Customer Reviews

Okie Noodling: A Documentary by Bradley Beesley

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

No fishing poles, line, or lures. These guys stick their hands and arms (even feet!) into these underwater holes and tunnels to grab onto 40-, 50-, 60-pound catfish!

You don't have to be a fisherman or even a sportsman to enjoy this documentary. You'll be amazed at their reasoning for doing it, self-deprecating humor, and even the mini-drama that develops over the filming of the movie. Drama over fishing with your hands?! Yeah, no kidding; real high-school style drama comes to light over the 1st Annual Noodling Contest! Oh, and wait 'till you see who wins Miss Okie Noodling! She's a hoot!

This is one of those DVDs that you throw on when you have 20 of your friends over for a BBQ and you want to laugh at other people. This DVD is a real gem!

I've lived in Oklahoma all my life and went fishing quite regularly as a kid, but I never heard of Noodling until this film was released. While living a completely different lifestyle than the individuals shown in this film, I was very fascinated by their passion for the sport and the sport itself. Brad Beesley's film shows an entirely different world that most will never even hear of during their lives. I experienced a wide array of thoughts and emotions while watching this film and realized that any sort of passion no matter how seemingly small can be reason to validate one's existence. Also, the film includes some great songs written and performed by The Flaming Lips who never disappoint. Maybe there will be an Okie Noodling II chronicling Wayne Coyne's original thoughts on what Okie Noodling was? Perhaps an extra feature on the "Christmas On Mars" dvd! Watch the Okie Noodling dvd and find out!

I recieved Okie Noodling today and watched it through. Absolutely fasinating. I had heard tales of "Hand Fishing" from an old fellow that I used to know - mostly I thought it was a lot of baloney to spin an interesting story. After seeing the movie "Big Fish" it made me think back to these stories that I had heard, and do some research. That is how I came to find this DVD (not advertised or known here in the Los Angeles area!). Interesting from start to finish - I have done plenty of pole fishing in my youth, and catfish frys were common in Florida & Georgia. You have to see this DVD to believe that men would catch huge fish with thier bare hands. I am very happy with my purchase! It's always good to learn something new!

This movie is fun from start to finish, if there are people in your family who are into fishing this is a must have!
Even people who don't like to fish will find okie noodling entertaining. It is not to be missed.

"Okie Noodling" is about men who enjoy wading into rivers and catching fish with their bare hands. A bit light, given the gravity of the subject, but fun nonetheless. There is nothing like the thrill of catching a huge catfish with your bare hands, and that's just what fishermen have been doing for thousands of years.
This is a documentary by Bradley Beesley, better known for his work on "The Flaming Lips," and whose music is featured here on the soundtrack of this too-short film.
The best part about this film is it is about noodling and real people and their pastime. Jerry Rider, David Baggett, Lee McFarlin, Red Baggett all share their noodling lives after initial reluctance to let Beesley film them at their favorite noodling spots. Whether for ridicule or for fear of giving away their locations is left unanswered, but the sincerity of these men and their sport bespeaks of the latter as the reason.
Which clearly demonstrates that noodling is a sport thrill beyond any other, and why it should be more popular.
Viewers learn that noodlers a) jump in a river where there are snakes, snapping turtles, and catfish, b) submerge in murky muddy water, c) reach into a male fish's hole where he is protecting his female's egg brood, d) get bitten by the fish, and then e) pull the fish out of the water.
Needless to say, it is the greatest thrill in the world, combining man against the unknown and under the deep Babylonian waters from which Ur and Abraham emerged. We reach back in to the womb and grab an alternate screaming reality from it. A monster.
This documentary does shows the good side of small-town, working-class white-male Americans - a group that receives little positive attention from the media and yet is time and again responsible for our safety and civilization and freedom that we enjoy.
There is little attempt to craft a dramatic narrative - most is the noodlers explaining why noodling is enjoyable, so this could have been edited better. The film's end is when Beesley sponsors the first-ever noodling competition and is tacked on and contrived. Beesley would have done better to explore noodling for profit in Cambodia (true!), the pirate noodlers in France's Tarn river (still sadly illegal), and noodling in the rest of the country whre it is practiced: Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Wisconsin.
In summary:
The Good Things: It is about noodling, Flaming Lips, authentic, accurate, respectful.
The Bad Things: too Oklahoma centered, not detailed enough, little historical context, too short.

Okie Noodling is about people who enjoy wading out into rivers and catching fish with their bare hands. Viewers learn that noodle must: a) submerge in a like or a river, b) reach into a fish's lair, c) get bitten by the fish, and then d) pull the fish out of the water. Needless to say, it's not for the faint of heart.

Noodling is legal in only four U.S. states and it seems to be vanishing as time passes. In 2000, documentary filmmaker Bradley Beesley - a man with deep Oklahoma roots - set out to film some noodlers before the hobby vanished (or was outlawed). Many of the noodlers were reluctant to let Beesley film them at their favorite noodling spots (for fear of giving away their locations); but Beesley eventually found some noodlers who agreed to cooperate.

The resulting documentary shows the good side of small-town, working-class Americans - a group that receives little positive attention from the media. Viewers who have small-town roots will recognize and appreciate these people. Wisely, Beesley doesn't attempt to craft a dramatic narrative - he just lets these people explain why noodling is enjoyable. One exception comes at the film's end when Beesley sponsors the first-ever noodling competition. The scene seems a bit contrived - an attempt to add some structure to the film.

In short, Okie Noodling is a fun, lightweight documentary that informs the viewer about a vanishing side of America.

This documentary gives us a unique look into the lives of some ordinary people who do one truly extraordinary thing. There are a few men who venture out into lakes, rivers and creeks in rural America to fish for catfish with their bare hands. They leave the rod and reel at home and stick their fingers and toes into holes in the dark and murky water in search of monster fish. They do this for fun and for food. In the course of the documentary the filmmaker decides to ferret out these men by holding a tournament.

Fishing this way is dangerous and it's not easy. But one man describes how it's a way for him to spend time with his son. His mother sees it as a way for her her son to learn responsibility. Life's chores are many and at the end of the day dinner needs to be on the table. These men are keeping a very old way of fishing alive. They live off the land and the sweat of their brow. They are heroes, when they emerge quietly from the murky waters with monster catfish on their hands, you will be amazed!

Each summer in Pauls Valley Oklahoma at Bob's Pig shop is the annual Okie Noodling tournament official weight-in. This DVD documentary explains the history of noddling and was the catalyst for establishing this annual Oklahoma tradition. While most reviews will exclaim how wild and out of control noodling is, and how "you won't believe it", my response to this movie was different. Very simply, I believe this movie did an excellent job of not only documenting what noodling is all about, but it simply captured the all American "can do" attitude of a determined people (that being folks from Oklahoma). The fact that there are people who will literally risk their lives in a man vs. monster fish battle is of no surprise to me. Anyone whose family heritage is from Oklahoma has a history of overcoming all sorts of adversaries where only the tough and persistent preserver. Those who noodle should be admired and respected for their gumption and skill, but wrestling a big fish is a fun sport - not something that really counts like keeping your family together and providing of the next generation's future: something all these Oklahoma warriors do.

i must say, this movie made my head spin. interesting, yes... completely off the wall... yes. and someone gathered up a bunch of country guys and put them on television. wonderful.

It's a wonderful film for all the reasons the other reviewers have already stated, but I'm glad I could rent it at netflix so I didn't have to buy it. Although, as I said, it's a great watch, I don't think I'll need to see it again...