New Documentary Movies on Kanopy - Page 288

The First Emperor of China

1989

The First Emperor of China

1989
4.3
This historical drama tells the story of Qin Shihuang, who unified China's vast territory and declared himself emperor in 221 B.C. During his reign, he introduced sweeping reforms, built a vast network of roads and connected the Great Wall of China. From the grandiose inner sanctum of Emperor Qin's royal palace, to fierce battles with feudal kings, this film re-creates the glory and the terror of the Qin Dynasty, including footage of Qin's life-sized terra cotta army, constructed 2,200 years ago for his tomb.
Hockney at the Tate

1988

Hockney at the Tate

1988
To mark his fiftieth birthday in 1988, London's Tate Gallery staged a major retrospective of his work. Melvyn Bragg joined David Hockney for an exclusive private view of the exhibition and they were filmed discussing pictures from all stages of Hockney's remarkable career.
whisper & SHOUT

1988

whisper & SHOUT

1988
7
Documents important parts of the East German rock music scene of the late 1980s, from well-established bands like Silly, to underground rock bands like Feeling B. This road movie features young people using music to express their take on life, opposition to their parents' generation and opinions on the social and political climate in East Germany. It includes clips from concerts and interviews with fans and members of various bands, such as Feeling B's Christian Lorenz and Paul Landers, now members of Rammstein.
Imagine: John Lennon

1988

Imagine: John Lennon

1988
6.8
The biography of former Beatle, John Lennon—narrated by Lennon himself—with extensive material from Yoko Ono's personal collection, previously unseen footage from Lennon's private archives, and interviews with David Bowie, his first wife Cynthia, second wife Yoko Ono and sons Julian and Sean.
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

1988

Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

1988
7.6
This documentary offers a rare glimpse of the legendary Soviet filmmaker, Andrei Tarkosvky, at work. Tarkovsky made only seven films in his brief, but brilliant, career; Michal Leszczylowski's respectful movie chronicles him at work on his last film, The Sacrifice. Offering insight into Tarkovsky's working methods and transcendental aesthetics, the movie is a compelling account of the difficulties of film production. In the case of an uncompromising and visionary filmmaker like Tarkovsky, the practical problems of filmmaking are only magnified, as cast and crew struggle to realize the ambitious concepts in Tarkovsky's mind.
Thanks Girls and Goodbye

1988

Thanks Girls and Goodbye

1988
Documentary using archival footage, newsreels and contemporary interviews with women of the WW2 Australian Women's Land Army.
Let's Get Lost

1988

Let's Get Lost

1988
7
Documentary about jazz great Chet Baker that intercuts footage from the 1950s, when he was part of West Coast Cool, and from his last years. We see the young Baker, he of the beautiful face, in California and in Italy, where he appeared in at least one movie and at least one jail cell (for drug possession). And, we see the aged Baker, detached, indifferent, his face a ruin. Includes interviews with his children and ex-wife, women companions, and musicians.
Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy

1988

Lightning Over Braddock: A Rustbowl Fantasy

1988
6.8
Tony Buba, a film maker from Braddock, Pennsylvania, tells the story of his hometown's decline (along with the rest of the steel mill towns along the Monongahela River) while he dreams of making higher budget films. The picture documents, in a lighthearted way, the community anxiety and activism that accompanied the failure of the steel industry around Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
The Thin Blue Line

1988

The Thin Blue Line

1988
7.6
Errol Morris's unique documentary dramatically re-enacts the crime scene and investigation of a police officer's murder in Dallas.
Frank Gehry: The Formative Years

1988

Frank Gehry: The Formative Years

1988
Narrated by the architect himself, Frank Gehry: The Formative Years explores his long standing career and unique eye. The film looks at a number of Gehry's projects from private homes to complex public institutions, all of which echo his experimental style and vision. Works such as The Norton House, The Aerospace Museum and Loyola Law School demonstrate Gehry's eccentric and distinctive touch. The Formative Years is a survey of his beginnings when Gehry experimented with his own house in Santa Monica, giving him notoriety in the architecture scene.
The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

1988

The Decline of Western Civilization Part II: The Metal Years

1988
6.8
An exploration of the heavy metal scene in Los Angeles, with particular emphasis on glam metal. It features concert footage and interviews of legendary heavy metal and hard rock bands and artists such as Aerosmith, Alice Cooper, Kiss, Megadeth, Motörhead, Ozzy Osbourne and W.A.S.P..
Cane Toads: An Unnatural History

1988

Cane Toads: An Unnatural History

1988
6.8
A documentary detailing the spread of Hawaiian sugar-cane toads through Australia in a botched effort to introduce them as counter pests.
Cary Grant: A Celebration of a Leading Man

1988

Cary Grant: A Celebration of a Leading Man

1988
7
A retrospective of the life and career of actor Cary Grant, including clips from his films and interviews with his friends and co-workers.
A Hungry Feeling: The Life and Death of Brendan Behan

1988

A Hungry Feeling: The Life and Death of Brendan Behan

1988
Colleagues and relatives reflect on the dynamic life of Irish writer Brendan Behan, beginning with his adolescent years as an activist and his affiliation with the IRA youth group, Fianna Éireann. Behan rises to fame as a poet and playwright and achieves international success in the wake of his successful autobiography, "Borstal Boy." But in his later years, Behan's prominence wanes as alcoholism, egotistical tendencies and a growing obsession with celebrity begin to overtake him.
Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe

1988

Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe

1988
6.9
Directors Werner Herzog and Errol Morris make a bet which results in Herzog living up to his promise that he would eat his shoe if Errol Morris ever completed the film Gates of Heaven.
Ika Hands

1988

Ika Hands

1988
In the highlands of Northern Columbia the Ika live a strenuous and isolated life, economically dependent on small gardens and a handful of domestic animals. They are thought to be descendants of the Maya who fled from the turmoil of Central American High Civilization’s warring states to the remote valleys of Colombia’s Sierra Nevadas. The Ika still inhabit a spectacular but demanding terrain extending between five and fifteen thousand feet, an almost vertical geography through which they move with prodigious ease.
A Day on the Grand Canal with the Emperor of China or: Surface Is Illusion But So Is Depth

1988

A Day on the Grand Canal with the Emperor of China or: Surface Is Illusion But So Is Depth

1988
8
Director Philip Haas and artist David Hockney invite you to join them on a magical journey through China via a marvelous 72-foot long 17th-century Chinese scroll entitled The Kangxi Emperor's Southern Inspection Tour (1691-1698), scroll seven . As Hockney unrolls the beautiful and minutely detailed work of art, he traces the Emperor Kangxi’s second tour of his southern empire in 1689.
Radio Bikini

1988

Radio Bikini

1988
7.4
It starts with a live radio broadcast from the Bikini Atoll a few days before it is annihilated by a nuclear test. Shows great footage from these times and tells the story of the US Navy Sailors who were exposed to radioactive fallout. One interviewed sailor suffered grotesquely swollen limbs and he is shown being interviewed with enormous left arm and hand.
Hearts & Hands

1988

Hearts & Hands

1988
The film chronicles the lives of ordinary women as well as individuals such as Harriet Tubman, Elizabeth Keckley, Frances Willard, and Abigail Scott Duniway through the great 19th century events: industrialization, abolition, the Civil War, westward movement, temperance, and suffrage. For nineteenth century women, quilts were the podium, the pulpit and the judges' gavel, which their society denied them. Their quilts speak the language of abolition, patriotism, politics, social justice, and westward expansion.
Missile

1988

Missile

1988
6.5
MISSILE follows the 4315th Training Squadron of the Strategic Air Command at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where Air Force officers are trained to man the Launch Control Centers for the Minuteman Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles. Sequences include discussion of the moral and military issues of nuclear war; the arming, targeting and launching of the missile; codes; communications; protection against terrorist attack; emergency procedures; staff meetings and tutorial sessions.