'Columbine' Named Top Documentary of All Time [Yes, Michael Moore's 'Bowling for Columbine]

Reuters via Yahoo! News ^ | Thu Dec 12, 6:14 PM ET

[Kaiwen]

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "Bowling for Columbine," about gun culture in America, gained momentum on Thursday as it rolls toward the Oscars, racking up the honor of best documentary of all time from the International Documentary Association.

Director Michael Moore also had the No. 3 nonfiction film on the list with his 1989 title, "Roger & Me," in which he took on automaker General Motors Corp. and its then-Chief Executive Roger Smith over a plant closure at Flint, Michigan that left thousands of employees jobless.

Coming in No. 2 was 1988's "The Thin Blue Line," about wrongful convictions in the 1976 murder of a Dallas, Texas policeman, and rounding out the top five were 1994's "Hoop Dreams" about high school basketball players and 1969's "Salesman," about four door-to-door Bible salesmen.

"All these films provide an intimate, behind-the-scenes look at the human condition," said the association's executive director Sandra Ruch. "They make you think about things you might not have ever considered before."

The International Documentary Association, or IDA, was formed in 1982 to serve as a forum for documentary filmmakers, and has since grown into a respected organization for nonfiction films with some 2,700 members in 50 countries.

For the most part, documentaries are relegated to film festivals and cable television channels because the material is generally considered too cerebral for mainstream moviegoers.

But "Columbine" has been an exception, and it is considered a front-runner for this year best documentary Oscar, which is Hollywood's top film honor handed out each year in March.

"Columbine" has already scored well with audiences, tallying $12.9 million at domestic box offices, which for a documentary is a big sum.

Last week, it earned the U.S. National Board of Review honor as the year's top documentary and won audience choice award at this year's Chicago International Film Festival. Back in May, it was given a special prize at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

In "Columbine," Moore takes a wry look at the fear that seems to grip the United States and the widespread use of handguns and rifles to seemingly address that fear, even as Americans face violent crimes and murders involving guns.

Moore covers topics ranging from the shootings at Columbine high school in Colorado to the murder of a 6-year-old girl by a 6-year-old boy in Michigan, and he interviews National Rifle Association President Charlton Heston.

Oscar nominations are announced on Feb. 11, and the awards will be handed out in a gala ceremony in Los Angeles on March 23.

"Bowling for Columbine" was distributed by United Artists, a division of the Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. film studio.

[joesnuffy]

Too bad that fat POS Moore doesnt get interviewed by the victims of violent crime..the raped the beaten the murdered the robbed ..who.... had honest citizens & neighbors been allowed to carry firearms by their commie govt..... would not be victims... scarred for life..Thanks be to Moore...and all low lifes who think as he does...

This award should have been presented to Moore by the Association of Rapists Murdereres and Theives thanking Moore for making their livlihoods and avocations much safer...

Moore and his ilk are the best friends thugs and rapists have...he should be so proud of himself..

[anobjectivist]

Didn't see that movie, what is it really like?

My roommate saw it twice, saying it was a great movie yada yada yada but that doesn't mean anything.

[Moose4]

Gee, think there was a little institutional bias in THAT vote? Good grief. "Hoop Dreams" was incredible, should've been #1. Although, I'll grant Moore this--I've seen "Roger & Me", and though it's politically slanted, it *is* a well-done film.

}:-)4

[Petronski]

Best documentary of all time? Better than "The Sorrow and the Pity?" No freaking way. It isn't even better than "Waiting for Guffman."

[Dog Gone]

Hollywood liberals giving themselves awards. I can never understand why Freepers watch the Oscars.

Maybe it's a girl thing.

[anncoulteriscool]

I have not seen the film and probably wont unless its on hbo or something (if I ever get cable). I think the reason people went to this is because Columbine was supossed to be about gun control but what happened after the columbine shooting was that many people were attracted to the stories of Cassie Bernall and Rachel Scott and other people who were killed who were devout christians. Columbine became almost a code word for anarchy and clue-less parenting. So along comes Michael Moore to try to turn columbine into something about gun control. But most people realize its about alot more than that. IMHO!

[xm177e2]

I saw it, and it was total crap. Moore lied, and lied, and lied, and lied, and even if everything he said was true, his arguments still didn't make much sense. He didn't even come out in favor of gun control, he just said Americans were stupid and violent.

[Imal]

I haven't seen "Bowling for Columbine", but if the International Documentary Association considers it the "best documentary of all time", I'm sure it must be a fabulous film.

Maybe I'll see if I can find a free bootleg copy on the 'Net.

[StockAyatollah]

I agree about Roger & Me being well made at least for a low budget film. If Moore was trying to make me hate GM mgmt, I am afraid he failed. But he did make me even more convinced of the stupidity of (rat-voting) UAW members. The film made me confident in my decision never to purchase a GM POS vehicle.

[Mike K]

Someone I work with from the UK saw it and said, "If it were up to me, it would be mandatory that everyone watch that movie."

I said to her, "If you listen to yourself carefully, you will see why Great Britain continues to slide to the left."

End of discussion.

[dead]

I never saw the fifth film on the list, "Salesman," but I'm guessing it was just as anti-American as the first four on the list.

If you want to make a documentary that liberals will label "an all-time great" all you have to do is highlight some way in which you think America sucks.

Works pretty well for regular films as well.

[agincourt1415]

Yeah, Fabulous, I heard that he used some doctored stats about Canadian Gun Crimes, LOL, Canadia has the population of San Diego I think. Yeah, I'm sure he butchered, and sliced/diced the statistics they way he usually does to blame America.

[AF68]

In "Columbine," Moore takes a wry look at the fear that seems to grip the United States and the widespread use of handguns and rifles to seemingly address that fear, even as Americans face violent crimes and murders involving guns.

Wow! Moore's a friggin' genious, man. He must get his profound revelations from smoking the good stuff they get in Hollywood.

[dighton]

Moore lied, and lied, and lied, and lied . . . .

OK, the best fictitious documentary of all time.

[steve-b]

The movie industry should simply create an award for the "Most Politically Correct" cinematic production. Then, they could get it out of their system and give out the traditional awards on the basis of merit.

[dts32041]

Obviously never watched victory at sea. Or any of David L wolpers documentaries.

Hollyweird people et al have no class.

[ewing]

Hoop Dreams should be #1.

[Imal]

From my post, you can see how much I'm willing to pay to see it. :P

[dead]

You want really great documentaries:

• Theremin
• When We Were Kings
• Brother's Keeper
• Crumb
• Cosmos