Popular Documentary Movies on Plex - Page 16

Exclusion U

2023

Exclusion U

2023
EXCLUSION U looks at the real scandal in higher education: How Ivy League Universities hoard billions while refusing to expand enrollments. These tax-exempt institutions are failing their mission to act in the public good. Interviews with low income students who fight for a place on campus, deans of admissions and shocking financial information force the question: why do we continue to invest so much in institutions that invest so little back in us?
Buena Vista Social Club

1999

Buena Vista Social Club

1999
7.5
In this fascinating Oscar-nominated documentary, American guitarist Ry Cooder brings together a group of legendary Cuban folk musicians (some in their 90s) to record a Grammy-winning CD in their native city of Havana. The result is a spectacular compilation of concert footage from the group's gigs in Amsterdam and New York City's famed Carnegie Hall, with director Wim Wenders capturing not only the music -- but also the musicians' life stories.
Unbranded

2015

Unbranded

2015
6.9
Documentary about four friends on a 3,000 mile journey across the American West on horseback.
Unacknowledged

2017

Unacknowledged

2017
6.3
Dr. Steven Greer presents brand new top-secret evidence supporting extraterrestrial contact, including witness testimony, classified documents, and UFO footage, while also exploring the consequences of ruthlessly enforcing such secrecy.
The People vs. George Lucas

2010

The People vs. George Lucas

2010
6.4
The passion the original Star Wars trilogy inspires in its fans is unparalleled; but when it comes to George Lucas himself, many have found their ardor has cooled into a complicated love-hate relationship. This hilarious, heartfelt documentary delves deep into Lucas’s cultural legacy, asking all the tough questions. Has Lucas betrayed his masterwork? Should he just have left the original trilogy alone? Is The Phantom Menace so bad it should carry a health warning? Utilizing interviews taken from over 600 hours of footage, and peppered with extraordinary Star Wars and Indiana Jones recreations lovingly immortalized in song, needlepoint, Lego, claymation, puppets and paper-mâché, above all this film asks the question: who truly owns that galaxy far, far away—the man who created it, or the fans who worship it?
Freddie

2023

Freddie

2023
4.7
Freddie Mercury was known for his flamboyant stage persona and four-octave vocal range - the lead singer of Queen defied the conventions of a typical rock frontman. He paved the way for many contemporary artists to have a more confident and theatrical act which indelibly shaped the next generation of pop and rock music. From working as a baggage handler at Heathrow airport to hiding his HIV diagnosis from the public until just before his death, Mercury's life was filled with adventure, publicity, and perhaps above all, a clear duality. He was both flamboyant and shy, outspoken and intensely private. The illness that claimed his life could never have defined Freddie, and now, years later, his legacy is greater than he could have ever imagined.
Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters

2019

Phil Tippett: Mad Dreams and Monsters

2019
7.5
An in-depth, sad, and beautiful documentary about the stop motion and VFX artist Phil Tippett, a man who changed the landscape of visual effects in film.
Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

2018

Scotty and the Secret History of Hollywood

2018
6
A deliciously scandalous portrait of unsung Hollywood legend Scotty Bowers, whose bestselling memoir chronicled his decades spent as sexual procurer to the stars.
I Know What I Saw

2009

I Know What I Saw

2009
7.3
Director James Fox assembled the most credible UFO witnesses from around the world to testify at The National Press Club in Washington D.C.: Air Force Generals, astronauts, military and commercial pilots, government and FAA officials from seven countries tell stories that, as Governor Fife Symington from Arizona stated, "will challenge your reality".
What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

2018

What We Left Behind: Looking Back at Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

2018
7
A documentary exploring the legacy of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the reasons it went from the black sheep of Star Trek to a beloved mainstay of the franchise, and a brainstorm with the original writers on what a theoretical eighth season of the show could look like.
Little Richard: I Am Everything

2023

Little Richard: I Am Everything

2023
6.6
The story of the black, gay origins of rock n' roll. It explodes the whitewashed canon of American pop music to reveal the innovator – the originator – Richard Penniman. Through a wealth of archive and performance that brings us into Richard's complicated inner world, the film unspools the icon's life story with all its switchbacks and contradictions.
Trumbo

2007

Trumbo

2007
6.6
Through a focus on the life of Dalton Trumbo (1905-1976), this film examines the effects on individuals and families of a congressional pursuit of Hollywood Communists after World War II. Trumbo was one of several writers, directors, and actors who invoked the First Amendment in refusing to answer questions under oath. They were blacklisted and imprisoned. We follow Trumbo to prison, to exile in Mexico with his family, to poverty, to the public shunning of his children, to his writing under others' names, and to an eventual but incomplete vindication. Actors read his letters; his children and friends remember and comment. Archive photos, newsreels and interviews add texture. Written by
ScarfFace

2021

ScarfFace

2021
ScarfFace takes us on an in-depth journey through the sub-culture of competitive eating, lifting the veil on the Major League Eating corporation and the untold story behind the epic rivalry between Joey Chestnut and Takeru Kobayashi.
Cannes Man

1996

Cannes Man

1996
5.2
Film producer Sy Lerner makes a bet with a fellow film executive that he can turn any nobody into a star at the Cannes Film Festival. A New York cab driver who is visiting the festival is chosen as the test subject to settle the bet and Sy uses his skills of hype and manipulation to try and turn the cab driver named Frank into the talk of the town. Many celebrities make cameos throughout the film.
The Fatal Game

1996

The Fatal Game

1996
8.2
In 1994, New Zealand mountaineer, Mark Whetu, summitted Mt Everest with climbing partner and friend Mike Reinberger. However it was late in the day and after a freezing night on the summit, Whetu was faced with a terrible decision...to leave Reinberger or stay with him forever.
I Am DB Cooper

2022

I Am DB Cooper

2022
4.5
Two bounty hunters meet an old man claiming to be hijacker DB Cooper. Can they help him dig up the cash he hid half a century ago? Documentary footage blends with period reenactments to tell the tangled tale.
Ballad of a Righteous Merchant

2017

Ballad of a Righteous Merchant

2017
2
Chronicles the making of director Werner Herzog’s 2009 feature, My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done, providing profound insight into the director and his craft. My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done was inspired by the true story of an actor who committed in reality the crime he was supposed to enact on stage: murdering his mother. With longtime friend Herbert Golder behind the lens, Herzog reveals the privacy and deep solitude that defines the director and his art.
I Am Heath Ledger

2017

I Am Heath Ledger

2017
7.4
The life and career of an actor, artist, and icon. His own journey through his own camera.
Finding Vivian Maier

2014

Finding Vivian Maier

2014
7.6
Vivian Maier's photos were seemingly destined for obscurity, lost among the clutter of the countless objects she'd collected throughout her life. Instead these images have shaken the world of street photography and irrevocably changed the life of the man who brought them to the public eye. This film brings to life the interesting turns and travails of the improbable saga of John Maloof's discovery of Vivian Maier, unravelling this mysterious tale through her documentary films, photographs, odd collections and personal accounts from the people that knew her. What started as a blog to show her work quickly became a viral sensation in the photography world. Photos destined for the trash heap now line gallery exhibitions, a forthcoming book and this documentary film.
Severe Clear

2010

Severe Clear

2010
5
Severe Clear is a film based on the memoirs of First Lieutenant Mike Scotti in videos made by him and others from the 1st Battalion, 4th Marines during the start of the 2003 Iraq invasion. The film explores the chaos and complexity of see the war.