Popular Documentary Movies on Amazon Video - Page 126

The Nature of Existence

2010

The Nature of Existence

2010
6.7
After exploring the phenomenon of TREKKIES, filmmaker Roger Nygard takes on The Nature of Existence. As he roams the globe to the source of each of the world's philosophies, religions, and belief systems, Nygard interviews spiritual leaders, scholars, scientists, artists, pizza chefs, and others who have influenced, inspired, or freaked out humanity.
The End of Poverty?

2008

The End of Poverty?

2008
7.9
The End of Poverty? asks if the true causes of poverty today stem from a deliberate orchestration since colonial times which has evolved into our modern system whereby wealthy nations exploit the poor. People living and fighting against poverty answer condemning colonialism and its consequences; land grab, exploitation of natural resources, debt, free markets, demand for corporate profits and the evolution of an economic system in in which 25% of the world's population consumes 85% of its wealth. Featuring Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen and Joseph Stiglitz, authors/activist Susan George, Eric Toussaint, Bolivian Vice President Alvaro Garcia Linera and more.
The Butch Factor

2009

The Butch Factor

2009
5
What does mean to be gay and be a man? There's no straight answer for sure. From the Castro culture of the 1970s to today’s Bears and gym rats, this fascinating investigation of gay men and sexuality blows the lid off old stereotypes and showcases a battalion of interviewees including muscle men, rodeo riders, rugby players and cops. The men speak candidly on topics from homophobia to metrosexuality to embracing effeminacy as they reveal what it means to be a gay man in America today.
Fractals: Hunting the Hidden Dimension

2008

Fractals: Hunting the Hidden Dimension

2008
6.7
Determined to understand the repeating patterns he was finding in nature, French mathematician Benoit Mandelbrot used an early form of computer imagery to produce his own versions, coining the recurring shapes fractals. This installment of the PBS series "Nova" examines the rules of these self-similar patterns and explores the ways these fascinating geometric configurations can be applied in the fields of science, medicine and the arts.
Adopted

2009

Adopted

2009
4.4
For hundreds of years, Africa has existed in a state of despair. Famine, civil wars and rampant disease have left the continent without hope, but for the efforts of Western do-gooders. At first, they arrived with food, bibles and the magic of penicillin; more recently they have hosted rock concerts and sent plane loads of grain. And in the last decade of the 20th century they arrived and took babies home with them. First there was Angelina, then Madonna, and now...Pauly Shore! The film builds its comedy foundation on the international interest in Celebrity Adoptions, and the debate that surrounds these transactions on both sides of the Atlantic. Sometimes politically incorrect and never scared to tread on manicured toes.
William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe

2009

William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe

2009
6.1
William Kunstler was one of the most famous lawyers of the 20th century. His clients included Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Phillip and Daniel Berrigan, Abbie Hoffman, H. Rap Brown, Stokely Carmichael, Adam Clayton Powell, Jr., and Leonard Peltier. Filmmakers Emily Kunstler and Sarah Kunstler explore their father’s life, from middle-class family man, to movement lawyer, to “the most hated lawyer in America.”
The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant

2009

The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant

2009
5.8
The inside story of the last days of a General Motors plant in Moraine, Ohio, as lived by the people who worked the line.
Darfur Now

2007

Darfur Now

2007
5.7
This acclaimed documentary follows the story of six people who are determined to end the sufferings in Sudan's war-ravaged Darfur. The six - an American activist, an international prosecutor, a Sudanese rebel, a sheikh, a leader of the World Food Program and an internationally known actor - demonstrate the power of how one individual can create extraordinary changes.
Steep

2007

Steep

2007
6
Steep traces the legacy of extreme skiing from its early pioneers to the daredevils of today.
Windjammer: The Voyage of the Christian Radich

1958

Windjammer: The Voyage of the Christian Radich

1958
6.2
Windjammer, the first presentation in CINEMIRACLE, is the record of a training cruise of the full-rigged S/S Christian Radich from Oslo across the Atlantic, through the Caribbean, to New York and back home again.
The Back of Beyond

1954

The Back of Beyond

1954
6.1
This 1954 classic follows an outback mailman as he travels along the Birdsville Track.
Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party

2006

Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party

2006
6.1
In Stephen Tobolowsky’s Birthday Party film-makers Robert Brinkmann and Andrew Putschoegl follow Stephen on his birthday and document a performance he gives for the cameras and a group of friends, during which he tells stories about his experiences in Hollywood. Instead of his regular role as a supporting actor, Stephen takes the stage in Birthday Party and shows that he has the charisma to hold the audience’s attention without the help of a script.
The Eleanor Roosevelt Story

1965

The Eleanor Roosevelt Story

1965
5.8
An intimate and moving portrait of one of the most remarkable women in American history. It is the story of a lonely, unhappy child who became the most admired and respected woman in the world. Richard Kaplan's lively documentary reveals the human face behind the American icon, beginning with the emotional deprivation suffered by this plain, awkward little girl born into a socially prominent and powerful family. Though she would eventually marry a man who would look beyond her awkwardness, Eleanor was not content to be the proper, silent wife to her husband Franklin's extraordinary political career. Instead, she began a lifelong crusade to speak out about injustice and oppression in any form. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in 2006.
Sky Above and Mud Beneath

1961

Sky Above and Mud Beneath

1961
5.8
In September, 1959, six Europeans leave Cook's Bay on the southern coast of Dutch New Guinea, now West Papua or Irian Jaya, to trek north to the far side of the island. The journey (450 miles, as a crow flies) across unmapped territory took seven months; three Muyu porters died. Near both coasts, the expedition met villagers who invited them to observe rituals and live with them. In the interior, all villagers kept them at bay, and they depended on air lifts from Hollandia for food and supplies. They climbed above 10,000 feet, built 14 bridges, and fought leeches and malaria. The narrator focuses on describing Stone Age savages, headhunters, and cannibals.
Classic Albums: Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell

1999

Classic Albums: Meat Loaf - Bat Out of Hell

1999
7.3
Never one for understatement, the aptly named singer known as Meat Loaf (aka Marvin Lee Aday) teamed with operatically-minded pianist-composer Jim Steinman to produce a bombastic slab of 1970s classic rock that has become one of the biggest selling albums of all time. Fueled by Steinman's epic compositions, Todd Rundgren's grandiose production, and Meat Loaf's own soaring vocals, the singer's 1977 debut BAT OUT OF HELL elevated the rock-opera genre to appropriately theatrical heights with its extravagant orchestration and a melodramatic narrative celebrating teenage rebellion. This episode of the CLASSIC ALBUMS series recounts the making of this monumental work through interviews, archival footage, and live performances of album tracks such as "You Took the Words Right Out of My Mouth," "Two Out of Three Ain't Bad," and, of course, the adolescent opus "Paradise by the Dashboard Light."
Uncovered: The War on Iraq

2004

Uncovered: The War on Iraq

2004
8
The feature-length version of producer/director Robert's Greenwald's short documentary phenomenon "Uncovered: The Whole Truth About The Iraq War." The film deconstructs the current American administration's case for war in Iraq through interviews with U.S. intelligence professionals, diplomats and former Pentagon officials, including a former director of the C.I.A., two former Secretaries of Defense, a former ambassador to Saudi Arabia and even President Bush's former Secretary of the Army.
Classic Albums: Steely Dan - Aja

1999

Classic Albums: Steely Dan - Aja

1999
6
Aja was the biggest selling album of Steely Dan's illustrious career. It was the first album by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker as a duo. Fagen and Becker recall the history of the album, along with Peg, Deacon Blues and Josie. Michael McDonald, later of the Doobie Brothers did guest backing vocals on Aja, the late British musician Ian Dury, record producer Gary Katz and the legendary session musicians who worked on Aja also contribute. This is a vivd portrait of a 70's record that is still as fresh and as memorable more than two decades after its release.
Gypsy Caravan: When the Road Bends

2006

Gypsy Caravan: When the Road Bends

2006
7.2
A brief look into Romany culture and Rom (Gypsies) from around the globe as five famous Romany groups tour the USA.
Eddie Griffin: DysFunktional Family

2003

Eddie Griffin: DysFunktional Family

2003
6.5
Between sets from his hilarious live stand-up routine, in which he riffs on everything from Michael Jackson to terrorism, comedian Eddie Griffin tours his hometown of Kansas City and introduces viewers to his eccentric clan in this edgy mockumentary. Griffin's uproarious family members include oddballs such as Uncle Buckey, a former pimp, and Uncle Curtis, who possesses an extensive porn collection ... much of which he filmed himself!
The Stones and Brian Jones

2024

The Stones and Brian Jones

2024
7.1
A look at the relationships and rivalries within The Rolling Stones in their formative years, as well as the creative musical genius of Brian Jones, key to the success of the band.