At the same time as August’s latest films and TV present titles trickle in on HBO Max, for documentary fans, one new sequence that is been constructing some pleasure has lastly arrived, and I can affirm after watching the primary episode that it has been effectively well worth the wait.
Monsters of God is a stranger-than-fiction docuseries from the filmmaker behind two of the streaming world’s wildest animal-obsession sagas ever, and it is my prime choose this weekend. Rounding out the checklist, nonetheless, are a pair of fully completely different decisions—a portrait of a Beatle legend by a directing legend, and a wide ranging plunge into the gorgeous blues of the world’s oceans—certain to make for a weekend of selection.
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George Harrison: Residing within the Materials World
Scorsese’s intimate portrait of the quiet Beatle
Martin Scorsese’s stunning and interesting 2011 tribute to George Harrison is one in every of my favourite music biographies ever. Not simply because it highlights the extraordinary life and journey of my favourite Beatle (there, I stated it), however due to the care with which Scorsese, no stranger to sweeping music docs (The Final Waltz, No Route Dwelling), takes in representing the mild, nuanced nature of his topic.
Quiz
The very best music documentaries and biopics
Trivia problem
From Woodstock to Stroll the Line — how effectively have you learnt the movies behind the
music legends?
BiopicsDocumentariesMusic IconsMovie InfoBehind the Scenes
The 2015 documentary Amy, about Amy Winehouse, was directed by which filmmaker?
Right! Asif Kapadia directed Amy, crafting the movie nearly completely
from archival footage and audio interviews. The documentary received the Academy Award for Finest Documentary
Characteristic in 2016.
Not fairly. Amy was directed by Asif Kapadia, who can be recognized for his
documentaries Senna and Diego Maradona. The movie received the Oscar for Finest Documentary Characteristic in 2016.
In Stroll the Line, which actor portrayed Johnny Money and received a Golden Globe for the
function?
Right! Joaquin Phoenix performed Johnny Money within the 2005 biopic and received
the Golden Globe for Finest Actor in a Musical or Comedy. Notably, Phoenix and co-star Reese Witherspoon
carried out all of their very own vocals within the movie.
Not fairly. Joaquin Phoenix portrayed Johnny Money in Stroll the Line. He
even carried out all his personal singing, which inspired June Carter Money’s real-life household enormously.
Within the 2004 movie Ray, Jamie Foxx portrayed Ray Charles. Which main award did Foxx
win for this efficiency?
Right! Jamie Foxx received the Academy Award for Finest Actor for his
portrayal of Ray Charles. Remarkably, Foxx was additionally nominated for Finest Supporting Actor that very same yr
for Collateral, making him one in every of only a few actors nominated twice in the identical ceremony.
Not fairly. Jamie Foxx took dwelling the Academy Award for Finest Actor for
Ray. His efficiency was broadly praised for its bodily and emotional depth, notably his depiction
of Charles’s blindness and struggles with dependancy.
Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck was launched in 2015 and directed by Brett Morgen. What
made it notably distinctive amongst Cobain documentaries?
Right! Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck was the primary documentary to be
formally approved by the Cobain property, giving director Brett Morgen unprecedented entry to
private diaries, dwelling recordings, and household footage. This made it a uniquely intimate portrait of
Cobain’s life.
Not fairly. The defining function of Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck was that
it was the primary documentary formally approved by the Cobain property. This gave filmmaker Brett
Morgen extraordinary entry to non-public supplies, together with journals, paintings, and residential movies.
Taylor Swift’s documentary Miss Americana, launched on Netflix in 2020, covers a
pivotal interval in her life. Which main private determination is a central theme of the movie?
Right! Miss Americana paperwork Taylor Swift’s determination to interrupt her
lengthy public silence on politics, notably her endorsement of Democratic candidates through the 2018
Tennessee midterm elections. The movie explores the non-public {and professional} dangers she felt got here with
that selection.
Not fairly. A central theme of Miss Americana is Taylor Swift’s determination
to talk publicly about politics for the primary time, together with endorsing candidates within the 2018
midterms. The movie reveals how she wrestled with breaking from her rigorously maintained public
neutrality.
Summer time of Soul (2021), directed by Questlove, focuses on a legendary 1969 music
competition. What’s the competition’s official title?
Right! Summer time of Soul facilities on the Harlem Cultural Pageant of 1969,
a sequence of free concert events held in Marcus Garvey Park. The footage had been locked away in a vault for
over 50 years earlier than Questlove introduced it to the world, incomes the movie an Academy Award for Finest
Documentary Characteristic.
Not fairly. The competition featured in Summer time of Soul is the Harlem
Cultural Pageant, held in 1969. Remarkably, the footage sat unseen in a basement for greater than 5
many years earlier than Questlove used it to create this celebrated documentary.
Within the biopic Stroll the Line, which legendary musician and shut buddy of Johnny
Money is portrayed as a serious affect on his early profession?
Right! Elvis Presley seems as a big presence in Stroll the
Line, depicted as a peer and inspiration to the younger Johnny Money throughout their shared time at Solar
Data. The movie portrays Money’s ambition as partly fueled by seeing Elvis’s explosive early success.
Not fairly. Elvis Presley is portrayed as a serious affect on Money in
Stroll the Line, with each artists having recorded at Solar Data in Memphis throughout the identical period. The movie
depicts their camaraderie as a part of Money’s youth as a performer.
Which of those music documentaries received the Academy Award for Finest Documentary
Characteristic?
Right! Summer time of Soul, directed by Questlove, received the Academy Award
for Finest Documentary Characteristic on the 2022 ceremony. It additionally received the Grand Jury Prize and Viewers Award
on the Sundance Movie Pageant, making it probably the most acclaimed music documentaries in latest reminiscence.
Not fairly. Summer time of Soul is the Oscar winner on this group, taking dwelling
the Academy Award for Finest Documentary Characteristic in 2022. Directed by Questlove, the movie additionally swept main
awards at Sundance, cementing its place as a landmark music documentary.
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George Harrison: Living in the Material World is an intensive 3-hour and 28-minute account that tells all of it, delving into Harrison’s life as a musician, non secular seeker, philanthropist, and filmmaker. The Emmy-winning particular sweeps from his beginnings as a younger musician in Liverpool, by means of the madness of Beatlemania, his non secular awakening, his solo profession and All Issues Should Cross, the Touring Wilburys, and his love of films and involvement with the Monty Pythons.
Scorsese weaves collectively some unbelievable archival footage of performances, dwelling films, uncommon photographs and paperwork, and candid interviews with the likes of Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr, Eric Clapton, Harrison’s widow Olivia, and son Dhani. Instructed in two elements, it is an intimate and important watch that shines gentle on the usually misunderstood Beatle.
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Blue Planet II
Attenborough’s voice is the soundtrack of any good Sunday
Generally you simply want attractive eye-candy from the pure world (with a thread of environmentalism) to spherical out your weekend. And if it comes with the silky-smooth British narration of the world’s biggest residing (he is 100 years previous!) naturalist, Sir David Attenborough, you would possibly simply finish the weekend feeling such as you’ve truly completed one thing.
Blue Planet II is the gold customary of nature TV and was the UK’s most-watched TV program of 2017. And it nonetheless holds up at the moment, because the present’s gorgeous seven episodes discover the Earth’s oceans and the extraordinary marine life—from browsing dolphins and intelligent tuskfish that may use instruments, to ice-dwelling creatures with pure antifreeze for blood, and sharks, turtles, and way more.
The jaw-dropping cinematography and pictures are the results of greater than 4 years, 135 expeditions throughout 39 international locations, and 6,000 hours of underwater diving, a lot of it capturing never-before-filmed creatures and behaviors. The cherry on prime is the sequence’ music—a hauntingly stunning rating by none apart from Hans Zimmer and Radiohead’s reworked model of the King of Limbs monitor, Bloom.
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Monsters of God
The Tiger King crew returns with a glance into reptile smuggling
Within the first 30 seconds of HBO’s anticipated new documentary sequence, Monsters of God—a twisting, slithering examination of the vicious underworld of unlawful reptile buying and selling—obsessed snake wrangler Al Killian narrowly avoids being fanged thrice by his cute pet king cobra. The stage is ready, but when there’s one factor that director Eric Goode—well-known for his different animal underworld phenomenon, Tiger King—is nice at, it is drawing out the freaks and feuds.
The five-part HBO Unique, which premiered on August 6 and has new episodes coming weekly, delves into the billion-dollar world of unlawful reptile smuggling. However as with Goode’s give attention to the lethal feud between Joe Unique and Carole Baskin, Monsters of God highlights the fierce rivalry between reptile sellers Hank Molt and Tommy Crutchfield and the seedy iguana trafficking case that one used to bury the opposite, because the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service closed in.
However the story does not simply finish with them; it casts a large internet that entails smugglers, worldwide crime syndicates, and even official zoos. As to be anticipated, the sequence is stuffed with colourful interviews with much more colourful characters, together with Molt, Crutchfield, and scene-stealing former DEA agent Larry Loveless, with later episodes that includes Malaysian kingpin Anson Wong. New episodes drop Thursdays, ending with a finale on September 3.
Monsters of God
- Launch Date
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2026 – 2026-00-00
- Community
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HBO
- Administrators
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Eric Goode
Our protection does not finish with docs
Beatles, dolphins, and iguanas, oh my. Documentaries certain are nice at choosing aside the tales and micro-niches that make life fascinating—and you will discover the best docs each week here—however in the event you’re after suggestions for all the most recent reveals and films streaming has to supply, How-To Geek covers all of it, on a regular basis in our streaming part.
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