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What about Bigger, Stronger, Faster? That's been one of my favorites. Too lowbrow? Or was there a technical reason to DQ it? And wither the Hunter Thompson doc?

Also...I know at least one prominent LA film critic who will argue vehemently that Waltz with Bashir is NOT a documentary. I don't think I agree, but I think it's more open to debate than Religulous, since 99.9% of its visual footage is not pure documentary footage.

Glad to see The Garden on there. Don't ever want to see the Philip Glass doc.

Actually, the second highest grossing doc after Religulous of 2008 is Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed, which while terrible, did gross significantly more than Man on Wire. And that's if you don't count concert docs like U23D and Shine a Light.

I love documentaries, and the Oscars, but I can't say I really care that much about about the documentary Oscar, because the truth is that most of these movies will never play anywhere near me. This year, only four - Man on Wire, Standard Operating Procedure, I.O.U.S.A. and Encounters at the End of the World have played here in Toronto (outside the festival at least), and God only knows if I'll get a chance to see the other 11 any time soon.

That's a shame about "Gonzo." It's probably my favorite doc of the year, and I like it better than any of Gibney's previous films, including last year's Oscar winning Best Documentary Feature.
Morris and Herzog are certifiable legends, but neither was represented by their finest work this year.
The Oscar goes to "Man on Wire" by a landslide.

At the Death House Door sounds most promising of the titles there that I had never heard of, and being from the directors of Hoop Dreams (probably one of the five best films of the '90s if I had to decide in an instant) certainly helps with the enthusiasm towards it. The Phillip Glass doco has gotten some write-ups here in Australia.

My thinking atm is the nominees with be At the Death House Door, Encounters at the Edge of the World, IOUSA, Man on Wire and They Killed Sister Dorothy.

For me, Man on Wire was the film of the year.....until I saw Slumdog Millionaire, today. What a movie - deserving of all of the praise it has gotten, I would love to see Danny Boyle get his due. Has any one out there put such a distinctive stamp on different genre's like he has?

Well, Michael Winterbottom, for one.

Perhaps not the visual stylist that Boyle is, but he's been even more prolific and diverse than Boyle in roughly the same time period.

GONZO was documentary 101....I mean, how do you make Hunter S. Thompsons life......boring. Or worse, standard.

I'm with Luke....BIGGER STRONGER FASTER is an excellent film. Maybe Hollywood just didn't want to cop to their role in creating bigger than life personaes...?

Agree with you about Winterbottom, Lazarus.
A terrific, wildly eclectic director who can seemingly work in any genre and produce great results (everything from "24-Hour Party People" to "Jude," "Code 46," "Welcome to Sarajevo," "Tristram Shandy," et al). And definitely check out his "Genova" when it finally opens in 2009.
Gee, Don: I think Gibney's collage-like assemblage of archival footage and talking heads in "Gonzo" was pretty solid doc filmmaking. It didn't feel remotely boilerplate to me. "Gonzo" was easily the most enjoyable documentary I've seen all year.

Good points about Winterbottom, but sorry, I don't feel that his films have the narrative power (or mainstream appeal) that Danny Boyle's do.

I dig some of his movies, for sure, but unlike Boyle, his films rarely wear their hearts on their sleeve.

Guess I'm just a mainstream softy - I could never really get into Ken Loach or Mike Leigh, either. Sorry.

Winterbottom's easier to like than Mike Leigh or Ken Loach, I'd say. He does tend to be emotionally chilly, but he is a storyteller, while Leigh and Loach are often more interested in indulging the acting than plot.

Boyle at his best is phenomenal, but when he misfires, he does so big-time. A Life Less Ordinary, anyone?

I don't know, I'm certainly more of a fan of Leigh than Winterbottom, who's made a solid string of movies that when I see them, my reaction is 'meh'.

I thought Morris's Standard Operating Procedure was better than the film that he won an Oscar for, though.

You really think "SOP" is a better film than "Fog of War," Jeff?!
Yowza. I've always thought "Fog" was one of Morris' hardcore classics: it's right up there with "Thin Blue Line" and "Gates of Heaven" for me.
Add "Sunshine" to the list of Boyle clunkers. Gorgeous to look at, but utterly vapid beneath its pretty surface.
I'd trade one Winterbottom masterpiece like "Jude" for Boyle's entire ouevre--including the Boyle movies I love like "Millions" (which is a better film than the slightly overrated "Slumdog," even if it lacks the latter's trendy Bollywood seasoning) or "Trainspotting."

LYT--Anyone who accuses Winterbottom of being emotionally distant needs to check out "Jude" post haste.
The ending of that film is utterly devastating. Plus, it features Kate Winslet's first great "adult" performance.

As some one who has liked some of Winterbottom's films - 24 Hour Party People, Wonderland - I just think the guy is an acquired taste. As I'm sure many consider Danny Boyle to be. And I'm not saying Boyle has had a perfect career - A Life Less Ordinary is awful and I actually found Shallow Grave to be too smug/overrated.

But when you stack up Trainspotting, Millions, 28 Days Later, and Slumdog Millionaire.....wow, it's an impressive mini-resume of movies across different genres on the level of Jonathan Demme's late '80's output - Stop Making Sense, Something Wild, Silence of the Lambs, and Married to the Mob.

I would easily put 28 Days Later as one of the best horror thrillers of recent years and Millions as one of the best kid-oriented adventures of recent years. On the surface, seemingly conventional genre movies that mark his stamp and rise above the genre. Find me two films in those specific genres that Winterbottom has done in recent years. Not bashing the guy, but I just don't think he has ventured as far as some of you guys saying.

As some one who has liked some of Winterbottom's films - 24 Hour Party People, Wonderland - I just think the guy is an acquired taste. As I'm sure many consider Danny Boyle to be. And I'm not saying Boyle has had a perfect career - A Life Less Ordinary is awful and I actually found Shallow Grave to be too smug/overrated.

But when you stack up Trainspotting, Millions, 28 Days Later, and Slumdog Millionaire.....wow, it's an impressive mini-resume of movies across different genres on the level of Jonathan Demme's late '80's output - Stop Making Sense, Something Wild, Silence of the Lambs, and Married to the Mob.

I would easily put 28 Days Later as one of the best horror thrillers of recent years and Millions as one of the best kid-oriented adventures of recent years. On the surface, seemingly conventional genre movies that mark his stamp and rise above the genre. Find me two films in those specific genres that Winterbottom has done in recent years. Not bashing the guy, but I just don't think he has ventured as far as some of you guys saying.

Movieman, I absolutely thing SOP is better than Fog of War. I think Morris's best films are the ones in which he synthesizes multiple perspectives to arrive at a broader truth. For me, his best films are Gates of Heaven, Thin Blue Line, and Fast, Cheap and Out of Control; SOP and Vernon, Florida a notch below that. The films about a single subject - Mr. Death, Fog of War, and A Brief History of Time - while all good films, are also his least interesting, as far as I'm concerned.

Wait. Winterbottom is a lesser filmmaker because he hasn't made a "kid-oriented adventure?" Sorry but that makes no sense. I mean, I love me some "The Claim," but that doesn't mean I expect Boyle to make a "McCabe and Mrs. Miller"-influenced anti-western to even the score.
They're both great, prolific filmmakers but they have very different interests.

Nine Songs, Tristram Shandy and Code 46 are enough to turn me off of Winterbottom for the rest of my life. Hated them all.

Yeah, Winterbottom has been steadily losing me over the years. Maybe he needs to slow down the output and get more focused or something. I dunno.

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