Popular Documentary Movies on Plex - Page 52

Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP

2025

Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP

2025
While many consider the birth of the civil rights movement to be 1955, when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat on an Alabama bus, the stage had been set decades before by activists of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Some of the NAACP leaders are familiar, including W.E.B. Du Bois and Thurgood Marshall, but Walter White, head of the NAACP from 1929 to 1955, has been all but forgotten. With his blond hair and blue eyes, Walter White looked white; he described himself as “an enigma, a Black man occupying a white body.” Like virtually all light-skinned African Americans of his day, White was descended from enslaved Black women and powerful white men. But he was Black — by law, identity, and conviction and spent his entire life fighting for Black civil rights. Forgotten Hero: Walter White and the NAACP traces the life of this neglected civil rights hero and seeks to explain his disappearance from our history.
Fight For Space

2016

Fight For Space

2016
7.6
In 1962, spurred by the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy famously made the bold proclamation that NASA would send astronauts to the moon by the end of the decade, not because it was easy, but because it was a challenge. The Space Race inspired a generation to pursue careers in science and technology, but as the balance of world power shifted, interest in space exploration declined. "Fight for Space" serves as an urgent call to re-awaken our sense of wonder and discovery.
Can We Take a Joke?

2016

Can We Take a Joke?

2016
6.7
In the age of social media, nearly every day brings a new eruption of outrage. While people have always found something to be offended by, their ability to organize a groundswell of opposition to – and public censure of – their offender has never been more powerful. Today we're all one clumsy joke away from public ruin. Can We Take A Joke? offers a thought-provoking and wry exploration of outrage culture through the lens of stand-up comedy, with notables like Gilbert Gottfried, Penn Jillette, Lisa Lampanelli, and Adam Carolla detailing its stifling impact on comedy and the exchange of ideas. What will the future will be like if we can't learn how to take a joke?
Until the Wheels Come Off

2022

Until the Wheels Come Off

2022
7
The film focuses on Tarlton, who enters his second Race Across America race. The grueling bike race sees more than half of the participants not finishing, but Tarlton is determined to win his division. Until the Wheels Come Off follows his 12-day odyssey as his family and friends serve as his support crew in a journey that stresses not only their physical limits, but their emotional limits as well.
Motorkite Dreaming

2016

Motorkite Dreaming

2016
Motorbike Dreaming is an extreme cultural adventure following two young Aussie adventurers and their fiancées giving wings to their crazy idea to be the first to fly microlights 5,000 km across Australia, with an award-winning filmmaker trying to keep up.
Hunting the KGB Killers

2017

Hunting the KGB Killers

2017
6.4
The inside story of Alexander Litvinenko's murder in London and the subsequent international manhunt that led to the Kremlin, told in full for the first time, with exclusive access to key individuals.
Meet the Patels

2014

Meet the Patels

2014
6.9
Finding love is never easy. For Ravi Patel, a first generation Indian-American, the odds are slim. His ideal bride is beautiful, smart, funny, family-oriented, kind and—in keeping with tradition—Indian (though hopefully raised in the US). Oh, and her last name should be Patel because in India, Patels usually marry other Patels. And so at 30, Ravi decides to break up with his American girlfriend (the one who by all accounts is perfect for him except for her red hair and American name) and embark on a worldwide search for another Patel longing to be loved. He enlists the help of his matchmaker mother, attends a convention of Patels living in the US and travels to wedding season in India. Witty, honest and heartfelt, this comedy explores the questions with which we all struggle: What is love? What is happiness? And how in the world do we go about finding them?
The Family I Had

2017

The Family I Had

2017
5.9
In The Family I Had, a mother recalls how her brilliant teenage son came to shatter their idyllic family through one horribly violent and shocking act. Now, left to pick up the pieces, the survivors test the boundaries of their newly defined reality in this moving true crime exploration of the nature and limits of familial love.
Until the Light Takes Us

2008

Until the Light Takes Us

2008
6.7
Chronicles the history, ideology and aesthetic of Norwegian black metal, a musical subculture infamous as much for a series of murders and church arsons as it is for its unique musical and visual aesthetics. This is the first film to truly shed light on a movement that has heretofore been shrouded by rumor and obscured by inaccurate and shallow depictions. Featuring exclusive interviews with the musicians themselves, Until the Light Takes Us explores every aspect of the controversial movement that has captured the attention of the world.
Gringo Trails

2014

Gringo Trails

2014
6
Are tourists destroying the planet-or saving it? How do travelers change the remote places they visit, and how are they changed? From the Bolivian jungle to the party beaches of Thailand, and from the deserts of Timbuktu, Mali to the breathtaking beauty of Bhutan, GRINGO TRAILS traces stories over 30 years to show the dramatic long-term impact of tourism on cultures, economies, and the environment.
Hitler's War on Oil: Objective Baku

2015

Hitler's War on Oil: Objective Baku

2015
7.2
This film tells the story of World War II as experienced by the inhabitants of Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, at the time a satellite of Moscow. The very rich oil deposits of the region aroused the covetousness of Hitler who needed the oil from Baku to carry out his program of world domination. His entire campaign of 1942-1943 was aimed at seizing them. But the Soviets and the Allies were determined to prevent him from doing so, by all means, including the most radical, even if it meant wiping the city off the map.
One Direction: The Inside Story

2014

One Direction: The Inside Story

2014
The boys are back on the road for the American leg of their "Where We Are" tour, one of the biggest grossing tours ever, estimated to turn over 1 billion dollars. One Direction remains at the top of their game as the biggest boy band on the planet. Their rise to the top has been rapid, and fans of the young superstars can look forward to a new 1D film hitting the screens in October 2014. We invite you to follow their journey.
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.
The Last Apostle: Journies in the Holy Land

2020

The Last Apostle: Journies in the Holy Land

2020
7
Dr. Mark Fairchild, world-renowned archaeologist, traces the hidden years of Saint Paul's life in the mountainous Turkish countryside of Rough Cilicia.
Marcella

2025

Marcella

2025
Marcella Hazan didn’t just teach Italian cooking—she changed the way America eats. Fearless, passionate, and exacting, she introduced authentic recipes to millions. Julia Child called Marcella “my mentor in all things Italian.” Featuring Jacques Pépin, Danny Meyer, April Bloomfield, and Lidia Bastianich, this intimate portrait reveals the bold woman who forever shaped home kitchens.
Santoalla

2016

Santoalla

2016
7
A Dutch couple, Martin and Margo Verfondern, move to a remote Spanish village of Santoalla to start a new life. There is conflict with the Spanish residents resulting in the disappearance of Martin.
Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid

2024

Carville: Winning Is Everything, Stupid

2024
6.3
From masterminding Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential win to his insurgent role in the 2024 race, Democratic strategist James Carville has been one of the most influential forces in modern political history. The “Ragin’ Cajun” looks back at his unlikely career and 30-year marriage to Republican consultant Mary Matalin. Featuring interviews with Bill Clinton, George Stephanopoulos and more.
Chesley Bonestell: A Brush with the Future

2018

Chesley Bonestell: A Brush with the Future

2018
8.5
Long before satellites would journey to planets and deep-space telescopes would photograph distant galaxies, there was an artist whose dazzling visions of planets and stars would capture the imagination of all who beheld them. Before that, he was an architect working on projects like the Chrysler Building and the Golden Gate Bridge. He would later become a matte painter in Hollywood working on films like Citizen Kane and Destination Moon. Who was this remarkable man? His name was Chesley Bonestell (1888-1986). Chesley Bonestell’s mesmerizing depiction of “Saturn As Seen From Titan” became known as “the painting that launched a thousand careers.” Told by the many people who were influenced by Chesley Bonestell or knew him personally and punctuated with rare interview footage of the artist himself, the documentary compellingly chronicles the life of a quiet, artistic visionary, whose architecture and space art continue to inspire us to reach for the stars.
What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael

2019

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael

2019
6.6
Pauline Kael (1919–2001) was undoubtedly one of the greatest names in film criticism. A Californian native, she wrote her first review in 1953 and joined ‘The New Yorker’ in 1968. Praised for her highly opinionated and feisty writing style and criticised for her subjective and sometimes ruthless reviews, Kael’s writing was refreshingly and intensely rooted in her experience of watching a film as a member of the audience. Loved and hated in equal measure – loved by other critics for whom she was immensely influential, and hated by filmmakers whose films she trashed - Kael destroyed films that have since become classics such as The Sound of Music and raved about others such as Bonnie and Clyde. She was also aware of the perennial difficulties for women working in the movies and in film criticism, and fiercely fought sexism, both in her reviews and in her media appearances.
Life to AfterLife: I Died, Now What

2019

Life to AfterLife: I Died, Now What

2019
Craig McMahon asks leading spiritual experts about the afterlife. What happens when we die, where do we go, and what is important to know about the afterlife.