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The Best Episodes of Independent Lens Season 5

Every episode of Independent Lens Season 5 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Independent Lens Season 5!

The Best Episodes of Independent Lens Season 5

This acclaimed Emmy Award-winning anthology series features documentaries and a limited number of fiction films united by the creative freedom, artistic achievement and unflinching visions...

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  1. 8.2/10(42 votes)

    #1 - Jimmy Scott: If You Only Knew

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    S5:E16

    Jimmy Scott: If You Only Knew is a film portrait of the now famous jazz vocalist who was "rediscovered" decades after he disappeared from the public eye. The documentary blends concert footage, rare photos and candid interviews with Jimmy Scott, his family and his colleagues.

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  2. 8.0/10(6 votes)

    #2 - T-Shirt Travels

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    S5:E18

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  3. 7.8/10(63 votes)

    #3 - Be Good, Smile Pretty

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    S5:E5

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  4. 7.6/10(13 votes)

    #4 - Foto-Novelas 2: `Junkyard Saints' and `Broken Sky'

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    S5:E2

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  5. 7.6/10(6 votes)

    #5 - The Weather Underground

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    S5:E22

    "Hello. I'm going to read a declaration of a state of war... Within the next 14 days we will attack a symbol or institution of American injustice." -- Bernardine Dohrn Thirty years ago, with these words, a group of young American radicals called The Weathermen announced their intention to overthrow the U.S. government. Fueled by outrage over the Vietnam War and racism in America, they went undergound during the 1970s, bombing targets across the country that they felt symbolized "the real violence" that the U.S. government and capitalist power were wreaking throughout the world.From pitched battles with police on Chicago's city streets, to bombing the U.S. Capitol building, to breaking acid-guru Timothy Leary out of prison, this carefully organized clandestine network attempted to incite a national revolution, while successfully evading one of the largest FBI manhunts in history.One of the top documentaries of the year, this award-winning film interweaves extensive archival material with modern-day interviews to explore the incredible story of "The Weather Underground." As former members reflect candidly about the idealistic passion that drove them to "bring the war home," they paint a compelling portrait of troubled and revolutionary times, with unexpected and often striking connections to the current world situation.

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  6. 7.6/10(10 votes)

    #6 - Death of a Shaman

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    S5:E25

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  8. 7.5/10(20 votes)

    #7 - Sumo East and West

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    S5:E27

    In recent years, the ancient art of sumo has witnessed the rise of an increasing number of foreigners to the top of its professional ranks. From Hawaii to Atlantic City, the experiences of American wrestlers provide an entertaining glimpse at the past, present and future of sumo, revealing how this former bastion of Japanese tradition is grappling with globalizing Western forces.

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  9. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #8 - Worst Possible Illusion: The Curiosity Cabinet of Vik Muniz

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    S5:E1

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  10. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #9 - Shaolin Ulysses: Kungfu Monks in America

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    S5:E3

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  11. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #10 - A Wedding in Ramallah

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    S5:E4

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  12. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #11 - Livermore

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    S5:E6

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  13. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #12 - Eroica!

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    S5:E7

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  14. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #13 - Loaded Gun: Life and Death and Dickinson

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    S5:E8

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  15. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #14 - Get the Fire! Young Mormon Missionaries Abroad

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    S5:E9

    Get the Fire: Young Mormon Missionaries Abroad is a United States PBS-sponsored documentary, by the independent filmmaker Nancy du Plessis. It examines the experiences of some Mormon missionaries who questioned their religious beliefs after serving their missions. It premiered in December 2003 and was 60 minutes long. Some Mormon missionaries, including those serving missions in a foreign culture, may begin to question their religious upbringing and belief system. Get the Fire follows three LDS missionaries during their two-year missions in Germany. The documentary opens with the three future missionaries at their respective homes prior to knowing where they will serve. Surrounded by their family, each boy opens a mission call informing them they will serve in the Munich, Germany mission. The documentary follows them along the full two years of their mission from the Missionary Training Center until they leave the mission and return home. The film shows missionaries proselyting in public squares, knocking door to door, struggling with a foreign language, congregating in zone and district meetings, and meeting with the mission president. Topics covered include missionary slang, leaving a girlfriend at home, missionary morale, and relationships with family at home. The three missionaries appear to remain dedicated and faithful to their mission in the film.

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  16. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #15 - Man Bites Shorts

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    S5:E10

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  17. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #16 - Make 'Em Dance: The Hackberry Ramblers' Story

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    S5:E11

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  18. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #17 - Life Matters

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    S5:E12

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  19. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #18 - Why Can't We Be a Family Again?; Downpour Resurfacing

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    S5:E13

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  20. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #19 - Nat Turner: A Troublesome Property

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    S5:E14

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  21. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #20 - A Place of Our Oen

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    S5:E15

    "Black Resort Communities and the African American Dream" Stanley Nelson is a third-generation, upper middle-class African American who spent the past 40 summers in Oak Bluffs, an affluent African-American resort community on Martha's Vineyard. Building on personal stories of summers past, this film explores the tightly-knit world of black professionals who created a refuge to call their own.

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  22. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #21 - Sentencing the Victim

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    S5:E17

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  23. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #22 - Every Child Is Born a Poet: The Life and Work of Piri Thomas

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    S5:E19

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  24. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #23 - Love Inventory

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    S5:E20

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  25. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #24 - Ram Dass: Fierce Grace

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    S5:E21

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  26. NaN/10(0 votes)

    #25 - One Night at the Grand Star; Double Exposure

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    S5:E23

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Season 5 Ratings Summary

"Jimmy Scott: If You Only Knew" is the best rated episode of "Independent Lens" season 5. It scored 8.2/10 based on 42 votes. Directed by N/A and written by N/A, it aired on 2/24/2004. This episode is rated 0.2 points higher than the second-best, "T-Shirt Travels".