Phony documentaries

[thepaulo]

I know you guys are smart so maybe you can help. I kind of like to collect things and here is a new thing I'd like to collect.
I saw a brand new phony documentary and I'm impressed because I bought it nearly all the way in. I won't say which one it is because it's relatively unknown and I don't want to be a spoiler.
Let's start with some obvious ones and work our way down.

Blair Witch Project
Cannibal Holocaust
Man Bites Dog

[newport king]

Saw a movie called Thief. Pretty interesting.

[boonanas]

Catfish

[realmenhatelife]

Fear of a Black Hat
The Search for One Eyed Jimmy

[thepaulo]

Catfish

I agree but their is some controversy about that.



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catfish_(film)

http://www.slashfilm.com/catfish-lawsuit-finally-expose-truth/

[thepaulo]

Saw a movie called Thief. Pretty interesting.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Thief

What can we learn from a phony car thief?

[thepaulo]

Fear of a Black Hat
The Search for One Eyed Jimmy

going old school

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117577/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_a_Black_Hat

But mockumentaries are usually obviously comedies like Spinal Tap.

[realmenhatelife]

going old school

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117577/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fear_of_a_Black_Hat

But mockumentaries are usually obviously comedies like Spinal Tap.

So you're looking for documentaries that attempt to fake you out? Because Blair Witch Project is about a ghost witch serial killer.




Grey Gardens. It's a documentary but the subjects are so obviously performing for the documentarians, so is that real or fake?

[A.J.]

I prefer ROCKumentaries.

[thepaulo]

So you're looking for documentaries that attempt to fake you out? Because Blair Witch Project is about a ghost witch serial killer.




Grey Gardens. It's a documentary but the subjects are so obviously performing for the documentarians, so is that real or fake?

Blair Witch was designed to fake people out and it did in a fairly major way at the time. Sure tons of people knew it was fake. Sure many people don't believe in ghosts and witches but many do.

Grey Gardens was about real people who were crazy, (By the way, I interviewed the Maysles at their offices when the film came out. I was in college and it was a huge deal for me.) but they were real. They performed because that was who they were and the delusions they lived under.

Mockumentaries are mostly comedies where most people get the joke.

[Chigworthy]

Last year's Trollhunter was fantastic.



Do straight "found footage" films count? Where there is no pretense of a documentary? If so:

Evidence
V/H/S

[Furtherman]

Last year's Trollhunter was fantastic.




Agreed!

[thepaulo]

Last year's Trollhunter was fantastic.



Do straight "found footage" films count? Where there is no pretense of a documentary? If so:

Evidence
V/H/S

I think my main criteria is the film makers desire to deceive.

A phony documentary is one where the film maker wants people to believe it's real but it's not.

I have not done a spoiler so let me try.

I don't want to reveal the movie I just saw just yet. It has to do with suicide.

[realmenhatelife]

Blair Witch was designed to fake people out and it did in a fairly major way at the time. Sure tons of people knew it was fake. Sure many people don't believe in ghosts and witches but many do.

Grey Gardens was about real people who were crazy, (By the way, I interviewed the Maysles at their offices when the film came out. I was in college and it was a huge deal for me.) but they were real. They performed because that was who they were and the delusions they lived under.

Mockumentaries are mostly comedies where most people get the joke.

I dont know anyone who thought Blair Witch was real after they saw it. At the time I remember people not getting the concept and before they see it mistaking that it's real. But when you see "oh, it's a video tape of a ghost, I probably would've heard about this first if it were real."

[newport king]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Street_Thief

What can we learn from a phony car thief?

Following your criteria, its set up as if its real to trick the viewer. Blair Witch, maybe the worst movie ive ever seen. And saw it in the theater at the time. Hour and a half with a shaky camera to see a kid pissing in the corner at the end. It was shite.

[thepaulo]

:down:Following your criteria, its set up as if its real to trick the viewer. Blair Witch, maybe the worst movie ive ever seen. And saw it in the theater at the time. Hour and a half with a shaky camera to see a kid pissing in the corner at the end. It was shite.

True enough. Blair witch seems silly now but it was huge at the time.

I don't know about Thief but I'm curious. It sounds like they pulled it off.

[Dude!]

Catfish

[sailor]

Super size me

[realmenhatelife]

Faces of Death

[underdog]

Super size me

:laugh:

[KnoxHarrington]

Following your criteria, its set up as if its real to trick the viewer. Blair Witch, maybe the worst movie ive ever seen. And saw it in the theater at the time. Hour and a half with a shaky camera to see a kid pissing in the corner at the end. It was shite.

There was another movie at about the same time with the same basic gimmick called The Last Broadcast that was way better.

[thepaulo]

Faces of Death

I, II, III, IV, V

[ihaveabadmonkey]

Bowling for Columbine

that was not about bowling at all

[thepaulo]

Bowling for Columbine

that was not about bowling at all

I was tipped off once I saw Charlton Heston.

[spankyfrank]

District 9

[jennysmurf]

Are those "Paranormal" movies supposed to be "real?"

[Chigworthy]

Are those "Paranormal" movies supposed to be "real?"

Yeah but they're more "found footage" than Phocumentary.

[thepaulo]

Are those "Paranormal" movies supposed to be "real?"

The first one might have caught some people off guard early on.

[cougarjake13]

Bowling for Columbine

that was not about bowling at all



as a huge bowling fan I was also upset that it wasn't about bowling

[thepaulo]

as a huge bowling fan I was also upset that it wasn't about bowling


Aren't we all?

[Chigworthy]

The first one might have caught some people off guard early on.

Yeah, but there is not really a documentary aspect other than the found footage disclaimer at the beginning. Paulo, you've got your own concept all messed up.

[thepaulo]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Kid_Could_Paint_That

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_Through_the_Gift_Shop

two movies in which a hoax might be involved but nobody knows for sure.

[Chigworthy]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/My_Kid_Could_Paint_That

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Exit_Through_the_Gift_Shop

two movies in which a hoax might be involved but nobody knows for sure.

Now you've really mucked things up. The way I see it is you've got three categories here:

Phocumentary The Phony Documentary which plays like a real documentary except is completely scripted, such as Trollhunter and Blair Witch.

Found Footage There is no documentary aspect to this kind of film other than a minimal setup at the beginning, such as the Paranormal Experience movies where the footage is described as being evidence in a criminal investigation. Blair Witch has elements of this, but the filmmakers were filming to make a documentary, so that puts it in the Phocumentary category.

Scamumentary The filmmakers maintain that the film is a straight documentary, but most people believe that there is some sort of scripted aspect. Catfish and Exit Through The Gift Shop.

[disneyspy]

still waiting for THE OFFICE documentary to come out,tired of the dailies they put out each season

[thepaulo]

Now you've really mucked things up. The way I see it is you've got three categories here:

Phocumentary The Phony Documentary which plays like a real documentary except is completely scripted, such as Trollhunter and Blair Witch.

Found Footage There is no documentary aspect to this kind of film other than a minimal setup at the beginning, such as the Paranormal Experience movies where the footage is described as being evidence in a criminal investigation. Blair Witch has elements of this, but the filmmakers were filming to make a documentary, so that puts it in the Phocumentary category.

Scamumentary The filmmakers maintain that the film is a straight documentary, but most people believe that there is some sort of scripted aspect. Catfish and Exit Through The Gift Shop.

<iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/29BoqCMRBFk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

[underdog]

still waiting for THE OFFICE documentary to come out,tired of the dailies they put out each season

That's going to happen this year.

[thepaulo]

I'll mention the movie I didn't want to mention.

A Necessary Death

[fezident]

SHUT UP AND PLAY THE HITS - the LCD Soundsystem doc- is rather dishonest.

Not that it's "bogus"... it's just... very... staged.
Meaning; they have footage of him sleeping late the day after their last show. He's in his bed ... slowly waking up and rubbing his eyes... at the exact moment that he's getting a message on his machine that says "hey... you probably slept in... you're probably just waking up now... okay... when you get this message..." Stuff like that.
If felt very crafted.
What, did the camera man spend all night in your bedroom?
Whatever.
It seemed forced.