I kind of decided to dissect the works of documentarian Rodney Ascher on a whim to start the new year ('22). I was a huge Room 237 fan and discovered that — in addition to the film he released last year (A Glitch in the Matrix), which really intrigued me) — there were two others I hadn't seen. While all of these their flaws (some more than others), I find that Ascher's determination to break free of the traditional tropes and devices of documentary storytelling to be really inspiring. You know you're never simply getting talking heads, the 'experts' weighing in, Ken Burns FX, and countless other techniques that can make watching a doc feel so repetitive regardless of the subject matter.
Listen to the RANKING RODNEY ASCHER podcast episode right here
official ranking - worst to first
• A Glitch in the Matrix (2021)
• The Nightmare (2015)
• The El Duce Tapes (2019)
• Room 237 (2012)