What Documentaries Influenced You Most and Why?

Here's a question for everyone.. aside from possibly finding a great documentary, list the 5 (or whatever) documentaries you feel influenced you most in some way. Again, this isn't necessarily the best, but ones that influenced you the most. I got a lot out of a bunch of “film school” docs, E.G. Salesman, Nanook, etc.. but the ones below were really influential to me.

Here's my list:


(1)Hands on the Hardbody
The film that really made me want to make documentaries, I realized from watching this that you could make a compelling documentary on just about anything and anywhere, about things that most people would have found mundane.

(2)American Pimp
Content is king.. finding subject matter that was alien (but interesting) to people and really going into it to show an alternate reality, the world from their eyes. This for me really drew me into a strong interest in counter culture or fringe stuff.

(3)Buena Vista Social Club
Okay.. for me personally, Cuban music doesn't really do much for me, and I did snooze during some of the musical numbers.. But the cinematography was amazing.. a great demonstration on what a really beautifully shot film could do with something that otherwise for me would have been more boring than watching “Candlepins for Cash” (a type of bowling unique to the East Coast that really bring out the “stars”).

(4)Riding Giant
It just seemed like these guys really had it together, and the importance of a GREAT EDITOR, they to me, more than others who do this kind of work, really made something very alive out of still pictures. You knew from watching this, that these guys were just totally in love with this project and felt like they were doing something historic (and were). The energy really came though in a positive way.

(5)Children of Beslen (very recent HBO)
A lot of things that are hard to define about this. I know a lot of people will jump up and down when I say this, but I personally think doing a documentary for the US that is sub-titled is almost sure death (yes I watch a lot of sub-titled movies.. I think there is another guy I heard of once that does also, but I have never met him). If someone had told me that 10 year old's would be telling the stories AND it was subtitled, I would have predicted a real bomb no matter what it was about. It was an amazing story, and if you read the credits and subtract the post production crew.. I think there were like 2 or so people that filmed all of it. It has some great post work, real high budget for post I am sure, but the filming and interviews themselves really struck me. The indoor interviews were probably the best composed I have ever seen, lots of DOF work in beautifully composed but simple backgrounds.. I found it erie and spellbinding how a lot of the narration was children walking though the wreckage of the building or at cemeteries talking about the worst things in the world the same way they would about a day on the playground.. very suppressed emotion but very direct in words (okay it was sub-titled, they could have been talking about soccer for all I know, but then it was great sub-titling).

I really hope to get a bunch of replies on this, I know there is gold out there I haven't seen, there are just more than it's possible to see.. but I am also interested in what others think about some of these picks, I'll comment on yours.. I've got a few friends that hate some of these.. but they did it for me.

Let me hear what influenced you and why, I'm gone for the weekend (filming).. but will pick up on this later..

Thanks!

Brian