A cinematographic witness to an event is what a man can sieze of it on film while at the same time being part of it. (Bazin 162)
It seems the only legitimate documetary and exposition film, to Bazin, is one in which the filmmakers are intricately involved in the expedition. No remakes, post-expedition narratives or other non-involved film can ever take the place of a found film, or, at least, will invisibly be inferior to it. I disagree wholeheartedly. To compare the two is comparing apples and oranges. One is a fiction, a controlled attempt to boil down the essence of an event and recreate it. The other is a recording during the event. One tries to recreate, one does not try to do anything but be present, an act which can only occur once. To compare the former or subvert it to the latter is simply ignorant and infairly comparative.