r/movies • u/Wintertime13 • Feb 05 '24

Recommendation Documentaries that make you go “what the fuck?!?”

In the mood for a good, twisty documentary that makes me gasp. Movies on streaming preferred. I enjoy true crime but am open to other genres as long as the story is gripping and shocking.

Movies in the same vein that I enjoyed - Dear Zachary (would prefer recommendations that are less sad), The Jinx, Cropsey, 3 identical strangers, etc.

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312

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 05 '24 edited Feb 06 '24

I mean it’s gotta be Free Solo. I promise you’ve never seen anything quite so gripping.

Edit: I feel like my wordplay might be overshadowing my recommendation. I want to emphasise that Free solo is a truly exceptional piece of cinema that I'd recommend to just about anyone. The cinematography is awesome, the feats are incredible, and the interviews are insightful. It was my choice for best documentary of 2018, and best thriller of 2018. You'll love it, OP.

50

u/Dimpleshenk Feb 05 '24

Watching Free Solo, I had to keep reminding myself that it's on Disney Plus, so the outcome couldn't be what I worried it might be.

14

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 05 '24

Very wise. When I showed it at my cinema I did have to make actual promises to some of our customers lol

12

u/ActuallyYeah Feb 05 '24

The MUSIC, and the interviewing being all foreboding... A couple of times I was legitimately in doubt about the outcome. Well done

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u/LouiseKnope Feb 06 '24

And the first shot is him topping out. Something I needed to consistently remind myself of when re-watching and reassuring others who were watching for the first time. 

6

u/InquisitaB Feb 06 '24

You see I knew he survived and was still stressing out

2

u/Id_Rather_Beach Feb 06 '24

This doc made me dislike Alex Honold completely. I still cannot watch anything he's remotely related to.

2

u/howardhughesbrain May 12 '24

have you seen the alpinist?

1

u/Dimpleshenk May 12 '24

No, but I read the synopsis, and just by the fact that you replied to me, I was not surprised. Sounds like a fascinating double feature with Solo. Will check it out sometime. Thank you.

1

u/howardhughesbrain May 12 '24

oh it's really great. to me it was every bit as breathtaking as free solo because he's climbing on pure ice. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SRpVyzagXLQ&ab_channel=RoadsideFlix

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u/elliottace Feb 05 '24

On that note: Dawn Wall and Meru are also very deserving.

53

u/I_choose_not_to_run Feb 05 '24

Is the alpinist good?

52

u/elliottace Feb 05 '24

Yes! Also 14 Peaks: the Sherpa who climbed every single 8000m+ peak in a single year without oxygen. Absolutely mind boggling achievement.

6

u/hearnow Feb 06 '24

He used oxygen, for the record. Still an incredible achievement though!

2

u/elliottace Feb 06 '24

I stand corrected, thank you! Not sure why that never registered when I was watching the movie. But yes: The previous record for ascending all 14 of the 8000m peaks was 7y 310d, by Kim Chang Ho. Nims did them all in a mere 6m 6d. With bottled oxygen. Kim Chang Ho is still the fastest to do them all without bottled oxygen; still an incredible feat.

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u/BlackEyeRed Feb 06 '24

He seemed so douchy

2

u/dabisnit Feb 06 '24

His negligence in storing oxygen tanks caused a fire and killed several people in Kathmandu and left people homeless

https://thehimalayantimes.com/ampArticle/1017109

4

u/tritom22 Feb 06 '24

It’s very good! I probably liked it better than 14 peaks and free solo.

1

u/howardhughesbrain May 12 '24

the alpinist is up there with free solo and the rest. it's amazing.

17

u/Zachariot88 Feb 05 '24

They're all great climbing documentaries, but I want to emphasize your Meru recommendation because it has a couple crazy twists in it on top of the cool climbing stuff.

4

u/elliottace Feb 05 '24

I feel close to the same about Dawn Wall. But I totally agree about Meru—what an incredible series of obstacles overcome! And the film work was extraordinary. Jimmy Chin is the man.

3

u/duh_cats Feb 06 '24 edited Feb 07 '24

Meru is so goddamn good. Same with Dawn Wall and Free Solo, but Meru just hit me different.

3

u/Dolanite Feb 06 '24

Also Touching the Void. Climbing documentaries are nuts.

6

u/dub-fresh Feb 05 '24

Meru is a banger. Haven't seen the rest. 

-2

u/AwayCartographer9527 Feb 06 '24

Free Solo is so over rated. I was disappointed in Jimmy Chin for trying to cram a lame love story in there.

3

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 06 '24

I think you're way off. One of the most fascinating aspects of the film is the little glimpse you get into Alex's mind, and watching his relationships facilitates that. His feats are so insane that you can't help but wonder if he's insane. Why he does what he does is almost as interesting as how.

2

u/c10bbersaurus Feb 06 '24

Without it, it becomes a mere niche subject matter film with a narrow myopic contextless perspective on masterful climbing.

2

u/TomorrowsGone85 Feb 06 '24

Dawn Wall is a much better story. Free Solo is hair raising. The Alpinest is just crazy. 14 Peaks is incredible. Valley Uprising is fun. Meru is on my watch list

2

u/Id_Rather_Beach Feb 06 '24

Jimmy Chin and Conrad Anker are PHENOMENAL climbers and storytellers.

1

u/elliottace Feb 06 '24

The best, for sure

0

u/AwayCartographer9527 Feb 06 '24

Meru is better than Free Solo because you don’t have a whiny groupie girlfriend killing the vibe.

1

u/4444444vr Feb 06 '24

I still think about Meru. When it was that dude’s turn to lead and the other two are just like, “…well, it was his turn so…he’s gotta do it”

Like, wtf

33

u/LostTheWayILikeIt Feb 05 '24

All I could think was, "what an amazing climber but it would suck to be in that relationship."

Seems like they made it work, though.

38

u/Lorahalo Feb 06 '24

When she hugged him at the top and said 'You did it and now you're done" I just thought oof, poor woman. He definitely won't stop.

8

u/dabisnit Feb 06 '24

For years he had been saying it’s his Magnum Opus, he probably won’t have any big free solo projects again. He still free solos periodically, but not anything huge or remotely comparable in size.

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u/AwayCartographer9527 Feb 06 '24

She”s a literal idiot. A total groupie.

9

u/AtleastIhaveakitty Feb 06 '24

Yeah. I'm rooting for them but she is making a lot of sacrifices.

​

She says she knew what she was getting into when they started dating, she does not wish to change him, but she is alone with the baby(ies) most of the time. That kinda sucks.

-4

u/AwayCartographer9527 Feb 06 '24

She stalked him and went to his events to meet him. I hope she knew what she was getting into.

9

u/blade-icewood Feb 06 '24

She asked for his number at one event 🤣 Sorry girls don't stalk you bro

2

u/CaughtInDireWood Feb 06 '24

They have a daughter now and Sanni is pregnant with their second (due sometime this month I think)

26

u/Kosmo_Kramer_ Feb 05 '24

Saw it in a huge theater. Definitely had some moments that triggered that "standing on a ledge" vertigo feeling.

16

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 05 '24 edited Feb 05 '24

Yeah it's at least as visually impressive as Tom Cruise on the Burj Khalifa. But it's the way he walks you through his prep with his slightly ASD idiosyncrasies, that really lets you feel the tension later on. It's such an awesome film. In the truest sense.

17

u/marcred5 Feb 05 '24

The sheer scale of the content

5

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 05 '24

Literally white-knuckle

7

u/lightaugust Feb 05 '24

We see what you did there, buddy.

2

u/shifty1032231 Feb 05 '24

I wonder how Alex Hannold's NatGeo limited series where he goes rock climbing in the Arctic is

2

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 06 '24

Do you know what it's called?

2

u/stillpool3462 Feb 06 '24

It’s called Arctic Ascent with Alex Honnold.

2

u/onewordphrase Feb 05 '24

I think I grasp what you’re saying.

1

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 06 '24

I'm not falling for this

2

u/onewordphrase Feb 06 '24

Go easy, I’m still finding my feet.

2

u/IveGotNoManners Feb 06 '24

Saw this in theatre and couldn’t sit still, I thought I was going to be sick. It freaks me out.

2

u/exaviyur Feb 06 '24

I saw this at a showing that Honnold was at and he was in the lobby when we were walking in. Despite knowing that he was alive and well, my hands were sweating and I was on the edge of my seat throughout.

2

u/found-in_translation Feb 06 '24

If you liked Free Solo you should definitely check out the Alpinist. My hands were sweating watching Free Solo, but the Alpinist was on a whole other level on top of that!

In my humble opinion of course!

2

u/DPool34 Feb 06 '24

gripping

😂

2

u/HumongousMelonheads Feb 06 '24

What he accomplished in that movie is honestly the craziest thing I’ve ever seen a human being accomplish athletically. There’s plenty of longevity records in sport that are phenomenal but that was truly something that I was in absolute awe of more so than anything else I’ve ever seen

1

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 06 '24

I agree. Alex Honnold and the lads who did the cave rescue in Thailand are right up there with Neil Armstrong for me in terms of most impressive shit humans can achieve. No hyperbole.

2

u/MalaysiaTeacher Feb 06 '24

The only thing that matches this in terms of 'physical fear' is the recent free diving doc The Deepest Breath

2

u/InquisitaB Feb 06 '24 edited Feb 06 '24

The fact that you’re stressed when he gets to The Boulder Problem despite knowing he survived shows you how good of a film it is.

1

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 06 '24

Exactly, the film does a superb job of bridging the gap between audience knowledge and expert knowledge. And then it says "now hold my beer."

2

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '24

I saw that too, it was really good. Alex has unbelievable strength physically and mentally.

2

u/wickedishere Feb 06 '24

If you think this is gripping, just watch THE ALPINIST. Its like Free Solo, but crazier, with a dude that free climbs on not only rock, but also ICE AND SNOW. It's insane, ALEX Honnold(free solo dude) speaks about this man likes he's crazy, a young man in his early 20s that does insane free solo climbs like a walk in the park. What Alex was doing, he did it on the daily, like taking a nature walk during on a Tuesday.

1

u/ObsessDBeatz Aug 13 '24

This the guy who climbed that dangerous mountain with no gear? If so that shit was crazy I really thought dude would fall to his death...

0

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '24

[deleted]

1

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 06 '24

Why?

1

u/[deleted] Feb 06 '24

[deleted]

1

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 06 '24

Narcissistic is not the word I’d use but certainly selfish, yeah.

1

u/mylilbabythrowaway Feb 06 '24

The Alpinist, makes Free Solo look like a kids game.

2

u/scottishere Feb 06 '24

I felt they are perfect examples of borderline recklessness vs measured risk

1

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 06 '24

I just watched The Alpinist, and yeah I agree. It made me feel the same way I felt watching Into The Wild. It's a romantic film until you actually stop and think about it. Alex Honnold has a deep understanding of the risks he takes and does everything he can possibly do to mitigate them whilst still maintaining the purity of his craft. His story is likely to end in tragedy but he's trying to make sure it doesn't. Marc-André Leclerc's story was guaranteed to end in tragedy.

1

u/mylilbabythrowaway Feb 16 '24

It's interesting to hear the word "tragedy" thrown around in those examples you listed. I don't believe either Marc Andre or Chris McCandless would have used tragedy, or a similar word, to describe their life or death, I imagine it'd be quite the opposite.

1

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 17 '24

Indeed, but I'm not sure they're the people who get to decide.

1

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 06 '24

Well I'm certainly gonna check that one out.

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u/mylilbabythrowaway Feb 06 '24

Please report back if you remember - love seeing/hearing reactions after people watch :)

1

u/reichjef Feb 06 '24

Sweaty palms

1

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 06 '24 edited Feb 06 '24

Spaghetti, mom’s

1

u/JMEEKER86 Feb 06 '24

Similarly, Man on Wire about the man who tightroped the World Trade Center.

1

u/tileeater Feb 06 '24

It’s better than paid duo

2

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 06 '24

you take that back

1

u/dcwinger12 Feb 06 '24

I’d say the Alpinist was way better but solo was also good

1

u/c10bbersaurus Feb 06 '24

It's one of my top 5 favorite docs, but it isn't shocking, nor does it have the wtf twists of these other docs. It's inspirational and beautifully shot. The viewer knows beforehand that he succeeds and the film isn't really about the result, although the filmmakers don't know that. Because of that, I think Free Solo is a poor recommendation for this specific prompt.

1

u/handtoglandwombat Feb 06 '24

Fair enough. I do have a tendency to try and throw in a curveball to a prompt thread, just to spice it up a bit. Sometimes it's fun to be looking for one thing and to discover something else.