Hacker Cinema
Glass
Glas
1958 · Film · documentary · 10 min
Directed by Bert Haanstra
This short documentary, shot in the glass factories of Leerdam and Schiedam, demonstrates how glass blowers do their work. But thanks to the superbly edited ballet of working hands and the sequence of mechanical motions of the engines, is it especially a cinematic tour de force. That the industry can’t do without man’s involvement is shown in the scene where we hear the voice of Haanstra himself counting the bottles on the conveyor belt, until one bottle breaks…
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1 comment on Hacker News
I like documentaries where there isn't much narration/interviewing going on. They are also short.
Primitive Technology
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAL3JXZSzSm8AlZyD3nQdBA
I think this guy is most of HN's silent hero.
Two documentaries on working class skills approaching a true art form.
Ben's Mill
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l2KJbRHO76s
Sadly only part is available unless you pay a few thousand dollars. It is really good though. It's a guy using the raw power of water to create wooden objects for local farmers.
Glas
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KAYh0f1CPuc
A Dutch documentary on glass making in the '50s.
Three made for Television documentary series are:
James Burke's Connections. This is the first episode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4tLYYXDg74
This series had an enormous influence on many of HN's older hackers. History, Technology, Philosophy, it's all there. One of the best television series I've seen, and I'm a millennial so it isn't just nostalgia. It is smart.
Carl Sagan's Cosmos. This is so famous I assume you've already watched it. Carl is scientist and poet. The recent adaption is a fair effort but the original is by far the best.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6YgBXLUSsmg
Lord Kenneth Clarke's Civilization (1969!). This is the favorite documentary of many Western conservatives and reactionaries because it doesn't constantly caveat, qualify or diminish the history of The West. It is not shy about showing wickedness as well as greatness but nor is it politically correct.
Before I watched this it was quite hard to fully grasp the motivations of the right wing. After watching it I came to the view we have narrowed our view to a chronocentric interpretation of reality. This shows the grand sweep of history, which is admirable even if you don't agree with its worldview for political reasons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDm4Sl6CdYU&list=PLFYDyLgHrFHC_YIf7cs9-HpCb6WIBHm1R