Buzz
Recently, YouTube has begun offering full movies for free, similar to Hulu. The occasional ads are not too intrusive, and the video quality is above average for YouTube. Best of all, it costs nothing, so what do you have to lose? In this post, I’ll highlight four fantastic documentaries you can watch now on YouTube. Later this week, I’ll even cover a fifth one that may completely surprise you.
American Movie
This 1999 documentary follows the journey of Milwaukee filmmaker Mark Borchardt as he attempts to make his indie horror film Coven, despite having minimal funding, inadequate equipment, no proper crew, and a partial script. (For context, Coven was eventually released straight to video.) While I do have a soft spot for Borchardt as a person, Coven is likely a tough watch. This film documents the efforts of a filmmaker whose passion for his project is fueled by his larger-than-life personality. American Movie won the Grand Jury Prize for Documentary at the 1999 Sundance Film Festival.
This film is enjoyable, occasionally bittersweet, and ultimately inspiring. Watch it here before September 30, 2009. (Note:
Super Size Me
Morgan Spurlock’s iconic 2004 documentary has a simple premise: the director spends an entire month eating only McDonald's food. The outcome is a mix of hilarious and horrifying moments, as Spurlock consumes over 5,000 calories per day and develops serious health issues in just 30 days. I relate to Spurlock a bit since he’s from West Virginia (where my family lives), and he has great facial hair. Anyway, watch Super Size Me in high resolution here, or simply watch it below:
The Times of Harvey Milk
This 1984 Oscar-winning documentary chronicles the political career of Harvey Milk, San Francisco's first openly gay supervisor. Some of the footage is reused in the 2008 Oscar-winning film Milk. Both are essential viewing, though I watched this one first, before Milk. Both left me in tears. Watch The Times of Harvey Milk on YouTube in high resolution here, or watch it below:
Buena Vista Social Club
This 1999 documentary by Wim Wenders is named after the famous musical venue in Havana, Cuba. The film follows Ry Cooder as he brings together a talented group of Cuban musicians to record an album (which you’ve likely heard). The documentary explores both Cuban music and the political struggles in Cuba, particularly how incredibly challenging it is for Cuban musicians to travel from the US, despite being so close. Embedding has been disabled, so you’ll need to watch Buena Vista Social Club on YouTube here. But first, check out the trailer:
For More Free Documentaries...
Start by visiting YouTube's Documentary & Biography page. Then, head over to Hulu's documentary section (they’ve got Super Size Me, plus The Future of Food if you're interested). If you're looking for past Documentaries I Like columns, here’s the full archive.
Got a great documentary to share? Drop the title and (if possible) a link in the comments!
