Apollo 11
For all of those people who think that we never went to the moon and Stanley Kubrick filmed a fake version which he then alluded to in The Shining – shut up idiot. We went to the moon and it was all captured by a team of dedicated camera blokes and lasses – all of which has been cleaned up into 4K and edited together to create one of the best documentaries you’ll ever see.
The Last Dance
A whole 2 episodes about basketball and the Chicago Bulls? Sounds a bit boring right? Well, this brand-new documentary explores the story of Michael Jordan’s final season at the team, as well as the relationships between other key members, such as Scottie Pippen and of course – Dennis Rodman. It’s a fantastic watch and should definitely be on your list whether you like basketball or not.
How to Fix A Drug Scandal
The fucked-up relationship that the USA has with drugs never fails to astound me, and their whole legal system just seems like a complete farse. If they’re not getting false confessions then they’re getting potentially false drug tests from people in the labs who are taking the drugs to get off their nut at work. This is a seriously gripping insight into the so-called ‘War on Drugs’ and how it’ll never be won.
Tell Me Who I Am
I should probably warn you that this documentary isn’t for the faint of heart and can be seriously distressing – especially towards the end. But it’s also gripping and actually rather heart-warming, as two brothers battle family history and the fact that when one of them was in car accident and got amnesia – the other was forced to tell his brother all about their childhood.
LA 92
A deep, dark and thought provoking look at the riots that took over the whole of Los Angeles in 1992 as a result of the Rodney King trial, and the shooting of Latasha Harlins. The footage is at times brutal – especially the bit where the Crips and the Bloods are dragging people out of their cars as they drive past. It’s also a truly fascinating insight into human behaviour during times of chaos, as well as a look into just how thin that blue line really is.
Behind the Curve
Just like the moon landings, anyone who thinks that the Earth is flat is an absolute tool. Not that you can say anything to them about it – that’s what they believe and there’s no deviating from it. Perhaps the fact that they’re just lonely is the only reason they’ve decided to be a ‘flat-earther’ – I dunno. Well, ‘Behind the Curve’ explores all of the people behind the conspiracy theory and it’s great.
The Vietnam War
At any other time I’d say to you; “If you had the time”, but we all know that you do right now, so now is perfect to visit Ken Burns’ Vietnam documentary masterpiece. This thing is LONG (10 episodes of 100 minutes) but it’s the definitive account of everything that happened in the lead up to war in Vietnam and right up until the collapse of Saigon in 1975. If you know nothing at all about Vietnam – this will teach you every single thing you need to know, and once you start – it’ll be hard to stop.
McQueen
A documentary that explores the life of Alexander McQueen, from his humble beginnings growing up in a council flat in Lewisham to hitting the very top of the world fashion scene. His life and work was often chaotic, controversial and tinged with some highly charged emotions – most of which are explored in this extensive documentary. He created some truly iconic pieces and shows and this doc uncovers the man (and people) behind it all.
Casting JonBenet
You might not have ever heard of the killing of JonBenet Ramsey, a 6-year-old girl child beauty queen who was killed in her family’s home in Colorado in 1996. The case is still open and unsolved and there is still a wealth of theories around who killed her and why. Strange evidence found at the scene also compounds many of these theories. This documentary looks to hire actors from the Colorado area to play the parts of the family in a reconstruction – using their knowledge and accounts of the case to create a narrative and question exactly what happened.
Icarus
An Oscar winner this one and it’s clear to see when you’re watching it just why it received the accolades it did. The whole thing starts off as a documentary on cycling, as director Bryan Fogel aims to actually take drugs in order to compete in a race. It quickly descends into a worldwide political nightmare though as the person he was referred to for the drugs turns out to be a Russian scientist/whistleblower who becomes embroiled in the huge Russian Olympics doping scandals.
Supersonic
When I first watched Supersonic, I was astounded by the sheer amount of footage that exists of the Gallagher brothers before and during their meteoric rise from practising in the car park of India House to hitting up Knebworth to a crowd of 250,000 people. Of course, the stars of any Oasis show are Noel and Liam – with their bickering and fighting being so hard to turn away from. A great alternative to the now pretty much forgotten Brit Pop doc – Live Forever.
Cheer
Who’d have thought that a documentary about cheerleaders would be SO good? Well, not me. Not by a long shot. But this truly gripping account of a Texan ‘Cheer Team’ preparing for the National Cheerleading Championships is seriously addictive. At only 6 episodes long, this one doesn’t drag anywhere near as much as other Netflix docs do – seemingly when they’re just trying to tell a short story but over too long a timescale.
Fyre Festival
Most people of a certain age will remember the whole Fyre Festival fiasco – we pretty much all lived it live as it was happening through some poor sod’s Instagram account. Well, this documentary series explores the other side of the whole event – from the point of view of the organisers. The man behind the whole thing – Billy McFarland – is basically a career con man, someone who managed to swindle a bunch of ‘influencers’ out of a boat load of cash – and his producer, Andy King, of his dignity.
