is one of my favorites of the year, will be officially released in theaters on Friday, October 11, following its successful Fathom Events dates last month.
Now, without further ado, here are this week’s highlights, listings, and coming attractions, including our Picks of the Week. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber to receive more in-depth highlights and reviews in the future.
Nonfics Picks Of The Week: The Times Of Harvey Milk (1984) & Common Threads: Stories From The Quilt (1989)
Two classic, Oscar-winning films by Rob Epstein (one of them co-directed by Jeffrey Friedman) have been selected as our Picks of the Week, outshining some major new releases. The Times of Harvey Milk is again relevant this week, as it’s airing on TCM and then will be available on the app and TCM On Demand, while Common Threads: Stories of the Quilt is celebrating its 35th anniversary. Both films are among the best documentaries about LGBT history
The Times of Harvey Milk is a biographical documentary about Harvey Milk with most of its focus directed at the politician’s election to serve as San Francisco’s first gay city supervisor and his tragic death at the hands of his colleague, Dan Brown. Sean Penn later won an Oscar for portraying Milk in the eponymous dramatic biopic while filmmaker Dustin Lance Black was honored for his screenplay. Nothing is as good or as inspiring as the real thing, though — the man and the story — as depicted in Epstein’s documentary. The Times of Harvey Milk holds up tremendously 40 years later.
With Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt, Epstein and Friedman shine the light on more tragic tales as they cover an incredible event and the people it honors. The film is about the making of the AIDS Quilt while also sharing the stories of five people lost to AIDS — including one who contracted HIV from intravenous drug use and another from a blood transfusion — and honoring the thousands more who died throughout the 1980s. It’s a heartbreaking yet beautiful tribute. Common Threads premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival on Saturday, October 7, 1989, and also screened in Washington, D.C. that same weekend. This month also marks the 35th anniversary of the film’s release on HBO on October 15, 1989.
The Times of Harvey Milk airs on TCM on Friday, October 4, and will stream on the TCM app throughout the month. It also continues to be available to streamon Max and The Criterion Channel. Common Threads: Stories from the Quilt is currently available to stream on The Criterion Channel and Kanopy.
Other Documentary Highlights
Blink (2024)
A Canadian family travels the world in the documentary Blink, which was directed by Oscar-winning filmmaker Daniel Roher (Navalny) and Edmund Stenson (an associate editor on Navalny). Their reason for the trip is three of the family’s four children have been diagnosed with a rare genetic order called retinitis pigmentosa, which will eventually cause them to be completely blind. Before that happens, they’re given this opportunity to see the world and build up a visual memory bank of these sights.
Immediately, I disliked the premise and execution of Blink because the family seemed too privileged compared to most people facing such challenges. They’re the type who happen to have enough money to drop everything and spend the year flying around the globe, offering their kids the most amazing cultural experiences in addition to showing them several different terrain and landscapes on nearly every continent. Most of us don’t get to see as much of the world as these kids. The worst part is, knowing from experience, some of these kids aren’t going to remember much of it.
Of course, there is more to the film than the surface family travelogue. Blink is sure to make you aware of how much we take our vision and the visuals around us for granted. There is also a relatable parenting component to the story, regardless of your level of wealth and social class. Still, I wasn’t moved as much as I’d anticipated because I quickly disliked the family and their financial freedom to take on their situation with a film premise. I also didn’t always see the relevance of every moment to that premise. Its points are ultimately resonant, but I don’t think the journey to get there is always on track or that interesting.
Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid! (2024)
James Carville is one of the most memorable documentary characters of all time from his appearance in The War Room, which made him a star. There’s a lot of footage of that classic documentary in Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid! accompanied by testimonials from Carville, Bill Clinton, George Stephanopoulus, Mary Matalin, and others. It’s a great reminder to watch the 1993 documentary and appreciate the way it shows us the story rather than this one telling us about the story.
That issue aside, Carville is a fine biographical documentary fleshing out the background on the “Ragin’ Cajun” with a chronicle of his life, his marriage to Matalin, who is his political opposite, and his insight into this year’s presidential election. Unfortunately, some of the film comes off as dated before it’s even come out given that there’s a lot of talk about Biden’s chances and whether or not he should drop out of the race. The primary reason to watch Carville is Carville, though, and there’s plenty of him, and he’s still as entertaining and memorable as ever.
Carville: Winning is Everything, Stupid! makes its broadcast premiere on CNN on Saturday, October 5.
Louis Lumière Films
This week, we celebrate the 160th anniversary of Louis Lumière’s birth. The younger of the iconic Lumière brothers was born on October 5, 1864, almost two years after the arrival of Auguste (whose birthday is also in October). For the occasion, I’d like to highlight some of the films directed solely by Louis. He was the original filmmaker of the pair, with solo credit on such early works as Repas de Bébé (Baby’s Meal), which features Auguste and his wife, Marguerite, feeding their infant child, and the perfectly documentary Workers Leaving the Lumière Factory.
While the most legendary Lumière film, The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat, was made by the brothers in unison, Louis captured its famous shot. He also was responsible for the oft-mimicked L'arroseur Arrosé, which has a more fictional comedy categorization than the actuality pictures associated with documentaries, yet it’s also the precursor to Jackass and other nonfiction prank films and series. Louis Lumière was never interested in theatrics, preferring to document reality instead.
He also captured more common lives and activities than the famous, often royal and political subjects whom actuality directors swiftly turned attention to at the end of the 19th century (a surge in celebrity docs, like the one we have currently, have always come in waves it seems), often with too much influence from those on screen. Louis Lumière may not be truthfully the first nonfiction film director, but he was probably the first real purist documentarian.
Many of Louis Lumière’s films (those not lost) are in the public domain and easily found online to stream with various levels of quality.
Separated (2024)
A new documentary from Errol Morris is always worthy of being showcased, even if Separated is not among his very best. The film does a great job of communicating the terrible decision of the Trump Administration to allow immigrant children to be taken from their parents when these families cross the border illegally. It’s kind of overstated, in fact, with some points made more than once. Separated could probably have been a short or medium-length documentary if it were tighter and removed an unnecessary dramatized illustration of the process spread throughout the film.
I often thought about Morris’s 2008 documentary Standard Operating Procedure since Separated is also about human captivity and exposes an American human rights offense. The difference, which points to the lack of equal effectiveness with this nevertheless important film, is that Standard Operating Procedure has more damning visual evidence to work with. Separated is driven so much by talking heads that the information might be better consumed via the four-year-old nonfiction book it’s based on, Jacob Soboroff’s Separated: Inside an American Tragedy.
Separated opens theatrically on Friday, October 4.
Documentary Release Calendar 10/4/24 - 10/10/24
Friday, October 4, 2024
64 Days (2024) - A feature documentary about the 64 days between the 2020 election and the events of January 6, 2021. (In Theaters)
Blink (2024) - A documentary from the makers of Navalny about a family traveling around the world so their children can accumulate visual memories before going blind. (In Theaters)
Faceoff: Inside the NHL (2024) - A docuseries about the professional ice hockey league. (Prime Video)
Intercepted (2024) - A feature documentary about the war in Ukraine through Russian soldiers’ phone calls home. (In Theaters)
Leap of Faith (2024) - A feature documentary in which 12 diverse Christian leaders discuss their differences during a retreat. (In Theaters)
New Wave (2024) - A documentary about the Vietnamese New Wave music scene. (In Theaters)
Nurse Unseen (2023) - A feature documentary about Filipino nurses working on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic. (In Theaters)
Sam and Colby: The Legends of the Paranormal (2024) - A feature documentary following the titular paranormal investigators to a desert ranch associated with ghosts, UFOs, and monsters. (In Theaters)
Separated (2024) - A feature documentary by Errol Morris (The Fog of War) about U.S. immigration policies that break up families. (In Theaters)
Social Studies Episode 3: “Peer/Algorithm Pressure” - The third episode of this docuseries directed by Lauren Greenfield (The Queen of Versailles) continues a look at how social media has impacted teenage life with a comparison between the pressures to be accepted by peers in real life and online. (FX)
Stories of A (1973/2024) - A newly restored version of a then-banned film about women seeking abortions. (Ovid)
Stripped for Parts: American Journalism on the Brink (2023) - A documentary about a hedge fund buying and dismantling American newspapers. (In Theaters)
The Times of Harvey Milk (1984) - A classic, Oscar-winning documentary about the titular gay city supervisor of San Francisco who was assassinated by his colleague. (TCM)
Saturday, October 5, 2024
Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid! (2024) - A documentary about political consultant and strategist James Carville. (CNN)
Death by Numbers (2024) - A short documentary in which a young woman injured during a school shooting confronts the shooter. (In Theaters)
Ennio (2021) - A feature documentary about film composer Ennio Morricone. Read our review of Ennio. (TCM)
Gilda Live (1980) - A document of Gilda Radner’s Broadway comedy show. (TCM)
Killer Relationship with Faith Jenkins Season 3, Episode 8: “Buried Secrets” - The latest episode of this crime docuseries focuses on the disappearance of a high school senior in Texas. (Oxygen True Crime)
My Generation (2024) - A four-part docuseries where each episode looks at a different generation: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Millennials, and Gen Z. (MSNBC)
The Real Murders of Atlanta Season 3, Episode 8: “Homicide on the Ranch” - The latest episode of this Atlanta-focused true-crime docuseries involves a missing horse trainer. (Oxygen True Crime)
To Catch a Smuggler: Tropical Takedown (2024) - A spinoff of the docuseries To Catch a Smuggler focused on the cocaine trade in the Caribbean. (National Geographic)
Sunday, October 6, 2024
15 years of 30 for 30 (2024) - A documentary special looking back at some of the best documentaries in the 30 for 30 franchise. (ESPN2 and ESPN+)
Snapped: Behind Bars Season 2, Episode 6: “Cristina Rodriguez” - The latest episode of this crime series is about a woman convicted of a murder that her ex-lover committed and blamed on her. (Oxygen True Crime)
Witches: Truth Behind the Trials Episodes 3 & 4: “Scotland: The King and the Witches” & “England: The Witchfinders' Cruel Crusade” - The middle episodes of this six-part docuseries following the history of witches, witch-hunters, and witch trials. (Hulu and Disney+)
Monday, October 7, 2024
Ancient Aliens: Origins (2024) - A docuseries looking back at some of the greatest mysteries presented on Ancient Aliens. (History)
Cabin in the Woods Season 1, Episode 5: “Five Days in Hell” - The latest episode of a docuseries about crimes that happen in remote cabins involves a woman visiting her new boyfriend’s remote dwelling. (Investigation Discovery)
Clutch: The NBA Playoffs (2024) - An eight-part docuseries about the 2024 NBA playoffs. (ESPN+)
El Dia Que Me Quieras: (The Day You'll Love Me) (1999) - A documentary about a photograph taken of Che Guevara after he died. (Ovid)
The Fight Life (2024) - A docuseries following five boxers (Tyson Fury, Naoya Inoue, Seniesa Estrada, Teofimo Lopez, and Josh Taylor) over the course of a year. (ESPN+)
The Menendez Brothers (2024) - A feature documentary about the titular siblings who infamously murdered their parents. (Netflix)
MGM Parade Show #20 (1956) - This installment of the Hollywood-focused docuseries showcases an interview with Donna Reed about her role in Ransom! and a look at Esther Williams’s water ballet sequence in Ziegfield Follies. (TCM)
Los Puros (2024) - A documentary about reunited friends in Cuba who’d gone to the Soviet Union in the 1980s. (Ovid)
The Real Murders on Elm Street Season 1, Episode 5: “What Lies Beneath” - The latest episode of a docuseries about murders occurring at Elm Street addresses in small towns across America involves two teens who go missing on Thanksgiving. (Investigation Discovery)
Tuesday, October 8, 2024
Amazonia Undercover (2019) - A documentary about deforestation in the Amazon. (DVD)
Behind the Bucket: A Garrison Story (2024) - A documentary about the Star Wars cosplay group known as the 501st Legion. (DVD)
CIA Drugs R Us! A Drugs as Weapons... Sequel (2024) - A documentary about the CIA targeting musicians and activists through access to drugs. (DVD)
Citizen Nation Episode 1: “Chasing Victory” - A three-part docuseries following high school students as they conduct mock congressional hearings. (PBS)
From Power to Prison: The Trump Story, Part 2 (2024) - A documentary sequel focused on Donald Trump’s legal battles ahead of the 2024 presidential election. (DVD)
Heart of a Servant - The Father Flanagan Story (2024) - A feature documentary about the titular priest behind Boys Town, the famed orphanage and center for troubled youth. (In Theaters)
Life Below Zero Season 23, Episodes 1 & 2: “Deep Dark Winter” & “Night Moves” - The first two episodes of the latest season of this docuseries about life in Alaska. (National Geographic)
Mark - A Call to Action (2024) - A documentary about a disabled American living in Japan who became a leading expert on accessibility around the world. (DVD)
Money Electric: The Bitcoin Mystery (2024) - A feature documentary investigating the origins of Bitcoin. (HBO and Max)
One or Two Questions (2018) - A four-hour documentary about Uruguay after 12 years of military rule. (Ovid)
Riot Island (2022) - A docuseries about an island used as a prison for Singapore’s deadliest gangsters. (DVD)
Studio One Forever (2023) - A feature documentary about the iconic West Hollywood club. (DVD, Blu-ray, and VOD)
Wednesday, October 9, 2024
Daytime Revolution (2024) - A feature documentary about the week in 1972 when John Lennon and Yoko Ono took over The Mike Douglas Show. (In Theaters)
How (Not) To Get Rid of a Body Episode 6: “Needles in a Mineshaft” - A docuseries about killers who attempted to dispose of the bodies of their victims. This episode involves a couple from Eureka, Utah, whose bodies are found in a mineshaft. (Investigation Discovery)
Lost Monster Files (2024) - A docuseries following cryptologists on the hunt for legendary and unknown species. (Discovery Channel)
Mad About the Boy: The Noël Coward Story (2023) - A feature documentary about the titular screen and stage actor. (In Theaters)
Public Defender (2024) - A short documentary following Washington, D.C. public defender Heather Shaner as she represents clients who were involved in the January 6 insurrection. (The New Yorker)
Scamanda (2024) - A four-part docuseries about a woman who scammed people by pretending to have terminal cancer. (ABC)
Starting 5 (2024) - A 10-part docuseries following five NBA basketball players (Jimmy Butler, Anthony Edwards, LeBron James, Domantas Sabonis, and Jayson Tatum) over the course of the 2023-2024 season. (Netflix)
Thursday, October 10, 2024
Breaking the Silence: The Maria Soledad Case (2024) - A true-crime documentary about a murdered teenager in Argentina in the 1990s. (Netflix)
Expedition Amazon (2024) - A docuseries following explorers into the Amazon. (National Geographic)
The Hunt for the Chameleon Killer (2024) - A three-part docuseries about serial killer Elaine Parent. (SundanceTV, Sundance Now, and AMC+)
Dateline: The Smoking Gun Season 1, Episode 2: “Vendetta” - The latest episode of this true crime docuseries in the Dateline franchise focused on evidence that will crack a case involves three dead in Texas. (Oxygen True Crime)
Sneak Peak At What’s Coming Soon
10/11 - Jung Kook: I Am Still - The Party Version - A new, extended cut of the 2024 documentary about the titular K-pop star and BTS member. Watch the new trailer below. (In Theaters)
10/18 - Nocturnes - A feature documentary about scientists studying moths in the Himalayas. (In Theaters)
10/25 - Black Box Diaries - A feature documentary in which Japanese journalist and filmmaker Shiori Itô investigates her own sexual assault. (In Theaters)
11/1 - Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat - An essay film surrounding the independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, and the incident where jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crashed the UN Security Council in 1960. (In Theaters)
11/22 - Ernest Cole: Lost and Found - A feature documentary by Raoul Peck (I Am Not Your Negro) about the first Black freelance photographer in apartheid South Africa. (In Theaters)