Sometimes it seems that the whole point of the Academy revealing the shortlist of eligible films for categories like Best Visual Effects and Best Animated Feature is so that pundits can bitch about the films that didn’t make the cut. And in that grand tradition, here’s the Oscar Doc Shortlist with my shock and awe following.
At the Death House Door
The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)
Blessed Is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh
Encounters at the End of the World
Fuel
The Garden
Glass: A Portrait of Philip in Twelve Parts
I.O.U.S.A.
In a Dream
Made in America
Man on Wire
Pray the Devil Back to Hell
Standard Operating Procedure
They Killed Sister Dorothy
Trouble the Water
First, my elation at seeing I.O.U.S.A. and In a Dream on that list. Especially the latter, since I’m not even sure it secured distribution since I first saw it at the Philadelphia Film Festival in April. Second, my shock, shock I tell you, at seeing the omission of Bigger, Stronger, Faster*, American Teen and Secrecy (which, frankly, might not have had a qualifying run).
It’s really disappointment and not shock that registers at those omissions because, frankly, I’m not going to make it through all fifteen of these docs before the end of the year and therefore cannot say authoritatively that they are worse than the three I feel have been snubbed.
There, indignation sated. Anyone else?
That is to say the future of docs is online, to look at recent events. First you have the excellent No End in Sight appearing in its entirety on YouTube, becoming the first wide release to do so (well, with permission). Then you have Michael Moore’s Slacker Uprising premiering as a free download (read his comments on the U.S./Canada exclusivity of that deal) and in one movie theater. Finally, you have Crawford which, after a festival run, skipped theatrical altogether, premiering on Hulu a few days ago.
And all of these docs are available for free-ninety-nine.
Now, is this a great business model? Probably not. It may evolve into one. And I don’t know that it’s a hundred times worse than the current business model of hope for distribution from one of the few indie divisions that hasn’t shuttered over the past year.
The better question is will this be limited to political docs. Clearly the intent here is not to make money so much as a statement. It’s no coincidence that No End in Sight will cease its YouTube run on November 4.
On the other hand, the limited Hulu run of Crawford coincides with its unlimited availability on DVD, so if sales get a bump, who’s to say other genres won’t follow suit?
In honor of The N Word, a documentary premiering on the Trio Channel, I thought I’d recommend a trio of documentaries that all came out about the same time all dealing, in one way or another, with free speech.
The Aristocrats
A fascinating look at the dirtiest joke ever told that just keeps getting dirtier. I saw this film at SXSW and the directors were in attendance and they told us that Bob Saget’s version of the joke took over and hour and a half to film. He actually had to stop in the middle, do a show, then come back to finish it. It was also one of the funniest versions they’d ever heard.
F*ck
Director Steve Anderson reaches across the aisle to get all sorts of reactions to and meditations on the F-bomb. My favorite moment comes when Billy Connolly gleefully explains that “Fuck off!” doesn’t mean “Go away,” it means “Fuck. Off.”
This Film Is Not Yet Rated
As much an expose of the MPAA as an exploration of censorship, including an actual investigation of the members conducted by private investigators hired by filmmaker Kirby Dick.
These films also serve as examples of how a documentary can be fun, in case you have any friends that are afraid of The D Word.
