r/DocumentaryReviews

▲ 9 r/DocumentaryReviews+7 crossposts

I traced the entire Anunnaki family tree, from the first primal forces to the seven who governed destiny to the god who rose over Babylon. The full lineage, start to finish.

Before the pharaohs raised their monuments, before the first king wore a crown, before a single city rose from the mud of Mesopotamia, something else already ruled. Not the mild, forgiving deities that came later. These were older, harsher, absolute. They weighed the fate of every soul, tore the sky away from the earth with their own hands, and shaped humanity out of need rather than tenderness. Their rule stretched across millennia before anyone had conceived of a human throne.

I put together the full lineage, starting from creation's first spark and following it through every god whose name still surfaces in later myth, the primal forces at the root, the seven who governed destiny itself, the god who rose to rule Babylon, and the countless figures who guided ordinary life for three thousand years.

The whole thing is here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OLnVGPz0qf4

Curious how this holds up against what people here already know about the Mesopotamian pantheon, especially anyone who's dug into the Enuma Elish or the Atrahasis directly.

u/MythCartographer — 2 days ago
▲ 19 r/DocumentaryReviews+6 crossposts

Two obscure cinema related documentaries or mockumentaries, that apparently don't exist!

The titles of these two are

"McKENZIE" (or maybe "Scott McKenzie"),

and

"DENNIS DUNBAR THE KING OF SUPER 8" (or "Dennis Dunbar the king of VHS" or "Dennis Dunbar the VHS king"...).

Both in English language.

I saw these two documentaries or mockumentaries around the mid 90's (I think).

For more details and context: I saw them on an Italian TV program called "FUORI ORARIO" (in case some Italians are reading this, maybe this detail helps them to remember something). Iirc, many things on that program were often released (at least here in Italy) through the company RARO VIDEO.

The "McKENZIE" one was about a guy (maybe Scottish, but I could be wrong), Scott McKenzie, who "invented cinema" before the Lumiere brothers, without any credit for his invention. What makes me think it was a mockumentary is that not only there's no trace of him anywhere, but the "documentary" was filled with hyperbolic "facts", like: he casually filmed a guy who successfully invented the first airplane, before the Wright brothers, and he also was uncredited and fallen into obscurity!!!

The "DENNIS DUNBAR" one was about an amateur no budget filmmaker, who used to make DIY movies, initially on super 8, and then, with the advent of the VHS, switched to that (then) new format. In the documentary (or mockumentary) there were even some clips of his alleged movies!!! One that I remember vividly was a sort of "alien" rip-off, with an actor wearing a white t-shirt, and a cheap puppet (a monster or a toddler doll, I'm not sure) covered in red syrup, bursting out from underneath the t-shirt! It was glorious!

Since the internet became a largely available thing, I tried to searching for info about these two documentaries (and if these two people were real or made up!) and never found ANYTHING!

I'm pretty sure the aforementioned titles are correct (or at least very close to the correct ones). I don't know why I can't find any trace of these two docs!

I'm quite sure I watched both more than once in the 90's. I mean, I'm screwed up, but I know they exist!!!

Is there anyone who can help me?

Thanks in advance.

reddit.com
u/Daman-Lidison — 3 days ago

What makes you trust a documentary enough to recommend it to someone else?

I’ve noticed that a documentary can be beautifully made and still leave you questioning how much of what you just watched is actually solid.

When I’m looking at documentary work, including the kind of storytelling Janeson Films is involved in, the research and presentation side always interests me. A strong story is one thing, but accuracy can completely change how you receive it.

When you recommend a documentary, what do you usually look for first: the sources, the filmmaker’s approach, the subject matter, or how fairly different sides are presented?

reddit.com
u/Physical-Bus-2803 — 6 days ago
▲ 7 r/DocumentaryReviews+1 crossposts

After years, I finally created my YouTube channel — looking for advice

I've wanted to start a YouTube channel for years, but I always found a reason to postpone it.

About 3 months ago, I finally decided to just start. I work full-time, so finding the time isn't always easy, but I've been putting a lot of my free time into learning, drawing, editing and creating documentary-style videos about history, mysteries, science, legends and interesting theories.

I'm still very new to YouTube and growing the channel has definitely been harder than I expected 😅

I'm trying to improve with every video, so I'd really appreciate any advice from people who have been doing this longer. What helped you most when your channel was completely new?

If anyone wants to take a look and give me some feedback, this is my channel:

https://www.youtube.com/@OtterStu

Thanks! 🙂

u/OtterStu — 5 days ago
▲ 62 r/DocumentaryReviews+7 crossposts

I tried to map the entire Hindu pantheon into one family tree, over fifty deities across eight layers of divine hierarchy. Here's what I learned about why no two versions agree.

Hinduism is the oldest living religion on earth, not a single story told by a single author but a vast body of sacred knowledge built across more than six thousand years, the Vedas, the Puranas, the Mahabharata, the Ramayana. Each text preserves its own version of the divine family. Names shift across centuries. A creator in one tradition becomes a destroyer in another. There is no single family tree everyone agrees on.

So instead of picking one version, I tried to cross-reference the oldest and most authoritative sources to build the most consistent structure I could, starting from Hiranyagarbha, the golden cosmic egg that Hindu scripture describes emerging from total darkness before creation itself, through the full lineage that follows, over fifty deities, eight layers of divine hierarchy.

I put the whole thing together here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YxCqpcEGwK8

Curious what people more familiar with specific traditions (Shaiva, Vaishnava, regional versions) think I might have gotten wrong or oversimplified, this is genuinely the hardest family tree I've tried to build so far.

u/MythCartographer — 10 days ago
▲ 8 r/DocumentaryReviews+2 crossposts

Tv show/doc suggestions

I really need a new show or documentary series to watch but need help finding the good ones. None of this Forrest Galante BS, but genuinely good information

reddit.com
u/EnergyShrimp90 — 6 days ago
▲ 143 r/DocumentaryReviews+8 crossposts

EARTH'S GREATEST ENEMY | OFFICIAL TRAILER

Just bought and viewed "Earth's Greatest Enemy" on Amazon. So well-done and important. It would create more criticism of empire and militarism if enough people saw it.

youtube.com
u/Green_Ideas7 — 11 days ago

Documentary recommendations

Hi, I’m looking for a specific type of documentary but I can’t think of what’s name is for the genre, I like it when they do a remake if that makes sense, I just finished the pan am on Netflix, the witness was great too, the staircase was also great

I’m looking for that style of documentary, not when it’s real witnesses or anything like that but when they do a casting for a remake I suppose is the closest thing to what I’m trying to say.

I’m looking for anything crime related specifically, even really popular as I haven’t watched to many over the years.

If anyone has any recommendations for my criteria I’d would be greatly appreciated.

reddit.com
u/Savings-Wing3578 — 11 days ago
▲ 4 r/DocumentaryReviews+1 crossposts

Need Docmentary recs. Mindf*ck, plot twist, gripping, more twisted the better (Have seen Trials of Gabriel, Act of Killing, and many of those) LOOKING FOR THOSE HIDDEN GEMS! Thank you in advance

Let's see what you all got. I have seen many of the usually recommended ones. Icarus, Dont F*ck with Cats, Capturing the Friedmans, Girl in the photo, abducted in plain sight, Dear Zachary. I want something that will have me saying "WTF?!" Throughout watching it. True crime is fine, but doesn't need to be. I'm just looking to be totally sucked in and on the edge of my seat

reddit.com
u/SnooStrawberries3096 — 12 days ago

Documentaries

Am I the only one who is annoyed with how much documentaries today want us to read the texts or emails on the screen besides reading it to us?? Like I want to listen/semi-watch a documentary while I do crafts, or clean, or whatever. I hate that now I can’t do that because suddenly I’ll notice the documentary has been silent for 15 minutes besides the sound effects of typing…

reddit.com
u/GrapefruitHaunting96 — 13 days ago
▲ 1 r/DocumentaryReviews+2 crossposts

Inside the Pink Pill: The Female Answer to the Manosphere (2026) - A look at the "femosphere," a female-led online movement mirroring the manosphere's ideology 2026 [07:45]

youtube.com
u/United-Paint2807 — 14 days ago
▲ 2 r/DocumentaryReviews+4 crossposts

The 15 Most Chilling Betrayals in History (2026) [00:28:00]

I recently created a 28-minute history documentary exploring 15 of the most infamous betrayals in history, from Judas Iscariot to Cold War spies. The documentary focuses on the historical background, motivations, and consequences of each betrayal using historical sources and visual storytelling.

I'm looking for honest feedback on the pacing, research quality, narration, and editing. If you have suggestions for improving future documentaries, I'd really appreciate them.

Documentary: https://youtu.be/cVZ5A6DIQPc?si=4Fnu47AS\_nRFTmG8

u/Affectionate-Fig3663 — 13 days ago

In Search of History Documentaries

Definitely consider watching the “In Search of History” documentaries. If you haven’t seen it before it used to air on the History channel. But, it has certain “niche” topics in my opinion. Dr Livingstone to Easter Island, actually. I think a lot of them are on YouTube, since I’ve been able to watch some on there. Here’s the Easter Island one:

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-U6wjj0zVsY&list=PLMZhrNNj\\\_z5tgOOPlVDOSgventUp94qgj&index=26&pp=iAQB&ra=m

reddit.com
u/Citlali252 — 12 days ago
▲ 6 r/DocumentaryReviews+1 crossposts

Made a doc connecting two of the darkest US medical experiments through one shared researcher, curious what this sub thinks of the structure

So this is video 10 on my channel and it's kind of a follow up to an earlier one I made on Tuskegee, except I didn't realize until researching it how directly connected the two stories actually are.

Turns out the same doctor who worked on Tuskegee, a guy named John Cutler, ran an even less known experiment in Guatemala a few years earlier, 1946-48, where his team deliberately infected over 5000 people with syphilis and gonorrhea. Prisoners, soldiers, psychiatric patients, people with zero disease until his team gave it to them. Never published, stayed buried for 64 years until a historian doing completely unrelated Tuskegee research stumbled onto it in his own donated archive.

Structurally I tried something different this time, opening the video by directly referencing the earlier Tuskegee video before getting into the new story, basically betting that returning viewers get an immediate hook while new viewers still get enough context to follow without having seen it. Genuinely unsure if that works better than a cold open or if it just feels like a sequel gimmick.

Would appreciate any actual critique on pacing or structure if anyone watches it, link is here Full video

u/Think_Monitor4904 — 13 days ago