Popular History Movies on Kanopy - Page 36

The Five Days

1973

The Five Days

1973
5.8
In 1848 Milan, a thief and a baker witness the chaotic final days of the Italian Revolution.
Subjects of Desire

2021

Subjects of Desire

2021
Subjects of Desire is a thought provoking film that examines the cultural shift in beauty standards towards embracing (or appropriating) Black aesthetics and features, deconstructing what we understand about race and the power behind beauty.
The Sign Painter

2020

The Sign Painter

2020
6.2
A Latvian tragicomedy about a young artist who bears witness to the dramatic political upheavals of the WWII era. As brutal regimes come and go, his country, his village, his people, and even his heart are swept up in the inexorable currents of history.
Xingu

2012

Xingu

2012
7.4
In the '40s, three brothers decide to live a great adventure and enlisting in the Roncador-Xingu Expedition, which has a mission to tame the Central Brazil. The Villas Boas brothers: Orlando, 27, Claudius, 25, and Leonardo, 23, engage in a fantastic and incredible saga. Soon start to lead the expedition that opens new paths 1,500 km, navigates over 1,000 miles of unspoilt rivers, opens 19 airfields for airplanes Army, gives rise to the creation of 43 towns and 14 make contact with wild Indian tribes, unknown, as the Xavante, courageous and feared warriors, no casualties on both sides. This adventure allows the Villas Boas brothers the creation of the Xingu National Park, the first major Amerindian reservation in Brazil, the size of Belgium, transforming them into true contemporary heroes.
Girls Can't Surf

2021

Girls Can't Surf

2021
7.8
It’s the 1980s and the world of professional surfing is a circus of fluorescent colors, peroxide hair and radical male egos. "Girls Can't Surf" follows the journey of a band of renegade surfers who took on the male-dominated professional surfing world to achieve equality and change the sport forever. Featuring surfing greats Jodie Cooper, Frieda Zamba, Pauline Menczer, Lisa Andersen, Pam Burridge, Wendy Botha, Layne Beachley and more, "Girls Can't Surf" is a wild ride of clashing personalities, sexism, adventure and heartbreak, with each woman fighting against the odds to make their dreams of competing a reality.
Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan

2020

Crock of Gold: A Few Rounds with Shane MacGowan

2020
8.1
A celebration of the Irish punk/poet Shane MacGowan, lead singer and songwriter of The Pogues, that combines unseen archive footage from the band and MacGowan’s family with original animations.
Neither Hero Nor Traitor

2020

Neither Hero Nor Traitor

2020
6.8
Matías dreams of going to study music in Spain. He must convince his girlfriend to join him later and deal with his father's opposition. But the board changes completely when the Falklands war is declared and he is called to fight.
Howard Zinn: A People's History of the United States

2015

Howard Zinn: A People's History of the United States

2015
6.9
Between 1900 and 1920 more than 14 million immigrants arrived in the US, like Howard Zinn's parents. They came fleeing poverty or war, or racism, or religious persecution. They dreamed of a promised land, of wealth, or simply of a better life.
The Life and Death of King John

1984

The Life and Death of King John

1984
7
The reign of England's King John is threatened by Philip of France who demands that John's nephew Arthur be placed on the throne. Pragmatic and decisive, King John moves to plactate the French, but there are others who seek disputre his authority.
Riotsville, USA

2022

Riotsville, USA

2022
4.9
An archival documentary about the U.S. military’s response to the political and racial injustices of the late 1960s: take a military base, build a mock inner-city set, cast soldiers to play rioters, burn the place down, and film it all.
Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President

2020

Jimmy Carter: Rock & Roll President

2020
6.9
This rockumentary-style presidential portrait shows how Jimmy Carter reinvigorated a post-Watergate America—with the music of the counterculture, including the Allman Brothers, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, and Jimmy Buffett.
Hilma

2022

Hilma

2022
5.3
Hilma af Klint (1862-1944) is an important part of art history and one of the first ever painters of abstract art. However, unlike the work of many of her peers at the time hers was misunderstood and neglected until long after her death. This is a story about Hilma and the circumstances which made her paintings possible. The film picks up during her early life and ends today; when her art connects with people of all religions and cultures. Just as she intended.
Gettysburg

2011

Gettysburg

2011
5.8
An examination of the Battle of Gettysberg on both the personal and strategic level.
Aimée & Jaguar

1999

Aimée & Jaguar

1999
6.7
In 1943, while the Allies are bombing Berlin and the Gestapo is purging the capital of Jews, a dangerous love affair blossoms between two women – one a Jewish member of the underground, the other an exemplar of Nazi motherhood.
A Tale of Two Cities

1980

A Tale of Two Cities

1980
5.7
Set against the conditions leading up to the French Revolution and the Reign of Terror, French doctor Alexandre Manette serves an 18-year imprisonment in the Bastille in Paris, followed by his release to live in London with the daughter he has never met.
Heroic Times

1984

Heroic Times

1984
7.2
The tragic medieval tale of a man of inhuman strength, fierce temper and a desire for noble knighthood. While on the run as a murderer, he finds new life as a knight, only to face disillusionment, the horrors of war and ugly human vices.
Nazi Art Thieves

2017

Nazi Art Thieves

2017
7
This film examines the mechanisms of Nazi extortion during World War II, and is interspersed with current issues surrounding restitutions. It retraces the incredible stories of 3 major works having belonged to Jewish collectors. From their plundering by the Nazis to their final restitution: Man with a Guitar by Georges Braque, Herbstsonne by Egon Schiele and Sitting Woman by Henri Matisse.
Simone: Woman of the Century

2022

Simone: Woman of the Century

2022
7.9
Simone Veil's life story through the pivotal events of Twentieth Century. Her childhood, her political battles, her tragedies. An intimate and epic portrait of an extraordinary woman who eminently challenged and transformed her era defending a humanist message still keenly relevant today.
Banking on Bitcoin

2016

Banking on Bitcoin

2016
6.3
Not since the invention of the Internet has there been such a disruptive technology as Bitcoin. Bitcoin's early pioneers sought to blur the lines of sovereignty and the financial status quo. After years of underground development Bitcoin grabbed the attention of a curious public, and the ire of the regulators the technology had subverted. After landmark arrests of prominent cyber criminals Bitcoin faces its most severe adversary yet, the very banks it was built to destroy.
Raising the Bar: The Alma Richards Story

2025

Raising the Bar: The Alma Richards Story

2025
9
In 1908, eighth grader Alma Richards quits school to work as a ranch hand. A chance meeting with a professor motivates him to resume his education, leading him to compete in high jump at the Stockholm Olympics and win a gold medal.